G ove r n men t Re lat ions
PADPAC UPDATE
Grassroots Fundraisers
by John Basial, Government Relations Coordinator Fundraisers are a very effective way to meet your legislators and
talk with them in a cocktail party setting and show your
support for the elected official and educate them on the issues
important to you and your profession. If you would like to
attend a fundraiser please let us know and we can help prepare
you so you have a great experience and you do the best job as
an advocate.
Even though the Pennsylvania legislature is in recess until after
Labor Day now is a good time to meet with your legislators
in their district offices to discuss the issues important to you
and your profession. If you want to be an effective advocate
and move your profession across the legislative goal line, please
contact me and I’ll bring you up to speed so that when you
meet with your legislator you’ll do a great job and have a good
time. If you help/do your part when the legislature comes back
after Labor Day, they will be ready to move PDA’s agenda
forward.
Every legislator we contact moves us one step closer to achieving
our legislative agenda. We build coalitions so that you can
achieve your goals. You truly hold the power in your hands to
help build a winning coalition and shape our shared state to
make life better for you, your patients and your profession.
Don’t let your vast potential go to waste.
If you don’t know who your legislator is I have an easy fix. Look
at https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/
findyourlegislator/ and type in your home address (where you
vote) and the site will tell you. Make a phone call to introduce
yourself or even better make an appointment to have lunch
with them in their district where their schedule is a bit more
their own.
In early June I met with Board of Trustees member Dr. John
Coole, Dr. Devin Conaway, Dr. Karen Jaggars, Dr. Andrew Mack,
Dr. Catherine Dailey Owen, Dr. Patrick Owen, Dr. Angela
Resavage, Dr. David Scopelliti and Dr. Jonathan VanDermark of
Sixth District to discuss ways they can be as effective as
possible when they interact with state legislators in their area.
Sixth District held a seminar during PDA’s Contact Dentist
Network program (“The Importance of Contributing and
Building Relationships with Legislators”). We went over the
issues, things to do, not to do, possible objections by the
legislators, how to approach their specific legislators and how
to best tell their individual stories, and everyone learned a
great deal. I’d be happy to put on a similar program for you or
your group. All we need is a place to meet in your area and a
time to meet and I’ll take care of everything else. You can be an
effective advocate and make a difference. You and your
colleagues can make a better reality happen. The sooner you
get started the sooner we get to the destination we want.
Since the winter we contributed to:
April
Rep. Kurt Masser (R-Northumberland) He is the Majority Caucus
Administrator. He is part of Majority leadership and handles the
various day to day tasks involving the House Republican caucus.
Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren) She is the Majority chair of the House
Health committee.
May
Rep. Jerry Knowles (R- Schuylkill) He sits on the Education and
Health committees.
Rep. Steve Mentzer (R-Lancaster) He is the vice chair of Insurance
and sits on the Professional Licensure committee.
PDA hosted a dinner for the House Committee Chair Caucus.
This is a brand new caucus that brings together the House
committee chairs for an open and convivial discussion about
legislative and regulatory issues. We talked extensively with
the eight House committee chairs and discussed a variety of
PDA issues. A lot of ground was covered and a great time was
had by all.
The PDA members who helped make the event a success and
set the stage to build on the relationships developed were:
• PDA President Dr. Charles Incalcaterra
• Immediate past PDA President Dr. Jim Boyle
• Fifth District Trustee Dr. Gary Davis
• Government Relations Committee chair Dr. Darleen Oleski
• Dr. Nicole Quezada
The entire PDA team spoke with:
• Rep. Steve Barrar, House Veterans Affairs & Emergency
Preparedness chair
• Rep. Karen Boback, House Children and Youth chair
• Rep. Sue Helm, House Urban Affairs chair
JU LY/AU G U ST 2019 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
13