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Women Shaping Policy with City Councillor Amanda Linehan
The first U.S. Presidential election was held in 1789.
Women were allowed to vote in 1920.
The U.S. has a woman in the White House in 2021.
Women make up 50.8% of the population, yet women still only hold 142 of the 535 seats in Congress (26.5%).
One woman who is bucking this trend is Malden, MA Ward 3 City Councillor, Amanda Linehan. In this episode, she shares her own journey into politics and how any of us can get involved in shaping policy.
You can find her at www.amandalinehan.org
Amanda's Ten Tips for Shaping Policy/Community Engagement:
VOTE!
The first sounds so basic, but it is simply to vote. If you aren’t registered to vote, do so now! And if you are already, then a great idea is to help OTHERS register to vote at a voter registration drive.
VOLUNTEER!
Get connected to your city’s democrats (or republicans) or advocacy groups like Our Revolution, a rail trail organization or running club or arts group. There’s also mutual aid groups and places that serve meals or deliver groceries to neighbors with food insecurity. Houses of worship are often great vectors for making these types of connections, but so is simply reaching out to your local senior center or council on aging. They will be able to hook you up with service organizations that help the isolated, the unhoused, and you could find real joy in delivering turkeys at Thanksgiving or cooking for your area’s shelter or warming center.
JOIN A CAMPAIGN!
Volunteer for a local campaign. They really do love folks with zero experience but a passion for their community, and there are always jobs for a variety of time commitments. I used to ask for walking routes that could be done with a stroller and only within a certain distance of home when I was canvassing with a potty-training toddler, and those one or two hour shifts over the course of a summer campaign were deeply appreciated.
WRITE TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!
Write to an elected official and ask to get coffee or do a zoom. You’d be surprised how often they will say yes. I always do! You can also easily look up your representatives in your state house and congress and send their office a letter or call. They track everything and you can find out everyone who represents you at a site like vote.org or likely your city or town’s website and clerk’s office.
WATCH A MEETING!
Now that things are recorded, stream a local meeting at your convenience and find an issue you are passionate about, then email the mayor or sponsor of that legislation and ask to be added to their mailing list. Or send a letter of support (or against!) a key issue as a starting point, then work up to testifying at a public meeting. The key is to inform yourself by attending, watching later, and reading the local news coverage.
JOIN A NON-PROFIT BOARD!
Join a non-profit board. Many of them recruit by word of mouth and are often looking for diversity in ways you may not have considered, for example by age or hometown or professional skill set, so don’t assume their criteria are obvious and don’t be afraid to express an interest in board service if you attend an event held by a really great organization. This was a great stepping stone for me and once I was affiliated with one, other folks heard about me when they were looking for someone from Malden or who works in Communications or who is passionate about affordable housing for their board.
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS!
Engage in ways that play on your strengths and skill set. Do you like talking on the phone? Candidates and causes always need phone bankers, and often you can do this from home! Gregarious and like talking to people? Volunteer to knock doors or hold signs at the polls on election day. Are you great at fundraising, social media, writing, graphic design or planning fun events? Those skills are ALWAYS in demand by candidates and community organizations, and often the same local volunteers are tapped over and over for those roles.
SEEK OUT FUN COMMUNITY EVENTS!
Come to a fun eve
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By Yinh KieferThe first U.S. Presidential election was held in 1789.
Women were allowed to vote in 1920.
The U.S. has a woman in the White House in 2021.
Women make up 50.8% of the population, yet women still only hold 142 of the 535 seats in Congress (26.5%).
One woman who is bucking this trend is Malden, MA Ward 3 City Councillor, Amanda Linehan. In this episode, she shares her own journey into politics and how any of us can get involved in shaping policy.
You can find her at www.amandalinehan.org
Amanda's Ten Tips for Shaping Policy/Community Engagement:
VOTE!
The first sounds so basic, but it is simply to vote. If you aren’t registered to vote, do so now! And if you are already, then a great idea is to help OTHERS register to vote at a voter registration drive.
VOLUNTEER!
Get connected to your city’s democrats (or republicans) or advocacy groups like Our Revolution, a rail trail organization or running club or arts group. There’s also mutual aid groups and places that serve meals or deliver groceries to neighbors with food insecurity. Houses of worship are often great vectors for making these types of connections, but so is simply reaching out to your local senior center or council on aging. They will be able to hook you up with service organizations that help the isolated, the unhoused, and you could find real joy in delivering turkeys at Thanksgiving or cooking for your area’s shelter or warming center.
JOIN A CAMPAIGN!
Volunteer for a local campaign. They really do love folks with zero experience but a passion for their community, and there are always jobs for a variety of time commitments. I used to ask for walking routes that could be done with a stroller and only within a certain distance of home when I was canvassing with a potty-training toddler, and those one or two hour shifts over the course of a summer campaign were deeply appreciated.
WRITE TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!
Write to an elected official and ask to get coffee or do a zoom. You’d be surprised how often they will say yes. I always do! You can also easily look up your representatives in your state house and congress and send their office a letter or call. They track everything and you can find out everyone who represents you at a site like vote.org or likely your city or town’s website and clerk’s office.
WATCH A MEETING!
Now that things are recorded, stream a local meeting at your convenience and find an issue you are passionate about, then email the mayor or sponsor of that legislation and ask to be added to their mailing list. Or send a letter of support (or against!) a key issue as a starting point, then work up to testifying at a public meeting. The key is to inform yourself by attending, watching later, and reading the local news coverage.
JOIN A NON-PROFIT BOARD!
Join a non-profit board. Many of them recruit by word of mouth and are often looking for diversity in ways you may not have considered, for example by age or hometown or professional skill set, so don’t assume their criteria are obvious and don’t be afraid to express an interest in board service if you attend an event held by a really great organization. This was a great stepping stone for me and once I was affiliated with one, other folks heard about me when they were looking for someone from Malden or who works in Communications or who is passionate about affordable housing for their board.
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS!
Engage in ways that play on your strengths and skill set. Do you like talking on the phone? Candidates and causes always need phone bankers, and often you can do this from home! Gregarious and like talking to people? Volunteer to knock doors or hold signs at the polls on election day. Are you great at fundraising, social media, writing, graphic design or planning fun events? Those skills are ALWAYS in demand by candidates and community organizations, and often the same local volunteers are tapped over and over for those roles.
SEEK OUT FUN COMMUNITY EVENTS!
Come to a fun eve