Electing progressive leaders for a stronger community

State and Local Politics Blog

Posts in Future901 Updates
February 2023: Future901 Update

Future901 participated in two recent events. On February 10th we held a successful fundraiser at the home of Don Donati.  It was a combination of thanking our recurring donors and a fundraising event to start building our coffers for next year.  Attendees enjoyed hearing from Robert Donati who spoke about Future901’s successes in Shelby County over the last year and how we plan to spread our model for electing progressives to targeted areas in West Tennessee.

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Letter From Ruby Powell-Dennis: Endorsed Candidate for TN Senate District 31

I’m Ruby Powell-Dennis. I’m a mom, a former elementary school administrator, and a community organizer. I grew up in a rural community where I learned the values of hard work, helping others, and giving back. I am proud to be running to represent State Senate - District 31, which includes Arlington, Lakeland, parts of Bartlett, Collierville, Cordova, Germantown, and East Memphis near U of M up to Poplar and Highland.

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Future901 wants you to join us to celebrate five years of pushing Tennessee forward

Five years ago, I sat on Desi Franklin’s porch asking what could be done to affect progressive change in Tennessee. We were both frustrated at the direction of our city and state and felt individually powerless in changing things. We had the simple idea that no one of us could ever compete with the big-money interests that stifle change. However, a group of us pooling our time and money could be an agent of progress. By and large, I believe Desi and I were right.

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Post Election: What's Ahead for Tennessee?

I’m going to break some Future901 rules with this article. It is going to be too long. It is going to be too candid. It is going to talk about Trump. I need to do all of those things though to explain where Tennessee is politically and why it is critically important that we learn from this election and move forward. First, anyone who follows our social media or blog will notice that we almost never discuss national figures, particularly not President Trump. This is intentional. Our goal is to flip legislative seats in Tennessee.

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JB Smiley’s Vision for Memphis City Council

First, I just wanted to express my sincere appreciation for those who supported our campaign for Memphis City Council Super District 8 Position 1. Because of your support, we were able to get our message out and reach the breadth of Super District 8. There is no doubt in my mind that this directly contributed to our win on election day. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. I look forward to serving the City of Memphis well.

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Jeff Warren's Vision for City Council, District 9

I am deeply grateful to Future 901 for encouraging my candidacy and then supporting me when I chose to run.  I started the race hoping to bring a physician’s perspective to our council; i.e., listening, thinking and then making a diagnosis and plan.  I promised to be flexible and willing to change course as new facts and conditions arose.  That was the gist of my candidacy. Early in the race I heard a compelling interview with a professor from Harvard who had studied how communities can lower violent crime rates, especially murder rates.

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Dwayne Thompson: Life After Election

In November, 2016, I was unexpectedly elected as the Tennessee State Representative in District 96 (Cordova, Germantown).  This article will give some insight into some of the aspects of learning to be a legislator outside of just passing bills.  I hope it will help others to understand some of the behind the scenes things that aid in becoming a successful office holder.

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