We’re springing into the second quarter of 2026 and have seen so many wins from our members across the state. From automatic license plate readers to data centers to federal overreach, Local Progress leaders are pushing back and winning, and now we have a growing team ready to support and advance your policy and program ideas!
👋 Welcome to LPCA, Brian!
Local Progress is excited to welcome our new California Director, Brian Molina. Working alongside CA Coordinator Elizabeth Alcantar Loza and LPCA members, Brian will lead statewide strategy, membership growth and engagement, and build relationships with key allies to advance a racial and economic justice agenda across all levels of local government.
Prior to joining Local Progress, he served as Legislative and Campaign Manager at California Calls, where he led statewide coalitions to defeat corporate-backed ballot initiatives, win key revenue measures in Los Angeles County, and secure legislative victories at the state capitol, while also leading political education for the We Are California base. A lifelong Californian and son of a Salvadoran refugee, Brian’s lived experience drives his commitment to organizing. He is the first in his family to graduate from college, earning a degree in Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside, and is now based in Sacramento.
🖊️ Berkeley’s Movement on ALPR
In the past year, a growing number of documented cases have revealed widespread, systemic failures in ALPR data protection across California. Notably, in cities like San Francisco, Mountain View, Oakland, and El Cajon, community members’ data was found to have been shared with federal agencies, including ICE in many cases, via their Flock ALPR systems. As a result, cities across California are taking action, including Mountain View, Maywood, and Santa Cruz, which have all canceled their Flock contracts in response, prompting many additional cities to either reconsider their own contracts or delay votes. In Berkeley, after hours of public comment led by organizations like Berkeley Cop Watch, the City Council voted to schedule a meeting ahead of the upcoming contract decision. Let’s keep up the momentum!
🔎 San Diego Advances Protections from Federal Overreach
Led by LP member leader and San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, the city council unanimously passed the Due Process and Safety Ordinance. The ordinance requires federal agents to have a judicial warrant, not an administrative warrant, to access non-public city property or facilities- in line with our No Secret Police Local Policy Toolkit. The toolkit features model ordinances and guidance for local governments to cut ties with harmful surveillance technology and detention centers in our communities, end partnerships with federal immigration enforcement agencies, and create robust sanctuary policies to keep our students safe and foster welcoming school environments. If you’re interested in spearheading one or more of these policies in your communities, please reach out!
🏘️ Affordable Homes, Stable Communities: Our 2026 Housing Convening in Seattle
At the end of March, we held our first Housing Convening in four years: Affordable Homes, Stable Communities! More than 70 elected officials and staff gathered in Seattle for two days to talk about how to fund and preserve affordable housing, organize alongside tenant unions, and explore publicly-owned options! We also had the chance to explore the city, talking with El Centro de la Raza and Seattle Chinatown Int’l. Dist. Preservation and Development Authority about their efforts to preserve affordable housing for their communities. The strength of Local Progress is when our members can come together to learn from one another and build relationships with each other.
📣 Comms Cohort 2026
That’s a wrap on another comms cohort! In April, we brought 15 LP members to Washington D.C. as the grand finale to our second-ever communications cohort. Since January of this year, this amazing group of members has come together almost every week on Zoom to learn from LP’s comms team how to become better communicators. From learning how to develop better press relationships to best practices for short-form video content, we did a deep dive for our membership on everything they need to know to be successful communicators in 2026. In D.C., we took all the lessons learned virtually and saw real-life professional communicators put them into practice. From visiting with local NPR journalists to meeting communications staffers on the Hill, the threads of our lessons were interwoven into every sit visit and important moment during our time in the nation’s capital.
🤖 Data Centers 101
Big Tech’s push to consolidate control over our economy and public infrastructure is one of the most consequential corporate power grabs of our time – and data centers are at the center of it. In April, nearly 100 Local Progress members gathered for our first-ever Data Centers 101 webinar. Members and partners from across the network gathered to learn more about this billionaire-led buildout and what local leaders can do to stop this big tech takeover. In addition to learning from issue experts from our friends at AI Now and LPMI Member Amber Fellows, who is helping to lead the fight against a Department of Defense-led project in her hometown, we previewed an upcoming resource that will cover everything local officials need to know to take on a data center in their own backyard. While we finish that up, if you’re a local elected official looking to learn more about data centers and the authority you have to stop their expansion, check out our handy one-pagers below.
If you have any data center concerns coming up soon, please grab some time on Liz’s calendar to chat.
📣 NEWLY UPDATED: Immigrant Justice Messaging & Narrative Guide
Since taking office, Trump and his billionaire allies have waged war on all of us – militarizing our cities, abducting our neighbors, and stripping us of our freedoms – but no one has been more targeted and scapegoated than our immigrant family members and neighbors. To win the narrative, we all need to document the Trump Administration’s horrific actions, counter their lies and misinformation, AND collectively demand our vision for a better future. Check out our newly updated Immigrant Justice Messaging & Narrative Guide for situational messaging guidance, best practices, tough Q&A, and more!
🛒 How to Start a Municipal Grocery Store: First Steps Local Leaders Can Take
As grocery prices rise, municipal grocery stores may be one solution to stabilizing the cost of putting food on the table. Our new policy bulletin breaks down the grocery affordability crisis and how localities can explore municipal grocery programs with existing and emerging models, as well as practical steps to begin introducing them in your own neighborhoods. Check out (pun intended) our new resource today!
🩷💜 Want to get involved with our chapter or have an idea? Let’s talk!
Local Progress members have access to a slew of policy and strategic resources, but sometimes it can be hard to know where to start, so let’s connect about it. Liz is based in Los Angeles, and Brian is in Sacramento. We would love to meet with you online or wherever you are.
Schedule a meeting with Brian!
🌊 Help us in the Central Coast
Our Local Progress California Steering Committee is missing critical representation from the Central Coast region. If you’d like to support the growth of our California work and represent the Central Coast, please let us know.
✊ Support UC Workers
AFSCME Local 3299, which represents over 42,000 UC Service and Patient care workers at the University of California, has been working for over two years without a contract and through five strikes demanding wages that keep up with inflation, affordable healthcare, housing assistance, and benefits similar to what UC already provides to other employees, and job security. They need your support! You can pledge to join a local picket line or use their social media toolkit to amplify their fight.
🏡 Your One Stop for Caucuses
Trying to remember when the next Pride Caucus General meeting is? Want to join the Black Caucus signal group chat? Or find your caucus playlist? Look no further! Your one-stop shop for all things caucus is right here!
⚡ 2026 National Convening: Fearless Leadership * Joyful Liberation
Registration closes on May 20 for the National Convening this summer in Baltimore! Join us July 9-11 to strategize with a community of values-aligned peers and partners. Our three days together will include welcome and keynote plenaries, welcome orientations for new members, site visits, strategy sessions, receptions, and more! Most importantly, the Convening is a chance to be in and build community with each other. See what Local Progress members had to say about why they enjoy the National Convening, and check your email for your personalized registration link!
Councilmember Rosalinda Vierra was first elected to the Ceres City Council as the District 2 representative in November 2022, becoming the first BIPOC woman to serve. She’s focused on building real, visible progress for our community—paso a paso. That has meant expanding homeless resources, exploring options for Ceres’s first shelter or resource center, and increasing access to long-term mental health services.
In 2025, Rosalinda led the launch of a mobile response team with the support of the Local Progress team. One of her favorite things about being part of the LP community is the convenings, where she connects with so many powerful conversations, especially around alternative responses to policing, mental health, and immigration. Ceres is growing, evolving, and full of potential—and Rosalinda is there to help it thrive. 🌱
Fun fact about Ceres: Ceres means “Goddess of Agriculture,” a very present industry, land use, and way of life in the Central Valley.