Communicating with your legislator
Writing Letters:
When writing to elected officials, address the letter to "The Honorable First Name Last Name," followed by the legislature name, then the city, state, and zip code. Start your letter with the person's title, then their name. For example:
For U.S. Congressional representatives:
Dear Representative First Name Last Name
For U.S. Senators:
Dear Senator First Name Last Name
For California Assemblymembers:
Dear Assemblyman (or Assemblywoman) First Name Last Name
For example:
The Honorable Jane Doe
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Representative Doe:
You can mail or fax your letter. If you want to influence your representative's vote on a particular piece of legislation, it's best to fax so it reaches them in time.
Phone Calls
Phone calls are a very effective way to let your legislator know how you feel. Every office has trained staff assigned to take constituent phone calls and keep track of comments, which are then given to the legislator every day and before votes.
E-mails
Sadly, due to the high volume of form e-mails, this is not the most effective method for communicating with your representative. Also, some offices are more e-mail friendly than others. To combat form e-mails, most legislators now suggest that constituents visit their individual web page and fill out a contact form. This is a much better way to communicate than sending e-mail to his/her e-mail address. Links to individual websites are provided below.
U.S. Senators
Every state has two Senators. Both are your representatives. The address for both Senators is: U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510.
The Senate website is:
Senator Barbara Boxer
(202) 224-3553
(213) 894-5000 in Los Angeles
FAX (213) 894-5042
boxer.senate.gov/contact
Senator Dianne Feinstein
(202) 224-3841
(310) 914-7300 in Los Angeles
FAX (202) 228-3954
feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
U.S. Representatives
The address for all U.S. Representatives is: U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515. If you don't know your representative, visit www.house.gov
and enter your zip code.
California State Senate
The address for all state representatives is: State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. Sacramento area codes are 916.If you do not know your state representatives, visit www.assembly.ca.gov
and click on "Find My District."