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LPNC members and partners gather for a group photo during the NC Progressive Governance Academy in Greensboro.

LPNC State Download 📣| Progressive Governance Academy, toolkit, and more! | February 2025

Check out what our LPNC Chapter has been up to in the new year and learn how you can activate your leadership in 2025!
Allentown Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach speaks Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, during a City Council meeting in Allentown. Gerlach presented an ordinance for Allentown to become a ‘Welcoming City’ to help protect immigrants from ICE. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

📎 Federal Resource Round-Up

How to leverage local power in this moment
Image of Deputy Comms Director Michael Whitesides giving a comms presentation at a LP event.

Introducing 🌟LP’s Communications Tools & Guides 🌟

Check out your new one-stop shop for all things comms!

📬 LP Network Download | Local leadership under Trump admin, social housing, wildfire response, & more. | Jan 2025

Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network this month.
Anti-Trump protesters rally on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Fighting for Our Communities Under Trump

The actions the Trump Administration has taken in its first few days come from a place of utter cruelty, racism, and greed. These executive actions are intended to shock and awe – but we are resisting and we will govern for all our people.
Photograph of the San Fransisco skyline. Photograph Source: Raydann

Social Housing Emerging in Cities Needs Local Govt Support

Local Progress founding board chair Nick Licata makes the case for local governments to support social housing.

Meet our new LP Board Co-Chair and Members! 🎉

As our network has grown and transformed, so too has our Board. Today, we’re excited to introduce our new board co-chair and four new board members.
A group of LP school board members posing for a photo

LP School Board Download 📚 | Responding to disasters & keeping our communities safe | January 2025

Welcome to the LP School Board Download, our regular newsletter about all things school board! Today, we’re sharing updates on school funding resources, the school board perspective on LP’s National Convening and the latest news out of local school districts.
A person holding two signs at a rally. One says "RESIST mass deportation and detention" and the other sign says "I pledge to protect Immigrant New York." Retrieved from the ACLU of New York

Local Electeds Call for Solidarity in the Fight Against Trump’s Divisive and Hateful Agenda

In response to the Trump-Vance Administration’s slew of executive actions attacking immigrants, trans people, and other vulnerable communities, Local Progress released the following statement.

New Report Shows How Local Governments Can Build Social Housing Solutions for Public Good

In a new report from the Local Progress Impact Lab, Power Switch Action & PolicyLiny outlines how building and managing housing in the public interest can guide us out of our housing crisis.
Advocates demonstrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on April 22, 2024, during oral arguments for the Grants Pass homelessness case. Aparna Raj/ Local Progress/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation

Ahead of Trump term, U.S. cities grapple with homelessness

While the Trump administration plans to accelerate encampment sweeps, cities are ready to support people experiencing homelessness with dignity. LP leaders make the case for housing over jail time or fines.

📬 LP Network Download | Inspiring local wins, preparing for what’s next, & more. | Dec 2024

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

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:

Image of a government building set against a blue sky

Cleveland Councilwomen Join National Program to Forge New Paths in Public Safety

In a move reflecting a growing trend across various American cities, Cleveland City Councilwomen Rebecca Maurer and Stephanie Howse-Jones are stepping into a program that could change the game for public safety.
Image of brownstonehomes. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Cities lead bans on algorithmic rent hikes as states lag behind

Minneapolis on Thursday has become the fourth U.S. city to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing software, joining San Francisco, Philadelphia and Berkeley, California, in a growing wave of legislation aimed to protect renters from rental price-gouging.
Portland City Council member Angelita Morillo is championing a local ban on the use of algorithms to set rents, following a U.S. Justice Department antitrust lawsuit.Beth Nakamura

Portland City Council weighs ban on using algorithms to set rents

Portland, Oregon could soon be the next city to ban rental price fixing!
East Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, against blue sky and clouds. Photo: Tada Images via Shutterstock

Hundreds of State Officials Oppose Anti-Sanctuary City Act

Nearly 400 state and local electeds nationwide sent a letter to Congress today urging them to vote NO on HR 32 – a dangerous bill that would strip our communities of essential funding simply for undertaking reasonable policies that make all of us safer.

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.