Elected officials make key decisions for our communities and our climate.
These positions can be different depending on where you live, especially at the local and state levels of government. Knowing who your elected officials are, why their position matters, and if they make decisions that are aligned with your values at every level of government maximizes the impact of your voice.
This election year, you may be hearing a lot about our federal elected officials. It can be easy to overlook the elections “down ballot,” or at the local and state levels, but these positions are critical for the wellbeing of our communities! Are they working to build a brighter future for all of our communities? Do they represent your interests and voice?
Local and state governments significantly impact climate policy and can act nimbly to address issues that affect our everyday lives, like air quality in our cities or access to our favorite trails. These officials are also often more responsive to direct feedback from constituents. Understanding which elected office has the most decision-making influence on the issues that matter the most to you can help you turn your voice into lasting, positive change for your community – and this guide is designed to help you do just that.
Local, state, and federal – why they matter and when to reach out
County Commissioners, City Councils, and Mayors
If you want to see solutions happen quickly in your backyard, county commissioners and other local officials are a great place to start. These officials make decisions that directly impact our everyday lives – like the conditions of our roads, the quality of our drinking water, and whether there’s a recycling or compost program in our community. Counties and cities often oversee local development codes that can speed up or hinder clean energy development, and they can ensure that trails are well-maintained and accessible for the community.
Reaching out to these local decision makers can make a big impact on your immediate community, and even one person at a local town council meeting can change the direction of a decision. In fact, many of these local bodies have boards and committees that you can serve on to help build a bright climate future for your community!
Governors, State Legislators, and Commissions
Governors and their administrations can lead states towards a brighter climate future by implementing state level environmental policy, distributing funding through agencies like the Department of Natural Resources, and setting up funding streams for climate programs and policies.
Reaching out to governors makes a difference when it comes to signing and supporting bills coming out of the legislature or vetoing bills that would harm our communities or environment. Governors can also play a role in helping shepherd and build support for legislation through the legislature. Governors’ offices also determine how agencies like public health and parks and wildlife disseminate funding for programs from things like e-bike rebates to outdoor equity grants.
State legislators have an outsized impact when it comes to conservation and environmental action – that’s one of the reasons WRA has focused our work on state level policy for over three decades. States can fill in gaps in federal policy and step up quickly if the federal government steps back from good climate policy. Changes in administrations and congressional majorities can result in inconsistent federal action, making states the ideal venue to build lasting environmental, conservation, and climate policy.
You can reach out to your state representatives and senator to encourage them to use our tax dollars to conserve land, protect wildlife, make our public lands and outdoor recreation accessible, incentivize EV rebates, implement stronger greenhouse gas emissions standards, or build programs that protect our states from drought.
Did you know that, in many states, voters elect commissioners who make decisions on issues like air quality and oversee public utilities? While this section of your ballot may appear confusing and you may be tempted to skip them, it’s incredibly important! Elected members of public commissions play an extremely important role in crafting climate policy.
Commissioners can ensure polluters clean up their messes instead of sticking taxpayers and local communities with the bill. They can also hold our public utilities accountable by requiring them to be as transparent and as affordable as possible while also encouraging their transitions to renewable energy.
Federal Administrators and Members of Congress
These are the positions of power we hear about most often and, while they play an important role representing our communities and encouraging positive, national level climate policy, they can feel the most distant from our daily lives. Still, having climate champions in the upper echelons of the American political system is critical to achieving the clean energy transformation that must happen across the United States.
Reaching out to federal representatives makes a difference when it comes to large scale climate and conservation policies and investments, like the Land and Water Conservation Fund or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, that can deploy standards and funding en masse across the United States, or for critical environmental rulemakings like the EPA’s particulate matter standards, which enforce healthier air quality levels in our cities and towns.
