Valley man learns how to lobby

March 23, 2007

By Russell Stigall Frontiersman

WASILLA - Growing up an environmentalist in the Mat-Su Valley, Will Elliott said he has experienced very little understanding of his conservation philosophy.

So when an opportunity arose to visit his legislators in Juneau and lobby for conservation in the Valley, he boarded a plane and landed in another valley - Mendenhall Valley.

Some of Elliott's earliest memories were of snowmachining to Talkeetna to community meetings, he said. His politically active family was part of a marginal population living in the woods along the railroad tracks.

“My family lived outside the

community and we had to stand up for our interests,” he said.

Moving to Wasilla as a young man intensified his views on conservation, Elliott said. Wasilla is a beautiful place with outside activities within easy reach of its borders. But, he said, people won't work together to protect the area. Trappers don't want to be labeled as environmentalists. Skiers and snowshoers don't want to work with motorized sports enthusiasts.

“Our outdoor Mecca was being transformed into a strip mall because people wouldn't work together,” Elliott said.

He said a lot of progress in conservation starts in grass roots activities.

“When you are living in a community where people don't feel how you feel, it is harder to get that kind of thing started,” Elliott said.

In college, Elliott saw the Iraq war protests as mostly ineffectual. That experience made him realize that change came from direct interaction with neighbors and policy-makers, “being a citizen and getting things done and taking a role in your community,” he said.

Elliott flew to Juneau because, he said, he wanted to get an introduction to how things work in the capital.

The opportunity came through the activist group Alaska Conservation Voters. The group's legislative fly-in brought together conservationists from around the state. ACV recently endorsed six out of the Mat-Su borough's seven assembly members for being pro-conservative.

“The demographic of those being conservationists is a lot broader than a lot of people think,” Elliott said.

Alaska Conservation Voters created its fly-in to help citizens improve lobbying skills and meet their legislators.

“Will Elliott was representing himself as an independent constituent when lobbying,” said Suzanne Bosrom, ACV legislative manager. “ACV covers travel expenses for individuals wanting to come to Juneau to learn more about conservation and the state Legislature.”

While in Juneau, Elliott planned to meet with Rep. Vic Kohring and Senate President Lyda Green.

As of deadline Saturday, Elliott had not yet met with Green, and said he was somewhat disappointed with his meeting with Kohring.

“If I was there on business, I would have been taken more seriously,” Elliott said. “Coming in under the label of conservationist, there were a lot of biases and expectations about what I was there to talk about.”

John Davies, staff member for Kohring, said his office was disappointed that Elliott had a bad experience.

“We did everything we could to meet the young mans needs,” Davies said.

However, Kohring's staff warns against lobbying the representative directly with conservation issues.

“If you come to Juneau as a constituent and meet Kohring personally and say ‘I did or didn't vote for you,' we will make every effort to have you meet the representative here. But Rep. Kohring must be prepared for any lobby efforts,” Davies said.

Elliott said he did not think his lobbying efforts had an effect on Kohring.

Green recommends constituent lobbyists be conservative with their expectations for a bill or issue in the House or Senate.

“I learned very quickly that you don't fall in love with your legislation,” Green said.

And, be ready to compromise, Green said.

“Be aware that you can effect change, while you may not get everything you want,” Green said.

Rep. Bob Buch, D-Anchorage, recommends constituent lobbyists declare themselves independent or nonpartisan when registering to vote. In this way, lobbyists will not alienate legislators from either party.

“And when you go in to meet your legislator, don't mention your organization. Just give your name. That way, you are just folks,” Buch said.

Elliott said he learned from his visit to Juneau that, because of Juneau's geographic isolation and the complicated nature of legislative process, it is important to maintain relationships with legislators.

“It is a people thing, not necessarily a system,” Elliott said. “We're all Alaskans and we all need to work together to keep it how we like it.”

Contact Russell Stigall at 352-2267 or russell.stigall@

frontiersman.com.