Time to Write Letters to Congrressional Representatives and Postal Officials

The Committee to Save the Deer Harbor Post Office is now preparing packets of letters and mailing labels (10 per packet). These will be provided free to folks who volunteered to participate in the mail campaign. The letters can be simply signed and sent, or personalized. If you want a packet and have not signed up, call 376-6051, ask for a mailing packet, and provide your mailing address.

Some folks will prefer to write their own letters. Below are key addresses of our Congressional delegation and other addresses for the Post Office campaign. Here are key points to consider when writing to these busy people who receive hundreds of requests every day from their constituents:

State Our Case, but Keep it Brief:

• Use just a couple sentences to explain our issue. (Ex. we are an isolated rural community, the PO is our community center, and also serves two even more remote island communities, and our Post. The Post Office has lost its lease, and faces closure.)
• Rather than explain every reason the Deer Harbor PO should remain opened, choose one: It's environmentally more sensible. The PO is community center. It is not cost effective to close the PO, etc. One strong argument is more effective than a scattered approach. Since many people are writing letters, trust that all the issues will be covered.
  

State What you Would Like the Elected Representative to Do, For example:

• Contact officials at the USPS on our behalf and advocate for saving the DHPO.
• Contact the USPS officials and request that they communicat with the Save the Deer Harbor Post Office Committee.
• Contact the USPS officials and determine if the Deer Harbor Post Office has already been put on the closure list, and report back to us.

And Finally, of Course, Be Courteous:

• Ask rather than demand.
• Do not write more than one or two words in all caps. THAT IS LIKE SHOUTING.

Addresses:

The Honorable Patty Murray
United States Senate
173 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4701
e-mail: murray.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

The Honorable Maria Cantwell
United States Senate
511 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4704
e-mail: cantwell.senate.gov/contact/

The Honorable Rick R. Larsen
United States House of Representatives
108 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4702
e-mail from www.house.gov/larsen/contact/

The Honorable John E. Porter
U.S. Postmaster General/CEO
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, DC 20260-0010
e-mail pmgceo@usps.gov

Ms. Katherine Nash, District Manager
U.S. Postal Service
P.O. Box 90400
Seattle, WA 98109-9997
e-mail: katherine.s.nash@usps.com

Office of the Secretary
U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission
901 New York Avenue NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20268-0001