local politics

Angela Okafor at her small immigration law office located inside her store in Bangor, Maine. Okafor, who has a law degree from her home country of Nigeria and passed the New York bar exam, opened an immigration law practice three years ago.

National

Bangor's New Council Member Joins Wave Of Women Of Color Winning Office

5:04am December 18, 2019

by Robbie Feinberg

Attorney and small-business owner Angela Okafor made history recently as the first immigrant and first person of color elected to the City Council in Bangor, Maine.

Queue Listen Now

Phoenix residents Laurie Provost (left), 53, and Maddie Adelman, 50, have watched their city become increasingly welcoming toward the LGBTQ community over the last two decades, even as their state has kept in place anti-LGBTQ policies and laws.

In Arizona, Advocating For The LGBTQ Community Starts In Local Politics

5:26pm December 02, 2017

by Will Stone

LGBTQ leaders in Arizona have seen their biggest cities grow more welcoming toward the LGBTQ community. They hope that shift will help lead to acceptance across the state.

A mail-in ballot for Denver, Colo. There are local elections on Tuesday and there's been a struggle to find candidates to run in many parts of Colorado.

When Election Day Comes And There's Only One Candidate On The Ballot

5:27am November 04, 2017

by Ann Marie Awad

A political scientist says it's a bad sign for democracy when voters aren't presented with at least two options in a race. And the problem tends to get worse the further down ballot a race is.

Danica Roem, democratic candidate for Virginia state legislature, canvasses through a neighborhood in Manassas, Va., last month.

Virginia Statehouse Race Pits 'Bathroom Bill' Author Against Transgender Woman

5:01am October 20, 2017

by Sarah McCammon

If Democrat Danica Roem succeeds in unseating Republican Delegate Bob Marshall, she'd become the nation's first openly transgender state lawmaker.

Controversy has erupted in Carmel, Ind., as the city council is expected to consider $76 million in new bonds to pay for various projects, including one for a new luxury hotel, a couple new roundabouts and, this antique carousel.

Century-Old Carousel Has One Indiana City Going 'Round And 'Round

10:00am August 04, 2017

by Christianna Silva

The mayor of Carmel, Ind., is preparing to introduce a particularly controversial bond at the end of August, and it's all surrounding an old carousel in Canada worth a couple of million dollars.