RFS feel-good update (1/23): What we've accomplished in our 6 years
Read about more RFS alums working together (this is what happens when we help so many young progressives get elected)
We want to start by saying our hearts go out to the victims, survivors, friends and families of those affected by the Lunar New Year’s Eve mass shooting. Allowing these horrific tragedies to continue is a policy and political choice far too many lawmakers continue making, and the time to act is way overdue.
There's no good way to transition to the feel-good update, but we want to make sure you know what RFS and are alums got done last week, so here it is:
Hi team - On Friday, we celebrated six years of Run for Something! In that time and with your help, we’ve:
Recruited over 125,000 young, diverse progressives to run for office
Endorsed over 2,500 candidates across all 50 states and DC
Won over 1,000 elections and elected over 800 candidates across 48 states
And since 2020, over 50% of our endorsed candidates identify as women or nonbinary, over 50% identify as BIPOC, and over 20% identify as LGBTQIA+
For a birthday present to ourselves, we set a goal to get 600 people to sign up to run for office on Friday - so Year 7 is off to a great start!
Our favorite bill of the week is bipartisan legislation out of Arizona that is co-sponsored by THREE alums: Reps. Lorena Austin, Analise Ortiz and Laura Terech. The bill is simple, and we love it: It would lower the state’s age requirement to run for office from 25 to 18.
Last session, the average age of Arizona state lawmakers is 54 years, with the largest generational representation being baby boomers. Generation Z and millennials, however, hold the largest voting demographics in Arizona, according to data from 2020.
If the legislature passes the bill, it would go on the ballot for a statewide vote to change the state’s constitution.
We want to highlight two columns that RFS alums wrote in the past week - we hope you have a few minutes to read them both.
Pennsylvania State Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El wrote about Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of radical inclusion:
Often this time of year, we are asked to reflect on the legacy of King, and what he would have asked of us if he were alive today. And often, the takeaway is an ask to reflect, to ponder, to dream, to tolerate. The ask is an internal one — a change of mindset, a new perspective. But if we are to take up the mantle of a radical inclusion, to practice demanding a society that is for all of us, no matter where we live, how much money we have, the color of our skin, we must act. We must show up. We must go to the gatekeepers of power and demand their action.
And former Connecticut State Senator Will Haskell wrote about young people not being able to afford to run for office:
And if it’s a Monday, it means we get to tell you about RFS alums getting stuff done:
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee is standing up for students across the country by supporting the U.S. Department of Education’s plan to provide student debt relief of up to $20,000, which is currently tied up in court.
“Not only does the student debt relief plan have a positive impact on people who are drowning in student loan payments, it also helps the County by allowing these people to more fully participate in the local economy.”
Menefee argues that leaders at all levels of government need to be discussing making college more attainable for future generations rather than attempting to dissuade potential students from going to college, which is currently “unreasonably expensive.”
And Menefee, along with Waterloo (IA) City Councilmember Jonathan Grieder, were appointed to the EPA’s Local Government Advisory Committee.
North Carolina State Rep. Terry Brown was elected the minority whip, becoming the first millennial to hold the position.
Missouri State Rep. Ashley Aune fought back against the Missouri GOP’s plan to create a “tougher dress code” for women legislators. Watch her CNN interview:
Illinois State Rep. Daniel Didech filed legislation that would give students academic credit for serving as Illinois election judges. Read the article to see Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega quoted supporting his fellow RFS alum’s legislation.
In more RFS alum teamwork, Boston City Councilors Gabriela Coletta, Ruthzee Louijeune and Kendra Lara are working on a hearing to bring together school officials to determine how they can create a climate change and environmental justice curriculum.
“In our lifetimes, our children will inherit a higher frequency of severe weather events, costal weather and storm surge, droughts, and food insecurity,” Coletta told councilors on Wednesday. “Therefore it is only right that we invest in them and set them up with the tools necessary to potentially be the next Earthshot winners or, at the very least, conscious stewards of our environment citizens who care about our environment.”
New York State Sen. Andrew Gounardes is pushing legislation to prevent tech companies from exploiting children's data.
Colorado State Rep. Javier Mabrey spoke about legislation he sponsored that would help make EpiPens more affordable.
"Sometimes they’re hesitant to use the EpiPen because then they have to charge the family. It can cost 5 to $600 and oftentimes these families are having to decide — ya know already they’re having to make tough decisions," Rep. Mabrey said.
New York City Councilmember Crystal Hudson is taking on predatory and negligent landlords.
Alum Tereshia Huffman was elected chairwoman of the Birmingham Water Works Board!
"As Chairwoman, I want us to improve our image in the public and to strengthen our relationships with our customers and with our communities," Huffman said. "I also want to start looking at new technologies such as automatic meter reading but with a cautious approach to make sure we don't ever have a repeat of billing issues in the future. I look forward to working closely with my fellow Directors on these issues as well as many others."
And we had more swearing-ins last week, including Blaine (MN) City Council Member Lori Saroya, who is the first Muslim and the first woman of color elected to the Council.
Finally, RFS alum and Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow was highlighted in column in The Washington Post, “Blue states can show us a way out of red state culture-war madness.” The whole piece is worth a read, but we especially wanted to point out this section:
After Donald Trump shocked Democrats everywhere by winning it in 2016, the Democratic comeback has been decisive. Liberal cultural values have gained ground in former Trump country, culminating in a 2022 referendum that codified state constitutional abortion rights passing by a wide margin.
Now, Michigan Democrats can legislate a clear alternative to the reactionary lurch by red states.
“I hope that we do become the model,” state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who represents a district in the Detroit area, told me. She said Michigan should become a “microcosm for reinvigorating the American Dream” around the principles that “everybody is welcome” and “we talk about our past in honest terms.”
“For this to come from a state from the Midwest” and not a “coastal Democratic state,” McMorrow said, will illustrate a “different way forward.”
That’s all for this week. RFS wouldn’t have gotten to our 6th year without all of you, so thank you! Here’s to the next six 🥂
Ross and Abe