Hi all -
So, how was your National Run for Office Day!?!
Here are some ways Run for Something Civics, Civic Nation and our unbelievable partners commemorated the day (including an incredible event written up in Teen Vogue)…
Lots of people asking folks to run for office means lots of people signing up — normal days this month have brought in between 30-50 people signing up to run for office per day; on National Run for Office Day, nearly 800 raised their hands, a 1500% increase over baseline.
That’s huge, especially given that it’s January 2024 in a presidential election year, people are generally pretty burnt out on politics, and running for office is a huge life decision!
We’re so thrilled to have been able to celebrate National Run for Office Day and bring more people into the pipeline. Candidate recruitment is a long-term effort: There are people running for office in 2024 who first signed up with back in 2017 or 2018.
If you want to support the next National Run for Office Day (and make a tax-deductible gift while you’re at it), you can always chip in to Run for Something Civics.
In other Run for Something community updates
This is a gut-wrenching and inspiring story about Allie Phillips, a 28 year old woman in Tennessee who had to leave the state to get the abortion she needed, and is now running for state house to hold the GOP accountable.
“If I asked you to picture an elected official, your first thought might not be of a pregnant person. … To all those who doubt the capacity of mothers and all pregnant people to serve, I say: Bring it on. The solution to the marginalization pregnant people face is not to shield us from it altogether; it’s to make politics safe for us, so that more pregnant people can run, win, and serve.” - Nida Allam, Durham County Commissioner in NC, in a powerful op-ed with my favorite photo to date.
Columbus City Councilmember Melissa Green helped lead on a new program to fund STI prevention work in the city — especially important when last year, the city experienced a syphilis outbreak.
The LA Times has endorsed Nithya Raman for re-election to the city council — she’s made incredible progress on housing, been a fierce advocate for tenants, and makes decisions for what’s good for the whole, even when it’s hard.
LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is working with colleagues to establish a legal maximum indoor temperature in rental housing — necessary when extreme heat is one of the deadliest consequences of climate change for LA residents.
GA Sen. Kim Jackson, a farmer herself, is leading a cross-state conversation on how to transform regenerative agriculture and take on the conventional ag industry.
OK Rep. Arturo Alonso Sandoval is filing legislation for ethical protections on AI, inventories of AI programs in state government, and implementing AI education in public schools.
HI Rep. Trish La Chica introduced legislation to stop domestic abusers from using court cases (like legal-separation or child-custody cases) to further harm their victims.
Providence City Councilmember Sue AnderBois wants to take action to reduce pedestrian death in her city.
Rhode Island tenants are seeing rents go up by 50% or 100% — Sen. Tiara Mack is continuing her fight to introduce caps for rent increases.
We’re partnering with Courier News to highlight some of our amazing alum across the country. First up: AZ Sen. Priya Sundrashan on the fight for public transit.
VA Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg is leading on a bill to ban public universities from giving preferential treatment to applicants related to alumni or donors.
CA Rep. Alex Lee successfully passed into law a bill prohibiting stopping or parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk, making it easier for drivers to see pedestrians using those intersections and keeping our roads safer for everyone.
A quick Clerk Work reminder: The NYT reports this morning that “Unlike in 2020, the president and his team believe that the end of the election will not be in November but on Jan. 6, 2025, when Congress will count the Electoral College votes.” Many of the candidates we work with this year will take office in December, before the election is officially certified. If election deniers win those positions, they can undermine the election. Help support Clerk Work now.
This work continues to make a difference each and every day — your support makes it possible.
Thanks for everything,
- Amanda