Facebook Example Will Change Politics in North Dakota

Written by Erica Stewart


Supporting Main Street in Washington State – are you a fan?
It seems like all the world is abuzz over social media, but some of us probably fail to see what that really means. How can Facebook be good for anything more than re-connecting with high school friends (and foes)? How is Twitter more than just an outlet for rants on George Clooney’s latest squeeze?

Consider this – a Washington State legislator recently remarked on the House floor that he had received more e-mails (300 to be exact) in favor of a bill to save the state’s Main Street program than for any other bill in his political career. And the outpouring made a difference. The bill to move this program safely into the Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation passed by wide margins in both the House and the Senate, and will be signed into law today at 1:30 pm.

The trail leading to 300 e-mails and a new home for the Washington Main Street Program began in December of last year when Washington Governor Chris Gregoire proposed a state budget that would have eliminated funding for the Washington Main Street Program, the statewide entity that supports 90 local community revitalization programs. Working with local residents, business owners, and local government, these programs support the revitalization of downtown business districts through a variety of measures, including recruiting new businesses, counseling existing ones, encouraging historic building rehabs and adaptive reuse projects, making streetscape improvements, and organizing events and promotions to attract shoppers to Main Street. Main Street programs – many of them run on a shoestring budget – yield big results; Washington’s designated Main Street districts have generated more than $413 million in new private sector investment, 11,810 new jobs, and 3,721 new and expanded businesses.

News of the threat came just before the legislature’s winter recess. A bill needed to be drafted and introduced when lawmakers returned in January to ensure a vote before the end of the session in March. Because the Washington Main Street Program is housed within the state government (specifically the Department of Commerce), it was barred from lobbying on its own behalf, therefore shifting the responsibility to local programs to save their statewide partner. In the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, advocates at the local, state, and national levels collaborated on an action plan, distributed a press release, and began contacting lawmakers in earnest about a bill. However, the local Main Street leaders needed many more voices than theirs alone to spread the message of Main Street as a force for job creation, local economic growth, and heritage tourism.

Enter Facebook.

Advocates created a Supporting Main Street in Washington State Facebook page and encouraged their networks to become “fans” for updates on calls to action, talking points, and media mentions. Within a few weeks, the page had 500 fans. Six weeks later, 850. Among those fans were a handful of elected officials and a dozen legislative aides. Reporters also frequented the page – often becoming fans – in search of quick and easy access to the story’s history and progression.

The informal network was especially useful in connecting Main Street communities that lacked the staff or organization to become more formally involved in the advocacy efforts. Additionally, Facebook fans in key legislative districts were crucial in rallying fellow constituents to contact their influential legislators. Their message was uniform and widespread – Main Street revitalization in Washington is effective and saving the state program is essential.

Facebook’s lightning-fast speed makes it the perfect partner for quick-moving developments in legislature. For example, on the Saturday during President’s Day weekend, the Main Street bill that moved the program to the Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation was scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives on Monday. The advocacy team immediately posted a Facebook call to action, urging people to contact their legislators before the vote.

Allyson Brooks, Washington’s state historic preservation officer, observes: “The way the local advocates have been using Facebook to get their message across and to connect with state legislators has been stunning. It is a force that is bringing people together. With e-mails, you just read them. But with Facebook, you make a social connection and it has made all the difference.”

Timothy Bishop, executive director of Ellensburg Downtown Association and a huge catalyst for Washington’s advocacy and social media campaign, adds: “It’s about communicating enough so people feel they are in the loop and then mobilizing them when we need a call to action. We’re using all the tools we learned at the National Main Streets Conference last year to set up social media networks and opportunities – and it seems to be working. When we send out calls to action, legislators say the response is almost immediate.”

The strategy worked. Newscasts, newspapers, and community blogs across the state have picked up the story that was sparked by the social media blitz. The Main Street bill passed in the House 91 to 7 and with unanimous support in the Senate. However, while the advocacy process and the legislative victories won thus far are definite causes for celebration, the budget for the program remains imperiled by the state’s $2.5 billion deficit. Its appropriation will be decided in a special session of Congress.

With a well-oiled social media engine already in place, Washington Main Street advocates are ready for action.

Click here for more information on Washington State’s campaign to save its Main Street program, as well as links to Washington Main Street communities.

Erica Stewart is the outreach coordinator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s community revitalization department.

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 11:50 am and is filed under main street, statewide & local partners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.