Below is a happy list to read. A friend who prefers anonymity posted an earlier draft on Facebook, and I’ve tweaked it. I’m especially happy because the person elected in New Hope, PA, Liz Miles, is a mentor and friend of mine (she put up with me when I was a teenager, which took a lot)! If anyone knows of additions or corrections, please let me know in the Comments.
- Paying attention to local races could not be more important. Each race gives voters another reason to come out. In other words: reverse coat-tails.
- The Democratic Party needs to support local candidates and not believe it knows in advance which races are winnable. It was DEAD WRONG in Virginia this year, and many candidates won with practically no support from the Party.
-St. Paul, MN elects first black mayor
-Minneapolis, MN elects trans woman of color to city council – the first major city to do so
-Santa Barbara, CA elects first Latina mayor
-Palm Springs, CA elects state's first openly trans person to non-judicial office (city council)
-Aurora, CO elects a Mexican-American over Trump-supporting GOP incumbent
-Helena, MT elects first black mayor in state history (he came to US as a refugee).
-Iowa City, IA elects first Muslim to city council
-Dems pick up two seats in Georgia state legislature, one is a Latina woman
-Statesboro, GA elects its first black mayor
-Cairo, GA elects its first black mayor
-Milledgeville, GA elects its first black female mayor
-Erie, PA elects state's first openly trans candidate to the school board
-Lancaster, PA elects its first Latina woman to city council
-Collegeville, PA elects its first Democratic and first black mayor
-New Hope, PA elects its first person of color to office
-Philadelphia, PA elects Black Lives Matter lawyer as District Attorney
-Delaware County, PA flips from GOP to Dem control for first time in 40 years.
-Two Democratic Socialists win down ballot in PA
-Georgetown, SC elects its first black mayor
-Nassau County, NY elects first female county executive
-Virginia picks up at least 15 seats in the state legislature, coming close to gaining a majority (as of Nov. 10, 3 are being recounted). These include victories in heavily gerrymandered districts
-Virginia elects first two Latina women to state legislature
-Virginia elects first openly lesbian woman to state legislature
-Virginia elects first openly transgender state legislator (the first, who was not open, was Althea Garrison, elected in 1992 and outted by her opponent; she ran in another race this year!)
-Virginia elects second black candidate to statewide office in 140 years
-Virginia elects first Asian-American candidate to state legislature (she came to US as a refugee)
-Henrico County, VA flips from GOP to Dem control for the first time in living memory.
-Two socialists win statehouse seats, one in Virginia
-Manchester, NH elects first female mayor
-NJ elects first black female Lt. Gov.
-Hoboken, NJ elects first turbaned Sikh mayor in US history
-Atlantic City, NJ mayor flips from red to blue
-Edison, NJ school board elects two Asian-American candidates targeted with racist fliers
-Maine votes to expand Medicaid, overriding Governor’s veto
-WA flips State Senate from red to blue
-Seattle, WA elected its first female mayor since 1928 -- and she's a lesbian, the second in the country of a major city
-Charlotte, NC elects first black female mayor
-Fayetteville, NC elects black city councilman as mayor over incumbent Republican
-Charlotte, NC elects BLM's candidate to city council
-Durham, NC city government flips to progressive majority
-Boston, MA city council now 6-5 male-female including four black women