The Towncats (Tucson Alumni Club) were pleased to welcome our local legislators to our Holiday Mixer, held at Old Pueblo Grille. From left to right, Karen Kamp, former Rep. Ted Downing, Rep. Olivia Cajero-Bedford, then Senator Gabrielle Giffords, Eleanor Bauwens, and Rep. Dave Bradley

Legislative Advocacy: How Tough Can It Be?

Not that difficult, as it turns out. At least that's what the members of the University of Arizona previous Tucson Alumni Club (Towncats) discovered when we decided to make some serious attempts of our own to be effective UA "Advocats". My name is Karen Kamp. The Tucson Alumni Club had long supported the concept of legislative advocacy. Several club board members had faithfully attended Pride Night each year. And Eleanor Bauwens had served for several years as our Legislative Advocacy Committee Chair, as well as our liaison with the UA State Relations Office. For several years, Eleanor had also attended the UA AdvoCATS Training Session hosted by the UA State Relations Office. But we wanted to do more; to make some real progress when it came to making meaningful contact with our state legislators. So we decided to take some steps to improve our relationships with our state senators and representatives.

After the election in November, Eleanor and I took the first steps towards making those connections. She and I composed a note that we sent to all new and returning legislators. In the note, we introduced ourselves and the alumni club. We also congratulated them on their election, or re-election, as appropriate. Finally, we asked them for their support in the state legislature on bills and appropriations that would impact the financial well-being of the University of Arizona.

Later in the month, Eleanor and I attended a legislative advocacy tea, hosted by a Tucson alumna at her home. The event was attended by several local legislators and it gave us a great opportunity to meet and talk with them about upcoming legislation and the importance of their support of the U of A.

Meanwhile, our club board of directors was planning a Holiday Mixer/Legislative Advocacy event for the December timeframe. We had decided to invite a wide variety of alumni and supporters of the U of A. We issued invitations to local alums, past scholarship winners, members of the National Alumni Board, Alumni Association staff, and once again, to our local legislators. Eleanor and I put together a personal note that invited each local legislator to attend.

We held our Holiday Mixer/Legislative Advocacy event at Old Pueblo Grille. The event was a great success. It was attended by over 50 people, including four of our local legislators. In attendance were: then Senator Gabrielle Giffords (District 28), Representative David Bradley (District 28), former Representative Ted Downing (District 28), and Representative Olivia Cajero Bedford (District 27). During the event, I introduced each legislator to the group and at that time, they each spoke briefly, telling us who they were and who they represented, as well as expressing their support for the U of A.

Finally, in February several members of our board attended the Legislative Advocacy Pride Night, at the Civic Plaza at Symphony Hall in Phoenix. Once again, we were able to meet with the legislators from our districts and express requests for their support of the U of A. This was a very well-planned, enjoyable event, as well as a great venue for meaningful interaction between legislators and their constituents.

But that's just part of the story. Not everyone can plan or attend events. But most everyone can make the effort to contact their legislators by phone, letter, or e-mail. And the members of the Tucson Alumni Club board did just that. Eleanor kept the board informed of legislative advocacy alerts sent by the State Relations Office. At board meetings, we kept the board informed of current legislative activity and continually encouraged board members to contact their senators and representatives on all legislation that affected UA funding. At several meetings, board members shared with each other the actions they had taken and the positive responses they had received from the legislators they had contacted.

Karen Kamp, past President - Tucson Alumni Club (Towncats)