Wellstone Action is well known for its work to train candidates and campaign workers to run successful, grassroots electoral campaigns. But we also work across the spectrum of the progressive movement with individuals, organizations, and coalitions that are working to build power on issues, influence policy, and grow movements.
As part of this work with partner organizations to increase their power and ability to affect change, we joined forces recently with an organization called New Jersey Working Families -- a coalition of organizations that represent retail workers, nurses, environmentalists, retirees, consumers, parents and ordinary citizens who are tired of an unaccountable state and local government.
The core of NJWF is formed by community, labor, and environmental organizations that work together for good schools, affordable health care, and an accountable government that works for everyone. These organizations realized that they could organize and lobby elected officials all they wanted, but at the end of the day they needed to change the choices that voters were being presented with.
Wellstone Action worked with NJWF on a two-day “pre-candidate” development training as part of their long-term strategy to, as Executive Director Margarita Hernandez put it, “grow our own progressive, grassroots candidates to run for office at the local, county, and state level.”
This training was designed to give community and organizational leaders the skills to begin thinking about a run for office (check out our Organizing Tool on Building Your Base While You’re Getting Ready to Run), even if they had never before considered being a candidate. NJWF recruited training participants from the staff and leadership of their allied organizations, encouraging these leaders to consider becoming a candidate in the next several years.
Ultimately, this work is part of a long-term plan for lasting progressive power in New Jersey. Margarita told us that the “pre-candidates and candidate skills development training will be part of an on-going effort to build a real progressive leadership development program in NJ. Our goal it to elect our own members to local and state office, build a progressive caucus that will push for our issues, and change the debate around economic and social policies in NJ.”
This candidate-development-and-organizational-development is becoming a crucial part of our work and a model for progressive organizational power building. We look forward to continuing to work with NJWF in the future!