Serving in elected office is challenging, especially when you want to change the status quo. And we need leaders who are willing to fight for progress for our democracy and our planet! To help newly-elected officials become the strongest and most effective leaders they can be, LCV offers governance training in partnership with our state leagues in the Conservation Voters Movement and other organizations.

In January, LCV held a governance training with the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (NJLCV) for eight newly-elected state representatives and city council members in the state. They had the chance to learn about listening, relationship-building, and power-mapping as critical tools for elected leaders, and to build their relationships with one another.

Power-mapping is a tool that helps leaders to visualize the allies and opponents on a bill or a campaign. It can help to identify where decision-makers stand on an issue, as well as the people and organizations that can influence the decision. Ultimately, power-mapping an issue can help leaders recognize the key people to focus their efforts on to win on their issue, and key constituencies that need to be activated in order to make victory more likely.

The newly-elected leaders also got to meet some of their colleagues in the state legislature, who shared how their partnership with NJLCV has helped them achieve their policy goals. Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson was one leader who shared her advice.

Meeting and building relationships with new colleagues was most participants’ favorite part of the day.  Leaders said they wanted more insights on how to pass a piece of legislation, so we are planning to follow up with online sessions diving into that topic.

Learn more about LCV’s work to develop future leaders who share our vision of a world with a healthy environment and healthy communities, protected by a just and equitable democracy.