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Activists Slam Sanders-Inspired 'Our Revolution' for Problems With Latino Engagement

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) / Getty Images
May 22, 2018

Our Revolution, the progressive advocacy group that spun off from Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I., Vt.) failed 2016 presidential campaign, has a problem engaging America's burgeoning Latino community, according to a new report.

The group's president, former Ohio Democratic state senator Nina Turner, elicited rebuke in a report released Monday for her controversial leadership style and what some believe is an aversion to properly courting Latino voters, according to Politico, who spoke to two dozen sources inside and outside the organization.

Turner's detractors pointed to her unwillingness to leverage the group's resources in initiating broader advocacy efforts to fix the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program, an Obama administration's executive order that provided legal protections to illegal immigrants brought to America as children. The issue came to a head in September when President Donald Trump rescinded the program, arguing it was conceived and implemented through executive overreach. The program's annulment left the legal status of over 800,000 dreamers in limbo.

Our Revolution's alleged inaction triggered the resignation of Lucy Flores, a former Nevada assemblywoman who joined Our Revolution's board of directors at the inception. Flores expressed that her departure was due to disagreements over the organization's longterm vision.

"I felt that Our Revolution was not headed in the direction I felt comfortable with," Flores said.

Turner has also been criticized for allegedly attempting to install Tezlyn Figaro, a political consultant who served as the National Racial Justice Director on the Sanders campaign, as Our Revolution's chief of staff. The move was ultimately blocked by the organization's board of directors after it came to light Figaro–in frequent appearances on Fox News–made comments construed by some to be offensive to illegal immigrants.

Erika Andiola, an undocumented immigrant and DACA recipient who previously worked for Sanders as a press secretary, elaborated on the issues surrounding Our Revolution on her Facebook page. Andiola served as the group's political director for over a year before being fired in November 2017. She claimed Our Revolution and Turner attempted to silence her from speaking out against Democrats who were reluctant to confront the realities facing DACA recipients.

"I feel a huge responsibility towards my community and so I asked for support from Senator Turner and an organization that I truly cared about, and I worked so hard for, to fight to replace DACA with the Dream Act," Andiola said. "Instead, I was told to stop talking to media, to stop tweeting, to not push Democrats on this issue, etc."

In her post, Andiola alleged Turner was seeking to scale down the level of involvement Our Revolution had on immigration issues.

"Senator Turner was going to force [Our Revoluition] to leave the OurDream coalition we started because we were challenging Democrats as well as Republicans and because we believed our strategy had to include civil disobedience," she stated. "Finally, I asked for a leave of absence or some way to work this out, but instead I was fired the very next day without any further dialogue."

Andiola made clear she wanted organizations in the progressive movement to learn they couldn't take Latino activists for granted.

"I hope and pray that organizations on the left can learn to work with undocumented leaders and others who are being literally attacked by current policy changes," Andiola said. "It's convenient to hire us when you need "Latino and/or immigrant support" and we have a connection to the community, but you also have to support us and follow our lead when sh**t hits the fan on issues that affect us."

Andiola expressed she was holding out hope that Our Revolution would not ignore the plight of illegal immigrants and would act to rectify some of its recent missteps.

"I also hope and pray that the organization doesn't forget about Latinos and undocumented folks on the left," she said. "A good start would be to remove Ms. Figaro from staff, as well as to hold accountable the [organization's] leadership for this."

The group's issues mirror those Sanders faced on the 2016 campaign trail as he struggled to appeal to minority voters. While the self-described Democratic socialist ran a stronger than anticipated challenge for the Democratic nomination, he failed to make inroads in states outside of the Midwest and the plains that weren't majority white.

In states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona--where the Latino community had a pronounced presence in the Democratic primary--Clinton bested Sanders by double digits. Sanders inability to connect with African-American voters was especially evident in southern states like South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, where Clinton garnered over 70 percent of the Democratic primary vote.

Turner, who replaced Sanders' 2016 campaign manager Jeff Weaver at the helm of Our Revolution in January 2017, has frequently courted controversy during her tenure. In August, she disparaged the Democratic National Committee as "pompous and arrogant" after it snubbed Our Revolution's attempts to include more progressive language in the party's platform.