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Congressman Greg Casar speaks to protesters at the Governor’s Mansion against the Death Star Bill on Sept. 7, 2023. The protest was organized by the Workers Defense Project who want to protect the mandated rest breaks for workers outlined in local Austin ordinance. | Photo received from Kevin Kim (The Daily Texan)
  • Home Rule

Opinion: One Year Later, Local Leaders Must Be Bold Despite “Death Star” Law

July 1, 2024 marks one year since the City of Houston sued the state of Texas over the Death Star law. San Marcos City Councilmember Alyssa Garza makes the case that now is the time to be bold – to advance policies that uplift the very communities our legislature wants to silence.
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social housing in Vienna, Austria
  • Housing

Is this European city a model for Philadelphia’s affordable housing? One Council member thinks so

Philadelphia City Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Kendra Brooks visited Vienna earlier this year with Local Progress to learn about its housing polices.
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📬 LP Network Download | SCOTUS decision on criminalizing homelessness, basic income success, social housing & more! | June 2024

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

Local Progress Condemns Cruel Supreme Court Decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, Local Progress put out the following statement.
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  • Housing

Philadelphia Councilmembers Find Lessons in Affordable Housing from Berlin and Vienna

In this blog post from Global Philadelphia, Local Progress members and Philadelphia City Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Jamie Gauthier talk about their recent trip to learn about social housing in Vienna and Berlin with Local Progress and lessons they're bringing back home.
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A selfie with LPMN members Aisha Chughtai, Robin Wonsley, Jason Chavez, and Aurin Chowdhury; and state reps Senator Omar Fateh and Rep Hodan Hassan

LPMN State Download 🌟 | Local & state action, new co-chairs, National Convening, & more! | June 2024

Over the past couple of months, LPMN members have been fighting for change at the local and state level – from housing to public safety to securing protections for workers. 
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LPNC member Mario Benavente speaks with a local elected on the ground in Nashville at a LP event in Nashville, TN.

LPNC State Download 📣 | Protecting local democracy, funding public schools, & more! | June 2024

This quarter’s LPNC newsletter shares statewide updates, calls-to-action, and LP network updates.
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The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) building in Washington, DC.
  • Economic Justice

As FTC non-compete case is heard in federal court in Texas, Texas local electeds are standing up for everyday workers

A dozen local electeds in Texas are making their voices heard as the FTC non-compete case is heard in a federal court in Texas next month.
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📬 LP Network Download | Leveraging federal funds, SCOTUS case, increasing affordable housing & more! | May 2024

Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network this month.
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Photo of LPTX members, parters, and potential new members standing in front of a sign that says "San Antonio" at the 2024 TX PGA.

LPTX State Download 📣 | Fighting for immigrant justice & reproductive rights for all Texans! | May 2024

Summer’s around the corner! See what’s coming up for our LPTX Chapter and how you can get involved in 2024!
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  • Housing

Local Progress Members Demand New Approach To Transit Funding In New York

15 Local Progress members across New York sent a letter to Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie, advocating for the passage A4120/S1981. The bills would direct the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by 20% by 2050.
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Photo: Josh Katz| The state should no longer design roads where pedestrians are just an afterthought, like this entrance to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
  • Climate Justice

New York Pols Back Gounardes’s Bill to Cut Driving by 20%

For decades, transit planners have widened roads and expanded highways as cities have grown. But these interventions have only increased traffic and worsened pollution. LP members in New York wrote to legislative leaders demanding state DOT take a new approach to planning.
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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:

Image of brownstonehomes. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
  • Housing

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.
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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
  • Housing

Portland City Council weighs ban on using algorithms to set rents

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

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.
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Photograph of the San Fransisco skyline. Photograph Source: Raydann
  • Housing

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.
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press Releases

A yellow background with the text "No Buildout for Billionaires"
  • Economic Justice, Equitable Development

No Buildout For Billionaires

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How Local Electeds Can Tax the Ultrawealthy to Fund Communities

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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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  • Public Safety

How Localities Use Community Responder Programs to Keep People Safe

This new video from Local Progress and Local Progress Impact Lab focuses on three specific localities: Durham, Oakland, and Albuquerque to explain what community responder programs are, how they work, and why hundreds of localities are starting to adopt them.
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