RandySF
RandySF's JournalA new podcast highlights Bella Abzug, the Bronx born feminist who changed politics
A new podcast aims to highlight the historic Bronx native, Battling Bella Abzug, a civil rights activist, political powerhouse and larger-than-life feminist icon.
Political Anchor for Spectrum News NY1, Errol Louis hosted a special two-part series of the “You Decide” podcast called, “Bella’s Battles” in which Louis and a chorus of New York’s political elite tell tales of a brazen go-getter who championed women, the poor, Black and Brown people and LGBTQ rights.
Louis peppered the series with audio of Abzug’s captivating speeches, like when she spoke to a group of women about the misconceptions of the feminist movement.
“I’ve been to hundreds of meetings of women, maybe thousands all over this country,” Abzug said in a recording. “I have yet to see a bra burned or a man exorcised, but I have seen the burning indignation of women in every single part of this country.”
https://www.bxtimes.com/bronx-born-bella-abzug-featured-in-new-podcast/
Democrats spy rare opening in rural America
The party is trying to replace wishful thinking with a new shoe-leather strategy in rural communities where it has long lacked a presence and is deploying unhappy farmers in media campaigns. If Democrats mean to retake Congress in the midterms or have a shot at the White House in 2028, their candidates don’t necessarily need to sweep rural counties — they just need to eat into the margins Trump was getting, which were frequently north of 80 percent of the vote.
“We have a unique opening because of all that’s happening with this administration,” said Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), whose district includes significant rural and farming interests. Farmers and rural voters “might be listening in a more unique way than they maybe have ever in the past. And we need to walk through that door.”
Democrats have previously dedicated relatively modest amounts of money, staff and advertising to rural counties and districts outside of swing states. But after a string of off-year victories last month, House Democrats have launched their first-ever rural outreach program, an eight-figure campaign that will fund efforts to hire staffers for candidates, mobilize voters and run ads focusing on the cost of living.
Even some Republicans acknowledge the GOP can’t take rural communities for granted.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/27/democrats-rural-voters-economy-trump-midterms-00700822?cid=apn
The key ballot measures to watch in 2026
Voters will head to the polls in next year’s midterms to decide on a number of critical ballot measures.
While most of the attention in 2026 will be on the fights for the House, Senate and governor’s mansions, these measures are no less significant.
From reproductive and transgender rights to agriculture, crucial policies will be determined by these initiatives.
Here are some of the key ballot measures to watch next year:
- Abortion (MO, NV, VA, ID)
- Transgender Rights (MO, ME, CO)
- Changes to threshold for passing amendments (ND, SD, UT, CA)
- Agriculture (FL, GA)
- Drugs (ID, NE)
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5662001-key-ballot-measures-2026/
Tina Peters asks Colorado appeals court to order her release after Trump pardon
Attorneys for Tina Peters this week asked the Colorado Court of Appeals to order that the former Mesa County clerk “must be released from custody forthwith” following the signing of a pardon document by President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Trump does not have the power to pardon Peters, who was convicted in state court and is now serving a nine-year sentence in state prison for her role in a breach of her office’s election systems, part of an attempt to find evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. But her attorneys pursued a presidential pardon anyway, expressing hope that the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court will rewrite the centuries-old legal doctrine of dual sovereignty in criminal proceedings.
Peters’ motion, the latest in a series of attempts by her attorneys and allies in the election conspiracy theory movement to force her release from state custody, was filed on Dec. 23 in her pending case before Colorado’s second-highest court, where she has appealed her August 2024 conviction, arguing that her imprisonment violates her First Amendment right of free speech. Peters has separately petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, while Trump’s Department of Justice has formally requested her transfer to federal custody, a request the state has rejected.
The new filing asks the Colorado Court of Appeals to “enter an order indicating that it lost jurisdiction and finding that … the Pardon which was issued on Dec. 5, 2025, was effective and vitiated the convictions against Tina Peters in the State of Colorado.”
https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/tina-peters-appeals-court-pardon/
Georgetown basketball coach suspended after throwing water bottle into stands that hits child
Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball coach Ed Cooley has been suspended for one game after he threw a water bottle that inadvertently hit a young fan, the school announced Sunday.
The Hoyas were trailing the Xavier Musketeers 80-77 on Saturday with under 5 seconds left in regulation when they missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Following the missed shot and after time expired, Cooley threw a plastic water bottle into the stands that hit a child sitting in his mother’s lap.
“I met with Coach Cooley today to discuss the incident which occurred after last night’s game against Xavier. I expressed that his conduct did not align with the standards we expect of our coaches, nor does it reflect the values of Georgetown Athletics or Georgetown University,” Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed said in a statement. “As a result, Coach Cooley will be suspended for the next game vs. Coppin State. Associate Head Coach Jeff Battle will coach the team.”
In his postgame news conference, Cooley said he would reach out to the family and apologize.
https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/college-sports/georgetown-hoyas-ed-cooley-suspension-basketball-rcna250366
2 candidates competing for one seat in Brunswick City Council special election
Two candidates will square off in January 2026 for Brunswick’s City Council special election.
The election is to fill the seat of former Council Member Angel White, who stepped down from her post this summer and moved to Florida. Her term runs through August 2028.
Jerry Bonanno and Carleah Summers both filed for the nonpartisan election by Monday’s deadline.
Bonanno ran unsuccessfully for a seat on Brunswick’s City Council in 2022. Summers ran unsuccessfully for a seat in 2024.
https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage/2-candidates-competing-for-one-seat-in-brunswick-city-council-special-election/article_abca0c8e-095b-5249-9dba-941c5fcfa76c.html
Pocatello City Council ends mayoral runoff elections
POCATELLO – A city in southeastern Idaho will no longer have runoff elections if a mayoral candidate does not receive a majority of the vote.
At the Pocatello City Council meeting last week, the governing body addressed a motion to amend Pocatello’s municipal code to “eliminate the majority requirement and runoff process for the office of mayor,” the agenda reads. The council voted unanimously in favor of the motion, ending the practice of mayoral runoff elections.
Rick Cheatum, an outgoing council member and member of the Idaho House of Representatives, was the first councilman to advocate for ending the runoff process.
“All other local and state races, except for those that have primaries, are decided in the first vote. … They come to the November election and the winner takes all,” Cheatum said.
https://www.eastidahonews.com/2025/12/pocatello-city-council-ends-mayoral-runoff-elections/
Former intern returns to elections office as deputy director
The Surry County Board of Elections has hired Erica Pineda as deputy director, completing the new leadership team under Director Sydney Romine less than three months before the 2026 primary election.
Pineda, an Elkin native who began Dec. 15, returns home after three years working in elections at Wake County, one of the state’s largest and most complex jurisdictions.
“Erica brings a wealth of experience in election administration and a strong commitment to serving the voters of Surry County,” Romine said.
A 2017 Elkin High School graduate, Pineda earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from N.C. State University in December 2021. She first worked in elections as a Surry County intern from September through December 2020 while completing her degree, according to Romine.
https://www.mtairynews.com/news/former-intern-returns-to-elections-office-as-deputy-director/article_4235a6e5-7ba0-4127-96da-7658af0e1b83.html
Colorado adopts permanent election law changes affecting signature verification and security
MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KKCO) - Colorado has permanently adopted several election law changes that will affect how elections are conducted across the state.
The changes include enhanced outreach to young and new voters, updated security measures and expanded language access for voters.
“I think the biggest change is that outreach to our young and new voters. They’ll see more mailings from us,” Bobbie Gross, Mesa County Clerk and Recorder said. “They also put into rule more guidelines with signature verification so that signature verification is done consistently throughout 64 counties.”
Every time a Mesa County resident votes, their signature is saved on file. Election officials then check though all the prior signatures to determine if the one on the ballot matches.
“If they can’t determine that, then your ballot is rejected and you’re sent a letter to cure that ballot before we can count it,” the clerk said.
https://www.kkco11news.com/2025/12/27/colorado-adopts-permanent-election-law-changes-affecting-signature-verification-security/?outputType=amp
FINALLY!!!!!!!!
Adam Serwer: “The reason so many of yesterday’s free-speech champions transitioned so easily into today’s pro-Trump censors is that their definition of free speech never included the right of others to talk back.”
https://politicalwire.com/2025/12/26/cancel-cultures-boomerang-effect/
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