Here's another new member of Congress doing all the right things with Fireside21:

I spoke to Erika Lovely last week when she was researching today’s Politico article, Do tele-town halls shield lawmakers from rowdy crowds? She quoted me about call moderation, but didn’t have room for a couple of important recommendations. I thought it might be worthwhile to remind everyone of a couple things.

First, here’s what appears in the article:

“Screening eliminates confusion,” said Fireside21 Chief Executive Officer Ken Ward. “In a situation when there are callers who go beyond what they should in matters of language and decorum, there’s the ability to mute that person. I don’t think anyone is trying to censor — just maintain the level of appropriateness for the conversation.”

Maintaining an appropriate level of decorum is definitely important, but the screening, or call moderation, occurs before the constituent is on the line live with the Congressman. Here’s why moderation eliminates confusion and is a best practice for a successful telephone townhall:

1. It allows an office staffer to explain to the constituent how the question queue works and prepare them for when the Congressman calls on them.
2. It allows a staffer to confirm the caller’s contact information on the call list. This might not seem important, but it is very common for Jill Smith to be on the call list while her husband Jim is the one actually on the line. Otherwise, you will have some uncomfortable dead air when the Congressman says, “Hello, Jill. What is your question?”
3. The office, through staff members, will be able to personally speak with far more constituents than the Congressman alone.
4. It allows a staff member to ask the topic of the constituents question. While the overwhelming issue of interest has been health care for the past month or so, typically a telephone townhall covers a wide range of topics. Knowing the questions’s topic allows the Congressman to cover as many topics as possible (if that is the goal).

Without this technology, these opportunities for direct interaction between a Congressman and constituents are unlikely to occur at all. While everyone just returned from the August district work period, Congressman spend far more time in DC than back home.

It is certainly their obligation to hold physical townhalls throughout their district, but telephone townhalls permit more timely access to Congressman while they are in Washington preparing to vote on legislation.