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On the Ground in Texas: Insights from Denton

It has been almost a month since winter storm Uri swept across Texas and hundreds of thousands of residents are still struggling to access clean water or any form of relief from the state.

Local Elected Officials Demand Texas Ramp Up Post-Crisis Relief Efforts & Fix Failed Energy Infrastructure

“Our state leadership failed us last week, and continues to by not accepting responsibility.”

“It’s the Past We Step Into and How We Repair It”

Racial equity is a core value that drives our work as an organization and is at the center of how Local Progress members govern and support communities.

Local Leaders React to State’s Failure in Winter Storm Response and Widespread Power Outages in Texas

“This is what happens when the state gives up its responsibility to corporations — and without care or accountability to the communities most impacted.”

Holding space for yesterday and how we move forward together

In the hours, days, and weeks ahead, it will take all of us to chart a new way forward..

2020 Year in Review

As a network, we have grown and our collective work has helped push the progressive policies..

Local Progress Announces New Board Leadership

Councilmember Casar is a native Texan, the son of Mexican immigrants, a community organizer, and an Austin City Council Member..

Progressive Governance Academy Hosts Southern Regional Training Series

The Progressive Governance Academy (PGA) is a newly-launched pilot project between Local Progress

Progressive Governance Academy Kicks off in Connecticut with First Virtual Training Series

Despite the pandemic and communities working to eliminate racial injustices, the Progressive Governance Academy (PGA) is navigating this new normal to support our elected officials around the country.

Trump’s Surge of Federal Police in Cities is Dangerously Authoritarian. We Won’t Stand For It.

WASHINGTON, DC — In response to President Trump’s announced intent to deploy federal law enforcement from the Department of Homeland Security.

How Local Elected Leaders Can Make it Easier and Safer to Vote During COVID-19

A new toolkit outlines high-priority local reforms to protect democracy during the pandemic.

The cities that are already defunding the police

In the aftermath of the protests over the killing of George Floyd, city leaders are calling to cut law enforcement budgets or reallocate funds in at least 19 U.S. cities, according to Local Progress, which pushes for racial and economic justice and is tracking the issue in real-time.

Have a Media Inquiry?

Local Progress is a movement of local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government. We are elected leaders who build power with underrepresented communities and fight to reshape what is possible in our localities all across the country. 

Want to get in touch with us for a story? Reach us at press@localprogress.org.

In The News

At Local Progress, we seek to make the aspirational pragmatic by showing how government can be a tool to create just and equitable outcomes and reshaping peoples’ understanding of governing from an institution to a collective responsibility. Here are some highlights of our media coverage:

A construction worker carrying a large piece of wood in the hot sun with their face and body mostly covered up. (Photo courtesy Ivette Carolina Agudelo-Lopez + Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction, Inc)

Cities Want To Give Worker’s Heat Breaks. States Are Stopping Them.

As the climate heats up, LP's LiJia Gong makes the case that abusive state preemption is prohibiting localities addressing climate change.
Small child receiving medical care reaching out from a bed (Photo by Dzulhaidy Abdul Rahim / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

I’m the Mayor of St. Paul. Here’s How Our City Is Erasing $100 Million in Medical Debt.

More and more local governments are using federal funds to relieve residents’ medical debt. Mayor of Saint Paul Melvin Carter explains why it's a simple, straightforward way to meet our communities’ needs.
Congressman Greg Casar speaks to protesters at the Governor’s Mansion against the Death Star Bill on Sept. 7, 2023. The protest was organized by the Workers Defense Project who want to protect the mandated rest breaks for workers outlined in local Austin ordinance. | Photo received from Kevin Kim (The Daily Texan)

Opinion: One Year Later, Local Leaders Must Be Bold Despite “Death Star” Law

July 1, 2024 marks one year since the City of Houston sued the state of Texas over the Death Star law. San Marcos City Councilmember Alyssa Garza makes the case that now is the time to be bold – to advance policies that uplift the very communities our legislature wants to silence.
social housing in Vienna, Austria

Is this European city a model for Philadelphia’s affordable housing? One Council member thinks so

Philadelphia City Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Kendra Brooks visited Vienna earlier this year with Local Progress to learn about its housing polices.

press Releases

After Grants Pass: organizing to house all our neighbors

In response to the Supreme Court's cruel decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, we will continue to organize for housing for all.

Local Progress Condemns Cruel Supreme Court Decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, Local Progress put out the following statement.

180+ State and Local Elected Officials Urge Congress to Reject the EATS Act

LP and the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) released letters calling on Congress to protect local and state governments ability to create policy that is responsive to the issues their own communities face in the agricultural industry. 

Local Leaders Denounce Senate Deal That Would Gut Asylum

In response to the Senate’s proposed border deal that would gut asylum in exchange for foreign military spending, Local Progress released this statement.

📬 LP Network Download | Traffic safety, ceasefire, history in Minnesota, & more! | January 2024

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