FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2019
CONTACT: Justin Vest
Email: [email protected]
Hometown Action Endorses 47 Diversity Candidates for Alabama’s State Democratic Executive Committee
Today, Hometown Action proudly announces its endorsement of 47 individuals who have submitted their interest in At-Large seats on new diversity caucuses of the state committee.
Progressive Alabama voters were energized by the victory of Doug Jones in December 2017, and their enthusiasm could have been harnessed by bold political leadership to move Alabama forward. Unfortunately, the leadership of the Alabama Democratic Party did not take advantage of that momentum and the results of the 2018 Midterm election showed that the existing political infrastructure in our state was in need of major modernization and reform.
It was grassroots organizations like Hometown Action that took the lead in going door-to-door, organizing, and volunteering to bring a progressive populist vision for Alabama to every voter possible, especially in rural communities that had never seen a political canvasser. Hometown Action led sweeping canvasses in small towns and rural communities while the state Democratic Party remained mired in dysfunction. On Saturday, current members of the SDEC will take an important step toward better representation of Alabama’s diverse electorate.
Alabamians deserve fair representation, including the full range of diversity and intersectionality of our population. As an organization committed to people-centered, place-based programs and solutions we recognized the need to address more contemporary understandings of diversity among the State Democratoc Executive Committee (SDEC). “We must reimagine the party as no longer centered around a single authoritarian leader but around the collective power of diverse local leaders, volunteers, and candidates who got into Democratic politics because they want to make the world a better place for their neighbors” said Tabitha Isner, Hometown Action’s endorsed candidate for Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. “We need a network of leaders who understand and value the legacies of those who came before them while also holding open the door to welcome new voices and visions.”
According to Justin Vest, Executive Director of Hometown Action, “In order to build the progressive populist power needed in our state to advance racial, gender, economic, and environmental justice, we must build a grassroots movement that makes space for all people--Black, Latinx, Asian, Native, white, women, youth, queer and trans people, people with disabilities, and working class folks; Hometown Action members have stepped up to represent this spectrum of diversity within their communities on the SDEC.”
Hometown Action is a member-led collective that aims to revitalize Alabama communities through multiracial working class organizing at the local and state level.
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