My name is John Calabrese. I live in Menomonie in Dunn County, and I’m a field organizer with GROWW, and I started back in January.

And so the last project we’re going to talk about today is the newest one, it’s called All in Favor. The All in Favor campaign got moving early this summer, and we are in the process of building a strong leadership network to connect with and support people who want to serve in nonpartisan, local elected offices. So, town boards, school boards, city councils, county boards.

Myself, I am currently near the end of my fifth year serving on the Dunn County Board of Supervisors. I was appointed to fill a vacancy the first time around. On a frozen February night, in a lower-level basement conference room. No windows, fluorescent lights. There’s a Wisconsin and a U.S. flag behind a big dais on the far wall and a clock and a map of Dunn County on the side wall, and my soon-to-be colleagues kind of milling around, talking to each other, drinking terrible coffee out of little Styrofoam cups. And like it was yesterday, I remember I pledged an oath to the Constitution that night. And the chairman said, “All in Favor of this appointment, signify by saying, aye.”

And that’s how it started.

I learned so much in my service. I’ve built so many relationships. I’m dedicated to the work, as are so many others like me. But something is missing, and it’s power. 

Yes, important work is being done at the local level. Connection and education is happening among elected leaders. Vital services are being provided, management of finances, maintenance of the way things are. 

It’s all happening daily in local government, behind the scenes of our busy lives. But the power is not there. Local governments are not powerful and we local elected leaders are not behaving powerfully.

The All in Favor campaign intends to change that.