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Home >> Hometown Voices >> Hometown Voices

Hometown Voices

Welcome to "Hometown Voices"
The League Needs Your Voice
Our Mission
The Time is Now
Tools for Success
How to Get Involved


Welcome to "Hometown Voices"

"Hometown Voices" is the League of Oregon Cities grassroots advocacy program. What is grassroots advocacy? For the purpose of Hometown Voices it means effectively organizing League members, citizens, and key stakeholders (local leaders, chambers of commerce and neighborhood associations) statewide to speak with a unified voice on issues that matter to Oregon communities.

The League Needs Your Voice

Special interest groups are out in force, advocating for what they want and getting commitments early. Money, in the form of campaign contributions, is a constant in the political process. City contributions in dollars are zero, but your contribution through Hometown Voices will make a difference.

As leaders of the government closest to citizens, you know best what your community needs. Cities are strongest when they speak with a unified voice at the local level through you, the Leagues members and your citizens. You have the ability to show legislators how the decisions they make in Salem impact your community.

The success of Hometown Voices relies on your participation. No city is too small to make a difference. Together we can strengthen the voice of cities, promote local democracy, and keep our local services strong.

Our Mission

The mission of Hometown Voices is to achieve success in the Legislature by communicating the value and importance of city issues with legislators and candidates at home in their districts. Hometown Voices represents the recognition that no city or the League alone can accomplish our mission.

Increasingly, cities are facing attempts to preempt local revenue raising authority, raid state share revenues, and limit the ability of cities to manage their affairs. This is compounded by the constraints of the double majority requirement and the crippling effects of Measures 5, 47, and 50.

As cities continue to be challenged in the months and years ahead, Hometown Voices needs you. During a legislative session or when a key federal issue arises, the program will enable cities to quickly respond with a unified voice.

By mobilizing League members, we will work together to accomplish our mission, build on the Leagues strong legislative program and ensure the voice of cities is heard.

The Time is Now

A growing drain on local, federal and state resources, pressure from special interest groups and high turnover in the Legislature are just a few of the reasons why it is critical that legislators and candidates understand how cities work and are vested in local-decision-making. Cities need to build relationships with legislators and candidates at home before they get to Salem.

It is particularly important that you focus on candidates and new legislators. Most will not have experience with how a local budget works or how cities make decisions. You need to become a valuable resource for them. Whether they win the election or not, they will continue to be a part of your community and may become a future elected official and ally.

At the same time, it is important that you build relationships with incumbent legislators. Even if they have not supported city issues in the past, over time you can establish a good working relationship and mutual respect.

June and July in a non-legislative year are the ideal months to meet with legislators and candidates. August and September are when campaigns typically begin to ramp-up and by October they are in full swing.

Special interest groups are already working to get commitments. It is critical that you get a commitment now from candidates and legislators to work with you.

Once legislators get to Salem they will be pulled in many directions. The foundation of a good relationship and open lines of communication should be established early. Once a relationship is established, you should continue to communicate with legislators on a regular basis. Your ability to become a credible, knowledgeable and valuable resource relies on the relationships you build.

Every contact you make with a legislator or candidate; every time you partner with a business or neighborhood association ; and every event or activity that builds a relationship or educates someone about the important role your city plays in your community- these efforts are not small. Together they represent the success of Hometown Voices.

Hometown Strategy

What happens in your city matters. The basic elements of Hometown Voices are simple and build on the idea that all politics are local. We will succeed using a three part strategy: delivering a coordinated message on city issues, establishing key partnerships, and ensuring that the League hears about what is going on in your community.

Delivering a Coordinated Message

Just as the ability of a candidate to effectively deliver a consistent and coordinated message is at the core of a winning campaign, it is at the heart of a successful grassroots advocacy program.

While we celebrate the unique character, challenges and priorities of each city, we recognize that cities are strongest when they speak with a unified voice. However, a consistent and coordinated message does not mean that cities should deliver an identical message. It is important that you use information and examples from your city to illustrate key messages and whenever possible, personalize these messages by telling your city's story.

Hometown Voices will provide you with tools to effectively deliver a coordinated message about the fundamental role of cities, the League's legislative priorities and other issues as they arise.

Key Partnerships

Cities understand the value of fostering key partnerships with local, state and federal stakeholders. Key partners are people and organizations that care about and are vested in your community. They include citizens, other city officials, chambers of commerce, local leaders, other government agencies and many other people or organizations that you work with on a daily basis. Think about who these people are in your community.

Your ability to work with these stakeholders shapes the quality of life and unique characteristics of your community, and ultimately our state. These individuals and organizations also have the ear of legislators, candidates, and other key elected officials.

The most effective way for the League and cities to deliver a coordinated message and influence legislative outcomes, is to develop relationships with these stakeholders and build effective coalitions.

In addition to current city officials, the League will work to involve former city leaders and staff, existing regional organizations and other key local and statewide partners.

Feedback is Essential

The League needs you to be the eyes and ears of Hometown Voices, talking with legislators, candidates and other key leaders about what is important to your community, and relaying information back to the League. This feedback helps the League effectively represent cities with the Legislature.

We need to hear from you when you learn something valuable through an interaction (formally or informally) with a legislator, candidate or other key leaders. Examples of these interactions include: inviting a legislator to a city council meeting; talking with a local business owner at a chamber of commerce function; or attending a regional coalition meeting. Other important feedback can come from activities organized by your city that legislators, candidates, or other key leaders attend.

The Hometown Voices web page will have quick and easy ways for you to tell the League when you have scheduled an activity, event, face-to-face meeting or want to communicate information that will enhance the League's advocacy efforts and our ability to serve cities. You can always contact the League directly.

Tools for Success

Four main resources will work together to deliver a consistent and coordinated message to legislators, candidates, citizens and other key partners. These tools will make it easy for cities to participate in Hometown Voices.

Hometown Voices Web Page

This web page is a main resource and communication channel for the program. It will give you immediate access to the tools and information you need including: how to participate in Hometown Voices; contacts information; tips for communicating with the media and key elected officials; and current information on priority issues.

"Hometown Voices: Wise Choices" Brochure

Through informal statewide research, the League worked to craft a series of messages that communicate the importance of cities. These are articulated in an educational brochure that you will present in face-to-face meetings with legislators, candidates and key local, state, and federal stakeholders.

This user guide takes you through the brochure section-by-section and suggests examples that will communicate the important role your city plays in your community. You will use the brochure to tell your city's story.

Under the "Resources" section of this web page you will find a "Sample City Fact Sheet". The fact sheet is designed to enable a city to take the general financial information and services discussed in the brochure and customize the information for their city. This will allow cities to supplement the brochure with specific information about their community.

Hometown Voices User Guide

This user guide provides an overview of the program and its resources. It includes guidance on how to use the "Hometown Voices: Wise Choices" brochure, and explains the components of the web page. In addition, the guide provides tips for communicating with the media and other elected officials. It can be downloaded under the Premium section of this web page.

League Resources

The League will work with you to ensure that you have the support you need to become involved in our advocacy efforts. In addition to this user guide, the brochure, and the web page, the League will bring resources directly to cities through one-on-one visits with city officials. As the program evolves, the web page and resources will be adapted to meet the needs of cities and your citizens.

How Your City Can Get Involved

We are calling on you to lay the foundation for continued success on city issues in the future. As a city official, your involvement will make Hometown Voices a success. Hometown Voices will provide you with the tools and resources you need to make the most effective use of your time and contributions to the program. Hometown Voices is designed to make it easy for you to start today.

Role of Elected Official

Your ability to communicate "from elected official to elected official" is a powerful tool because you represent the same constituents. As a respected local leader, you are a vital link to other influential leaders. As a mayor or councilor you also have a unique ability to endorse and financially support legislators and candidates.

In addition to your primary role in Hometown Voices you play a critical role in the program by holding statewide elected officials accountable at home for the decisions they make that impact your community and shared constituents

Role of City Staff

As the people with expertise and knowledge who are responsible for day-to-day operations of the city, you are a vital resource.

In addition to your shared role with elected city officials, you play an essential role in Hometown Voices by:
  		• Being a key communication link to follow-through when the League calls on an elected official or city staff to make a contact or assist with an activity or event
  		• Ensuring feedback on an activity, event or interaction with legislators, candidates or key local, state, and federal partners is communicated to the League


    As an elected official or city staff, your primary role is the same:

  		• Build relationships with legislators, candidates and key local, state, and federal partners
  		• Be a credible, knowledgeable and valuable resource on your community
  		• Communicate often and early with legislators and candidates about issues that are important to your community
  		• Educate legislators, candidates, citizens and other key stakeholders about the important role your city plays in your community
  		• One-on-one interaction is one of the most effective tools you have to build relationships and communicate with legislators, candidates and other key community leaders
  		• Meet with citizens and key local, state and federal stakeholders on a regular basis to maintain relationships, keep lines of communication open, and build effective coalitions
  		• Participate in Hometown Voices activities and events
  		• Support a consistent and coordinated message on city issues with examples and stories about your community
  		• Provide feedback to the League
  		• Respond quickly to the League's Action Alerts by calling, writing or sending an e-mail when there is an urgent issue to communicate to a legislator, candidate, or Oregon's congressional delegation
  		• Visit the Hometown Voices web page regularly
  		• Become a Hometown Coordinator


    Elected officials and city staff can also participate by becoming a "Hometown Coordinator". The League will establish a network of Hometown Coordinators in each city throughout the state. Hometown Coordinators will be a primary contact to help organize activities, events and communicate with legislators, candidates, other city officials and key leaders as needed on priority issues. Hometown Coordinators will play an essential role in the success of the program.

    As Hometown Voices evolves, the League will call on you to participate and provide you with the resources you need. Visit the "I Want to Participate" section of this web page to tell the League how you would like to join our advocacy efforts.




    League of Oregon Cities
    1201 Court St. NE   •    Salem, OR 97301
     800-452-0338   •    503-588-6550
    Fax: 503-399-4863
    loc@orcities.org


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