RFS feel-good update (1/10): Defending democracy requires doing some hard unflashy stuff
But we're ready to do it
Hi all -
Before we get into the good news updates from across the RFS community (and there’s a lot!!), let’s talk about the defensive aspect of our work.
Last week’s anniversary of the 1/6 insurrection was a sharp reminder of why all this matters: Democracy is in danger.
Ezra Klein’s column from this weekend sums it up best (and he talks to two RFS alum, Judge Lina Hidalgo and county recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, too!):
We need a Plan B for democracy. Plan A was to pass H.R. 1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Neither bill, as of now, has a path to President Biden’s desk. I’ve found that you provoke a peculiar anger if you state this, as if admitting the problem were the cause of the problem. I fear denial has left many Democrats stuck on a national strategy with little hope of near-term success. In order to protect democracy, Democrats have to win more elections. And to do that, they need to make sure the country’s local electoral machinery isn’t corrupted by the Trumpist right.
Along the same lines, David Brooks wrote:
Maybe some of the energy that has been spent over the past year analyzing and berating Joe Manchin could have been better spent grooming and supporting good state and local candidates ….
The crisis of democracy is right in front of us. We have a massive populist mob that thinks the country is now controlled by a coastal progressive oligarchy that looks down on them. We’re caught in cycles of polarization that threaten to turn America into Northern Ireland during the Troubles. We have Republican hacks taking power away from the brave state officials who stood up to Trumpian bullying after the 2020 election.
Democrats have spent too much time on measures that they mistakenly think would give them an advantage. The right response would be: Do the unsexy work at the local level, where things are in flux.
In a conversation on how to save democracy, the experts in the Atlantic agree:
Run for office yourself. There was a very good New York Times article, which described how fanatical believers in the Big Lie in the Republican Party are now contesting elections, often at very low levels—jobs, you know, to be local treasurer, to be local electoral counter. Some of these jobs have responsibility for elections and for counting results. What we need more than anything else is some grassroots response to what is clearly a grassroots movement on the other side.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post national security desk dives deep into how the far-right extremists are winning school board races:
In recent years, far-right groups have been moving away from national organizing to focus on building grassroots support, harnessing conservative outrage to influence school boards and other local offices. That effort was stepped up after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol left much of the militant right under federal scrutiny and in operational disarray.
Election deniers are running for office at every level.
We have to stop them by fighting locally where the other side is building power, credibility, and ultimately could take control of the levers that determine what comes next for democracy after 2022 and 2024.
Run for Something is one of the only national progressive organizations that works exclusively with local candidates. Help us grow when it matters most.
In actual good news from across the RFS community:
Austin City Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes reflected on her first year in office and on how her background in health advocacy and community organizing has shaped her term — she’s mobilized health care workers, opened vaccination sites, invested in the school district, and so much more.
Harris County (TX) Attorney Christian Menefee introduced a program to “ban the box,” prohibiting potential employers from asking about previous records of incarceration, and county Judge Lina Hidalgo passed it through the commissioners court — RFS alum leading when it matters most.
CO Rep. Lindsey Daugherty is writing legislation to require state-provided attorneys to advocate for the goals of the kids their representing in the welfare system — talking to them instead of about them. This is a meaningful change for so many kids who need a voice.
If you want to feel good (which, since you’re reading this email, you probably do), watch Port Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed’s swearing-in ceremony. Hamdi and fellow RFS alum Toshiko Hasegawa made history — for the first time ever, a majority of the Port of Seattle Commissioners are people of color.
Pavan Parikh came up short in his race for judge but has been now appointed to the county clerk of courts — a loss is never the end!
NY Sen. Andrew Gounardes has laid out five key ways the state can change its culture of harassment, all of which he’s addressed in introduced legislation.
Dr. Aditi Bussells made history as the first Indian American elected to municipal office in South Carolina; she officially took the office last week.
Zack Zappone officially took office as the first openly LGBTQIA+ city councilmember in Spokane, WA.
CO Rep. David Ortiz is pushing legislation to make life a little bit easier for college students with disabilities. Rep. Ortiz uses a wheelchair after his service in the Army; this is a personal issue for him (and indicative of one of many reasons why it matters to elect people with disabilities!)
NH Rep. Megan Murray cosponsored legislation to allow students to eat school lunch leftovers over the weekend; this is personal for her, too, as she grew up with food insecurity.
NY Sen. Alessandra Biaggi is introducing legislation to hold the biggest brands in fashion accountable for their role in climate change, forcing them to map a minimum of 50% of their supply chain, disclose where they have the greatest impacts, make plans to reduce those numbers, and disclose production volumes.
Swearing-in season is the best season — St. Petersburg City Councilmember Richie Floyd shared the story of what he was sworn-in on:
Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly kept her campaign promise to make county documents more accessible, allowing folks to view land transaction records online and free of charge.
FL Rep. Anna Eskamani has cosponsored legislation to penalize schools that don’t properly teach Black and Holocaust history.
For the first time in history, a majority of the 51 NY City Councilmembers are women, and nearly half of those women are RFS alum. This photo!!
IL Sen. Robert Peters is sponsoring legislation to bar state and local governments from entering into development deals with secretive terms.
MI Rep. Laurie Pohutsky & Sen. Mallory McMorrow are vocally supporting a ballot initiative that would protect access to abortion — especially critical since if/when Roe v. Wade is overturned, a MI law would criminalize abortion.
FL Rep. Fentrice Driskell introduced legislation to find and protect abandoned and/or erased Black cemeteries.
Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam is seeking to hold the county jail system accountable for shackling women to tables as their “recreation time.”
Finally, less good, but: Brevard County School Board Member Jennifer Jenkins - a RFS alum - had “F U” burned into her front lawn; was protested along with her daughter; had to have the police escort her to and from her car, and was doxed by a Republican state representative. And yet: “Jenkins feels a duty to keep going. She has been moved by the gratitude she received from LGBTQ students and their families, and from parents grappling with how to educate their students safely during a historic pandemic. “I have this, this horrible burden of not letting people down and balancing not letting the people who are torturing me know that they’re torturing me,” Jenkins said.”
We stand with Jennifer.
And in a tiny bit of related reading: The Texas Republican party quite literally went door to door to recruit candidates to run for office. One day we hope we have the staffing to do the same!
In upcoming events: On Wednesday, 1/26, we’re hosting See Yourself Running: Rural Communities, a free call for folks thinking about running for office in rural areas. Share it widely!
I know this was a long email — thanks for being part of this team when it counts. If you have any questions about what Run for Something is up to in 2022 or beyond, just reply to this email and I’ll answer whatever’s on your mind!
Thanks for making all this possible.
- Amanda