This Saturday, the Working Families Party (WFP) is making its Virginia debut with the launch of the Virginia Wolf Pack, a new grassroots arm dedicated to electing working-class champions and building political power across the Commonwealth. Their first in-person Welcome Gathering happens August 23, 2–4 PM at the Crescent Collective (1800 Decatur Street, Richmond, VA).
The Wolf Pack describes itself as a coalition party, bringing together labor leaders, movement organizations, and community groups to shape a more worker-centered political agenda. For Virginians tired of billionaires setting the terms of politics, this is pitched as a way to take some of that power back.
A Bit of History: Where WFP Comes From
The Working Families Party began in New York in 1998, founded by a coalition of labor unions, community groups, and grassroots organizers. One of its earliest tools was fusion voting, which allows a candidate to appear on more than one party line. That strategy helped WFP push mainstream Democrats toward more progressive policies without splitting the vote.
Over the past 25 years, WFP has expanded into a national network, winning local elections and shaping progressive agendas in cities from New York to Philadelphia to Chicago. It has backed major figures such as Letitia James (New York’s Attorney General) and Kendra Brooks (the first third-party city councilmember in Philadelphia in a century).
Today, under national director Maurice Mitchell, WFP positions itself as a political home for working-class people who feel the two-party system has failed them. The Virginia Wolf Pack is the latest attempt to grow that model statewide.
The following are responses by Stacey Mink, communications director for WFP state parties.
Why Richmond, Why Now
In the next year, the goal is to build an active grassroots organization that reaches across the entire state in order to support both locally endorsed candidates across VA as well as important national WFP campaigns. As volunteers, we will be working hard to support endorsed candidates who are committed to champion policies that benefit working families.
Goals for the First Year
Working Families Party put out a call to recruit working class candidates all over the country. Here in Virginia, we endorsed a group of candidates who are representative of the multicultural working class population of our state. Individually and collectively, these are candidates who view policy and governance as a collaboration with the working people they represent. You shouldn’t have to be a billionaire or beholden to corporate interests in order to have a voice in your own community.
Who Gets Endorsed
Working Families Party put out a call to recruit working class candidates all over the country. Here in Virginia, we endorsed a group of candidates who are representative of the multicultural working class population of our state. Individually and collectively, these are candidates who view policy and governance as a collaboration with the working people they represent. You shouldn’t have to be a billionaire or beholden to corporate interests in order to have a voice in your own community.
A Coalition Party
The Working Families Party is a political home for everybody who believes that we have power when we come together to advocate for our communities. That means individuals like the folks in our Virginia Wolfpack partnering with community groups, advocacy organizations, and unions to build a base and a collective voice to work for the wellbeing of working families in Virginia.
The WFP Virginia Wolf Pack Leadership Team is developing our grassroots volunteer efforts statewide in coordination with WFP staff.
Urgent Issues in Virginia
Working class folks in Richmond and so many other communities in Virginia are facing serious challenges that need serious solutions. Our proximity to DC means that Virginia’s federal work force has been disproportionately affected by mass layoffs and needs help in transitioning to new careers. We need to fund and resource our public schools as the federal Department of Education is destroyed. Our leaders need to determine how to fill the upcoming healthcare funding gaps because of federal cuts to Medicaid. Virginians are vulnerable to the utility monopoly. And then there are the fundamentals, like making sure working families can afford housing and food. These challenges require people with lived experience being part of the conversation and the remedy.
The Five-Year Vision
Five years from now, we hope to have a WFP Virginia state party that is consistently recruiting and training candidates to run and govern for the working class at the local, state and federal levels.
Event Details
📍 Crescent Collective – 1800 Decatur Street, Richmond, VA 23224
🗓 Saturday, August 23
🕑 2–4 PM
To get engaged and for more information click HERE
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