The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Kathy Mulady, 206-992-8787, k.mulady@peoplesaction.org

People-Led Presidential Candidates Forums Set in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada

Real people take center stage to talk about their priorities, ask questions and weigh responses from candidates for president

WASHINGTON

The 2020 presidential election is happening from the grassroots up, it will be won by people in the multi-racial working class, not by big money and wealthy corporations.

This fall, People's Action will co-host presidential forums in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada together with our member organizations in those states.

These forums aren't about the candidates - they are about the people. No stump speeches allowed.

We're inviting presidential candidates to share the stage and engage with the people who bear the brunt of unjust policies that keep them trapped in poverty and threaten our planet.

You'll hear from family farmers, first-generation immigrants, and workers being paid poverty wages about:

  • Improved Medicare for All
  • 100 % Just Green New Deal
  • Homes Guarantee
  • Free College for All

"We won't be asking candidates to empathize with our problems," said Lizeth Chacon, board president of People's Action. "We will demand they commit to bold ideas like bringing private utilities under government control, closing most jails and prisons, a national homes guarantee, Free College for All, and an Improved Medicare for All that takes profit out of the health care system."

The forum is part of a larger People's Presidential Campaign strategy around the 2020 election that puts the People's Platform first.

People's Action delegates will convene in November to decide which candidate for President we will back. With the largest community political organizations in Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire, People's Action will then quickly pivot to help our candidate win those key early voting states.

At the People's Action National Convention last month in Washington, D.C. nearly 1,000 People's Action delegates from throughout the country committed to organize 47,310 volunteers to move 2,829,105 voters to vote for candidates who will enact the People's Platform. They also committed to raise at least $6,465,210 for the campaign.

Forum schedule:

  • Iowa - Sept. 21, 2019 at the Iowa Events Center. Co-sponsored by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund, Iowa Student Action and People's Action
  • New Hampshire - Oct. 13, 2019 at the University of New Hampshire. Co-sponsored by Rights and Democracy, New Hampshire Youth Movement, and People's Action
  • Nevada - Oct. 26, 2019 in Las Vegas. Co-sponsored by Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Action Fund (PLAN) and People's Action

People's Action builds the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change through issue campaigns and elections.