Lobbying Blog Post #2: Fracking

The main people I would need to lobby to are my State officials. Specifically my House Representative: Representative Rosita Youngblood, my Senator, Leanne Washington and Governor Corbett. Each of these people have different views and interests so I'd have to proceed differently with each.

Rosita Youngblood was born in Philadelphia and elected as representative to the 198th District in 1994. She is a chairwoman in the house Gaming Oversight Committee and introduces issue-specific legislation. While she is mostly interested in legislation concerning domestic violence, welfare, health services, personal insurance and property tax provisions, she has voted yes to bills like SB 1155, HB 1200 and other clean energy bills. I have no doubt she would help me lobby against fracking. However, if I needed an "in" with her, I would talk to her about experiences she may have had in Philadelphia and how mine are similar or different. 

Senator Leanne Washington has the most interesting biography of any of my representatives. She was a teen mom, a high school dropout, and a victim of domestic violence. She served in the House of Representatives for 12 years before becoming the Senator to the 4th district. She, like Youngblood, is primarily interested in enhancing community; she's interested in assistance for domestic violence, and social security insurance for disabled foster children. I think she would also be a good candidate to talk to about my lobbing topic. She co-sponsored SB 596, a bill creating a fund for citizens with contaminated well water caused by fracking.  

The last, and most challenging of my representatives would be Governor Tom Corbett. He was elected to office in 2011. His top priorities while in office are to reduce the government budget, improving the economy and, in that same vein, jobs. I say he is the most challenging because he has been a big advocator of fracking and it's abundance of jobs. There was a bit of unrest because he was sponsored during his election by some Gas Companies. However, he has recently made an Act that would give counties in PA the right to make fees on fracking. An "in" I have with Corbett is that he went to college in Annville, which is where my grandparents live. He, also, worked in a highschool for some time so I could talk with him about how unique SLA is. 

These are my three representatives that could help me with my lobbying project. I am generally confident that I could get good results from speaking to them about my topic. Which, is very helpful to know.