RFS feel-good update (11/30): Thursday's debrief & stories from a new class of leaders
Hope your Thanksgiving was mostly good food and little-to-no superspreading.
Hi all -
Hope your Thanksgiving was delicious, relaxing, and involved little-to-no coronavirus superspreading.
First up in this week’s update — you’re cordially invited to join us for a debrief & conversation about what’s next for Run for Something & the Democratic party, happening this Thursday night, 7-8:30 pm ET. This is a 100% free event, just RSVP to get your Zoom link. Ross and I will share a bit on where we’re going, answer your questions, then you’ll hear from some amazing speakers. Hope you can join us!
Next, a few big-picture reads you’re going to like…
Women of color made history in local races around the country: We worked closely with the 19th on this national overview of the women of color leaders rising up in the Democratic Party, including our very own April Fournier (Portland City Council, ME), Gabriella Cázares-Kelly (Pima County Recorder, AZ), Nida Allam (Durham County Board of Commissioners, NC), and Mai Xiong (Macomb Board of Commissioners, MI).
Mother Jones looked at "what’s next for the #resistance” — over the last four years, the organizing that started in response to Trump has become focused on local issues, politics, and rebuilding communities from the ground up. As I told the reporter: People are translated their national anger into local activism. Most people can’t engage in national politics 24/7 in a sustained way; it’s just too exhausting, slow, and the wins are few and far between. Local politics, on the other hand, moves faster and the work can yield a a deep and immediate impact. (As a RFS supporter, you probably know exactly what I mean!)
If the generations were proportionally represented in the House, even taking into account age requirements, there’d be nearly 100 millennials. In the incoming 117th Congress, there are 31. (And in the Senate, there are zero.)
There are a lot of reasons for that generational discrepancy, but one that’s worth flagging: Even with all the work Run for Something has done electing young people, the average school board member is 59 and average state legislator is 56. Those offices (and ones like them) are the pipeline of talent for Congress.
If you want to understand what we talk about when we mean “building political infrastructure,” this NYT magazine article about the Koch brothers’ decade-long effort to win over Latinos is worth reading.
Even better: Read Stacey Abrams’ interview in NY Magazine about what political infrastructure is and why it matters.
In other RFS candidate & alum updates…
Heads up, tomorrow is Gayatri Agnew’s runoff for Bentonville City Council in Arkansas.
IA state Sen. Zach Wahls reflected on how things have changed in the 10 years since he stood up as a 19 year old in front of the Iowa House to advocate for marriage equality on behalf of his moms.
Thanks in part to our incoming state senators RFS alum Michelle Hinchey, Samra Brouk, and Jeremy Cooney (and our big wins in 2018!), Democrats will officially have a supermajority in the NY state senate. Get ready to see some huge progress.
New Delaware state Senator Sarah McBride is not here for anyone’s bullshit.
IN state Sen. J.D. Ford is proposing legislation that would reform Indiana voting laws, including allowing Indiana voters to all vote by mail without an excuse, extend polling hours, and create clearer ballot tracking systems.
Similarly: NY state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, chair of the Elections Committee, is working on expanding vote by mail to be a permanent part of the NY voting options.
Kelly Krout lost her campaign for Arkansas state house, but in the process, she built up a pretty strong following on TikTok. She’s using her platform to encourage people to run for office.
James Coleman, the 21 year old who beat an 18-year incumbent for a seat on the South San Francisco city council, is going to shake up the city. Learn how.
Incoming Missouri state representative Ashley Aune reflected on what she saw in her new legislator orientation, and in particular, the way Republican members of the chamber don’t give a shit about COVID safety.
Jose Garza, the incoming DA in Austin, is the new face of progressive power in Texas — he’s got the perfect experience and now the platform as DA to combine labor justice and criminal justice.
PA Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta has been honored with the Victory Institute’s 2020 Tammy Baldwin Breakthrough Award.
Alex Lee is the first openly bisexual CA state legislator, and the youngest. He’s also likely the first one to have worked in the gig economy while running for office, as a food delivery worker. He’s going to bring an important perspective to the state assembly.
Michele Rayner is Florida’s first queer Black state legislator. This profile of her is beautiful: “Rayner’s mother had been a social worker, among the first Black students to attend the University of South Florida. Her grandmother labored as a maid, cleaning floors for wealthy white families. Her great-grandparents were born to slaves.
It dawned on her: ‘I am my ancestors’ wildest dream.’”
This rules. Proud to be on Sasha’s team.
David Ortiz, an incoming state representative in Colorado and an Army veteran who uses a wheelchair after surviving a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, is jumpstarting changes to the state capitol that is not currently 100% accessible to people like him.
On tomorrow’s episode of Run for Something (the podcast): First, I checked in with Dr. Ravi Grivois-Shah from an earlier episode, to find out how his election went (spoiler: he won!), how he's feeling, and what comes next for school boards like his. Then, I talked with Nithya Raman, a progressive who beat an incumbent for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in a grassroots underdog victory. Nithya's campaign was built to make a difference, win or lose -- find out how she took on the California Democratic machine, got people to pay attention to local politics, and is setting up to lead LA moving forward. The episode will be available wherever you get your shows.
Finally: Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Since Run for Something does partisan electoral work, we’re not eligible to become a 501c3 and use tools like Facebook fundraisers or one-click-donate-via-Instagram. That makes moments like Giving Tuesday (and a lot of other things!) a little tougher. If you’re able to give today, tomorrow, or anytime at all, we’re so grateful.
As always, we have so much to do — none of it would be possible without you. Thanks for being part of this team.
- Amanda