Being able to engage politically is a skill; it generally must be learned. Your city councilperson isn't going to care about internet security; what could they

Being able to engage politically is a skill; it generally must be learned. Your city councilperson isn't going to care about internet security; what could they do about it even if they did? They are going to care about that boring, mundane shit involved in supporting the wide variety of businesses and citizens in a city. Hair salons are important to a lot of people, even if they're not important to you. Your state rep might have more to say about internet security or privacy or something, but if they're not actively involved, then you can't just go in and say "This is important, do this." Look for other politicians who are pushing privacy regulations for your state, and bring that to the attention of the politicians. Also, phone, don't email. They've all got a staff of one to several people responding to emails for them, and those people are all so busy that, if you want to build a rapport with them (to eventually be able to set up a 5-minute meeting with the representative in question!), the phone is the way to go. And remember: what's in it for them, if they're meeting with you? Are you informing them about one person's opinion? Do you represent 150 of your colleagues in NYC tech? Are you speaking on behalf of a trade organization, and these views are important to many voters, not just you? Yes, this all takes time. If you want to have an impact with the political route, you may have to reprioritize how you spend your free time.