NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund endorsed 21 Moms Demand Action volunteers running for office across the country. The volunteers endorsed today represent the growing power of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers as candidates for office themselves as part of the Everytown Demand A Seat program. Today’s endorsements are the third set of volunteer endorsements this year.
“Everytown volunteers have a long track record of taking action to keep their communities safe, so it’s no surprise that more and more of them are stepping into the arena and running for office,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We’re proud to endorse these Moms Demand Action volunteers, who are already walking the walk on gun safety.”
“I am so proud to see even more Moms Demand Action volunteers putting on their own superhero capes and running for office this cycle,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director of Moms Demand Action. “These candidates join our growing vanguard of volunteers who have taken their advocacy to the next level by running for office, and we have a movement of grassroots leaders all over the country who are rolling up their sleeves to get these folks elected.”
The full list of candidates endorsed today and the office they are running for is available below:
- Colorado
- Guyleen Castriotta, Mayor of Broomfield
- Indiana:
- Kathy Parker, West Lafayette City Council, District 5
- Iowa:
- Lisa Williams, Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors
- Louisiana
- Lauren Jewett, Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, District 1
- Michigan
- Rebecca Cheezum, Royal Oak City Commissioner
- Minnesota
- Keri Johnson, St. Peter City Council, Ward 1
- Mia Olson, Bloomington School Board
- New Jersey
- Diane Scarangella, Leonia Town Council
- Mercedes Aguirre, Wayne Town Council, Ward 4
- Lucylle R.S. Walter, Mercer County Commissioner
- Heidi Wilenius, Hopewell Town Council
- New York
- Kenya Gadsden, Dutchess County Clerk
- North Carolina
- Christy Clark, Mayor of Huntersville
- Shamaiye Haynes, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, At-large
- Renuka Soll, Chapel Hill Town Council
- Ohio
- Nabila Babar, Deerfield Township Trustee
- David Grimes, Westerville City Council
- Louise Valentine, Westerville City School District Board of Education, At-large
- Lindsey Wyckoff, North Canton City School District Board of Education
- Pennsylvania
- Cynthia Wingenroth, Warwick School Board Director
- Tennessee
- Jerri Green, Memphis City Council, District 2
Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund launched “Demand a Seat,” a program to train grassroots volunteers and gun violence survivors to take the next step in their advocacy efforts by running for office and working on campaigns to elect gun sense candidates in 2021. Since 2017, hundreds of Moms Demand Action volunteer leaders have run for elected office and dozens have won seats – from town council and school board to U.S. Congress. More than 275 volunteers and gun violence survivors ran in the 2021-22 election cycle and 158 won their races. More information on Demand a Seat can be found here.