Contact the Governor
January 14, 2008 — signab43I hope this project has inspired you to ask the Governor for your freedom to marry too. While emails are quick and easy, people who go to the extra trouble to write an understandable letter with reasonably acceptable spelling and grammar are often treated with a higher standard.
Please remember that a staffer will read your letter first. They will classify it as “opinion” or “actionable” as quickly as they can. Opinion is good, actionable is better. Stick to one or two key issues and include personal information without too much detail. A good template I use to get started is this:
As a [what you are], I believe that [what you believe] because [why you believe it].
E.g. “As a gay dad, I believe that all families should be treated the same, because I can’t get married but Britney Spears can, and that’s not fair.
You can find the different ways to contact the Governor on his Web site, http://gov.ca.gov/interact#contact but I’ll try to reproduce them here. Sending items to your local office can work for you and against you; a lot depends on whether you would like to engage and educate the local office too.
Governor’s Office:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160
2550 Mariposa Mall #3013
Fresno, CA 93721
Phone: 559-445-5295
Fax: 559-445-5328
Los Angeles Office
300 South Spring Street
Suite 16701
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: 213-897-0322
Fax: 213-897-0319
3737 Main Street #201
Riverside, CA 92501
Phone: 951-680-6860
Fax: 951-680-6863
San Diego Office
1350 Front Street
Suite 6054
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-525-4641
Fax: 619-525-4640
San Francisco Office
455 Golden Gate Avenue
Suite 14000
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 415-703-2218
Fax: 415-703-2803
Washington D.C. Office
134 Hall of the States
444 North Capitol Street NW
Washington D.C. 20001
Phone: 202-624-5270
Fax: 202-624-5280
