2007 State Legislative Season Shows States Leading a New Era of Progressive Reform

June 14, 2007, 9:00am – 11:00am

About This Event

State legislators made major progressive gains during the 2007 sessions in areas ranging from health care to the environment to gay and lesbian rights. Maryland passed the nation's first ever statewide living wage law, and Washington state passed legislation expanding health care for up to 38,000 children. In May, Washington state became only the second state to offer paid family leave and now legislators in New Jersey are pushing for the benefit. And Iowa passed legislation calling for the state to have renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel meet 25 percent of in-state fuel needs by 2020.

The Progressive States Network and the Center for American Progress Action Fund are hosting a panel to showcase these and other successes. The panelists will discuss the gains progressives made in statehouses in 2007, with a focus on working families, health care, and the environment. State legislators from Iowa, Maryland, and Washington will discuss the progress they spearheaded in their states in global warming, paid family leave, children’s health care, and creating a living wage, as well as the strategies they are using to build the groundwork for a new era of progressive reform.

As progress in Washington, D.C. is stymied by partisan conflict and special interests, the states are serving as a testing ground for national policies and are reaffirming a vision of politics as the art of the possible. Please be sure to join us and our guest speakers on June 14.

Introductory Remarks by:
Winnie Stachelberg, Senior Vice President for External Affairs at the Center for American Progress Action Fund

Speakers Include:
State Senator Joe Bolkcom (Iowa-39)
State Senator Karen Keiser (Washington-33)
State Delegate Heather Mizeur (Maryland-20)
Joel Barkin, Executive Director of the Progressive States Network
Diallo Brooks, Director of Legislator Relations, Center for Policy Alternatives

Location

Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Biographies

Joe Bolkcom is currently serving his third term in the Iowa Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in 1998, and previously served for six years (1993-1998) on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. Bolkcom was elected a Senate Assistant Majority Leader for the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions. Before becoming a County Supervisor, he worked for three years at the county public health department, helping to address the county’s leading health issues including youth access to tobacco products and environmental health concerns. Prior to that and for nearly a decade, he helped found and direct two senior citizen advocacy organizations fighting for lower health care costs for seniors in Iowa and Illinois. Bolkcom has also been active in state and local environmental protection efforts. He graduated from Saint Ambrose University and earned a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the University of Iowa.

Heather Mizeur is serving her first term in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing parts of Takoma Park and Silver Spring. She recently served as a member of the Takoma Park City Council, where she was known for her pragmatic leadership and attention to constituent services. In addition to her Maryland political activity, Mizeur has served as a key staffer to Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and was the principal architect of his agenda for health care reform during the 2004 presidential campaign. She spent five years sharing her health policy expertise with nonprofit community health centers for low-income, minority, migrant, and homeless people across the country and is committed to finding creative ways to expand quality, affordable health care to all. Mizeur attended the University of Illinois and studied political science and English literature before a United States congresswoman recruited her into a career of public service.

Karen Keiser has served in the Washington State Senate for the past 10 years. She first served in the House and was appointed to the Senate in 2002, where she now serves as the Chair of the Health and Long Term Care Committee. Keiser has recently won hard-earned victories for Washington workers without affordable health insurance or paid sick leave and has often been honored for her legislative work by organizations such as the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network, Washington State Residential Care Council, Center for Women Policy Studies, and SEIU. Previously, she served as communications director of the Washington State Labor Council. Keiser has a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of California and is a former journalist. She has also done postgraduate work at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Eliot School of International Affairs.

Joel Barkin is a veteran political operative with both legislative and nonprofit experience. As Executive Director of the Progressive States Network, he works with state and national organizations on key progressive policy issues by providing guidance on strategy and message to key legislative campaigns. Under Barkin’s leadership, the Progressive States Network has become one of the key meeting spaces for progressive legislators, activists, and citizens interested in state policy. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of the Progressive States Network, he served as Communications Director and Special Advisor to now Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Barkin has worked on a number of campaigns and progressive initiatives at the state and national level. He has also worked in the Communications Department for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Diallo Brooks began working for the Center for Policy Alternatives in May 1999 as Coordinator of the Northeast Policy Leaders Forum, later becoming Director of CPA's Southeast Regional Forum. Currently, Brooks is Director of Legislator Relations and is responsible for working with state legislators, state policy organizations, and grassroots leaders to move a broad progressive agenda through leadership development, technical assistance, and building statewide, regional, and national networks. Prior to CPA, he worked as Client Services Coordinator for Millennium Communication Group, a strategic communications consulting firm working with nonprofits and foundations with a mission of social change. Brooks has done extensive community organizing both as a field organizer for the Rainbow Coalition and Citizen Education Fund as well as union organizing in the South. He has also worked as an advisory committee member and is a 2003-04 Co-Chair for Black Youth Vote, a program of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.

Winnie Stachelberg is the Senior Vice President for External Affairs at the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Her work focuses on five main areas: increasing presence and influence on Capitol Hill; expanding focus beyond the beltway; helping develop an online advocacy and engagement strategy; strengthening relationships with progressive and non-traditional allies; and aggressively marketing CAP products. Prior to joining the Center, Stachelberg spent 11 years with the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay civil rights organization and served as the Vice President of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Previously, she was HRC's political director. Stachelberg joined HRC in 1994 as senior health policy advocate. Before joining HRC, she worked at the Office of Management and Budget in both the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations. Stachelberg graduated from Georgetown University and received a Master of Public Administration from George Washington University.