How the reach your congressman

Sen. Cory Gardner, Republican

D.C office: 202-224-5941

Fort Collins office: 970-484-3502

Denver office: 303-391-5777

Email: bit.ly/2k7Q3PN

Twitter: @SenCoryGardner

Sen. Michael Bennet, Democrat

D.C. office: 202-224-5852

Fort Collins office: 970-224-2200

Denver office: 303-455-7600

Email: bit.ly/2kdnp2w

Twitter: @BennetForCo

Rep. Ken Buck, Republican

Represents Longmont and east, including Weld County

D.C. office: 202-225-4676

Greeley office: 970-702-2136

Email: bit.ly/2kEvYE8

Twitter: @RepKenBuck

Rep. Jared Polis, Democrat

Represents west of Longmont, including Boulder and Fort Collins

D.C. office: 202-225-2161

Boulder office: 303-484-9596

Fort Collins office: 970-226-1239

Email: bit.ly/2jOXCtO

Twitter: @RepJaredPolis

Tips

1. Have your address and zip code ready so staff can verify you're a constituent

2. State the issue clearly and concisely and your stance on the issue.

3. Let staff know if you require a response or simply want your opinion logged.

Since the presidential inauguration, Boulder County residents are trying to reach their federal elected representatives more and more.

Kyle Huwa, spokesman for Republican Rep. Ken Buck, said Buck's staff is seeing at least twice the amount of calls compared to this same time last year.

Boulder Democrat Rep. Jared Polis's office is seeing more constituent feedback since the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

"As an example, we have had a 130 percent year-over-year increase in inbound constituent mail for the month of January," Polis spokeswoman Jessica Bralish wrote in an email.

Polis said he appreciates the input and is keeping close tabs on the feedback.

"Boulder County residents are very active and engaged to begin with, but since the election my office has seen a major uptick in community engagement," Polis wrote in an email.

Laurie Cipriano, spokeswoman for Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, confirmed that Bennet's office is also seeing an uptick in calls and messages but didn't have a specific number.

"Calls and letters have increased significantly since the inauguration," Cipriano wrote in an email.

Republican Sen. Cory Gardner has been dealing with increased constituent feedback, his spokesman Alex Siciliano confirmed in an emailed statement.

"Nothing is more important to Senator Gardner than listening to his constituents. In January alone, our offices fielded over 22,000 phone calls and received over 120,000 pieces of constituent correspondence. Our entire staff has been working hard to make sure that all constituent voices are heard. As we have received a higher volume of calls than we normally do, we upgraded our voicemail system in our Washington, DC office. This new system allows us to receive an unlimited amount of messages so that every constituent concern is heard," Siciliano said.

Gardner, in recent TV interviews with CBSDenver 4, doubled down on previous comments he made saying that many of the increased volume of calls were coming from people in other states who are paid to call and protest.

Siciliano wouldn't answer specific questions about those comments but directed a 1100reporter to a follow-up CBSDenver 4 interview in which Gardner said he knows the calls are from paid, out-of-state people because the callers admit it to staffmembers who answer the phones.

"They get people who are surprised they contacted the office because there's a robocall of some kind that goes to their house and then it connects them with the office and they didn't want to contact us in some cases and are surprised they did," Gardner told CBSDenver reporter Shaun Boyd.

Coloradans responded with a Twitter campaign to Gardner where people take photos or videos of themselves calling his office and tag it with #imnotpaid.

Hey @SenCoryGardner I live in 80501. We want an in person town hall and no on DeVos. #HearUsCory #imnotpaid

Siciliano did not answer a question pertaining to hashtag but pointed a Times-Call reporter to a tweet from Gardner with a picture of the senator answering phones and noting that his staff is working overtime to make sure peoples' voices are heard.

Grateful for your patience as my office has been receiving a large volume of calls. We're working overtime to make sure your voice is heard. pic.twitter.com/XS5z9UAI8L

Calls tracked, logged

Indivisible groups in Boulder County are trying to reach Gardner and Bennet to persuade them to vote no on a variety of Trump Administration policies, like cabinet picks and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Siciliano wouldn't answer specific questions as to what degree Gardner takes into consideration feedback from left-leaning constituents except to say that every piece of feedback gets read by a staffmember.

"Constituents may also submit a message to our office through Senator Gardner's website — every piece of constituent correspondence is read by a staff member. Senator Gardner is kept up to date throughout the day on the number of callers our offices are fielding, and what the specific topics and positions our constituents are calling about. We encourage constituents who wish to share their opinions with Senator Gardner to continue to reach out to our office," Siciliano wrote.

Bralish, Polis's spokeswoman, said that staff will log calls from constituents who disagree with Polis politically.

"Rep. Polis values the input of all his constituents, regardless of whether they are conservative, liberal, or anywhere in between," Bralish wrote in an email.

"If a constituent disagrees with Rep. Polis, staff listens — first and foremost — then provides an explanation about Rep. Polis's reasoning, and logs the opinion for Rep. Polis to review. Rep. Polis weighs a variety of factors before making a decision on any policy, and constituent feedback is a very important part of his consideration.

Voting by principles

Cipriano, Bennet's spokeswoman, echoed similar comments from the other congress members' offices.

"Our office tracks our incoming calls, voicemails and emails and we respond in various ways, depending on the inquiry. For example, if a constituent is having is difficulty accessing veterans or Social Security benefits, a constituent advocate will work directly with our constituent and the government agency to find a resolution," Cipriano wrote. "We engage, help, and gather feedback from all of our constituents. Our team listens to and assists constituents, regardless of political party affiliation or personal beliefs."

Huwa, Buck's spokesman said that Buck listens to constituent feedback but votes according to his principles.

"We note down all responses, both from people who agree and people who disagree with Congressman Buck. Congressman Buck promised his constituents that he'll always vote based on his principles, but the feedback received from constituents guides him in crafting principled solutions to policy problems," Huwa wrote in an email.

Karen Antonacci: 303-684-5226, brennanc@times-call.com or twitter.com/ktonacci

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