Advocating for Change

How To Start a Local Campaign

Citizen activists are the cornerstone of the campaign for fluoride-free drinking water. In fact, since 2010 more than 1,500 communities across North America have voted to end their fluoridation programs, largely due to small groups of citizens working with the Fluoride Action Network or using our resources to organize local campaigns to educate their neighbors and decision-makers about the serious health risks associated with the practice. Hundreds of additional communities took a stand and rejected dental-lobby proposals to start fluoridation. All these battles started with either a lone champion or just a handful of coordinated citizens who used education, advocacy, and activism to protect their drinking water. Read about many of these successful battles.

Local referendum and advocacy campaigns give ordinary citizens the opportunity to address important public health issues right in their own communities, and in the process, usually increase statewide and national awareness of the issue through news coverage. In removing fluoride, successful local campaigns also help build nationwide momentum for an end to fluoridation. As the old saying goes: “Think Globally -- Act Locally.”

There are some great examples of local campaigns helping build momentum for further policy change. In October of 2010, a group of citizen activists in the Canadian city of Waterloo, Ontario created a group called Waterloo Watch. They were successful in getting a referendum question on the municipal ballot asking citizens if they wanted to continue fluoridation. Through constant media contact, letters-to-editors, door-to-door canvassing, and nonstop education of the public and local decision-makers, Waterloo Watch was successful in securing a majority of the vote opposing fluoridation.Following the campaign in Waterloo, campaigns to remove fluoride gained traction throughout Canada, particularly in Calgary, Alberta, where just 4 months later the city council voted 10-3 to stop adding fluoride to the drinking water for more than a million citizens. And the momentum created by the Calgary victory has resulted in dozens of Canadian communities debating whether to continue fluoridation in recent years.

Another example would be a citizen run campaign effort in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 2014 that led to fluoridation cessation for nearly 400,000 residents, but more importantly, it helped influence many more successful fluoridation-ending campaigns in Pennsylvania. So far, this domino-effect includes communities like Catasauqua, State College, Shiloh, Upper Allen Township, Mechanicsburg, Montrose, Bridgwater, Quarryville, Cambria County, Patton, Guilford, Greene, Bellefonte, and many more.

So how can you start your own campaign?

1. Educate Yourself

Check to see if your community water is actually fluoridated. There are a few ways to do this.
1. Use the CDC’s Water System Database.
2. Google your town’s name followed by the words “water quality report.” All public water systems must publish annual testing results that include fluoride     levels since it’s classified as a contaminant by the EPA.
3. Call your water provider and ask.

Once you’ve confirmed that you’re drinking fluoridated water and choose to move forward with a plan of action, please first make sure to join the movement so that you have the most up-to-date information. Also, visit FAN’s World Wide Alliance list to see if there is an existing campaign in your area.  Learn the basics about fluoridation, the arguments in opposition to it, and ways to refute claims made by proponents. Take some days to explore our website, watch our videos, and look through our campaign toolkit.

The next step is to start gathering information. First, visit FAN’s State Database to learn about your state’s laws regarding fluoridation, particularly who has jurisdiction over the practice, if it is mandated at the state or county level (see our page on mandates), and what the procedure is for ending the practice locally. Not all states have clear laws, so in the absence of clarity use the news and victories sections of our State Database to see if other communities in your state have ended fluoridation and read about how that occurred. 

If fluoridation is not mandated in your state, and instead local action is required, it will be helpful to know the following:
1. When fluoridation started in your community.
2. How it was started (referendum vote or decision by a government body).
3. Who has decision-making authority over fluoridation (water authority, water director, health board, city council, voters, or a combination).
4. The approximate population served by the water system.
5. Other water systems or abutting communities that are served by your water system.
6. The chemicals being used (liquid fluorosilicic acid or powered sodium fluorosilicate).
7. The cost of fluoridation chemicals annually, plus the cost of the injection equipment and infrastructure if upgrades will soon be needed.
8. The information on the certificate of analysis that is required by law to accompany fluoride additive shipments to water systems. This document lists     warnings and contaminants. If asked, water operators will often share this with the inquiring public. 

Much of this information can be found searching the FAN news archive, searching the internet, and by contacting your water system and asking employees either via email or by phone. 

It’s helpful to read the fluoride news from your state.  Local news stories can often provide you with names of contacts and allies, information about your opposition, examples of successful campaigns in your area, and an idea of how your local media has covered the issue. 

2. Create a Strategy

If you live in a state with a statewide or county fluoridation mandate, then the only way to truly end fluoridation locally is to pass legislation at the state or county level.  However, there are actions that can be taken at the local level even in mandated communities that may offer a short-term fix or at least generate momentum for future action at the state level.  These include working to pass a requirement for infant fluoride warnings on water bills, working to pass a non--binding resolution urging the state/county to repeal their mandate, or working to pass a local moratorium on fluoridation until some health, environmental, funding, or safety standard is met.

If you don’t live in a mandate state, then there are generally three ways to end fluoridation:
1. Governing body: a city council / water authority / health board / county commission vote 2. Ballot or voice vote: a voter referendum or town meeting vote 3. Unilateral decision: operator of private water company, mayor, water supervisor, or health director

Sometimes communities have multiple options, for instance a decision can be made by the city council, but the option is also available for a citizen ballot initiative that can override a council vote. Make sure to note each option you are given, this way you can start with the easiest (e.g. a unilateral decision by a mayor or water works director) then if that fails, act on the second easiest option (city council or governing body), and finally if that fails move to the next option (petition collection for a ballot referendum).  Some campaigns have had success on the first try with little organizing needed, so start there, but know all of your back-up options. Also keep in mind that referendum votes require the greatest effort and resources, and that it will require fundraising to effectively educate the public prior to a vote.

Learn the process for the strategy you choose. Visit and observe your city council or water authority in action at their regular meetings. Watch the process for public comment and learn how to get in touch with your elected officials and their staff. Talk with your own elected official or their staff about the process to introduce a resolution. Governing bodies also have rules they follow. Look up those rules or bylaws to answer many of your procedural questions.

Plan a timeline for your campaign. Make sure you know when, and how often, the water board or town council meets and how long it typically takes for a resolution to get approval. In bigger cities, it may take months for a resolution to become law.  Also, make sure you know if there are any deadlines for submitting resolutions, for submitting testimony, and for signing up to speak when you do get a public hearing.

If a referendum is your only choice for policy change, then start by learning the requirements for getting your question on the ballot. Your local Town Clerk can generally provide you with all of the requirements for putting together an official ballot petition.  These rules are important and dictate how many signatures you’ll need, the information required from each petition signer, the deadline for submission of your petition, the language required on the petition, and when the vote is allowed to occur (during a special, municipal, state, or national election). If the referendum process doesn’t specify the exact wording of the question, it’s recommended that you be as accurate as possible about the chemical used and cost to the community when coming up with the ballot wording. A good example would be: “Do you support the addition of hydrofluorosilicic acid to the public water supply at a cost of $xx,xxx annually to our community?”

3. Initiate the Campaign

Once you’ve chosen the fluoride campaign that makes sense for your community, you need to build your support. THIS PART IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AND IS USUALLY THE BIGGEST INDICATOR OF FUTURE SUCCESS OR FAILURE! Don’t try to go it alone; recruit other members of your community who agree with you on fluoridation.

Identify and reach out to existing supporters. Fluoride campaigns work best when they are anchored by a coalition of groups and individuals, particularly medical and scientific experts. Who else might be interested in helping to pass the resolution?  Do an internet search for anyone else who has opposed fluoridation in your community before. You can usually find supporters in news stories about previous fluoride campaigns, or in online forums, or on social media sites opposed to fluoridation.  Meeting minutes from previous fluoridation hearings can also give you names of people who have opposed fluoridation in the past.  They may still be active and interested in joining your campaign.

What natural allies do you have in the community?  Try to find coalition partners sooner rather than later. Coalitions work best when everyone is involved in the process from the beginning.  Naturopathic doctor associations, members of the IAOMT, chiropractors, organic food producers, health food stores and their customers, environmental experts, retired water works employees, clean water organizations, environmental groups, supporters of health freedom, and scientific professionals are generally good groups to approach for support initially

Identify a town councilor you think will be supportive of your resolution. This is essential if your city council will be making the final decision. Without a councilor who will actually take ownership of the issue and champion the cause, it will be difficult to successfully pass a resolution. You can identify likely champions by investigating officials’ voting records and asking your coalition partners if they have any allies on the city council. You can also provide each councilor with information on fluoride and approach them one by one requesting their sponsorship of your resolution.

Once you find a supportive councilor, meet with him or her. Try to have people who live in the councilor’s district or ward meet with the representative. Once you arrange a meeting, try to organize as diverse a group as possible to demonstrate that your issue has community support. At the meeting, you should present the councilor(s) with sample text of a proposed resolution along with a packet of information supporting your resolution. This will make the councilor’s job easier and make them more likely to support your issue.

If you’re doing a referendum, the first step of recruiting others still remains the most important one. It’s better to start with a few friends, but in the worst case, start collecting signatures and ask those who sign if they’d be willing to volunteer to help. Start going door-to-door with your petition, providing information about your referendum, and asking citizens to clearly sign their name. Signatures, names, and addresses MUST BE EASY TO READ, or the city clerk will likely not count them.  Also, it’s a great idea to collect email addresses on the same document, so you can reach out to supporters to provide updates and ask for fundraising and organizing help when you need it.

When collecting petition signatures, it helps to keep track of houses with no one home when canvassing a neighborhood, that way you can return at a different time to try again.  Don’t forget other great petitioning locations, including outside the town dump entrance, outside city hall, in public squares, at the start and finishes of 5k road races, at other campaign or political events, at local festivals and fairs, and outside local sporting events. Any time you can take advantage of a large crowd that someone else organized (especially a crowd of local politically active adults) is a win for you. With permission, you can also usually stand outside supportive businesses like natural food stores and supermarkets.

4. Educate the Public

5. Build Momentum

Keep in contact with local decision-makers. “Lobbying” is just another word for letting your elected officials know how you feel about an isue. Communicating with your councilor is a right, not a privilege. You should make sure all of the representatives on the city council have a packet of information about your resolution. Try to get constituents from different districts to arrange meetings with their representatives to show support for the resolution.  Remember those petition signers?  Now is the time to contact them and urge them to call or meet with their city councilor.

Increase your base of support. As the date of the vote approaches, make sure you are working with residents across the city and asking them to call or write their representatives in support of the resolution.  Organize a community-wide “call-in” day during which people from every neighborhood will call their representatives in support of the resolution. If a particular representative is opposed to the resolution, do targeted outreach in that neighborhood (canvassing).  You can also use free online petitions like www.change.org to organize emails campaigns targeting local decision-makers. The problem with these free petitions though, is that you won’t have the contact information for the signers, so you won’t be able to update them as the campaign progresses.