From Americans of Conscience Founder

 Signs of Renewal in a Weary Nation

Pop quiz! Do you know what a municipal election is?

1. An election that doesn’t include voting for federal candidates.
2. Statistically, the election type with the lowest voter turnout.
3. An opportunity to elect candidates whose roles affect our daily lives.
4. All of the above.

Notable Turnout for Municipal Elections

We’ve all heard the phrase “vote down ballot,” but American voters really took heed in our most recent election cycle. Normally, municipal elections have much lower turnout. Yet in New York City this week, more than two million people turned out to vote in a mayoral election for the first time since 1969. In cities such as Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Cincinnati, competitive local contests brought renewed civic attention to city councils and school boards. States like Virginia, California, and Georgia broke records for municipal (non-presidential and non-midterm) voting. This reflects an encouraging truth: Americans are showing up.

This matters. At a time when national political agendas are overwhelming, this week’s elections remind us that democracy’s heartbeat is local. Even in a time of fatigue and mistrust toward national politics, millions of Americans showed up this week to cast votes that shape our communities for the better.

Federal elections get extensive media coverage, funding, and turnout, but have a more diffuse impact on our lives. When it comes to the essentials of daily life—clean water, roads, parks, libraries, zoning, and emergency services—policies become personal. Local change also happens faster. And we don’t just vote for people, we vote for repaired roads, reopening a voting center, fairer tax policy, and better school funding. Voters like you and me showing up for local elections means decisions are made in ways that are more responsive to community needs.

Celebrating Leadership Firsts

This week, voters elected a new generation of leaders who reflect the communities they serve. These results mark historic “firsts” that deserve celebration for expanding the scope of representation in American democracy. 

In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger became the state’s first woman elected governor. Her victory was joined by Ghazala Hashmi, the first Muslim woman ever elected to statewide office in the United States, now serving as Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Jay Jones made history as Virginia’s first Black attorney general. 

Voters in New York City chose Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor—the city’s first Muslim, first South Asian, and youngest leader in more than a century. In Detroit, Mary Sheffield became both the first woman and the first Black woman to lead her city, another sign of the steady widening of the democratic circle.

These wins are milestones for justice, reminding us that good government should be by the people and for the people. Local elections tend to favor white and wealthy candidates. But our nation is stronger when our leaders reflect the diversity and experiences in our communities–and when those leaders follow through on voter mandates to take on issues that have previously been minimized or ignored by those in power. 

Keep Showing Up

If we can take one insight from these most recent municipal elections, it’s the importance of voting as a way to use your voice–from the highest level of office to the “dog catcher.” Each ballot cast is a quiet act of hope. A commitment to meeting our neighbors’ needs, not just our own. 

Every time we vote, we’re deciding that a better future is worth working for. Thank you for showing up.

“And while we cast our ballots alone, we chose hope together.”
~ Zohran Mamdani, NYC Mayor-Elect

*****

Still on a hiatus from reading and commenting.

Undaunted Leaders

Many outstanding candidates, one daring governor

JENNIFER RUBIN NOV 7

READ IN APP

I enjoyed an embarrassment of riches when choosing the Undaunted person of this epic week. Virginia-Gov. Elect Abigail Spanberger waged a near-perfect race, clobbering her opponent by 15 points, and pulling the rest of the ticket (including 13 House of Delegate pickups) into office on her voluminous coattails. New Jersey-Gov. Elect Mikie Sherrill embarrassed pollsters who saw the race as nip and tuck, rolling up a 13-point win. Both defied the pundit narrative that Democrats had permanently “lost” young people and Hispanic voters.

Certainly, New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani ran an historic race, demonstrating brilliant social media skills, electrifying younger voters, and showing Democrats (no matter their ideological profile) how to run on affordability and against the oligarchy (including the most corrupt and cruelest among them, Donald Trump). Mamdani’s victory speech was inspirational and witty (to Trump: “Turn the volume up”; to Andrew Cuomo: “Let tonight be the final time I utter his name”). The thrust of his remarks could be a model message for many candidates:

And while we cast our ballots alone, we chose hope together. Hope over tyranny. Hope over big money and small ideas. Hope over despair. We won because New Yorkers allowed themselves to hope that the impossible could be made possible. And we won because we insisted that no longer would politics be something that is done to us. Now, it is something that we do. …

New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant.

So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.

Subscribed

But when it comes to political daring, foresight, strategy, and undaunted grit, California Gov. Gavin Newsom beat Trump at his own game and changed the 2026 landscape. He saw Trump’s Texas power grab for what it was—a desperate attempt to rig the midterms that Republicans know will be a disaster if they are held to account for the chaos, cruelty, and corruption they have enabled.

Despite skeptics and many Democrats tut-tutting about adhering to norms (even when Republicans have burned the rule book), Newsom was determined to counteract Trump’s Texas gambit. When few thought there was an adequate response to Trump, he (along with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi) championed and put on the ballot Prop. 50. He gave Californians an opportunity to balance out Trump’s 5-seat grab in Texas with a new California map that could give Democrats five new seats of their own.

The results were spectacular. Prop. 50 won by almost 30 points with robust turnout for a ballot with a single item on it. The “Yes” vote won every demographic group (aside from Republicans and conservatives). It was especially popular among younger voters.

Newsom celebrated the win in a press appearance Tuesday. “What a nightfor the Democratic Party. A party that is in its ascendancy,” he began. “A party that is on its toes, no longer on its heels. From coast to coast, sea to shining sea,” he said. “But it was not just a victory tonight for the Democratic Party, it was a victory for the United States of America, for the people of this country, and the principles our Founding Fathers lived and died for.”

Newsom warned that Trump’s efforts to rig the elections “carry to this day,” citing his effort to “militarize our streets” and change maps in more states. Stressing that the Prop. 50 campaign was a “90 day sprint” to win, he recalled that Trump sent his shock troops to the Prop. 50 kick-off event and again on Tuesday to Dodger Stadium to intimidate voters. None of Trump’s tactics succeeded. (Republicans have filed suit to try to undo the Prop. 50 victory.)

Although Newsom relished in taking on Trump (“after poking the bear, this bear roared”), his tone was sober and serious, his message direct. He urged other states to join the fight, promising Democrats could effectively end the Trump presidency as soon as “Speaker Hakeem Jeffries” is sworn in.

“We need the state of Virginia,” he said. “We need the state of Maryland. We need our friends in New York, in Illinois, in Colorado — we need to see other states, with their remarkable leaders, that have been doing remarkable things, to meet this moment head-on as well.”

Newsom has gotten well-deserved credit for skewering Trump on social media and defying his efforts to abscond with California’s national guard. But in fighting fire with fire and taking up the challenge to preserve Democrats’ hopes for a midterm victory, he showed Democrats around the country how to fight—and win.

In his undaunted, unafraid, unparalleled effort to thwart Trump’s election chicanery, he has earned the appreciation of his party and of pro-democracy forces from coast to coast. We salute him—and the courageous victors throughout the country on Tuesday—who reminded us that the fight for democracy is not lost. If Democrats win back the House majority in 2026, Newsom will enjoy a large share of the credit.

Share

I would be remiss if I did not mention yesterday’s announcement about Nancy Pelosi’s retirement. Her love letter to San Francisco announcing she would not run for re-election reminds us of her devotion to her adopted city, which she has represented so ably for decades. Since her announcement, I have talked about her legacy with two veteran reporters, Lynn Sweet and Susan Page, in addition to hearing reflections on the Speaker Emerita from her former comms director, Ashley Etienne. Mayor of Oakland Barbara Lee joined the inimitable April Ryan on The Contrarian to extol Pelosi’s legacy of tough love on this yesterday’s episode of “The Tea.” 

The Contrarian will have much more to say about this political giant, among the most powerful female politicians in history and one of our greatest speakers of the House. For now, we can say unequivocally that no one better personifies the title of “Undaunted” than the woman who delivered the Affordable Care Act, saved the ACA, passed the rescue bill to spare the economy in 2008, championed human rights and AIDS patients, fought tirelessly for LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, defended the Capitol during Jan. 6, insisted on remaining there to finish certifying the electoral college and assuring Biden’s passage to the presidency, assembled the bipartisan Jan. 6 commission, shepherded through (on the narrowest of margins) President Biden’s remarkable domestic agenda, and time and again stood up to the odious Donald Trump. She has been an avid mentor to so many of our great leaders, including Governor Newsom. We close out our week imbued with gratitude for her service. 

Words & Phrases We Could Do Without

'Legal ethics' 

JENNIFER RUBIN NOV 4

READ IN APP

Donald Trump’s habitual lying has set the tone and permission structure for his regime, even for lawyers obligated to tell the truth as officers of the court. In this Justice Department, the notion that prosecutors are bound by professional obligations and must uphold something called “legal ethics” is increasingly farcical.

Courts over the last 10 months repeatedly have called out government lawyers for misrepresenting key facts. In September, the Justice Department had to confess that it widely misstated critical facts in an immigration case. “Donald Trump’s Department of Justice made a startling admission in court: It had put forth false information in its effort to secretly deport hundreds of young immigrants to Guatemala in the dead of night,” Slate reported. “DOJ lawyers had previously told a judge that the children’s parents were all clamoring for them to be sent back to Guatemala. In truth, however, not a single parent requested their child’s return, and many were not prepared to take them in if they suddenly arrived on their doorstep.”

Photo by Nellie Adamyan

More recently, in the Portland case involving deployment of troops, the government had to retract an outrageous claim. “[I]t is undisputed that nearly a quarter of the agency’s entire FPS capacity had to be redirected over a relatively short period to a single location in one medium-sized American city due to the unrest there.” The government had to admit in a letter to the courtthat only “13.1 percent of the agency’s inspectors had to be redirected to Portland during the period discussed.”

These are hardly isolated cases. Just Security’s tracker reveals that judges in over 40 cases have found reason to “distrust…government information and representations.” 1/10th of that number would have drawn outrage and grave concern in any previous administration. But under this president, “courts have identified serious defects in the government’s explanations and representations—pretextual rationales (including retaliatory motives masked by pretext), false sworn statements, contradictions with the record, refusals or inability to answer basic questions, and litigation-driven ‘contrivances’—prompting judges to discount government submissions, compel expedited discovery, and withhold the presumption.”

Sadly, this is nothing new for MAGA lawyers too ambitious and unprincipled to defy Trump’s unconstitutional whims. A long list of lawyers were disbarred or otherwise punished in Trump’s first term for violating ethical obligations that should have restrained them from enabling an attempted coup in 2020. Bar associations exacted punishment for peddling the Big Lie and concocting bogus legal arguments to justify an unconstitutional scheme.

Subscribed

Courts can and should take corrective action in Trump 2.0. Granted, they have their hands full restraining a tyrannical executive, but they cannot let serial ethics violations go unaddressed. First, regardless of whether the opposing side files a motion, judges must demand lawyers explain how lies were presented to the court under penalty of perjury and sanction those responsible—before referring matters to state bar associations (more on that in a moment). Second, as we, along with other commentators have stressed, the presumption of regularity must be suspended for a regime that lies compulsively. The Trump regime deserves no presumption of good faith (e.g., in vindictive prosecutions, or in determination of a “rebellion” for troop deployment).

Lawyers’ ethical lapses have not, sadly, been confined to lying. Recall that a batch of big law firms have knuckled under to Trump in signing agreements that bind them to change hiring practices and pledge to do MAGA-approved pro bono work. However, last week the D.C. Bar took a critical step to deter this conduct that might compel spineless firms to reconsider their approach. As Charlie Savage reported for the New York Times: 

Months after law firms made deals with President Trump to ward off punitive executive orders, the ethics committee of the District of Columbia Bar is warning that such arrangements may require firms to drop or obtain waivers from all clients who have interests at odds with the government.”

The DC Bar’s ethics committee further advised lawyers that “such arrangements may require firms to drop or obtain waivers from all clients who have interests at odds with the government.” 

Oops.

The Bar cautioned that the deals could “amount to improper restrictions on the lawyers’ right to practice or interfere with their professional independence,” by forcing firms to take certain clients. Moreover, “if a firm that made a deal with the government and is trying to stay in the government’s good graces but also represents a client whose position is contrary to any of the government’s programs or policies, the deal would call into question whether the firm might pull its punches instead of zealously advocating its client’s interests.” Moreover, the Bar explained, a waiver is only effective if the client(s) know exactly what the firm’s deal with Trump entailed, something the firms themselves seem hard-pressed to explain.

That sort of aggressive enforcement of legal ethics should apply in cases in which government attorneys have misled courts, attacked and demeaned judges, sidestepped court orders, or defended blatantly capricious actions. Just Security, for example, documented “20 cases in which courts have found the Executive in noncompliance with judicial orders—ranging from willful disobedience and rebranding of enjoined conduct to flagrantly slow-walking compliance, missing or ignoring court-imposed deadlines, and refusing to provide court-ordered information—often prompting show-cause orders and contempt warnings.” Bar associations should investigate each documented offense to determine if ethical violations have occurred by the lawyers appearing in court and/or by their superiors.

Photo by Dmitrij Paskevic

If “legal ethics” has become an oxymoron, we are in deep trouble. And so long as they are routinely disregarded, the phrase is a hollow slogan. It need not be this way.

Justice Department attorneys’ ethical misconduct has become far too common. Absent real consequences, the transgressions will multiply. Without the legal profession’s self-policing, the most egregious illegalities of the Trump regime will pile up. Since judges cannot do all the heavy-lifting, lawyers themselves must stand up for the rule of law, lest the latter becomes an empty vessel subject to the urges of a dictator.

The Contrarian is reader-supported. Join our community as a free or paid subscriber to encourage both independent journalism and vigorous litigation against the Trump chaos regime. 

This and That

First up: Halloween!

I got two pumpkins carved and this year used LED lights inside because candles invariably get blown out. Good choice as it was a very windy night. 

Lots of treaters came,  though in the end I had one whole unopened bag of 100 treats.  Emily took this photo of me handing out candy when a mob came by.  She then helped me pass it out.  Most of the 1 1/2 hours was not like this.

It was chilly so I had a hat on and wrapped up in a quilt to stay warm.

This cookbook was the selection for the Cookbook Club gathering on October 29th and a neighboring town's library. Those in attendance choose a recipe to make to share.

I made this Spanish tortilla: 1 onion, 2 potatoes, 6 eggs.  I actually learned how to make this when we visited Southern Spain in 2023.  With Dan's help turning it over onto a plate to cook the top, it came out very well.

Below is all that was left.  Granny Sue, recognize the plate I purchased from you?  It was just the right size.

Here are some of the other selections:

Here's Dan's plate (yes he came along to eat, one of three men there.)

Here's my plate.  I had to sample a little from everything.

No one made dessert!

I've finished my Christmas cards except for signing and addressing them.  There are all the same design, just done up with varying papers and colors.

Here's a few of the iterations.

I'm glad to have that off my list.

We have dear friends coming for a visit this week from Maryland and then I'll be flying solo to Buffalo on the 14th to stay for several weeks.  Telling you this to let you know my blogging and commenting will be sporadic probably until after Thanksgiving.

Stay well, friends!