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9A Page 7 TELECOM from page 1 .............................................. As reported in the March 23 edition of Con- gressional Quarterly, "The impasse marked a sharp turn of events just two weeks after five committee leaders said they had reached a broad agreement on the legislation after months of on- again, off-again negotiations. "Committee Republicans are expected to release a partisan draft and are hoping to hold a hearing next week." Reports are the new draft legislation would strip local governments' authority to enter into franchising agreements with new video providers and possibly terminate existing cable franchise agreements. This potentially major news about the House legislation comes as the League is distributing new information and advocacy materials to cities related to telecommunications reform. The materials - available on the League's online Advo- cacy Center (www.cacities.ora/advocacvcenter) include background materials, a sample resolu- tion, talking points, a sample letter to send to legislators and congressional representatives and other materials. Congress, Legislature Needs to Hear from Cities The news from Washington D.C. confirms what city officials are learning about the telecom- munications reform issue: this is complicated stuff, and agreements on reform are not going to be easily worked out - either in Washington or in the State Capitol. City officials have an important opportunity to weigh in with their state and federal representa- tives about the issues that are important at the local level. While cities may have different per- spectives on reform, most will likely agree that the key principles adopted by the League board of directors properly identify the issues that will be of concern. Now is the time to make your voices heard. Contact your League regional representative for more information about advocacy efforts. Visit the League's Advocacy Center to access background materials, a sample resolution, sample letters, and more. Advocacy Tips: Remember that personal contacts with your representatives are going to carry the most weight - a phone call, a visit to the district office, some type of personal meeting. You can use the talking points on the Advocacy Center to help get the conversation going. Sec- ond in the order of effectiveness: a snail mail letter- on your letterhead, or even hand written. Finally, if you don't have time for the other options, use email. It's available on the Advocacy Center to make it easy for you to be an advocate for your city. It's much better than not writing at all - but if sent to your representative's office, is not likely to be as effective as a personal contact. (The exception: if you know your representative well enough to access his or her personal e-mail.) LOOKING FOR CALIFORNIA'S BEST TO FILL A POSITION IN YOUR CITY? Western City magazine's job opportunity section is the source for job seekers looking for positions in local government. According to our reader survey, the job opportunity section is the best read section of our magazine! When you place an ad in Western City magazine, it will be posted at no additional charge on our website, which receives over 80,000 hits per month. Call to place your recruitment ad today! We Have What You Need (800) 262-1801 orvisitourwebsite at www.westerncity.com Visit the League's Official Website--www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS - PAGE 7 March 24. 2006 . Issue #12