Thanks for being part of JUFJ’s campaigns for a more just Montgomery County! Submitting testimony to the Montgomery County Council is a powerful piece of our advocacy work. Hearing the stories and personal narratives of community members is an important component of moving elected officials to take action on the issues JUFJ and our coalition partners care about.

You don’t have to be an expert! The most effective testimony is concise, specific, and personal: it should fit on one single-spaced page, clearly identify your support for or opposition to the bill in question, and make an emotional impact. An emotional story “sticks” with the reader more than facts and figures.

• Use the “I want to testify” button to let staff know you are interested in writing testimony. If you would like to be paired with a testimony mentor to offer support and answer questions as you write testimony, you can request a mentor using this form.
• Use the “General Template” button when you are ready to start writing your testimony. Click the button and then select the blue “Make a Copy” option, which will generate a new Google Doc copy of the template that you can edit and use for drafting your own testimony.
• Use the “Testimony Examples” button to see examples of testimony from JUFJers across the region.
• Use the “I’m ready to submit” button when your testimony is ready to go.

Written Testimony Best Practices

NOTES:

• JUFJ’s position on bills is consistent with the position of our coalitions. We will communicate our coalition’s position on the bill and/or amendments to the people who let us know they are writing testimony.
• When you submit written testimony, you are not automatically signing up to deliver oral testimony.

This testimony format is also included in the general template linked above.

OPENING: My name is (Your Name). I am a resident of (City) in District (Your County District Number – find your district here). I am submitting this testimony (in support of/in support with amendments/opposing) (Bill#), (Bill Name).

FRAMING: Start off with thanking any council members who are sponsors of the bill. Then describe who you are, including what synagogue or other organizations you belong to, but not including JUFJ. It is actually more powerful not to list JUFJ since we will also be submitting separate JUFJ testimony. Share why you care about the bill — mention your values, Jewish tradition, moral framework, personal experience with the issue, professional expertise, etc. that guide your viewpoint.

BODY: Use the body to more fully present your personal story, how it relates to the proposed bill, and how passing or rejecting the bill will improve the lives of people in Montgomery County. What do you think will be fixed/broken by passing this bill? What would be different, positively or negatively, if this bill was law? In total, your testimony should be roughly a page, so one or two points will be sufficient.

NOTE: Rebutting opposition arguments draws attention away from our coalitions’ messages and can inadvertently amplify the opposition. We suggest you keep your testimony focused on our coalition’s talking points and not focus on rebutting the opposition’s talking points.

CLOSING: The closing paragraph should reiterate your position on the bill. Explain why you think the bill will be effective/ineffective, outcomes that the bill will achieve, etc. This does not need to be long. End with: I urge the Council to (support/oppose) (Bill#).

Have more questions about testifying in Montgomery County? Contact Natalia.