The Ruwa Report

An AOC endorsement and a Special Session

We heard your feedback about being able to unsubscribe from our fundraising emails without missing out on these newsletters, so we’ve joined Substack! This space will ONLY be for our Ruwa Report where we share updates, events, and all things Georgia Politics. The spotlight of our first Substack newsletter will be our AOC endorsement (in case you haven’t heard about it) and the Special Session the Governor announced. Let’s dive in!

AOC Endorsed Our Campaign

In case you missed the social media posts, emails, texts, and everything in between, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited Georgia this weekend to meet with local organizers and hear about the impacts of Data Centers and discuss more about the data center moratorium introduced by her and Senator Sanders. I was invited to those conversations, because we introduced the first statewide data center moratorium in the country.

While here, they endorsed our campaign! We absolutely did not expect this, but we were ecstatic. This is such a validating moment for the progressive movement we are building here in Georgia and truly shows all that is possible in our state.

But I want to be clear, endorsements only go so far. Our opponent still has more money than us, but we have the people power. We need to let voters know about our campaign, and we will be canvassing everyday this week. Join us and chip in to our campaign!

Special Session

Governor Kemp has officially announced a Special Session in June. If you hadn’t been following, in the 2023-2024 biennium the Republicans passed SB189 that included a provision to sunset the QR codes on our ballots by July 1, 2026. The problem is, they failed to come up with a transition plan and this past session failed to pass a bill to either delay the deadline or come up with a realistic transition plan. This means that starting July 1, 2026, our ballots will not meet legal requirements.

The Governor was forced to call this Special Session to fix this issue and prevent chaos in the upcoming elections. The problem is he also added in redistricting as part of the work we will be doing.

I want to be clear, this special session to redraw our legislative maps is cowardly bullshit. If Republicans are more concerned about choosing their voters than letting voters hold them accountable, they should be updating their resumes because they aren’t fit to serve the people.

Georgia Republicans have failed on everything the majority of Georgians, regardless of party affiliation, have asked for from protecting them from data centers to addressing the affordability crisis. Now they’re looking out for themselves, NOT our families.

We can disagree on a lot, but independent redistricting in Georgia that takes partisan politics out of our maps isn’t one of them. Georgia can, and should, lead in protecting the soul of our Democracy.

If you’re tired of politics as usual - whether you’re conservative, liberal or anything in between, then it’s time to FIRE any and every politician who puts their personal power over your and your family’s well being. Period.

This brings us to our next section. Upcoming events!

Saturday, May 16th: In light of the news around special session, we will be hosting an emergency town hall on Saturday at 3:30PM at the Duluth Library. Join us!

Everyday until May 19th: The best way to cut through the noise and beat the money is to talk to people directly at their doors. We will be canvassing to turn out voters all around the district every day until Election Day on May 19th. Sign up to volunteer and come canvass with me!

Tuesday, May 19th: Tuesday is Primary Day! Join us Election Night as we get results back and celebrate all the hard work we put in together. Regardless of what happens, it’s important that we recognize all that we are able to accomplish.

Closing Thoughts

This moment demands experienced fights who are able to meet the challenges we are facing. The courts have failed us. We need to win back power. To do that, we must build out our organizing apparatus all around our state. As hard as this moment is, we must keep the faith. They would not be this desperate to change the rules if we are powerless. Thank you for being in this fight with us.