Received this e-mail today from Democracy For America:
Donald Trump is desecrating American values with his border wall and unconstitutional Muslim ban. We need to make sure governments across America are filled with elected officials ready to fight back. That includes our cities, where crucial battles are waged every day for the future of our country.
That's why Democracy for America has committed to build our own wall of resistance leaders in city governments nationwide. This initiative will identify, recruit, train, staff, and elect the next generation of city officials ready to fight for racial and economic justice -- mayors, city council leaders, school board members, prosecutors, and more. And we're going to include an expanded investment in border municipalities to help stop Trump's wall.
DFA is launching this project with endorsements in cities large and small. We're endorsing Tishaura Jones, a bold progressive running for mayor of St. Louis. We're also endorsing the Berwyn United slate of progressive reformers and Jacqueline Traynere for mayor of Bolingbrook, Illinois. These elections are coming up in just a few weeks, and we need your help to win important victories for grassroots progressive candidates.
Will you help DFA's endorsed candidates win these urgent elections coming up in just a few weeks? Chip in $3 or more to help DFA elect Tishaura Jones and progressives in Berwyn and Bolingbrook!
DFA's expanded commitment means we're ready to recruit, train, and elect city leaders nationwide who will show up for immigrants and refugees, for Muslims, and for the Movement for Black Lives, so all Americans -- not just the most privileged -- can build lives that are safe, thriving, and free.
Tishaura Jones embodies that vision. She's running a fearless campaign for mayor of St. Louis and is willing to take on the corporate establishment. Last week she wrote a powerful letter responding to an newspaper editorial, in which she made it clear that "what's killing our city is poverty" -- and that she will solve it by "looking at every issue through a racial equity lens."
As mayor of St. Louis, Tishaura Jones will fight for a higher minimum wage, paid sick leave, and infrastructure jobs that will go to and benefit the people of St. Louis, rather than a few well-connected elites.
Smaller cities matter too, and DFA is supporting the Berwyn United slate of insurgent grassroots candidates and Jacqueline Traynere for mayor of Bolingbrook -- two Chicago suburbs long run by out-of-touch insiders. Community members have banded together to take their city back and run it for the benefit of the people, rather than the well-connected.
Will you help DFA's endorsed candidates win these urgent elections coming up in just a few weeks? Chip in $3 or more to help DFA elect Tishaura Jones and progressives in Berwyn and Bolingbrook!
Cities are often an afterthought for major Democratic institutions. The party doesn't invest in organizing for progressive candidates and causes in cities. Sometimes, Democratic leaders prefer to let cities be run by old boys' networks for the party's corporate Wall Street wing.
As a result, whole communities have been abandoned, from Ferguson to Nogales to Chicago and beyond. This has very damaging effects on human lives -- and on voter turnout.
Cities must instead be labs of progressive policy where we can make a real difference in people's lives -- and where we can fight back against the extremists who now run our country. As recent examples of how cities can be laboratories, cities led the way in passing a $15 minimum wage, paid sick leave, and fighting back against anti-immigrant policies.
The other side understands the crucial importance of local elections. The Koch brothers have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars, below the radar, on local elections in recent years. Now a growing number of cities are run by Trump allies, who use that power to attack unions, oppose higher wages, ignore police brutality, and protect white supremacy.
DFA has always endorsed candidates at the local level, alongside our endorsements for state and federal races. Some of these candidates have gone on to become national leaders -- after all, Bernie Sanders got his start winning a race for mayor of Burlington, Vermont by just 10 votes. It's time to elect a new generation of leaders -- starting in cities.
Will you help DFA's endorsed candidates win these urgent elections coming up in just a few weeks? Chip in $3 or more to help DFA elect Tishaura Jones and progressives in Berwyn and Bolingbrook!
Thank you for helping build grassroots progressive power at the local level.
- Jim
Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America
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