Demos
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| Demos | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | New York, N.Y. |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Affiliation: | Nonpartisan |
| Top official: | Heather McGhee, President |
| Year founded: | 2000 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Promoted policies | |
| Economic, Fiscal, Labor, Redistricting and Ballot Access Policy; Campaign finance regulation | |
| Budget | |
| 2013: | $8,048,607 |
| 2012: | $9,708,323 |
| 2011: | $9,973,040 |
| 2010: | $7,661,334 |
Demos is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in New York City. The progressive think tank, founded in 2000, focuses its work on economic, electoral and labor policy.[1] The organization was involved in the ethics investigation surrounding Cylvia Hayes and ex-Gov. John Kitzhaber that ultimately led to the Oregon executive's resignation.[2]
Mission
According to the organization's website, Demos is dedicated to the following goals:[1]
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History
In 1999, a group of liberal activists, journalists and politicians began planning the organization that would become Demos. This group included David Callahan, Charles Halpern, Rob Fersh, Stephen Heintz, Arnie Miller, former U.S. Representative David Skaggs (D-Colo.), Linda Tarr-Whelan and then-state Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.).[4]
Demos was officially launched in 2000 under the leadership of founding president Stephen Heintz. Miles Rapoport led the organization from 2001 until early 2014 when he left to head Common Cause, a progressive "people's lobby" focused on campaign finance and open government. Demos Vice President of Policy and Outreach Heather McGhee took his place.[5]
Policy scope
Demos divides its policy and advocacy work into five broad categories:[6]
- Economy & Opportunity
- Jobs & Income
- The Middle Class
- Credit & Debt
- Retirement Security
- Höhere Bildung
- Democracy & Elections
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Voting Rights & Voter Registration
- Redistricting & Representation
- Civic Engagement
- Government & the Public Sector
- Financial Reform
- Revenue, Taxes & Budget
- Regulation & Oversight
- Trade & International
- Trade, Workers & Geo-Economics
- International Environmental Policy
- Interdependence & Global Governance
- Sustainability & Growth
- Consumerism & Sustainable Economics
Board members
As of June 25, 2015, the Board of Trustees of Demos included the following individuals:[7]
- Amelia Warren Tyagi (Chair), Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Business Talent Group
- Amy Hanauer (Vice-Chair), Executive Director, Policy Matters Ohio
- Ruth Wooden (Treasurer), former President, Public Agenda
- Connie Cagampang Heller (Secretary), Co-Founder, Linked Fate Fund for Justice
- Mark Alexander, Professor of Law, Seton Hall University School of Law
- Janet Dewart Bell, Communications Strategist and Management Consultant
- Rev. Janet McCune Edwards, Co-Moderator and Board Member, More Light Presbyterians
- Rev. Dr. Robert Franklin Jr., Director of Religion, Chautauqua Institution
- Joshua Fryday, Chief Operating Officer, NextGen Climate Action
- Van Jones, President and Co-Founder, Rebuild the Dream
- Gina Glantz, Visiting Adjunct Lecturer, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Heather McGhee, President, Dēmos
- Mary Mountcastle, Trustee, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
- Rashad Robinson, Executive Director, Color of Change
- Janet Shenk, Senior Program Officer, Panta Rhea Foundation
- Paul Egerman, Software Entrepreneur
- Charles R. Halpern (Trustee Emeritus), Scholar in Residence, Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley
- Stephen Heintz (Trustee Emeritus), President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
- Miles Rapoport (Trustee Emeritus), President, Common Cause
- Ernest Tollerson (on leave), Director of Policy & Media Relations, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Finances
The following is a breakdown of Demos's revenue and expenses for the 2010-2013 fiscal years:
| Annual revenue and expenses for Demos, 2010-2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax Year | Total Revenue | Total Expenses |
| 2013[8] | $8,048,607 | $8,127,178 |
| 2012[8] | $9,708,323 | $7,965,513 |
| 2011[9] | $9,973,040 | $7,845,846 |
| 2010[9] | $7,661,334 | $7,577,691 |
Noteworthy events
John Kitzhaber investigation
Due to its contract with Cylvia Hayes and its work on a new economic policy in Oregon called the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), Demos was involved in an ethics investigation into the alleged conflict of interest violations associated with Hayes and her fiancé, former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber.
Emails about Genuine Progress Indicator
On February 6, 2015, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services released emails between Hayes, Kitzhaber and department director Michael Jordan regarding a new economic policy called the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). These emails, sent between April 2013 and April 2014, revealed Hayes' close involvement in implementing the policy. Hayes was under contract with Demos, a New York-based think tank, from June to November 2013. Hayes sent an email to Jordan requesting a meeting on May 13, 2013, to discuss challenges for the GPI, only three days after signing a contract with Demos. An email from October 30, 2013, requested $125,000 to launch the GPI and listed Hayes and Demos among the "Oregon GPI Team."[2]
Emails from the same period showed Kitzhaber's efforts to hire Sean McGuire, an advisor under contract with Demos. McGuire had previously worked with Demos in Maryland to install the GPI, a measurement of economic progress that takes into account well-being and productivity. On December 30, 2013, Kitzhaber lobbied Jordan to hire McGuire, indicating that he was the "best person to do this work...and we need to find a way to bring him on." McGuire was hired in spring 2014 for a one-year contract totaling $65,000, though Jordan downplayed suggestions that Kitzhaber pressured him into the decision.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Demos A Network For Ideas And Action. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- 501(c)(3)
- Nonprofit organization
- Resignation of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber
- John Kitzhaber
- Cylvia Hayes
- Governor of Oregon
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Demos, "About Demos," accessed June 15, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Oregonian, "John Kitzhaber controversy: Cylvia Hayes directed state officials on policy she was being paid to promote, emails show," February 6, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Demos, "Demos Co-Founder and Senior Fellow David Callahan Leaves Demos for a Startup Journalism Outfit," December 20, 2013
- ↑ Demos, "Heather McGhee Named Next President of Demos," January 27, 2014
- ↑ Demos, "Issues," accessed July 14, 2015
- ↑ Demos, "Board of Trustees," accessed June 15, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 GuideStar, "Demos IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed June 15, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 GuideStar, "Demos IRS Form 990 (2011)," accessed June 15, 2015
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