Hi all -
Two weeks and one day from Election Day — voters are voting, candidates are hustling, and we’re all trying to run through the tape until polls close.
Let’s get right to it!
First, let’s talk school boards:
Conservatives have spent millions on school board races across both deep red and blue communities - one think tank president explains: “We lean heavily into retaking federal power … but if you don’t also take over the local school boards, you’re not going to have local allies there to actually reverse the policies that these guys have been implementing.”
Ron DeSantis says the quiet part out loud: “If I could have a conservative majority on every school board in the country, we would be in such good shape.”
NBC News has the big picture here - our side is simply wildly outmatched in the fight for school boards.
RFS has helped elect 100+ school board members across the country and we’ve got dozens more on the ballot this fall. We want to exponentially grow that part of our work - you can help.
If you need a little nudge, check out what one RFS school board candidate was up to this weekend…
And a few notes on Clerk Work:
Pro-democracy state and local election administrators (like RSF alum Brianna Lennon in MIssouri) have been furiously prepping for the election and are ready to bolster trust in the safe and secure process.
That being said: The chaos is absolutely going to start at the local level. Take Nevada as just one example:
”Officials expect the eventual losers of several contests, perhaps a dozen, to contest the results, and they are bracing for the possibility that conspiracy-minded county commissioners might refuse to certify the results, as several threatened in 2020. This raises the likelihood that the state legislature could step in and throw out the results in any contested state election, from Assembly up to governor, and install the candidate of their choice — something that is allowed under Nevada law. A few Nevada counties, meanwhile, are in the process of sabotaging their vote-counting procedures … at least four counties have taken steps toward abandoning voting machines and running elections by paper ballot and hand counting — a process certain to delay results and introduce more errors.”As lawyer for democracy Marc Elias puts it: “If we have a crisis in our country that we are headed toward, it is an election-subversion-and-certification crisis.”
Clerk Work is a key part of the plan to save our democracy. Learn more and get involved.
In (mostly) cheerier RFS community updates:
Nebraskans are writing in a cascade of letters to the editor about their support for Danielle Helzer for state board of education: “What impresses me the most about Danielle is her belief that listening to all perspectives is a key component to serving as an elected official. She has taken the time during her campaign to follow up with people who may not agree with her or have a question about her positions. She talks "with" people and not "to" them.”
In Illinois, readers are singing Linh Nguyen’s praises as she runs for Dekalb County Recorder.
NYC Councilmember Althea Stevens takes the cover of City & State New York as one of the city’s rising stars.
The San Diego Union-Tribune has endorsed Kent Lee in his race for city council based in large part on his approach to housing and his ability to build coalitions!
More endorsements: The LA Times has endorsed Hugo Soto-Martinez for city council because of his fresh perspective and strong sense of urgency to tackle the district’s problems.
And another! Sarah Henry has been endorsed for her state house race by the Orlando Sentinel.
Florida Senate candidate Janelle Perez has been getting hundreds of threats, including violence against her and her family, after her opponent sent her personal phone number out to supporters via text.
Latinas like Costa Mesa city councilmember Andrea Marr are becoming increasingly powerful and prominent across Orange County politics - it matters to have their voices in the rooms where decisions are made.
“One of the moments that really drove me to get involved in politics was after the Sandy Hook shooting, when we saw children get gunned down in their classroom, and then the government did nothing. I was 15 years old. And that was really the first time that I felt a sense of extreme disillusionment in our government and in our politics. Well, now, I am part of the government; I am going to be an elected official.” - Joe Vogel, incoming member of the Maryland state legislature
Congrats to Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez for taking on the role of Mayor Pro Tem in San Antonio! Love the jacket.
“You don't need to be born into royalty; you don't need to have a special degree. What you need to do is have a community and come together and get out there and knock on doors. And that's how you change things.” - Harrison Tuttle, who’s running for Rhode Island state legislature
Get to know Ashton Ramsammy, who if he wins next month, will be the youngest state legislator in Minnesota history at 21 years old: “I was knocking on doors, and I met this woman whose son — who is 13 years old and Muslim — came outside. He was super-excited that I was running for office. Like, that's amazing. And his mom even called me the next day and said, “You really inspired my son.””
MI state legislature candidate Joey Andrews is changing the narrative about his southwest Michigan community, and further building what he calls the “musician-to-politicians pipeline.”
Southern regional director Paul Kim Bradfield was down in Arkansas last week - take a look at this thread of some of the amazing candidates he got to spend time with.
“It was when I was safely in my second trimester that I thought, ‘I can do more, and I can’t sit on the sidelines.’” - Kyra Bolden, RFS alum and current candidate for Michigan state supreme court
Two lil’ bits of related reading:
The way to fix the problem of uncontested congressional races is to broaden the pipeline of possible congressional candidates in as many places as possible. (That’s one of the many impacts RFS’s work has!)
Our partners at Vote Run Lead have a great new resource about the state of representation (or lack thereof) across state legislatures. Poke around!
Thanks for making this possible. The end is in sight!!
- Amanda