The Women Mayors Network is a joint project of the left-of-center Mayors Innovation Project and Equity Agenda founded by Heidi Gerbracht, the director of re:power’s Progressive Governance Academy. The network organizes women mayors and engages in political advocacy. For instance, in 2022 a group of the network’s members signed two pro-abortion open letters concerning the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that struck down the purported federal right to abortion access.

Background

Heidi Gerbracht launched Women Mayors Network in 2020. It was organized as a project of two organizations. One is the left-of-center Mayors Innovation Project, a network of left-of-center mayors founded in 2005 by then-Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz (D) within the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, a University of Wisconsin-based think tank that advocates for left-of-center policies. The other is Equity Agenda, a consultancy founded by Gerbracht that works with local governments and nonprofits to assess organizational alignment with left-of-center ideological objectives and is fiscally sponsored by the Social Good Fund, a left-of-center nonprofit donor-advised fund provider. Equity Agenda has not been active since 2022, after Gerbracht joined the far-left political training organization re:power as director of its Progressive Governance Academy. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

According to the Women Mayors Network’s website, the network is open to all “women-identified” mayors and consists of almost 200 individuals. ^{6 7}

Open Letters

On May 4, 2022, a group of women mayors belonging to the Women Mayors Network signed an open letter, which the organization features on its website, responding to a leaked draft of the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The letter, which maintains an “unequivocally” pro-abortion stance, argued that the court’s position in the document is historically regressive and would serve as a basis to “unravel” other left-of-center policies and rulings. The letter concluded by demanding that Congress pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (H.R. 3755) and the Each Act (S.1021). The Women’s Health Protection Act, sponsored by Representative Judy Chu (D-CA), would prohibit governmental restriction on the provision of abortions. The Each Act, sponsored by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), would require that federal health care programs provide coverage for abortions. ^{8 9 10}

On June 4, 2022, a group of women mayors belonging to the network as well as a group of “Allied Mayors” (including men) signed a follow-up letter after the court made its decision, also featured on the organization’s website, which reflected the leaked draft that had been the subject of the first letter. In general, this second letter reiterated the arguments of the first and ended with a declaration that the “Supreme Court has failed us” as well as an exhortation for readers to vote for politicians opposed to the ruling. ¹¹

Heidi Gerbracht

Heidi Gerbracht is the founder of the Women Mayors Network as well as its parent organization, Equity Agenda. Since 2022, she has also been the director of the far-left political training organization re:power’s Progressive Governance Academy. Previously, Gerbracht worked as the national program director of Bright Cities, a project of Healthy Babies Bright Futures; as a fundraiser and organizer of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association; and as a chair of the board of directors of Annie’s List, a Texas-based pro-abortion political action committee. ^{12 13}

1. “Welcome Heidi Gerbracht, Our New PGA Director!” re:power – Newsroom. July 29, 2022. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://repower.org/welcome-heidi-gerbracht/
2. Homepage. Equity Agenda. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://equityagenda.org/
3. “Welcome to Equity Agenda!” Equity Agenda. October 27, 2020. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://equityagenda.org/2020/10/27/welcome-to-equity-agenda/
4. “What We Do.” Mayors Innovation Project. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://mayorsinnovation.org/what-we-do/
5. “About Us.” Women Mayors Network. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.womenmayorsnetwork.org/home/about-us/
6. “Our Network.” Women Mayors Network. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.womenmayorsnetwork.org/our-network-2/
7. “About Us.” Women Mayors Network. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.womenmayorsnetwork.org/home/about-us/
8. “S.1021 – EACH Act of 2021.” Congress.gov. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1021
9. “H.R.3755 – Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021.” Congress.gov. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3755
10. “Open letter from Women Mayors regarding the leaked Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.” Women Mayors Network. May 4, 2022. Archived from the original May 7, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220507184620/https://www.womenmayorsnetwork.org/women-mayors-scotus-sign-on-letter/
11. “Women Mayors and Allies Open Letter re. Abortion Access and Supreme Court Decision.” Women Mayors Network. June 20, 2022. Archived from the original July 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715182335/https://www.womenmayorsnetwork.org/abortionaccessletter2/
12. Gerbracht, Heidi. “Why Cities Matter in the Fight for Abortion Rights.” Equity Agenda (originally published at Rewire). March 8, 2022. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://equityagenda.org/2022/03/08/why-cities-matter-in-the-fight-for-abortion-rights/
13. “HEIDI GERBRACHT – VICE-CHAIR.” URGE. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://urge.org/profile/heidi-gerbracht/