RFS feel-good update (6/14): This video will make you cry
Scroll down to see Nadarius Clark's emotional victory.
Hi all -
Some good news to start our morning: Last week, four of our five Virginia candidates in competitive primaries WON. Some of the broader highlights from Election Day:
Elizabeth Bennett Parker — who we previously helped win the job of Alexandria Vice Mayor — beat an incumbent for the House of Delegates.
Nadarius Clark beat an incumbent who’d been the only vote against allowing cities to remove confederate memorials and one of five who’d voted against qualified immunity for police officers. He will likely be the district’s first Black delegate. Watch this and try not to cry.
Marpheen Chann won an at-large seat on the Portland charter commission.
Ryan Lizanecz will represent district 5 on Portland’s charter commission.
John Malchow advanced from the primary for Watchung Borough Council in NJ; Joe Signorello advanced from the primary for NJ State Senate, district 21; Alyia Gaskins advanced in her primary for Alexandria City Council in VA
And in a few final stories from Texas the week prior:
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez became the first openly gay man elected to the San Antonio City Council. Jalen is the first out Black man to ever win office in Texas.
22 year old Junior Ezenou is the youngest member of the Grand Prairie city council — and get this: “Grand Prairie will have two Black men serving as city council members for the first time in the city's more than 100 years of existence.”
The last few weeks of elections means we’re now up to 515 winners since launching in 2017. Some fun stats:
55% are women, 44% are men, & 1 is non-binary
20% identify as LGBTQIA+
44% White, 26% Black, 19% Latinx, 8% AAPI, 3% Indigenous
8% are ages 18-24, 27% are ages 25-30, 36% are ages 31-35 & 30% are 36-40 years old
16% hold education-related roles, 37% serve in state legislatures, 43% are in municipal office & 3% are in legal positions
Our next big Election Day is June 22nd. We’re watching 49 candidates across New York — if you want to volunteer or learn more, we’ve got a round-up online now.
Have hope, even when it’s hard: We joined RFS candidates Amit Bagga (NYC) and Miranda Schubert (Tucson, AZ) to talk with CNBC about this bummer story on why older millennials struggle to run for office. One upside: Nearly half of all Gen Z & more than half of younger millennials are possibly considering a run. The future could be bright!
In RFS candidate & alumni updates…
This is a tough read but an important one: Buzzfeed explored the impact of anti-trans legislation on trans kids in Florida. RFS alum Jennifer Jenkins, who has been the leading advocate for trans kids on the Brevard school board, beat out an incumbent who went on the create a network of bigoted groups that have been fighting for racist and hateful policies from school boards.
Take a listen to Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards explain her new vision for the city’s $3 billion budget.
PA Rep. Jennifer O’Mara took to the state house floor to share her personal experience with IVF. Watch this.
IL Sen. Robert Peters passed 17 bills through both chambers of the legislature, on everything from bail reform to the installation of lead service lines.
MI Rep. Mari Manoogian is leading on bipartisan legislation that would ban the use of any electronic devices while driving for nearly any purpose, including checking email or social media.
Reps. Brianna Titone and David Ortiz reflected on the growing diversity of the Colorado state house and how their presence affects the productivity of the chamber.
This is a beautiful video from NYC council candidate Crystal Hudson.
FL Rep. Andrew Learned successfully sponsored a bipartisan bill to establish the Purple Star Program, which helps military families navigate schooling across the state.
PA Sen. Lindsey WIlliams is joining with a Republican counterpart to introduce a bill requiring comprehensive reporting of all legislative expenses. Seems pretty straightforward!
Former WV Rep. Sammi Brown wrote for the National Democratic Training Committee on how to deal with the trolls and disinformation online.
In Maryland, Del. Emily Shetty successfully sponsored legislation that strikes a balance on how police can use DNA collected from genealogy websites — a first-in-the-nation law.
Rep. Dylan Roberts is part of a critical group of CO Democrats who’ve been working hard to make what is possibly the biggest ever investment in affordable housing through the state legislature.
NY Sen. Zellnor Myrie’s bill to allow New Yorkers to sue gun manufacturers could have major consequences.
Yahoo profiled Chi Ossé, the queer BLM activist running for NY City Council. You’ll be inspired.
Two upcoming RFS events…
This Thursday at 4pm ET, we’re kicking off our Future Winners program, a partnership with Sister District, the Pipeline Initiative, and EMILY’s List specifically for folks who ran and lost but should run again.
On June 30th, 8pm ET/5pm PT, we’re partnering with Victory Fund to host See Yourself Running: Pride, a free conversation for LGBTQIA+ folks considering running for office.
In related reading…
Our partner and friend, DLCC president Jessica Post, has an op-ed on the wave of state legislators who participated in or enabled the insurrection on January 6th.
A tweet for you, and a reminder: We don’t have a time machine to go back and fix Democrats’ mistakes of the last 20 years, but we have a chance now to ensure we don’t repeat them…
This week on the Run for Something podcast: When India Walton was growing up working class in Buffalo, she always knew she'd serve her community in some way -- but she never would have guessed that one day she'd be in the running to be the first woman mayor of Buffalo.
From being a mother at 14 to having twins in the NICU that nudged into going into nursing to her later role as a non-profit executive, India brings her full self to her campaign against a four-term incumbent who literally hides from his constituents. Listen to her story, then head to http://www.indiawalton.com to find out how you can help before Election Day on 6/22.
If you have questions or ideas on who we should talk to, give us a call at 833-244-5382.
Thank you for being part of the Run for Something community. We are so lucky to be able to do this work in partnership with you.
- Amanda