This is Part 2 of a 2-part series on government relations for historic preservation advocates. Part 1 describes How to Find and Ask for Support from Government.

If you want to accomplish your historic preservation goals, your advocacy group must reach out to government officials. But you do not need to contact every elected official — in fact, contacting all elected officials with all your problems will work against you. A better approach is to learn how elected officials get their information so you can target your group's outreach efforts to the most appropriate audience.

Understand Government Information Channels

Elected officials receive torrents of information every day about the town, district, or state they represent. In addition, they learn about larger issues that will impact their personal priorities. Therefore, elected officials rely on certain trusted information channels to help them prioritize issues and understand how they may be able to support their constituents.

The degree to which an elected official relies on any one source of information varies depending on the nature of the issue. In general, elected officials gather information and insights through the following channels:

Political Staffers

The paid staff are the "eyes and ears" of their elected bosses. This means that when you engage with a public official, you may work with one of his or her staff in place of the official. This is less likely to be true with local elected officials, especially in smaller communities with fewer employees.

Grassroots Lobbyists (their constituents)

Elected officials listen to their constituents who speak up. Nonprofit representatives and special interest spokespeople are among the most common information providers. Constituents can supplement information already gathered by an official's staff and provide citizen experts. Even when constituents are simply educating an elected official, they are grassroots advocates. Grassroots lobbyists represent all kinds of issues, including large corporate interests as well as policies to help the disenfranchised.

The Press

Like the rest of us, elected officials look to the press and web media to know what's happening where they live – and to understand why an issue is important. Issues rise to the top of an elected official's agenda when an official perceives that many people care about a problem.

Professional Lobbyists

These government relations experts who are paid by clients who want to affect public policies. Paid lobbyists and public relations experts have similar jobs. Lobbyists work with clients to identify goals and a message, and then help communicate these ideas and the client's goals to decision makers. Paid lobbyists typically have a network of contacts and often have relationships with elected officials. Lobbyists can be valuable to an elected official because lobbyists often know how to communicate in political shorthand, what other issues are on the official's priority list, and how the official has dealt with similar matters in the past.

Government Analysts

Governments include in-house experts on public policy matters. These employees provide briefings to elected officials on important policy issues. Elected officials rely on in-house analysts when they are drafting policy changes.

Identify Your Best Audience

As your group is preparing for a preservation advocacy campaign, you'll need to assess your situation to help you identify your government outreach audience. Consider the following questions:

• What is the scope of your issue? Whether your preservation concern involves a public policy, a public building or site, or the revitalization of whole sections of town, ask yourself, who cares about this issue? Is this issue purely local, or does it affect a region or the whole state? Does it apply to other states? If it's a federal matter, why should a local official care?
• Will your effort require any political support? Some preservation actions are clearly political. Some examples include requesting support for a new policy or public program, protesting a new law that would harm historic resources, or seeking public funds for a preservation project. Grassroots support for policy changes is critical, but so are sympathetic officials who will listen to your concerns and understand the value of preservation as it relates to a community's revitalization effort.
• What committees are making decisions about your issue? All public matters are analyzed through a subcommittee of leaders with jurisdiction over areas of public interest. Historic preservation can fall into multiple areas of interest because it is simultaneously a land use matter, an element of an area's arts and culture, and a significant economic consideration. The manner in which your municipality divides your leaders' attention and classifies preservation will determine which official you contact first.
• Will your issue require grant funding? If you are seeking federal grant support for a project, it will be essential to reach out to your elected officials. Letters of support from your mayor, city council members, and even members of Congress will improve your chances for a successful grant application.
• Are there any elected officials who are clearly preservation advocates? If an elected official at any level of government expresses clear interest in historic preservation, your group should cultivate that interest. You should do this even if that person is not in a position to influence your current effort, because elected officials can lobby other elected officials at all levels. For instance, a city council member could meet with your state legislator or talk to a council peer who is resisting your appeals. Also, leaders usually move up from local elected positions to higher-level offices, and their new duties may coincide with your future efforts. The vast majority of Congressional members served at the local and/or state level before they assumed a federal-level office.

Learn More

Historic Preservation Advocacy Guide

Find more how-to articles about historic preservation advocacy.