Advocacy takes on many different styles when it comes to ensuring good legislation becomes good law. The WRA’s advocacy team can go into offices, speak with members of the legislature, and explain an issue thoroughly. The team can attend committee hearings and give impassioned testimony to help those same elected officials see the need for certain laws to pass, and for certain laws to be shelved for something better down the road. The WRA advocacy team can write letters and memos to engage our elected officials and hope that they see the light on REALTOR^® priorities and give REALTORS^® the support they need when a vote is to be counted.

What the advocacy team can’t do is have the local connection to an elected official that WRA members have. Constituents hold a special place in the hearts and minds of elected officials. They are one of the lone voices that make an immediate impact on the decision-making process for locally elected officials. As the loudest voice that directly impacts an election, a concerned constituent may have the ability to cut through the noise and get a member of the legislature to act one way or another on a specific piece of legislation. 

Luckily, the WRA can put those local voices directly into contact with each elected member of the state Assembly and Senate. 
Through our Call for Action (CFA) program, the WRA can send specific directed messages into the inboxes of all members of the Wisconsin Legislature. CFAs work hand in hand with the office visits that members make during REALTOR^® & Government Day. The ability to call an elected official’s attention to an issue one has already spoken to them about is invaluable. 

A CFA allows the WRA and members direct access into the offices of key decision-makers. When a CFA is used to its full extent, the WRA can let elected leaders know just how important an issue is to the 18,000 individuals of Wisconsin REALTOR^® membership. A CFA allows members to educate, influence and encourage lawmakers to vote yes when it comes to WRA priorities.

This was the case last month when the WRA began a CFA on AB 444/SB 439, a bill that proposed a voluntary program to allow a Wisconsin property owner to act when a discriminatory restriction is recorded on their land record.   

When the CFA ended, more than 860 WRA members had reached out and sent more than 1,700 emails to members of the Wisconsin Legislature. A few days later, the bill was up in both houses, received wide bipartisan support and now waits for the governor’s signature to be enacted into law. 

This is a pretty good outcome for a much-needed piece of legislation. But we could do better. CFAs like this should be part of the culture for all our members to participate in. If you receive these messages, please take part as every voice counts when the WRA is trying to get priorities through the legislative process. 

Imagine the possibilities and the impact that nearly 18,000 direct contacts can have on a piece of legislation. If the WRA were able to get all members behind a priority and make contact via a CFA, there is no way the voice of Wisconsin REALTORS^® would be left unheard.

Next time a CFA request from the WRA comes out, think about how quickly an issue can be recognized and acted upon if all members act simultaneously. With that in mind, please make sure to respond to the next CFA and make WRA priorities be heard in the Wisconsin Legislature.