Working Families Won in IL-14

Last Saturday, "Businessman, Scientist, Democrat" Bill Foster won the special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by Dennis Hastert. The Illinois 14th is a very Republican suburban/exurban district where Bush took 55% in 2004. Foster narrowly beat dairy magnate Jim Oberweis, taking 52% of the vote to 47% for Oberweis.

Foster was buoyed by a strong grassroots effort by Working Families Win (an ADA project, if you didn't know) volunteers talking to voters about the candidates' positions on issues important to working people -- outsourcing, declining real income, fair trade and healthcare expenses. Dozens of volunteers from around Chicagoland made hundreds phone calls and knocked on doors in the days leading up to the election.

Donate to support Working Families Win.

Take a look at a few of the somewhat blurry photos from the canvasses in the base latino precincts in Aurora...

http://flickr.com/photos/vouchey/2320288305/
http://flickr.com/photos/vouchey/2321102006/
http://flickr.com/photos/vouchey/2320288063/

Working Families Win organizers worked in 11 heavily Republican districts in 2006 talking to voters about these issues with immediate impact on voters. A lot of those districts (including PA-4, where I did some organizing with WFW) aren't so Republican any more. By laying out the differences between the candidates in a non-partisan manner, Working Families Win moves voters to consider which candidates would best serve their communities. And when they're in office, the candidates remember the issues that helped put them there.

IL-14 is just the beginning. Right now, Working Families Win is gearing up to work in over a dozen states with 50 organizers for the 2008 elections. Many of these districts, like the Idaho 1st, do not have a lot of progressive infrastructure. In addition to talking to voters, Working Families Win helps volunteers build long-term organizing capacity in these communities.

So here are your action items, folks. If you have some organizing or campaign experience and would like to be part of Working Families Win's 2008 efforts, email your resume and references to dkusler@adaction.org. If you aren't on the job market, donate to support Working Families Win.