RFS feel-good update (4/4): "I'm tired of old white men making decisions for me."
Same, Janelle. Same.
Hi all -
We made it to April! Lots and lots of community updates today — so let’s dive right in…
In RFS community updates:
Start your day off with 20 women of color running for office you should get to know.
When Denise Hernandez won her primary for Travis County Court number 6, she became the first openly gay Latina likely to serve. She’s the first in her family to go to college, the first to be a lawyer and now a judge, and has personal familial experience with incarceration - her lived experience will make a better more equitable judge.
"I'm tired of white old men making decisions for me, a queer Cuban-American in Miami." - Janelle Perez, candidate for FL state senate, who along with her wife, just celebrated the birth of her second kid.
He got his start in organizing by driving for Uber, then organizing other drivers to ultimately create a driver-owned co-op. Now David Alexis is running for NY state senate.
CO Rep. Iman Jodeh explains why she’s “sponsoring a bill to make health care coverage more affordable and dependable for Coloradans by requiring transparency when it comes to costs, cutting red tape that stands in the way of better care, and ensuring savings are going directly to lower out-of-pocket costs for patients.”
Nebraska Sen. Jen Day is moving forward with legislation to require every school to have someone employed who knows community behavioral health services and resources, in an effort to improve access to mental health services in schools.
Just flagging this.
Dallas City Councilman Adam Bazaldua successfully passed a resolution to support the city’s trans community and condemn the state legislature, while ensuring city ordinances have specific language around gender identity.
Since Katie Valenzuela and Mai Vang joined the Sacramento City Council, here’s what’s happened: “Safe grounds were established to successfully secure and assist homeless residents; funding was increased to begin development of low-income housing; and electrification and slow streets were prioritized to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. These progressive policy decisions take courage to implement – and endurance to fight for when conservatives show no restraint in conducting smear campaigns and stalling solutions. Is it reasonable to say more women elected in government correlates to a better Sacramento? Yes. Is it also fair to conclude that elected women cause Sacramento to be better? No doubt.”
After coming up short last cycle, Julie Gunnigle is running against for Maricopa County Attorney. This is (one of many reasons) why her race matters.
CO Rep. David Ortiz made history last month when he became the the first wheelchair user to preside over the state house; he’s the lead sponsor on legislation that would give wheelchair users the “right to repair,” cutting through miserable red tape.
HI Rep. Adrian Tam is leading the charge to buy long-derelict land in Waikiki and put it to use for the community.
If you want to be hopeful, this beautiful interview with DE Sen. Sarah McBride on the attacks on trans community — and why one day there will be a trans president — will get the job done.
NY Sen. Samra Brouk makes the case for doing even more for New Yorkers living with serious mental illnesses.
CO Rep. Brianna Titone is leading on legislation that would allow sex workers to report violent crimes without fearing they’ll be charged for prostitution.
In a quick bench update:
Congrats to MI Rep. Kyra Bolden for launching her campaign for Michigan Supreme Court!
Rep. Michele Rayner, who’s running for Congress in Florida, didn’t mince words when talking about Ron DeSantis: “He’s a coward and he knows that there are more against him than with him. What I will not do in my capacity, as long as I have this capacity and platform, is allow our children and allow our community to be harmed by bigoted people who are more concerned about power than they are concerned about people.”
In related reading:
Republicans are blitzing Wisconsin with ads ahead of the local elections. The WI Democratic Party & allies are fighting back — but just keep in mind: We’re going to see this 100x more across the country this spring into the fall.
Also in Wisconsin: Republicans & far-right extremists are spending big on an aggressive campaign to push school board candidates.
Right-wing conspiracy theorists are trying to starve local election administrators of funding, giving them an opportunity to further undermine trust in the election.
The Brennan Center is tracking candidates for election administration roles who are denying the validity of the 2020 election or peddling big lies - in particular, they note the Republican for Travis County Clerk in Texas and the Republican running for Chatham County Board of Elections in Georgia. Much more to come on this.
As the federal govt languishes and state legislatures get more partisan, states are the new core of government. This has some pros but many many cons and is one of many reasons why we have to care about what happens in red states.
We’ve got some big stuff coming this month — stay tuned! — that wouldn’t be possible without you. Thanks for making it all possible.
- Amanda