Feel-good update: A five-alarm fire you might have missed

While the Democratic debates may have dominated the news, you may have missed something that will actually affect the future of governing.

Happy July! While the Democratic debates may have dominated the news last week, you may have missed something that will actually affect what happens in 2020 and beyond: The Supreme Court paved the way for extremely racial and partisan gerrymandering.

Supreme Court OKs Excessive Partisan Gerrymandering
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blessed extreme partisan gerrymandering , giving politicians a green light to draw…www.huffpost.com

This is a five-alarm fire. If the GOP runs the table on drawing state & federal maps in 2021, we will be locked out of the governing process for a decade or more. It won’t matter if we win the White House — a far-right GOP Congress won’t let the federal government function, and state governments will get even more extreme. We can’t rely on the courts to save us from their blatant manipulation of the system — we have to fight on every possible front, including ballot initiatives, state court battles, and most importantly, by winning state legislative seats.

Mother Jones has a deep-dive into the fight to end gerrymandering — and, ahem, how the Democratic party is getting distracted by the presidential race to our own detriment.

Not us, though! We know we have to recruit candidates for state legislature in as many places as possible — with the possibility for a record-breaking turnout, we don’t know where our wins might come from (but we know we can’t win at all if we’re not on the ballot in the first place.) Heads down, eyes on the state legislative prize.

Rachel Maddow, as always, said it best:

To that end: We’re working closely with Swing Left and Arena on the Grassroots Redistricting Project — an effort that’s even more important after the SCOTUS decision. Watch this quick video and chip in ASAP.

On a lighter note, a few alumni updates:

• Congrats to Jenn Puja, a committed labor activist and union leader who won her primary for White Plains City Council in NY!

• You have to watch this viral video of PA Sen. Katie Muth on the chamber floor, reading a letter from a man who experienced homelessness while her male colleague literally tried to shout her down for minutes on end.

• Also in PA: Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta published a powerful op-ed on how poverty is the moral issue of our time — and what he’s doing to try and fight it.

• In Illinois, Kevin Morrison, Cook County commissioner, spearheaded a rules change that would allow transgender residents to use the restrooms of their choice without having to show identification.

Finally, some interesting stats that came out last week…

- While more than 4% of Americans identify as LGBTQ, they make up barely .001% of elected officials.

- Who Leads Us put out a fascinating report on reflective democracy. Fun facts:(1) When women and people of color run, they win at the same rates as men. (2) The number of women of color in state legislatures increased by barely 4% in 2015–2017 — from 2017 through 2019, they increased by 33%.

(3) The number of women in state legislatures increased in all but 3 states.

Last note: We’re hiring! We’re looking for regional directors for the Northern and Midwestern parts of the country. More details available at runforsomething.net/jobs. Please spread the word.

Thanks for making all this possible. We have so much work to do; we’re lucky to do it with you by our side.