Congrats to all of our members who won their elections or re-elections on November 4!
Over the past three months, our state network has grown stronger and laid foundations for our organizing in 2026! Through our fall meetups, we’ve had the opportunity to hear directly from members and partners on priorities, and the Organizing Committee is taking this feedback to finalize our 2026 goals.
We’re planning a Progressive Governance Academy for next spring, and are collaborating with partners on campaigns and resources to help you meet the moment and win policies that protect and strengthen Pennsylvanians. We’re looking for your input to help shape a PA Housing report and to assess interest in our PA Progressive Governance Academy! See below and reply to this email with your thoughts and interest!
This newsletter includes some highlights, but so much more is happening! Schedule a meeting with me or email me. I’m looking forward to hearing from you and incorporating your feedback into our statewide plans, and to supporting your individual work!
❤️ Western PA Meetup in Pittsburgh
More than 40 members, partners, and local electeds joined our Western PA Meetup on September 19 in Pittsburgh! The event was co-hosted by Meadville Mayor and Local Progress Black Caucus Co-Chair Jaime Kinder and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, who both spoke about their experiences in local government and the role Local Progress has played in supporting them individually and their work broadly. Movement partner Alex Wallach-Hansen from PA United shared their experience in collaborative governance with both Sara and Jaime and detailed the wins they’ve achieved together, specifically in housing. He shared his perspective on potential affordable housing campaigns in rural and urban areas of Western PA. Attendees were invited to give feedback on the LPPA Organizing Committee’s draft Statement of Values in Education, Housing, Economic Justice, and Solidarity. Three leaders from the School Board Cohort were introduced, Ariel Zych (Fox Chapel), Devon Taliaferro (Pittsburgh) and Amanda Barbara (Wilkinsburg), and attendees were invited to talk with them about our ongoing School Board organizing and future campaign planning. All local electeds were invited to sign on to an LPPA letter in support of HB140, which would ban rental price fixing in PA.
🤝 Lehigh NEPA Meetup in Allentown
LPPA held a meetup in Allentown on Thursday, October 16, with nearly 20 members, recruits and partners in attendance. Lehigh County Commissioner and LPPA Organizing Committee member Jon Irons and Allentown City Councilmember CeCe Gerlach co-hosted the event. The Program focused on Data Centers with PA Stands Up staff and leaders from Lancaster, PA sharing about their campaign to fight against the proposed data center there. Attendees were invited to give feedback on the LPPA Statement of Values. An update was given on School Board organizing and a call to action made regarding the LPPA letter in support of HB140, which would ban rental price fixing statewide.
🏫 School Board Networking
The quarterly LPPA School Board events are focused on creating space for School Board members to learn what’s happening in other districts, share resources, policies and ideas and organize together toward equitable education funding in the state. On Tuesday November 18, the LPPA School Board cohort hosted our 2nd meeting with 23 school board members from districts across the state. This quarter’s topics were District Budget Primer and Cellphone Policies. LP School Board Program Manager Kathleen Pointer shared updates from across our network and invited attendees to sign on to a letter urging PA Governor Josh Shapiro to not sign on to President Trump’s Federal Voucher program. Finally, we discussed all aspects of education funding, from federal Title money losses to strains from the very late state budget to the PA Supreme Court ruling and next steps to backfill state funding until it meets the court’s requirements.
📝 An update from our Organizing Committee
The Organizing Committee for Local Progress Pennsylvania has been hard at work this year. We have been meeting monthly since early 2025 to complete the steps needed to certify LPPA as an official Local Progress chapter.
In July, members of the committee attended the Local Progress National Convening in Chicago, where we met other LP leaders and set aside time to begin crafting a statement of values for our chapter. Our committee drafted value statements on civil rights, public safety, public education, infrastructure, economic justice, climate change, housing, healthcare, gender justice, and statewide solidarity.
In the fall, OC members hosted two regional meetups, one in Pittsburgh and the other in Allentown. Nearly 100 members and partners attended the meetups and provided feedback, edits, and additions to the draft statement of values.
The OC is now proud to be finalizing our statement of values and the chapter’s operating guidelines. We have over 120 members who have joined LPPA statewide, more than a 20% increase from last year. We anticipate that our chapter will be officially recognized by Local Progress before the year is done. Once certified, we can focus on identifying new translocal campaigns, strengthening our relationships, and supporting partner organizing, including Keystone Equality’s drive to pass anti-discrimination laws across the Commonwealth and PAYBAC Table’s push to tax the rich.
Stay tuned for more ways to get involved with Local Progress Pennsylvania!
🏡 PA Housing Report
We’re working on a housing report to help our PA members identify housing solutions that will work in your type of municipality. Our goal is to share a range of housing policy interventions and case studies from issues such as tenant protections, homelessness, social housing, and home repair programs. We want to make sure this resource addresses your needs!
Email Kelly at kmorton@localprogress.org and share what you would like to see in this report. What questions do you have about housing in your municipality? What solutions are you curious about? What revenue streams would you like to see in your jurisdiction?
📖 Progressive Governance Academy next spring!
The Progressive Governance Academy (PGA) was launched in 2019 to address the basic need for training by establishing a national hub to train legislators and their staff. Most legislators lack the necessary support and resources to succeed—whether it’s navigating the transition to public leadership, staying grounded in self-care and resilience, understanding how to lead and pass impactful public policy, or building effective, sustainable relationships with movement organizations and activists.
Our curriculum emphasizes an organizing approach to governance, including training on
basic skills like power mapping, relational organizing and coalition building. We also focus significantly on models for collaborative and inclusive governance, working towards a new vision for progressives to hold and exercise governing power.
In 2024 we held our first PGA in Harrisburg with support from our partner Lead PA. 11 PA members attended and have recommended the experience highly. We’re looking forward to bringing the training back to PA next year in late spring!
Are you interested in joining us for a transformational two day training? Curious and full of questions? Email Kelly at kmorton@localprogress.org and let me know you’re interested so we can plan a training that works for our members!
➡️ From Campaigns to Governance: A Partner’s Guide to Building Our Base Together
Since January, Local Progress has welcomed more than 400 new members, and with elections over, we need your support to ensure new and returning officials know there is a place for them! You can help by identifying local elected officials to join the Local Progress network — leaders who are centering racial and economic justice in their local work, building with and collaborating with movement and labor partners, and ready to govern with vision and integrity in the face of opposition. Check out our partner’s guide.
⚖️ Help Map Preemption Threats: Nationwide Survey for Local Attorneys
State preemption attacks are increasing and disproportionately harming cities and counties. Our partners at the Local Solutions Support Center are conducting a national survey of city and county attorneys to better understand these challenges and to develop strategies for coordinated pushback. Please share this survey with your city or county attorney.
☕ Take Action Today, stand with Starbucks Workers United!
Starbucks workers have been organizing for years, with the Starbucks Workers United movement kicking off in 2021 in Buffalo, NY, where they won their first successful unionization campaign. Across the country, Starbucks baristas are fighting for a fair first contract that increases take-home pay, improves hours and scheduling, and resolves labor violations. We are standing strong with these workers who are bravely striking and calling on Starbucks to stop their union-busting activities and come back to the table. Here’s how you can help:
- Sign our Solidarity Letter calling for Starbucks to end union busting and settle a fair union contract.
- Share the “No Contract, No Coffee” pledge to not buy Starbucks while baristas are on ULP strike.
- Stand with baristas on the picket line! Local actions will be continually added to this map.
- Repost us across your social media platforms today to tell your audience, don’t cross the picket line! Use the hashtag #NoContractNoCoffee and repost from the Starbucks Workers United feed.
💰 Join Working Families Power’s Affordability Briefing
Everyone is talking about “affordability” now, but what are the real populist solutions that will make life affordable for working-class people? What are the biggest economic concerns of working families, and who do they think is responsible for their struggles?
This briefing, put on by our friends at Working Families Power, is geared towards elected officials and candidates for office. It will cover the results of our recent working-class polling, which focused on current events, populist economic policy solutions, and narrative frameworks for describing the current economic situation in the United States. They’ll share effective messages for reaching working-class voters in language they relate to and about issues they care about. The briefing is on December 14 at 4:00 PM ET.
Meet New Cumberland Borough Councilmember Drew Lawrence!
Drew Lawrence is a freelancer, community organizer, and borough councilman in New Cumberland. Originally from Hanover PA, he moved to New Cumberland in 2016.
In 2022 he founded a local arts, culture, and community building organization called The New Cumberland Collective which aims to ‘advance civic engagement and creativity in Central PA, helping changemakers unite people to learn, collaborate, and take action.’
In 2023 Drew was elected to New Cumberland Borough Council to advocate for safe streets, community collaboration, and transparent decision making.
Drew loves bringing people together using online and offline organizing as a means to foster positive change at a local level. He hopes to inspire others to get involved in their immediate communities, know their neighbors, and get stuff done!
He recommends the book “Arbitrary Lines: How zoning broke the American City and how to fix it” for anyone wanting to understand (or challenge) the rules that determine what can be built in their community.
We are excited to share that our 2026 National Convening will be in Baltimore, MD on July 9-11! Local Progress’s annual National Convening is a space to exchange ideas, seek inspiration, and strategize together. It’s the place to feel seen in our struggles and affirmed in our resolve and resilience, and, most importantly, to find support and share joy – especially in the darkest moments. More details and registration information will be coming in the new year, but for now we are excited to share the dates so you can plan ahead.