Center for New Liberalism Celebrates Successful New Liberal Action Summit
Hundreds of New Liberals from around the world joined CNL for its 3rd annual summit in Washington DC.
Washington, DC – Last weekend, the Center for New Liberalism (CNL), along with its partner, New Democracy, hosted their third annual New Liberal Action Summit (NLAS) in DC. Over the three-day event, New Liberals met with White House, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and New Democrat Coalition Action Fund staff, heard from elected officials including Representatives Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Derek Kilmer (WA-09), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), and Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), and completed a day of training designed to make them more effective advocates in their communities ahead of the election.
While this year’s summit was focused on outlining the winning messages for center-left as Democrats head into the general election this November, hundreds of New Liberals from across the globe joined CNL for the summit, from as far as Estonia and Johannesburg.
NLAS DC kicked off Thursday morning with a trip to the West Wing of the White House, where members of the Center for New Liberalism’s elected Steering Committee had the opportunity to meet with senior White House officials. During the meeting, members of the CNL Steering Committee discussed what President Biden should be doing to address the housing shortage and how to better message the need for housing abundance. They also heard from senior staff about what the Center for New Liberalism and its membership can do to uplift President Biden’s best policy wins through CNL’s vast digital reach.
In addition to their meeting at the White House, the CNL Steering Committee also met with senior staff for the DCCC and New Democrat Coalition Action Fund. At the DCCC, they heard about what CNL chapters across the country can do to support center-left Democrats in competitive races, and how to support some of the group’s initiatives. When meeting with the staff from the New Democrat Action Coalition Fund, the Steering Committee learned about how the New Democrats make endorsements, how CNL chapters can support New Democrat-endorsed candidates, and the work the New Democrats are doing on housing issues.
NLAS DC officially kicked off Thursday evening with an opening reception, where CNL Director Colin Mortimer gave remarks, followed by two co-hosts of the reception, Santiago Mayer from Voters of Tomorrow, and Maya Luna from Progress Libs.
On Friday, the New Liberals gathered for a full day of policy programming focused on emphasizing how the Center for New Liberalism’s pragmatic, pro-abundance, and pro-democracy message can be the winning message for center-left Democrats this November.
The morning began with brief opening remarks from Colin Mortimer and Matti Miranda, Director of New Democracy, followed by a keynote address from Representative Jake Auchincloss (MA-04).
The first panel of the day featured Sarah Elfreth, Democratic Nominee for MD-03, Isaiah Martin, a former Congressional Candidate from Houston (TX-18), and LaJoy Johnson-Law, a candidate for the DC School board. The discussion, which was moderated by Colin Mortimer, focused on what the next generation of center-left Democrats looks like.
Immediately following this panel was a panel focused on what the winning message on housing costs looks like for Democrats this November. The panel was moderated by Rick Kahlenberg from the Progressive Policy Institute and began with virtual remarks from Representative Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), and featured Colorado State Representative Manny Rutinel (CO-32), Arlington County Board Member Maureen Coffey, and California YIMBY Research Director Nolan Gray.
Throughout the day, CNL members also presented projects that resulted from the New Liberal Regional Action Grants, awarded last year. Four projects were presented including a Universal Public Calendar (a free to use tool developed to help chapter activists have effective logistics), CasaGraphica (a data archive democratizing data visualization), Legalizing ADUs (a persuasion campaign which has already resulted in a successful vote at the City Commission to legalize ADUs), and Defining Liberalism (a six part series where New Liberals dive deeper into what it means to be Liberals today). Over the next few months, the Center for New Liberalism will be rolling out these projects.
After lunch, Congresswomen Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) and Marilyn Strickland (WA-09) joined Ed Gresser from the Progressive Policy Institute, and Jeremiah Johnson, a co-founder of CNL, for an important conversation about international issues in the 2024 election and the importance of continuing to support America’s democratic allies around the world.
Following this, Virginia State Senator Barbara Favola (VA-40) and Michael Mandel from the Progressive Policy Institute participated in a dialogue about the most important issue to voters this election, the cost of living. Senator Favola discussed the work being done in Virginia to find creative solutions to problems like healthcare, childcare, and education costs.
The final panel discussion of the day was a conversation on cultural issues in the 2024 election moderated by Stu Malec from the Progressive Policy Institute, featuring Virginia State Senator Russet Perry (VA-31) and Matt Hughes, a DNC member, and Hillsborough, NC commissioner.
Programming on Friday ended with closing remarks from Jeremiah Johnson, as well as the presentation of a new Leadership Award in memory of Markose Butler, a former member of the CNL staff team who passed away earlier this year. The award was presented to CNL Steering Committee member Morgan Rinehart. Additionally, a new award for Outstanding Chapter was presented to the Seattle New Liberals for their work doing coalition building around Seattle’s disappointing public comprehensive housing and zoning plan.
On Saturday, New Liberal chapter leads and organizers gathered at CNL’s headquarters for a day of training on how to be more effective organizers in their respective communities. The day began with a fireside chat between Colin Mortimer and DC Councilmember Brooke Pinto (Ward-2) about the importance of having grassroots groups like CNL that are ready to support pragmatic center-left policies at the local level.
Throughout the day, the New Liberals created recruitment plans for the chapters, received training on how to be a more effective public speaker, and calendared out the remainder of their year in preparation for the election. They also heard from Santiago Mayer and Marianna Pecora from Voters of Tomorrow about creative strategies to reach youth voters in their communities.
This year’s New Liberal Action Summit was the biggest one yet and has energized New Liberals across the globe to take action in the communities in support of center-left candidates and policies. As November approaches, CNL’s network of chapters across the country are ready to be part of the fight to protect our democracy and push back against extremism.
About the Center for New Liberalism
The Center for New Liberalism is a digital-first grassroots organization dedicated to fighting for liberalism during the age when it is most under attack. Founded in 2017 as a hub for our grassroots movement of center-left activists from around the world, the organization has now expanded to over 50 chapters including 40+ chapters in the United States and more than a dozen chapters abroad.
About New Democracy
New Democracy is a “home base” for center-left leaders and activists dedicated to radically pragmatic change at all levels of government. It is building an infrastructure of grassroots support to help Democrats compete everywhere in America, with the ultimate goal of realigning U.S. politics around a broad and durable center-left majority.
###
Media Contact – iokeefe@newdemocracy.net