Current Leaders – NewDEAL

Derek Slaughter

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:58 +0000

Derek Slaughter

Mayor | Williamsport, PA

Mayor Derek Slaughter was born and raised in Williamsport. He attended Williamsport Area School District and graduated from Williamsport Area High School in 1999. Mayor Slaughter earned his undergraduate degree from Penn State University in 2003 where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Information Sciences & Technology with a minor in Spanish. While at Penn State, he also spent a semester studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain. Mayor Slaughter completed his Master of Education degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2005.

Mayor Slaughter is on the steering committee for the Mayors’ Innovation Project and serves as 1st Vice President of the Pennsylvania Municipal League (PML). Mayor Slaughter was appointed by Governor Wolf to serve as a Commission member on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). Additionally, Governor Shapiro appointed Mayor Slaughter to the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC). Earlier this year, Mayor Slaughter was recognized by Governor Shapiro and received the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Service to Local Government.

Accomplishments:

• Secured millions of dollars in grant funding for numerous projects including public safety, parks and recreation, and infrastructure

• Prioritized the recertification of our levee; helped to secure $8 million in federal dollars to support this work; first work being done on our levee system in 50 years

• Made upgrades to nearly every park in the city; secured a grant to update our parks, recreation, open space and green infrastructure comprehensive plan

• Worked with developers to bring various economic development projects to the city including commercial, industrial, residential, and mixed-use developments

• Completely revamped the city’s finances and brought the city back to a solid financial standing – completed the StMP program, overhauled the city’s financial software to include new HR, payroll, and financial software, updated and streamlined systems, restructured the city’s financial office

• Nearly $100 million of development happening or about to happen in the city.

• Numerous investments in public safety – currently working to rollout a public safety hybrid response team to handle mental and behavioral health calls

• Transitioned our transit agency to an authority

• Created an in-house grants administrator position

Xay Khamsyvoravong

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:55 +0000

Xay Khamsyvoravong

City Councilmember | Newport, RI

Xaykham Rexford Khamsyvoravong, Esq., known as “Xay” (pronounced “sigh”) is an experienced civic leader and trusted expert on state and local finances. Xay has spent his career helping communities address challenges ranging from funding infrastructure to improving public education. He is currently serving as the Mayor of Newport, Rhode Island.

Attracting over 3.5 million visitors per year and serving as the home to nationally important institutions like the US Naval War College, Newport’s future depends on its ability to put residents first as it addresses major challenges facing the City. As Mayor, Xay has championed policies to improve housing, infrastructure, education, and economic development. In his first term, Xay worked to crackdown on illegal short-term rentals, adopt a modern Master Transportation Plan, provide a winter warming center for the unhoused, increase after-school programming, and restructure government with a focus on resiliency and sustainability.

Dontavius Jarrells

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:48 +0000

Dontavius Jarrells

Representative | Columbus, OH

State Representative and Assistant Minority Leader Dontavius Jarrells is serving his second term in the Ohio General Assembly, representing House District 1. Growing up in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood, Rep. Jarrells witnessed firsthand the daily struggles of minoritized communities, from the lack of affordable housing to limited access to education. As a lead poisoning survivor himself, these challenges shaped his worldview and ignited his passion for public service.

With over a decade of advocacy for communities across Ohio, Rep. Jarrells is dedicated to advancing commonsense legislation to improve the quality of life for all Ohioans. During his tenure, he has secured $150 million for lead prevention programs, passed legislation ensuring no-cost lead abatement in water lines for consumers, eliminated discriminatory covenants in deed transfers, removed derogatory language from state code, designated January 11th as Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and brought back millions in funding for House District 1 and Franklin County.

Rep. Jarrells is committed to building the Ohio we all deserve.

Emma Kerr-Carpenter

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:46 +0000

Emma Kerr-Carpenter

Senator | Billings, MT

Emma Kerr-Carpenter lives in the heart of Billings. During the past three legislative sessions she fought to fund public safety in Billings, defend healthcare for all Montanans, protect the environment, and strengthen public education. She has spent her career working with youth and their families to overcome poverty, trauma, and crisis. Lately, she spends her days trying to keep up with her two year old son.

Emma and her husband, Dan, just welcomed their first son and are raising him in Billings. She wants the Montana he grows up in to reflect the values that make this place home—neighbors helping neighbors.

When she is not working, Emma can be found hiking, knitting, or in her kitchen crafting (and eating) delicious food.

Lindsey Daugherty

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:45 +0000

Lindsey Daugherty

Representative | Arvada, CO

Since being elected to the State House in 2020, I’ve worked tirelessly to pass legislation that improves the lives of all Coloradans. I’ve sponsored dozens of bills focused on crucial issues like protecting Colorado’s youth, improving public safety, supporting local businesses, making quality healthcare more transparent and affordable, enhancing workers’ rights, and making our justice system more equitable. Some of my most notable accomplishments include establishing the Foster Youth in Transition Program (HB21-1094) to support youth who age out of the foster care system, and the Bill of Rights for Foster Youth (HB24-1017) which ensures Colorado’s foster youths are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve by addressing critical areas like protection from discrimination, access to education and healthcare, preparation for adulthood, and a written notification of their rights.

I’m also proud to have voted for transformative legislation like the Reproductive Health Equity Act (HB22-1279), which codified the right to abortion in Colorado law, and HB21-1299, which established the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to coordinate efforts and promote effective strategies to reduce gun violence throughout the state.

Jena Griswold

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:41 +0000

Jena Griswold

Secretary of State | Colorado

Jena Marie Griswold is Colorado’s 39th Secretary of State. She was first elected in 2018 as the youngest elected Secretary of State in the United States. She was reelected to the office in 2022. Secretary Griswold grew up in a working-class family in rural Colorado and was the first person in her family to attend a four-year college and then law school. Since taking office, Secretary Griswold has overseen 10 statewide elections, protected Coloradans Constitutional right to vote and supported the State’s business community by cutting red tape and the cost of starting a business.

During her time in office, Secretary Griswold has launched statewide systems so that every Colorado voter can track their ballot and fix signature or ID discrepancies with ease; increased mail ballot drop boxes statewide; passed automatic voter registration reform, which has registered hundreds of thousands of eligible Coloradans to vote; established a unit within the Secretary of State’s office focused specifically on protecting Colorado’s elections from cyber-attacks, foreign interference, and disinformation campaigns; and guaranteed drop boxes and voting centers on college campuses and Tribal lands to make it easy for all eligible Coloradans to cast a ballot.

John Bucy

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:37 +0000

John Bucy

Representative | Austin, TX

John Bucy III is a native Texan and small business owner proudly representing House District 136 in the Texas Legislature. He is a staunch fighter for strong public schools, access to healthcare, good jobs, equality for all, and the freedom to vote. The former chair of the Williamson County Democratic Party, John believes in the power of grassroots organizing to affect change.

John has passed legislation supporting economic development, tourism, and creating jobs in local communities. He also supported measures to attract businesses to Texas and increase advanced manufacturing, semiconductor production, and electronics. John continues to seek solutions to increase housing, transit, and economic opportunity in Williamson County and all across Texas.

Rachael Heisler

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:24 +0000

Rachael Heisler

City Controller | Pittsburgh, PA

Rachael Heisler was elected Controller for the City of Pittsburgh in 2023; she is the first woman and youngest person to serve in this city-wide position. From 2021 through 2023, she served as Deputy Controller under then-Controller Michael Lamb. An expert in sustainable public finance, she spent seven years as a senior advisor at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the country’s leading federal fiscal watchdog group, running the organization’s external affairs efforts. She served on the staff of Congressman Jason Altmire for six years, and she worked on the inaugural campaign of U.S. Senator Bob Casey.

Controller Heisler is on the board of the Northside Food Pantry Advisors, the Allegheny YMCA, Cafe Momentum PGH, and Pittsburgh’s Jewish Family and Community Services. She serves as a Pennsylvania representative with the United States Navy’s Community Ambassador Program, is a 2022-23 Wechsler Fellow with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, and the chair of the City of Pittsburgh’s 22nd Ward Democratic Committee.

She lives in Pittsburgh’s Central Northside neighborhood. Heisler has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree from Penn State University.

Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:23 +0000

Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

City Councilmember | Santa Cruz, CA

Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson is committed to community well-being and works towards this in her professional, elected and volunteer roles. Shebreh was first elected to Santa Cruz City Council in November of 2020 and reelected for a four year term in March of 2024. Shebreh’s has focused her city council work on youth well-being, addressing the challenges around homelessness, increasing affordable and workforce housing, enhancing economic vitality, environmental stewardship, climate response, and improved transportation systems. As a pro-growth leader, Shebreh has worked on housing development in the community. Shebreh formed a council sub-committee dedicated to actively revising our local Housing Element to include forward thinking policies that promote all levels of housing. One of the key initiatives Shebreh championed includes the introduction of ministerial approval for housing projects, particularly those designated as 100% affordable. In her nearly four years of service on the City Council, Shebreh takes pride in my unwavering support for housing projects, consistently voting ‘yes’ on all proposals to advance our community’s housing needs. Shebreh’s philosophy on housing is that to uphold our community’s core values of equity, diversity, and well-being, we must embrace housing diversity at all affordability levels and types.

Shebreh has also focused on a vibrant and safe downtown. She has focused on policies and initiatives such as permanent outdoor dining, downtown ambassadors’ program, activation of alley-ways, and ensuring a vibrant and clean downtown for both locals and visitors. Shebreh has supported filling empty storefronts with high-opportunity industries and implementing administrative streamlining for first-time business owners. Currently, Shebreh is leading a policy effort to address negligent property owners that negatively impact safety and experience of community members and visitors.

Shebreh is also commitment to environmental sustainability. When coastal erosion occurred during the 2023 California storms, Shebreh worked with the city teams to restore coastal safety and develop a long-term coastal resiliency plan. Shebreh also serves on the public transportation board, the Metro, and served as Board chair in 2023. Shebreh has also been focusing improved bike safety including safe routes to schools.

Shebreh has demonstrated her commitment to the community and the community has responded with the relreection to her second term by attaining over 70% of the votes.

Shebreh received her B.A. in Psychology and French/Francophonie Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and a Masters in Social Work from San Jose State University. She is a mother of two boys, is married and lives in Santa Cruz California. Shebreh is a native of Iran and has lived in Santa Cruz, CA for over 20 years.

Mike Doenges

Rachel Walsh — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:22 +0000

Mike Doenges

Mayor | Rutland, VT

A graduate of Rutland High School, Mike has lived and worked in this community for most of his life. After a stint in Ohio for work in 2016, his family moved back to Vermont.

They chose to live in the city of Rutland, Mike’s hometown.

He chose to get involved in my community.

He had a plan. Pursue big ideas, find creative solutions, and seek out efficiencies; these are all skills he uses every day. He has spent most of my life troubleshooting challenges. He looks at the symptom of a problem, find the root cause, and work to resolve the issue at its core.