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A group of LPNC members and partners posing for a photo in front of the LP step and repeat at the 2024 National Convening in Oakland, CA.

LPNC State Download 📣 | LPNC at the National Convening, recent policy wins & more! | September 2024

Check out what LPNC has been up to!

We Can Create Real Safety One Step At a Time. Here’s How.

To support our collective work and continue building the world we want to see, we have a variety of communications, budgeting, and policy resources available. Check them out!
Porchá Perry demonstrates with other workers in Lansing, Michigan, in favor of bills restoring local control to pass workforce and labor policies on Sept.13, 2023. A new report finds growing union organizing across the country has triggered an anti-labor legislative response in some states, but cities and counties are increasingly pushing back. (Photo courtesy of SEIU Local 1)

States are pushing back with anti-labor laws as union popularity grows, policy experts say

A new report co-authored by New York University Wagner Labor Initiative and Local Progress Impact Lab details how localities are fighting back against state anti-labor legislation.
The Chevron Richmond Refinery is seen in 2023. In the summer of 2012, a massive blaze broke out at the refinery. | Eric Risberg/AP

California city’s $550m deal with Chevron could be a national model for environmentalists

California cities have a new playbook for beating Big Oil. In mid-August, Chevron caved in the face of a local initiative that would have taxed every barrel it produced within Richmond’s city limits at its century-old, 3,000-acre plant just north of San Francisco.
Photograph of police sirens in the dark (Photo by Michael Förtsch / Unsplash)

Traffic Violence Is Up. Policing Isn’t the Answer.

Traffic enforcement has a place in reducing traffic violence. But LP Legal Fellow Kat Kerwin explains that without a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy, it will fail to reduce fatalities and only put Black and Brown drivers in harm’s way.
Aaron Peskin and campaign events manager Hana Haber distributing information about the RealPage legislation in the Mission on July 29, 2024. Photo by HR Smith.

S.F. poised to beat Dept. of Justice to the punch, ban rent-fixing software

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance banning rental price fixing. If it’s signed by Mayor London Breed, which seems likely, San Francisco will be the first city in the country with legislation of this kind.

NEW REPORT: How Local Government Can Stand Up for Workers When States Try to Stand in Their Way

This new report for Labor Day 2024 highlights ways local elected officials can advance workers rights even when facing both hostile state preemption and federal labor law preemption.

📬 LP Network Download | Eviction protections, advancing CRE, new public safety video tool & more! | Aug 2024

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

How Localities Use Community Responder Programs to Keep People Safe

This new video from Local Progress and Local Progress Impact Lab focuses on three specific localities: Durham, Oakland, and Albuquerque to explain what community responder programs are, how they work, and why hundreds of localities are starting to adopt them.

Good Cause Workshop Recap

On Tuesday, August 20, Local Progress held a virtual Good Cause workshop with coalition partners Housing Justice for All and For The Many. We shared organizing tactics, lessons learned, and strategies on how to replicate these wins across the state. Fresh off their housing victories this summer, we heard from local leaders in Kingston and Albany on how they won Good Cause in their cities.
A picture of a student writing on a board. The picture also has text for the CRE toolkit cover.

NEW TOOLKIT! 🧰 Advancing culturally responsive education in your district.

The “Advancing Culturally Responsive Curriculum” toolkit is a step-by-step guide to help teachers and school board members ensure their school curriculum reflects the diversity of the communities they serve.
Jared Salvatore, left, and Garrison Riegel, of Celestar Solar, carry a solar panel onto a roof in Schaumburg, Ill., on Nov. 30, 2023.(Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

New Tools Help Governments Tap Clean Energy Windfall

Local governments have a historic opportunity to leverage federal funding for local clean energy projects that advance racial, economic, and climate justice. Check out how to get started!

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 black and white image of Trump with a yellow background.

Ivan Luevanos-Elms and Sarah Johnson: This Is What Authoritarian Intimidation Looks Like

In this op-ed, LP ED Ivan Luevanos-Elms and former LP ED Sarah Johnson make the case that Trump's attempts to bully and intimidate local leaders is yet another sign of growing authoritarianism.
An image of someone using a phone and computer at the same time (d3sign via Getty Images)

Report: How local governments can prioritize responsible AI adoption

Earlier this month, OpenAI & Microsoft lobbyists called for a shutdown on AI regulation. Our new report details the harmful impacts of unrestricted AI on our communities and what local governments can do.
Image of a lot of people protesting and speaking out

State and local Dems form a firewall against Trump DOJ’s intimidation tactics

Across the country, the Trump administration is targeting local officials to bulldoze opposition to their agenda. Today, 190+ local officials stand in solidarity against this intimidation.
RealPage is contending with state and local efforts to outlaw algorithmic rent-pricing systems. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg News

Rent-Setting Algorithms Find Legal Lifeline

RealPage stands to benefit as GOP tax bill seeks to bar state and local oversight of AI and automated decision systems for 10 years.

press Releases

A group of local elected officials holding a letter in the Colorado state capitol

LP Members & Union Leaders Call To Overturn WPA Veto

Municipal Officials join labor leaders to call out the Governor for rejecting this Common-Sense legislation
An image of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka

Statement: National Network of Local Officials Denounce Unjustified Arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka

In response to the reported arrest and subsequent release of Newark Mayor and Local Progress member Ras Baraka, Essex County Commissioner and Local Progress Board Member A’Dorian Murray-Thomas released the following statement. 
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty who was sworn into office on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023 speaking at the All Square restaurant in Minneapolis on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 where supporters gathered to celebrate her election. Mshale Staff Photo by Panashe Matemba-Mutasa

Statement: Amid Federal Threats, Local Leaders Stand Strong for True Civil Rights

In response to the Trump Administration’s so-called “civil rights” investigation into Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s Office, Local Progress released this statement.
A large group standing around while one person speaks at a podium.

Road To Good Cause Campaign Scores 11 Victories Across Upstate New York

The coordinated campaign of local officials expand critical renter protections to thousands of tenants, setting their sights on Rochester next.

NEW REPORT: How Local Government Can Stand Up for Workers When States Try to Stand in Their Way

This new report for Labor Day 2024 highlights ways local elected officials can advance workers rights even when facing both hostile state preemption and federal labor law preemption.