December saw Local Progress, the new national municipal policy network, take action on cutbacks to crucial services at the local level. With the President and Congress locked in a high-stakes game of chicken over the “fiscal cliff," CPD drafted and distributed a model resolution for city councils across the nation to pass.

The motion calling on the federal government to address the fiscal crisis with progressive revenue streams rather than cuts to crucial services. Arguing that unwise cuts to federal spending inevitably shift costs onto states and municipalities, it called on Congress to focus on creating a robust economic recovery rather than rapid deficit reduction. The cities of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Baltimore, and Yonkers all passed resolutions with huge majorities.

These resolutions are a taste of things to come, as the Local Progress network embarks on an ambitious program of coordinated campaigns for 2013.