MMPAC’s Government Relations Rough Rider (GRRR) Deputies Program

THE MISSION
The Mission of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Political Action Committee’s (MMPAC) Government Relations Rough Rider (GRRR) Deputies is to position themselves on the doorsteps of State Senators and State Representatives and learn how these legislators feel about the changes we are working on and what it would take to get their support.

BACKGROUND
Every State Motorcycle Rights Organization (SMRO) fights to change and\or repeal certain legislation to either preserve or enhance their right to ride motorcycles in their state. SMROs try many ways to accomplish this, most all of which require lots of manpower. Producing the needed manpower consumes so much of the organizations resources; little is left to fight for legislative change. Inevitably, we end up with a minority of activists and a majority of members waiting for direction.

Fighting for legislative change is indeed a fight, just like kickboxing or armed conflict. Recognizing this, the MMPAC designed a "battle system" that requires the least amount of overhead to get the most results. In other words, the most bang for the buck. Given a limited amount of resources, the more you devote to overhead, the less you have for front-line operations (what the overhead is supposedly there to support).

The MMPAC GRRR Deputy program will be used to maximize results with a minimal amount of effort by delegating tasks and spreading the workload statewide, right into the legislators’ district.   The program uses one single “3-person, state-wide panel” to analyze and evaluate positions of all current legislators and those running for elections.   From there, the panel mobilizes the deputies into action.

This is where you come in: to be effective, the MMPAC needs up to 200 people to volunteer to become GRRR Deputies.   The magic number 200 consists of the districts for all 40 State Senators and all 160 State Representatives.   There is some overlap and 1 person may in fact be a Deputy for both a Senator and a Representative, but we’re setting our goals at 200 for now.

A GRRR Deputy should be someone with "people" skills and the ability to call up local manpower: ie: bikers who volunteer on the front line, do a little campaign work, hold signs or help deliver signs within the district, help take phone calls at the campaign office, distribute literature, etc.

NOTE: The Deputy doesn’t have to do all the work: instead, the Deputy needs to be the “go to” person in the District to coordinate the front-line volunteers, to get the work done.

ANOTHER NOTE: There doesn’t need to be that many bikers to change a close race. In fact, the closer the race, the more influence we have over the outcome. Again, just a few front-line bikers helping in a single district is a major step forward.

This type of help is NOT quickly forgotten by the Legislators either.

Now is the time for the MMPAC to widen its influence with legislators. Helping Politicians produces results and one thing Politicians remember is those that have helped them get and\or retain their positions. When someone calls a legislator requesting support for legislation, if that someone is already known, they’ll likely get that help. If that someone is not known, all of those faxes and phone calls are just so much background noise. Amid the chaos of the legislative session, legislators fall back on what counts most: the people who put them in office or helped them stay in office.

To summarize: the MMPAC’s GRRR Deputy Program needs:

- One state-wide panel\committee to evaluate candidates and prioritize races
- A handful of good coordinators at the voting district level
- Lots of Legislative Alert subscribers at the grassroots level
- Experience in using the whole system (practice makes perfect)

We’re asking you to step up and become the GRRR Deputy for the District you live in.   Drop us a line at Contact@MassMotorcyclePAC.org and ask us any questions you have.