After deploying over 2,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. under the guise of cracking down on supposed out of control crime, Trump recently widened his focus to include other democratic-led cities. Portland, Oregon and Memphis, Tennessee have been named next on his list following a rising number in protests against his administration's immigration enforcement efforts.
Read MoreToday we are profiling Lauren Myers (she/her/hers), a bisexual millennial and current School Board member up for re-election in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Lauren is a small business owner who works in behavioral health, has deep ties to her community, and decided in 2021 to give back to the public school system she was educated in by joining the school board. She is passionate about ensuring that students have all opportunities open to them, and not taken away, to help them learn and become successful with a rich, well-rounded education.
Read More2025 is the year for New Jersey elections, both at the state and local levels. In Jersey City, the second largest city in the state, its mayor announced he was stepping down to run for governor, so the office is now open. James Solomon (he/him), a millennial current city councilman, is viewed as one of the most progressive candidates in the race. The Jersey City race can be seen as a smaller parallel of the mayoral race across the Hudson River in New York City: a progressive candidate (Solomon/Zohran Mamdani) running against a former state governor who resigned in disgrace (Jim McGreevey/Andrew Cuomo) looking to make a political comeback.
James, a cancer survivor, is a professor of public policy at New Jersey City University, a public university in Jersey City, and is the father of three girls.
Read MoreWe are now entering the home stretch of the 2025 elections! There are quite a few elections going on this year, including for the Virginia House of Delegates, where Democrats hold a slim majority. Today we are profiling Jackie Glass (she/her/hers/ella) the delegate for Virginia’s 93rd district, which rests within the city of Norfolk, Virginia’s 4th largest city by population. A veteran of the US Navy, Jackie is now a DEI consultant and member of the NAACP and Black Chamber of Commerce. This millennial mom of two is passionate about public schools, housing and honest police interrogation.
Read MoreThe Minneapolis City Council races are heating up! We’ve already featured one other race for the council, and today we are featuring another election in a different ward. Anndrea Young (she/her) is a millennial mom of two who is passionate about her district. She says, “I love the smell of Broadway early in the morning when Cub Foods is baking doughnuts, but I don't really eat doughnuts.”
Read MoreToday we are profiling Alexis Mercedes Rinck (she/her), a queer Latina millennial who was elected councilwoman for Position 8 on the Seattle City Council who is running for re-election on the Democratic ticket. She won a special election last year by running to the left of the appointed councilmember. Born to two teenage gang members, Alexis’s father spent her whole childhood incarcerated and went on to face chronic homelessness and substance abuse disorder, while her mother ended up losing custody in the throes of the juvenile detention system, so Alexis was raised by her grandparents. Alexis is passionate about housing reform, fighting climate change, and protecting immigrant communities from ICE.
Read MoreIt is now three months away from the 2025 elections and more candidates are running for November races! Today we are profiling Nicole Zelen (she/her), a millennial who is passionate about transparent governance, community collaboration, sustainability, environmental preservation, and evidence-based policymaking. Nicole and her husband both ride vintage Honda motorcycles (photo below) and have two cats.
Read MoreOne of the candidates running for the Democratic nomination is Deja Foxx (she/her), a Gen Z Democratic political activist. Raised by a single mother, Deja experienced homelessness as a child and relied on free school lunches, food stamps, Section 8 housing, and Medicaid. In 2017 she confronted her Senator, Jeff Flake, about plans to remove federal funding for Planned Parenthood at a town hall, and ever since then she has been involved in politics, including founding the El Rio Community Health Center's Reproductive Health Access Project in her native Tucson, and working on Kamala Harris’ 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. For her activism, Deja is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Planned Parenthood’s Catalyst for Change Award, the Global Citizen Prize, the Gloria Steinem's Woman of Vision Award, the Muhammed Ali Humanitarian Award, and the United Nations Global Impact Award. Deja is running for Congress to fight for reproductive freedom, economic justice, and a government that actually works for young people and working-class families.
Read MoreThe 2025 election season is now in full swing and primaries are happening now! Today we are profiling Adele McClure (she/her/hers) who recently won her primary for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates. Adele is a queer millennial of Black and Filipino descent who was the first member of her family to attend college. Although a classically trained pianist, she is a My Chemical Romance superfan who loves punk, emo, and alt rock. The issues Adele is most passionate about include mental health, housing, and gun safety.
Read MoreUp the Hudson River from New York City, Hudson is the seat of Columbia County. In the past decade or so, Hudson has reinvented itself from rust belt mid-size city to a rejuvenated scene for the arts and counterculture. Claire Cousin (she/her) is a millennial mom of 3 who is running on the Working Families Party ticket for the Hudson Common Council. Before becoming a housing justice activist, Claire spent eight years dedicating herself to the Black Liberation Movement. She was recently accepted into the Baccalaureate program at nearby Bard College, a hotbed of liberal, artistic ideas. Claire cares very deeply about social justice, Community Building, Youth Empowerment and finding creative ways to center stories and narratives of people on the ground both doing the hard work of preserving community but also those continuing to live in and foster community.
Read MoreOne such individual is Ali Muldrow (she/her/hers), a millennial bisexual Black woman who just won her seat on the Board of Education in Madison, Wisconsin. Currently working at the Women’s Medical Fund, she was previously the co-Executive Director of GSAFE, an advocacy organization that creates safe schools for LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin by developing LGBTQ+ youth leaders; deepening racial, gender, trans, and social justice; and working towards a world free of oppression based on gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, and other identities. Ali began her work in education as a spoken word poetry instructor in her former high school. This poet, essayist, and doula is passionate about consent, freedom, learning, human rights, social justice, and uplifting marginalized communities.
Read MoreToday we are profiling Amy Mathieu (she/her), a gender-nonconforming queer attorney who is running to be a judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After the election of Donald Trump in November, Amy was motivated to run for this elected judgeship. As the country slides into a fascist corporatocracy, Amy wants to to join the court to become an activist judge who will help lead the anti-fascist resistance and to uniformly and consistently protect citizens from patriarchal, white supremacist and capitalist interests. She hopes to protect the civil rights of marginalized communities from discriminatory executive orders. Using this position of power, Amy will promote DEI and trans rights while our current regime seeks to erase diversity, equity, and inclusion, and trans people from American society.
Read MoreOne thing that we at Jejune are pleased to see is the number of LGBTQ+ candidates who are running this year, and we have profiled quite a few of them! This week we are highlighting Dominique Johnson (she/they), who is the incumbent representative in District 143 in the Connecticut House of Representatives. Dominique is a genderqueer millennial who has gone from humble political beginnings as a community organizer to Assistant Majority Leader. A former professor and punk rock bassist, they are a published author with work appearing in works ranging from Teen Vogue to The Nation. Dominique is passionate advocate for educational equity, the health and well-being of youth, women and LGBTQ+ people, and sustainability.
Read MoreDive into the captivating journey of The Crane Wives, a band that began in a small Michigan college town and has since become a force to be reckoned with in the music world. What started as a chance meeting between waitressing shifts at a Chinese buffet has evolved into a dynamic collaboration that blends raw emotion with musical experimentation. From exploring the complexities of adoption trauma in their single "Scars" to addressing imposter syndrome in "Bitter Medicine," The Crane Wives are unafraid to tackle deep, personal themes in their music. Discover the powerful melodies behind their latest work and learn how they are using their platform to inspire change. Read on to learn more about The Crane Wives.
Read MoreWell, primary season is officially over, and the candidates are in! This week’s candidate advanced from the Iowa primary on June 4. Aime Wichtendahl (she/her) is the first transgender elected official in the state of Iowa. She is the chair of the city council in Hiawatha, Iowa and has been on the council since 2015. Aime is also a novelist and journalist, and is a dues paying member of American Federation of Musicians local 137. She is passionate about transgender and LGBTQIA+ rights, green energy, and small businesses.
Read MoreThree months ago, we profiled a candidate running at the local level to be a city councilmember in Louisville, Kentucky (the largest city in the state). Today, we are profiling another candidate running at the local level, who is an incumbent on the city council of Lexington, Kentucky (the second-largest city in the state). Dr. Liz Sheehan (she/her), is a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky and is the first openly bisexual individual to hold elected office in the state. Having served two terms on the city council, Liz is passionate about creating policy solutions to tackle problems associated with housing and homelessness, environmental sustainability, LGBTQ rights, pedestrian and biker safety, and mental health. Liz lives in Lexington with her husband Dan and daughter Ash.
Read MoreToday we are profiling Dani Isaacsohn (he/him), a state representative in Ohio running for re-election. A proponent of what he calls “supply-side progressivism”, he advocates investing in the “supply” that brings America prosperity: education, childcare, and affordable housing. Dani, a millennial small business owner, is passionate about restructuring the American economy away from corporate power and more towards workers and consumers; he cites Federal Trade Commission chair Lina M. Khan and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as role models.
Read MoreGreta Neubauer (she/her/hers), is a millennial representative in the Wisconsin State Assembly, where she currently serves as the youngest minority leader in Wisconsin legislative history, a role she has served in since January 2022. Greta is also the first openly queer caucus leader. She is passionate about LGBTQ+ rights, addressing climate change, protecting democracy, and creating a state where everyone can thrive!
Read MoreOne such candidate is Alison Beale (she/her/hers), a millennial mom who was motivated to run because of a law passed by the Tennessee legislature and signed by the governor that went into effect on July 1, 2021, allowing citizens to openly or concealed carry handguns without a permit. This has led to a rise in mass shootings in Tennessee, including one at an elementary school in March 2023. But Alison has been a gun control advocate since before this law was passed. A former teacher, Alison taught a student who was the younger sibling of a victim of a mass shooting at a Nashville Waffle House in 2018, subsequently getting involved with a foundation named for this young man.
Read MoreI am an American woman and I have been increasingly terrified over the past two years. The loss of Roe vs Wade was the first gunshot wound, and it feels like the American women have been under rapid (AK47 level) attack since (and they are hitting a lot more than just an ear). While other countries are celebrating electing female presidents (good job Mexico!) the USA feels like we are going back to the Victorian Era.
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