This is the second cohort of this campaign training program In July 2020, Progressive Maryland, Maryland’s oldest and largest statewide multi-issue organization, launched the first ever session of the Maryland People’s Leadership Institute (MPLI). This esteemed program recruited and trained a cohort of 17 leaders and activists hailing from several Maryland counties and the city of Baltimore.
The MPLI was created to train prospective candidates and campaign staff. Its curriculum is centered on progressive movement politics, public policy, community organizing, leadership, communication skills, and field and voter contact programs. Besides teaching valuable political skills, the MPLI also provides its participants with strategic political advice and an opportunity to forge new relationships in the organizing and advocacy space.
The MPLI seeks applicants from across the state and is particularly interested in recruiting folks who come from BIPOC and LGBTQ communities. Progressive Maryland would like to see Maryland’s universe of public officeholders better reflect the makeup of our diverse state. In that spirit, we’re also interested in ways the MPLI can serve women, front line workers, people with disabilities, and Marylanders from other underrepresented groups who would like to run for office or do more work in the electoral arena. Applications are open until Sunday, February 28, 2021, and cohort participants will be selected by late March.
The MPLI program takes place over eight weeks from mid April to mid June and will be conducted in a virtual environment. A link to the application which also includes a description, dates, and information about the program tuition can be found here. The program is supported by several of Progressive Maryland’s affiliated organizations including SEIU 1199, CASA, and the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Educators Associations. “This is a great opportunity to lay the groundwork for a successful election cycle in 2022 and in years to come. We’re excited to help build a strong bench of future progressive candidates and election campaign organizers,” said Ricarra Jones, Political Director for SEIU 1199 and Progressive Maryland Board Member.
The MPLI is distinct from some other candidate training schools because it is sustained by a permanent multi-issue grassroots organization, Progressive Maryland, as well as its many affiliates and allies. This allows for the program and its participants to be tied to ongoing organizing efforts for social, racial, economic, health and environmental justice. The program is designed to field more viable movement candidates in order to send more progressives to Annapolis, and to win more seats on local city and county councils and boards of education. The 2020 cohort included Delegate Sheila Ruth (District 44B), Aaron Seyedian, who lives in Montgomery County and is a local progressive small business owner, and Carlos Childs, a chef turned organizer, who plans to run for a Delegate seat in Charles County on a platform of racial and social justice initiatives. Other alumni include Baltimore lawyer and housing justice advocate, Gabriela Sevilla, who said of her experience, “MPLI gave me the confidence and tools I needed so that I can run a successful campaign some day.”
