Sage Leaders' Quarterly: September 2023
Sage Leaders is excited to share that 8 of our 13 endorsed candidates with primaries made it to the general election!
Many of them were first in their respective races and carved victories out of crowded fields. We would like to give a special congratulations to the following candidates for moving onto this year’s general election:
Angie Neuvacamina, Redmond City Council
Osman Salahuddin, Redmond City Council
Jorge Baron, King County Council
Teresa Mosqueda, King County Council
Tammy Morales, Seattle City Council
Jamika Scott, Tacoma City Council
Han Tran, North Shore School Director
Stephanie Tidholm, Highline School Director
What we’re excited about: Across the state, women and BIPOC candidates are winning! If trends hold, we’re optimistic that we could see a number of ‘firsts’ in November’s general election – this is historic for an odd year local election. On odd years, turnout usually results in a swing to the right. Instead, young women and femmes of all ages are in close races statewide. Most races this year were also contested, another unexpected element, with over 3,000 candidates having filed to run in local races. People are stepping into their power and Sage Leaders is here for it!
Who we’re holding close: Our BIPOC Candidate Cohort, which consists of Sage Leaders’ endorsed candidates as well as candidates vetted by other partner organizations, also had a very positive primary night after persevering through systemic barriers of viability and outright racism. We are holding space for those that also put themselves out there and ran but did not make it through. Running for office is both deeply personal and very public. To those that ran and didn’t make it: we see you, we appreciate you and we will be there to support if you decide to run again.
From now until November it will be full steam ahead as candidates work to capture a much larger vote share in anticipation of higher voter turnout in the general election. Campaigns will also be looking for volunteers. We encourage you to be a part of the change by following our endorsed candidates on social media, signing up for their email lists and volunteering if you’re in one of their districts! Check out our full slate of 15 endorsed candidates here.
Program Update
2023-2024 Community Leadership Institute Opening Ceremonies: RSVP Today!
The Community Leadership Institute (CLI) is a fellowship rooted in a values-based curriculum focused on racial and social justice. Launched in 2015, the six-month fellowship trains emerging leaders in issues such as housing, land use, transit, climate, and economic development. Graduates learn the nuts and bolts of local government processes, such as municipal budgeting, parliamentary procedures, and lawmaking, as well as advocacy, storytelling, and communication skills. After graduation, the fellows apply for and are placed on strategic boards, commissions, and task forces at the city and county level. Since its launch, we have had an 80% success rate on placing fellows on municipal boards and commissions.
This year, we’re excited to be launching two cohorts – fifteen new fellows from King/Pierce Counties and thirteen new fellows in Clark County! Come by, get to know the incoming fellows and learn more about Sage’s leadership development work.
King and Pierce Counties Cohort
Date: Saturday, Sept 30th
Time: 10:30am – 1:00pm
Venue: Seattle City Hall, 600 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
RSVP for the King/Pierce County Opening Ceremony here
Clark County Cohort
Date: Saturday, Sept 23rd
Time: 10:30am – 1:00pm
Venue: Vancouver Community Library, Columbia Room, 901 C Street, Vancouver, WA
Join our team
Local Elected Leadership Program Manager
Sage Leaders seeks an experienced Local Elected Leadership Program Manager to lead its political program that works to support progressive civic leaders of color. This position is ideal for someone experienced in supporting BIPOC, queer, and low-income elected officials. Ideal candidates will have deep experience fostering relationships between community members and elected officials. Learn more and apply today!