September 30, 2024

📬 LP Network Download | Anti-gentrification ordinance, abortion travel funds, environmental win & more! | Sept 2024

Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network.

Chicago City Council Passes Anti-Gentrification Ordinance to Protect Neighborhoods

Earlier this month, an overwhelming majority of the Chicago City Council approved an anti-gentrification ordinance – known as the Northwest Side Housing Preservation Ordinance. It seeks to protect two-, three-, and four-flats by requiring developers who want to demolish them to pay a significant surcharge, which then goes directly to local land trust organizations dedicated to creating new affordable homeownership opportunities in the neighborhood. Working alongside Palenque LSNA and other community groups, the effort was led by LP members and alderpeople Carlos Rairez-Rosa, Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Jessie Fuentes, and Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez. “The ordinance is rooted in one simple principle: our neighborhoods belong to the people who live here, not to developers looking to make a quick profit.” Read more →

Philadelphia Looks to Become Second City to Ban Algorithmic Rental Price Fixing

Last week, the Philadelphia City Council introduced legislation to ban the practice of algorithmic rental price fixing – a move that would protect renters and keep housing affordable as RealPage and corporate landlords collude to hike up rents. Led by LP member and Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke, the ban was co-sponsored by twelve other councilmembers. Earlier this summer, San Francisco – led by LP member and Board President Aaron Peskin – became the first city in the nation to ban algorithmic rental price fixing. Who’s next? For more information on rental price fixing and how to take action, check out this policy memo →

Localities Continue to Invest in Abortion Travel Funds

Despite an anti-abortion lawsuit, leaders in Austin, TX are moving forward with a proposed Reproductive Justice Fund, which will allocate $400,000 to support residents traveling to access abortion care. LP member leader and Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes pointed to a similar fund that LP members in San Antonio created last year, which also faced legal challenges that were ultimately dismissed in court. “We are fully invested in ensuring that women have the broad spectrum of reproductive health care available as a fundamental right,” she said. Read more →

Richmond’s $550 Million Environmental Win Against Chevron

This summer, Richmond got a half-billion dollar payout from Chevron when the corporate oil and gas giant caved in the face of a local ballot initiative that would have taxed every barrel it produced in the California city. Local activists and the city council have created a model that other local governments can follow. “The community of Richmond has created a movement that will echo across the nation,” LP member and Mayor Eduardo Martinez said upon accepting a deal that will increase the city’s annual general fund by about one-quarter annually over a decade. “Other communities too can require their polluters to do the right thing, either by negotiation, or by ballot measure.” Read more →

The Road to Good Cause Continues in New York

In August, Local Progress New York launched the Road to Good Cause campaign in conjunction with our New York housing partner, Housing Justice For All. Since the state legislature created the opportunity for upstate localities to opt into the just cause protections, our New York chapter set an ambitious goal of getting ten different localities to opt in before the end of the year. To date, six localities across the state have opted in, with campaigns heating up in different towns, cities, and villages across the state. Every upstate locality has also passed a version of Good Cause modeled off our template legislation, removing unnecessary loopholes and protecting the maximum number of renters possible. Read more →

📣 ARPA Deadline is Fast Approaching!

Leaders across the Local Progress network seized American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronaivrus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) for recovery programs informed by the principles of advancing equity, reimagining public safety and advancing worker’s rights. The deadline for local governments to obligate ARPA SLFRF funds is December 31, 2024. Remember, budgeting is not the same as obligating. For more information about what obligating means, check out this resource.

📚 NEW TOOLKIT: Advancing Culturally Responsive Education in Your School District

The toolkit is a step-by-step guide to help school board members ensure their district’s curriculum reflects the diversity of the communities they serve. It can help you understand the student impact of a CRE; approach your fellow board members and superintendent about CRE; start the conversation with your community and other district leaders; engage student leaders in this work; and design a plan for implementation. Check it out here →

✊ How Local Government Can Stand Up for Workers When States Try to Stand in Their Way

Across the country, local elected leaders – in collaboration with labor unions and worker advocates – are defining the mission of local governance to include advancing and safeguarding workers’ rights. As some states grow ever more hostile to the exercise of local democracy, they have abused state preemption to limit the scope of local action to help working people. And all localities face limitations placed by long-standing federal preemption. Our new joint resource with NYU Wagner Labor Initiative – How Local Government Can Stand Up for Workers When States Try to Stand in Their Way – outlines concrete opportunities for local governments to protect workers. Check it out →

👏 Get Your Policy Win Highlighted!

We’re partnering with the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center to highlight policy wins on the local level! The Progressive Playbook is a comprehensive guide that shows advocates, legislators, and the public how to achieve real progressive wins. It will highlight successful legislative campaigns and policy victories to provide insights for other advocates and legislators to replicate in their states. If you have a policy campaign or win that you think would be a good addition, please reach out to LP Deputy Communications Director Michael Whitesides and we’ll help you submit a brief for inclusion! The Progressive Playbook is looking for policy ideas of all kinds but is specifically looking for policy wins related to clean energy, reproductive rights, housing, workers’ rights, taxes on the wealthy, and pushback against book bans.

The vast majority of local elected officials are part-time, unpaid, or minimally compensated. And it can be difficult to find work that can sustain leaders alongside their elected roles. That’s why every month, we’ll be sharing jobs available across the movement:

Office of Community Safety Director | City of Fayetteville, NC
Senior Vice President (SVP) of Programs | SiX
Development Director | Honesty for Ohio Education
Multiple Positions available | Drug Policy Alliance

Additional job boards: Dino DNA | Jeremiah Program | PolicyLink | Jobs That Are Left