Kid Oakland is a blogger I admire who regularly writes about the kind of stuff we do: Local Blogging. Here’s a recent post by him that we all should read:

I’d like to make a simple point. Progressives and progressive-friendly candidates winning seats to State Legislatures is the fulcrum point to achieving the goals of the progressive movement in American politics. When progressive reformers win seats to state legislatures it advances three core political goals:

a) electing true progressives to office
b) reforming the Democratic party from within
c) holding entrenched Senators and Representatives in DC accountable in the only way that really counts, by making them scared for their political lives in their own districts
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On the American political playing field there is one slow-moving power dynamic that trumps all others: victory in State Legislatures. Control of State Legislatures is the surest way to:

a) advance policy through the legislative test tube of 50 separate States implementing solutions particular to their environmment
b) shape the make up of the U.S. House of Representatives through influence on the redistricting process
c) influence the election laws of every state and ensure fair and free elections (State legislatures are where this happens.)
d) and, ultimately, exert influence on the United States Constitution itself through the Amendment process (no small concern given the current make up of the Supreme Court)
In immediate pragmatic terms, there is one concern that trumps the above: the surest way to jump start the reform process within the Democratic party is to elect progressive reform-minded candidates to State Legislative seats that overlap with current Democratic Representatives. In 2007 and 2008 we need to elect as many progressives as possible to state districts that share some of the same voters as our less reform-minded U.S. Congresspeople. We need to understand the power of “the overlap”.

Not only do we get all that done, but the State Leg can serve as a “training pool” for later congressmen. Jon Tester was the President of the Montana State Senate before becoming defeating corrupt Republican Conrad Burns. Closer to home, we have Randy Kuhl, who took over for Amo Houghton after over 20 years in the State Leg. And there are countless other examples.

The 2007/08 election cycle will be about a great many things. Presidential politics will, as always, occupy much of the media’s attention.

Activist grassroots progressives focused on taking our country back should not forget the real engine for lasting political reform [in] the United States federal system of government: the power of State Legislatures. Reform movements that elect their people to state legislative office set in motion cascading after-effects that keep winning long after the media tents on election day have packed up and disappeared.
If we are serious about creating a lasting legacy of progressive policy in this nation and forging a true “New Day” in terms of legislation passed and reforms won, progressives need to relentlessly focus on State Legislatures. These local bodies are truly the fulcrum point of political power in the American system of government. When we elect our people locally, we win and keep winning for decades.

It’s that simple.

Go read the whole thing.

Now, his point applies quite well to New York State, and I’ll tell you why.

We have a bicameral legislature here, and each party controls a different house. The Democrats own the Assembly (lower house). While many of them are admirable people, working for good causes, others, most notably the Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, care only about keeping their jobs and not disturbing the status quo.

The Senate, on the other hand, is lead by Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R). Joe Bruno is under FBI Investigation. Joe Bruno has been bought, heart and soul, by big money interests and their lobbyists. Joe Bruno is, in short, a very corrupt man.

Beyond that, our State Legislature is officially the most dysfunctional in the nation.

Back in the bad old days, any important legislation was settled by the Three Men in a Room, Bruno, Silver, and Pataki. Our man Spitzer is trying to move away from that, but he’s shown a willingness to backslide.

So what we have to do is identify meaningful progressive candidates for the State Leg, and promote them and help them out. I don’t know much about David Koon, but he seems to be a good man on our side. Apparently, he’s challenging the popular Jim Alesi for State Senate next year. I’m sure there are other, equally progressive candidates out there that I don’t know about. Our job is to find them.

Once we identify our candidates, then we can tap into the State-wide Left-Wing Conspiracy (Not that either the Conspiracy or Koon is left-wing as much as sane. Conservatives / Moderates can be progressives too. It was a joke, ok?) As you can tell, The Albany Project is a good place to get news and resources, and I’m confident that the good folks there will be eager to help out. Meanwhile, we have local good-government groups like MetroJustice to help out as well. While Eric Massa has his own campaign to run, he’s been active in getting local candidates elected, and I’m confident he’d lend us what help he can as well. There’s this great infrastructure in place, ready for a bold candidate to energize it and put it to work.

Maybe you disagree. Maybe you think we should focus more on town board elections, or on the monstrosity in the County Government. I say, why not also think big? The citizens of Rochester have a duty to send their best and brightest to Albany.

Related posts:

1. Running for NY State Assembly or Senate?
2. Progressive Wins at the State Level across the US
3. You Have the Power
4. Power Grab in Albany - Solid D&C Editorial
5. What a progressive state lej could do for you