So much good news to start off your short work week…
Last Tuesday, we notched our first win of 2019!! JoBeth Hamon, a 28 year old mental health advocate and bicycling enthusiast, won a seat on the Oklahoma City City Council! JoBeth beat out an oil & gas executive who dramatically outspent her. She out-hustled him, and now, she’ll be the 11th woman to serve on the council, as the body edges closer toward actually representing the city. If you’re looking to smile today, watch the video of when she found out she won (and note the puppy in her arms!)
JoBeth was our first 2019 winner — but she won’t be the last. Last week, we endorsed 31 new candidates for 2019! These folks are amazing — they’re scattered across 11 states, including Virginia, where it’s more important than ever that we seed the field with diverse progressive leaders. Our 2019 candidates are already making a splash: In Chicago, Maria Hadden is advocating for gender-inclusive and -neutral political titles. You should watch Vania Guevera’s video for her campaign for Phoenix City Council. You should also watch this profile of Aaron Chess, candidate for Peoria City Council, who at 21 will be the youngest city councillor if he wins this spring.
In alumni news: Rep. Josie Raymond in Kentucky became the first representative from her district to cosponsor a statewide fairness bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity among protected classes in employment, housing, and public accommodations discrimination. Rep. Megan Hunt in Nebraska is fighting to ban “revenge porn” in the state. In Maryland, Rep. Lesley Lopez is advocating for a bill to maintain a fine on people who blow past school bus stop signs.
If you need more stuff to listen to or watch… Ross spoke to podcast Future Hindsight about what it takes to actually run for office. I talked with Alex Cohen at Inside the Issues on Spectrum LA about our success so far.
Finally we’re delighted to welcome Rufus Gifford to our board of directors. Rufus joins Teddy Goff, Tim Lim, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Abby Pucker, Emmy Ruiz, and Pedro Torres-Mackie as integral advisors for our organization.
Thanks for making all this possible. Hope you’re well rested and ready to go!
P.S. Save the date: We’ll be doing dinner on March 12th in Chicago and Party for Something on April 10th in D.C.