National group with Philly ties strives for good
In the tense hours after a young black man in her city was killed in an encounter with police, Minneapolis City Councilwoman Lisa Bender needed guidance. So she wrote to a city councilwoman in St. Louis, asking what she had learned in the riots and protests after the death of Michael Brown.
In the tense hours after a young black man in her city was killed in an encounter with police, Minneapolis City Councilwoman Lisa Bender needed guidance. So she wrote to a city councilwoman in St. Louis, asking what she had learned in the riots and protests after the death of Michael Brown.
"She gave me some really specific advice about how the city could respond in a way that was more supportive and in service of de-escalating tension," said Bender, who credits that guidance with shaping her approach to the 18 days of protests that followed the November shooting.
That connection came after the two had met at a gathering of Local Progress, a national organization with Philadelphia ties that since its 2012 founding has become a kind of sounding board for progressive ideas.
City Councilman Wilson Goode Jr. was a founding member. After loosing reelection bid in the May primary, he nominated freshman Councilwoman Helen Gym, one of Philadelphia's newest progressive voices, to take his spot on the board.
The swap maintains the city's leadership in a group that has found success advancing liberal policies - like raising minimum wages and guaranteeing paid sick leave - nationwide. On Thursday, Gym and other members threw their heft into challenging the federal government's sales of delinquent mortgages.
"I come out of a lot of community organizing experience and don't follow necessary a traditional path into politics," said Gym, who attended her first board meeting last month. "[Local Progress] captures that spirit."
In its simplest form, the group is a network of progressive local elected officials who share ideas, best practices and legislation.
Sensing movement has stalled in Washington and state legislatures, members want to build momentum locally. Where state preemptions seem to block a city's power, members have sought work-arounds.
"There is a lot of gridlock both at the national level and state level," said Sarah Johnson, a co-director of Local Progress, which is based out of the Center for Popular Democracy. "And so a lot of the founding members really saw Local Progress as a way to unify cities with shared agendas."
That happened this week when members across the country held separate press conferences and rallies to shed light on the federal government's practice of selling delinquent mortgages in bulk to corporations like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which can result in high levels of foreclosures.
On Thursday, Gym introduced a resolution that called on the government to reform that program, and to sell those mortgages to local nonprofits that have a focus on keeping families in their homes.
"It's stronger," Gym said, "if we can have a large group of municipal officials - because it's impacting all of us all across the country - and bring our voices on a much more clear scale."
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@TriciaNadolny