A conversation with Ivan Pardo, the founder of Solidarity Tech, on how a platform built for "deep organizing" of workers building unions is being used to take power in New York City.
Really excellent newsletter, Micah (shared with a number of people). Also, found your question towards the end relating to the 2008 Organizing effort for Obama effort a great one, since that whole episode still makes me angry as it was such a waste of voter enthusiasm. Doesn't sound like Mamdani will make that same mistake - TBD.
This is fascinating, Micah; I am hopeful that the organizing (and tech) behind Mamdani's campaign does in fact build on the Obama '08 campaign model and doesn't let it languish..two steps forward, one step back and all that. What HAS held strong since 2007 is the community of Obama volunteers and alums...people hunger for community and purpose and the success of the Mamdani campaign in speaking to those with volunteer staging locations etc makes me hopeful that we have the tools we need to triumph over Trumpism.
Super interesting Micah! Lots to learn from in terms of organising and campaigns in the UK. Do you know why / if the focus was on SMS texting over WhatsApp DMs? The former is barely used in the UK, particularly by young people - almost always the latter. Did they have to adapt it for Catherine Connolly's campaign too?
NYC's candidates matching funds programs predates the founding of the state Working Families Party chapter by a decade. Avi Lewis' grandfather was one of the founders of the NDP & his dad once headed the Ontario NDP: They, not the Liberals, are Canada's actual progressive party. Props to all of the stats rattled off! Will retiring Rep Nadler's congressional district, which went profoundly Cuomo in the primary, both do that again & then elect a Republican as his successor? That'd signal the "death" of "Manhattan's Park Slope."
It's true that the matching funds program was started in 1988, a decade before the WFP existed. But it was only a 1-1 match up to $1000 until 1998, when the fledgling WFP extracted a promise from city council speaker Peter Vallone (who it cross endorsed in his failed bid for governor) -- in exchange for its support, he agreed to up the match to 4-1 for donations up to $250, starting the process that made the system genuinely more supportive of small-donor backed candidates rather than just subsidizing the donations of rich people. As for your comment about Nadler's district, I'm afraid I don't follow what you are saying.
Cuomo was the winner in Nadler’s ostensibly liberal congressional district in both the primary & the election. The signatories to the 1000+ rabbis letter urging a vote for the former governor included progressives on both sides of the park. The UES & increasingly the UWS - especially the area around Lincoln Center which holds the lion’s share of new construction from the past 3 decades are prime national trolling grounds for Republican campaigns nationally. If standing unquestioningly with Israel is the CD’s third rail, what does this mean for any successor to J Street endorsed Nadler?
I'm old enough to remember Obamas team spouting numbers about contacts etc that could never ever be independently checked or verified 😎
Really excellent newsletter, Micah (shared with a number of people). Also, found your question towards the end relating to the 2008 Organizing effort for Obama effort a great one, since that whole episode still makes me angry as it was such a waste of voter enthusiasm. Doesn't sound like Mamdani will make that same mistake - TBD.
So insightful and what a good result.
This is fascinating, Micah; I am hopeful that the organizing (and tech) behind Mamdani's campaign does in fact build on the Obama '08 campaign model and doesn't let it languish..two steps forward, one step back and all that. What HAS held strong since 2007 is the community of Obama volunteers and alums...people hunger for community and purpose and the success of the Mamdani campaign in speaking to those with volunteer staging locations etc makes me hopeful that we have the tools we need to triumph over Trumpism.
Super interesting Micah! Lots to learn from in terms of organising and campaigns in the UK. Do you know why / if the focus was on SMS texting over WhatsApp DMs? The former is barely used in the UK, particularly by young people - almost always the latter. Did they have to adapt it for Catherine Connolly's campaign too?
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Solidarity Tech: The Platform Powering Zohran Mamdani's Movement https://theconnector.substack.com/p/solidarity-tech-the-platform-powering
This article covers information about the tech used in the NYC mayoral campaign.
Thanks to the Social Media and Politics podcast for pointing me to it: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ZgSQ7LbhFjKcvtS5dYaFT
NYC's candidates matching funds programs predates the founding of the state Working Families Party chapter by a decade. Avi Lewis' grandfather was one of the founders of the NDP & his dad once headed the Ontario NDP: They, not the Liberals, are Canada's actual progressive party. Props to all of the stats rattled off! Will retiring Rep Nadler's congressional district, which went profoundly Cuomo in the primary, both do that again & then elect a Republican as his successor? That'd signal the "death" of "Manhattan's Park Slope."
It's true that the matching funds program was started in 1988, a decade before the WFP existed. But it was only a 1-1 match up to $1000 until 1998, when the fledgling WFP extracted a promise from city council speaker Peter Vallone (who it cross endorsed in his failed bid for governor) -- in exchange for its support, he agreed to up the match to 4-1 for donations up to $250, starting the process that made the system genuinely more supportive of small-donor backed candidates rather than just subsidizing the donations of rich people. As for your comment about Nadler's district, I'm afraid I don't follow what you are saying.
Cuomo was the winner in Nadler’s ostensibly liberal congressional district in both the primary & the election. The signatories to the 1000+ rabbis letter urging a vote for the former governor included progressives on both sides of the park. The UES & increasingly the UWS - especially the area around Lincoln Center which holds the lion’s share of new construction from the past 3 decades are prime national trolling grounds for Republican campaigns nationally. If standing unquestioningly with Israel is the CD’s third rail, what does this mean for any successor to J Street endorsed Nadler?
I see. Don’t know the answer but obviously lots of ppl will vie for that seat!