This press release summarizes the policy agenda of the We The People – PA campaign launched in 2018. The We The People policy agenda was endorsed by 120 General Assembly candidates from every corner of the state. The candidates who endorsed our policy agenda understand that higher wages and investments in education, infrastructure, and clean air and water will lift up the vast majority of Pennsylvanians.
HARRISBURG — Something different happened in state legislative elections this year. Instead of running only on local issues, over 120 General Assembly candidates from every corner of the state endorsed the nonpartisan We The People policy agenda.
In doing so, these candidates planted a flag. They told voters that they are part of a movement to change the direction of the state, to push forward common-sense policies that work for all of us, not just the wealthy and well-connected. Candidates who endorsed the We The People policy agenda understand that higher wages and investments in education, infrastructure, and clean air and water, not tax and budget cuts, will lift up the vast majority of Pennsylvanians.
And many of them, including many challengers, are going to win.
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Running against established, well-known incumbents is always difficult. The We The People agenda has given challengers a unified message that has enabled them to make their races about the direction of the state as a whole.
As news outlets shift tomorrow from covering the results of the election here in Pennsylvania to analyzing what those results mean for the upcoming legislative session, we want to be sure you have some important pieces of information about the policy agenda that numerous incumbents and newcomers will be championing.
Here are a few pieces of literature we’ve been using for the agenda:
1) A one-pager with basic info about the agenda;
2) A four-page document with more detail about the six focus areas of the agenda; and
3) A “palm card” with info about HOW we can fund public investment in the areas we identify as agenda priorities.
We have also compiled over 30 policy briefs on the most pressing issues that the state is dealing with; these materials were utilized by dozens of advocacy organizations and campaigns. These policy papers lay out exactly how candidates-turned-legislators can take the principles of the agenda and turn them into legislation.
We ran a digital campaign that reached more than a quarter of a million Pennsylvanians focused on the We The People agenda and We The People – PA Action sent mailers to critical swing districts on both sides of the state.
And, no matter how individual races turn out, We The People has already helped change the direction of the state.
Our campaign was endorsed by both the House and Senate Democratic leaders. And, perhaps even more importantly, if you look at what Republicans in contested races are saying around the state, you will see them embracing our vision of the future.
When Speaker Mike Turzai campaigns on education funding instead of tax cuts, Pennsylvania politics has turned a corner.
The majority party in both chambers of the General Assembly is not likely to change. But with a smaller majority and dozens of legislators who responded to the We The People agenda by embracing many of our ideas, the stage is set for a legislative session that moves in a new direction.
This new direction will be far more in line with the agenda that this campaign—and our polling—shows we the people want. In the coming weeks, we will be releasing a comprehensive legislative roadmap that shows how the governor and General Assembly can move the state in the new direction.