Feel-good update: “I’m willing to be painted as the person who did too much”
We’ve survived into week something-or-other of this crisis! That’s worth celebrating — get excited for a deluge of good stories about the inspiring, hopeful RFS candidates & alum who are leading when it matters most. I promise you’ll end this email feeling at least a little more optimistic (and if you like it, share this link!)
A quick programming note, before I dive in: This Thursday, 5/21, join us at 8pm ET for another Drink for Something happy-hour — hosted by Teddy Goff of Obama & Hillary campaign fame, among other things, it’ll be a candid conversation with Obama alum including Katherine Archuleta, Former Ambassador Matthew Barzun, Brent Colburn, Stephanie Cutter, Former Ambassador Rufus Gifford and Julianna Smoot. Join us on Zoom!
Now onto the good stuff…
This is cool: In Colorado, Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder George Stern launched the county’s first ever mobile-voting site. Electing creative local election authorities matters!
Sergio Lopez’s family lost their home in the 2008 recession. That experience — and the realization that no one in government was fighting for families like his — inspired his run for Campbell City Council in CA. Read his story in Teen Vogue.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has led the Houston area with competence and foresight — the region’s numbers have plateaued while the virus continues to spread across the rest of Texas. Unsurprisingly, she’s facing backlash. She doesn’t care: “I’m willing to be painted as the person who did too much if I saved lives and ensured that our economy is resilient and that we’re not just lifting and putting orders up and down.” (And Lina can multi-task: She’s continued to lead on projects around flood mitigation.)
On our Medium, we highlighted Amanda Qualls (candidate for IN House) and Shanna Danielson (candidate for PA state senate.) Their stories are so inspiring!
Bethany Hallam won her seat on the Allegheny County Council in PA, beating out an incumbent who’d held the job for two decades, unapologetic about her personal experience with substance abuse and incarceration. Her commitment to her constituents was not to always win but to always fight for them. She’s proven that over and over again. (And FWIW: Bethany’s also getting props for her constituent services work over Twitter.)
In Florida, Rep. Anna Eskamani is fighting for housing security — she gave away her state salary during the crisis to pay for hotel rooms; has been holding management companies accountable when they try to raise rent, and is individually calling landlords & front-desks asking for grace on behalf of her constituents.
Maggie Nurrenbern, candidate for Missouri state house, is balancing teaching, homeschooling her own kids and her campaign. She talked with the NYTimes about how it’s going. (Spoiler: It’s hard!)
Erin Lorenz, candidate for Anne Arundel County Board of Education in Maryland and a high school teacher herself, has a powerful op-ed in her local paper on how teachers’ needs and students’ needs exist in tandem.
Similarly, Cristina Diaz Torres, candidate for Arlington School Board in Virginia, lays out a plan for how the county can prepare to meet all students’ needs this fall — including but especially students dealing with psychological trauma, students with disabilities, emergent-bilinguals, and those without reliable access to internet.
Becky Whitley, candidate for NH state senate, eloquently points out the crisis for seniors and direct-care workers in long-term care facilities, and calls for testing everyone in these vulnerable centers.
As state & corporate public officials have become less credible, folks have turned to local Facebook groups like the one run by Jonathan Grieder, Waterloo (IA) City Councilmember. He’s posting about best practices for social distancing, ways to support essential workers, and more.
NY state Senator Andrew Gounardes has introduced legislation to rectify problems coming up in nursing homes across New York — standards for how the facilities have to behave, info they have to release to families, and a process for the Dept. of Health to take over the centers if there’s mismanagement.
Gabby Salinas, candidate for Tennessee House, took over our Instagram account over the weekend.
Finally, in related reading: Coronavirus has proven we need more young Black people in leadership.
Black communities are facing the consequences of decisions made for them — not by them. The kinds of reforms needed to keep people safe are well-known, and championed and supported by young people of color: mandated consultation with public health officials in reopening plans, greater financial support for individuals and families, universal health care, national vote-by-mail access and online voter registration, and full student debt cancellation. But despite their belief in these ideas, young Black people have largely been denied access to the halls of power. And when they are given access, they’re often not given power to advance their ideas.
I know this email was long. But I figured you needed all the good news we can find these days. Thanks for being part of the team.
- Amanda
P.S. One final thing to make you smile: Samra Brouk, candidate for NY state senate, is calling constituents to check-in. It’s appreciated!
