Building Local Power

When ILSR co-founder David Morris published his pamphlet The Dawning of Solar Cells in 1975, nearly the only people using solar power were those in the Apollo program at NASA. Yet David saw decades into the future as he laid out a vision for community control and local ownership of a solar power system that was better for the climate and kept much more money in local economies than utility monopolies ever would. In many ways, says ILSR co-director and leader of the Energy Democracy Initiative, John Farrell, the world is still catching up with things David Morris wrote 50 years ago.  John Farrell is this week's guest. To hear him tell it, one of the most important lessons he took from David Morris was that the idea of clean energy itself isn't enough. In addition to the climate, we must also think about who owns energy and the systems that provide it. If clean energy systems are owned and controlled by energy monopolies, communities still find themselves at the mercy of huge corporations. A true energy revolution will come not only from clean energy, but community-owned clean energy. That's the path to energy self-reliance. That's the path that David Morris charted decades ago, and it's the path that John Farrell and ILSR's energy democracy team follow to this day.  For transcript and related resources, see the episode page at https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-why-clean-energy-is-not-enough

On this week's episode of Building Local Power, we continue our series honoring ILSR's co-founder David Morris, who passed away in June. One way to measure the impact of someone's work is to measure their influence on those they mentored. And if you ask Stacy Mitchell, the word "influence" isn't even sufficient for what she learned from David Morris. Hired into an entry-level position at ILSR by David Morris in 1997, Mitchell now leads the Independent Business Initiative and co-directs the entire organization. Her time working with Morris led to a long and distinguished career at ILSR and in the broader antimonopoly movement. On this episode, Mitchell shares her reflections on her time working with Morris and on the impact of his work overall. Listen for her insights about how prescient Morris's work is proving to be, as well as his demanding curiosity and tireless advocacy. Ultimately, Mitchell claims, Morris's philosophy is a blueprint for what it means to build local power, and Morris did that until the very end of his life. Don't miss this stirring conversation about one revolutionary's impact on another. For transcript and related resources, see the episode page at https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-the-problems-you-can-solve

Here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, we recently received some shocking news as we learned of the sudden passing of our beloved co-founder, David Morris. A giant in the antimonopoly field, an innovative thinker ahead of his time, and a crucial mentor to so many of us here at ILSR, David will be missed. I imagine I wasn’t alone in diving into ILSR’s archives to understand and revisit David’s work and legacy in the wake of his death. Reading David’s work from the last 50 years reminded me just how much he deeply understood about building local power, often well before political discourse arrived at the same conclusions.   That’s the inspiration for this week’s episode of Building Local Power. Today, we’re revisiting episode 22 of Building Local Power, a 2017 interview between David Morris and ILSR's Community Broadband Initiative director, Chris Mitchell. What struck me about this interview was how much of it could be said today and how much David anticipated our current moment. In the interview you’re about to hear, when asked about the source of local power, David explained that the communal nature of cities has had massive power since medieval times. In doing so, David lauds the value of so-called “Sanctuary Cities,” asserting that the term really means mutual protection against a faraway federal government that doesn’t necessarily act in the city’s interest. Such thoughts are almost painfully relevant in the wake of June 14th’s “No Kings” rallies, as those in power cynically exploit tensions about the alleged dangers of cities. There are those who say cities should not be sanctuaries. One of the many pieces of wisdom we have from David Morris’s long career runs counter to that: cities have dramatic potential for their residents to protect each other, and to act in each other’s best interest. That’s how local power is built. I hope you enjoy revisiting this 2017 interview as much as I did.  For transcript and related resources, see the episode page at https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-what-cities-can-do

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act represented one of the largest ever investments in broadband infrastructure. Many in the digital equity space believed the bill would go a long way to solve the digital divide. Provisions like the Digital Equity Act promised to be powerful tools in ensuring fast and reliable Internet access for all, regardless of money, race, and the rural/urban split. Groups ILSR's Community Broadband Networks team supports got to work applying for and receiving government funds to make major progress bringing equity to the digital space. Then, on a Thursday night in May 2025, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was cancelling the Digital Equity Act, freezing or suspending all grants awarded for it. The President's decision will likely face legal challenges because the act and the money appropriated for it represent an action that Congress has already taken. Still, the law's cancellation will have wide-ranging and devastating consequences in the digital equity space. Efforts to close the digital divide for the eight populations served by the bill are now halted in their tracks, just as they were gathering speed. On this week's Building Local Power, we are joined by Sean Gonsalves, ILSR’s associate director for communications on the Community Broadband Team. Sean brings his years of experience and expertise to explain to us the consequences and impacts of the cancellation of the Digital Equity Act. For transcript and related resources, see the episode page at https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-increasing-internet-access-at-the-speed-of-trust

The United States government is one of the biggest purchasers in the world. Few people or entities spend more money on more goods and services. Add state and local governments to the mix, and you have a massive market with the potential for a lot of businesses to make a lot of money. The process of governments purchasing from businesses, called procurement, quietly hums with billions of dollars every single day. Yet those billions overwhelmingly end up in the pockets of huge corporations and monopolies instead of the local company in your town, which contributes to your local economy and builds local power for your community. This often happens even if that local company is perfectly poised to deliver the exact goods or services needed with top-of-the-line service, speed, and pricing. The game is just rigged.  There are many reasons for this. There are also ways to fight it. Enter Paola Santana, whose company, Glass, is working to revolutionize the procurement process in favor of local businesses. Glass’s platform G-Commerce works in many ways to fill the gaps in the procurement process. G-Commerce aims to dismantle the barriers to entry facing small and local businesses. By certifying local businesses and giving them direct access to government purchasers, G-Commerce wants to level the playing field and make small government purchases more possible for local businesses. According to Paola Santana, this is a win-win: local businesses earn lucrative sales, and local governments get better service and even better prices. Paola Santana joins us today on Building Local Power to explain all this and why it’s so important. For transcript and related resources, see the episode page at https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-the-human-side-of-government-work

One way to build local power is to catalyze change directly in your community. Another, equally important method is to catalyze the catalysts. To really make change and build sustainable local economies, we need not only entrepreneurs but also people connecting entrepreneurs to each other — someone to champion the local champions. There is solid proof that entrepreneurs fare better when connected to fellow entrepreneurs and mentors. That's where today's guest, Ilana Preuss, comes in. Ilana Preuss connects and supports entrepreneurs and local economies in many ways. Through her company, Recast City, LLC, Preuss advocates for local economic growth through what she calls small-scale manufacturing: nimble, ingenious, local creators who generate economic activity by making stuff and selling it in their communities. She also has worked hard to find solutions to the small business funding gap: BIPOC entrepreneurs, as well as women, have historically found it difficult to access traditional bank financing to start their businesses. How does this dynamic champion of champions do it? Have a listen to this inspiring episode of Building Local Power to find out. For transcript and related resources, see the episode page at https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-champion-of-local-champions

Saturday, March 14, 2020, was even busier than the typical bustling Saturday at Ladybird Diner in Lawrence, Kansas. Bottles of handmade hand sanitizer were perched on each table. It was Pi Day, a special occasion for the homey diner famous for its pie. But Ladybird owner Meg Heriford was scared and unsure. The crowds were enough to convince her not to open the next day, instead opting to regroup in advance of the gathering COVID storm. Suddenly, she found herself with a kitchen full of food and nobody to serve it to. What happened next is a testament to the community-building power of independent businesses. We revisit Ladybird Diner's story not to tell a tale from the past, but to provide the prologue for the moment we find ourselves in today. Five years later, Meg is slinging pie amid new crises and political upheaval. But her commitment to her principles is unwavering: Treat her staff well, feed both the privileged and underprivileged of Lawrence, and build community through pie, coffee, and glittery vinyl booths. In an unforgettable Building Local Power episode that can only be described as inspiring, hear directly from Meg about how she stewards her diner through volatile times and why she calls that work noble. For transcript and related resources, see the episode page at https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-the-diner-building-community

Ron Knox was a successful reporter covering antitrust and antimonopoly issues until he couldn't take it any more. His growing passion for the fight against corporate power didn't match a reporter's need for neutrality and objectivity. Shedding the mantle of neutrality, Knox joined ILSR to fight for what he believed in: building local power and resisting corporate power. In the years since then, Knox has become a leading voice in the antimonopoly movement, creating resources about everything from Ticketmaster to Kroger to what states can do to fight corporate monopolies. In fact, that very idea is the center of this week's episode of Building Local Power. Knox has been a leader in ILSR's effort to provide resources and tools to help states fight monopolies, and he's here on the show to outline that work. Our galvanizing conversation also covers his antimonopoly history, his soon-to-be-released debut book, and his dreams for the future of the antimonopoly movement. If you're looking to be inspired by what's happening at the state level of the antimonopoly fight, as well as the people driving that movement, this episode is a must-listen. For the full transcript and related resources, visit the episode page: https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-ron-knox-on-the-states-of-antitrust

In late 2024, Rachel Hernandez ran a successful campaign to become mayor of Riverbank, California. A small town at the top of the state's central valley, Riverbank may not fit into what you imagine as California. There are no beaches or Hollywood signs here. The town follows the rhythm of the harvest with workers passing through following the crops. If Riverbank isn't your typical California town, Rachel Hernandez isn't your typical mayor. But she doesn't shy away from that fact. Hernandez has made her identity a central part of her governing and campaigning. She's young. She's Latina. She's the daughter of immigrants. She's a renter, not a homeowner. In this way, she represents exciting generational changes in who is claiming stewardship of American cities and towns. How does she do it? The answer is actually pretty simple: partnerships. This episode of Building Local Power features Rachel Hernandez sharing her insights on all that and more. Have a listen to what the future of local governance looks like. For the full transcript and related resources, visit the episode page: https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-rachel-hernandez-on-governing-as-a-first-generation-mayor

In the early 2000s, a behemoth rose above Providence, Rhode Island. The massive Providence Place Mall was heralded as the solution to Providence's 1990s economic woes and cited as a catalyst for urban renewal. However, not all residents of Providence welcomed the mall. For one thing, the wave of corporate development inspired by the mall leveled working-class neighborhoods on Providence's West Side. These ethnically diverse neighborhoods were magnets for artists and other changemakers. In 2003, eight of those artists, including Adriana Valdez Young, undertook a project to reclaim some of what had been lost. The Secret Mall Apartment was their way to become developers in their own right. In the wake of corporate developers claiming every inch of available space, these artists found some space of their own to develop, hidden in plain sight within the mall. The project is the subject of the new documentary Secret Mall Apartment, and one of its stars joins us on this episode of Building Local Power. Our conversation with Adriana Valdez Young explains why the apartment was more than just a prank, how the mall forever altered Providence, and why inclusive design is essential for healthy urban development. Listen in, and never look at a mall the same way again. For the full transcript and related resources, visit the episode page: https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-a-little-odd-but-a-little-amazing