Please enter at least 3 characters
Mar 19, 2026 • 6 min read

Less sucking. More thinking.

A campaign can lose and still win big. And BIG ideas on protests, infrastructure, why people take action, climate storytelling, third spaces, community science and more...

Ted Fickes Ted Fickes
Less sucking. More thinking.

đź‘‹ Welcome to Future Community Jaci, Amy, Hannah, Julia and Emmanuelle. Thanks for being here.

If you haven't had a chance, please reply and let me know what you're working on and if/how Future Community can be helpful.

Hello and thanks for being part of Future Community. Maybe it's been helpful. Or even mildly entertaining. 🤔 If Future Community is valuable to you and you're in a position to support it (and get some extras that could help you out), become a supporting member. That's all.

Support Future Community

Space to think

What does it mean for communications, problem solving, and politics when we live in a world in which the dominant narrative says all knowledge we need is but a click away? Read more...

What if we didn't suck?

“I want more people to have that expectation for their candidates, that they should actually, tangibly be helping the community they’re running in before they are elected.”
– Student Shayna Tribush talking about Kat Abughazaleh's congressional campaign

I went to college in and later lived a good chunk my young to young-ish adulthood in the 9th Congressional District of Illinois. Heck, I voted for Jan Schakowsky a couple times.

The 9th district is, at least now–it's lines have moved around a bit over time–a good chunk of Chicago's north side (Uptown, Edgewater, Rogers Park), Evanston, and Glenview, along with a convoluted path of northwest suburbs like Prospect Heights, Hawthorn Woods, and Cary.

North Chicago and Evanston were also a couple unexpected hubs (to me, anyway) of many Midway Blitz ICE activities.

So I followed the Democratic primary and in particular Kat Abughazaleh's campaign. Kat, a well spoken 26-year old first time candidate who used to work for Media Matters, ran a campaign that centered service to constituents. Every candidate talks about what they'll do when elected. Kat's campaign just did the work for people as part of the campaign. Her "What if we didn't suck?" campaign slogan could have easily been "Let's just do the work for each other."

Evanston mayor Daniel Biss won Tuesday's 16 person(!!!) primary by about 4,000 votes (29.5% while Kat Abughazaleh came in second with 26% of the vote).

Parker Molloy has one of many far better and closer to the action roundups than you'll get here. I love this quote from campaign volunteer and Northwestern Student Shayna Tribush:

One of Kat’s campaign fellows, a Northwestern student named Shayna Tribush, told the Daily Northwestern something after the loss that I keep coming back to: “I want more people to have that expectation for their candidates, that they should actually, tangibly be helping the community they’re running in before they are elected.” That’s it. That’s the lesson. If you’re running for office and your campaign isn’t doing anything for the people you want to represent until after you win, maybe ask yourself why.

It was the mutual aid that stood out to me and kept me following the campaign. It was happening before, during, and after ICE and the worst of Midway Blitz.

One irony here is that this "servant leadership" was once at the center of democratic party organizing. Party leaders, staff, volunteers, elected officials sought to solve problems on the ground every day. Not just get people elected.

Let's hope the learning here that this can be a model for future campaigns and community organizations. Connecting and supporting people–building community power–can be a longer lasting WIN than winning a campaign.

First jobs (second verse)

Several people reached out to me here or on LinkedIn after last week's post about First Jobs (or, really, the lack of them). I appreciate you sharing your stories (and knowing I'm not the only one with a daughter graduating from college in May).

Now the New York Times (always a step behind, sigh) is getting into the chat.

I get the fact that experienced people are competing for and getting low-experience roles. The point remains that fewer paths into a job market isn't a good way to build a sector's strength.

End Citizens United is looking for a National Political Director. This person will run all federal and non-federal political, PAC and partnerships strategy. It's a key role in the 2026 cycle. You'll be based in the Washington, DC, area and the starting salary is $112,000-$120,000, commensurate with experience.

Learn More & Apply

Bright Ideas

Trainings and Learning

🦉
Get Future Community from a brilliant friend? Join in to get your own copy next time.

Future Community Jobs

Be sure to check out the full job list. Always fresh. Not very squeezable.

Audience, content, journalism and news roles

Communications

Nonprofit organizations

Fundraising and Development

Foundations and Philanthropy

Agencies, data, politics, products & more

Hey. Ted here. I run Bright+3 where we give changemakers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to create content that builds stronger communities.

I also write this newsletter, Future Community, and run the Future Community Jobs list.

Thanks for being part of Future Community. Help make this work possible (and get some extra support) by becoming a paying member.

Support Future Community
Newsletter
Ted Fickes
Ted Fickes
You might also like
Newsletter • 5 min read

First jobs

Are entry level jobs in nonprofits, policy, social good even out there? And building relational infrastructure.…
Ted Fickes
Ted Fickes •
Great! You’ve successfully signed up.
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.
You've successfully subscribed to Bright+3.
Your link has expired.
Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.
Success! Your billing info has been updated.
Your billing was not updated.