Madison City Councilwoman Arvina Martin Nominated for EMILYs List’s Rising Star Award

For Immediate Release
February 11, 2019

Madison City Councilwoman Arvina Martin Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that Madison (Wisconsin) City Councilwoman Arvina Martin is a nominee for the sixth annual Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“Even before she became a trailblazer on the Madison City Council, Arvina Martin was dedicated to serving her community,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List. “She is working hard to make sure all voices and viewpoints, especially those of her fellow Ho-Chunk Nation members and other Native Americans, are heard by lawmakers. She believes that protecting voting rights and ensuring everyone can participate in democracy are fundamental pillars of a government that serves the people. Arvina is a strong advocate with a bright future and we are pleased to nominate her for the Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.”

Arvina Martin is the first Native American woman to be elected to the Madison City Council. Born and raised in Madison, Arvina has dedicated her career to improving her community She worked to increase diversity at the University of Wisconsin, protect unionized workers, and advocated for voter protection during the 2016 elections. Martin has also acted as a representative for the Ho-Chunk Nation, of which EMILYs List-endorsed Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-03) is also a member, in both political campaigns and state government.

Named in honor of the dedicated and courageous Gabrielle Giffords, the Rising Star Award celebrates an extraordinary woman serving in state or local office. The award honors a woman who demonstrates the sort of commitment to community, dedication to women and families, and determination and civility that have been the highlights of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ career, in and out of office. Previous Rising Star Award recipients include Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in 2014, Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley in 2015, Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran in 2016, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym in 2017, and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in 2018.

The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award winner will be chosen with community input.

Arvina Martin is nominated alongside:

Wendy Carrillo, California Assemblywoman
Jennifer Carroll Foy, Virginia Delegate
Margaret Good, Florida state Representative
Sandra Jauregui, Nevada Assemblywoman
Yuh-Line Niou, New York Assemblywoman

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $600 million to elect pro-choice Democratic women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 150 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,100 women to state and local office. Nearly 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. During the historic 2017-2018 cycle, EMILYs List raised a record-breaking $110 million dollars and launched a record independent expenditure campaign. We helped elect 34 new women to the House, including 24 red-to-blue victories; enough seats to have delivered the U.S. House majority alone. Since the 2016 election, more than 40,000 women have reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state and national offices.