Announcing our #LocalStory series
This summer, more than 500 local elected officials from across the country gathered in Chicago for our national convening – we took that opportunity to interview over a dozen local leaders to help shine a light on their stories and experiences under the Trump administration. From direct threats to themselves to fear and terror felt in immigrant communities, our members are feeling the weight of a hostile federal administration. Our first #LocalStory video introduces the series and showcases the broad experiences of our members in urban, rural, and suburban communities as they grapple with the reality of a second Trump administration. The second video in our #LocalStory series delves into the single issue echoed throughout every interview and conversation we had at our national convening: immigration. This administration has let ICE run rampant throughout communities large and small, urban and rural, across this country, and our members are experiencing it firsthand. Help spread these local stories far and wide as a reminder that local democracy will endure.
Local elected officials continue to stand strong to protect immigrantsÂ
Localities continue to be the last line of defense to protect immigrant communities, and they are taking that job seriously. Sanctuary cities facing the threat of federal takeovers across the country are not compromising on their promise to protect immigrants. In Portland, OR, the city council passed the Protect Portland Initiative, which puts together a framework for how best to respond to federal overreach, and threats to immigrant communities. In Chicago, IL, Federal agents handcuffed Alderperson Jessie Fuentes as she confronted them at Humboldt Park Hospital. “People are driving this, and it is a really beautiful thing at a moment when it is so hard to have hope,” said 33rd Ward Alderwoman Rossana RodrĂguez. LP board member and Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo is leading the charge in Las Cruces, NM to pass a resolution strengthening the city’s protections for immigrants. Seattle, WA is taking proactive action to safeguard its communities from federal overreach and unlawful actions from the Trump administration with two new executive orders. LP members Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, and Alderperson Andre Vasquez have a new op-ed laying out the playbook for how progressive local leaders can respond to federal troop deployments.Â
Local Progress awarded the Power Wielder Award
In the midst of the horrifying raids tearing families apart in California and across our country, and even as we reckon with a Supreme Court that’s rubber stamping the racial profiling of Latinos, this incredible network gives me the hope and fire we need to keep on showing up and out for our communities. I was humbled to accept the Power Wielder Award from the California Donor Table on behalf of the amazing work LPCA has been able to do to organize and mobilize across the state of California. As an Angeleno, as an immigrant, and as the leader of this network of more than 1,500 local elected officials advancing racial and economic justice, this award is a testament to the force we are in moving policies and organizing together to show the power and possibility of local progressive governance. Si se puede!
🏠CA and NY ban rental price fixing!
Corporate landlords and software companies like RealPage are conspiring together to hike up costs on renters, using algorithms to set rental prices. 11 cities and counties around the country have already passed bans on rental price fixing, and now California and New York have joined at the state level! As the housing crisis intensifies, localities are taking action against corporate greed. Join the campaign →Â
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❤️ All-Caucus Leadership Retreat
Earlier this month, 25 local elected officials came together for Local Progress’ All-Caucus Leadership Retreat. The week brought together leaders from the network’s Black Caucus, Women’s Caucus, and Nuestro Caucus to build relationships with each other, find healing in this moment, renew energy and strategize for the work ahead. At a time when BIPOC, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with other marginalized identities are under threat for simply existing, this space provided an opportunity for leaders across different identity caucuses to find community with each together, build bridges across the intersections of our identities, and strategize about the work next year. Learn more about our caucuses →
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đź“ą Raising the alarm on Automated License Plate ReadersÂ
Automated License Plate Readers like those from Flock have been known to have dangerously loose data regulations and to endanger immigrants and people seeking abortions. This summer, Evanston, IL terminated their Flock contract and removed all cameras from their city. Ignoring this, Flock reinstalled their cameras, and earlier this month Evanston took action by sending a cease and desist. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden raised the alarm on Flock cameras and encouraged local governments to pass bans: “In my view, local elected officials can best protect their constituents from the inevitable abuses of Flock cameras by removing Flock from their communities.”
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🤝 Organizing together with LPMNÂ
Our Minnesota members and partners gathered in Minneapolis at the end of September for a day chock-full of community building and strategizing. Most important, we committed to take action together to meet this urgent moment and build the foundation for long-term transformational change across MN. Get involved in MN →
đź”’ New policy brief on worker data privacy
PowerSwitch Action, Data & Society, and CoWorker just released a new policy brief exposing how “privacy-preserving AI techniques” can actually enable more worker surveillance. In The “Privacy” Trap: How “Privacy-Preserving AI Techniques” Mask the New Worker Surveillance and Datafication, policy, legal, and technology experts argue that this new tech can enable employers to technically comply with privacy laws while still extracting and exploiting worker data, leading to new forms of worker surveillance, manipulation, and control. The authors make the case for a new generation of labor and tech protections, and offer concrete principles for policymaking that can strengthen worker dignity, power, and rights in the digital age. Join organizers, tech, and policy experts on November 18th for a cross-issue panel discussion: From the Workplace to ICE: Stop the AI Surveillance Pipeline Now!
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🎧 Listen to the Real Solutions podcast
Local Progress is excited to co-sponsor Real Solutions, a new podcast series from the Othering & Belonging Institute and 10 other amazing partners! From wealth taxes and social housing to baby bonds, climate resilience, and community safety—this series uplifts the visionary policies we need for a more equitable future. Tune in to Real Solutions to hear conversations that move us beyond defense and into bold solutions for true belonging and wellbeing. Watch the livestream of the first episode or listen wherever you get your podcasts!Â
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🛣️ New report: Roadmap for Rural Progress
The Rural Policy Action Report outlines policies that are popular with everyday Americans and provides practical steps Congress could take immediately to deliver for the American people. The report provides a positive agenda to improve rural people’s lives and deliver lower costs, higher wages, and the freedom to make choices about our own lives.
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đź’» The role of local leaders and AI: Listen to the convo on Computer Says Maybe
Check out former San Francisco Supervisor and LP Member Hillary Ronen on the latest episode of Computer Says Maybe! Hear more about our latest report on AI policy and how local leaders can strengthen their skills around regulating this new technology.Â
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