Feel-good update: Got questions about 2020? Join us on the phone.
Info about our stakeholders call, alumni updates, and some book recommendations for you.
First, a thing to put on your calendar: On Tuesday, 2/25 at 6pm ET, we’re hosting a stakeholders call to discuss our 2020 strategic plan — and bonus, we’ll be joined by FL Rep. Anna Eskamani, an amazing RFS alum. You can RSVP here. (Trust us, it’ll make you feel way better than the Democratic debate at 8pm.)
All year long, we’re spotlighting our 2020 candidates on our Medium. The first two profiles:
Katie & Antoine are both refreshingly honest about the challenges they face. I love their stories.
In other candidate & alumni updates:
What happens when you elect a smart and talented 27 year old Latina to run the third largest county in America: Amazing things. Read Texas Monthly’s story, amusingly titled “Lina Hidalgo’s Year of Living Dangerously.”
Lina Hidalgo's Year of Living Dangerously
Harris County commissioner Steve Radack leaned into his mic and grinned. It was May of 2016 and the longtime Republican…www.texasmonthly.com
Delvin Moody, Utica city councilmember, is reinstating the Youth Common Council, to give young people a formal voice in government.
We’re not sure what’s going on in Alleghany County, PA, but it’s wild: The county party has endorsed a Trump supporting-Democrat over RFS candidate Jessica Benham for state representative. That’s not stopping her from making calls, knocking doors, and keeping on her fight for health care, infrastructure, workers’ rights, education, and combatting the opioid epidemic. (Fun fact: Jessica would be the first autistic woman and first LGBTQ woman in the PA state legislature.)
CO state Sen. Julie Gonzales is pushing forward on her legislation to raise the state’s vaccination rates. Right now, only 87% of Colorado kindergartners are vaccinated for measles, mumps, and rubella — that’s the lowest rate in the country.
WA state Sen. Emily Randall’s bill to expand access to health care by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates has passed the Senate and is moving on to the House. Emily’s personal experience with Medicaid directly informed her prioritization of this cause.
AZ state Rep. Alma Hernandez has pushed forward legislation to require students to receive Holocaust & other genocide education at least twice between 7th and 12th grades.
In related reading:
Brands M.M. LaFleur and Universal Standard are offering free clothing to women running for office. We talked to the Chicago Tribune about why this matters.
“The nation — or at least the media — is fixated on the Democratic presidential nomination battle. Although that campaign could be a defining moment for progressives, it isn’t the whole story. The top of the ballot must be met by transformation at the bottom. As the right has already learned, down-ballot races are critical to shaping the nation.” — Katrina vanden Heuvel in the Washington Post
This is a great New Yorker profile of BLOC in Wisconsin, which gets at an important point: Local politics is a critical entry-point for communities of color who otherwise feel like their voices and votes don’t matter.
Finally, two book recommendations for you, both of which reinforce why what we’re all doing together matters:
“The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For” by Charlotte Alter, about the new generation of millennial politicians
“Un-Trumping America” by Dan Pfeiffer, about how to get us out of this mess
Last week was a long week. (Every week in 2020 is a long week.) But we are as optimistic as ever about the difference our candidates are making, all with your support.
Thanks as always for making this possible,
P.S. This made us happy!
