Steve Bloom/The Olympian
In her ninth year at the Legislative Hotline, Wanda Riley says she has found callers to be mostly polite and appreciative of the service, even when they are upset about an issue.

Government Connections

Hot line operators are public's link to legislators

PATRICK CONDON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Monday, April 8, 2002

OLYMPIA -- Tucked away in a quiet corner of the East Capitol Campus, the operators of the Legislative Hotline are on the front lines for every wave of populist sentiment that washes over Washington's elected officials.

The small staff, made up mostly of retired state workers and others looking for part-time work, fields hundreds of phone calls every day during the legislative session and in the weeks that follow. This week, the last few hot line operators are finishing up their work for the year.

Their boss, Susan Ringwood, is preparing to move the operation back into the Legislative Information Center, where she will maintain the operations as a bare-bones hot line of one until the next legislative session starts in January 2003.

"Clean up. Close down. Throw out," Ringwood said last week as she surveyed the small office the hot line occupies during session.

By then, the session-high team of 15 operators had dwindled to Ringwood and three others.

The session was a busy two months for the hot line, which operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week and for four hours on Saturdays for as long as the session lasts.

This year, from Jan. 14 to March 14, the hot line logged 21,000 calls to state lawmakers and Gov. Gary Locke, a full 2,000 more than in 2000, the previous two-month legislative session. Last year, during the contentious 105-day regular session, the hot line logged 23,017 calls.

Decreasing call volume

In the past 10 years or so, though, calls have decreased significantly, Ringwood said, as more constituents communicate with their legislators via e-mail. The hotline has reduced its numbers of operators over that period of time.

For those who remain, the calls roll in during the session at what usually feels like a constant pace. The operators dispense contact information, hearing times, the status of bills and resolutions, and basic civic information such as how a bill becomes a law.

But mainly, they pass along constituents' comments and complaints about pending legislation to legislators.

In recent years, even that has become more complicated than it sounds, as big lobbying groups hire specialized firms that mobilize phone campaigns on hot issues.

"Our main thing is, we just have to stay at all times completely unbiased," said Tawney Crawford, who spends the rest of the year training English cocker spaniels. Operators also must guard against giving callers the idea that their problems can be solved.

"I got a call just this morning from a woman who was very, very upset about the new seat belt law," said Wanda Riley, who retired from the Department of Labor and Industries nine years ago.

"She said, 'I don't wear seat belts. I taught my kids not to wear seat belts. You're not going to make me wear a seat belt.' I said, 'I'm just the message taker, ma'am.' "

Riley passed the comments on to the caller's legislators and the Governor's Office.

Polite despite frustration

For the most part, the operators say, callers are polite and coherent, though many are frustrated. They'd have to be, the operators reason, to take the time to pick up the phone in the first place.

"Sometimes they just want to vent," Crawford said.

Added Riley, "There's a lot of unhappy people out there."

Occasionally, a person's unhappiness is not even connected to an issue.

"There's a woman we know is at one of the psychiatric hospitals, she just calls and will scream into the phone," said Joanne Hackett, a retired accountant who has staffed the hot line for eight sessions. "We've all taken her call at least once."

Sometimes the operators need to explain the elementary differences between state legislators and officials at higher levels of government.

"I had a lady call," Riley said. "She's upset about the situation in Jerusalem. She wants to know why her legislator isn't doing anything about it."

Riley said she gently tried to explain the difference between Washington state lawmakers and members of Congress. Then she passed the comments on to the legislators whose district the woman lives in.

"Everything gets passed along," Riley said.

Despite the occasional headaches, the operators say they enjoy the work.

"It's a good service," Riley said. "It helps people, and it helps government work."

On the Web:

- Washington State Legislature

The Olympian Copyright 2002

back to State Workers index