May 30, 2025

📬 LP Network Download | Providence and Jersey City ban rental price fixing, local leaders stand strong for democracy, LP launches first Community Responder Cohort, & more. | May 2025

Here’s a look at what’s been happening across the Local Progress network:

Seven Localities Protect Renters and Ban Rental Price Fixing

Providence and Jersey City become the sixth and seventh cities in the country, respectively, to protect renters by banning rental price fixing. Providence City Council unanimously passed a ban on rental price fixing, protecting renters from corporate greed driving up rents across the country. Council President Rachel Miller introduced the ordinance, outlining the need for policies to help increase affordable housing for Providence renters: “It’s no secret that large, corporate landlords – the kind of that have been gobbling up properties in our city for years – will use every available tool to minimize competition and maximize profits”. And just last week, Jersey City also unanimously banned rental price fixing, showcasing that residents across the country support common sense measures to fight unaffordable housing. In the midst of federal attempts to preempt local power, we will continue organizing local electeds to join us so our families and neighborhoods can thrive. Learn more about our efforts here →.

Local Leaders Stand Strong for Democracy

From Nashville to Newark, from Milwaukee to Hennepin County, the Trump administration has been intimidating and arresting local leaders for simply doing their jobs and protecting their communities. In the face of these attacks, the Local Progress network stood hand in hand with one another to show up for our communities and each other, uniting to defend democracy. When the Trump administration launched its investigation into Mary Moriarty, our Minnesota Organizing Committee came together to release a statement calling this attack what it was: an attack on local democracy, plain and simple. And when Mayor Baraka was arrested, we released both a statement and started a sign on letter to call for his release (since his release, the letter now focuses on calling for the charges against Congresswoman McIver to be dropped) with over 190 local and state elected leader signatures. Our network remains committed to our duty of standing up for democracy and protecting our communities.

🤝 Community Responder Cohort Launched

This past weekend, Local Progress & Local Progress Impact lab kicked off the first ever Community Responder Cohort. Local electeds from localities including Nashville, Cleveland, and Duluth, MN will come together over the next couple months to learn about community responder programs and how to create one in their community. Community responder programs have unarmed, trained civilians respond to situations like mental health emergencies, noise complaints, wellness checks, and more. The launch event was an opportunity for members of the cohort to get to know each other. Read more →.

✊ Localities in Pennsylvania Hold the Line in Protecting Immigrants and Workers

Local electeds are showing up for immigrants and workers, despite a hostile federal government keen to undermine all of our rights. In Montgomery County, PA, County Commissioner Neil Makhija and his co-commissioner announced that they would not enter into any agreements with ICE under the federal 287(g) program, backing their reasoning in constitutional principle, public safety, and fiscal responsibility saying, “When traffic stops become de facto immigration checks, we create a subset of residents forced to live further in the shadows. This doesn‘t enhance public safety — it compromises it.” In Philadelphia, LP Board Member and Philadelphia City Councilmember Kendra Brooks introduced the POWER Act, a bill that would protect workers from retaliation, wage theft, and other workplace violations – and just this week, the Philadelphia mayor signed these protections into law for over 750,000 Philly workers.

💪 Empowering Localities to Build Multiracial Democracy

As a part of The Roosevelt Institute’s 2025 collection of essays, Restoring Economic Democracy: Progressive Ideas for Stability and Prosperity, our own Policy and Legal Director, LiJia Gong contributed several words on how empowering localities can be the seeds in which we build the multiracial democracy we’re envisioning. Take a read here →.

🏡 Apply by June 9: Advance Tenant Screening Protections

Every year, approximately 3.6 million individuals facing eviction assume an additional concern for their future: the challenge of finding a new home with an eviction on their record.

Results for America, in partnership with PolicyLink, National Housing Law Project, National Consumer Law Center, TechEquity and Upturn, invites place-based teams to apply for an 8-week Solutions Sprint, Unlocked: Opening the Door to Housing Access Through Tenant Screening Protections. This free learning series will provide teams with the knowledge, tools and strategies needed to design and implement policies that prevent the harms of eviction records and tenant screening practices—and expand access to affordable housing.

How Local Leaders Can Protect Communities from AI and the Tech Oligarchy

Earlier this month, OpenAI and Microsoft lobbyists called for a shutdown on AI regulation. And recently, Congress passed a tax bill with a provision that would restrict states from regulating AI for 10 years (though it faces a steep challenge in the Senate). Our recently released report details how local elected officials and local communities should approach governance as the tech oligarchy’s influence grows in the era of AI. You can also rewatch the webinar we held on Tuesday with AI Now Institute, New York City Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, and report author, former San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen where we discussed this topic and more.