New Year's Resolutions: Political Goals
Spend more time with kids. Get a raise. Lose weight. Assessing life choices and creating new goals happens with the new year. Determining what you’re doing right and taking stock in what needs upgrading are elements of a life well lived. Use the new year to gauge your political pulse and to resolve to improve things that need improvement. Ask yourself: What are my political goals?
Below are six things to think about regarding improving personal political participation.
Find out which Representative and Senator represent you. Identify your mayor, city council members and county commissioners. Put names to your U.S. Representative and local school board members. Look them up and learn about each one. Find his/her website and get to know what drives him/her. Find your reps on social media platforms and follow them on the platforms where you are active. Reach out to each representative through email, a phone call, text or a face-to-face meeting. Don’t forget your U.S. Senators, Governor and Lt. Governor.
Determine 1-3 items that you want to help improve this year. Research to see if any legislation is being run on these topics at the Utah Capitol or the U.S. Capitol. Are your subjects being addressed at school board meetings or on a city or county level? Do you like what you see? Will you work for or against the bills or projects in question? Who is the sponsor of the bill or driver of the project?
Find Advocacy groups who align with your legislative and political interests. Learn who they are and what they have planned for the year. Can you help them during the session? Can you improve things? What are your talents that can help them move things forward?
Take the time to learn how bills become laws in Utah and in Washington D.C. Learn how to track progress online and onsite. Remember to engage your legislators and other elected officials.
Research longterm volunteer options for yourself. Reach out and begin the application process. Build volunteer time into your schedule.
Vote. Elections are held every year on the first Tuesday after the first Monday each November. Primary elections and Special Elections do not have predictable dates, so participation means you must be aware of the political climate. Going to the ballot prepared is the next step. Knowing what is on the ballot and having an informed opinion on each decision makes a strong electorate.
Being a active citizen takes time and planning. Moving from wanting to participate to tentative participation to active participation takes deliberate forethought. Building political goals into your list of self improvement projects can help you and your community.