 ATLANTA AP Amid Americans national reckoning on racism, a coalition of progressive groups is forming a political action committee to back local candidates who want to redirect money away from traditional police departments into other social services. An outgrowth of the Defund the Police movement, the WFP Justice Fund is led by the Working Families Party and the Movement for Black Lives Electoral Justice Project. The PAC has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and plans immediately to begin accepting contributions and vetting candidates to support. Organizers described the effort to The Associated Press on Monday as a counter to the political power of police unions and a way to continue educating voters about what the defund push means. The result, they said, would be a shift in local government budgets and public safety systems around the country. Weve abided by an era where law and order was this stamp of approval, where law enforcement endorsements somehow signified legitimacy, said Maurice Mitchell, executive director of the Working Families Party, which backs democratic socialists and progressive candidates at all levels of government. So we are creating a counterbalance that can create the space for elected officials to do the work thats being demanded from the streets, Mitchell continued, adding that the goal is divestment from things that arent working and investment in things that are working. Organizers pointed to public polling since George Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, died May 25 under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. In June, a survey by the AP and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found a dramatic shift in the nations opinions on policing and race,... 