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  • School Boards

Meet the LP’s newly-formed School Board Steering Committee!

The steering committee will guide the work of the school board cohort moving forward, bringing a diverse range of experiences and expertise to building our shared agenda.
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  • Immigrant Justice

New Resource Helps Local Electeds Welcome and Support New Arrivals with Dignity

Our newly released resource aims to chronicle this roadmap – offering direction for local electeds to follow the lead of communities, and take on this shared responsibility to create a welcoming infrastructure.
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  • Home Rule, Housing

Florida legislature must stop interfering with local efforts to lower rents

In what has become an annual tradition, the Florida Legislature is poised to further restrict residents’ freedom to address issues affecting our local communities. In fact, they are taking a sledgehammer to local freedom amid the worst housing crisis in our lifetimes.
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Federal Advocacy Roundup | January 2023

Since our last Federal Advocacy Roundup in early December, we’ve seen the passage of an end-of-year appropriations bill, landmark announcements from the administration on protecting tenants and migrant workers, and more!
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photo of the rotunda in cleveland city hall

The Network Download: Community-led safety, wage theft protections, and more | January 2023

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

Localities must reimagine traffic safety. Here’s how.

Across the country, there is already work being done that reimagines traffic safety with the holistic understanding of what people need to move safely and freely within their neighborhoods and communities. This includes, among many things, removing police from traffic enforcement.
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headshots of Javiera Caballero and Jillian Johnson
  • Public Safety

Durham Needs a New Vision of Safety

Durham City Council members and LP members Javiera Caballero and Jillian Johnson call for a new approach to an old problem.
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Local governments can and must continue protecting and expanding abortion access. Here’s how.

Today, while we commemorate Roe, we also recommit ourselves to building a world where communities thrive, and people can exercise their full agency and live with dignity. Here’s what local elected officials can do.
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Ariel view of The Michigan State Capitol lit up at night.

How Grant Makers Can Help State Policy Makers Advance Smart Approaches

As state legislative sessions ramp up, a new band of lawmakers begins the challenging work of delivering on campaign promises during a period of extreme division and threats to democratic institutions and office holders.
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  • Economic Justice

Workers’ Rights Local Government Round Up | Jan 2023

Check out some of the landmark workers’ rights policies that passed across the country over the last few months, as well as news of recent enforcement actions!
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Local elected officials and partners raising their hands at a Local Progress convening.

The Fight for Progressive Power Starts in Local Communities

November’s election again proved what we already know: our ideas are popular and they are winning in localities across the country. But popular ideas and election wins alone will not transform how we govern.
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LP2023 is Happening Sept 6-9 in St. Louis!

We’ll be sending more information on registration, financial aid applications, and travel logistics in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, please save the date and get excited!
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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:

Casar has always approached political work with the same mindset forged as a labor organizer. (Robin Jerstad)

Greg Casar Is Organizing to Win

A must-read feature of former LP Co-Chair and now Congressman Greg Casar.
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  • Housing

Multiple Cities Across the Country Are Resisting Rent Algorithms

Hoboken and Jersey city are two of the latest localities to join the nationwide movement to tackle corporate greed in the rental market and ban algorithmic rental price fixing.
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Portland Street Response crisis worker Angela Sands and EMT Kaya Ascott respond to a 911 call in Portland, Ore. (Kaia Sand)
  • Public Safety

This Organization Proved There Was an Alternative to the Police. Now It’s Being Defunded.

Portland, OR proved what we all know to be true: we keep us safe. LP's Reynold Graham talks to The Nation about Portland's program.
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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.
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press Releases

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

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
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An image of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka
  • Public Safety

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. 
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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
  • Public Safety

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.
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A large group standing around while one person speaks at a podium.
  • Housing

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.
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  • Economic Justice

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.
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