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Policy
Membership
HYATTSVILLE, MD – Hyattsville recently became the
second city in the nation to support youth civic engagement
by lowering the voting age for city elections to 16. Due in large
part to the tireless work of YEO Councilmember Patrick
Paschall, the city council held a public meeting to hear
overwhelming support for Paschall’s measure to extend voting
rights to city residents under the age of 18. Read more>>
Yours in service,
The YEO Network Team
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Membership
DENVER, CO – Colorado state Rep. Dominick Moreno
wants to give his state’s working families a raise, and is
sponsoring two bills to do it. One bill would raise the minimum
wage incrementally to $12.50 an hour by 2020, while the other
would let municipalities with a high cost of living set their
own wage minimums. Read more>>
Policy
Additionally, Dawn Huckelbridge is
now serving as the YEO Network’s
Managing Director – you can
reach her in the DC office at
[email protected].
PHILADELPHIA, PA – YEO Councilman Kenyatta
Johnson is helping secure a living wage for working families
in his city and state. Johnson voiced his support for a $15
an hour wage in Philadelphia, and is calling on the state of
Pennsylvania to strike down a law barring localities from
establishing their own minimum wage. Read more>>
TALLAHASSEE, FL – YEO Florida State Rep. Shevrin
Jones is helping to ensure that law enforcement agencies
remain accountable to the communities they serve. His
common-sense bill, the first of its kind in Florida and boasting
strong bipartisan support, would require police officers to
wear body cameras, making their interactions with citizens
more transparent. President Obama has already pledged
$263 million of federal money towards buying the cameras
and making sure police departments around the country are
trained in their use. Audio and video captured by the cameras
will be subject to privacy laws already on the books.
Read more>>
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Matthew brings editorial work
experience to the team in both print
and digital publications, as well as
an interest in graphic design and
emerging media platforms. Matthew
is a native Washingtonian and recent
graduate of the University of St
Andrews in Scotland. Matthew looks
forward to meeting our members, and
we welcome him to the network!
TALLAHASSEE, FL – State Senators Dwight Bullard and
Darren Soto are taking action to protect Floridians today
and for generations to come. Together, the pair have proposed
four pieces of legislation to defend the environment, including
measures to ban plastic grocery bags and fracking, as well as
bills to promote the sale of electric and hydrogen cars and the
use of residential solar power. Read more>>
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In our 10th year, we celebrate all that you have accomplished, and the ways you’ve
contributed to our work and our community as a network. At the same time, we look
ahead to the next decade and the next generation of youth leadership. We hope to see you
at our 10th National Convening, July 23-26 – and we hope you will stay engaged with
us throughout the year, and let us know how we can serve you and your work. Onward!
We are excited to welcome a new
staff member to the YEO Network
team – Matthew Despard joins us
as Communications and Programs
Associate in our DC office.
ST. LOUIS, MO – A candidate for St. Louis city alderman
has praised Treasurer Tishaura Jones’ college savings
initiative, which helps working families secure a brighter
future for their children through education. Starting this
autumn, kindergarteners at St. Louis public schools will be
offered a deposit-only savings plan in their own name, with
withdrawals only available to fund college or vocational school
costs. Read more>>
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This year marks a number of firsts. We held our first ever state-based convening, kicked
off with a working family policy summit in Pennsylvania this January. YEOs from across
the state and region gathered to network, meet and learn from local labor leaders, and
strategize ways to advance a working families agenda. We are also planning our first ever
collaborative project with leaders from other People For networks, bringing together
members of the YEO Network, Young People For, and our African American Ministers
Micah Leadership Council, culminating in a conference in North Carolina this fall.
We have plans to overhaul our legislative exchange, upgrade our webinars, expand our
membership and policy support protocols, plan new policy academies – and more. We
hope you will be in touch and take advantage of these resources.
Staff Transition
LONG BEACH, CA – Mayor Robert Garcia wants to turn
Long Beach green. Garcia is adamant that urban areas must
“take the lead on climate change,” and has ambitious plans for
transforming transportation, pursuing clean energy sources,
and investing in new and sustainable technologies in his city.
Read more>>
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This year marks the 10th anniversary of the YEO Network and a decade of growing
and working with you to create freedom, fairness, and opportunity for all. We welcome
the opportunity to reflect on all the pr ogress we’ve made – evolving from the original
concept of “35 under 35” to a broad network of nearly 1,000 young, progressive leaders
across the country at every level of office. We reach this milestone at a critical time: young
leaders are winning elections at an astonishing rate, reaching new heights in office, and
changing the ways of doing business in profound ways. While we still have a ways to go,
political leadership is increasingly diverse, increasingly representative of the varied life
paths, experiences, and communities that make up our country. This is also a critical time
for local leadership, as we continue to see innovative and exciting opportunities for change
at the municipal level.
YEO Network
Announcement
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Letter from the YEO Team
In the News
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Networking