Idaho Librarian

On My Mind...

ILA      Lobbyist  Speaks to  Librarians

  John Watts discusses his profession during an interview.      

Sandra Shropshire
Idaho State University Library

Three legislative sessions ago, in January 1999, ILA hired a lobbyist for the first time.  After having faced a series of sessions which saw the narrow defeat of the One Percent Initiative and the funding of the LiLi  database, as well as several discouraging funding years with regard to library and education related issues, the Executive Board began to be convinced of the value of ILA's establishing a stable, dedicated relationship with lawmakers.  This had been the message regularly delivered by ILA Legislative Committee chairs, who, despite their contacts and competencies, did not have the time needed to devote to the cause.  Thus, acting upon a recommendation from a 1997 Legislative Committee, the Board hired John Watts, who has served as lobbyist since then.

This past April, I talked with John Watts.  The 2001 session had ended, and it seemed to be a good opportunity to learn more about him, his profession, and his views on libraries and their issues. 

John is a member of the Boise firm, Veritas Advisors, which provides services such as the formation of public policy recommendations, fund-raising , public relations, and the administration of political campaigns.  He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Weber State University, an M.P.A. from Boise State University, and has done doctoral work in political science at the University of Idaho.  

He originally wanted to be an elected official in order to address situations he saw as needing attention.  He soon realized that he could better effect change as a lobbyist, and has been satisfied with the decision.  “I really like it,” he remarked about his work.  

Watts goes on to describe the work.  It requires the cultivation of relationships and contacts, an in-depth knowledge and experience in political issues, and an ability to create coalitions.  Coalitions and relationships that are formed not just with legislators, but with other lobbyists, in fact.  “It’s as important to lobby lobbyists as it is to lobby legislators,” he emphasized,  “It’s all about relationships and connections.”

Making and maintaining these ties requires follow-through and attention to detail on John 's part.  Typical work during the session includes checking committee agendas each day, tracking bill progress, attending committee hearings, meeting with other lobbyists, researching issues and developing contacts. 

Lobbying in a state as small as Idaho is intensely challenging and fascinating, John explains.  "You get to know the legislators and the other lobbyists... I probably have access and influence and power in Idaho that lobbyists in California only dream of", he laughs. He characterizes the milieu of politics as being “all gray”, referring to the compromises and half-victories that are its hallmarks.  Gray does not seem to be the most apt word to describe the session that just ended, though, since he stated that it was the most contentious year that he’s seen since 1983.  When he was asked why, his response was instant and emphatic: “Too much money”, revealing much about the environment in which he operates.

I wanted to know what John has learned from his relationship with the library world over the past three years.   He's learned about the relationship between the Idaho State Library to the library districts throughout the state, and about the variety of types of libraries within the state. 

He elaborated that he's become much more cognizant of what he terms the “paradox of libraries.”  By this he means the challenge of operating as a progressive, publicly-funded institution whose aims of advocating constitutional rights, of providing tools for bettering society and of enabling people to carry out their lives in a productive manner, necessarily includes the provision of free Internet access, as well as material which addresses a range of ideas.  A challenge in any setting, to be sure, but especially so when operating within a citizenry of largely conservative philosophies that manifest themselves in voting behaviors.  

John’s advice to the members of ILA is realistic and unabashedly honest, and tests the ideals of the library profession: 

"To be successful you need to be organized.  You need to engage yourselves in planning.  You need to know what you want to do and to start early.  And you need to be realistic about what it is you want to do in the political and philosophical environment you work in. And that kind of goes to the fascinating situation that I think that libraries are in… You need to identify what’s the absolute, most important to you.  Get a bunch of those things and prioritize those things and then recognize the opportunities, constraints associated with each of those priorities and accept the realities of the opportunities and constraints.  Change things when you can, Compromise when you have to and really assess the result of perhaps ending badly.  And is it worth it?  Cause you’ve got to back another day.  You guys don’t have a choice—you’re created by statute. You have to play in that arena.  You just don’t have a choice.  How you choose to play and how well you choose to play is an issue you’ve got to come to grips with.”    

If ILA members follow John's advice, and pay heed to an observation that he made about the undeniable superiority of an individual voter's contact with a legislator, it may be that, his will not be the only voice for ILA heard in Boise during the next legislative session.