Legislative Update: March 22, 2007

By: Prospector

Just thougt I'd share a little insight on some of the mechanics of the process of lobbying.  I normally prefer to make appointments in person, because it's more efficient.  After 10 years of being part of the landscape in Albany, my lovable face is recognized in most legislative offices. As a result, I am usually treated cordially and appointments are made on the spot in many cases.  As I mentioned in my last report, this wasn't possible last Tuesday, so I fell back to Plan B, the telephone.  Partly because there is always some degree of turnover of staff and also because many people recognize me visually, but don't necessarily know my name, I lose some of that advantage when I am a faceless caller.  To illustrate the difference, here's an example: yesterday I made 21 calls to get 8 appointments, and I am now awaiting 13 callbacks.  First thing this morning, I got one and scheduled a ninth meeting.  So at this point, I need to stay near my
phone for those other 12 calls which may come today, tomorrow, next week, or in some caes, never.  Also, those 9 appointments are subject to change right up until Monday night, so I'm kept guessing a lot of the time. But I keep the faith, and somehow it all seems to shake out OK in the end. There have been days when a full schedule falls apart at the last minute and I have ended up going for only 1 appointment.  In those cases, I try to utilize the whole day anyway,making more appointments and informal visits to those offices where our friends always keep an open-door policy for us.

Hope this little tidbit helps everyone to understands the system a little better, as always, if you have any questions or comments, please call, 518-239-4560, I try to be discrete in what I put in print, But will go into more detail in private conversations.