Today at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina, Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland and U.S. Senator Mark Begich of Alaska celebrated the first 100 NewDEAL Leaders, a group of rising elected officials from across the country who champion ideas to build broadly-earned, sustainable economic growth.  The NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders) is a national network committed to highlighting these state and local elected leaders and helping them to share their pro-growth progressive ideas.

Governor O’Malley, Honorary Co-Chair of the NewDEAL, introduced the NewDEAL Leaders by explaining why he thinks the network plays an important new role in the nation’s politics. “Too often in DC, pro-growth and progressive goals are seen as opposed to each other.  But as former mayors, Senator Begich and I saw first hand how solutions that were both pro-growth and progressive could help to grow the economy in a way that expands opportunity for everyone.  I am proud of the NewDEAL’s work to highlight these 100 leaders from across the country with innovative ideas to build economic growth.”

“Governor O’Malley and I joined the NewDEAL because we believe that we need to look for fresh ideas not just from the top down in Washington DC, but also from the bottom up, where local leaders are developing and testing their ideas out on the ground,” added Senator Begich, Honorary Co-Chair of the NewDEAL.

The NewDEAL features leaders from many different backgrounds and 43 states—a list of the 100 is attached.  The latest leaders to join the NewDEAL hail from across the country:

Birmingham (AL) City Councilor Johnathan Austin, Honolulu City Councilor Stanley Chang, Racine (WI) Mayor John Dickert, Maryland Senator Bill Ferguson, Oregon Senator Mark Hass, Iowa Representative Anesa Kajtazovic, Illinois Representative Elaine Nekritz, Snohomish County (WA) Executive Aaron Reardon, Douglas County (NE) Commissioner Chris Rodgers, Burlington (VT) Mayor Miro Weinberger, and Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams.

The NewDEAL is committed to helping pro-growth progressive leaders share their innovative ideas on its interactive website, www.NewDEALLeaders.org.  The public is encouraged to nominate other state and local elected leaders on the network’s website and stay connected as the NewDEAL highlights more pro-growth progressive ideas