We can win locally

Donald Trump has stacked his cabinet with Big Oil billionaires and Wall Street executives, and they’re working to rollback all the progress we’ve made on climate change. Their greed and bigotry is literally threatening our survival, and we must outright reject it.

The only way we can stop him is by building state and local resistance that can get in his way, while we continue to build solutions from the grassroots.

Most election cycles focus on Presidential and Congressional elections -- but we know that change doesn't come from the top. And by neglecting the power and importance of local elections, we fall into the trap of playing the big money game that makes Washington, DC toxic and dysfunctional. It's time to change the game and get behind local leaders who can take our democracy back, stop threatening fossil fuel projects, and demonstrate the type of bold leadership we need on climate change.

Communities and cities can lead on climate and clean energy policy. And they can also play a critical role in standing up for racial justice, fighting for Sanctuary Cities, and investing in political agenda that works for all of us. We can, and must create the type of country we want, starting from our own communities.

The ultra-right has been using this strategy for awhile (Google “the Powell Memo”) investing in their local leadership to run for school board or Dog Catcher (yes, that used to be a real elected position). It’s time we invest in our own leadership, and in particular in places where we can stop fossil fuel infrastructure, and set a model for the rest of the country with 100% clean energy.

Communities and cities across the country are already leading the resistance against Trump and fossil fuel infrastructure -- and if we team up, we can create more Rebel Cities that will divest from pipelines, stop new polluting power plants, and blaze a path to 100% clean energy.

Local leaders are starting to run for office, and if we double-down on this strategy we can elect the next generation of bold progressive leaders who will stand for people over profit. Local elections are often decided by only 500-1000 votes, so if we team up, we can have a huge impact. Whether it’s donating $27 or volunteering for 2 hours to call local voters to remind them to vote, our impact will add up.

It’s time to stop waiting for the same old corrupt politicians in Washington, DC to to save us. And it’s time to start investing in a new generation of leaders to take power and lead locally. Let’s do it.

Here's the plan

We're building the people power it will take to beat the fossil fuel industry in critical local elections this November.

1. Identify key local elections for this November that could stop major fossil fuel infrastructure: we already have a few on our radar that could stop fossil fuel exports and fracked gas power plants, but in the coming months, we’re going to use crowdsourcing to identify more, and we need your nominations.


2. Build a candidate training network: thousands of people are ready to run, they just need a little bit of training and support to get started. We’re building a network of experienced trainers that can host a series of trainings in 2017 and 2018.


3. Invest in local organizing: we will work with local organizations in key districts to invest in community organizers that can bring their neighbors together to knock-on-doors and identify supporters -- all the money we raise online will be invested directly in local organizing.


4. We’re going to unleash Bernie-style phonebanking and text messages to contact thousands of supporters in these key districts and make sure they turn out: local elections are often decided by less than 500 votes, so just 2 hours of volunteering can have a huge impact. Donate, or sign up now to get started.