Overview
While the COVID-19 pandemic has made in-person visits more difficult, connecting and meeting with your local, state, or federal representatives is now more important than ever.
Although most members will be unable to conduct face-to-face meeting, you still can connect virtually with your elected officials to discuss issues important to the real estate management industry.
Legislators are more likely to support positions that their constituents feel strongly about, which is why it is important for members to engage with their legislators any way they can whether it is virtually, phone, email, text, etc.
The IREM Government Affairs team recently conducted a webinar about how to conduct effective virtual meetings. Be sure to check out our recorded webinar: Conducting successful meetings with your elected officials
The webinar provides valuable information on how to: identify your elected officials; schedule a meeting; conduct a successful meeting; and some do’s and don’ts when you are conducting your meeting. Although the most common way to meet with a legislator is to conduct a meeting at their district office, because of COVID-19, face-to-face meetings have mostly been cancelled.
However, a recent survey by the Congressional Management Foundation found that 23% of Congressional members have conducted an IN-PERSON tour of a facility. Inviting them on a tour of your property is a great way for them to understand your business and the challenges you are facing. Other alternative approaches to meet with your representatives include:
- Inviting the legislator to your virtual Chapter event
- Attending one of the legislator’s town halls or other scheduled events
- To find out when a legislator is conducting a town hall or other event, you can either call their office or they may have a list of monthly events on their website
Any questions? Please contact us at iremlegislation@irem.org
How to schedule a meeting
Here are a few tips to help you identify & contact your elected officials:
Who am I meeting with?
Our initiative is focused on engaging with your elected officials. By using our Legislator Lookup, you will be able to identify your federal, state, and even local representatives. All you have to do is input your name, email, address (home) and zip code.
Find your Legislator
Check the calendar
Before contacting your legislator’s office, be sure to check the session calendars to make sure they will be able to meet with you during your appointment.
Contact the legislator's office
Introduce yourself as a constituent, let them know you would like to meet with the legislator, and ask for the scheduler’s email address.
Send the scheduler a formal meeting request. You can use our sample letter or draft your own letter. If a meeting with a staffer is offered, we highly recommend accepting it. Staffers are the “eyes and ears” of their bosses and establishing rapport with them is extremely impactful.
Let the scheduler know you would like to introduce the legislator to IREM, our industry, and the issues important to the real estate management industry, like COVID relief, 1031’s and the National Flood Insurance Program. Providing more information in advance will help ensure you meet with the most appropriate staff and they will be able to better prepare, so be sure to include the leave behind materials in your request.
Follow up
Elected officials get thousands of requests each year, so call the office a week after submitting the request to confirm it was received. Once you have confirmed the meeting details, provide the scheduler a full list of attendees.
Let IREM know about your meeting
Once your meeting is confirmed, please email us at iremlegislation@irem.org with your meeting details.