Only one month after raising municipal wages for the second year in a row in San Antonio, COPS / Metro is now fighting to leverage necessary funding for school improvements...$450 Million, to be precise. Elaine Ayala of the San Antonio Express-News reported that two weekends before Election Day, dozens of COPS / Metro leaders block walked -- asking voters to scroll to the end of the ballot to the last two measures. Leader Maria Tijerina explained that TRE funds would support after-school, summer and enrichment programs, freeing up money to help the district reach the $15 / hour wage they are fighting for.

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Well over one hundred leaders of Common Ground assembled with Vallejo City Unified School District candidates in the parish hall of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic. Leaders expressed a commitment to building constructive relationships for strong neighborhoods and schools.

After 85 Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) religious leaders called on Congressperson Brad Ashford to end indefinite detention of women and children seeking political asylum, 350 leaders of Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) assembled to challenge congressional candidates Brad Ashford (incumbent) and Don Bacon to support the OTOC agenda regarding immigration reform, the death penalty and more. Both candidates, including Ashford, committed to working to end the indefinite detention of Central American women and children.

Leaders also engaged candidates for the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) to secure commitments to work with the organization to move more quickly towards clean energy sources.

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TMO leaders held an accountability session with candidates for Sheriff Ron Hickman and Ed Gonzalez, and District Attorney candidate Kim Ogg. The candidates agreed to work with TMO to create a plan to reduce jail overcrowding, enhance deputy training, institute new bail reform measures, and oppose legislation forcing law enforcement officers to act as immigration agents.

Hundreds of Austin Interfaith leaders convened at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in East Austin to call on candidates for City Council districts 2, 4, 6, 7, and 10 to support an agenda for families.

Austin Interfaith Holds City Council Candidate Forum, Time Warner Cable

Starting with the question, "What happens to democracy if no one shows up?" leaders of Pima County Interfaith probed the long-term consequences of an increasingly common occurrence: incumbents and candidates simply turning down invitations to interact with the public.

Click below to read their Oped:

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150 leaders of Austin Interfaith gathered for an evening delegates assembly that soon transitioned into a nonpartisan accountability assembly with all primary candidates for Travis County Sheriff. Candidates were limited to timed responses to questions about the processing of undocumented immigrants and cooperation with ICE, workforce development for people before release and face-to-face visitation for prisoners. Most candidates responded yes to each of the questions.

Austin Interfaith Calls for Compassion in Sheriff's Race, Time Warner Cable

Invited as honored guests by Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, leaders of EPISO and Border Interfaith traveled to the US levee to celebrate mass with Pope Francis during his historic visit to Ciudad Juarez on the border. They were included in a "small contingency of the faithful" to greet him as he approached the river's edge from Ciudad Juarez to deliver a special blessing and prayer for the safety and security of immigrants in their search for a better life.

Before departing to the levee, leaders joined US Catholic Bishops and Cardinals for a special gathering in which they reported local action around immigration, including work around the recent increased presence of State Troopers in El Paso County.

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The night before early voting began, undecided voters from Valley Interfaith congregations held a nonpartisan accountability assembly with candidates for Cameron County judge and Commissioner positions in Precinct 1 and Precinct 4. Said Valley Interfaith leader Tina Ramirez-Tetecatl: "We selected questions through house meetings and talking about issues around the parishes."

Leaders asked candidates to respond yes or no to questions about investments in light posts, workforce development program VIDA, ambulance services into the colonias and the creation of a unified county drainage district. In order to pay for these requested expansions, Valley Interfaith asked candidates whether they would deny tax abatements to companies seeking to expand in Cameron.

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