RFS feel-good update (6/2): "Mayors are making climate action personal"

...and it's working!

Hi all -

Real quick this week: we’re continuing to beat the drum that to save the party and save democracy, we need new leaders at every level. Read my latest op-ed in US News and let me know what you think.

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In RFS community updates:

• An absolute must-read about how mayors like Justin Bibb are continuing a commitment to climate action even when the federal govt moves in the far-opposite direction…
  
  “In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Bibb was living in a tight, one-bedroom apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. He couldn’t open his windows because his home was an old office building converted to residential units — not exactly conducive to physical and mental well-being in the middle of a global crisis. So he sought refuge elsewhere: a large green space, down near the lakefront, that he could stroll to. “Unfortunately,” Bibb said, “that’s not the case for many of our residents in the city of Cleveland.””

• RFS alum Mallory McMorrow joined PBS to talk about her campaign for U.S. Senate. This is a great conversation.

• You’ve got to watch TX Rep. James Talarico — a divinity student and a teacher himself — about the TX Republicans’ bill mandating the posting of 10 commandments in classrooms.

  

  @jamestalaricoTexas Republicans passed a bill to force every teacher to post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms. Here’s my speech against the bill.

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• Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang and her colleagues are refusing to back down from their DEI efforts: She said that “standing up for the concept of DEI is standing up for humanity and dignity and that Sacramento will stand strong against ideals that aim to harm certain groups of people.”

• Ventura Unified School Board member James Forsythe — a special education teacher himself — explains how the chaos around the Department of Education is causing real harm to students with disabilities.

• CA Sen. Sasha Renee Perez is coauthor of a major bill to expand parole eligibility for individuals who committed their crimes before the age of 26.

• For Minneapolis City Councilmember Jason Chavez, the debate about health care for undocumented immigrants is personal: His father could lose necessary coverage he needs while undergoing cancer treatment.

• NE Sen. John Fredrickson’s bills requiring the state health department to develop suicide awareness and prevention training for staff working with kids and another putting more restrictions on behavioral health care providers and contractors

• Houston City Councilmember Mario Castillo is making the kind of structural changes we love to see: Pushing to move at least one weekly public comment meeting a month to a more accessible time — holding them at 6pm instead of 2pm.

• NYC Councilmembers Chi Ossé and Crystal Hudson led on a historic rezoning of a major district in Brooklyn that will bring 4,600 new units of housing into the neighborhood. (This is my neighborhood, so I’m thrilled!)

• CT Rep. Gary Turco spearheaded new consumer protection rules that will make it easier for people to cancel automatic subscriptions, require disclosure on hidden fees. make it easier to enforce price gouging, and create a right to repair for electronics.

• Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii — the youngest woman and first ever Asian American to serve as mayor — talked with local news about the first six months of her term: “I've heard from some young folks that it's been very inspiring to see someone that looks like them serve in this office, and it's been very exciting to pave the way, And also a responsibility…and make sure that I'm not the last one, making sure that I'm the first of many."

In related watching & listening:

• I loved talking with Samantha Bee about all things Run for Something, the gerontocracy, and what we would do if we were 30% braver.

• I talked with

  Anne Helen Petersen
  for her newsletter about a whole range of topics. A small excerpt:
  
  ”People keep asking where the opposition leadership is — it’s in the Run for Something community! We don’t need one leader fighting back (if we could even agree on one person in the first place). We want and need thousands of leaders, all across the country, doing whatever they can to remind people that when good people are elected, government can do good things.
  

  I’m not going to say don’t feel bad, because things are horrible and scary and Trump is going to do so much harm. But there are people rebuilding from the ground up, fortifying local governments, mitigating harm, and advancing progress. The only way out of this period in our history is through it -- the leaders stepping up now to get us to the other side are going to make what comes next absolutely transformative (in a good way.)”

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Thanks for making all this possible. The work continues!

- Amanda