Are you thinking “Wait a minute — wasn’t there a Progress Kentucky some years ago?” If you are, here’s the backstory.
A number of years ago, I registered the domain names ProgressLouisville.com and ProgressKy.com. My goal was to build sites to support progressive values, policies, and candidates in Louisville and across the state. However, before I could launch either site, another group of activists registered ProgressKentucky and began working to defeat Mitch McConnell in 2014. So, I launched the ProgLou site, and just held onto the ProgKy domain for the time being.
The Progress Kentucky team built a site and a Facebook page, and began going after McConnell. However, their efforts ran into some hurdles, and eventually they had to abandon the effort. Because the Progress Kentucky brand was so tied to their work, I thought it best to just hold onto my alternate domain for a while longer.
In 2014, I ran for Metro Council in Louisville. I worked hard, knocking on over 6,000 doors across my district. It wasn’t enough, as the Republican voters came out strongly and helped defeat a number of Democrats, including me. I learned a lot from that campaign, though, and one thing I learned was to be unafraid to talk about progressive values.
During the campaign, I put all my web sites on hold, but after taking some time off, I brought the Progress Louisville site back to life. I thought about also trying to launch a new Progress Kentucky site, but wasn’t sure I had the time, nor that there was a real need.
The 2015 statewide elections changed my mind. I saw Kentucky following in the steps of the red states around us, and I determined that it was time to begin building a statewide progressive/liberal network, with a statewide voice and a statewide vision. It was time for Progress Kentucky.
Editor’s Note: Another post we are leaving up as part of the backstory of the Forward Kentucky work.
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