The Center for Popular Democracy Action Fund is the 501(c)(4) sister organization of the Center for Popular Democracy.^[1] The organization has advocated for increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court, known as “court-packing,” and ending the filibuster in the Senate.^[2]

CPD Action is known for its high-profile activism involving elected officials. The organization engaged in a protest outside of Senator Joe Manchin’s yacht in September 2021 after Manchin refused to vote for the $3.5 trillion spending bill known as Build Back Better.^[3] CPD Action also coordinated a campaign with several left-progressive members of Congress, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, to block traffic outside the Supreme Court on July 19, 2022, causing the congresswomen to get arrested.^[4]

People

DaMareo Cooper and Analilia Mejia are the Co-Executive Directors of CPD Action.

Ana Maria Archila and Jennifer Epps-Addison are Former Co-Executive Directors and Transition Advisors.^[5]

The organization has a Board of Directors with the following members:^[6]

• DaMareo Cooper
• Analilia Mejia
• Reyna Lopez
• Theo Oshiro
• Christina Livingston
• Debbie Soto
• Maurice Mitchell
• Jonathan Westin
• Gustavo Torres

Agenda

CPD Action advocates for left-wing policy positions. After a draft opinion of the Supreme Court’s decision Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health, CPD Action released a statement calling the draft opinion “a devastating blow to our freedoms and our bodily autonomy” that will “harm communities of color and poor people the most.”^[7] The organization called on Congress to add new seats to the Supreme Court to counteract the conservative majority, a process critics call “court-packing.” CPD Action also urged the Senate to abolish the filibuster.^[8]

After a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, CPD Action released a statement claiming that the shooting showed “disposability of lives of color to our white leadership, who have ample opportunity to prevent these tragedies.”^[9] The organization blamed the free market and white supremacy for the shooting, stating that “we live in a country in which our elected leaders prioritize the money and influence of arms dealers over the lives of our kids. Our elected leaders cling to capitalism and accept white supremacy at the expense of us all.”^[10]

Finances

While CPD Action’s 2020 990 Form has not been released by the IRS, ProPublica states that the organization’s total revenue and expenses in 2020 were $12,474,481 and $10,867,964 respectively.^[11] In 2019, CPD Action’s total revenue was $6,883,526 and its total expenses were $7,586,047.^[12] The organization gave a $519,592 grant to Tides Advocacy and a $475,000 grant to its sister organization the Center for Popular Democracy, along with several smaller grants to activist organizations including the Women’s March Inc. and CASA de Maryland.^[13]

Controversies

Protest at Joe Manchin’s Houseboat

In September 2021, activists from CPD Action and several other left-wing activist organizations engaged in a protest outside of Joe Manchin’s houseboat in Washington, D.C., after Manchin declined to support President Biden’s $3.5 trillion bill known as Build Back Better.^[14] Protestors kayaked to Manchin’s houseboat and shouted several slogans about climate change and economic policy. Manchin later agreed to meet with the protestors.^[15]

Facilitation of Congressional Members’ Arrest

CPD Action was involved in a protest outside the Supreme Court on July 19, 2022 that several congresswomen, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, were arrested at. In an Instagram post, Ocasio-Cortez said that CPD Action organizers and activists had asked her and other congressional members to “submit themselves for arrest in front of the Supreme Court” to continue to draw media attention to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health.^[16] CPD Action stated that its leaders were among the 18 people that were not congressional members but also arrested.^[17] CPD Action said the incident showed “SCOTUS and lawmakers that #WeWontBackDown until ALL pregnancy-abled people are treated as full human beings with the autonomy to make decisions about OUR OWN bodies.”^[18]

The incident drew widespread attention after Ocasio-Cortez’s critics accused her of pretending to be handcuffed to create a media attention.^[19] Ocasio-Cortez said she was engaging in “a best practice when under arrest.”^[20]