News from the Frontlines of the Political Revolution!
Join us for Our National Organize to Win Call this Monday at 8.30p ET as Our Revolution celebrates 5 years of electing progressive champions!
Bernie launched his political career as Mayor of Burlington and this week we’ll feature two mayoral contenders – and rising progressive leaders – Will Mbah, candidate for mayor of Somerville, MA, and Khalil Seren, who is running to lead the City of Cleveland Heights, OH!
If you have questions for our guests, you can SUBMIT THEM HERE!
5 YEARS IN THE FIGHT!
We’re on a mission to build a powerful progressive movement in America to retake our government from the corporate elites.
Bernie started Our Revolution 5 years ago, and since then we’ve successfully carried out our 5 Point Plan to Win by organizing a national network of over 30 statewide groups – made up of hundreds of city and county groups; electing more than 700 progressives candidates up and down the ballot; enacting hundreds of transformative laws and policies; and taking over local and state Democratic parties with bottom-up, insurgent campaigns.
Together, we’re organizing to win a progressive America!
PROGRESSIVE POWER AT THE POLLS!
Over the last 5 years, Our Revolution has helped elect more than 700 progressive champions up and down the ballot: from school boards to city councils to the US Congress!
The hundreds of candidates we’ve elected – from New York to San Francisco – are transforming American politics.
On our last National Organize to Win Call, we showcased three of these changemakers: San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; and Montgomery County, MD Executive Marc Elrich.
All three progressive champions help remind us why we work so hard to elect candidates committed to fighting for a fairer justice system, more healthcare, and a cleaner environment.
READ MORE BELOW!
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin joined our weekly Monday Call and pledged to “keep doing the work I promised to do” and “fight the billionaire class” who are working to subvert his election by removing him from office.
Chesa thanked Our Revolution: San Francisco Berniecrats for powering his surprise win in 2019. Since his election, he’s shown the difference a people’s champion can make to create a more equitable and humane justice system by eliminating cash bail, refusing to assist ICE in immigration raids, and reducing the number of juveniles in detention centers by 75%.
“Children do not belong in cages. Not at the border. Not in San Francisco. And not on my watch.”
He’s also prosecuted bad cops and taken on the CEOs of “gig economy” companies that illegally misclassify employees as “independent contractors” to avoid paying a minimum wage, offering health care, or even providing PPE.
Not surprisingly, his track record has become a target for the power-protecting right, including Fox News, which reported on our Monday Call. Chesa has faced two recall efforts – the first, led by Republicans, failed. Now misguided corporate Democrats are taking their shot. Our members in San Francisco are working to stop this latest effort to subvert the will of the people and defend Chesa against baseless attacks.
New York progressives are winning races from “Buffalo to Brooklyn” by focusing their campaigns around equity and justice, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said on our last Monday Organize to Win Call.
Progressives defeated the four-term mayor of Buffalo in the Democratic primary, and positioned India Walton to become the next mayor of New York’s second-largest city.
In New York City, Jumaane noted that he and Brad Lander – Our Revolution’s pick for NYC Comptroller – won two of the three top citywide elected offices. And on the City Council, 16 Our Revolution-endorsed candidates won their races, setting the stage for the most progressive City Council ever. For the first time, the Council will have a female majority, its first Muslim woman and first South Asian members, as well as the first openly gay black woman.
Jumaane also said Andrew Cuomo’s resignation offers progressives a shot to move the state away from a style of governance based on fear and reprisal to one focused squarely on community uplift. “I hope we take this opportunity to really change the politics statewide.”
Our Revolution and the New York Progressive Action Network, our local affiliate, will be working hard to make sure our electoral gains are solidified in the November general election and beyond!
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
As Montgomery County Executive, Marc Elrich highlighted his work to reduce greenhouse gases and expand affordable housing during our last Monday Organize to Win Call.
As the leader of a county with over 1 million residents, Marc is working to implement policies to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2027 and to zero by 2035. The effort includes switching to an all-electric and hydrogen bus fleet and putting solar panels on county buildings. “I can’t tell people to go green if the county isn’t green,” he said.
Marc also discussed how he’s leading the fight against Gov. Larry Hogan’s ill-conceived plan to add private toll lanes to interstate highways that criss-cross the county. In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Marc called for increasing public transit to reduce congestion as a better alternative to highway expansion.
Marc is also working to expand affordable housing in an area where builders more typically have K Street fat cats in mind. Montgomery County is among the richest in the nation and housing is increasingly unaffordable for 11% of Black and Hispanic residents who live below the poverty line. With a growth rate projected at around 40,000 households, Marc is looking to force builders to expand low-price options as a condition of any new development.
Marc thanked Our Revolution Montgomery County and our members statewide for organizing the people-powered movement necessary to help him advance these transformative policies.
WHEN WE ORGANIZE, WE WIN!
Chesa, Jumaane, and Marc prove that our slogan – “When we organize, we win!” – isn’t just a rallying cry. It’s reality.
Over the past 5 years, Our Revolution has built an unstoppable grassroots political campaign operation, boosting our win rate to over 70% during the 2020 and 2021 election cycles.
We’ve trained hundreds of volunteers to use best-in-class organizing technologies in support of well-vetted candidates who are building real power – not just “speaking truth to power” without a plan to win. We are showing that progressive values and grassroots campaigning make candidates more electable, not less. And we are making endorsements that strengthen our groups so even when we don’t win, we are better positioned for the next round.
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THE PATH FORWARD
Polls show voters want progressive policies like Medicare for All and real action on climate change. That support though hasn’t always translated to electoral victories for the candidates willing to fight to turn plans into reality. Nina Turner’s loss in the Ohio special House election is the latest example.
Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese said the answer is to redouble our organizing efforts and do a better job showing people how our priorities – health care for all, climate action, worker rights – will improve their lives.
“Nina’s race shows that we’ve got to up our game,” Joseph told The Hill in an interview. “That means upping our phone game, upping our canvas game, upping our text game.”
That’s why Our Revolution started a new training program for our members to help our movement win more political and issue campaigns.
SIGN UP FOR THE TRAINING HERE!
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PROGRESSIVE CHAMPIONS FACE TUESDAY PRIMARIES!
In St Petersburg, Florida, Our Revolution Florida endorsed Richie Floyd for City Council, District 8. Richie is a community organizer and middle school science teacher who is focused on raising working standards, creating jobs that pay a living wage, and guaranteeing housing as a right.
Join our phone bank to elect Richie! Click HERE to sign up!
And in Birmingham, Our Revolution is supporting Eric Hall for City Council, District 9. Eric is a leader with Our Revolution Birmingham, a co-founder of the local Black Lives Matter chapter, and helped lead the volunteer effort to support workers organizing a union at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, AL.
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MORE UPCOMING CONTESTS!
Our Revolution Ohio has released a voter guide with their slate of endorsements for the September 14th municipal primary races in northern Ohio cities, from Cleveland to Toledo.
Sign up here to phone bank for these progressive champions and help us build progressive power all along the shore of
Lake Erie!
Our Revolution New Jersey has endorsed Joel Brooks for Jersey City Council, Ward B in the November 2nd election. Joel is a labor organizer who’s fighting for tenants’ rights and fair housing. You can click here to join our phone bank!
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MODERATE MY A**
“We can’t call people ‘moderate Democrats’ if they vote against child care, paid leave, healthcare, and addressing climate change.”
That’s the message that Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal delivered in response to news that nine of her colleagues – described invariably as “moderate Democrats” – threatened to block Bernie’s $3.5 trillion budget bill unless they had a chance to vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“This is the Democratic agenda, it’s the president’s agenda, and it’s what we promised people across America. Now we must deliver.” Progressives worry once their colleagues get a chance to vote on infrastructure, they’ll balk at the higher-priced reconciliation package.
This can all seem like so much insider baseball. But we can’t forget what’s at stake: a once-in-a-generation chance to improve the lives of tens of millions of Americans. The reconciliation package promises more health care, more clean energy, and fewer kids living in poverty, and it’s worth fighting for.
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Next week, Bernie is going on tour to push his budget reconciliation bill. The House will be back on Monday to take t’s first vote on the bill, and Bernie needs our help!
Call your Member of Congress and tell them to support $3.5 trillion in investments in healthcare, eldercare, childcare, education, clean energy, and more, funded by making big corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes.
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HOLDING “MODERATE” DEMOCRATS ACCOUNTABLE!
The next 30 days provide a unique opportunity for us to push Congress to pass Bernie’s bill and take significant steps to advance our policy priorities.
We can move towards Medicare for All by expanding Medicare to include vision and dental care, reducing the eligibility age, and lowering prescription drug costs; we can enact key provisions of the Protect the Right to Organize Act and strengthen worker rights; and we can make a down-payment on the Green New Deal by stopping the government support for fossil fuels. subsidies that are destroying our planet.
Our Revolution groups across the nation have held actions at the offices of “moderates” like US Sen. Bob Menendez, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, US Rep. Joyce Beatty, and others and we’re gearing up for more actions as
Revolution Recess gets underway!
If you or your group is ready and interested in organizing a local action to pressure Congressional Democrats to support Bernie’s budget bill, sign up for our Strategic Action Training on Wednesday at 12.30p ET or 9p ET!
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VICTORY IN OHIO!
Unbelievably, it’s been 100 years since the Cleveland City Council offered citizens a chance to speak out on the issues affecting the city through a formal public comment period.
Thanks to Our Revolution’s Cleveland chapter and other members of Clevelanders for Pulic Comment, residents will have a chance to address council hearings starting in September. The council approved the change this week.
“Thank you to everyone who made this happen,” Our Revolution Ohio coordinator Diane Morgan told the media. “We worked hard to get City Council Members to support Public Comment and that hard work paid off today.”
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11 FOR 11 IN NEW JERSEY!
Because of Our Revolution Monmouth County’s organizing, the Asbury Park City Council approved a resolution in support of Medicare for All earlier this month! Asbury Park is the eleventh New Jersey municipality and the seventy-second nationwide to pass a resolution in support of guaranteed health care.
“Local governments are at the frontlines of seeing our profit-driven system play out, and as a result, more and more municipalities demand a national, guaranteed healthcare system that leaves no one behind. We are proud to be leading the organizing efforts in New Jersey,” said Anna-Marta Visky, state coordinator for Our Revolution New Jersey.
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Next week, Bernie is going on tour to push the budget reconciliation bill, and Bernie needs our help! Call your Member of Congress and tell them to support $3.5 trillion in investments in healthcare, eldercare, childcare, education, clean energy, and more, funded by making big corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes.
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STOP EVICTIONS IN PORTLAND!
Our Revolution Oregon is organizing renters who have already been served eviction notices to fight the system and avoid the trauma of losing their homes.
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Join Our Revolution Maryland to hear from our State Treasurer and 2022 Comptroller candidates about their plans to reduce Maryland’s consumption of fossil fuels and invest in clean green energy.
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TELL RICHIE NEAL TO END FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES!
Our Revolution Massachusetts will be holding an action to hold Rep. Richie Neal – the chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee – accountable to ending fossil fuel subsidies. The action is on Thursday, Aug. 26th in Springfield MA!
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REVOLUTION RECESS TIME!
If you or your group is interested in organizing a local action to pressure Congressional Democrats to support Bernie’s budget bill, sign up for our Strategic Action Training on Wednesday at 12.30p ET or 9p ET!
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