As we move through the summer, Local Progress Michigan members continue to show what is possible when local leaders organize together, build regional power, and develop solutions rooted in their communities. Across the state, members are advancing community-centered approaches to public safety, protecting democracy, strengthening local decision-making, and building the relationships needed for the fights ahead.
✊ Building Regional Power in the Saginaw Bay
We kicked off this summer by gathering local leaders, members, and allies from across the Saginaw Bay Region for a regional strategy session focused on building shared power and developing a vision for the future. Together, participants mapped regional priorities, identified opportunities for collaboration, and began shaping an affordability agenda for the region.
The conversation launched the start of monthly regional meetings designed to deepen relationships, strengthen coordination, and continue building a shared strategy across the state. Infrastructure, affordable housing, and creating a regional affordability agenda centered on connectivity were major themes throughout the conversation. LPMI members across the Saginaw Bay Region are preparing for the fights ahead and deepening the relationships needed to advance solutions that reflect their communities’ needs.
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🗳️ Ypsilanti Advances Community Response and Election Protection Efforts
Ypsilanti City Councilmembers Amber Fellows and Desirae Simmons advanced two major efforts focused on community safety, immigrant protections, and defending democracy. After participating in Local Progress’ 2025 Community Responders cohort and a year of collaboration with LP staff, national partners, and elected leaders, Amber and Desirae helped lead the passage of a resolution establishing a municipal-run unarmed crisis response program to address mental health emergencies, substance use, homelessness, and other public health-related calls. The resolution includes up to $1 million in funding for implementation, including staffing, training, dispatch coordination, and program infrastructure.Â
At the same meeting, Ypsilanti members also passed a resolution linking immigration enforcement and election protection ahead of 2026, directing the city to develop an outreach and polling-place operations plan for potential ICE activity at polling locations and allocating up to $10,000 for outreach, translation, staffing, and election operations.
To learn more about how to use your role as an elected to protect our elections, check out our webinar series kicking off next week (more details in What’s Coming Up, below)!
⚡ Michigan Shows Up at the National Convening
Each year we bring more and more LPMI leaders into national spaces, and this year was no different! We gathered more than 20 members and partners in Baltimore for the 2026 Local Progress National Convening, joining progressive local leaders from across the country to learn, share strategies, and think creatively about the challenges facing our communities. It was a weekend filled with learning, laughter, and connections as members built relationships, exchanged ideas, and strengthened the national network of local leaders working to drive bold change.
Organizing Committee Member Amber Fellows was featured in the session “Fighting for Home Rule in 2026,” sharing the work underway across Michigan and the challenges local leaders face in protecting their ability to govern. Amber highlighted how Michigan leaders are organizing to secure worker protections, advance affordable housing, and protect their communities while navigating ongoing fights over local authority. Read the full recap in our blog here.
🤝 West Michigan Meet-up!
Local Progress Michigan and Organizing Committee Member Justin Mendoza invites local elected leaders, members, and partners from across West Michigan and the state to join us on Tuesday, August 25, from 6-9 pm in Kalamazoo.
Enjoy drinks, appetizers, and an opportunity to connect with fellow members working to build progressive local power across the region. This gathering will create space for relationship-building, sharing local strategies, and strengthening connections among leaders across West Michigan.
đź’ Join Us: Southeast Michigan Strategy SessionÂ
LPMI is inviting member leaders, partners, and trusted allies from across Southeast Michigan to join us for a half-day regional strategy session on Saturday, October 24 from 12-5 pm. This gathering will create space to connect with leaders from across the region, strengthen relationships, and begin building the foundation for our Southeast Michigan regional strategy and infrastructure.
Together, we’ll discuss the challenges facing our communities, identify opportunities for collaboration, and begin shaping the priorities that will help guide our statewide strategy conversations in 2027. We’ll also have a conversation on preemption, the work happening across Michigan in 2026, and how our regional efforts can help build a stronger statewide policy agenda rooted in local leadership and community needs.
🗳️ Election Protection Webinar SeriesÂ
Throughout the summer, Local Progress Impact Lab will be launching a series of webinars to prepare the network to protect the 2026 midterms and ensure free and democratic 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.
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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đź’» No Buildout for Billionaires: A Local Guide to Stopping, Slowing, and Restricting Data Expansion
Big Tech is spending billions in its race to build data centers across the country – and local communities are paying the price. From strained water and energy resources to spiked utility bills and drained public budgets, the costs fall on working people while corporations pocket the profits.Â
But local governments have real power to fight back. Whether you’re getting ahead of proposed data centers, updating existing laws, or mitigating the impacts of harmful data centers in your community, you’ll leave with tools to strengthen public participation, build community power, and ensure decisions about land, water, air, and technology benefit people, not corporations. Check out our guide to stopping, slowing, and restricting data center expansion.
🤝 Join the LPMI Organizing Committee!Â
We are growing our Michigan Organizing Committee as we continue building a stronger, more connected Local Progress state chapter. In Michigan, our OC is laying the foundation for a Michigan chapter that truly reflects the diversity, priorities, and leadership of our members across the state. Local Progress can only be as strong as its membership, and this committee plays a key role in shaping where our work is headed, setting priorities, and helping guide the growth of our chapter over time. We are actively looking to expand, especially with leaders from Grand Rapids and West Michigan, the Lansing area, and Northern Michigan who are ready to step into leadership and help shape the future of Local Progress Michigan. If you’re interested, please reach out.
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▶️ Pay It Forward! Recruit a New Member Today!
With more than 550 members and partners from 41 states, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, the 2026 national convening in Baltimore is now in the record books as our largest gathering to date! During the convening, we learned new strategies, shared new resources, and strengthened our bonds and community. As many of you have shared, this network is your political home, where you find the strength and courage to be bold and brave, particularly in this moment! Now, we are asking you to pay it forward! Recruit a member today by sharing the join us form. For movement and labor partners, we’ve also developed this guide to support connecting the pipeline from campaign to governance!
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🏡 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!Â
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âť“ Need Support? Contact the Help Desk
Have a policy, strategy, or communications question? The Local Progress Impact Lab Help Desk is here to help. Through the Help Desk, members can access policy research, strategic guidance, communications support, connections to fellow Local Progress members, and expertise from trusted partner organizations. Simply email your question and timeline, and an Impact Lab team member will follow up with resources, recommendations, and next steps tailored to your needs.
Meet LPMI’s New Organizing Committee Member, Ferndale School Board Member Jessica Newman!
Jessica Newman serves on the Ferndale School Board, bringing more than a decade of experience in politics, where she supported campaigns across Michigan and the country. Motivated by a belief that school boards are among the most important foundations of healthy communities, Jess sought office to help ensure that every student has access to a high-quality public education. She sees public schools as a cornerstone of democracy that is increasingly under attack and is committed to protecting and strengthening them.
Over the next six months, she will be focusing on advancing special education and addressing student screen time. As concerns have grown among parents about the increasing reliance on iPads and educational technology in classrooms, she has worked to balance the benefits of technology with more traditional, student-centered instruction.Â
Jessica became involved with Local Progress Michigan through fellow members Tom Lenard and Mikal Goodman, who shared resources on ALPRs and surveillance tech. Since then, she has attended various LP events, but her favorite has been the 2026 National Convening, where she was able to learn from and connect with school board members across the country.Â
đźš™ Fun fact about Ferndale: It’s the birthplace of the Woodward Dream Cruise, the world’s largest classic car celebration!Â