Rachel Knox, a 26 year old African American woman from Memphis, is seeking the District 2 City Council seat in the city. Knox, a community partnership and grant coordinator for the Orpheum Theater, was introduced to politics at a young age. Her parents emphasized the importance of being civically engagement by having her view Presidential debates as early as the age of five. As she got older, she became more involved herself with local politics. She became to become a voice for employees who were being slighted at the workplace. After attending several city council meetings, she decided to run for the District 2 seat. During the first round of the election, four people including Knox were in the race. She now faces a run off with Frank Kovac, a GOP State Treasurer and business owner. The actual city council consists of 30 members in total. Even though her opponent has a heavily funded campaign and she is working with limited resources, she has been gaining steady support. Election Day will be November 19th.
Teresa Taylor, a Lummi Tribal member, is running for the Ferndale City Council in WA
Teresa Noreen Taylor, a Native American Washington State resident, is vying for the Ferndale City Council Position 4. Taylor, a member of the Lummi Nation, is a native of Ferndale. Ferndale, a city that is home to over 11,000 people, is the second fastest growing city in Washington State. “Ferndale is known as the city of opportunity.” Taylor stated. “It’s time bring a fresh perspective to the council to focus on this growth, move forward with strong partnerships for new jobs, parks, trails, and clean drinking water for a healthy community and improved transportation.” Taylor is challenging the incumbent Paul Ingram and ballots need to be in by November 3rd. If elected, Taylor will be the first Native American to serve in the position. To learn more about Teresa and her campaign, please visit http://www.votefortnt.com/.
Cyndi Munson wins special election for House District 85 in Oklahoma, flipping the seat
Cyndi Munson (D), an Asian-American woman from Lawton, Oklahoma, won a special election last night in Oklahoma’s House District 85. She defeated Republican contender Chip Carter and flipped the traditionally Republican seat. That seat was once held by the current Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin. Munson’s victory comes after the death of David Dank, the Republican she challenged in the 2014 race. She was the Community Programs Manager for the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma before running for the seat. Her win makes her the first Asian-American woman in the Oklahoma legislature.
Lucy Flores Hopes to Shine in her Upcoming Primary for Nevada’s 4th Congressional Seat
Lucy Flores
Lucy Flores, an Assemblywoman from Las Vegas is seeking a run in the upcoming Democratic Primary for Nevada’s 4th Congressional Seat. Flores, a native of North Las Vegas, comes from a low economic background. She had an early run-in with crime as a result but turned her life around after she earned her GED. Flores is now a successful attorney and advocate for her community. She has the honor of being Nevada’s first Latina of the Assembly.
Flores is a strong advocate for women’s rights more notably reproductive rights. She spoke candidly about her abortion at 16 and states that if she did not make that decision she would not be in the position that she is in now to make a difference in many young women’s lives.
Flores was also the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 2014. The date for the Democratic primary in Nevada is unknown at this time.
Opinion: Mayor Rawlings-Blake Failure and State Attorney Mosby’s Success: A Tale of Two of Baltimore’s Black Female Powerhouses
Today, Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore City’s State Attorney announced that the six police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray will be charged. In her report, his death was considered a homicide and she stated that their arrest warrants were out as of 10 a.m. Eastern time today. She is being praised all over the web and her narrative begins with her as being one tough on police brutality. This is a refreshing turn of events from a young attorney who was once shamed as being too young to even be the city’s State Attorney. She obviously proved those naysayers wrong with her confident reading of the charges and careful answers to reporters’ gruiling questions thereafter. However there is another narrative that is being written about Baltimore’s most powerful leader and it is one that is not favorable.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the Mayor of Balimore since 2010, has been under fire for her handling of the on-going crisis in the city. A former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, Rawlings-Blake became mayor after Sheila Dixon was convicted for embezzlement. Rawlings-Blake on the surface seemed to be a breath of fresh air after not only the Dixon situation but from the shenanigans and corruption that involved other past Mayors such as former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. She implemented the Vacants to Value (VCV) Intiative that would help the urban blight situation in the city and this measure won many awards and was recognized by the Obama Administration and the Clinton Foundation. However the good Mayor’s reputation would take a major hit after the Baltimore riots.
She was critized for showing up (in other words, making a statement) a few days after the chaos. She then made this statement regarding the riots: “It’s a very delicate balancing act. Because while we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well. And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to de-escalate.” This caused an uproar and when she attempted to clarify her statements, she was painted as a mayor who could not handle this crisis in her city.
She then created a city-wide curfew which to many, seemed racially enforced. Several facebook photos depicted Whites out past curfew with no issues versus Blacks being arrested for doing the exact same thing. Rawlings-Blake’s fall from grace played out over the course of a few weeks and it was a hard one.
It’ll be interesting to see what will transpire during this time of deliberation of the BPD officers fate. One thing is for certain, in the time that the first Black female U.S. Attorney General was confirmed and sworn-in, these two Black women are the face of the situation in Baltimore.
Loretta Lynch Makes History as the First Black Female U.S. Attorney General
Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s nominee to replace Eric Holder, was finally confirmed yesterday. With a 56-43 Senate vote, Lynch was confirmed and became the first Black woman to become U.S. Attorney General. Lynch waited five months before the vote for her confirmation occurred. President Obama has praised Lynch and says that the country will “be better off” with her in this position.
Loretta Lynch Vote will take place today in the Senate
Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s nomination to replace Eric Holder for the U.S. Attorney General spot, has had a long wait to be confirmed. Today will end it with a final Senate vote and put her in place to be the first Black female U.S. Attorney General. The major dissenters are Republican members of the Senate and some of them cite their issues with her being her support for the President’s Immigration Reform actions.
Cyndi Munson announces run for OK House District 85 spot in Upcoming Special Election
Cyndi Munson, the 29-year-old native from Lawton, Oklahoma is running for a House District seat in Oklahoma City. The incumbent, David Dank, passed away on April 10th. Dank defeated Munson last November for the House District 85 seat. Munson announced her run this morning for the open seat. The special election will be held in the coming months.
Rep. Tammy Duckworth will be running for the U.S. Senate in IL
Tammy Duckworth
Tammy Duckworth, veteran and double amputee who beat Joe Walsh in 2012, decided to run two weeks ago to defeat incumbent Republican Mark Kirk for his U.S. Senate seat. Duckworth is the first Asian woman to serve in Congress as well as the first disabled woman to serve. She was the first female double amputee from the Iraq war. She announced to donors that she had a “gut feeling” that she could win this seat before announcing.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city of Washington D.C. Legalize Marijuana
At midnight last Thursday, Marijuana legalization went into effect in the nation’s capitol. Under Mayor Muriel Bowser, Initiative 71 was voted on and overwhelmingly, the constituents was in favor of the measure that would legalize the use of cannabis throughout the city.
Of course everyone wasn’t happy about this occurrence. Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz and House Oversight Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Mark Meadows wrote a “stern letter” warning the Mayor and city officials against this measure. Of course Mayor Bowser is fighting back.
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