Our Candidates
Running to fight for progressive issues in their state legislatures in NV, MI, AZ, and WI
Brittney Miller (NV State Assembly District 5)
- Serving in the Nevada Assembly since 2016 and fighting for better education, sustainable high quality jobs, gender equity, community policing, Medicaid expansion, and government accountability
- Sponsored and successfully passed AB312, requiring the State Board of Education to prescribe class sizes for all grades K-12 and AB423 that enables the Secretary of State the ability to conduct a gender equality survey of businesses in Nevada
- The first Black woman to chair the Nevada Assembly Judiciary Committee
- Currently a middle school teacher in the Clark County School District
- Formerly worked in both the corporate financial sector and the public sector successfully developing and managing programs in the Detroit area funded by the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Labor, State of Michigan Department of Education, Department of Justice, and Department of Health and Human Services
- Holds a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, a Masters of Public Administration and a Masters of Arts in Teaching
- Born in Detroit, Michigan to a Black/African-American father and Lebanese-American mother
Shadia Martini (MI State House of Representatives District 54)
- Born in Aleppo, Syria to two surgeons
- Lived in southeast Michigan since 1992
- Gained advocacy experience at the state and national level by leading in the drive to pass national legislation in 2019 that codified accountability against human rights abusers in Syria
- A tireless human rights activist and volunteer aiding Syrian refugees fleeing persecution for over a decade
- Owns her own real estate brokerage, construction company, and medical spa after receiving her M.B.A. at the University of Michigan
- Completed her B.S. in architectural engineering and taught at the university of Aleppo
Karen Gresham (AZ House District 4)
- Third-generation Arizonan with deep roots in the state
- Has been volunteering in the classroom, on PTO boards, for public education candidates, and for several charitable organizations with the goal of creating a better Arizona
- Having lost her mother to Leukemia, she finds purpose in volunteering for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, advocating for public education, and championing critical public policy issues at the State Legislature
- Worked as a CPA at Deloitte and Phelps Dodge and retired from accounting to raise her three sons
- As the current President of the Madison Elementary School District’s governing board, knows what Arizona schools, teachers, and students need
Jodi Habush Sinykin (WI State Senate District 8)
- Served as an environmental expert and advocate, testifying in front of the State Legislature and Department of Natural Resources board and represented environmental interests on state-level advisory committees, including the Wisconsin Groundwater Advisory Committee and the Wisconsin Legislative Council’s Special Committee on the Great Lakes Compact.
- Championed Wisconsin’s precious natural resources, serving for two decades as a policy expert on freshwater stewardship and wildlife conservation.
- Partner at the Wisconsin-based law firm of Habush Habush and Rottier and an owner of textile mill that produced produce critically-needed protective equipment for Wisconsin first responders.
- Taught graduate students at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences as an adjunct professor and water policy fellow for six years, focusing on Water Law and environmental justice.
- After Harvard Law School, served as a judicial clerk to a federal district court judge.
- Raised her four kids with her husband right there in Senate District 8, with many WI roots.
How We Get Our Candidates
Sister District's national organization identifies states where the state legislative chambers can be flipped blue or have fragile blue majorities. Sister District then offers support to those Democratic candidates who can realistically win a potentially close election for their state legislative seats (see more). Sister District is particularly proud to support women, candidates of color, and other candidates from diverse communities and backgrounds so that we can help build a democracy that reflects the full chorus of American voices. Candidates endorsed by Sister District are then assigned to Sister District chapters across the USA. Chapter volunteers phonebank, fundraise, postcard, and textbank for their candidates.
Since our founding in 2017, SD South Bay has supported numerous compelling leaders, such as our 2023 candidates for VA Joshua Cole and Schuyler VanValkenburg. Our past candidates have included Darrin Camilleri (MI), Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (PA), Joshua Cole (VA), Mitzi Epstein (AZ), Debra Gardner (VA), Nancy Guenst (PA), Elizabeth Guzman (VA), Pam Iovino (PA), Ann Johnson (TX), Josh Miller (VA), Debra Rodman (VA), Sara Rodriguez (WI), Lorenzo Sanchez (TX), Tammy Savoie (LA), Ann Johnson Stewart (MN), Tammy Story (CO), Amanda White Eagle (WI), and Faith Winters (CO).
Join us to support such candidates and our mission to bring progressive power to the states!