Community organizing + advocacy in “red” states
Community organizing + advocacy in “red” states
A longtime Missouri organizer on effective strategy + storytelling
Welcome to Campaigner, a weekly newsletter exploring the tactics that drive winning political campaigns and highlighting the players pushing the buttons. Produced by Arena & FWIW Media.
In states across the country, issues and rights that so many of us care about are under attack by right-wing politicians and state legislatures. How are progressives fighting back in some of these ruby red states? How can campaigners notch policy wins in difficult environments? For this week’s Q&A, we spoke with Crystal Brigman Mahaney, a longtime progressive communicator and organizer in Missouri to break it down.
Q&A with Crystal Brigman Mahaney on organizing + advocacy in “red” states
Campaigner: How’d you get your start in politics?
Crystal Brigman Mahaney: I’m a lifelong Missourian. I grew up in Aurora, Missouri, a rural town that is the home of the Houn’ Dawgs and not necessarily known for progressive politics. I was active in speech & debate, but I didn't really know anything about party politics. I only knew what I cared about and made every writing assignment about destigmatizing abortion or learning about police brutality across the country. Once in college, l volunteered with local organizers and coalitions including Planned Parenthood, PROMO, and the Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition. That’s when I realized there was so much more possible, not just for me but for every part of my city, state, and country.
My very first knock on a stranger’s door was to register voters and talk about raising Missouri’s minimum wage in 2006. I was nervous, I knocked on the door, practiced my script in my head, and luckily the voter opened his door. I did the whole, “Hey, I'm Crystal, and I’m out here” thing, and he immediately turned and walked away. After a quick minute, I realized that the guy was naked. (laughs) After that, I shook it off and walked to the next porch. I knew that talking to my neighbors and folks from all over was something I could do. Now I've been getting paid to do this sort of thing for 15 years.
Campaigner: You’ve had a long career working at several different organizations and campaigns on statewide issues. That experience is really relevant now with all these garbage bills - anti-abortion and anti-trans bills in Texas, “Don’t Say Gay” in Florida and elsewhere - now spreading across the country. What’s kept you going in this work?
Crystal Brigman Mahaney: I think what really has kept me in the work has been building deep relationships and hearing people's stories. There have been a number of individuals who are now in the movement, either as staff or volunteers, whom I carry their healthcare stories with me. From the big fights for health care reform back in 2008 and regularly visiting Senator Roy Blunt's district office, to being a part of expanding and defending Medicaid expansion in Missouri - everything comes back to knowing the strength of our stories and organizing together in solidarity. Revisiting those fundamentals of organizing and bringing our own stories to this work can be very powerful.
Campaigner: What do you think has been one of the most formative campaigns that you’ve worked on in Missouri?
Crystal Brigman Mahaney: In 2014 in Springfield, MO, our city council passed a non-discrimination ordinance that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It then got put on the election ballot to get repealed. We ultimately lost and it really sucked. But throughout that campaign, it was the first time that I had seen a sort of electoral campaign try “deep canvassing” or transformative conversations and focus on actually talking to people. We would talk about our core values, sharing your story, and simultaneously built a community of volunteers to debrief that. Prior to that campaign, I had been used to campaigns being always GOTV focused, hitting doors and just reminding people to vote.
The other big campaign that I’m proud of has been Medicaid expansion. I started my career before the ACA and I learned all about preexisting conditions. We've heard so many stories of those who have lost their lives because our politicians didn't even want to have the debate to expand Medicaid. Being able to have so many coalition partners throughout the campaign, being able to eventually put this on the ballot in 2020, and ultimately passing it was incredible.
Campaigner: What do you think contributed to that victory in particular? Was it effective storytelling? Unconventional partners or allies? That’s a pretty big win for a bright red state in 2020.
Crystal Brigman Mahaney: It’s the deep relationships and stories that I credit to the fact that Medicaid expansion passed - being able to talk with people and hear and share their stories and being very deliberate. We would connect impacted folks with a reporter for X story, and then once they had a good experience, they'd feel great, maybe their friends saw it in the news, and they’d want to do more. Especially during the electoral campaign, we had longtime leaders in Missouri who were on the campaign, in addition to a broad coalition of groups.
To be able to build a coalition with groups like the Chamber of Commerce, the Hospital Association, the grassroots groups and NAACP, League of Women Voters, and so many others allowed us to stick with our core values and messages, but to also understand who needs to be the person having the conversation with undecided voters. We had to assess who actually had the relationships and were able to continually engage people.
Campaigner: A lot of attention from the East and West Coasts is being focused on the rest of the country right now, due to all of these terrible bills being passed from Florida to South Dakota. What should DC-based and other national groups do more of to support the work that's happening in places like Missouri?
Crystal Brigman Mahaney: Invest in Missouri, in the South, and in the Midwest. Invest in people, in organizations that are doing work year-round, no matter what. 501c3, 501c4, electoral – it should be “yes, and” not “either-or”. Investing in all of those can eventually lead to great electoral wins (like Medicaid expansion).
Invest for the long term. Just like we hate when the Koch brothers, et cetera, do astroturf campaigns and fake all the moral outrage, we know we've got the actual organized people on our side. We just need a little more organized money.
Campaigner: What’s one thing you think Democrats or progressives need to do to more effectively reach voters ahead of the midterm elections?
Crystal Brigman Mahaney: Year-round voter engagement. Just like in communications and P.R. you don't want to cold call a reporter who's never heard from you and be like, “Hey, will you quote me?”, we want to move away from cold voter outreach. We shouldn’t have only leaders who aren't from the community knocking on a door, just getting the numbers and moving on. Instead, organizers should actually lean into these conversations.
It’s not a new thing. We all know the fundamentals of organizing, but going back to focus on neighborhood involvement and having neighborhood teams and things like that is critical. In Missouri, we’ve really seen whenever we're canvassing the same neighborhoods and there are some of the same leaders, voters remember us. They’re more likely to listen to us. And then we can continue the conversation in a few more weeks when we do our next round of outreach.
Arena Highlights:
Fired up to fight back against the attacks on reproductive rights? Register for the Austin Arena Summit to gather with hundreds of other activists, rising leaders, and passionate politicos to strategize how to strengthen our democracy and protect our rights. Tickets are first come first serve, register by June 1 or before tickets sell out>>.
Crystal talks about the power of storytelling in organizing. One of the most effective ways to learn someone’s story is during a one-on-one. Check out the Arena Toolbox Guide to Effective One-on-Ones to level up your skills>>.