Everyday folks call, email and visiting lawmakers before end of legislative session. (Oklahoma Gazette)
Andy Moore was fed up with dreary headlines about the state’s financial mess. Articles covering the revenue shortfall and its impact on state agencies and school districts that are now facing massive budget cuts frustrated the Oklahoma City resident and father of two young children.
May 4, 2016
By Laura Eastes
Andy Moore was fed up with dreary headlines about the state’s financial mess. Articles covering the revenue shortfall and its impact on state agencies and school districts that are now facing massive budget cuts frustrated the Oklahoma City resident and father of two young children.
Like many, Moore logged on to Facebook to share his irritation with friends and family members; however, that action didn’t prompt any change.
About a month ago, Moore jokingly suggested to friends they take a day off work to visit the state Capitol to talk with lawmakers about the $1.3 billion budget hole and funding issues regarding core government services.
His idea was met with enthusiasm, which surprised Moore, who never considered himself politically active but rather politically interested.
A public Facebook page, Let’s Fix This: A Day at the Capitol for Regular Folks Who Care, was created with an event date set for April 27. The man who never attended a political rally had organized a nonpartisan, multi-issue day of advocacy at the Capitol.
“We all have a dog in this fight,” Moore said at the inaugural event. “We are all Oklahomans, and we all care.”
Moore’s movement centered on everyday folks from all walks of life who hold different political opinions coming to the Capitol and advocating for their passions. Moore has concerns about funding cuts to schools, mental health and roads but acknowledged others worried about health, human services and public safety. Wearing red “let’s fix this” buttons, citizens from across the state spoke with lawmakers and advocated for a better Oklahoma.
Together Oklahoma
Thousands of Oklahomans visit the “People’s House” annually; however, many visit for rallies on specific legislation, pressing issues or advocating for a single entity.
Founded on the notion that “Oklahoma’s future depends on our essential public services — we need safe communities, a strong infrastructure and environment, and great schools to keep this state attractive to business and a great place to live” four years ago, Together Oklahoma brought a wave of citizen lobbyists to the Capitol.
Together Oklahoma is a coalition of citizens working to connect the state’s values to the state’s budget priorities. Oklahoma Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, staffs and funds Together Oklahoma, which also encourages coalition members to call, write and visit with lawmakers.
During this session and in the wake of Oklahoma’s economic crisis, much of Together Oklahoma’s message centered on creating new revenues to close next year’s budget gap, said David Blatt, Oklahoma Policy Institute executive director.
“We appreciate the citizens that are getting involved, engaged and helping to put solutions out there,” Blatt said. “If lawmakers wouldn’t do the hard things — in particular roll back the tax cuts, tax breaks and increase taxes — if they aren’t willing to do that in this situation, the outcome will be really bad for the people of this state and a really bad outcome for elected officials.”
Coalition members campaign on three suggestions: roll back the most recent income tax credit, end tax breaks and tax loop holes and enact selective tax increases. The group endorses increasing the cigarette tax rate by $1.50 per pack to support state health agencies. Additionally, raising fuel tax by five cents would bring $135 million into state coffers.
The proposed solutions aren’t unique to Together Oklahoma or Oklahoma Policy Institute. Republican lawmakers and the Oklahoma Hospital Association also spoke in favor of the cigarette tax proposition. In February, Gov. Mary Fallin called for an end to the personal income tax double deduction, which only benefits the state’s high earners who itemize deductions.
Efforts on budget solutions appear stalled to Blatt and Moore, which is why they push for citizen engagement.
It is a critical time for citizens to make their cases to lawmakers. Lawmakers must pass a state budget for the coming fiscal year before adjourning the regular session. The final day of session, called sine die, is May 27.
“Everyone agrees something needs to be done and new revenue is part of the solution, but [lawmakers] can’t agree on what the new revenue should be,” Blatt said. “They can’t come together. We really are seeing a leadership crisis.”
Social media
Blatt said Oklahoma Policy Institute and Together Oklahoma are witnessing record numbers in web traffic and social media interactions. He believes the spike is spurred by the state’s current financial woes.
“People are really freaked out about what’s happening,” Blatt said, “or what could happen if legislators don’t fix this.”
Together Oklahoma created the website dosomethingok.org and generated the social media hashtag #DoSomethingOK. Testimonials of funding cuts impacting everyday Oklahomans are published on the website.
A lawmaker locator and talking points also are accessible from the site. Putting the crisis in perspective is a variety of short, humorous videos.
The state’s budget crisis is a disheartening subject. Together Oklahoma staff strive not to discourage people with the facts they present. Rather, they encourage people who have concerns and frustrations to become part of the solution by writing legislators, visiting the Capitol and speaking with peers about the issues.
Social media also was the driving force in Moore’s Let’s Fix This campaign. He expected about a dozen people to join him. Instead, around 70 people participated in the inaugural event
Moore connected with lawmakers through Facebook to explain the event and ask for their help. Could they share advice for approaching elected officials? Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City; Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City; Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore; and Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, spoke during the April 27 meeting.
Citizen lobbyists
“One of the things I’ve learned over the past two and a half years is there are not enough people engaged,” Bice said as she addressed the crowd.
The state senator stressed that lawmakers are everyday folks who want to hear from constituents. Letters, emails, phone calls and visits aren’t unnoticed, Bice said.
Six Let’s Fix This advocates visited Munson’s office. The freshman lawmaker said she found it encouraging that both Republicans and Democrats spoke of similar funding concerns during their visits.
“To have people share their everyday stories about how the budget impacts them, that is powerful for elected individuals,” Munson said. “We have to remember that we are making decisions on people’s lives.”
The Let’s Fix This movement continues through its presence on social media. There’s a good chance the group will soon be back at the Capitol. In the meantime, it continues advocating for a better Oklahoma.
“I’ve heard so many people say they haven’t been politically active, but by someone saying, ‘Hey, we are just regular folks,’ that was the piece that keyed them into getting involved,” Moore said.
Like Moore, Blatt believes there is still time for lawmakers to pursue new revenue streams for the coming year’s budget, which begins July 1, and not pass a budget with dire cuts to core services. However, lawmakers’ lack of action during the first 13 weeks of session paints an ominous picture.
“At this point, I don’t think anyone knows how this will end,” Blatt said. “I don’t think any of the scripts have a good ending. … We can’t fix all of our problems. Even if the price of oil doubled, there are still major budget challenges. There is no great ending. There is worse and there is catastrophic.”
Voters Confront Lawmakers On State Budget (News9)
OKLAHOMA CITY - Dozens of people, fed up with the budget cuts, spoke with lawmakers Wednesday, as part of a grass-roots effort to get Oklahomans more involved in politics - an effort that started just three weeks ago.
April 27, 2016
By Aaron Brilbeck
OKLAHOMA CITY - Dozens of people, fed up with the budget cuts, spoke with lawmakers Wednesday, as part of a grass-roots effort to get Oklahomans more involved in politics - an effort that started just three weeks ago.
Debbi Childers works with children who have mental disabilities. Without her services, she says, many of her clients will wind up in prison or dead. The state has already cut funding to the company she works for, making it hard to find good help.
“I mean anybody can go get a job at McDonald’s and make more than they can working with these clients,” said Childers.
Politicians admit they get away with it because no one stops them.
“It’s because the citizens of Oklahoma have been absent from the Capitol, legislators have been able to carry out deeds that have damaged this state not just for this year they’ve damaged this state for a generation,” said Representative Mike Shelton (D) – District 97.
Andy Moore organized the effort that he’s calling “Let’s Fix This”.
“My heart ached for the state like everybody else. So, I made a Facebook event and invited my friends expecting there would be ten people show up. And the next morning, I had over a hundred that had said they’re interested,” said Moore.
Moore isn’t a lobbyist or someone who works with special interest group. He said he’s just a regular guy and a voter who’s fed up with the way things are run here at the Capitol.
“Today, we are all lobbyists for our own cause. We the public are may be the most special interest,” said Moore. “We all get a vote, and decisions are made by people who show up.”
http://www.news9.com/story/31834445/voters-confront-lawmakers-on-state-budget
Press Release: New Political Movement Encourages Citizens to Speak Up
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 26, 2016) — This Wednesday, April 27 2016, a nonpartisan gathering of citizens is occurring at the state Capitol, organized by Oklahoma resident Andy Moore. “Let’s Fix This” aims to give people a voice with their legislators amid concerns over the state budget crisis.
New Political Movement Encourages Citizens to Speak Up
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 26, 2016) — This Wednesday, April 27 2016, a nonpartisan gathering of citizens is occurring at the state Capitol, organized by Oklahoma resident Andy Moore. “Let’s Fix This” aims to give people a voice with their legislators amid concerns over the state budget crisis.
Room 412A on the fourth floor of the Capitol has been secured on Wednesday thanks to Representative Jason Dunnington and his staff from 8:30am-9:30am and again from 12:30pm-1:15pm. Donuts, coffee, and bagels will be provided
“This is a day for us regular folks who care about our state and our communities to take some time off of work and actually meet face-to-face with our state legislators about the state budget crisis. We've all been complaining about stuff on social media long enough; now let's have the conversations in person.” said Moore. “The state may be broke, but we are not broken - there are a lot of totally reasonable, common-sense solutions for increasing revenue available. We just need to encourage our lawmakers toward them.”
The movement began with a simple thought from Moore that if enough people felt encouraged to visit with their legislators, potentially some positive changes would occur in policies and budget solutions. After creating a Facebook event one evening and inviting his friends, Moore witnessed the interest in the event skyrocket to nearly 600 people with at least 200 pledging to come. The event stirred the interest of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a nonpartisan policy think tank, which further increased enthusiasm from the public.
Moore stresses that the event isn't a rally but rather a group outing, especially helpful for those who've never been to the Capitol before or who don't feel comfortable speaking to their representatives. Attendees to the event can expect "a bunch of regular folks just like you, who care deeply for the future of this great state" says Moore. "You can expect to meet some new people, it'll be relaxed and fun." If nothing else, Moore hopes that this movement will inspire more active participation from the public in politics.
For more information on Let’s Fix This, visit the facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/194682834247316/
Let’s Fix This or at Least Do Something, OK? (WAFTI Show podcast)
Andy Moore (Let's Fix This) and David Blatt (Oklahoma Policy Institute) join us in studio to discuss "Let's Fix This: A Day at the Capitol for Regular Folks,” a grassroots effort to get people engaged in the political process, to band together and advocate for the common-sense changes we need to get our state economy back on the right track.
Andy Moore (Let's Fix This) and David Blatt (Oklahoma Policy Institute) join us in studio to discuss "Let's Fix This: A Day at the Capitol for Regular Folks,” a grassroots effort to get people engaged in the political process, to band together and advocate for the common-sense changes we need to get our state economy back on the right track.