Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network.
2026 National Convening: Our Fearless Leadership, Our Joyful Liberation
Earlier this month, we hosted more than 550 local leaders and partners in Baltimore for the 2026 LP National Convening: Fearless Leadership * Joyful Liberation! Together, we reflected on how fearless leadership doesn’t mean never feeling afraid, but rather choosing to be courageous for the neighbors and communities we lead. We strategized about how to tax the rich to fight for an affordable future, block the billionaire data center buildout, and continue pushing back against rising authoritarianism.Â
Our National Convening continues to grow each year, with nearly 400 local elected officials in attendance from 41 states, including D.C. and Puerto Rico. The gathering provided members a haven to unpack the challenges of governing in the midst of a hostile federal administration and a learning space for members to strategize and organize together to face the challenges ahead with a renewed resolve and courage. Take a look at the recap on our blog!Â
200 Elected Officials Say: No Energy Rate Hikes in Puerto Rico!
More than 200 elected officials filed an amicus brief this month calling for people over profits! An upcoming First Circuit Court of Appeals case could force MASSIVE energy rate hikes onto the people of Puerto Rico – all to enrich greedy bondholders like GoldenTree. In the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Bondholders Administrative Expense Claims case, LP members are standing up for the people of Puerto Rico – fighting to ensure they can afford their electric bills & access essential public services during emergencies.Â
🏠Providence and Philadelphia Enforce Rental Price Fixing Bans
A year after passing bans on rental price fixing, two cities are taking the next steps to protect their tenants! Providence and Philadelphia are the first cities to bring enforcement actions against landlords in their jurisdictions, alleging that they used RealPage and other algorithms to hike up rent costs for working families. In Providence, a group of tenants reported their landlord for using an algorithmic device. At the direction of the City Council, the City served the private equity firm with an enforcement action in municipal court. A tenant in Philadelphia filed a class-action suit alleging the apartment management company Willow Bridge used RealPage in setting rent prices. Together we can address rental price fixing and move towards a housing system that prioritizes the needs of the people over the profits of corporate landlords.
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⚖️ Local Leaders Respond to Decision Upholding Birthright CitizenshipÂ
Last month, the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, striking down a presidential executive order. The Trump v. Barbara case has been a fundamental part of this administration’s attempt to remake our nation’s history to be in line with its white supremacist values. “It should not have been even something that was discussed,” said Las Cruces City Councilor Johana Bencomo, “It is in the Constitution, and it is the soul of this country. If you are born here, you are an American citizen.”Â
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🧊 LP Immigrant Justice Steering Committee: Abolish ICE!Â
No one is safe when ICE is present – whether on the streets or in one of the agency’s more than 200 abuse-ridden detention facilities. That’s why the Local Progress Immigrant Justice Steering Committee – together with local elected officials across our network nationwide – is coming together to say: ABOLISH ICE. We are devastated by the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Guerrero and furious about the increase in ICE violence that we’ve seen across the country. We must demand that members of Congress act now to zero out ICE funding in upcoming appropriations bills, revoke the billions of dollars they have already received, get ICE out of communities nationwide, and shut down ICE detention centers for good.Â
🤖 No Buildout For BillionairesÂ
Across the country, the world’s largest corporations are pushing to build massive data centers. Developers promise tax revenue and jobs, but the reality is far more dire: corporations pad their own pockets with tax breaks while harming the very environments they claim to invest in. That’s why we developed No Buildout for Billionaires, a guide for local electeds to stop, slow, and restrict data center expansion.  It offers a technical 101, an understanding of key impacts, and most importantly, concrete strategies and policy interventions to stop these projects in your community. Any local elected official can use this toolkit to cut through corporate misinformation, evaluate a proposal, and help ensure that decisions about technology, land, energy, and water benefit working people – not corporations.Â
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🗳️ Election Protection Webinar Series
Throughout the summer, Local Progress Impact Lab will be hosting a series of webinars to prepare the network to protect the 2026 midterms and ensure free and fair elections in the face of authoritarian threats. Each call will feature guidance from expert partners on key election protection strategies and space for individualized technical assistance. Our first webinar is on Wednesday, August 12, 12pm ET/9am PT. Join to learn about the threat landscape and ways to build people power and resiliency to defend our right to vote. These webinars are only open to LP members.Â
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đź“„ You Deserve to Feel Safe While Serving, Develop Your Personal Safety Plan Today!
Over the past two years, Local Progress Impact Lab (the Impact Lab) has been collaborating with Women’s Democracy Lab (WDL) to develop a set of resources for our Local Progress members. As local leaders, your communities are calling on you to take bold action and fearless leadership in this time of increasing authoritarianism. However, wielding your power can also put a target on your back. You and your loved ones deserve to feel safe while serving in elected office!Â
WDL has developed this personal safety plan, serving as a starting point for assessing your safety preparedness, identifying any potential gaps, and outlining your personal action plans. Download it, work your plan, consult your loved ones. We keep each other safe!
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✍️ Preparing for Our Present and Future Without TPS
The Supreme Court upheld the Trump Administration’s rescission of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Syrians in Mullin v. Doe despite Trump’s clear racial animus. This decision paves the way for the Trump Administration to strip TPS status from 1.3 million individuals, the largest de-documentation effort in US history, including those from other TPS-designated countries like El Salvador, Lebanon, and Sudan. Join us for a call on Thursday, August 20 at 12PM PT / 3PM ET to learn how local elected officials, local governments, and impacted communities are organizing to protect TPS recipients.