Shaping Tomorrow Together
Our Journey
Forty years of asking the same question in public
The question is always some version of "who decided this, and where was that written down?" It produced the ward surgeries in 1995, the plain-language budget in 2000, the participatory budget pilot in 2010, and the register of automated decisions in 2024. None of those were won by argument alone. Each one was won by somebody doing the first version themselves and putting it on the table.
Marisol Vance has lived in Rivermont County for twenty-two years and served two terms on the Fairmount ward council. She is standing as an independent, which means no whip and no party platform — and no party machine either, which is why the four hundred people who keep turning up matter as much as they do.
Integrity
Every donation, every meeting and every vote is published within a week. If we get something wrong, we say so first.
Inclusivity
Materials in four languages, childcare at every town hall, and a step-free venue every time. Turning up should not be the hard part.
Innovation
We test small before we spend big — a pilot block, a single route, one season — and we publish the results either way.
Become a volunteer
Two hours on a Saturday moves a ward further than any amount of advertising. Tell us how to reach you and a ward organizer will call within the week.
100K+Active voters
40K+Volunteers
120+Days in campaign
30K+Donors
Journey through time: the campaign's milestones
The Genesis (1985)
Eleven residents of the Fairmount block start meeting in a church hall over a stalled road repair. By spring they have a name, a mailing list and a first petition.
Inaugural Campaign Launch (1990)
The movement fields its first slate of school-board candidates. Two of four are elected, on a turnout twelve points above the district average.
Community Outreach Initiatives (1995)
The ward surgeries begin — a standing Saturday morning in each neighborhood, open to anyone, with no appointment and no agenda.
Key Policy Advocacy (2000)
A five-year push to publish council budgets in plain language ends in a unanimous vote. The first plain-language budget runs to nine pages.
Growth and Expansion (2005)
Chapters open in four neighboring districts, sharing a single volunteer handbook and a single promise: publish what you spend.
Notable Achievements (2010)
The participatory budget pilot returns $1.4m of decisions to residents. Ninety-one percent of the projects chosen were delivered on time.
Election Campaign (2015)
A district-wide campaign run entirely on small donations, with an average contribution of $34 and no gift above $500.
Electoral Success (2020)
Seven of twelve ward seats, and a mandate to take the participatory budget district-wide within a single term.
Our Movement
Nine long-running campaigns in the 12th District, each with a published aim and a number attached to it.
Join Our Next Gathering
Every event ends with a decision and a named owner. Papers go out a week ahead so you can arrive with the question you actually want answered.
