When penning an email to a political representative, the fine line between respectful discourse and the expression of strong convictions often becomes a tightrope walk. Recently, I crafted a letter to Representative Maria Salazar, a Republican and a known Trump loyalist, to voice my concerns about the current state of our nation. Fully aware that my words might not sway her firmly held positions, I nevertheless felt it imperative to articulate my viewpoints on critical issues. Below is the email I sent, detailing my apprehensions and urging a thoughtful reconsideration of her stances.
Dear Representative Salazar,
I hope this message finds you well. As one of your constituents, I wanted to take a moment to express my concerns regarding several recent developments. Although I did not vote for you in the past elections, I respect your current position as my representative in Congress.
Firstly, I would like to convey my disappointment regarding your support for the current President’s agenda. I firmly believe that his policies are detrimental to the welfare of our country and do not align with the best interests of our citizens.
Additionally, I am deeply opposed to the creation of the “Department of Government Efficiency” spearheaded by Elon Musk. I am concerned about the potential ramifications of this initiative, as it appears to be an attempt to dismantle essential parts of our federal government.
Furthermore, I would like to address the current Administration’s immigration policies and their impact on our community. Many Hispanic conservatives, including those from Venezuela and Colombia, have been adversely affected by these policies, resulting in the deportation of their relatives. This has caused significant distress among your core constituents.
I am also dismayed by Congress’s lack of resistance to President Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and the proposal to annex Greenland and the Gaza Strip. Such actions are alarming and raise serious questions about our nation’s priorities and international relations.
Finally, I urge you to reflect on the ideological direction of your party. While your family fled Cuba to escape leftist authoritarianism, it seems that the current trajectory of your party may be leading us toward an authoritarian right-wing regime. This is a matter of great concern to me and many others who value democratic principles and freedoms.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my views. I trust that you will give these issues the thoughtful consideration they deserve.
Sincerely,
Alex Diaz-Granados
A Certain Point of View, Too 
Comments
10 responses to “My Letter to Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL 27)”
Great letter and I hope she listens.
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I’d be gratified if she did, but I’m not holding my breath.
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You’re probably right about that.
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Did you send this letter by email or by mail? Since I have some experience with doing this and talking to congress staff I can give you a few advice. Your letter is well written and polite and that matters a lot. Being critical is OK as long as it is polite. So, I think it is good the way it is. Be aware though that it is quite unlikely that the congresswoman herself will read it. They get hundreds of letters every day. However, a staffer will read it, or at least skim it, since it is politely written. If it were not, it would go straight to the waste basket. If the staffer reads it, they will try to to respond to you and they will record your concern in a data base. The congresswoman may not know about your individual letter but she will know how many people writing had similar concerns.
If you want to have a greater impact you can write the letter with a pen instead, but don’t use cursive. They will not read it more carefully if it is handwritten, but they will remember that your letter was handwritten. It will stand out and remember you. Very few people write using a pen. Letters sent by mail will take longer because they have to be vetted before the office gets it (about 2-3 weeks), but they are more impactful than an email. It is best to send it to the DC office rather than the local office. Either way you should receive a response from them but it is likely to be a template that is used over and over so don’t be dissappointed if they are not directly addressing your content. They don’t have time to provide individual responses.
If you want to have an even bigger impact, call her office in Washington DC. You may get to talk to a staffer whom again will record your concern in a database. However, a phone call carries larger weight than a letter. The congresswoman will now and then ask about the number of phone calls and their concerns. Another way to have a greater impact is to write a letter to the editor (LTE) in the local newspaper, and mention the congresswoman by name in the LTE. They look for LTEs in which congressmen are mentioned, because they know thousands of people are reading the newspaper.
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It’s already emailed. I don’t write in longhand, and I didn’t want to send a physical letter. I’m just airing my views (respectfully) to let her know that not all her constituents agree with the GOP, Trump, or the Representative’s own public stances.
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I can add that the best chance to get a congressman/woman to listen to you personally is to participate in a townhall meeting and ask a question or bring up your concern in the townhall meeting. Another is to be part of a group or organization and schedule a meeting, and if you are lucky you get to talk to the congressman/woman.
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I emailed my note. I’ve written to politicians before, so I knew what to say and what tone to use. I’m not looking for a reply, to be honest; I just want my views noted and logged by her staff.
This was also my way of venting, but I didn’t want to just write an angry blog post about how I feel about Trump, MAGAism, or the way the GOP is sliding into fascism. So…I figured I’d send my Congresswoman an email.
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Yes they will be noted and logged and the congresswoman will at least find out how many people who wrote had those kinds of concerns. You have a good way of viewing it.
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Well done, Alex!
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Thanks!
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