Tuesday, January 26, 2010

For A Legislator That Really Listens, Try Senator Gabbard

Senator Mike Gabbard hosts informal meetings in different parts of his district every month. If you have never been to one of these meetings, I highly recommend it. You can sit down with your morning coffee and talk to Senator Gabbard in a truly relaxed way. The people that attend the meetings have the opportunity to talk story about any and all of their concerns and if Mike can't answer their questions at the meeting, he or a member of his staff will be sure to get back to you with an answer quickly.

Although there is certainly a lot of "talk story" going on at these meetings, Senator Gabbard decided to call them "Listen Story" meetings to make it clear that the constituents that attend are encouraged to discuss any concerns they have and Mike will be listening much more than talking. Check out his website for the next meeting date and place- www.mikegabbard.com

Another indication that Mike is not only listening to residents but also acting on their ideas and suggestions, is that he introduces legislation based purely on constituents' ideas. He says he "gets ideas from residents at his listen story meetings, when he runs into someone at a store, or at church" and he's "always happy to get input on how we can make our home a better place to live."

A lot of people probably think of great ideas on how their lives and others around them could be made better if there was only a bill for this or that. But, they may not ever share that idea with anyone because they think that their lawmaker wouldn't be interested. Let me assure you that Senator Mike Gabbard, whether or not you are in his district, will certainly listen!