Feel-good update: She held a town hall about transit *literally on a bus.*
No Avengers or Game of Thrones spoilers in this update — just good vibes to make you feel a little hopeful about the state of democracy.
No Avengers or Game of Thrones spoilers in this week’s update — just good vibes to make you feel a little hopeful about the state of democracy…
Our 2019 candidates are already off to the races — 56 of them will be on the ballot in the next few weeks. Meet a couple of the all-stars…
Adrian Rivera-Reyes — a cancer biologist and labor organizer running for City Council in Philadelphia — joined our partners at 314 Action for a training for scientists running across the country.
Last year, J.B. Smiley Jr. ran and lost in a Democratic primary for a seat on the Shelby County Commission. He’s taking that experience and applying it to his race this year for Memphis City Council.
In Indiana, Barry Tyler Jr. has been working for non-profits for a decade, grew up joining his parents on the picket line, and is an assistant football coach at Hammond High School. Now he’s running for Hammond City Council to unseat a four-team incumbent who’s been under fire for insulting and threatening both emergency responders and police officers.
In alumni news: We announced our first ever Party for Something award-winners — congrats to Justice of the Peace Elaissia Sears, SC state Rep. JA Moore, Gwinnett County Board of Education member Everton Blair, and Pasha Baker of Sanford, FL. Can’t wait to celebrate them on May 21st in D.C. (with keynote speakers Stacey Abrams and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley!)
They’re just a few of our amazing alum… read on:
Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt got to pick her seat on the floor of the legislature — she asked to be seated with the Republicans. She’s using the relationships she’s building on the floor to push forward an aggressive progressive agenda.
PA state Rep. Sara Innamorato held a town hall about public transit on the best place to reach transit-users… the public bus!
Sara Innamorato talking to a bus rider during her transit town hall on the 91 bus. CP photo: Ryan Deto
Gayatri Agnew of Arkansas, Josie Raymond of Kentucky, and Caitlin Clarkson Pereira of Connecticut — are highlighted in this deep-dive into the women fighting for the right to use campaign funds to pay for childcare.
Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow introduced legislation to make Michigan the 17th state to ban conversion therapy. You absolutely must watch this video of her advocating for the bill.
In Washington state, Sen. Emily Randall is pushing for a bill that expands reproductive health care coverage to include undocumented immigrants — and she won’t settle for anything less.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talked to NPR’s 1A about the power of the Latino vote — and notes how she led Harris County to expand access to the polls by allowing folks to vote at any polling place in the county on election day.
Also in Texas: State Rep. James Talarico walked 25 miles across his district to hold three town halls and meet with constituents along the way.
Connecticut state Sen. Will Haskell published an op-ed on his support for early voting: “I want to publicly plead with all of my colleagues to support a reform that will strengthen democracy for all.”
Betsy DeVos came to Kentucky to talk about education — but educators weren’t invited to be a part of the conversation. Tyler Murray, Fayette County board of education member and public school teacher, talked with the Washington Post about what he would have told her.
Aaron Chess may not have won his seat on the Peoria City Council, but simply by running, he broke the cycle of violence he grew up in.
And finally, in Run for Something-related news…
It’s worth reading the spring 2019 Harvard IOP youth poll. This stat is incredible: “Overall, only 16 percent of 18-to-29- year-olds agree with the statement that “elected officials who are part of the Baby Boomer generation care about people like me.”
Dave Daley, author of Ratf*cked, in Salon: “Like it or not, absent court action, the nature of our two party system means that a solution to toxic maps requires Democrats to win back seats at the table before 2021 redistricting, if only to ensure maps aren’t wildly rigged in one direction. If two dozen Democrats want to seek the White House, fine. They should also understand that they will accomplish nothing so long as the maps are tilted the other way … A thoughtful democracy platform is so terrific. But so is helping local candidates win local elections.”
HuffPost takes us back to 2018, when we got to experience “the Marvel-style origin stories of regular people mobilized to run for office after watching a reality TV star win the presidency in 2016.”
Finally, a little sneak preview as a thank you making it to the bottom of this email: We’ve got big news coming tomorrow about an exciting collaboration. You’re going to LOVE it.
Thanks for making this all possible. We’re so grateful to be doing this work with you.