- Racial Justice Campaign
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Elected 2009
Racial Justice Campaign Candidates
Jim Llanas
Elected to Maplewood City Council (Challenger)
Jim Llanas is a 41 year old software salesperson from Maplewood, MN that was elected to the Maplewood City Council, At Large. Building on our work in Maplewood in 2007, we helped elect another progressive to the council and extended our majority. Jim ran to ''put residents first'' and he's actively working to reinstate the Maplewood Human Rights Commission, which was eliminated during the conservative majority's tenure. Jim did an outstanding job bringing his message to the voters of Maplewood and Progressive Majority was excited to help him in his campaign.
Julia Ross
Elected to St. Louis Park City Council - Ward 4 (Open Seat)
Julia Ross is a 49 year old administrative assistant and AFSCME Council 5 member that was elected to the St. Louis Park City Council, Ward 4. Julia ran to bring dynamic leadership to the city council, and to ensure that all voices in the community are heard. She actively doorknocked with a message of progressive change.
Marcus Madison
Elected to Elyria City Council - Ward 5 (Open Seat)
Marcus Madison is a 22 year old first time candidate from Elyria, OH. He was elected in November to the Elyria City Council. Despite his young age, Marcus is very active in the community. He is a board member of the local American Red Cross, the membership chair of the Lorain County Young Democrats and is involved on many other community projects. Marcus wants to focus on improving quality of life, rebuilding the ward's infrastructure, youth engagement and bring new businesses to the community.
Aurea Ortiz
Elected to Bethlehem Area School Board - Region 1 (Open Seat)
Aurea Ortiz is a 47-year old counselor for at-risk youth in Bethlehem, where she runs the Alcohol and Drug Abuse youth program. Bethlehem, known worldwide for the now closed Bethlehem Steel Works, is located in the Lehigh Valley northeast of Allentown. Although part of the area has a high Democratic performance, the region is highly swing and routinely votes for whomever wins the statewide elections, and the county board has a narrow 5-4 Democratic majority. Bethlehem is an area that is becoming highly Latino/a, yet like most areas the elected officials haven't kept up with that diversity - there were no Latino/a representatives on the board. She ran for the Bethlehem Area School Board to unite all sections of the community, regardless of race, gender or religion, to come together to help all of the community achieve a quality education. She won election in one of three new district seats created as the result of a federal voting rights act lawsuit in 2008. The lawsuit produced a total of six new at-large seats and three district seats. We recruited Aurea to run for office with the assistance of several Latino organizations. The election of Aurea has established a Latino presence on board in this city with a 30% population of people of color.
Marilyn Strickland
Elected to Major of Tacoma (Open Seat)
Marilyn Strickland, whom we recruited and successfully fielded in 2007 for Tacoma City Council, was elected mayor of Tacoma. The seat was vacated by the incumbent due to term limits. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Marilyn's parents moved to Tacoma when her father was stationed at Fort Lewis a little over 40 years ago. A graduate of the University of Washington, Marilyn earned an MBA from Clark-Atlanta University and is the Interim Director of Marketing & Communications for Bates Technical College. She has worked in both public and private sectors, holding marketing positions with the American Cancer Society and Starbucks, and has an extensive list of non-profit boards she was served on. She is the first woman of color to be elected mayor of a major city in the state.
De'Sean Quinn
Elected to Tukwila City Council - Position 7 (Incumbent)
De'Sean was appointed to the non-partisan Tukwila City Council in 2008 after losing a close race for Tukwila City Council in 2007, for which Progressive Majority recruited him. A Morehouse graduate, De'Sean represents a new generation of up-and-comers in the African-American community. His entry into politics began in 2001 with the management of Richard McIver's re-election campaign to Seattle City Council. He recently served as King County Executive Ron Sim's director of council relations. As liaison between the executive and county council, De'Sean was required to have an understanding of the region's complexities as well as the ability to build consensus on critical policies. He would like to use these skills to expand transportation choices, and preserve and strengthen sidewalks, parks and public safety for the residents of Tukwila. De'Sean is the second African American council member to represent the diverse community of Tukwila (30 percent people of color).
Rob Holland
Elected to Seattle Port Commission (Open Seat)
Rob was elected to the Seattle Port Commission, position 4. As Rob's qualifications are quite extensive, a highlighted few include: industrial real estate professional, marine transportation specialist, former King County Agriculture Commissioner and has a degree in Seaport Management at the School of Marine Affairs at the University of Washington. Rob's history with the Port began with his childhood as his father worked for the Washington State Ferries for 34 years and was a member of the Inland Boatman's Union. Rob will bring his passion for the environment and his experience to help the Port become a leader in providing green jobs. Being a community leader has paid off for Rob. He received the endorsement of seven Seattle City Council members and a number of VIPs in the local Democratic Party. Rob will not only be the first African-American to serve as Seattle Port Commissioner, he will also be the first openly gay man on the commission. Rob had been on our farm team member for a number of years. We connected him with the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of environmentalists and labor.
Angelica Alvarez
Elected to Highline School Board - Position 2 (Open Seat)
Angelica Alvarez was a first-time candidate and was elected to the Highline School Board. Angelica, who has worked for Child Care Resources for 10 years, is the first Latina to serve on the Highline School Board, and her goal as a school board member is to represent all children, no matter their social or economic background and to bridge the gap between early learning and entering the public school system. Angelica is married to a local minister, and they have four children, two who have graduated from Highline High School and the other two are soon to follow. Angelica has strong progressive ties, including being a member of the California School Employees Association, and her long list of endorsements including Rep. Dave Upthegrove and Highline School Board Member Sili Savusa.
Tia Johnson
Elected to Beloit School Board (Challenger)
Tia Johnson was recruited to run for the school board by community members, parents and teachers in the Beloit School District because of her pragmatic approach to problem solving. Tia has children who attend Beloit Public schools, but also has an interesting perspective as she has served as a substitute teacher for several years. Tia is a Beloit College graduate and has lived in the district for more than 20 years. Tia faced a crowded field as she was one of six candidates vying for three seats on the Beloit School Board. Progressive Majority helped her develop a targeted voter program and help hone her message. Tia ran on a common sense platform of representing the entire district by opening up lines of communication, addressing the budget situation in a creative and fair way, and bringing the community's voice back to the educational process.
Pamela Stevens
Elected to Kenosha School Board - At Large (Incumbent)
One of our parnters on our Kenosha task force brought Pamela Stevens to our attention as an elected official with a great future. Pamela is currently serving as the President of the Kenosha School Board and has been supported in previous years by parents throughout the district and the KEA. Prior to serving on the Kenosha School Board Pamela was a very active parent and community member. She served on the PTA and was the recipient of the district's ''Parent in Education Award'' for her service to the schools. This year she faced opposition from local conservatives. She is a key ally of the KEA and parents and is currently the only person of color serving on the school board. Progressive Majority worked with her to develop a clear message, to assist with debate prep, and to develop her voter contact plan. Pamela made it safely through the February 17th primary but still had a long way to go if she is going to retain her seat and her position as Board President. We worked with Pamela in order to make sure she was reelected to keep the majority.