View Full Version : Easy way to contact MD lawmakers about the stadium (now with talking points)
merrybee
12 Mar 2009, 01:10 PM
All I got was an out of office response from one state legislator.
Me too.
MattMathai
12 Mar 2009, 01:27 PM
Me too.
I got a sign-o-matic form letter response thanking me for my support of the bill and saying how valuable my voice is. My views will apparently be considered when the bill is considered. I feel special.
I am, however, a konstityooent.
Sundevil9
12 Mar 2009, 02:08 PM
I got a sign-o-matic form letter response thanking me for my support of the bill and saying how valuable my voice is. My views will apparently be considered when the bill is considered. I feel special.
I just got a jpeg of a sign-o-matic form letter response.:rolleyes:
I think folks need to keep in mind a few things.
Maryland isn't a full time legislature, and average legislator receives roughly $35,000 in compensation per year. This usually means they have other jobs.
Not every state legislator has an extensive staff, and that often auto-responders are the best they can do if they don't have the staff to answer each email individually.
Not that we all don't deserve actual responses of course. ;)
Also, sometimes auto-responders will be used as stop-gap measures until a legislator has formulated a position. I've received mutiple replies from a single email.
merrybee
12 Mar 2009, 02:28 PM
I think folks need to keep in mind a few things.
Maryland isn't a full time legislature, and average legislator receives roughly $35,000 in compensation per year. This usually means they have other jobs.
Not every state legislator has an extensive staff, and that often auto-responders are the best they can do if they don't have the staff to answer each email individually.
Not that we all don't deserve actual responses of course. ;)
Also, sometimes auto-responders will be used as stop-gap measures until a legislator has formulated a position. I've received mutiple replies from a single email.
I don't necessarily disapprove of autoresponders. That one that was quoted (too lazy to look at which one it was) was quite detailed and well thought out. I also enjoyed his acknowledgment that it was a form letter, and his apology/explanation for why this was necessary. The whole thing was done well, I thought.
And I just got the .jpg of the dead tree response.
scruggs45
12 Mar 2009, 02:29 PM
Not every state legislator has an extensive staff, and that often auto-responders are the best they can do if they don't have the staff to answer each email individually.
or they could just put a moose outside the building.
the moose could tell people if their office is either open or closed
Sundevil9
12 Mar 2009, 02:36 PM
or they could just put a moose outside the building.
the moose could tell people if their office is either open or closed
http://slog.cstv.com/extrainnings/JohnCandyVacation.jpg
"Sorry folks, the office is closed, the moose out front should have told you"
elconejito
12 Mar 2009, 06:00 PM
I just got a jpeg of a sign-o-matic form letter response.:rolleyes:
I got one today as well. I also received one out-of-office, and one other response for a total of 3 responses.
Jester64
12 Mar 2009, 08:54 PM
I received 5 auto responses within 30 minutes, including the well conceived response from Thomas Dernoga. One was a "mail box is full" error, so there's at least one mailbox overstuffed.
fairfax4dc
12 Mar 2009, 08:55 PM
I just got my letters to the Senate committee out. Don't be discouraged by lack of response. In the crush of work during the Assembly letters will sometimes just get counted, for and against. To give some context, in the Virginia General Assembly each year about 2,000 bills are introduced, each one having to be considered during a session that lasts about eight weeks. Each legislator has one staff person. So keep those messages coming.
NattyBo
13 Mar 2009, 08:22 AM
Keep it up!!
Thousands of e-mails from D.C. United fans crash state leaders' servers (http://www.gazette.net/stories/03122009/prinnew143513_32509.shtml)
D.C. United President Kevin Payne's plea to soccer fans this week to contact Maryland's lawmakers in support of a proposed $195 million stadium in Prince George's County has prompted one of the largest legislative e-mail campaigns in years.
"Don't take anything for granted," Payne wrote on the Web site for professional soccer team D.C. United, which wants to leave its current home at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. "Call or e-mail today, if you care about your team!"
Within hours of his request, e-mails began to flood Annapolis from around the world. Team officials say legislators received more than 28,000 missives that were sent through D.C. United's site, and lawmakers said servers crashed because of the volume.
28,000 emails. Awesome!!
seahawkdad
13 Mar 2009, 09:59 AM
From the same Business Gazette article:
Hicks said the team doesn't plan to take down the plea for fan support but said the flood of e-mails already is subsiding.
This coupled with the expression of exasperation that there were 'foreign' e-mails and not constituents', indicate that this is a good time for a second set of e-mails (or, better yet, letters) written by any constituents of these legislators.
If letters, they need to sent out immediately.
CHICO13
13 Mar 2009, 10:06 AM
The Barra Brava will be providing free transportation to the meeting on Tuesday. Check the Barra forum for details....
stang217
13 Mar 2009, 01:49 PM
hey vaginas... i wrote this for you guys... all us NYer's aren't to bad. Good luck... I sent it to both governors
As a New Yorker, I'm a big Yankee fan. If the hated Boston Redsox ceased to exsist or were forced to move, it would really change the face of the MLB. Even though on the field as a New York Redbull supporter I despise D.C. United and their legions of fans, I still would like them around with their own stadium. I have to say they have a huge following with a loyal support group. I will swallow my New York pride and say that if D.C. United wasn't part of Major League Soccer and didn't get this stadium, the MLS wouldn't be the same. Between NY and DC you already have a healthy rilvary between two of the largest cities on the East Coast. In time this will surely become an epic rilvary as the "Worlds Game" grows in the states. I go down every year with my friends and family to D.C. for a couple of days to support the RedBulls when they are playing our rivals.
I thank you for your time on reading this letter. Please consider the impact on the MLS and on D.C. if this team isn't able to have a soccer specific stadium.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/stang217/headbang.gif
CHICO13
13 Mar 2009, 01:53 PM
hey vaginas... i wrote this for you guys... all us NYer's aren't to bad. Good luck... I sent it to both governors
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/stang217/headbang.gif
Thanks. You forgot to mention the part where your 84 Camaro usually breaks down on the freeway and you would be spending large sums of cash on the local tow companies and garages. :D
stang217
13 Mar 2009, 02:02 PM
i drive a Mustang:cool: ... but i'm sure the Maryland State police wouldn't hesitate to pull over an obnoxiously loud yellow Mustang with NY plates haha
RFK224
13 Mar 2009, 02:03 PM
My messge was returned "mailbox full". Will try again later. Good job everybody!
fairfax4dc
13 Mar 2009, 06:11 PM
Keep those messages coming! Be sure to commit to attending as many or more games at a PG site as you do now. For legisators to approve this they need to justify it on the basis of economic development. We want to give them plenty of messages from fans who are strongly supportive of a PG site and willing to spend their money there. In reality the great majority of Maryland residents don't give a damn one way or the other, so we need to give legislators plenty of justification to support it based on the short-term revenue generation and the long-term economic development potential.
And, as always, keep messages positive and factual.
Islanders4Ever
13 Mar 2009, 10:51 PM
I did the e-mail rounds. Received 4 responses:
1) Personalized e-mail saying that representative has head from many DC, VA, and International fans but not a single MD constituent
2) Semi-personalized e-mail saying that the representative was still undecided as no one has presented how the new stadium was profitable, etc
3) Semi-personalized e-mail thanking me for the e-mail and saying the representative was still weighing the options
4) General e-mail saying thank you for writing regarding HR bill.....
Marco10
13 Mar 2009, 11:51 PM
I am a Maryland constituent and have emailed and sent letters to virtually every legislator involved in the process. The vast majority of the responses I have received are positive or at least not negative. Guy Guzzone on the appropriations committee is even my representative from my district and he has been receptive to what I've had to say to him. He's been to my house. He knows I exactly what it will take to get my vote next time!!
I am pointing this out as this thread seems to imply Maryland folks aren't holding up their end. I can assure you that is not the case. Nearly everyone I know from Maryland is doing their part. I suspect some politicians are spouting the nebulous naysayer vote as they are trying to finagle getting re-elected by a population that can usually be swayed by a good sound bite.
Even asshats like Dernoga from my hometown of Laurel (I live in Columbia now, and boy I wish I could vote his stupid ass out of office!) has had emails from my parents who still live there saying they think the stadium is a good idea. Sure, I wrote their emails, but I'm just sayin' we Marylanders are holding up our end!