The Barbara Jordan Leadership Award is given to a young elected official who has shown dedication and support to the YEO Network and has a distinguished record of public service to their community and the progressive movement at large.

Based on this criteria, the YEO Network has nominated four outstanding YEOs:

• City Councilman Melvin Carter
• State Senator Jamie Eldridge
  
• Mayor Evan Low
  
• State Representative Rachel Weston
  

The winner was presented at the 2010 YEO National Convening in May. In the spirit of a convening for YEOs by YEOs, this award was given to the nominee voted for by YEO Network members.

Congratulations to this year's Barbara Jordan Leadership Award recipient, Mayor Evan Low!

Councilmember Melvin Carter (St. Paul, Minnesota)

Melvin W. Carter, III is the youngest member of the Saint Paul City Council.  A native of Minnesota, he attended Florida A&M University and became engaged in the political process after his brother was turned away from a Florida polling location during Election 2000.  Melvin has worked ever since to empower underrepresented communities through grassroots community and electoral organizing.

Elected in 2007, Melvin has sponsored and passed legislation to tackle some of his community’s most urgent issues, including: forming the City’s Department of Human Rights & Equal Economic Opportunity; requiring landlords to notify tenants of a pending foreclosure on their property; slowing the marketing of tobacco to children by banning the sale of candy cigarettes and toy lighters; and educating restaurant employees about the dangers of food allergies.

Councilmember Carter is a steadfast champion for transit equity, advocating for a Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project that directly enhances the community most directly impacted by its construction and operation.  His current focus is on building the Frogtown/Summit-University Community Investment Campus, a collaboration between the city, county, schools, and community partners to improve student achievement in Ward One.

A self-proclaimed “organizer-turned-politician before it was cool,” Councilmember Carter is passionate about helping new people engage in civic processes.  He serves as founder/director of Urban Embassy, Minnesota State Director for the Young Elected Officials Network, and has trained community organizers and candidates in 25 states in affiliation with several local and national organizations, including Wellstone Action, People for the American Way Foundation, United States Student Association, Progressive Majority, and the Harvard Black Policy Conference. 

In his personal time, Melvin enjoys spending time with his wife Alecia and two daughters, Maylena (4) and Naomi (2).  Additionally, he directs a choir at St. James AME Church and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

State Senator Jamie Eldridge (Massachusetts)

Jamie Eldridge has served as State Senator for the Middlesex and Worcester district in MetroWest Massachusetts since January 2009. Previously, Sen. Eldridge served as State Representative for the 37th Middlesex district, after being the only "Clean Elections" candidate (publicly funded campaign) to be elected to public office in Massachusetts history in November 2002.

A progressive Democrat, Eldridge is know for his leadership and independence on behalf of his constituents. As a House member, he was a co-founder of the "Democratic Study Group," a group of progressive legislators who work together on issues of mutual interest. During his time in the Legislature, he has been one of the leaders of the movement to protect marriage equality in Massachusetts, proposed and passed the state's newest anti-poverty program (Individual Development Accounts), helped lead the successful effort to close corporate tax loopholes, and was part of an effort to overhaul the way education is financed in Massachusetts, resulting in significantly more state education aid for local communities. Jamie has also been a strong and vocal advocate for campaign and ethics reform, increased environmental protections, economic development for low-income families, fair taxation, and universal access to health care.

Recent distinctions include "Legislator of the Year" awards from the American Planning Association (MA Chapter) and the Environmental League of Massachusetts, and an "Asset Building Champion" award from MIDAS, a statewide collaborative of community-based, nonprofit organizations working to help low-income residents in Massachusetts build assets and achieve greater economic stability.

Sen. Eldridge is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, and Boston College Law School.

Mayor Evan Low (Campbell, California)

Evan Low is a fourth-generation Californian and currently serves as Mayor for the City of Campbell, which is located in the heart of Silicon Valley. He was elected at the age of 23 and is currently the youngest openly gay Mayor and youngest Asian American Mayor in the country.

At the national level, Democratic National Committee Chairman and Governor Tim Kaine appointed Evan to serve on the Democratic National Committee, where he now serves as a member of the Resolutions Committee, and is also the Secretary Treasurer for the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus. During the 2008 Presidential elections, Governor Howard Dean appointed Evan to the DNC Convention Rules Committee, where super delegates played a decisive role in selecting the nominee. 

At the state level, Evan also serves as Co-Chair of the Finance Committee for the California State Democratic Party. He currently works as a Senior District Representative for California Assemblymember Paul Fong, and was voted by the public to be the San Francisco Pride Grand Marshal in 2008. In recognizing his commitment and service to the community, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom named June 5th, 2006 as Evan Low Day in the City and County of San Francisco.

Mayor Low earned his B.A. in Political Science from San Jose State University and is a graduate of the Senior Executives in Local and State Government program from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government where he was a Bohnett Leadership Fellow.  He is also the California State Director for the YEO Network.

State Representative Rachel Weston (Vermont)

Rachel Weston is currently serving her second term in the Vermont House of Representatives, representing the downtown and working neighborhoods of Burlington, Vermont. She was first elected at the age of 25 after being inspired to run for elected office as a way to more effectively work towards social justice.

During her time in the Legislature, she has been a leader in advocating for renewable energy development and policies that better the lives of women and working families. She has worked to successfully set statewide goals for renewable energy generation and establish a first in the nation feed-in tariff standard offer for small scale renewable energy projects that has resulted in a marked increase in amount of clean energy available in Vermont. Rachel has also been a leader in legislatively removing toxins from children's and everyday products that are linked with cancer and can negatively affect the reproductive system. During the 2009 legislative session, Rachel helped to successfully pass Marriage Equality legislation in Vermont. Recently, she has introduced legislation that would guarantee paid family leave for working mothers and fathers to care for newborn children or ailing relatives.

Within her community Rep. Weston is a member of the board of directors for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and the Champlain Valley Friends of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. She is currently involved in a campaign to protect Burlington's Instant Runoff Voting system from a ballot initiative that is aimed to replace it with a less democratic electoral system. She serves on the Vermont Democratic Party Executive Committee and was a delegate for President Barack Obama to the Democratic National Convention in 2008. She is also the Vermont State Director for the YEO Network.

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