Our driver's license bill was finally introduced and we began once again meeting with all the legislators both in the House and the Senate to check where they stood on the issue. Throughout all the appointments that I have been making I have learned the importance of having good networking skills. The legislators that are not sympathetic to our issues almost always ask for constituents of their districts to be present in our meetings with them as a way to make it nearly impossible for us to give them our two cents on the issue. Particularly with the ones from rural districts that are far away from Salem, asking for constituents is a polite way of saying that they will not support us and don't want us to waste their time by meeting.
However, because Causa has built great relationships with Latino communities throughout the state since its founding in 1995, I have had a lot of luck reaching out to contacts from the organization's network of allies. I am very grateful for our allies that have traveled from places like Eugene and Roseburg to the capitol in Salem so that we could keep appointments with legislators.
As an organization that does a lot of community organizing, having a good network is crucial in times like this. Especially when we want to show how much support the community gives to issues, having contact to our allies is very important for short-notice mass mobilizations. When we need advocates in certain areas it is a great tool to be able to pick up the phone and call someone because we know we can rely on them to be present at a legislative visit, town hall meeting, or rally and march.
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