By Rebecca Wiessmann

This is the third and final installment in the three-part series drawn from Steve Moran’s conversation with Brian Perry. Watch the full episode here.

“Does This Stuff Actually Work?”

Steve asks the question operators whisper after advocacy days and Hill visits: Does any of it matter, or is it all performance?

Perry says politics is absolutely full of performance. He even calls some high-profile politicians performance artists. But he insists that showing up still changes outcomes — partly because visibility signals seriousness and partly because lawmakers are constantly sorting signals from noise.

If a sector never shows up, it gets treated like it doesn’t matter.

The Real Difference Is Constituents

Perry draws a hard line between lobbyists and voters. A lobbyist may have the right message, but a lawmaker knows that a lobbyist can’t vote for them.

Bring seven constituents from the district into the office, and the meeting becomes a different kind of conversation.

That’s the pivot point for the entire episode: senior living’s most persuasive advocates are not the people who fly to Washington most often. They’re the people already connected to care every day.

Mom-And-Pop Can Be Loud In Ways Big Companies Can’t

Perry offers a helpful contrast. A single community in rural Indiana won’t match a national chain’s political resources. But local relationships can be disproportionately powerful — Rotary ties, school ties, city ties, faith-community ties — the human web that shapes local politics.

“All politics is local” is a cliché for a reason.

The Missing Force: Employees, Families, And Vendors

Steve puts words to what feels like the giant missed opportunity: why aren’t employees and families being activated as part of advocacy?

Perry agrees — and starts stacking the math. A 100-bed building has residents with multiple family members who care deeply. Add caregivers and their families. Add vendor partners walking in and out. Add the surrounding community.

It becomes an “army” large enough that, if organized, it changes what lawmakers fear and what they prioritize.

Steve’s Practical Translation: Better Work And Better Pay

Steve closes the loop in operator language: if teams want better pay and a better environment, this is one path. Advocacy isn’t abstract — it’s one of the levers that influences reimbursement and regulation, which in turn shapes staffing, wages, and the daily work experience.

The message is as direct as it gets: if the people closest to care stay silent, decisions get made without them.

Watch the full conversation with Steve and Brian Perry on YouTube.