Project New West Summit
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Aug 19, 2009 Posted by Bri Jones
Representatives from the Wyoming Democrats and the Young Democrats of Wyoming attended the first Project New West Summit in Denver, August 12-14. The summit was designed to bring together leaders from around the West to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and important issues facing the West as we enter a new decade.
Project New West (PNW), founded in 2007, is an organization dedicated to strategic planning and research in regards to the progressive movement in the West. There was a number of high profile speakers including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM), Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. (CO), Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (CO), Robert Redford, US Senator Tom Udall (NM), and Congressman Raul Grijalva (AZ). There were many more local leaders and activists.
Wyoming Senator Floyd Esquibel participated in a panel titled "Western Challeneges and Opportunities: A Conversation with Western Leaders" and Wyoming Democratic Party Vice President Mike Bell spoke on the panel "New West Roundtable: Electoral Priorities & Grassroots Organizing." Some of the other topics included "Then and Now: The New West Leading the Way for America", "The New Energy Economy & Jobs in the New West", Hispanics and the New West", "Coalition Building and Voting the Western Way".
There was a great deal of energy and enthusiasm at the conference and besides building some important networks, the participants from Wyoming received information regarding PNW's research and the strategies employed in other nearby states.
Media coverage was mainly focused on Robert Redford and some of the other big name speakers, but an article did make it into the Casper Star Tribune. You can check it out here: Democrats work to continue Western gains. If you have any questions about specific information or outcomes of the summit please don't hesitate to contact us; we would love to share our enthusiasm!