 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 31, No. 17 * September 13, 1999 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story County officials harness Internet By Eric Ciliberti
NACo has set up a new service for counties and their employees called the NACo Cyber-Activist Team. Since the inception of the program in May 1999, more than 600 county officials have signed up to become NACo Cyber-Activists. The program keeps county officials informed and offers them a fast and free way to get involved with the latest issues moving through Congress that may affect counties. When an issue of importance is facing counties in the Congress, an e-mail alert is sent out ‘to notify the Cyber-Activists what the issue is and how they can get involved. In the first three months of the program, nearly 1,000 e-mails have been sent to Capitol Hill by NACo’s Cyber-Activists on a variety of issues including galvanizing support for adequate funding for Labor and Health programs and opposing the Religious Liberty Protection Act. County officials’ response is an extremely important part of NACo’s grassroots lobbying process and augments the efforts of the NACo lobbyists on Capitol Hill. NACo formed the Cyber-Activist team in response to a technological trend in American politics. According to a study, conducted by Bonner & Associates, nearly 91 percent of all Capitol Hill offices have e-mail, a number that is expected to increase over the next five years. More importantly, e-mail is now ranked equally in importance with letters, phone calls and faxes in a number of Capitol Hill offices. It’s expected that the number of county officials with e-mail to continue to grow over the next several years, which will strengthen the voice of counties throughout the halls of Congress. |