Launching “goodeadvises.com”!

 

Last year, I purchased the domain name “goodeadvises.com” with the thought that I might launch a website by the end of 2020.  I was anticipating my professional transition from local government as I reached my City retirement age of 55.

I made the transition from legislator to public policy advisor almost 5 years ago – and I have found it to be a good fit as part of my evolution. It is an evolution that began, in earnest, during my last term in legislative office.

Within weeks after winning my last general election in 2011, I travelled to New York City to be the keynote speaker for a national convening on municipal responsible banking ordinances. There I shared my experiences with other legislators and policymakers related to fair lending and community reinvestment laws on the local level.  I received a National Achievement Award for that work in 2006. As a result of that New York gathering, I would become a Founding Board Member of Local Progress – a national municipal policy network that has grown from only dozens of progressive local elected officials to over a thousand strong in over 40 states. My tenure with Local Progress taught me the value of building organizational capacity to push public policy beyond just one’s individual elected office. In our initial Board meetings, I coined the phrase “legislative flash mob” which suggested that we could organize multiple cities and towns to “assemble” in legislative action on issues such as economic justice.  In fact, I moderated the first economic justice workshop at the Local Progress conference in Washington, D.C. that led to the birth of the organization in 2012.  I also served as National Chair of its Economic Justice campaign that enacted minimum wage and living wage ordinances in multiple cities and states, as well as providing crucial support for the national $15/hour minimum wage movement. The opportunity to teach economic justice strategies to other public policy makers from around the country has been extremely empowering and rewarding.

My professional evolution has brought me to this pivotal point in my life – toward advising nongovernmental organizations on public policy issues that promote economic justice. This life’s journey has encouraged me to launch www.goodeadvises.com.

We must employ our own talent and skills to achieve our vision of a just society… both individually and collectively. The journey must always endure past politics. We must vote, and then we must continue to press our own public policy priorities after the election!

I did and I will.