State Projects

The California Alliance: an alliance of 16 organizations in seven regions of California. The mission of the California Alliance is to develop a multi-sector alliance of organizations in strategic geographic areas of California with the individual and collective capacities, the relationships and trust, and the strategic clarity to effectively exercise progressive power in the state’s public policy arenas. The alliance currently has three issue hubs (Environmental Justice, Tax and Fiscal Policies, Low-wage Workers) where clusters of alliance groups are gaining experience operating in the state arena.

Progressive Electoral Project: In 2006 the California Alliance launch the Progressive Electoral Project (PEP) with the goal of expanding the civic participation of communities of color, low-income, and working class communities by building an ongoing statewide network of coalitions, grassroots precinct networks, and growing voter databases in seven strategic regions of California.

The Tax and Fiscal/Values Project: The Tax and Fiscal Policies Work Group of the California Alliance was formed based on agreement from most member organizations that until significant reform is achieve in this arena, all the major issue sectors (education, healthcare, environmental justice, economic justice) will continue to suffer from perpetual funding crisis and be played off against one another.

In 2006, the workgroup partnered with US Environics to do a Statewide Values Poll which used social values research to interview Californians on both their basic values frameworks and their more focused opinions on tax and fiscal issues. Statistical analysis of this data revealed seven constituencies each of which holds a distinct values framework (worldview) and attitudes towards tax and fiscal policy: the Progressive Tax and Fiscal Base, the Anti-Tax Conservatives, Stable Suburbans, Angry Youth of Color, Green Professionals, Responsible Religious, and Bitter Older Men. No single constituency came close to dominating numerically and there appear to be “bridge values” that cut across several clusters, proving opportunities to craft issues framing, themes, and messages in ways that can both develop more coherent political consciousness within traditional demographic bases, and build bridges with non-traditional constituencies.

The Tax and Fiscal/Values Project’s long-term goal is to develop strategic initiatives* that unite non-traditional constituencies for systemic reform of California’s tax and fiscal policies.