Today I had a conversation with my Congressman, Republican David Trott. He represents the very gerrymandered 11th Congressional District of Michigan. This is not the first time I have met him, but it is the most important so far.
I was an invited guest at a local civic group lunch meeting where Congressman Trott was to be the speaker. The group is supposed to be non-partisan, but the room was stacked pretty well with the local Republican office holders and supporters. I’m a former member of the group. I left a few months ago and was shocked at the change toward partisanship. But I was still glad to be there.
I was given the opportunity to ask a question, and had prepared a statement in strong support of Planned Parenthood. I cited Michigan’s statistics, 20 clinics, 63,000 patients served, how many counties (21) have no other family planning service available to poor people if Planned Parenthood is not there. Because PP is a safety-net provider, they take anyone, regardless of their ability to pay. There are not other clinics available to the poorest Michigan citizens. I told him I didn’t need a response, I just wanted him to hear what I, as a constituent, had to say. We spoke again after the meeting and he said he too was skeptical when some of his more rigid colleagues said care would be available from other sources. I gave his aide a packet I had received from Planned Parenthood of Michigan PPMI with the statistics I had cited.
I have established a relationship with Congressman Trott. Not buddies, but cordial. He knows me by name. Turns out our children were classmates. He knows I am a Democrat who will say what she thinks. I hate just about every policy he supports, but any time I get a chance to put in a plug for women and children and Planned Parenthood, I’m going to take it.
There’s more to this story, though. I am an elected City Council member where I live. It’s non-partisan, but like I said it’s pretty well known that I’m a Democrat. The majority is held by Republicans. I ran against the Mayor two years ago and lost. I’m back this year to run for my 4-year Council seat.
It took a few tries at running, and with friends we knocked on something like 11,000 doors over two years. 3939 votes got me a seat on Council in 2013. Since then, I have been invited to events and meetings purely because I am an elected official. The first time I met Congressman Trott was in early 2015 when he held a coffee for local officials. I showed up. That time I talked about the ACA. We’ve met at a few events since, including last Monday when we honored a WWII veteran together. (That’s pretty cool to do).
I doubt if I changed the Congressman’s mind yesterday, but I also was speaking to the other people in the room. They heard me say that women and children and Planned Parenthood need to be supported. That burst the floodgates open. The next question came from a visitor who asked about Medicaid expansion, followed by a school official who asked about public education. Trott’s answer on that was some version of “Let’s see what changes Betsy DeVos wants to implement.” He was pretty candid though, that his colleagues across the country are getting bombarded with questions about DeVos. Make no mistake. The Resistance is working. And when asked by a local businessman about Trump’s erratic behavior, he pretty dryly stated “I wish he’d spend more time on Google, and less time on Twitter”.
What’s my point? The point is, RUN for local office. You can make changes where you live, and you get access to people in Congress and the State Houses. YOU can represent people who DON’T have that chance. I spend about 10 hours per week on my Council duties. I get paid a small amount (thank you taxpayers of my City). But since I was elected, I have been somewhat surprised at how many doors are opened just because I hold an office. It’s humbling, but it’s also a responsibility I take seriously. So yesterday I took the opportunity to speak up, in a place where poor women and children don’t usually have a voice.
There is still time to file for the races that are taking place this year- 2017 — but the deadlines are approaching (April 25 in Michigan). Give it a try, or support someone running in your area. Every seat should have a challenger from our team. It could be you.