Feel-good update (7/20): "Austin, TX, just voted to end the Drug War"
Hi all -
If you (like me) are somewhere where it’s unbearably hot & sticky, I feel you: We’ll get through this together, apart, with a lot of very very cold seltzer.
First, some good election news: RFS candidate José Garza beat an incumbent in his race for Travis County District Attorney. This is a big deal — José ran on an incredibly progressive platform; when he wins in November, he’ll be able to immediately make life better for so many Texans.
If you missed last week’s Armchair Chat with Ross & Jessica Byrd, catch up — it was incredible (and includes a secret story at the end about Oprah & Stevie Wonder…)
This Wednesday at 6pm, I’ll be chatting with HFA & OFA alum Teddy Goff about digital communications. RSVP now or tune in on our Facebook page.
A few other events to flag for you:
This Thursday: Our first ever RFS Awards show. We’ll be honoring some amazing candidates & alumni, including FL Rep. Dotie Joseph, CO Rep. Brianna Titone, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Denver School Board Director Tay Anderson, FL Rep. Anna Eskamani, and RFS volunteer Chelsea Mason. We have some surprise speakers joining us — get your ticket for FREE right here.
On July 30th, we’ve got a virtual house party to talk about how local elected officials are stopping police violence, advocating for women’s health care, and leading crucial COVID response efforts. You won’t want to miss this.
If you missed last week’s virtual house party, you can catch up on YouTube — our three candidates in California were incredible.
In RFS candidate & alumni news…
Meet Nithya Raman and Fatima Iqbal-Zubair, two incredible women taking on the Los Angeles political establishment. Nithya’s running for city council; Fatima is running for CA state assembly — they’re underdogs, but they’re fighters.
The Indianapolis City-County Council is introducing a proposal to fundamentally change how the police department functions & governs itself, led by RFS alum Keith Potts & Crista Carlino.
Berkeley may become the first city to remove police from traffic stops, led by RFS alum City Councilmember Rigel Robinson.
Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta is joining other Pennsylvania Democrats to sue the GOP for restricting voting laws. (Nearly all the plaintiffs in the suit are elected or candidates of color.)
Also in PA: Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, founder of the Student Debt Caucus in the state house, is pushing a Student Borrowers Bill of Rights, which would help students figure out their options for both financing and repayment, and would add additional oversight to the PA Higher Education Assistance Agency (which was recently sued for failing to properly administer the loan forgiveness program.)
Mississippi state Rep. Zakiya Summers has filed a bi-partisan bill that would allow voters to participate in pre-election day voting in November. While it doesn’t seem likely the GOP will take it up in committee, it’s at least a way of pressuring them to take a stand.
Allegheny City Councilwoman Liv Bennett joined the Appeal for a conversation on the public health crisis of racism in America. It’s worth watching.
Sarah Crawford, candidate for NC state house, is putting on virtual 5ks for her campaign, encouraging people to literally run for office with her. Akilah Bacy, Natali Hurtado, and Elizabeth Beck are making viral videos. All this & more in Vox’s overview of campaigning during a pandemic.
The racist Republican behind Florida’s poll tax is running against RFS candidate Jessica Harrington. She ran against him in 2018, came within 5000 votes of him, and this time around, can absolutely beat him.
Audrey Spanko is trying to flip a seat in the Texas state senate; her campaign is focused on issues like broadband access, rural health care, expanding Medicaid, and reinvesting in East Texas. You love to see it.
Good news out of Texas: At least three RFS candidates for state legislature outraised their opponents — great work, Natali Hurtado, Eric Holguin, and Celina Montoya!
Black Coffee Justice, a Black-led collective in Tennessee, has endorsed RFS candidate Matthew Park in his race for the TN House. Read more on why they think this 30 year old White man is the right pick for the community.
Last week, I sent you our profile of Chad Klitzman, candidate for Broward County Supervisor of Elections — this week, the South Florida Sun Sentinel endorsed him in a very competitive race.
Two alums leading in Gwinnett County, GA — (1) Everton Blair Jr — the first Black member of the county board of education — is pushing to keep schools closed and reimagine education in this moment; he’s got a powerful op-ed in the Atlanta paper. (2) County Commissioner Ben Ku introduced a resolution to add sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to the county’s nondiscrimination policy.
In related reading: Teen Vogue dug in on the pipeline problem and why we need formalized & structured recruitment efforts for local office (like Run for Something!)
Finally, this sparked joy for us this week…
Thank you for making this all possible. We’re lucky to do this work & grateful to do it with you.
- Amanda