Hi all -
Last week was Election Day for Marylanders!
In a big win, Ashley Esposito is leading the pack for the first ever Baltimore City School Board race. In quintessential RFS-candidate style, she explains: ““I am shocked with the results. This is blowing my mind,” said Esposito, who had garnered over 14,600 votes as of Wednesday morning, more than 3,000 votes more than the next-highest vote-getter. “It looks like three of the top four are educators. It makes sense.” She said many of the top four candidates had been “authentic and open books. I feel like all four of us have led with our hearts.”
25-year old Joe Vogel won his primary for Maryland state house and will become one the youngest member of the legislature.
Kristin Mink is leading her race for Montgomery County Council with a powerful strategy: Organizing, especially with young people! (You might remember Kristin Mink as the schoolteacher who confronted Scott Pruitt over climate change!)
A few other big winners: David Plotts moved forward in his race for Wicomoco County School Board; Shawn Livingston advanced in his primary for Anne Arundel County Council; Krystal Oriadha advanced in her race for Prince George’s County Council; Michele Dappert moved forward in her race for Talbot County Board; and Andrew Friedson won his primary for Montgomery County Council. More to come!
Heads up that our next big primary day is August 2nd, when we’ve got folks up in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, MIssouri, Ohio, and Washington. Stay tuned.
Yet another reminder in the New York Times of why our Clerk Work program matters (and why folks like the Heritage Foundation and the Epoch Times are so threatened by it!)
It’s been more than nine weeks since the Pennsylvania primary. The election is still not certified.
The reason: Three counties — Berks, Fayette and Lancaster — are refusing to process absentee ballots that were received in a timely manner and are otherwise valid, except the voter did not write a date on the declaration printed on the ballot’s return envelope. …
The standoff in Pennsylvania is the latest attempt by conservative-leaning counties to disrupt, delay or otherwise meddle with the process of statewide election certification, a normally ceremonial administrative procedure that became a target of Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 contest.
If you want to get a sense of the scope of this work, Bolts magazine has a great database of who literally counts the votes — almost every local elected office (or elected office which then appoints an administrator) is included in our Clerk Work program.
In RFS community updates:
Austin City Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes led on passing a resolution to urge the city’s police to ignore the state’s abortion ban, amended a city ordinance to prohibit discrimination based on reproductive health action, asked the city manager to launch a public campaign for long-term birth control, and evaluate benefits for city employees who are seeking care outside the state.
In Iowa, Waterloo City Councilmember Jonathan Grieder led on passing a resolution that would set a 24/7 carbon-free electricity goal by 2035 with clear action steps along the way, making it only the second city in the county to take the pledge.
One RFS alum lifting up another as they get good stuff done in Delaware. You love to see it.
Miami-Dade School Boardmembers (and RFS alum) Luisa Santos and Lucia Baez Geller fought hard but unfortunately lost in a vote to ban sex-ed textbooks — we need more leaders like them in as many offices as possible.
MI Senator Mallory McMorrow is focusing her efforts on flipping the Michigan State Senate and has helped raise more than $1 million for the work over the last three months.
You might have seen some of the stories in the last few weeks of Justice Horn’s campaign signs being defaced with homophobic bigotry. He’s not shying away from who he is.
Reps. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and Sen. Julie Gonzales are leading on legislation to raise the minimum age for Colorado juvenile court jurisdiction.
In SC, Columbia City Councilwoman Aditi Bussells is working on an ordinance to require the reporting of stolen weapons, a huge problem in the city.
CO Rep. Dylan Roberts makes a powerful case for why water conservation must be a bipartisan issue!
A must read in the Washington Post over the weekend: A deep-dive into the fight over sex-ed in Nebraska, where the attacks calling Democrats “groomers” have, for the last year+, helped push local candidates to victory as they take over school boards and county offices (and have proven the case for the efficacy of the attack to help the frame go national). RFS candidate Danielle Helzer, who’s running for state board of education, is a fierce advocate for comprehensive sex ed standards and is facing the attacks head-on.
Big news for us: We’re hiring! In order to both meet the increasing demand of record numbers of young people who want to run for office and to meet the urgency of our many crises, we’re growing this team. We’ve got 11 positions currently open and more to come over the next few months. Check out runforsomething.net/jobs and help find the best possible talent.
Thanks for making this all possible. (Especially the growth!) We’re so grateful to have you on our team.
- Amanda