Personal Political Power in California: How to Take Action & Make a Difference

Joel Blackwell worked fourteen years as a newspaper editor at the Miami Herald and Charlotte Observer. Tired of newspapers and hungry to find a way to participate in politics, he left journalism and set out to help organizations carry their political messages to the public, politicians, and media through consulting, keynote presentations, training sessions, video and seminars. He ran for the state legislature in North Carolina and that experience taught him about the love affair between voters and politicians, which resulted in this book. Known around the country as The Grass Roots Guy, he has worked in 47 states and lives in California just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. He often keynotes for groups of ordinary people who come together in a state capital or Washington DC to lobby. He creates educational videos, DVDs and web content that helps people understand what actions they must take to influence political outcomes. After helping them see how much power they can have, he often sits with them as they talk to members of Congress and state legislatures. The information in this book derives from those sessions with politicians, as many as 150 a year. Joel uses his experience as a reporter to find what works and what doesn’t, what politicians want from volunteer advocates and what they don’t. He has interviewed more than five hundred elected officials, local, state, and federal, asking them what works and how they want to be influenced. He also conducted focus groups in nine states asking association members, corporate executives, and others why they don’t write letters, make phone calls and give money to politicians. From this experience, he compiled the tips and techniques in this book, which is designed to empower people to get what they want from the California Assembly and Senate.