RFS feel-good update (10/18): The right-wing conspiracy around school boards
Plus: What you missed last week
Hi all -
In 2020, Run for Something endorsed Jennifer Jenkins in her run against an incumbent member of the Brevard county school board — an incumbent who was anti-mask, anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-equity, which stood out even for the Republican district.
Jennifer won, and over the last year, has proven herself as an advocate for students, safety, and equity.
But she’s been living through hell. Watch this.
In one instance, days after the school board approved a 30-day mask mandate, a group of protestors surrounded Jenkins' house on Sept. 1, shouting demeaning words to her and her neighbors, according to a police report. Jenkins said she knew most of the people from past protests at her house and outside the school board meeting room.
Local news outlets have covered protests that have been directed at Jenkins over her support of the LGBTQ community and masks in schools.
The group stayed until dark, at which point Jenkins went outside, as she wanted them to leave before putting her 5-year-old daughter to bed, the report said. One woman came within a foot of Jenkins and coughed multiple times in her face, while a male protestor repeated: "Give her the Covid.”
Police shared video of the woman coughing in Jenkins' face with NBC News. Jenkins told police she could feel the woman's breath on her palm, which she put up in defense, and planned to get a Covid test after the incident.
You can also watch Jennifer on CNN or on MSNBC, telling her story.
The other half of the story: That incumbent that Jennifer beat? She went on to help found an organization called Moms for Liberty, which organizes protests at school boards against “mask mandates, curriculums that touch on LGTBQ rights, race and discrimination, and even the way schools define a scientific fact.” It’s worth reading this Washington Post profile of Moms for Liberty, which will scare the living shit out of you.
One thing that profile misses: Moms for Liberty is also recruiting candidates to run for school board. We caught this on their Facebook page earlier this fall…
(Somewhat relatedly, this headline should make your jaw drop: “Southlake school leader tells teachers to balance Holocaust books with 'opposing' views”)
None of this is an accident. Judd Legum breaks down the way right-wing operatives are supercharging all this work around school boards — the astroturfed protests that are amplified by Tucker Carlson which then get capitalized by Trumpist school board candidates as part of their campaigns. The thing to keep in mind here: All the work itself is intentional but the emotion it’s capitalizing on is extremely real. That’s what makes it effective.
Run for Something is one of the few organizations on the left recruiting and supporting candidates for school board across the country at scale. It’s more important than ever — and they’ve never needed our support more. We’ve got their backs, and are bringing them together to build community. Let’s keep it up.
In more uplifting RFS candidate & alumni updates:
Advocates have been working for years on “the simplest way to make roads safer and reduce police violence at the same time”: shifting traffic enforcement out of the police department, because “traffic stops are by far the most common reason that police officers initiate contact with members of the public; they account for 84 percent of encounters.” Berkeley City Councilmember Rigel Robinson worked hand in hand with those advocates to finally get it done. Read the Atlantic’s deep dive into this -- it’s super interesting!
Shout out to NYC council candidates Chi Ossé, Shahana Hanif, Pierina Sanchez and Sandy Nurse for being named to the City & State 40 under 40 list.
Bloomberg asks: Will Justin Bibb be the next mayor of America’s poorest big city? (We think yes!)
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talked to People magazine about her life story, her work in Houston, and what it’s like being a young woman of color in politics.
He’s on the Run for Something podcast this week, but if you can’t get enough: Denzel McCampbell talked with Detroit public radio about his race for city clerk, and the need for change and transparency.
Stacey Abrams has endorsed Alaina Reeves in her campaign for Clayton County Commission.
Real Change News talked with King County Executive candidate Joe Nguyen on his campaign — his answer on helping the unhoused is powerful: “For folks who don’t know, I grew up in public housing. And we were on the verge of being unhoused, after my father was in a car accident, right. So seeing how quickly you can go from being stable and secure, to being overwhelmed and hopeless was a unique experience that I thought we had, that really informs a lot of the work that I do right now.”
Dontaye Carter, candidate for mayor of Sandy Springs, GA, is dealing with racist attacks as part of his campaign. We’ve got his back.
CT Sen. Will Haskell is leading on a multi-state (CT, RI & MA) Transportation and Climate Initiative.
Alum and former Delegate & gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Carroll Foy has been criss-crossing Virginia in support of Democrats; now her PAC is committed to knocking 35k doors in the final three weeks before Election Day.
MO Rep. Kevin Windham is working on reforming the state’s scholarship program, which does not adequately serve Black and rural students.
This is a fascinating look at what’s going on with the redistricting fight over Nithya Raman’s LA City Council district, and a deeper dive into the ongoing divide between renters and homeowners (which is absolutely a heuristic for the generational divide in politics as well.)
If you’re free this Thursday night, join me, Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, and Del. Sam Rasoul for a grassroots fundraiser in support of VA delegate candidate Jennifer Kitchen.
As we keep an eye on the RFS bench:
A big endorsement for U.S. Senate candidate Malcolm Kenyatta!
J.B. Smiley’s campaign for governor of Tennessee is off to a strong start as he racks up local endorsements and is meeting folks across the state.
In somewhat related reading: I talked with fascism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat about how Run for Something’s efforts are core to the existential fight for democracy.
Ross and I also joined Maria Teresa Kumar on MSNBC this weekend to talk about reaching Gen-Z and asking them to run for office - you can watch some of that interview here:
If you missed it, our RFS Alumni Awards were so so so joyful. You can catch up on YouTube or watch the clips of our winners being surprised with their awards on Twitter.
This week on the Run for Something podcast: Denzel McCambell grew up in Detroit as the son of social worker mom and an autoworker dad -- it was a union family. He always understood why civic engagement mattered and how precious the right to vote is; during and after college he got involved in LGBTQ+ organizing, worked for a state representative and other community organizations, then took on a role with Rep. Rashida Tlaib's office. Now he's running for Detroit City Clerk at a time when local election administrators are under attack from anti-democracy opponents. We talk about the role city clerk plays, why he's not afraid, and the joy he's finding in campaigning. Learn more about Denzel's race at https://denzelfordetroit.com/
Thank you for making this possible. We’ve got a few weeks until the 2021 general elections and then a few weeks more until 2022 filing deadlines begin. Let’s go!
- Amanda