What We Do
WORKING LOCAL Actually WORKS
Like most Americans, Represent Us, as a whole, including Represent San Diego, believes that informed and engaged citizens should be able to elect representatives who enact public policies that serve the common good. This is the bedrock ideal on which our democracy is based.
All across the country, however, our democracy is failing this ideal. We hold election after election, yet our leaders consistently fail to address the most pressing issues of our time — climate change, health care reform, human rights, income inequality, and now the COVID-19 crisis.
Why don’t our elected officials address these challenges?
The answer lies in the fact that their loyalty is not to “We the People”, but to the big-money donors and lobbyists who underwrite their campaigns to keep them in office. Add the toxic effects of gerrymandering, which undermine the integrity of our elections, and it’s no mystery why our democracy is so dysfunctional.
Our democracy needs an upgrade, but those currently in power will not make it happen.
Citizens across the country must build a movement at the local level to drive change at the national level. History has shown time and again that widespread local action can eventually create major national change.
To this end, the San Diego chapter of Represent Us has studied the landscape of our city and partnered with other like-minded organizations to pursue reforms aimed at fixing the dysfunction, and we are starting at home.
28
STATES
98
CITIES /COUNTIES
126
VICTORIES
OUR MOTTO
END CORRUPTION
In order to end corruption, we need to do three things:
(1) Fix our elections and so every American’s vote matters,
(2) Ban dark money and put power into people’s hands,
(3) Stop political bribery and enforce lobbyist rules.
We are starting local. Why?
Starting local will allow San Diego to join the tidal wave
of support for positive democracy reforms across America.
By starting local, we are creating the momentum to have
our national legislative institutions take notice that we want positive democracy reform, and we want it now!
START NOW
Ways you can Help?
- Become passionate advocates for reform. Commit to talking to at least 3 people about the problems in our electoral system and how we can implement change.
- Share our posts on social media. We’re on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, but you can share them anywhere. We also have our own Meetup group, where you can RSVP to our monthly meetings.
- Volunteer for local outreach to our members. Making local calls and sending texts helps propel us to local victories, which help move us closer to the tipping point at which change starts to happen nationally.
- Donate via smile.amazon.com. When you buy anything on Amazon using smile.amazon.com, instead of www.amazon.com, and you select “RepresentUs Education Fund” as your charity, you’ll be supporting our parent organization, Represent.Us.
- Write for us. If you’ve got something to say about an aspect of political reform, especially if it’s related to one of our ongoing campaigns, you can write a blog post for us.