As the midterms approach, both Republicans and Democrats are trying to court prospective voters. But a new book by Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy argues that both parties have become disconnected from the communities they hope to represent.
“You have these two parties, neither of which seem to know how to talk to people on the ground in a way that’s about building something, edifying something, creating community, galvanizing power,” he says. “It’s either sterile, bland messaging that doesn’t resonate with people or fear-monger-messaging that makes people afraid of their neighbors.”
Kennedy’s book, It’s All Local: Saving Democracy From the Ground Up, explores how grassroots political candidates have built campaigns around listening to the local concerns of voters, rather than political consultants or top-down directives from party leadership. Case studies from across the U.S. show how candidates of many stripes might incorporate a bottom-up approach to politics.
“[Voters] know what the values of their communities are, and they're looking for candidates and for a political movement that talks like your neighbors, that talks about values that you share in common with the people who you sit on the sidelines of a soccer game with, right?” he says. “That's really what we've lost — and that's what I try to get back to in the book.”
Together with the book, Kennedy has also launched a nonprofit, the It’s All Local Foundation. He says the foundation will offer small stipends to organizations that facilitate community conversations to address local issues.
“We'll provide them with training, provide them with some funding to be able to hire a facilitator or rent space, and then help guide them through that process — because we need to start rebuilding our communities again and not relying on the national parties to try and build community for us,” he says.
Kennedy joins Lake Effect's Joy Powers to discuss the book and more.
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