Impacting elections, one training at a time
To date, Wellstone Action has trained 11,695 progressives on the skills to organize and win! While we consider this an incredible accomplishment, we are humbled by the successes and experiences that those alumni are demonstrating all across the country.
This summer, Wellstone Action surveyed our thousands of alumni from our Camp Wellstone and Campus Camp Wellstone trainings programs. We received hundreds of responses, and what we learned confirmed what we had hoped to be true - our alumni are making a difference in electing progressive candidates and holding elected officials accountable to our issues!
We are particularly proud of the candidates we have trained. Of all participants in the Candidate track in Camp Wellstone, over 24% won their elections, and 44 percent are currently running for office this election cycle. They are seeking seats in State House/ Assemblies, City or Town Councils, and School Boards. 73.5% of them are challenging incumbents, while 26.5% of them are running for an open seat - not a single candidate is an incumbent.
If those numbers don't tell the story of our alumni successes, then maybe Peggy from South Prairie, Washington can. Peggy stepped up to lead in her community, just like hundreds of our alumni.
"The Town of South Prairie was in a dire situation and the citizens needed to step up to the plate to run for office to preserve our town." Peggy said. "I was able to talk three people into running for Council and I ran for Mayor. Thanks to my training at Camp Wellstone all those candidates won, even the one that had to run a write in campaign. Being Mayor is not easy, even in such a small town, but it is great having a Council with integrity and the best interest of the Town and its citizens at heart."
It's not just candidates who are investing in the work of democracy. Everyday citizen activists are changing the fabric of this country by organizing and winning on issues that matter. Camp Wellstone alumni from the Citizen Activism track have had tremendous successes. 37% have successfully lobbied an elected official to change public policy, 54% got coverage of progressive issues in the news media, and 43% built winning coalitions with other progressive organizations. Glenda, an alum from California, tells her story this way.
"After coordinating Peace in the Precincts Out of Iraq campaign in 2004, I moved back to California and started a chapter in Sacramento. We've successfully established a relationship with our Congresswoman's office, met with her, and gotten her to sign on to key Iraq legislation in Congress that we support. We have established positive working relationships with a variety of different organizations in the community, including housing and environmental and labor groups, and we will work on a local progressive candidate's Congressional campaign."
Another major front line in the progressive movement is college campuses, and the Campus Camp Wellstone has provided skills and inspiration to hundreds of college students since 2005. These students are extremely active as volunteers and organizers on electoral and issue campaigns - 83% of Campus Camp Wellstone alumni are involved in statewide or local electoral campaigns, issue-based campaigns, or campus-based campaigns. Rachel, and alum from University of Wisconsin Madison, is a leader in the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) Campaign for Clean and Fair Elections.
"We are lobbying to pass SB1, which would create an independent government accountability board that has the power to regulate campaign finance laws and prosecute violations," Rachel explains. "Our long term goal for the campaign is to move Wisconsin towards a fully funded publicly financed electoral system. We are starting to lay down plans, goals, and outreach to possible coalition partners. "
Wellstone Action's thousands of alumni are organizing and winning - electing progressive candidates and mobilizing on issues that matter to our communities. Our plans for 2007 are our most ambitious yet to train more organizers and get them to work in the progressive movement.
