RFS feel-good update (7/26): Why we care about library boards
Hi all -
Happy Olympics week one to all who observe!! (FWIW, I LOVE the Olympics, even as it continues to be problematic.)
I want to start by highlighting a story going on in Niles, Illinois. Far right conservatives took control of the library board and have been using their power to slash budgets, cancel orders for new books, and keep out foreign-language books.
Run for Something is one of the few national progressive organizations that works on races as local as library board. What’s happening in Niles is just one example of why that hyperlocal works matters.
In RFS alumni & candidate updates:
The Chicago City Council finally passed a strong police oversight law — we’re so proud of the RFS alum who played a role in this critical step forward.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett joined the Ali Velsi show to talk about the way Texas Republicans have set up voting rules that are different (and harder) for the more urban (i.e. Democratic) counties. CNN profiled Jasmine and her refusal to give up the fight for voting rights.
My favorite trend lately: RFS alum in NYC talking about food. Sen. Jabari Brisport shared his Grub Street Diet & incoming city councilmember Shahana Hanif shared some her favorite restaurants in Little Bangladesh.
CA Rep. Alex Lee talked with his local NPR station about how and why young people should run for office. This is what we mean when we talk about our work compounding on itself — Alex ran and won in 2020, and now he’s helping inspire and recruit the next generation of leaders.
Louise Snodgrass ran for state house in South Dakota in 2020 — they lost, but in the process, identified they were non-binary. Louise gave a really thoughtful interview about their gender identity to their local paper.
The TX Senate passed legislation that would end a requirement for public school educators to teach that the KKK is “morally wrong.” It would also also remove a mandate that requires educators to teach about the Civil Rights movement, Native American history, and the Chicano movement. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and the works of figures like United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez and suffragist activist Susan B. Anthony would all be removed from the curriculum. Rep. James Talarico, a teacher himself, was able to stop this back in May; by denying Republicans in the House a quorum in this special session, he can continue to stand up for an inclusive (and accurate) curriculum.
The Nation profiled James Talarico, who’s a rising star in the legislature (and of course, was a guest on the podcast last week!).
NY Sen. Jeremy Cooney has introduced legislation to help get marijuana cultivation up and running, on top of the legalization effort that succeeded earlier this year.
Justin Bibb, candidate for mayor of Cleveland, is standing up against predatory property management companies, issuing them “eviction notices.”
CO Rep. David Ortiz has helped lead Colorado to become the first in the country to require government agencies to meet web accessibility standards.
In Fairfax County, VA, school board member Abrar Omeish is being targeted for a recall effort based on COVID response. This is messy stuff; we’ll be keeping a close eye on what happens next.
CA Rep. Wendy Carrillo helped pass legislation that ties tax credits for Hollywood to diversity efforts, ensuring that the workforce reflects California’s diversity.
Matt is a candidate for Onondaga County Legislator in NY —his experience knocking doors is verrrrrrry common for RFS candidates.
MA Rep. Tram Nguyen introduced and passed legislation that creates statewide standards for immigrant domestic violence and human trafficking survivors who might need documentation for visas.
PA Sen. Amanda Cappelletti wrote a powerful op-ed on the need to do more to protect the mental health of first responders and, in the process, change some gun laws to mitigate the number of self-inflicted harm by firearms.
Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang is quite literally going door to door herself to help vaccinate folks in her community.
“Mother, quorum-breaker, democracy defender.” A perfect sum up of TX Rep. Erin Zwiener.
RI Sen. Jonathon Acosta introduced and passed legislation that requires cops to wear body cameras.
NY City Council candidate Amber Adler came up short — but her experience running as an Orthodox Jewish woman broke new ground. “Gradually, as the months of the campaign wore on, she began to hear a different message undercutting the abuse: gratitude. Dozens of women in her district, some Orthodox and others not, told her they had never thought they might be able to vote for political representation from a working Orthodox Jewish mom.”
Three fun highlights of Run for Something programming & partnerships lately:
This partnership with EMILY’s List and Sister District is so cool - we’re running monthly trainings with folks who ran before and lost but may consider running again.
I have a special spot in my heart for our alumni mentorship program. Read this brief thread on how it works out.
We announced a new partnership with NGP VAN to get our candidates access to the critical tools they need to run successful campaigns.
And two events to put on your calendar:
A few events to put on your calendar:
On July 28th, Run for Something Action Fund and the Democracy Policy Network are hosting Statehouse Futures, a progressive policy & strategy summit. Join this free event!
On July 29th, we’re partnering with the National Council on Independent Living to host Claim Your Seat, a free call specifically for members of the disabled and neurodiverse community considering running for office. The call will include live captioning and a live ASL interpreter; email us hello@runforsomething.net with any additional questions about accommodations.
In related reading/watching:
A reminder that the GOP is 100% invested in building sustainable power, and none of this is an accident.
Also a reminder: QAnon is 100% invested in recruiting candidates for local office.
I joined ATTN to talk about why it might be worth considering age limits for elected officials. This is definitely a controversial (and hard to discus) issue, but it’s worth considering.
We also talked with Politico about the danger of the fights about Critical Race Theory on the school board level — as we’ve said many times in this exact space, this is a powerful hook for the GOP to win back suburban voters who may have started to lean Democrat over the last few cycles but can easily be drawn back into a GOP without Trump on the ballot.
This week on the Run for Something podcast: Bridgette Craighead was born and raised in Rocky Mount, Virginia -- as a mom and small business owner, she'd never really gotten political before until the murder of George Floyd, when she organized Rocky Mount's first ever Black Lives Matter protest, where even some police officers came out to show their support. Imagine her surprise when six months later, two of those officers stormed the capitol in D.C. -- Bridgette was instrumental in them getting fired off the force.
Now as a candidate for House of Delegates, Bridgette is up against a young very-Trump-ian Republican and even while he tries to say she "doesn't fit" the community, she's taking the high road. Get to know her story and then help her campaign before the November election: https://www.bridgettefordelegate.com/
Thanks for making all this possible. We have more endorsements coming later this week as we keep up the hustle going into the end of the summer; that work only happens because of you!
- Amanda