Civic Education and Engagement
#LowellSpeaks #LowellMustLead #LowellVotes

Lowell Alliance follows issues impacting the lives of families and residents. If there is an issue you and your family are impacted by, this is a great opportunity to learn more about what local and state legislators may be doing to address it.

Together, our civic engagement and community organizing initiatives help amplify resident voices and work towards building a more equitable, representative city and state government.

Our approach is flexible, we focus on several priority issues while keeping our ear to the ground and responding to emerging needs residents identify. In addition to equity and access in voting rights, issues and campaigns we are advocating for or following include local anti-racism and diversity/inclusion efforts, equity in education, policies supporting housing stability, and more

If you are interested in joining our team as a part time outreach staff from June through November as we knock doors, phonebank, and talk to community members about how to vote, issues that matter to them, and local candidates’ stances on important issues please share your cover letter/letter of interest and resume with Liz: eanusauskas@ywcaoflowell.org You can learn more about this opportunity on the job posting document here.

Voter education and Engagement

See our voter outreach information card in English and Spanish here.

In partnership with Lowell Votes, Lowell Alliance is committed to registering voters and getting out the vote for our local, city-wide elections.  We do so by participating in door-to-door voter education and registration, helping develop and distribute voter information guides for city elections, and helping to reduce barriers during elections by sharing information and finding ways to make voting easier for residents.

Voter turnout for local elections in Lowell is significantly lower than for national elections. With the local system change from all at-large to a hybrid (3 at-large and district seats (8 for City Council, 4 for School Committee) now in place), continued education and engagement are essential.

Lowell Votes (www.lowellvotes.org) is a coalition of residents and organizations working to increase participation in elections, particularly local elections, and especially in neighborhoods with historically low turnout and among groups that have faced barriers to voting. As a Lowell Votes member and leader, Lowell Alliance works to register and educate voters and engage residents in civic processes that impact their lives. We host candidate forums, produce an annual voter’s guide, and organize get-out-the-vote campaigns.

grassroots organizations

We also track grassroots organizing initiatives and campaigns the community is rallying around in order to promote opportunities to learn about and get involved in advocacy on issues that impact the lives of families and children in our community. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consortium of Lowell - Lowell Alliance is a member of the DEI Consortium, formed in 2019 to dismantle racism, amplify unheard voices, and lead impactful action for a just and equitable Lowell. The Consortium has advocated for the HR Audit and most recently, that the City Council designate Racism a Public Health Crisis. The petition was signed by nearly 2000 people - residents, business owners, and nonprofit leaders.

Contact DEI.lowell.ma@google.com and/or follow DEI’s FB page: https://www.facebook.com/DEICLowell

Merrimack Valley Project:
Regional interfaith organizing in Lowell, Lawrence, Andover, and Haverhill. https://www.merrimackvalleyproject.org/

Campaigns followed:

July 2023, if all goes well, the Driving Families Forward - AKA the Work and Family Mobility Act which would enable all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license, regardless of immigrant status, while keeping our Commonwealth in full compliance with REAL ID requirements.

The Safe Communities Act would end the entanglement of police and courts in immigration enforcement. In a pandemic, everyone needs to feel safe seeking help or medical care!

Other local and statewide campaigns our partners work on:

Resident and System of Care (SoC) Services Advocates - Local support helped push for the SNAP Gap campaign in 2019. The implementation of this is still under deliberation. This campaign has been supported by the Massachusetts Legal Reform Institute and the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Coalition of Social Workers.

What a Difference a DA Makes -  Led by the ACLU of Massachusetts, this campaign aims to educate voters that the District Attorney’s seat is among the most powerful in respect to addressing disparities in how communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system.

Lowell Education Justice Alliance - Works with the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance, the United Teachers of Lowell, and parent advocates. Advocated in 2018-2019 for updates to the Foundation Budget (Chapter 70) funding determinations, as well as local issues around recess policies and high-stakes testing. LEJA Saw success in late 2019 with the passing of the Student Opportunity Act, which will bring 1.5 Billion into MA schools. With the immense challenges of the Covid-19 virus, LEJA followed and advocated for student and family needs during distance learning and is involved in conversations and efforts with the return to school. For more information or to get involved, contact lowelleducationjusticealliance@gmail.com.

Environmental Justice
Here is a video explaining more. 350 MA of Greater Lowell -  With COVID-19 recovery planning underway, we want to see environmental racism be a thing of the past, and to move to a clean and just energy future for workers, minority communities, and future generations. Advocated for Community Choice Aggregation in 2018-2019 which vastly increases our city’s clean energy options, bringing Lowell to the second-best in this category in the state. Currently tracking statewide campaigns and collaborating with Lawrence’s Pueblo Verde for a clean transition away from fossil fuels after the gas explosions in 2018.

Why Did lowell change its voting system?

Lowell is rapidly approaching a majority-minority city, with 49 percent of its population foreign-born or an ethnic/racial minority. However, at present, a distinct political and economic divide exists between established longer-term residents and relative newcomers.

In May 2017, 12 Asian and Latinx residents, represented by Ropes and Gray LLP and Lawyers for Civil Rights, filed a lawsuit (translations of the filing available here) that challenged the City of Lowell’s current election system. The suit charged that the at-large plurality dilutes the power of minority residents, in violation of the Federal Voting Act and U.S. Constitution. The City of Lowell fought the lawsuit for two years before settling with the plaintiffs in May 2019. Under the terms of the settlement, the City of Lowell agreed to change the way that city residents elect their city council and school committee members. City government, with resident input and in agreement with the lawsuit plaintiffs, settled on a hybrid voting system, with 8 district-based seats and 3 at-large seats for City Council. Once Lowell creates the City Council districts, it will combine those districts to create 4 School Committee districts. Each of those districts will elect their own School Committee member plus 2 at-large seats.

This move towards a district-based system is expected to diversify Lowell’s City Council and School Committee as well as give a voice to the communities of Lowell via neighborhood representatives, particularly communities of color.