Becoming an Advocate of the Alps: How to Contact Your Lawmakers
Advocates at the Capitol in Olympia for Hiker Rally Day in 2019. Photo by Tom Anderson
Outside of voting periods, ordinary citizens can have an extraordinary impact by reaching out to their government representatives. By phone, mail or email, you can make your voice heard by contacting your elected officials today. The first step is finding out who represents you. This will depend on which district you live in.
U.S. Congress
Your U.S. Congress person represents you at the federal level in Washington D.C. Below is a list of individuals who may be your representative if you live in the area. You can find out who your U.S. House Representative is here along with their contact information if it is not listed below.
Email Representative Kim Schrier or call her office at (202) 225-7761.
Email Representative Adam Smith or call his office at (202) 225-8901.
Email Representative Suzan DelBene or call her office at (202) 225-6311.
Email Representative Pramila Jayapal or call her office at (202) 225-3106.
Email Senator Maria Cantwell or call her office at (202) 224-3441.
Email Senator Patty Murray or call her office at (202) 224-2621.
State Legislators
State legislators represent you in Olympia based on where you live in the State of Washington.
If you already know who your state Senator and Representatives are, you can find their email addresses here. If you don’t know who represents you at the state level, you can find out through the Washington legislature’s District Finder search engine.
Once you know who to reach out to, you need to figure out what you are going to say to them.
If you’re reaching out at the request of an organization or advocacy group, they may provide a sample letter you can simply sign onto like the one we have provided our members on the SR-18 redevelopment project.
Any letter you send should include the name of the issue you are reaching out about, what action you are asking your representative to take, and a few reasons why. They do not need to be long, but certainly can be if there is a lot of information to share. Just remember, your representatives are busy people and may not have much time to read through a long email, so make sure you put the most important information first.
Finally, we know that we can make a bigger impact together. Consider sharing your letter and why you wrote it on social media or with friends so they can take action using your example as well.