Membership, goals, and more.

Our mission is to restore public service, rebalance politics, and rebuild community. We help residents come together — in real life — to make their communities better and hold politicians accountable for doing their part. And we operate a political organization, for when career politicians need to be replaced by true public servants who prioritize doing the job over keeping the job.

In some ways, Us is what a political party should be: an organization focused on serving its voters, not its politicians. And we are what a 21st-century political party should be: an organization using technology to empower its members, not spam them.

No. We welcome members with diverse perspectives, and our member tools like Ideas are non-partisan. But in our electoral work — the work paid for by membership dues — we align with the Democratic Party and do not work for the election of Republican candidates.

To be clear, though, we call out anti-voter behavior on the Democratic side, too, from spam texts to corruption to careerism. Such behavior undermines the standing of the Democratic Party with voters and should not be tolerated.

Through a relentless focus on putting service over self, we hope to convince Democratic Party leaders that a better (and more effective) way is possible.

We are a membership-driven political organization, registered as a California Non-profit Mutual Benefit Corporation and operating under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. We do not coordinate with candidates, parties, or campaigns. We do not solicit funds for, or transfer funds to, any candidate committee.

We operate only in California, our home and the birthplace of so many ideas that have changed this country. We started in Santa Monica and plan to expand to all of Los Angeles County in the months to come.

For more information on our mission and team, check out our Why Us page.

Yes. Membership is free, and free members get full access to all of our community features. Paid memberships are also available. For more information, see our membership page.

Member dues fund the cost of providing our tools to restore public service, rebalance politics, and rebuild community: software development, hosting costs, etc.

Member dues also fund campaigns to support our endorsed candidates, as well as discounted memberships for people with demonstrated financial hardships.

Your money does not fund consultants, SMS spam operations, or endless fundraising.

Discounted memberships are funded by subscribers to our Plus membership plan and are available to members with demonstrated financial hardships. Such memberships are subject to availability.

For more information on qualification thresholds and to determine whether you qualify, please email support@newpublicservice.com.

Yes. Member dues are billed monthly or annually (depending on the membership plan you select), and you can cancel online. Each dues payment is a political donation to Us, and we report donations to the FEC as required.

Any member can create an Idea.

Any member who lives in the area tagged in the Idea may vote. And any member, regardless of location, may comment on an Idea.

When an Idea has (1) at least 10 backers, and (2) at least 60% support (i.e., 60%+ of members who have voted on the Idea have "backed" it), the Idea is considered "embraced."

When an Idea becomes "embraced", all elected officials tagged on the Idea are asked to weigh in, and a member may step up to "Champion" the Idea.

When an Idea qualifies as "Embraced," any member who lives in the area tagged on the Idea may volunteer to be its "Champion."

The Champion is the person who is going to coordinate the effort to get the Idea implemented. That work might include organizing members who back the Idea to take additional action, identifying and working with the elected officials who have voiced support on the Idea page, and posting updates on the Idea page.

We understand that posting online is not enough to get things done. Everything we do is about getting real results, not just winning moral victories. And sometimes, that requires IRL action. The Champion drives that action.

To be considered for an endorsement by Us, a candidate must first sign the pledge through our website. The pledge binds them to a single commitment: a lifetime limit on their years in elected office.

The pledge is a contract between the candidate, the members who fund them, and the candidates who will replace them. We do not expect endorsees to breach this contract, but if they do, Us will not only permanently ban them, but will also loudly call attention to their dishonesty.

Candidates and officeholders can sign the pledge here.

Candidates can apply to be backed by Us by filling out the candidate application form.