IdeaLog

Now is your time and your opportunity to lead

Posted on January 4, 2017

Our nation just survived one of the most unusual, divisive presidential campaigns in our history. The election of Donald Trump is, without doubt, one of the most significant political events of our time.

Yet, there is a lesson wrapped up in this catastrophe. Millions of Americans are painfully frustrated with politicians and politics as usual. They want leaders who will stand up and fight for change, leaders who will actually lead.

The thin silver lining of this election is that you are the kind of leader that Americans are looking for—someone who will fight for policies that, in reality, improve their lives; someone who understands the need to address people’s very real economic concerns and who they are and how they are treated by the world.

Now is your time and your opportunity to lead. State and local policymakers are at the vanguard of the progressive movement. If we are to make any progress, we have to work with you to do it.

Fortunately, you are not alone. The Public Leadership Institute has a nationwide network of more than 13,000 progressive state legislators, city council members, county commissioners, and other policymakers, as well as local advocates. Working with national and state allies, we will support our network in every way we can.

We have a brand new hard-copy edition of the Progressive Agenda, which is also on our website here. Also on the website you will find more than 125 model bills, a Playbook for Abortion Rights, and the Voicing Our Values messaging series. We will continue to provide webinars on timely issues every two weeks, the biweekly PLI Bulletin, a national conference in July, and numerous in-state workshops.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for assistance or to suggest how we can do a better job supporting you and your colleagues. We’re all in this together!