RFS feel-good update (12/6): What we're doing on abortion access, democracy protection, and more

We can't go back in time and win local elections 20 years ago - but we can do it now

Hi all -

Last week was a roller coaster — in particular, the Supreme Court arguments around Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that will likely end in a decision that overturns Roe v. Wade, and immediately making abortion illegal or likely illegal in 26 states.

We cannot ever count on the Supreme Court to save us (not on abortion, not on voting rights, not on anything). The way to prevent bad laws from ending up in their docket is to elect pro-choice state legislators and stop the laws before they pass.

While it’s not nearly enough, and lots and lots of people (especially low-income women, women of color, and rural folks) will suffer even more than they do now, local leaders and pro-choice champions in Democratic-controlled states can do a lot to protect access to abortion where they do have some control.

Just a few examples: CO Sen. Julie Gonzales is introducing legislation to enshrine abortion rights into state law. In MI, Washtenaw County Attorney Eli Savit has affirmed that his office will never prosecute people exercising reproductive freedom. While Republicans in Missouri are introducing a number of anti-abortion laws, Rep. Emily Weber is proposing legislation to codify the right to an abortion and to ensure that any organization providing pregnancy-related services offers medically accurate information if they get state funding.

We will keep fighting to elect pro-choice folks to every level of office, and making sure they know what levers they can pull to protect abortion access.

We can’t go back in time and win local elections to keep anti-abortion & anti-democracy leaders from winning, but we can keep them from winning from here on out.

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Meanwhile, no pressure but: Run for Something’s work recruiting and supporting local election administrators is mission-critical for sustaining democracy.

In an absolute must-read story from the Washington Post:

In Michigan, local GOP leaders have sought to reshape election canvassing boards by appointing members who expressed sympathy for former president Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 vote was rigged.

In two Pennsylvania communities, candidates who embraced election fraud allegations won races this month to become local voting judges and inspectors.

And in Colorado, 2020 doubters are urging their followers on conservative social media platforms to apply for jobs in election offices.

A year after local and state election officials came under immense pressure from Trump to subvert the results of the 2020 White House race, he and his supporters are pushing an ambitious plan to place Trump loyalists in key positions across the administration of U.S. elections.

As Jamelle Bouie in the NYT explains: “The obvious point of all this is to eliminate resistance should the outcome of the 2024 presidential election come down, once again, to the fortitude of local officials.”

Tonight, we’re hosting our call for folks considering a run for local election administrator jobs. We’ll be joined by RFS alums Brianna Lennon (MO), Gabriella Cazáres-Kelly, (AZ), George Stern (CO), Meredith Place (MI), and Katharine Clark (NM), who will talk about their experiences and answer questions. Share this far and wide.

These roles are particularly important because of the work they do not just actually running fair elections but then restoring public trust in the process — they’re in direct contact with voters, doing education and providing transparency into how elections are run.

There’s much more to come on this week — if you want to dive in, join us at our strategy session on 12/14 where our partners at the Center for Secure and Modern Elections will be speaking as well.

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In RFS community updates:

• We had two big wins last week!! Jason Dozier and Liliana Bakhtiari won seats on the Atlanta City Council.

  Jason Dozier @jasonsdozier

  Our first endorsement of the cycle! Definitely set the tone for the rest of the campaign.

  

  Run for Something @runforsomething

  More runoff wins!! Congratulations to @LilianaforATL and @votejasondozier, the newest members of the Atlanta City Council! Last night, both candidates won their respective runoffs in the ATL 🎉🎉!! https://t.co/Wv7VnfA9I1

• RFS alum - including Tiffany Cabán, Shahana Hanif, Sandy Nurse, Crystal Hudson, Jennifer Gutiérrez, Pierena Sanchez, and Chi Ossé — are bringing fire and vision to the NYC council. Let’s gooooo!

• FL Rep. Fentrice Driskell partnered with a Republican legislator to introduce legislation mandating social media literacy education in FL public schools. This is pretty cool.

• Last week we hosted our resiliency workshop for Run for Something candidates who came up short. It’s a small program but so deeply meaningful.

  Dontaye Carter @DontayeCarter

  I can’t tell you how appreciative I am for @Ben_in_Brooklyn and @runforsomething for this post campaign workshop with @MendezNarolyn. #RFS is a special organization and needed for progressive candidates running to be the change. Thank you! #FightHarderWithCarter

  

  

• NY Sen. Jabari Brisport’s legislation to cut some of the red tape out of the process for childcare providers to access subsidies available to them was signed into law this week, making a burdensome process meaningfully lighter.

• Also in NY: Sen. Jeremy Cooney’s legislation cracking down on robocalls was signed into law.

• Boston City Councilwoman-elect Kendra Hicks grew up struggling with housing insecurity — now she’ll be chair of the council’s Housing Committee.

• Christopher Coburn became the first Black queer person elected in Montana when he won a seat on the Bozeman City Commission: “I am a person of color and people view me as a leader, and it’s different because I am the first out queer leader, but it’s not new for me. It means a lot to me that I can show up as my full self and be successful. I want people to see themselves represented at the highest levels of decision making in Bozeman. This is my home, but I know how to navigate in Montana politics. Even if we have differences, we also have shared values like stewardship, community and respect. I am not going to lie to you and say it’s easy campaigning as queer, but it’s the only thing available to me, because this is who I am.”

• This is a must-watch speech from MI Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

  Mallory McMorrow @MalloryMcMorrow

  This morning, a woman in my district who teaches at Oxford messaged me saying she and her colleagues who survived the shooting "need to do something more tangible than cry." Because if we continue to do nothing, this will keep happening, again and again and again and again.

• RI Sen. Cynthia Mendes — who is now running for Lt. Governor — has been sleeping outside the state house with protestors to bring attention to the homelessness crisis.

• WI Rep. Francesca Hong introduced legislation to protect renters & tenants, including funding for attorneys, freedom from discrimination due to immigration status, and more.

• Willie Burnley Jr. and Charlotte Kelly won seats on the Somerville City Council by using their lived experiences to connect their big values to specific issues relevant to the community — like gentrification, renter’s issues, and rats.

In related reading:

• “Washington has become a gerontocracy - a town run by an aging class of lawmakers unwilling to relinquish their power to a younger generation.” Read more in Puck News.

• The gerontocracy is one of the reasons why innovation has stagnated…

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We’ve got a few weeks left in 2021. Thanks for helping us make the most of them.

- Amanda