How You Can Make a Difference in the Fight to Stop Police Brutality
Real criminal justice reform is possible, but candidates need to answer our questions to get our votes
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
In my column last week, I proposed that for this election, beyond simply voting, people try to affect change at the local level by voting solely on the issue of criminal justice reform. I hesitated to make such a recommendation — single-issue voting often prevents the voter from looking at a candidate’s holistic platform — but we are in unprecedented times.
My solution, the Quadrant, focuses on four municipal offices: mayor, district attorney, police chief, and judges. (Since the police chief is typically appointed rather than elected, your focus extends to whoever appoints them — generally the mayor or city/county manager.) That is where criminal justice reform begins; that is where we must exercise our power. Granted, it’s all too easy to say “vote strategically” without providing the tools and resources to make it a reality. So it’s time to do just that.
And it all starts with one simple question. When you attend a campaign event or otherwise get the chance to speak with a…
