Here are the next two sample letters. As usual, they are presented as guidelines to help you get started on your own letter; however, feel free to use them ver batim if you feel uncomfortable writing your own.
Both these letters are important ones. The letter to Governor Ehrlich urges him to intervene in the project on behalf of the state. The letter Mayor Martin O'Malley subtlely encourages him to take a public stand on the project forcing it into a campaign issue. That may add pressure to Governor Ehrlich to intervene.
As a reminder, in order of most impressiveness on elected officials:
- Snail mail followed by phone call
- Snail mail
- Phone call
Any method you decide to use will be a great help.
Governor Ehrlich:
Contact:
Office of the Governor
The Honorable Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.
State HouseAnnapolis, Maryland
21401-1925410.974.3901 (PH)
410.974.3275(Fax)
Toll Free 1.800.811.8336
TDD 410.333.3098
MD Relay 1.800.735.2258
webmail: http://www.gov.state.md.us/mail/
Dear Governor Ehrlich,
I am writing you with regards to the proposed Blackwater resort project tentatively approved by the Dorchester County and City of Cambridge commisioners. I urge you to intervene on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Marylanders who, directly or indirectly, depend on the Chesapeake Bay for their livilihood.
The proposed project will butress the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge. Managers of the refuge have expressed their concern that the project will put the habitat and surrounding marshlands in jeopardy. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has publically declared its firm opposition to the development. A full 73% of the voting residents of Dorchester County oppose the project.
All share the fear that the 1,000 acre project, over three hundred of which cut through critical bay habitat, will seriously damage, if not destroy, the refuge and surrounding marshlands. Damage to the wetlands will have a ripple effect far beyond the Dorchester County line. Being an important nursery for the fish and crabs of the Chesapeake Bay, fishermen and crabbers up and down the Bay will feel the crunch in lower catches and businesses dependent on the seafood harvests - both commercial and tourist orientated - will feel the pinch in higher prices or in a search for better fishing grounds outside of the Bay.
While I do appreciate the local governments' desire to spurn economic growth in their communities, the laws governing critical bay habitat development shouldn't be broken just to make a fast buck today. People come to the marshlands to enjoy its natural beauty. If the resort being built to accomodate these people end up destroying the marshlands, they will stop coming. All the jobs and revenue createdby the project will dry up tomorrow and hundreds of thousands of Marylanders up and down the Bay and in Dorchester County will pay a heavy price for the bad decisions being made today.
I urge you to step in and encourage the Dorchester County and City of Cambridge commissoners to reconsider the project. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has offered a good solution: move the project closer to the heart of Cambridge to revitalize depressed sections of the city and designate the 1,000 acres of the proposed site as a buffer zone between the delicate wetlands and the future growth of Cambridge.
This sounds like a solid and smart plan to follow.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
Mayor Martin O'Malley:
Contact:
Campaign Headquarters
2400 Boston Street
Suite 203
Baltimore, MD 21224
Phone: 410-814-4206
Fax: 410-814-4218
email: email: campaign@martinomalley.com
Dear Mayor Martin O'Malley,
As a leading gubanatorial candidate, I would like to know your stand on the proposed Blackwater resort project tentatively approved by the Dorchester County and City of Cambridge commisioners. Unfortunately, if the project goes through as planned, groundbreaking will begin in October, a month before the election, but your stand on this project will give me and Maryland voters a good idea where you might stand on any future development plans along the Chesapeake Bay.
The resort project may not be an election year hot topic, but it is extremely important to the 73% of voters in Dorchester County who oppose it and to the tens of thousands of Marylanders who have already signed the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's petition urging Governor Ehrlich to intervene on behalf of the state.
Hundreds of thousands of Marylanders depend on the Bay, either directly or indirectly, for their livlihood. They are keenly sensitive to any issues that may threaten their way of life such as destruction or damage to major wetlands that the Blackwater resort may cause. I know I, and many other Marylanders, eagerly await your public stand on the Blackwater project and the future of the Chesapeake Bay.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
