16 November 2010
H/T Jared Law of the 9/12 Project:
97 Wellstone Action Training Graduates Won Election Last Tuesday!
November 10, 2008One week after an historic Presidential election, the results have been tabulated for more than 200 graduates of Wellstone Action training programs across the country running for office in 2008. Of these candidates, 97 Wellstone Action alumni won election last Tuesday in 24 states.
These candidates, who all participated in one of Wellstone Action’s campaign organizing and leadership development trainings, were elected to offices ranging from United States Congress to school board, and represent a wide variety of ages, backgrounds, and geographies.
“We’re starting to see a tipping point,” says Jeff Blodgett, Executive Director of Wellstone Action. “We’ve trained a critical mass of candidates and community organizers in every state in the country, and that leadership development has resulted in progressive candidates for every level of government running and winning campaigns ‘the Wellstone Way'”.
Notable victories include Camp Wellstone alum Glenn Nye, the newly-elected Congressman from Virginia’s second district, as well as Denise Juneau, the first Native American elected to statewide office in Montana who will be the new State Superintendent of Schools. Juneau participated in INDN’s List Campaign Camp in 2007 where Wellstone Action trained. Armond Budish won election to his first term in the Ohio State House in 2006 after attending Camp Wellstone. He was re-elected last Tuesday, along with a new Democratic majority in the Ohio House. He is expected to be named the new Speaker of the House. More information on winning candidates can be found at http://www.wellstone.org.
Wellstone Action has trained over 20,000 candidates and campaign organizers across the country since 2003. Camp Wellstone, the flagship program of Wellstone Action, is a 3-day nonpartisan political skills training for candidates, campaign workers and citizen activists.
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Check out the group’s Board of Directors and Advisory Committee. And, on their website, under “Our Mission & Goals“:
Wellstone Action and Wellstone Action Fund combine to form a national center for training and leadership development for the progressive movement. Founded in January 2003, Wellstone Action’s mission is to honor the legacy of Paul and Sheila Wellstone by continuing their work through training, educating, mobilizing and organizing a vast network of progressive individuals and organizations.
The Wellstone Action Fund is the 501c(3) sister organization of Wellstone Action.
The Wellstone Action Fund is committed to continuing the work of Paul and Sheila Wellstone by training and empowering underrepresented communities to engage in civic life. The Wellstone Action Fund supports the strictly educational and charitable work of Wellstone Action, including all activities of the Sheila Wellstone Institute, Movement Building Project, Campus Camp Wellstone, and activities that provide education and information about the life and work of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, including the archiving of speeches and writings. Contributions to the Wellstone Action Fund are tax deductible.
Also on the Wellstone website, Can Recycling Save the Progressive Movement?
