It seems like some shadiness went down at #EMILYsList, even beyond malapportioning its resources primarily to white candidates with access to funding networks, vs. helping more working class/WOC get elected.
Remember:
Early
Money
Is
Like
Yeast
That's what EMILY means. The founding goal of the org was to get as many pro-choice women elected as possible.
But as President of #EMILYsList, #LaphonzaButler shut down Run to Win & channeled resources to VP #Harris.
"Last week, EMILY’s List shut down Run to Win, its national recruitment & training program.
"Several staff members...were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements in order to receive severance."
“Staff trainings like the ones EMILY’s List has run for years are essential for high quality campaigns. Scaling these back going into a critical election year would be a big loss for Democratic candidates up & down the ballot,” said the co-founder of Movement School.
"source w/knowledge of the layoffs...said Butler billed the layoffs as...a change in the organization’s scope & scale, but that they signaled a major shift in priorities away from outreach to grassroots candidates in...critical election year."
Butler's Senate appt came <month after #EMILYsList "cut 5 staff members from the training & community engagement team, which ran outreach to grassroots candidates & voters; 2 people from the digital team; & [1] person on the state & local campaigns team"
"Two months before the layoffs, EMILY’s List [it would] spend tens of millions of dollars to back the reelection of Vice President Kamala Harris...
Butler, who joined EMILY’s List in September 2021, was senior adviser to Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign.
EMILY’s List spent $10 million backing Harris after her vice presidential nomination that year.
“we are prioritizing our resources to the efforts most central to the EMILYs List’s mission...” said EMILY’s List spokesperson
"Butler’s background as a labor leader made her handling of [EL's] restructuring &...layoffs [consultant-driven vs. employee-infomed] more disappointing, said a former [EL] employee"
"Butler was director for public policy & campaigns at Airbnb. She was previously president of both the SEIU California State Council & [CA]’s largest union, SEIU Local 2015"
“It caught us off guard for sure. She comes from such a prominent labor background, I & my team members definitely expected more of her."
"Consultants on contract for EMILY’s List worked on Harris’s brand & frequently posted content praising her on both...Twitter accounts" (pro-Harris+main)
"Since the restructuring, the group has spent more time talking about Harris. In June, Butler told Politico [EL] was focused on reminding voters why they should support the [VP]
“We’re going to tell the story about...what she’s done, support her...& really push back against the massive misinformation... directed towards her...” Butler said
"Boosting Harris makes sense for a fundraising organization dedicated to electing women, the second source said. It still struck them as odd how many resources were dedicated to backing Harris in a position that’s an afterthought for many voters.
“EMILY’s List is doing a lot of stuff for the vice president, which I always thought was weird,” they said."
https://theintercept.com/2023/10/04/laphonza-butler-kamala-harris-emilys-list/
Erin Conroy
Stoney Takes