NOADA Action Center: Contact Your Legislator
Policy is decided by the people who show up. The NOADA Action Center is where Northeast Ohio dealers turn advocacy from something they read about into something they do - contacting the legislators who represent them, hosting officials at their stores, and weighing in when a bill or rule is on the move. A short message from a constituent who employs people in a legislator’s own district carries more weight than any lobbyist’s memo, and this page is built to make sending that message take minutes.
If you are new to NOADA’s government-affairs work, start with the advocacy overview and the legislative priorities so you know what we are asking for and why.
Why grassroots advocacy works
NADA puts it plainly: dealer advocacy is most effective when local dealers meet with their own members of Congress and state legislators. The same logic drives NOADA’s work at the Statehouse. Legislators want to hear from the businesses in their districts - the employers whose payroll, tax revenue, and customers they answer to. When a dealer explains, in their own words, how a deputy-registrar funding gap or a franchise-law change affects real jobs in Akron, Summit County, or the wider region, the issue stops being abstract.
That is the entire premise of the Action Center: organized, easy, individual contact, multiplied across every dealer in Northeast Ohio. Your single voice, joined to the rest, becomes a regional position no legislator can ignore.
Ways to take action
1. Send a message to your legislators
The fastest way to be heard. NOADA’s action alerts pair a current issue with talking points and help you reach the correct state representative, state senator, or member of Congress. You can use our draft as written or, better, add a sentence or two about your own store. To take action on a current issue, contact NOADA at (330) 272-9011.
Make it count: personalize. A note that ties the issue to the people your store employs in the legislator’s district beats a form letter every time.
2. Host a legislator at your dealership
The most persuasive thing a dealer can do is invite a legislator in for a tour. When an official walks the service drive, meets technicians, and sees the operation firsthand, they understand how their votes land on real people. NOADA helps members arrange and prepare for these visits - talking points, scheduling, and follow-up. A district-office meeting works too when a dealership visit is not possible.
3. Respond to action alerts
When a vote nears or a rule opens for comment, NOADA issues a time-sensitive alert to members with the background, our position, and a clear way to respond. These are the moments when volume matters most, since a flood of constituent messages in the right week can change an outcome.
4. Share your story
Sometimes the most valuable thing you can give us is a real example: a hiring challenge, a customer hurt by a BMV closure, a warranty-reimbursement squeeze. NOADA uses member stories (with permission) in testimony and media to put a Northeast Ohio face on statewide issues.
5. Support dealer PACs
Grassroots contact and political action committees work together. Voluntary, compliant contributions to the dealer PACs, through NADA PAC and the state dealer PAC, help pro-dealer candidates stay in office to hear from you. Learn how it works on the PAC page.
What we are asking dealers to weigh in on
The issues change with the legislative calendar, but the recurring priorities are:
- Sustainable deputy-registrar / BMV funding - keeping local BMV offices, including the Akron BMV, financially viable so titles, plates, and registrations keep moving.
- The franchised-dealer system and direct-sales law - defending the local, competitive, accountable model of selling and servicing vehicles.
- Fair dealer law - warranty reimbursement closer to retail rates, customer-data protection, and limits on forced facility renovations.
- Sensible regulation - doc-fee and advertising rules tied to real costs, and federal (FTC) rules that do not bury stores in paperwork.
Full background lives on the legislative and regulatory pages.
How to make your message effective
A few minutes of personalization beats a thousand identical form letters:
- Identify yourself as a constituent - your dealership’s name, location, and how many people it employs.
- Be specific - name the bill or issue and the one effect you care about most.
- Make a clear ask - “Please support…” or “Please oppose…”
- Keep it short and respectful - a few tight paragraphs.
- Offer to help - invite the legislator to visit, and offer to answer questions.
NOADA provides the issue background and a starting draft; the personal details are what make it land.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to be a NOADA member to take action? Many action alerts are open to the public, but members receive the timely, issue-specific alerts and the staff support for legislator visits. Join NOADA to get the full toolkit.
Will my message actually be read? Yes. Legislative offices tally constituent contacts by issue, and a personalized note from a local employer carries real weight - far more than national petition traffic.
How much time does it take? Sending a message to your legislators takes only a few minutes. Hosting a dealership visit takes more planning, but NOADA handles the logistics with you.
Is this partisan? No. NOADA’s advocacy is bipartisan and issue-based. We work with legislators of both parties who support a healthy franchised-dealer system and a functioning BMV.
What if I don’t know who my legislators are? NOADA can help you identify the right state and federal offices for your dealership’s location so you reach the legislators who represent you. Call (330) 272-9011 to get started.
Take action now
- Take action on a current issue - reach out and we will point you to the right offices
- Host a dealership visit - NOADA staff will help you set it up
- Support dealer PACs - strengthen the dealer voice
- Join NOADA - get member action alerts and staff support