TakeAction Minnesota Announces 2008 Progressive Leadership Awards

Transit Partners Coalition and the Progressive Movement of Rochester to be honored at Annual TakeAction Minnesota Leadership Awards Dinner on Dec.6

Contact: Mary Bensman, 612-298-2392

SAINT PAUL—Leaders and organizations from throughout Minnesota will gather on December 6 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul to honor the Transit Partners Coalition and the Progressive Movement of Rochester with the 2008 Progressive Leadership Awards. Sponsored by TakeAction Minnesota, the dinner celebrates the accomplishments of these organizations as well as the collective contributions of the leaders and organizations supporting progressive ideas in Minnesota.

“These coalitions embody what movement building is all about – uniting the power of diverse constituencies to win important victories for people,” said Dan McGrath, TakeAction Minnesota’s Executive Director. “2008 is a historic year.  We expect that more than 600 of Minnesota’s most powerful leaders and organizations will join us to celebrate of the year’s victories and these two exceptional efforts.”

The Transit Partners – a diverse coalition of environmental, faith, labor and transportation groups -- came together in 2003 around the conviction that stable funding for a balanced transportation system that would serve all Minnesotans was critical to the future of the state.   This initiative led to bipartisan support for a state transportation bill that included a greater investment from the legislature in funding for transit, including tax increases.  The campaign has had several major successes including: passage in 2006 of a statewide ballot referendum that shifted a large portion of the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax to
support transit; stopping bus fare hikes that would disproportionately impact low income communities of color and other transit dependent populations; and finally in 2008, playing a pivotal role in passing a massive new transportation bill by mustering enough votes from both sides of the aisle to override the Governor Pawlenty’s veto.

The coalition is convened by Transit for Livable Communities and consists of the following organizations: Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1005, Fresh Energy, ISAIAH, League of Women Voters Minnesota, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Minnesota Public Transit Association, Minnesota Senior Federation, Sierra Club, North Star Chapter, and Transit for Livable Communities.

Lea Schuster, Executive Director of Transit for Livable Communities said of the award, “I know everyone involved with the Transit Partners coalition is deeply honored to be recognized by TakeAction Minnesota.  We won a major victory for those who want more transportation choices in this state. Behind the victory, however, lies a powerful story about how grassroots advocacy and partnerships can make real change in Minnesota.  We know TakeAction members understand the hard work and partnership building it took to make this victory happen.”

The Progressive Movement of Rochester, Minn. –In the last six years, politics in Rochester has been undergoing a sea change. After more than 30 years of Republican dominance, in 2004 Rochester elected State Representatives Tina Liebling and Andy Welti. They expanded the Democratic delegation in 2006 with the election of State Representative Kim Norton, State Senator Ann Lynch and, in a surprise win, Congressman Tim Walz.  Expanded margins of victory in 2008 races proved these elections were not a fluke.

These successes are the most visible result of years of organizing work. The city has a longstanding, committed and politically engaged community of peace activists, progressive leadership in the Somali community, a solid history of environmental wins, sustainable development advocates in Livable Rochester, and recent state leadership on a county-based purchasing health care reform initiative. Many individuals and organizations deserve credit for these remarkable achievements, including AFL-CIO Southwest Area Labor Council, AFSCME Council 5, Coalition for Economic Opportunity, ECCO: Earth Community Coalition of Olmstead County, Livable Rochester, Olmsted County Based Purchasing Effort, Olmstead County DFL, SEIU Healthcare MN, South East Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers and UNITE HERE Local 21. Together they have transformed a city that progressives all but deserted just a few years ago.

“Our recent wins come after years of work” said Abdifatah Abdinur, an organizer and leader Rochester’s Somali Community.  “People knocked on a lot of doors and organized a lot of meetings to get us where we are today.  That people kept pushing, even when the outcome was uncertain, says something about people’s commitment to each other.”

TakeAction Minnesota is a nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting the power of organizations and individuals behind a vision for racial, social and economic justice in Minnesota.  We are Minnesota’s only permanent, multi-issue, multi-constituency organization making change that matters by organizing at the grassroots, building dynamic and effective coalitions and winning state and local issue campaigns.  Current work includes civic engagement and elections, affordable health care for all, felon voting rights and organizing in Hmong and Native American communities.

For more information about the 2008 Progressive Leadership Awards Dinner, Contact Jessica Ward-Denison at TakeAction Minnesota – 651-641-6199.