Boilerplate Letter to an Official

Many people want to write letters to officials – governors, local police, representatives, etc. – but don’t know where to start. Based on my experience in writing proposals (current job) and writing memos to high-ranking military officers (past job), I’ve put together the boilerplate and example letters below for you. And if you have something better (which surely many do), please share in the comments!

BOILERPLATE LETTER TO AN OFFICIAL

<<Date – if a printed, mailed letter>>

<<Address – if a printed, mailed letter>>

<<Name>>,

<<If possible, it’s helpful to start out with what you know about the person, and any common ground you have. You can also acknowledge something good they have done in their position of power. For example, “Thank you for your 17 years of service…” or “I saw that you championed X effort” or “Like you, I served in the military…”>>

<<Then get into why you’re writing. You have an ambition for change. What specific action do you want this specific person to take to help bring about this change? What is your rationale? Whom will it help? If possible, explain how the change with be mutually beneficial. For example, “Studies show that body-worn cameras…” or “I call upon you to reject X and instead do Y” or “Please stop X, which has the following consequences.” Then relate it back to how it affects you personally. >>

<<Provide any additional background on the topic to show you know what you’re talking about. Any research, life experience, etc. that you can draw on to help drive your point home. This can honestly be accomplished through Google + reliable sources.>>

<<Explain what the consequences may be for not doing the action you are requesting. What do you think will happen? And why is that bad? Whom will it affect?>>

<<Finally, close with one sentence reiterating what you’re asking for. And if you’re so inclined, hit them with an additional sentence like, “History will remember the choices you make in this moment,” or “I continue to trust in your leadership,” or “Lives are at stake” – something that conveys the lasting impression their choices have.>>

Thank you for your time,

<<Your Name>>

<<Relevant info, “like Resident of X”>>

EXAMPLE LETTER

Note – This is a letter I wrote to the US Secretary of Defense. You are welcome to use any and all of it if you find it useful! I actually used this as a baseline to write letters to other officials today.

3 June 2020

Dr. Esper,

Thank you for your years of service to this country in the Army, as the Secretary of the Army, and now as the Secretary of Defense. I have not had the honor of serving in the military, but I have had the pleasure of supporting our military as a contractor for seven years. I worked my way up from checking grammar in documents to briefing Generals, Admirals, and SES-level civil servants on foreign policy for vital IED jammers. I love this country, and I am proud of those who serve it.

With this pride in my heart, I never imagined I would witness military action against my fellow Americans. I was shocked and disturbed by President Trump’s promise of “thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers”— a promise that followed a video of protestors and bystanders attacked with tear gas and rubber bullets in front of a church. I live twenty miles outside of DC, and my family began to pack our bags so we could relocate further from the city.

I want to thank you, therefore, for opposing invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807. As you know, this Act has a long history of invocation during protests against the brutalization of Black Americans. Right now, Americans are scared. One-hundred-thousand of us have died of a highly-contagious virus. One in four of us is unemployed and struggling to feed our families. We watch, time after time, as our Black brothers and sisters are killed at the hands of our own law enforcement. And as we cry out for change, for help in the form of laws that protect our Black brothers and sisters, we fear we will instead face war on our own soil.

When citizens are backed into a corner as we are now, we risk collapse. We risk autocracy. We must find an alternative approach. If we do not break the cycle, if we do not call upon and develop best practices of nonviolent de-escalation, if we do not take action against the root problem of systemic racism, I fear that violence will only beget more violence and American blood will continue to stain our great cities.

Please continue to denounce the use of military force against protestors and stand up for us, for the democracy we’ve built, and for the changes we need to protect all Americans. History will remember the choices you make in these moments.

Thank you for your service and for listening,