The Young Progressives
Template:TOCnestleft The Young Progressives are a Wisconsin-based "progressive" youth-based organization.
About
The Young Progressives' stated mission is to devote political awareness to our community:[1]
- "We find that those who possess a high level of political knowledge are a minority, making our role ever-so crucial. We want to spur discussions so that more voters are able to think, challenge, and question authority more than ever before. A thirst for knowledge satisfies transparency, and it prevents politicians to escape responsibility from leaving behind ambiguities of their given obligations. More information is better. We question issues through a scientific lens, we educate ourselves about the world around us, and we search for philosophies which can unite the general public. Although many of us have varying political beliefs we strongly encourage respectfully examining each other’s politics, because we feel that diversity of opinion will lead us to acquiring new knowledge, correcting and integrating previous knowledge."
Despite the organization's non-partisan mission statement, they have endorsed at least two candidates for office who enjoyed support from the largest Marxist organization in the U.S., Democratic Socialists of America. These were Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Representative for the 2nd District of Wisconsin, and Russ Feingold, U.S. Senator for Wisconsin.[2]
Personnel
As at March 11, 2011, the following worked for the organization:[3]
- Steve Hughes, Chairman
- Hannah Nell, Treasurer
- Josh Gachnang, Secretary
- Ann DeGarmo, Head of Outreach
- Faith Khalik, Head of Fundraising
- Sam Gehler, Head of Issues and Candidacy
- Bobby Lange, Head of Media
- Fiona Cahill, Media Consultant
Endorsements
The Young Progressives have endorsed or supported the following candidates:[2][4]
- Scott Resnick, for Madison, Wisconsin's 8th District for City Alderman
- Marla Stephens, ran for Wisconsin State Supreme Court
- Tammy Baldwin, Representative of the 2nd District of Wisconsin
- Russ Feingold, former Senator of Wisconsin
- Kyle Szarzynski
- Christian Preysing-Barry
Affiliated Organizations
The Young Progressives have listed the following organizations as allies:[2][5]
Events
On Feb. 1, 2011, The Young Progressives held a "Spring 2011 Kick-Off!" at which they hosted alderman candidates Scott Resnick, Kyle Szarzynski, and Christian Preysing-Barry who spoke about local issues and their upcoming races.[4]
On March 5, 2011, The Young Progressives hosted a workshop to train people about how to maximize campus turnout. Tammy Baldwin, State Representative Kelda Helen Roys, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg and Organizing for America presented at the workshop.[4][6]
References
- ↑ The Young Progressives: About Us (accessed on March 11, 2011)
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Young Progressives: Our Allies (accessed on March 11, 2011)
- ↑ The Young Progressives: Meet the Team (accessed on March 11, 2011)
- ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Young Progressives' Google Calendar: Spring Kick-Off Meeting, Feb. 1, 2011 (accessed on March 11, 2011)
- ↑ The Young Progressives: Career Opportunities (accessed on March 11, 2011)
- ↑ Madison College Democrats: “Activism 101″ Training, March 4, 2011 (accessed on March 11, 2011)