In the wake of scandals concerning government corruption and a lack of public representation in higher offices, RepresentUs, a non-profit group founded in 2012, is attempting to find ways to restore power in the hands of the people. The organization accomplishes its goal by offering a bipartisan solution that helps pass anti-corruption laws at the state level.

According to the RepresentUs webpage, the primary aim of the growing movement is to “pass powerful anti-corruption laws that stop political bribery, end secret money, and fix broken elections.”

They strive to do so with the help of multiple chapters in over 20 states. The statistical information detailed on the webpage indicates that members of RepresentUs contributed to the successful passage of 23 anti-corrpution reforms across the country, and these numbers are projected to increase by 2022.

Alexis Rudney, a student at Diablo Valley College, found herself drawn to the idea of RepresentUs but was disheartened upon learning that the closet chapters in California were in Palo Alto and San Francisco. She then decided to start her own East Bay chapter by getting connected with individuals at the headquarters of RepresentUs and spreading the word about the organization.

Rudney believes that RepresentUs will effectively passing anti-corruption laws because of the organization’s realistic goals.

“A huge reason that I love RepresentUs is because it’s non-partisan. I think that the political divide and political polarization that we have in the United States is a root of a lot of problems and RepresentUs begins to connect all sides with an issue not many people can dispute. I love that RepresentUs is founded on research, data, studies and scholars that all point to the same thing,” Rudney says. She mentions that their well-thought-out strategy makes it possible to facilitate connections among people from all over the political spectrum in order to achieve the organization’s goals.

Rudney states that public participation is the most vital element of RepresentUs. The primary goal of the movement is to pass smaller legislation in local communities that will trigger a “tipping point,” eventually leading to changes in city and state legislation.

As for the future of the campaign, Rudney announces that there will soon be a way for people to sign up for the East Bay chapter through the RepresentUs website. She hopes that the chapter will grow to be one of the biggest RepresentUs branches in the country.