My Advice For What it is Worth
I enjoy the opportunity to provide these new members with my observations and the lessons learned during my time in the Legislature and my advice based on these experiences: for what it is worth.
A small subsection of my advice is as follows:
From day one, the legislator should cast votes in accordance with a clear set of consistently-applied criteria based on principle. Legislators cast 1,000 votes each year, and there's little more frustrating to a constituent than having a legislator who does not have a consistent, principle-based voting pattern and who votes against a measure the constituent supports while voting for other similar measures. The constituent may tend to be more forgiving if they can see that their legislator votes against all similar measures out of principle. Legislators who fail to apply a consistent criteria rightfully leave themselves open to speculation that they are voting under the influence of special interest as opposed to principle.
I am personally a big fan of using a checklist of criteria through which each proposed bill must pass in order to earn my vote. I suggest that all new members develop a similar checklist, based on their principles and values, to ensure their voting remains consistent from day one.
Never trade votes and don't change a vote after an arm-twisting session. Voting represents the foremost duty of the legislators and it's not one which should be taken lightly. Each vote must be based on a deliberation of the merits of the proposal and not on outside factors. Those who trade votes with other legislators seriously undercut the solemnity and great honor which has been provided by their constituency.
Likewise, new legislators sometimes make the mistake of changing their vote after being subjected to arm twisting by lobbyists or members of House leadership. Those who give in to this pressure early on are likely to experience intense arm twisting as a matter of course throughout their time in the Legislature: not a fun existence. Those who can explain the reasoning behind their vote and stand up to the pressure, may earn the short-term wrath of the arm twister, but will also earn his long-term respect. Better yet, word of the legislator's fortitude will quickly spread through the capitol and the legislator will drop to the bottom of the list when it's time to break arms. This makes one's tenure in the Legislature much more enjoyable.
Read the bills and avoid the nightlife! It's hard to explain the reasoning behind a vote when the bill hasn't been read. All too many legislators fail in this important responsibility. Freshman representatives are strongly courted by lobbyists and special interests to live the capitol city nightlife. It's a mistake to do so. This time would be much better spent reading the next day's bills and researching. Those freshmen who forgo the nightlife in favor of research are more strongly situated than their socializing peers. This seems counterintuitive as many place a high priority on the benefits of socialization, but in my view that type of socialization is greatly overrated and carries with it numerous liabilities.
Those who read the bills are looked up to and depended on by the other legislators as word quickly spreads that they are casting educated votes.
The new office holder should avoid the tempting habit of keeping score and must never retaliate. Just about every legislator experiences the pain of defeat on a consistent basis. It's all too easy for the legislator to keep a record of those who vote no to his proposals: if not in written form at least a mental recollection.
This is a mistake!
I have found that time moves extremely quickly in the legislative session. The pain of defeat is rapidly washed away by the emotion of subsequent events and a foe on an issue on Monday becomes a vital ally on another issue by Thursday. Those who retaliate in the heat of the moment risk turning a temporary defeat into a permanent wound and creating a lifelong opponent.
It's vital for the legislator to avoid even the appearance of keeping score; for example, it's a tradition for legislators, upon losing a vote, to approach the desk -- located at the front of the House floor -- to receive a print out of the vote. Those who voted "no" see the legislator receiving the tally sheet and worry that he is keeping score and will retaliate against them for not supporting the bill.
In my view, following a defeat, when possible, it's a best practice for the legislator to not even look at the vote. This alleviates the temptation to retaliate as the legislator doesn't know who to retaliate against.
Here's my most important piece of advice:
The use of the phrase "let me think about it" should become the new legislator's most utilized tool for dealing with the pressure which will inevitably come from lobbyists and legislative colleagues. Its use, or lack thereof, will determine if the legislator will become a pawn of others or remain true to his principles.
It won't take long before the new office holder will be approached by those who may press for immediate commitments before the lawmaker has time to realize the implications of his action.
As just one example: a lobbyist may ask the legislator to sponsor a bill. Unfortunately, the legislator may agree to sponsor the legislation at first request and before he can research the proposal. By the time he figures out what he has done, it's too late and he can't easily go back on his commitment to the lobbyist.
The new lawmaker now has to find a way to reconcile the bad proposal with his principles and his attempt to do so becomes his first compromise of principle. After that time, he will govern by an ever-growing, inconsistent universe of situational ethics that will eventually leave him not knowing the difference between up and down.
This is just one example of many when the phrase "let me think about it" will save the office holder from tremendous grief and conflict and allow him to think through his actions before he takes them.
Rarely is there an occasion in which the office holder must make an immediate decision and those who use the contrived need for immediacy to seek instant commitment are often attempting to play chess master to the pawn that is the new office holder.
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