Hi all -
First up, some good news! Last week we had another great victory in Oklahoma (!!).
That means that in just 5 years we've elected 639 people - 58% people of color, 56% women, & 21% LGBTQIA+. That includes 100 school board members, 197 state legislators, 321 municipal officeholders & 21 legal-related officeholders. Pretty great. You did that!
Next, you’ve heard me talk unendingly about our work to recruit local election administrators. This is what that looks like in practice:
One Democrat in McLean County has filed for countywide office ahead of the spring primary election, and she's new to politics and government.
Laura McBurney of Normal said she decided to run for county clerk after Run for Something, a political organization that recruits young progressives, asked her to seek the office.
“In a very short period of time, I found that I really care about all of the services provided through the clerk’s office,” McBurney said.
Read the rest of this story on WGLT.org — this is how it works!
And remember: Election subversion in 2024 won’t involve a mob storming the capitol. It’ll be one county clerk or election judge in one county, undermining faith in the entire system. (And perhaps that county clerk will later get indicted for helping QAnon access secure ballot technology then go on to run for secretary of state anyway…)
Let’s talk about abortion.
The RFS community is fighting hard to protect and expand access to abortion and reproductive health care. In Nebraska, Sen. Megan Hunt successfully led an 8 hour filibuster to block an abortion ban from passing. Watch her speech.
Meanwhile, CO Sen. Julie Gonzales led legislation to guarantee access to abortion and reproductive rights in the state’s laws — the governor signed it earlier last week.
In MI, Reps. Laurie Pohutsky and Mallory McMorrow are pushing for ballot proposals to assure access to abortion.
In NY, Sen. Samra Brouk fought to have more insurance coverage for abortion care.
In AZ, Julie Gunnigle is running for county attorney for the second time and has promised not to prosecute anyone seeking abortion services.
There are so many ways local elected officials can fight for reproductive care — from finding ways to make it more affordable (through insurance mechanisms or abortion funds) to protecting protest zones around clinics to declining to prosecute or, in state legislatures where Democrats have control, enshrining access to reproductive care into state law. As we look ahead to a summer in which Roe v. Wade is likely to be overturned, this is where the fight must be.
In other RFS community news…
Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb is filing a motion to expunge the records of more than 4,000 people convicted of minor marijuana possession cases. The American Prospect has an incredible profile of Justin, calling him “The Fixer.”
WA Sen. Emily Randall successfully passed legislation requiring state businesses to include a job’s salary range and general benefits in all job descriptions.
CO Rep. Dylan Roberts is moving forward on legislation to prevent cardiac-arrest deaths by increasing and improving the use of defibrillators.
WI Reps. Kristina Shelton and Francesca Hong are building up support for the Economic Justice Bill of Rights and imagining a better world for Wisconsinites.
FL Rep. Andrew Learned is pushing the state to divest from Russian assets across as many portfolios as possible.
Carlsbad City Councilmember (and candidate for CA state senate) Priya Bhat-Patel shows a day in the life as a mom, wife, councilmember, and working professional.
Washtenaw County Attorney Eli Savit joins with a colleague to make the case for expanding Michigan’s hate crime laws to specifically include crimes targeting a person’s sexual orientation of gender identity.
Cambridge City Councilmember Burhan Azeem is making progress on eliminating minimum parking requirements for new developments.
As part of budget negotiations, MO Rep. Kevin Windham added $4.5 million to the state’s need-based college scholarship program.
Zooey Zephyr in Montana, Eunic Ortiz in Florida, and Janelle Perez in Florida all make this great list of 10 LGBTQ+ women of color running for office and making history this year.
Kaegan Mays-Williams isn’t running to make history — although she could as the first ever Black gay woman in the NY state senate. Rather, she’s running to make sure someone with her lived experience has a seat at the table.
IL Rep. Bob Morgan sponsored legislation to prohibit college institutions from refusing to provide copies of student transcripts.
Keith Henry explains why he’s running for TX state legislature: Property taxes.
NY City Councilmember Shahana Hanif is holding the mayor accountable for addressing the needs of immigrant communities — specifically as it relates to adult literacy programs — as part of his first year budget.
““Am I scared? Yes, I’m not going to lie. I am scared. But as a minority woman, to be honest, in a room of raised hands, mine will never be picked, and I learned to look for opportunities where other people see obstacles.” - Linh Nguyen, running for county clerk in Dekalb, IL.
Keeping an eye on our folks running for higher office:
In related reading:
Far-right school board candidates continue to surface all across the country. We’re fighting back.
Relatedly: I talked with Dame Magazine about how and why people can run for school board.
More books are being banned than ever before: “The bans targeted 1,145 unique books by more than 800 authors, and a plurality of the books — 41 percent — featured prominent characters who are people of color. Thirty-three percent of the banned books, meanwhile, included LGBTQ themes, protagonists or strong secondary characters, and 22 percent “directly address issues of race and racism.”"
We’ve got a lot cooking here at Run for Something. Thanks for making it all possible.
- Amanda