Represent
Public Office for All
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Represent is a civic empowerment initiative committed to helping us democratize democracy, creating a governance system that can work in the non-majority nation we're on the cusp of becoming.
Both Harvey Milk, Jewish military officer-turned-gay activist-turned local politician and John Lewis, Freedom Rider-turned movement leader-turned US Congressman are but two examples of people who sought office not for themselves but for the rest of us.
This work involves three components
1. Addressing the problems inherent in the Electoral College.
Once Texas, where the non-Latinx, white-identifying vote has declined from 86.6% in 1970 to 50.1% in 2020, turns blue, will give the Democratic Party an almost insurmountable electoral advantage and effectively turn us into a one-party nation. That's a recipe for disaster and a nullification of democracy, no matter who holds that kind of power. The only way forward is shifting to a system where every vote counts.
2. Adopting a new approach to running for office.
In a society with an overwhelming supermajority, tactics of division can be used to scare sufficient numbers of the reigning faction into voting as we'd like. But in this new landscape, the same tactics that once won races will increasingly become the reason races are lost. There’s a way forward for us, but it won’t be found in villainizing each other or believing we can sink their section of the boat, but not our own. Instead, we’ll need to do some retooling; shifting from focusing solely on our segment to caring for the whole of society.
3. Expanding who leads.
The only viable path for democracy is one where serving a term in public office is an economic and practical possibility for every adult who wants to do so, becoming a society where taking a turn at public service, like serving in the military or Peace Corp-like organizations, is something many of us do at some point in our lives.
Examples of organizations that have already taken up the work:
Run for Office is a free service that provides all the tools you need to launch a successful campaign whether you are a seasoned veteran or first-time campaigner.
Run for Something is a platform committed to offering campaign support to progressive candidate who want to run for a down-ballot seat, including those from lower-income communities who can't raise large sums of money. Their process opens the doors of public office to outstanding people who otherwise couldn't run.
Running Start is a nonpartisan nonprofit that trains young women to run for political office.
LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and Fund- the only national organization devoted to electing pro-equality, pro-choice LGBTQ+ people to public office at every level.
