A Day in the Life of a First Time Lobbyist

Reflections from a first time lobbyist by central Kentucky KFTC member Jessica Barnett

This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to lobby in Frankfort for the first time. I tagged along with veteran KFTC lobbyists who helped me out as I learned the system. They began by showing me around the Capitol Annex where the Senate and House of Representative's offices are located. Although it was confusing at first, by the end of the day I had a general idea of how to get around.

We then set up our game plan of which legislators we wanted to meet with. The bills we focused on that day were HB 70: The Restoration of Voting Rights Act, HB 126: The Clean Energy Opportunity Act and HB 127, a tax justice bill. Although I was familiar with the bills, the idea of talking to a representative was a little scary. I planned out what I was going to say in my head, trying to focus on why the issues were important to me personally.

As I made my way through the halls I was overwhelmed but excited to see so many people out making their voices heard. After moving our way through the crowd, we put our names on a list to be seen and spent some time waiting.

Unfortunately, no one was available to see us that morning. I was a little disappointed but I knew our trip to Frankfort was not a waste. Before we left we wrote notes to specific representatives asking them to support the bills. Despite not seeing anyone face-to-face it was still empowering to exercise my right as a citizen. I’ll be back soon to give it another try!