Bright Spot In The Electoral Landscape: The YEO Network

Newly elected Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum with Dolores Huerta and Michael Keegan

Every few days since the Democrats' election day Dunkirk, Steve Israel, the disaster's chief pilot, has put out another excuse for why it was a really glorious year for Democrats and why he's a hero. No one takes it seriously-- well, no one but the sclerotic Democratic House leadership, who would be condemning itself by condemning Israel's gross incompetence and grotesque corruption. The latest was how the average number of seats lost in the sixth year of a presidential term is "x" and he only lost "y." Maybe Pelosi can give him another career boost.

The one service Israel did perform-- inadvertently-- was in helping rid the Democratic conference of a slew of useless Blue Dogs and New Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. For the most part, House progressives did alright. Completely apart from what Steve Israel and his decrepit and dysfunctional DCCC and the DC Establishment Democrats did, the Young Elected Officials Network of People For the American Way fought the headwinds and came out pretty well. The organization's leader, Andrew Gillum, was elected mayor of Tallahassee-- in a landslide. In a 3-way race, Andrew won a low-dough, grassroots campaign with an impressive 75.68% of the vote. And, unlike Israel's dreadful collection of candidates, he didn't run from Democratic values or try to confuse voters with Republican-lite talking points. He focused on restorative justice issues, such as providing support for people with criminal records to find jobs to provide for their families; early childhood education issues, such as expanding and improving access to quality k-5 education services; and social justice issues, such as developing a blueprint of the most economically and socially challenged areas of the city to develop comprehensive strategies for improvement as well as seeking a Promise Neighborhood designation from the federal government. The voters knew exactly what they were getting and elected him overwhelmingly.

And Gillum's landslide in Florida was far from the only accomplishment the YEO Network had in 2014 cycle. In a year when young people faced unparalleled challenges from anti-democracy conservatives at the ballot box and an ongoing cynicism about their participation, young people increased their share of the electorate-- and won elections in increasing numbers. The YEO Network had an 86% win rate, a clear victory for their new model of leadership.

Unlike the DC careerist politicians, they are very clear about the importance of investing heavily in local leadership. "We learned again this cycle," said Gillum, "how critical state and local leadership is, now more than ever. In this election we saw paid sick days and minimum wage increases pass in both red and blue states, and groundbreaking criminal justice reforms succeed at the local level. Our YEOs are both pragmatic and unapologetically progressive; they use innovation and common sense to make real change in their communities. In 2015 we will be celebrating 10 years of the YEO Network, and we couldn’t be more proud of all they have accomplished."

They helped celebrate the first two YEO elected to statewide office-- Timothy Keller, New Mexico's new State Auditor, and state Senator Michael Frerichs, Illinois' new State Treasurer.

Colorado was one of the states where the YEO Network did especially well this cycle. The Network's state director, Faith Winter, Mayor Pro-Tem of Westminster, Program Director for Colorado Conservation Voters, and executive director of Emerge Colorado, was elected to the state House. And Chrisanta Duran, the youngest Latina ever elected to the Colorado state Legislature, was just elected House Majority Leader in the Colorado State House of Representatives. Wisely, the Washington Post named her to it's list of 40 Leaders Under 40 to watch.