RFS feel-good update (4/12): Hopescrolling!
Meet some of the winners from last week's Election Day
Hi all -
While we’re still tracking a few elections, some of the amazing winners from our folks in elections last week:
Juliana Bennett will be the newest member of the Madison City Council, the first Black queer woman to hold her seat, and the only student representative on the board.
Anne Schweitzer, a clinic escort, housing rights activist, and publicist, will be on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen after unseating an incumbent.
Heather Hardinger will be first woman of color to serve on the Springfield City Council in Missouri.
Andrea Waner — chair of Columbia’s Commission on Human Rights (and roller derby champion) — will be the newest member of the Columbia City Council in Missouri.
So far in 2021, we’ve had 12 winners, and 155 more still running this year. Get ready because another class of endorsements is coming in hot later this week!
In RFS candidate & alumni updates...
It is no surprise that young Black electeds — like RFS alum Rep. Michele Rayner and Rep. Travaris McCurdy — are leading the fight against voter suppression.
Rep. Ethan Corson and other RFS alum in Kansas are doing what they can to push back against the bigoted anti-trans legislation making its way through the state legislature.
PA Rep. Jessica Benham on similarly bigoted anti-trans legislation in her chamber: “This is a piece of legislation in search of a problem that simply does not exist. This is an example of stigma and discrimination against trans people. That’s what it is at the end of the day.”
We’re so proud to be on James’ team down in Texas.
Judge Lina Hidalgo has a powerful op-ed in the Washington Post on the egregious voter suppression laws in Texas:
In 2020, Harris County became a national model for how to run safe, secure and convenient elections. We tripled early voting locations, extended voting hours to 10 p.m. on three early-voting days and had a day of 24-hour voting. We implemented drive-through voting. The result: Record voter turnout, as 68 percent of registered voters went to the polls — the greatest participation Harris County had seen since 1992.The response to this beautiful display of democracy is Texas Senate Bill 7, among other measures. The bill would ban 24-hour voting and do away with drive-through voting. It would also limit the number of polling places, a sure way to discourage voting by causing delays and long lines.
University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker is working to hold his colleague accountable for encouraging the insurrection earlier this year.
MA State Rep. David LeBoeuf explains why he’s leading on legislation to fix critically broken pieces of the state’s foster care system. This is a must-read.
CA Assemblymember Alex Lee has introduced legislation to ban corporate donations to candidates seeking statewide office.
CO Rep. Iman Jodeh talked with her local NPR affiliate about her work in the state legislature, her responsibility as the first Muslim lawmaker in CO, and the legislation she’s pushing to make Colorado the first state to have a public option for health care.
Ann Arbor Councilmember Travis Radina successfully led on an ordinance to ban criminal background checks of renters. Huge.
Will Haskell is CT’s only gen-Z senator; he’s working hard to take on vaccine hesitancy among his peers.
NY Sen. Zellnor Myrie helped paved the way for the Community Violence Intervention Act — New York is the first state in the country to declare gun violence a public health.
Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela is modeling a new way to end homelessness — and so far, it’s working.
This is a beautiful profile of Rep. Anna Eskamani and her resolve to fight for the most vulnerable Floridians.
If he wins his campaign for San Antonio City Council, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez would be the first millennial (he’s 25!) and the first openly gay member of the body. He’s running to unset his former boss: “[Their] chief of staff would regularly make very homophobic comments about my hair and clothes. When I brought my concerns to Jada I faced retaliation. My office was suddenly moved across town and I was stripped of many of my job duties. I want to make sure no one else is subjected to this again and this (running for City council) is one way I knew I could accomplish that.”
And just FYI, we’re keeping eyes on some alum are rising through the ranks…
Rep. Lauren Underwood endorsed Jennifer Carroll Foy’s campaign for VA governor. So did former NAACP president Ben Jealous and People for the American Way. We love to see it.
It’s not official until it’s official, but RFS alum GA Rep. Matthew Wilson is likely to run for insurance commissioner, which if he wins, would make him Georgia’s first openly LGBTQ statewide elected.
Some related reading & listening:
Mayors nationwide are stepping back after handling Covid burnt them out. We’re here for anyone who’s willing to step and lead, and for all our elected alum who are feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders.
I joined Molly Jong Fast and Jesse Cannon to talk all things RFS & reverse coattails on the latest episode of The New Abnormal on the Daily Beast.
If you need more of me in your ears, starting last week, I’m joining Bernie campaign manager Faiz Shakir as the new co-host of Battleground on The Recount — formerly hosted by David Plouffe and Steve Schmidt. I won’t flag this every week, but subscribe if you’re interested!
Tishuara Jones’ victory in St. Louis is part of a broader trend: Black women are running for mayor and winning.
Get excited for Front Row Seat, 2021 edition:
Next week, we’re bringing back Front Row Seat — our excellent week-long series of events. We’ll announce speakers every morning — get ready.
This week on the Run for Something podcast: Climate activist Chloe Maxmin first ran for Maine state house in 2018 and won, becoming the first Democrat to ever represent her very rural very old community. (She was only 26 years old!) Then in 2020, she ran for Maine state senate and beat out the top-ranking leader of the Republican party. Listen in to find out how she did it, why rural America is not a lost cause for Democrats, how to talk to people you fundamentally disagree with, and what Maine politics is really like. Listen wherever you get your shows.
Thank you for making all this possible. We are so lucky to do this work and lucky to do it on a team with you!
- Amanda