I've been in the trenches trying to change housing policy in Austin and the description in this article is very real to me. It has taken my group, AURA, years to learn the ropes of local politics: what specific policy we want, who has control over that policy, and how to influence those people. It took us 6+ years, but we've elected a pro-housing City Council and are getting laws passed. Elections can be fun competitions, but most of advocacy is slow and boring and often feels like running in a labyrinth or torture with tedium.

The police reform groups have more difficulty. The police union is a well-funded well-organized opposition. The reform groups have a lot of public support, but it has been a long difficult slog. They were forced to passed their laws by ballot measure and, even after they pass, it is a struggle to get the city's staff and police to implement them! As I said, David Ruggles's work to get govt employees to actually do their job feels very real to me.