CNL September 2023 Newsletter

New Chapters!

We want to welcome our new chapters to the CNL family! Both the Atlanta and Kansas City chapters have their relaunch events THIS week, with new leadership ready to reactivate New Liberals in their hometowns. Our new Johannesburg chapter is also launching with an event later this week. They are coming on board to bring new life to liberalism in South Africa and we couldn’t be more excited that we now have a chapter on every inhabited continent. All three chapters have events this month and if you’re in the area, you should definitely check them out.


A Fond Adieu from CNL’s Organizing Director

CNL’s Organizing Director, Markose Butler, will be leaving us at the end of the month. We’re incredibly grateful for everything that Markose has done to help grow CNL over the past three years, and we’re sad to see him go. Below are remarks he wanted to share with the New Liberal community before his departure:


It is with a heavy heart that I must announce my impending departure from CNL effective 1 October 2023. Ever since I started with CNL, I've been immersed in a world of liberalism, chapters, events, and people that I’ve grown to care a lot about. It truly has been the honor of a lifetime to work as your Organizing Director and see all the things our chapters have been able to get into and the growth of CNL’s influence on politics. I just want to thank all our tireless volunteer organizers for all the work they’ve done because none of what we’ve been able to do would be possible. I want to thank everyone who attended our events for their time and energy whether it was at a chapter social, a canvass, or a service event. None of what we do would work if we didn’t have scores of people attending our events. I still fully intend to remain in the CNL orbit, and am excited to see how CNL continues to grow, so I will not say goodbye; I’ll see you later.


14 August 2023

Publication: Congress for New Urbanism

Title: Houston tackles missing-middle housing with code reform

Author: Ben Abramson

Pull Quote: Erfan agrees that there are regulations in Houston, particularly around parking, that are tantamount to zoning restrictions and credits the city with being willing to rethink such rules in the face of a growing population—at 2,304,580 residents, Houston is the U.S.’s fourth most-populous city—and a housing crisis.

Featured: Micah Erfan (Houston Chapter)


21 August 2023

Publication: Discourse Magazine

Title: The Crisis of Technical Deference in AI Policy

Author: Matthew Mittelsteadt

Pull Quote: AI is a general-purpose technology, and to manage its unpredictable and varied impacts, we need to foster a general-purpose slate of experts at the policy helm. If we don’t, we risk decision-making blind spots and inevitable policy misfires.

Featured: Matthew Mittelsteadt (DC Chapter)


26 August 2023

Publication: The Messenger

Title: Democrats Need To Learn How To Get Excited About the Center-Left

Author: Tobin Stone

Pull Quote: As Democrats gear up for the 2024 election cycle, it’s critical for the party to build grassroots support for center-left and moderate Democrats who have enabled the party’s biggest successes over the past six years and who will ensure that Democrats gain a sustainable majority.

Featured: Tobin Stone (CNL)


30 August 2023

Publication: The Telegraph

Title: Environmental Red Tape Has Brought our Economy to its Knees

Author: Freddie Poser

Pull Quote: The endless round of applications, appeals and decisions make everything more expensive to build, but it’s the hidden costs – the growth we don’t get from houses unbuilt or roads unconnected – that make our economy smaller.

Featured: Freddie Poser (London Chapter)


Upcoming Podcast Episodes

  • Tech regulation with Derek Robertson

  • Antitrust with Diana Moss

  • The religious right with Kevin Vallier

Calling new leads!

Do you have five hours per week, and a desire to advocate for pragmatic liberalism in your local community? We’re looking to help you start a chapter in your community, help run one of our existing chapters or take over one of our inactive chapters. If interested, please book a time with our Community Outreach and Training Director, Markose Butler, on his Calendly page. We’re especially targeting the following cities: 

  • Boston

  • Cleveland

  • Richmond, Virginia

  • San Diego

  • Sydney