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Participating in the Process
Find your legislators
How to learn about candidates
- Join the ATPE Legislative
Alert Network (LAN) to receive e-mails on public education issues and elections.
- Read ATPE’s Candidate Surveys and election fliers. Every election cycle ATPE surveys the candidates to find out where they stand on important education issues and ATPE legislative priorities. Responses to the surveys, along with voting records and other public information, are used to create fliers that compare the candidates side-by-side. Contact ATPE Governmental Relations to request copies of survey results from candidates in your area.
- The League of Women Voters’ voters guide is an excellent source of candidate and general election information.
- Pay attention to mailings from candidates, but be skeptical of information in this
literature, whether it’s about the candidate himself or his opponent.
- Schedule a meeting with a candidate (tips
on face-to-face meetings). Share what you learn with fellow local unit members by
calling a meeting or printing a summary in your local unit newsletter.
- Read local publications for information about local candidates and announcements of
candidate-hosted town hall meetings.
- Party websites are another good source of information about candidates and party platforms.
Republican Party: www.texasgop.org/
Democratic Party: www.txdemocrats.org/
Libertarian Party: www.tx.lp.org/
Green Party: www.txgreens.org/
How to get even more involved
- Invite candidates to visit your school or class for information about local
candidates and announcements of candidate-hosted town hall meetings.
- Host a “meet-and-greet” in your home. Most of the prep work will be in publicizing
the event. Candidates want to share their messages and will take it from there.
- Host a candidate forum. Take advantage of the resources ATPE has to help you.
- Volunteer for candidates. Working in a candidate’s campaign is the best way for you to create a good relationship with the candidate and increase your political influence. You can also encourage other educators to vote for your candidate by spreading the word that he has public education’s best interest at heart.
Candidates welcome and appreciate campaign volunteers who can help with many different activities, from putting out yard signs and conducting phone banks to canvassing neighborhoods and hosting fund-raising events.
Just call the candidate’s local campaign office, and offer your help.
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