[MUSIC]
Good afternoon, my name is Dr.
Philip Phillips and
I'm the Associate Dean of the
University Honors College, and
I'm very pleased to welcome
everyone to our keynote address.
Unlike previous series,
we're recording a number
of our presentations to make
available to our students and
to make available to
the general public.
For those of you who
are unfamiliar with the honors
lecture series,
it is both a class and
an event that is free and
open to the public.
It's one of the courses as
required of our students who
graduate from
the University Honors College.
It's a one hour class and
it is a series that focuses on
a different topic each semester.
Just over a week ago marked
the 100th anniversary of
the ratification of
the 19th Amendment.
A milestone that we recognized
back in the spring with our
honors lecture series
on suffrage, and
that our campus is recognizing
throughout the academic year.
This semester's honors lecture
series is focused on the topic
of civic virtue,
featuring a wide range of
presentations exploring ways
that we as citizens can
contribute to the common good.
I'm especially pleased today to
introduce the keynote speaker
the series, Dr. Beth Harwell.
She was the first woman to serve
as the Speaker of the House
in Tennessee a position that
she held from 2011 to 2019.
She had a long and
distinguished political career.
In fact, I was one of her
students back in 1988 when
she was first elected to
represent the 56th district
in the Tennessee House, while
she was teaching at Belmont.
Dr. Harwell ran for
governor in 2016.
Although she did not
become our governor,
we are fortunate to have
her here at MTSU as
a distinguished
visiting professor.
In her new role, she shares her
expertise with our students and
campus community by giving
lectures such as the one she's
going to give today and
by participating in various
events on our campus.
Most recently the campus
civic summit is sponsored
by the American
democracy project.
She is a true friend
of the Honors College.
And she is not only
a gifted speaker, but
a dedicated teacher.
I can say from firsthand
experience that she's
an excellent teacher and someone
who takes real interest in her
students, as a mentor and
as a role model.
So today she's going to speak
to us about the importance
of public participation in civic
life and provide us with some
advice on how best to influence
our elected officials.
>> Well, thank you and
good afternoon.
I'm honored to be a part
of this program today.
I'm pleased to be on MTSU
campus and grateful for
a few moments of your
time this afternoon.
Our precious wonderful
constitution guarantees us
in the very first amendment,
our right to petition
the government.
As citizens of a democracy,
I contend it is not
only our right, but
it is our responsibility to
participate in government.
Of course, you know and
realize that registering and
voting is the most
important first step.
And I always in my
years of teaching and
here on MTS us campus,
encourage young college students
to register and to vote often.
It's important for college age
students to start the practice
of being a voter during
this time period.
And I will have to say having
been in Tennessee government for
a while, you have every
right to participate.
Because in a state that relies
on the sales tax the way
Tennessee does, you pay your
fair share in taxes and
you have a right to participate.
I know sometimes voting feels
like it doesn't really matter.
But I'm here to tell you
that elected officials
are paying attention
to who voters are.
I remember when I was newly
elected to the State House,
literally when constituents
would call me and ask for
help or assistance in something,
I would pull up my computer type
in their name to see if in fact
I was talking to
a registered voter.
So don't think it
doesn't matter, it does.
Unfortunately I think after
the voting takes place,
a lot of Americans feel
like they really can't or
don't have a lot of confidence
in their ability to influence
what elect officials
choose to do or not do.
I think they see that there's
a conflict sometimes with
big campaign donors, and
contributors and special
interest groups that somewhat
dominate the political
arena today.
But I'm here to tell you today
citizens do have the ability to
influence public policy,
if they work at it.
And so that's what I'd
like to share with you,
some steps to take in
influencing elected officials.
The first step I think in
influencing elected leaders
is to understand them.
Know that they have a lot
to do in a little time.
And that's especially true with
state and local officials,
because most of them are part
time elected officials.
So that means that they have
jobs outside of being an elected
official.
I think that's
a wonderful thing.
I think it's what
the founding fathers intended
a citizen legislature,
so that they work and
live in the district
that they represent.
They don't just visit
it on the weekends.
They live in their districts.
They attend church there,
they are members of
the Exchange Club.
Their children are in
the school systems.
And so I believe that it that's
a wonderful opportunity for
you as a citizen,
because you get to meet them in
the district that
they represent.
I know when I was newly elected
and I know a lot of elected
officials do this, is they look
for a Citizens Advisory team.
Legislators are asked to vote on
every subject from environment
education, to transportation
to banking, I could go on and
on the wide spectrum,
that we're expected to know
how to make a good vote.
And so when I was newly elected,
the idea came from someone
I was representing.
She came up to me, she said, I'm
an elementary school teacher.
And if you really wanna know
how the policy you set affects
a teacher,
we should give them a call.
That gave me a wonderful idea.
And so I set up an advisory
team across my district.
So if an issue came up regarding
accounting, I would call
an accountant cuz the state
regulates all professions.
And so I would always have
someone in each one of those
professions.
I could pick up the phone and
say,
how does this really affect you
where the rubber meets the road?
I would suggest that you could
have an opportunity to be that
person for an elected official,
whatever your chosen occupation.
Also, I think it's important
at that level to develop
a relationship with their staff.
That's through the federal
level, the state level.
Many times the chief of staff
can make the difference of you
getting an opportunity
to sit down and
talk to elected official or not.
So never discredit the person
who answers the phone or
takes your message.
They have tremendous influence
over the elected officials
availability to you.
Well, I think also part of
this is secondly knowing
that when it gets
right down to it,
every elected official
wants to be reelected.
And I don't mean that
in a cynical way.
I would never imply that they
would do anything wrong in
order to get elected.
But I will tell you that they
realize that getting elected
comes down to votes, And
the public's opinion of them.
So they really do care
what you have to say.
I often use this illustration
that when I was a elected
official, and
especially when I was speaker,
I would get tons of mail,
emails, phone calls, etc.
And I'm not gonna sugarcoat it.
A lot of those things
weren't always read.
But I'll tell you a letter
that was always read and
was always responded to by me,
one that started out this way.
Dear representative,
I am a registered voter
in your district.
I paid attention to those, so
I won't again sugarcoat it.
It's true that people who
contribute money to campaigns
often have availability or
access to the people
that they contribute to.
But an informed, engaged voter
can have just as much influence.
Another illustration in my own
personal life when I first ran
for office, I won the primary
and lost the general election.
I lost that general
election by 31 votes.
Now, if you'd asked
me at the time,
would you rather have $31,000
in your campaign account or
31 votes, which do you
think I would have chosen?
So that vote does always
matter to an elected official.
Third step I suggest when
you have an opportunity
is to develop a strategy and
a message.
You have to know your issue.
Don't assume that elected
official will know what you're
talking about.
And for heaven's sake,
don't use jargon that
they're not familiar with.
You wanna make what you
present to them as simple for
them to understand as possible.
Again, because they have a lot
of different ideas coming into
them all the time.
Tell them why it's important
to you personally, and
to the working people
in their district.
I will tell you this,
you have to keep it brief,
[LAUGH] My appointment schedule
when I was in elected office,
no one got more than
15 minutes of my time.
So you've gotta know
what you're gonna say.
And if you're going with a group
to present to an elected
official, always know
who's gonna say what?
So that you don't stumble
on each other and
take up unnecessary time or
repeat yourself.
Know, of course,
look for other groups
that might agree with you
on this particular issue.
You just never know when you
can form a coalition and
have even more impact.
And I will say,
sometimes there's unusual
coalitions that can be formed.
I remember we had a piece of
legislation that had to do with
privacy rights in
the Tennessee General Assembly.
And just how much the government
has the ability to know about
what you're doing, especially
with your children, etc.
And it was amazing to me that
I saw the Christian Coalition,
an extremely conservative group,
and the ACLU, someone might
label a liberal group come
together on that issue.
And they would actually come
into my office together,
the two individuals say, this
is why it's important to both
groups, the whole idea of
privacy and your right to it.
So you never know who you might
be able to find a coalition with
and increase your impact.
Well, right along with that,
I would say I think it's just
as important to know who your
opponents are going to be, and
what they're going to be saying.
I remember when I taught
a full-time teacher,
I used to every semester require
the students to do two things.
The first was they'd
have to debate and
they'd have to take
aside on an issue.
Say for example, for
the death penalty or
against the death penalty,
large part of their grade depend
on how they performed
in that debate.
So when they come in that day
to present, you know what I did?
You guessed it, I reversed it.
If they had prepared to be pro
that penalty, they walked in the
door I said today you're gonna
argue against the death penalty.
Because if you don't know what
your opponent is going to be
saying about the issue,
you really don't know the issue.
[COUGH] And I will finish
by saying that when you're
with these groups remember this,
compromise is not a dirty word.
It's really the foundation
of our nation.
Compromise has been how this
great country has survived.
And so if you have an
opportunity to work with someone
that you don't necessarily agree
on, perhaps there's a way that
each of you can come up with
a little bit of compromise and
make it a win-win.
I can tell you for
a fact, elected officials
truly appreciate that.
And when I was speaker,
I used to bring different groups
together, whatever the issue.
And if we couldn't
resolve all of it, and
they come to me for help, I
would a lot of times just bring
them into the speaker's
conference room and say,
you're gonna sit in here till
you work out a compromise.
Because I'm tired of you putting
on the members on the spot
trying to decide who gets
to win and who doesn't.
When you come to the Hill,
I tell you, it really does
matter that you bring some folks
with you that just
show some strength.
Perfect example that in
the Tennessee legislature is
something that the medical
profession came up with.
As I said,
we regulate all professions.
So we regulate
the ophthalmologist,
the optometrist, the medical
doctors, chiropractors,
the physical therapist,
all that comes under
regulations of the state.
And they all do pave
a paid lobbyist.
And so you might think, well,
the paid lobbyist has a lot
more impact on those elected
officials cuz he's the one that
controls the PAC money etc.
But you know what?
The doctors figured out
a different strategy and
they have what they call
Doctors' Day on the Hill.
In which doctors from
across the state
descended on the state capitol
wearing their white coats.
So when I was asked to go in and
talk to what the Tennessee
Medical Association wanted this
year, when I walked in the
speaker's room I was expecting
just to see their
paid lobbyists.
Instead, the whole conference
room was full of doctors
that lived in my district.
Now you tell me if that
didn't have an impact on me
listening and learning what was
important to that profession.
Always try to make
an appointment if you can,
because the legislators
time is limited and
it's in essence of respect for
their time.
But if you can't make
an appointment and
you just really don't wanna
have to travel to downtown
Nashville work, Washington DC or
even City Hall on Murfreesboro.
I will say that most all elected
officials have what is known as
a town hall or
community meetings.
Take the time to go to those.
I think you'll really
appreciate them.
I know elected officials
like when people show up and
that's an opportunity for you
to say what's on your mind and
what you're concerned about.
And if you see a spark of
interest on the part of
the legislator,
don't dominate the conversation.
Instead say I make
an appointment with
you to talk to you
about this further,
either in the district or
at your capitol office.
Another part of that's really
important is get to know your
elected officials before you
need them, before you need them.
And you can have that
opportunity to pick up a phone
and call your local city
councilman or your mayor or
your state legislator and say
I don't want or need anything.
I just wanted to call and
introduce myself to you, and
they will remember that and
thank them for their service.
They appreciate that as well.
[COUGH] I will also say that
if you have an interest in
politics, nothing will
ingratiate you to an elected
official more than
calling up and saying,
may I help with your campaign?
They love when people will
take the time to do a little
something for
them to help them get elected.
And they don't forget.
I remember clearly the people,
even though a long,
long time ago, that helped me
with my initial first campaigns.
If when you meet with them and
present your viewpoints and
your idea, and it goes well,
I would ask for a demonstration
of their support.
Elected officials can be
experts at sounding like
they giving you what you want,
but you need to confirm that.
If they indicate they
could support it,
ask them to cosponsor the bill,
or
make a floor statement
in its advantage.
Commit their vote some
way publicly to you,
gives you the assurance that
they're gonna stick with you on
this particular issue.
Now in fairness I should tell
you that when I was Speaker,
I actually told my members not
to commit to legislation before
they saw it in its
final version.
Because a piece of legislation
can change greatly through
the process.
It can be amended at any point,
and that might alter whether
you feel comfortable supporting
the legislation or not.
So if they won't commit to you
in that short visit that you
have with them, I would do this.
I would leave them with
a one page bullet point
on why this piece
of legislation or
this particular issue
is important to you.
Make it big print,
cuz they're not gonna get their
reading glasses to see it, and
make it short and to the point.
And say, I'd like for
you to review this.
And if it's alright with you,
in a couple weeks
I'll call back your office just
to talk to your staff to see if
you have any additional
questions or can commit.
And during that time,
during that two week period when
you're waiting to get back to,
that's when you begin
having telephone calls and
emails sent from other people
that support that same issue.
Many a time when I was going
in to vote on a committee,
I would leave, and
as I was walking out the door,
I would say to my assistant,
did we get a lot of calls on x?
And she would say, yeah,
and I'd say, well,
how many were calling in for?
And she literally kept a count
on almost all the important
issues that we were voting on,
if we got a lot of calls for
or against.
And that is something that
legislators keep in the back of
their mind when they go
in to make a final vote.
Regardless of the outcome
of your communication,
always leave with being grateful
for their time and thankful for
their service.
Cuz as my mama used to always
say to me, you get more with
honey than you do vinegar,
and that is very, very true.
Which leads me to a few don'ts
I'd like to share with you,
some things you shouldn't
do when you're meeting with
an elected official.
The first one just makes
sense in all of life,
you never mislead them,
you never lie.
Obviously, you're arguing for
something, so
you're gonna be as persuasive as
you can be, and say the positive
things about the issue that
you're bringing to them.
But never mislead them or
lie to them,
because your credibility
will be destroyed, and
you will not be welcomed
back into their office.
Take it from me, I know.
Never make a threat, you should
hold officials accountable for
their actions, but
never threaten their
reelection effort.
When you push somebody
in a corner like that,
they just get defensive, and
really shut off
listening to you.
And then finally,
don't take it personal.
There are gonna be times that
they just can't be with you
on an issue.
And if they're honest with
you and tell you that,
don't take it personal.
Because in politics I have
learned there are no permanent
friends, nor
are there any permanent enemies.
So you never know when you're
gonna come back around and they
might be able to help you with
an issue that you care about.
I would be remiss if I didn't
briefly mention the committee
system, and I think most of you
are somewhat familiar with our
governmental structure.
But committee systems in
the legislative bodies,
both in Congress and at
the state level, are critical.
Committees just don't advise,
they control the outcome
of a piece of legislation.
As I mentioned earlier,
they can amend it,
they can change it in
the committee system.
Remember that I had a rule
as Speaker, I wanted all
the amendments that we voted
on to come out of a committee,
not offered on the floor.
Because I wanted the body to
have enough time to really
understand what that
amendment did and
how it impacted the legislation.
There's much discussion that
takes place in the committee.
As Speaker of the House, I gave
every member two committees to
serve on based on
their expertise and
their interest level.
And they develop knowledge
on that particular subject,
and so that's why they
delve into the issue.
All committee meetings
are open to you as public.
And you can even at that
point testify for or
against something in public,
and all that is recorded,
and you can watch
that on the web.
You never are allowed to
talk on the House floor,
as the public the only time
you're allowed to speak is in
the committee system.
And you simply call the chairman
of that committee and ask for
permission to speak.
Of course you're limited
in your time, but
I will say committees are
critical when you think about
influencing the outcome of
a piece of legislation.
So I highly recommend that if
you have a piece of legislation
that, for example, affects
higher education, I know MTSU
was involved in trying to get
voting locations on campuses.
And that went through both
our election committee and
our higher education committee.
And so those people that were
interested in that, I gave them
the opportunity to influence
those committee members,
because that's where the
ultimate decision on that bill
took space.
Keep in mind,
a committee can kill a bill.
And once a committee votes
against the bill, it's dead for
the session,
you can't bring it back, so
committees are critical.
I'm asked quite a bit, does it
matter that you sign petitions
and send petitions in
to elected officials?
Well, everything helps, but I
would make the argument that I,
like most people,
some nice person comes up,
asks me if I'll sign a petition,
I probably haven't researched
that issue a whole lot.
But if I feel like I like
the person, I'll say, well, yes,
sure, I'll sign it.
Petitions don't carry the weight
that an individual call or
an individual email or
letter would.
And so try to make it as
individual as possible,
rather than form letters.
Because elected officials know
if they get a batch of emails,
and they all say the same thing,
that people were not
as committed as they should have
been to that particular issue.
Finally I'll talk a little
bit about the media and
its influence.
Using the media is a good step,
because of course it works, but
you have to use it wisely.
Public praise and criticism
will open and close doors,
so be strategic.
You think that the higher
the profile is, the more impact
it will have when it comes
to elected officials,
and I argue that's
not always the case.
Because I'll tell you, most all
elected officials read their
local newspapers, I always did.
I used to read the Bellamy News,
I read the little
Green Hills Newspaper, and
I always read the letters
to the editor.
So I think that type of
influence in the media has more
impact than having something
published in the New York Times.
Because elected officials wanna
stay close to their district and
know what people are thinking.
So work through your local
newspaper to get something in
there published about what
you're concerned with.
And they normally cover it,
they're normally looking for
news to cover, much more so
than a TV station.
Now obviously you like to have
TV coverage, but TVs don't
usually cover something unless
it's got some background to it,
some kind of activity.
And they don't delve into issues
a way a local newspaper does, so
I would suggest using it.
And matter of fact,
I was with Senator Alexander
a while back, and
he was doing what most elected
officials was, he had clippings.
And he was going through
the clippings from
all over the state,
cuz that's how he keeps aware of
what's happening in his state.
So I would really do that.
I'm asked a little bit
about paid advertisement,
if that works?
It can be effective, but
it can also backfire.
And I'll give you a personal
example of that as well for
myself.
You may have recalled
when Governor Haslam
was trying to expand Medicaid
in the State of Tennessee.
Highly controversial, because we
have a very conservative state
legislature, very worried
about fiscal conservative.
And brought out a lot of
interest from people, I thought.
And what happened is the Senate
in a committee voted it down,
so it was over,
it was over for the year.
And so I didn't force my
House members to vote on it,
because they told me they didn't
have the votes in the committee,
and I didn't wanna string them
out on what was gonna
be a difficult issue.
But some groups that were for
the Medicaid expansion didn't
completely understand how that
system works, so they blamed me.
And they decided that they were
gonna come after me, and so
they raised a significant
amount of money and
put billboards up all over
the State of Tennessee.
And saying,
call Speaker Harwell,
she's killing Medicaid
expansion, and gave my number.
I remember driving in on 440
from home to the capital that
morning, and saw this huge
billboard picture of myself, and
I went, [LAUGH] no!
I went into the office, I said
this is gonna be a tough day.
Just get prepared,
bring some extra staff in
here to answer the phone.
Well, guess what,
the end of the day I said,
how many calls we get?
Two, so they had spent all that
money trying to tell people to
call in, but they hadn't done
the grassroots groundwork of
making sure those calls
were gonna be made.
And it actually hurt their
credibility tremendously.
So if you're gonna use
paid advertisement,
you're gonna say contact
your elected official,
make sure you follow up and get
that grassroots activity going.
Or it may me walk away saying
people are not as interested in
this as we had been led
to believe they are.
Well, I could go on and on on a
topic that I love very much, but
I'll just say in
conclusion this.
A combination of knowledge and
personal commitment can make
you a very influential citizen.
And I know this quote is
used often times, but
it is very true, and so fitting
for what we've discussed.
Margaret Mead, who said,
never doubt that a small group
of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only
thing that ever has.
Thank you so much for letting
me share some ideas with you.
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