California is closing out a consequential year for our communities. Local Progress members led boldly on immigration, housing, environmental justice, and protecting democracy, organizing through challenges that tested all of us and our local power. As we head into 2026, we do so with the strength of nearly 300 Local Progress California members and our partners. Weâre ready!
𫰠Working Together, Across Our State
We did it! From December 5-6, Local Progress California hosted our first-ever state strategy meeting in Long Beach. Grounded in our values and a strong vision for the future of our work in California, local elected officials from across the state joined movement and labor partners, where we learned and strategized on the No Secret Police campaign, housing policy, and the impacts of artificial intelligence on our cities, schools, and communities. Thank you to our Organizing Committee Members for participating, learning, and sharing along with partners from California Donor Table, Center for Policy Initiatives, PolicyLink, and United Teachers Los Angeles. Weâre ready for 2026!
đŠˇđ Congratulations to our Chair and Vice Chair!Â
Our California chapter is building up and will be official in December. In the meantime, our Organizing Committee has been hard at work developing our guiding principles and has just elected an inaugural Chapter Chair and Vice Chair. Congratulations to our Chair Hector Bustos who serves on the Santa Ana Unified District School Board and our Vice Chair Consuelo Martinez who serves on the Escondido City Council.
Weâre looking for more leaders to join the Organizing Committee, especially those from Sacramento who are ready to step up and help shape the future of Local Progress California. If youâre interested, please reach out.
â Get the Flock Out
From Austin to Evanston, Local Progress members across the country have successfully led the cancellation of their Flock Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) contract and now Maywood, CA has joined that fight.Â
Just last week, four LP members and members of the Maywood City Council â Mayor Mayra Aguiluz, Mayor Pro Tem Heber Marquez, and Council Members Eddie De La Riva and Jaime Flores â voted to rescind a Flock ALPR contract citing concerns around data-sharing amid growing immigration enforcement, particularly after recent reporting revealed how local police departments in California have been sharing their ALPR data with out-of-state and federal agencies. In the same week, LP member and Oakland Council Member Carroll Fife, shared similar concerns at the Oakland Public Safety Committee which halted a $2.25 million Flock contract extension from moving forward to the larger Oakland City Council on consent.
đ Algorithmic Rental Price Fixing is Statewide!Â
Our algorithmic rental price-fixing work is an example of what bold ideas and leadership at the local level can build. Since the work began in San Francisco, there are now 12 municipalities across the country that have passed bans on algorithmic rental price fixing, including San Diego and Berkeley. In the most recent legislative session, the California State Legislature passed AB 325 which disallowed the use of pricing algorithms to coordinate and increase prices on essentials such as housing, groceries, and healthcare. Governor Newsom signed the bill and will be effective January 1, 2026.
đą Growing in the Inland EmpireÂ
This November, Local Progress closed the Progressive Governance Lab (PGL), a project developed with re:power and the Inland Empire United Education Fund (IEUEF) to support leadership development in collaborative governance, policy development, and relationship-building among local values-aligned elected officials and movement partners.
Throughout the life of the program, we engaged with members from the cities of Adelanto, Coachella, Hesperia, Indio, Jurupa Valley, Perris, Riverside, San Jacinto Community College, and the Coachella Valley and San Bernardino School Districts on land use and warehousing, media relations and communications, budgeting and progressive revenue generation, and policy creation and implementation.
đš Good Trouble with Good People
Local Progress will be welcoming a new California Director to support our work across California. Join us for drinks and small bites at our Good Trouble Happy Hour in Downtown LA to meet them! We’ll be getting together with members, organizing partners, and friends from across the region to reconnect after the new year. We’re ready for 2026 and would love for you to continue to build with us, develop new relationships, and welcome more members into our work. Invite a friend and share space with us!
Weâll have drinks and bites on Wednesday, January 21 at 6 pm (address will be shared once you RSVP). Register here!
Want to get involved with our chapter or have an idea? Letâs talk!Â
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 letâs connect about it. I am based in Los Angeles and I would love to meet with you online or wherever you are. Schedule a meeting with me!
âĄď¸ From Campaigns to Governance: A Partnerâs 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 â 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 partnerâs guide.Â
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âď¸ 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.
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â 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. Hereâs how you can help:Â
- Sign our Solidarity Letter calling for Starbucks to end union busting and settle a fair union contract.
- Share the âNo Contract, No Coffeeâ 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.
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đ° Join Working Families Powerâs Affordability BriefingÂ
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?Â
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. Theyâll 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.
Dr. Erin Evans was elected to the San Diego County Board of Education in 2024, representing District 4. She is an Associate Professor of Sociology at San Diego Mesa College, a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate for teens in foster care who are justice-impacted, and is an active advocate for public education, workersâ rights, animals, and climate justice.
As an elected Trustee, Erin is focusing on building coalition across school boards to align and strengthen oversight of education technology and charter schools in defense of public education against privatization.
We are excited to share that our 2026 National Convening will be in Baltimore, MD on July 9-11! Local Progressâs annual National Convening is a space to exchange ideas, seek inspiration, and strategize together. Itâs the place to feel seen in our struggles and affirmed in our resolve and resilience, and, most importantly, to find support and share joy â 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.Â