Posted by Dr. David Wilmot, dave@oceanchampions.org
Jack Sterne (who will also write Ocean Champions' guest blogs) and I wrote at length about this subject in a report we published a few years ago (Turning the Tide: Charting a Course to Improve the Effectiveness of Public Advocacy for the Oceans). Our experiences and research for the report show that every public-advocacy community, including the ocean conservation community, needs to participate fully in the political process to be successful. Full participation involves both lobbying and direct involvement in the electoral process. To oversimplify, lobbying is the voice, while electoral involvement (helping the good guys win elections and defeating the bad guys--think former California Representative Richard Pombo) actually gets the politicians to listen.
As a scientist advocating for ocean conservation in the 1990s, I was pretty good at the voice part. I was professional, loaded with information, and clearly on the proper side of the debate. But even with all my smarts and rightness, I had trouble getting elected officials to actually listen. Jack is fond of saying that if you can't give politicians the things that they need the most (money, votes, and constituent support), there is only so much they can or will give you. Looking back objectively, I didn't have much to offer, and so got about as much back. I wasn't alone as the whole ocean conservation community struggled to identify champions in the Congress who would advance a pro-ocean agenda.
The solutions? (1) Change the political process in America or (2) Make oceans a political issue and make politicians want to listen to you. Jack and I opted for #2 and we founded Ocean Champions with the goal of building the political power needed to ensure thriving oceans and coasts. We do this by giving candidates what they need most (just to remind everyone: money, votes and constituent support) and pouring enormous energy into building relationships with these candidates. We have taken the first steps to building political champions for the oceans and it works. The question now is will our efforts in combination with our colleagues in the conservation community, scientists, and ocean enthusiasts/activists be enough AND in time to save our oceans?!
In our next blog, I'll talk about the importance of relationships in the political arena.
Randy and Jennifer, thank you for an excellent blog and for this opportunity to join the conversation!
Comments
I love politics and I always pay attention to what's going on in the political world, but ocean issues never seem to make it onto the agenda. The ocean obviously has some serious problems and everyone who spends time at the beach or in the ocean knows it. So how do we get politicians to actually do something about the problems and how do I know who the "bad guys" are? I live in Nevada and I'm sure my Congressman doesn't give a damn about the oceans.
Posted by: Jim | June 12, 2007 12:54 PM
Jim, elevating oceans - ocean conservation specifically -- as a political issue is indeed the challenge. We have found that making a commitment to worthy candidates and helping them get elected is an excellent first step. Pro-ocean candidates who receive an Ocean Champions endorsement and financial support understand from the start that our goal is to do whatever is necessary to help them remain or become a champion for ocean conservation. We intend to be there for them and expect them to be there for the ocean.
I don't have a simple answer for you regarding advice on candidates from inland states such as Nevada. You will notice that most of our champions represent coastal districts or states. There are good reasons for our strategy. Of course, there have been noteworthy exceptions such as California Congressman Richard Pombo. Mr. Pombo was a nightmare on ocean and environmental issues (and in a very powerful position to do damage). Ocean Champions joined with environmental groups to defeat Mr. Pombo last November. Considering many inland voters care about the oceans and inland politicians vote on ocean issues, as we grow, Ocean Champions will endorse and support more candidates from inland districts and states. Until then, every voter can help by raising ocean issues directly with candidates.
Posted by: David Wilmot | June 18, 2007 3:13 PM