Feel-good update: We made history last week
The week was rough, but there are some good spots. Dive in.
Last week was a long week. But we made it!
Some good news out of Super Tuesday: 19 Run for Something candidates either won their elections outright or are moving on to the general election! We’re still waiting on a few results out of California (obviously), but we’re really excited for all the folks, win or lose, who put their names on the ballot and made a difference.
My favorite feel-good story: Nida Allam won her seat on the Durham County Board of Commissioners, and became the first Muslim woman elected in the state of North Carolina.
(And in a not-so-feel good read, I wrote a piece for Cosmo about the grief of knowing we won’t elect the first woman president this year, and why I’m still hopeful we’ll do it one day.)
One final note about Super Tuesday: Last week, I sent you the story Ross and I wrote in Buzzfeed about what to do if you’re not inspired by the eventual nominee. It trended on Buzzfeed News all week long, and resonated intensely with folks. No matter how you’re feeling about the presidential primary, I hope you’ll read it and share it.
In other candidate & alumni stories…
University of Wisconsin — Madison student Elena Haasl is running to bring student representation to the Dane County board of supervisors. She got engaged in part by working on RFS alum Matthew Mitnick’s race for alderperson last cycle.
Rep. Josie Raymond became the first representative in Kentucky to give birth in office — she’s setting a new precedent for how working parents get it done in the state capitol.
Texas state Rep. Erin Zweiner and San Marcos Councilwoman Jocabed Marquez joined with other elected women from Hays County for a conversation with students and young women about what it’s like to run and win. This is how we build a movement of women running for office: One inspiring story at a time.
Nelsie Yang, a city council member in St. Paul, helped sponsor the creation of Abortion Providers Appreciation Day, to happen on March 10th.
PA Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta and Jen O’Mara introduced key legislation to combat food insecurities and hunger among college students across the state. Read Malcolm’s powerful op-ed on the issue.
MD. Del. Lesley Lopez is cracking down on predatory lenders to help relieve some of the burden of student debt on Maryland graduates.
Phoenix City Councilmember Carlos Garcia was part of a wave of Latinos taking power in the city, helping make progress — especially and most recently on creating a civilian review board of the city police.
RFS alum in both PA chambers are sponsoring legislation to ban non-consensual pelvic exams on patients under anesthesia.
Virginia became the first southern state to ban LGBTQ conversion therapy for minors — RFS alum Del. Danica Roem was one of the lead co-sponsors of the bill.
We have two candidates on the ballot this week, so keep an eye out for updates. Thanks for making all this possible!
P.S.: Heads up, on 3/18 we’ll be in L.A. and on 3/20, we’ll be in San Francisco.