AT A GLANCE
Local Progress Texas (LPTX) drives progressive change through collaborative governance with local partners and communities. Since becoming an official state chapter in 2019, we have mobilized elected officials from five cities to coordinate a legal strategy to fight back against SB4, connected elected officials from Austin, San Antonio and Dallas to coordinate strategies with community and labor partners to pass paid sick days policies, and organized elected officials from more than a dozen municipalities to work together on raising wages for municipal workers. See our Statement of Principles here.
LPTX currently has more than 90 members across the state, representing nearly 50 jurisdictions.
We are proud to work closely with the Texas AFL-CIO, Workers Defense Project, Texas Organizing Project, and other movement allies.
Our Work & Priorities
In Texas, our work is driven by community needs – both long-standing ones driven by historically harmful policies and exacerbated by climate change and emerging ones driven by our state’s conservative agenda.
Right now, our statewide policy work is heavily focused on decarceral policies and protecting abortion access.
Organizing Committee
As a member-led network, our state work is led by an incredible state organizing committee – a group of LPTX members that meet regularly to weigh in on policy priorities, propose statewide campaigns, and drive the strategic vision for our work.
VANESSA FUENTES
Austin City Councilmember
LPTX Organizing Committee Co-Chair
ADAM BAZALDUA
Dallas City Councilmember
LPTX Organizing Committee Co-Chair
ALEXSANDRA ANNELLO
El Paso City Representative and Mayor Pro Tempore
DAVID STOUT
El Paso County Commissioner
STEPHANIE GHARAKHANIAN
Austin Community College Board Trustee
BRIAN ROWLAND
Former Prairie View Mayor
TARTISHA HILL
Former Balch Springs Councilmember
DEB ARMINTOR
Former Denton City Councilmember
TARSHA JACKSON
Houston City Councilmember
CRYSTAL DAVILA
Pasadena Independent School District Trustee
TERI CASTILLO
San Antonio City Councilmember
Our State work
REFORM / TRANSFORM TEXAS
Texas relies heavily on incarceration and policing. Across the state, we are working to prioritize community needs and end mass criminalization and mass incarceration.
ABORTION & REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In deep collaboration with local advocates, we are working at the local level to protect bodily autonomy and support abortion access – including creating practical support funds and implementing decriminalization policies.
LOCAL CONTROL
No matter the issue, local electeds are a critical voice on protecting local control and against abusive state preemption that negatively impacts communities. We develop and implement statewide campaigns to fight abusive state interference.
CLIMATE RESILIENCY
We need action at all levels of government to build resilient communities in the face of our climate crisis. In Texas, that means decentralizing our state’s power grid, creating public ownership of our energy industry, and supporting the growth of our green energy sectors.
Case Studies, Toolkit
Stable Rents, Rooted Communities: A Practical Guide for Building a Local Rent Stabilization Policy
FEATURED NEWS & Stories
- News Article ▹ October 17, 2022
LPTX Chapter Manager Witnesses Dehumanizing ‘Operation Lone Star’ at Texas-Mexico Border
Last week, Local Progress Texas Chapter Manager, Kara Sheehan, spent two days at the Texas-Mexico border to witness Operation Lone Star (OLS) firsthand. Here are her reflections.
- ▹ September 28, 2023
LPTX State Download 🍁 | A win for local democracy, next steps in the fight, & upcoming events! | September 2023
See what’s in store for our LPTX Chapter!
- Home Rule
- ▹ August 31, 2023
‘A Huge Win’: Texas Judge Finds Law Limiting Local Rule Is Unconstitutional
"When local policymaking is stifled, community voices are silenced," said Local Progress Texas, Texas AFL-CIO, Workers Defense Project, the ACLU of Texas, and Every Texan.
- Home Rule
- ▹ August 30, 2023
Texas judge blocks bill that would allow state to override local water breaks rules
Local Progress Texas, Every Texan, Texas AFL-CIO, ACLU Texas, and Workers Defense Project explain what this win means.
