Speaker 1: Hi guys, and welcome back to this week's episode of
Speaker 1: Let's Be Real Podcast. As always, my name is Sammy J.
Speaker 1: And I'm so happy you're here. This week's episode is
Speaker 1: with ch O Say Now, you may not know his
Speaker 1: name right now, but trust me you will. He's one
Speaker 1: of the first gen Zers to run for political office.
Speaker 1: He's running for New York City Council in District thirty six,
Speaker 1: which is in New York. We have a great discussion
Speaker 1: on what's happening in society right now, what it's like
Speaker 1: running a political campaign at twenty two, how to be
Speaker 1: taken seriously and not let your age define you, and
Speaker 1: how to get involved in politics and make a difference
Speaker 1: no matter your age. I hope you enjoyed this episode,
Speaker 1: and as always, I'll see you guys next week. I
Speaker 1: am so excited to have you on my podcast because
Speaker 1: I've been so inspired by what you're doing. How did
Speaker 1: you get interested in politics? Yeah, I am the one
Speaker 1: of the first gen Zers to run for city council
Speaker 1: in the city. UM. Never thought I would jump into
Speaker 1: politics ever. UM. I've always been someone that's been politically aware, UM,
Speaker 1: in terms of what's happening on a presidential level. UM,
Speaker 1: but never thought that I would jump into a local
Speaker 1: race before. UM. You know just a little bit about myself.
Speaker 1: I mean, my name is chi O say um. I
Speaker 1: I love everything creative, whether it's movies, art, music. UM.
Speaker 1: I come from a heavy music background family. UM. So
Speaker 1: politics was never in my line of sight. UM until
Speaker 1: this summer. So what got you interested in running for office? Then?
Speaker 1: After the murder of George Floyd, UM, I felt really
Speaker 1: inclined to to leave my quarantine and protest against the
Speaker 1: injustices that be in our country and in our city. UM.
Speaker 1: And through that activism UM and going out every single day,
Speaker 1: I had this growing hunger for for change UM. And
Speaker 1: my feeling UM and strategy in order to achieve that
Speaker 1: change from me was to jump into this political race.
Speaker 1: I took that leap of faith. And it's been a
Speaker 1: crazy six the seven months since we jumped in, and
Speaker 1: I've learned a lot. Yeah, time isn't a thing anymore.
Speaker 1: Those June feels like two years ago. It truly does.
Speaker 1: It's this past year, and I guess this year already
Speaker 1: feels like a whole another year. The past twenty summer
Speaker 1: days of this year also a blur. Yeah, absolutely and
Speaker 1: so chaotic, I know. And I also feel like the
Speaker 1: protesting over the summer. I protested, and it was the
Speaker 1: most surreal experience because you felt like you were making
Speaker 1: a difference by just being there. Um, what was your
Speaker 1: first experience when you went, because I know you like
Speaker 1: lead a lot of protests. Your first protest? Were you underprepared?
Speaker 1: Were you ready? Was it what you expected? You know?
Speaker 1: I it was like the first time I was around
Speaker 1: a lot of people ever since, you know, being in quarantine,
Speaker 1: since what it was at the end of March, earliest
Speaker 1: year a year. I think that's absolutely nuts. Um, the
Speaker 1: first protest, I was extremely under prepared, um for what happened,
Speaker 1: you know. I I came in shorts and doc Martins
Speaker 1: and had a topebag of water and chapstick. And it
Speaker 1: was a non violent protest, and um, I expected it
Speaker 1: to be that way. But the police lashed out, you know,
Speaker 1: at at many of the people that were there by
Speaker 1: myself was pepper sprayed. Um. Other people around me were
Speaker 1: injured by the barricades and by police batons, and many
Speaker 1: people were arrested as well. Um. So I was prepared
Speaker 1: for that first protest, but Um, I came prepared every
Speaker 1: single day after that. So how do you face that
Speaker 1: fear after getting pepper sprayed, which I can only imagine
Speaker 1: is the most unpleasant, painful feeling, And then how do
Speaker 1: you get that courage to go again even though you're
Speaker 1: being targeted for peacefully protesting. I overcame that fear with
Speaker 1: my passion for change. M hmm. I wanted the police
Speaker 1: to be held accountable for what they were doing. I
Speaker 1: wanted uh we as as non violent protesters and its
Speaker 1: black and brown folks in this country who achieved the
Speaker 1: change that our people have been fighting for for decades.
Speaker 1: And I think that's what helped me overcome the sphere
Speaker 1: of being purper sprayed again. I did wear my my
Speaker 1: safety goggles the next day. UM, but you know I smart, right, UM.
Speaker 1: But it was this yearning for change, in this passion
Speaker 1: for um, you know, justice, that that helped me overcome
Speaker 1: that fear of being preper sprayed again. It did not
Speaker 1: happen again to me at least, but UM, you know
Speaker 1: I was very careful in those in those following weeks
Speaker 1: after that. Um. But yeah, I had this this this
Speaker 1: strive to to to make real change in our city
Speaker 1: and something that I've noticed. I really got into activism
Speaker 1: over the past few years, just after the election and
Speaker 1: how to really make a difference. But people don't realize
Speaker 1: how important look elections are. That they think it's just
Speaker 1: the midterms and the presidential elections. But what really changes,
Speaker 1: you know, the country are these local elections. So for
Speaker 1: those who don't understand, why can you explain it? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: I mean, please do vote in every presidential election. Vote
Speaker 1: in every single election. Um. But you know, when you
Speaker 1: think about our our day to day and what we
Speaker 1: truly complain about. Especially as a New Yorker do you
Speaker 1: live in New York? Yes? Do you know? Okay, amazing
Speaker 1: me too. Um So as a New Yorker and as
Speaker 1: someone that was protesting this summer, you and I both um,
Speaker 1: many people were chanting for change within the the NYPD.
Speaker 1: Trump is not responsible for that, Our new president Biden
Speaker 1: is not responsible for that. M Our Senate's not responsible
Speaker 1: for that. Are our House is not responsible for that.
Speaker 1: Our local electives are responsible for that. So if we're
Speaker 1: spending our energy and time to protests in the streets,
Speaker 1: um demanding change and reimagining of the NYPD, then we
Speaker 1: need to be going to the polls and voting in individuals, UM,
Speaker 1: in our own neighborhoods, in our own districts, that will
Speaker 1: will respond to the values in the demands that we
Speaker 1: are asking for. UM. For an example, you know, a
Speaker 1: piece on my platform is I'm fighting for a green
Speaker 1: new Deal for New York City. UM. We need to
Speaker 1: start making those movements and putting people in office on
Speaker 1: a local level that will be demanding that so that
Speaker 1: we can fight for that on the top and that
Speaker 1: happens in our local elections. You know, we can't wait
Speaker 1: UM for Biden. UM. We can't wait for for Congress.
Speaker 1: We can't wait for the Senate. UM to get things done.
Speaker 1: We need to to act locally, UM, in every single election.
Speaker 1: I'm very passionate about the education system, and I've noticed
Speaker 1: that in a lot of low income neighborhoods, schools are
Speaker 1: often underfunded. Why is that and what can we do
Speaker 1: about it? Many of the people that it is affecting
Speaker 1: don't really have a voice, don't really have a platform
Speaker 1: to be able to speak up. And it's not coincidental
Speaker 1: why our schools, I mean, in predominantly black neighborhoods are
Speaker 1: underfunded it's not coincidental that because you're you're illiterate, I
Speaker 1: your higher chance of going to prison. That's a poll,
Speaker 1: a part of the large system. UM. You know, many
Speaker 1: people I think black lives matter only pertains to law
Speaker 1: enforcement UM killing black and brown men and women. But
Speaker 1: that is not true, you know. And in many of
Speaker 1: the parts of this country, nonetheless, New York City, predominantly
Speaker 1: black neighborhoods are red lines and districts where are people
Speaker 1: you know, live in conditions with underfunded public housing, underfunded
Speaker 1: public education, underfunded healthcare. So in a way, we are
Speaker 1: set up in these environments where we're supposed to fail,
Speaker 1: you know, we're set up to fail. We're set up
Speaker 1: to to go into the carcelrol U system. And and
Speaker 1: the reason that that is is because are are elected
Speaker 1: UM and those that are in power are accepting money
Speaker 1: from police unions, are accepting money from real estate developers.
Speaker 1: So rather than fulfilling the promises of their constituency or
Speaker 1: the people, UH, they're fulfilling the promises of their donors
Speaker 1: and people with money UM that that are are putting
Speaker 1: their ideas forward. And that's why, you know, with cases
Speaker 1: like that, and with a lot of v the action.
Speaker 1: A lot of the individuals that I'm talking about now,
Speaker 1: UM are are able to to hide under the radar,
Speaker 1: and that's why it's not a public conversation. But people
Speaker 1: are talking about it, and the conversation is getting louder.
Speaker 1: What's it like running for office? I mean, you said
Speaker 1: yourself you weren't as interested in politics a year ago.
Speaker 1: And what advice do you have for young people who
Speaker 1: also want to run for office? How do you get
Speaker 1: started with it? I had a voice, and I have
Speaker 1: a voice, and I have a vision, and I think
Speaker 1: that's all that it takes. Obviously there are multiple multiple
Speaker 1: parts that that go into it, UM. But if you
Speaker 1: have a voice and you have UM something to say
Speaker 1: that is important and that will will will conjure change
Speaker 1: in your community, in your neighborhood, UM for the people
Speaker 1: around you, then use that voice. UM. I happen to
Speaker 1: use that voice to jump into this race, UM because
Speaker 1: it was important to me. And you know, there are
Speaker 1: people that that rallied behind me. There are people that
Speaker 1: UM I have been able to grow with throughout these
Speaker 1: past couple of six months, half a year, UM, and
Speaker 1: it's been amazing. I will say it's one of the
Speaker 1: craziest things I have ever done. But it's, um, it's amazing,
Speaker 1: it's a it's a really entertaining experience. And you know,
Speaker 1: throughout all of it, I've I've been bringing me to
Speaker 1: the table. You know, I've never forgotten who I am. Um,
Speaker 1: even though I'm running to be a politician, I'm still cheap.
Speaker 1: You know. If you look at the design behind my campaign, UM,
Speaker 1: it's it's authentically you know, it's it's it's you can
Speaker 1: see my my take on art, you can see my
Speaker 1: take on design, you can see where my references are from.
Speaker 1: Because I want this to be like no other campaign
Speaker 1: that anyone has ever seen before. I want this to
Speaker 1: be the loudest, the coolest, the most stylish so that
Speaker 1: I can engage every single person in local politics. And
Speaker 1: we're doing the damn thing. We have to take a
Speaker 1: quick break, but when we come back, I want to
Speaker 1: find out about what's something unexpected that you've learned through
Speaker 1: this experience and what it's been like being twenty two
Speaker 1: on campaigning again, people who are ten, twent, thirty years older.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back and we're back. You're bringing the
Speaker 1: most gen z to this election. If that makes sense,
Speaker 1: from the style to creativity to it. Local politics hasn't
Speaker 1: been cool before, and I feel like that's what you're doing.
Speaker 1: You're making it cool, which is so important. What's something
Speaker 1: that you didn't expect you to learn past six months running? Hmm,
Speaker 1: that's a that's a good question. Um, how good I
Speaker 1: am at this? I think that's something I did not
Speaker 1: expect that to be the case. I mean, I knew
Speaker 1: that we were going to make noise. But you know,
Speaker 1: this past week in our race of eleven people, I
Speaker 1: found out that I outraised every single person in my race.
Speaker 1: I'm the youngest candidate in my race by twenty years. Um. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So like seeing the grassroots support that we're getting from people,
Speaker 1: um in the neighborhood, UM, you know, on on the internet, UM,
Speaker 1: everywhere is amazing, you know. And seeing how how well
Speaker 1: this is going, um is you're surprised that it's going.
Speaker 1: No I mean, I thought it was going to go well,
Speaker 1: but I didn't know that, you know, it would turn
Speaker 1: into what it is now. And that's what's affirming, like
Speaker 1: my my day one beliefs. Um. I don't know, it's
Speaker 1: still shocking to be doing what I'm doing. Um, obviously
Speaker 1: have to be humble. Uh, but but it's it's it's
Speaker 1: still an amazing, surreal experience. I've been fortunate enough to
Speaker 1: do some really cool stuff at a young age, but
Speaker 1: there have been so many times when adults have told
Speaker 1: me I can't do something because of my age. How
Speaker 1: has it been for you running for office in this
Speaker 1: political climate where the people you're running against are so
Speaker 1: much older has it been hard to be taken seriously?
Speaker 1: Or have you just not cared? Well? I knew that
Speaker 1: going into this that that would be, um, something that
Speaker 1: would be said to me. I mean, I'm asking senior
Speaker 1: to to vote for me and have maybe someone um,
Speaker 1: you know, people three times my age to vote for
Speaker 1: me and have me be someone that leads them. Um.
Speaker 1: So I knew that going into it. UM and vice
Speaker 1: strategy and what my team and I have been working
Speaker 1: on is to just prove everyone wrong. I'm the only
Speaker 1: way to prove people wrong is the show that we
Speaker 1: are creating real change now. Uh. You know, I think
Speaker 1: politicians in general, anyone that's running for office, is always
Speaker 1: promising to get things done when they stepped into office. UM,
Speaker 1: and we wanted to change that dynamic. We are are
Speaker 1: are creating real change on a day to day basis. Um,
Speaker 1: we are starting until you get elected. Exactly. We have
Speaker 1: presented two bills to the city Council, UM amendments for
Speaker 1: one bill that helps our our neighbors in terms of
Speaker 1: those that that own homes in the neighborhood. UM. I'm
Speaker 1: providing food on a weekly basis to one of our
Speaker 1: public housing developments in the neighborhood on a weekly basis
Speaker 1: because they haven't had gas since to lie. Um, We're
Speaker 1: providing food for a senior centers and we've been handing
Speaker 1: out pp on a day to day basis. UM. We're
Speaker 1: we're doing the thing, you know. And I think when
Speaker 1: people see that, UM, they forget about my age, because,
Speaker 1: you know, they just see someone that is helping them,
Speaker 1: you know, and who cares. And I think that's what's
Speaker 1: more important than how long I've been on this earth.
Speaker 1: I completely agree with you, and I feel like people
Speaker 1: underestimate the power of our generation and I think we
Speaker 1: as gen Z. I'm just saying collectively, I feel like
Speaker 1: we want to prove them wrong. And I think you're
Speaker 1: a perfect example of that. Not only can we prove
Speaker 1: them wrong, UM, but we have the tools to do so,
Speaker 1: you know, Uh, there's no better generation that has been
Speaker 1: set up, especially with technology and just everything that we
Speaker 1: know how to do. UM. I think we're we're fit
Speaker 1: to to break through those obstacles that have been placed
Speaker 1: in front of us. Something that I think is really
Speaker 1: interesting is what you your slogan omission statement is reimagined
Speaker 1: re us in renew UM. What do you mean by
Speaker 1: that specifically? Like break that down? How do you did
Speaker 1: you come up with that? M? I think the systems
Speaker 1: and agencies in the way of life that we are
Speaker 1: experiencing it on a day to day basis isn't working
Speaker 1: for the many. I mean, we're in a time where uh,
Speaker 1: people are still dying and losing their jobs from this pandemic.
Speaker 1: We are in time when people are are being oppressed
Speaker 1: by the police UM like they have been for decades,
Speaker 1: but we're seeing a heightened UM or more eyes on
Speaker 1: that right now. Because it's videotaped, people can't deny it
Speaker 1: when they're absolutely UM. So the three RS on my
Speaker 1: platform is a radical UM step to change the broken
Speaker 1: UM systems that we're experiencing. UM. We need to reimagine
Speaker 1: public safety. You know, it's not working for Americans, it's
Speaker 1: not working for black and brown people. And with that
Speaker 1: reimagining of it, we need to divest from the NYPD
Speaker 1: and reallocate funds into c b o s or community
Speaker 1: based organizations. We need to invest into our children, our youth,
Speaker 1: our schools, our public education, our climate, and we need
Speaker 1: to renew trust not only between the people in law enforcement,
Speaker 1: but the people and are elected. You know, if you
Speaker 1: talk to many people, they young or or older. Uh,
Speaker 1: they don't trust politicians. And rightfully so, because politicians don't
Speaker 1: get anything done, um for the most part. You know.
Speaker 1: And now we're seeing a radical change of individuals that
Speaker 1: are running for office, Individuals like myself that that are
Speaker 1: are brand new to this field of politics, that are
Speaker 1: dedicated to change and nothing else rather than a salary
Speaker 1: like many career politicians are looking to do when they
Speaker 1: are running for a seat. So you mentioned passing a bill.
Speaker 1: How do you go about doing that? It's it's a
Speaker 1: lot easier than you think too, to write up a bill. Um.
Speaker 1: So one of the bills that that we are working
Speaker 1: on is a bill called the fair Shop Bill. Um.
Speaker 1: It's a bill that we're working on with the current
Speaker 1: current seated councilwoman um Alika and Frey Sammy els UM.
Speaker 1: And what the bill does in the language that we
Speaker 1: added UM what what it was a bill that would
Speaker 1: ease up diversity in the workplace, especially for city jobs.
Speaker 1: So someone were to apply for a job UM and
Speaker 1: they were black or or trans UM, sometimes they are
Speaker 1: discriminated against solely based off of their name UM. So
Speaker 1: the language that we presented to that bill UM was
Speaker 1: to put an option forward that that let individuals not
Speaker 1: have to put their names UM to apply for a job.
Speaker 1: It would it would just have their resume UM, you
Speaker 1: know where they're from and in the skills that they
Speaker 1: have UH. And this would be an option that would
Speaker 1: be enforced in many of our our our workplaces so
Speaker 1: that individuals that look like me UM or even trans
Speaker 1: people of color aren't discriminated because their name sounds to ghetto,
Speaker 1: which is UH something that that has been picked up
Speaker 1: in in statistics of of applying to jobs over the
Speaker 1: past decade. But you know, we approached the councilwoman, we
Speaker 1: we have this idea for for what we wanted to
Speaker 1: change UM, and she was very receptive to that. So
Speaker 1: we added literature on our own wording, um, and then
Speaker 1: they picked that up and hopefully it does get past
Speaker 1: that's amazing. So because of your initiative, a councilwoman is
Speaker 1: adding some additional language in a bill for our local government.
Speaker 1: All it takes is your willpower, you know, and your voice.
Speaker 1: And I think that's the most the most successful ingredients
Speaker 1: to to getting things done. Um. And that's what I
Speaker 1: have been doing over this past year and then seeing uh,
Speaker 1: my fruits come to labor. Yeah. And I also want
Speaker 1: to talk about Warriors in the Garden because I know
Speaker 1: you co founded this this movement. Can you talk about
Speaker 1: how you started Warriors in the Garden because I think
Speaker 1: it's really interesting what you guys are doing with this. Yes.
Speaker 1: So you know, after that first day of protesting, that
Speaker 1: first week of protesting, UM, I started finding my own
Speaker 1: voice and was you know, chanting a lot and and
Speaker 1: speaking at a lot of these protests. And there were
Speaker 1: other individuals out there that you know, shared some of
Speaker 1: the same messaging that that I was, and we realized
Speaker 1: that you know, our our our power would be really
Speaker 1: stronger and our voices would be louder um if we
Speaker 1: worked together. UM. So we founded Warrior in the garden
Speaker 1: wasn't that first week and a half. Uh. And since
Speaker 1: then we were organizing protests and marches and children's marches,
Speaker 1: um and putting out educational content about what it means
Speaker 1: to be a black person in this country. UM. I
Speaker 1: think yes. I mean we are all relatively uh young
Speaker 1: group of individuals. Um. So the fact that we were
Speaker 1: able to use our phones and and and the internet
Speaker 1: and Instagram was a useful tool and changing our narrative
Speaker 1: um as as the people of the movement um, rather
Speaker 1: than being portrayed as writers and violent individuals, which we
Speaker 1: were not, because we were there on the ground doing
Speaker 1: the work and just peacefully protesting. I like to say
Speaker 1: non violently protesting, because we are still disturbing the piece.
Speaker 1: You know, we we aren't breaking or or hurting anyone,
Speaker 1: so it is non violent, um. But a protest is
Speaker 1: is still disturbing the peace which we want to do.
Speaker 1: We want people to feel uncomfortable, um with the racism
Speaker 1: that that we experience on a day to day basis.
Speaker 1: And I think it's important that you know, I wish
Speaker 1: we had we were having this conversation sooner. And so
Speaker 1: it's frustrating that multiple people have to die for this
Speaker 1: just to be a public conversation. Absolutely, it's it's sad,
Speaker 1: um and so many people have died prior to both
Speaker 1: of us being born. But you know, the work must continue,
Speaker 1: and we know we need to continue putting individuals like
Speaker 1: ourselves UM in office and in those rooms where we're
Speaker 1: part of the conversation, where we're writing the laws, where
Speaker 1: we're presenting legislation, because that's when the real change starts.
Speaker 1: I do believe that there's an in and out strategy.
Speaker 1: I do believe we need protesters and activists in the
Speaker 1: ground as well as like minded individuals in office so
Speaker 1: that there's this synergy of commitment to change. Who are
Speaker 1: your political heroes? I love aoc Um, love Bernie Sanders,
Speaker 1: uh Corey Bush, who's a recent congresswoman, Jamal Bowman, who's
Speaker 1: a recent congressman. UM A lot of these new figures
Speaker 1: that are are coming through in politics today. Shirley Chisholm.
Speaker 1: I guess that's a throwback. She's the first black woman
Speaker 1: to run for president and the first woman to run
Speaker 1: for president. She's from Brooklyn, not too far away from me.
Speaker 1: Um Or was from Brooklyn. UM. But a lot of
Speaker 1: the new faces and figures that we're seeing today. The
Speaker 1: squad as they call themselves, are extremely admirable and they're
Speaker 1: they're doing the work um, and their power is growing
Speaker 1: um and they're inspiring the many. So so they inspired me.
Speaker 1: And I think something that I hope comes is that
Speaker 1: we stop making everything so republican democrat, but more human rights,
Speaker 1: because I feel like this isn't even a political issue.
Speaker 1: It's just a human rights issue at this point. Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1: And you know, completely agree with that, But the nuances
Speaker 1: of politics always confuses that. I mean, the rights so
Speaker 1: politics so political, absolutely, I mean politics is very political.
Speaker 1: The right has their own definition of what human rights
Speaker 1: are compared to the left. So um, that's why there's
Speaker 1: this clear cut line. Maybe sometimes it's not even clear,
Speaker 1: but a difference in thoughts for for many Americans and
Speaker 1: many people in terms of what human rights are. Okay,
Speaker 1: we have to take one more quick break and when
Speaker 1: we come back, I want to dive deeper into your
Speaker 1: passion for art in design and how let's helped you
Speaker 1: in campaigning and how your past experience has helped you
Speaker 1: run for city council. We'll be right back and we're back.
Speaker 1: I find it so interesting that your family is very
Speaker 1: music and art oriented, and get here you are in politics.
Speaker 1: I know you're using art and creativity in your campaign.
Speaker 1: How do you plan to do that when you win?
Speaker 1: Because I'm manifesting, are you to incorporate that within your duties?
Speaker 1: I want to and I'm doing this throughout my campaign
Speaker 1: to check out any of my accounts. But politics is
Speaker 1: so confusing to some people. You know, people don't understand
Speaker 1: certain laws that are getting passed. People don't understand the
Speaker 1: roles that they're electeds do. Um. And in a way
Speaker 1: that we've been trying to connect those thoughts is through art,
Speaker 1: is through graphic design, is through animation, so that we
Speaker 1: can make this more inclusive, so that people can understand
Speaker 1: what the f is going on in their own neighborhoods,
Speaker 1: you know. Um. And and the way to do that
Speaker 1: is the these digestible Instagram posts or this quick one
Speaker 1: minute or two minute animation. UM. I feel like with
Speaker 1: the the the older people that are in politics, UM,
Speaker 1: there's this disconnect and how to communicate UM, ideas and
Speaker 1: and and laws to to the regular person because they've
Speaker 1: been in politics for so long as someone that wasn't
Speaker 1: in politics for so long or even you know, under
Speaker 1: a year. Um, I understand how to communicate with individuals
Speaker 1: like yourself, um or even older than me in a
Speaker 1: quicker way because you get it. You know, it's not
Speaker 1: all like you said. It's making things very digestible and
Speaker 1: interesting content because art is storytelling and you're telling your story,
Speaker 1: h not only connecting a story, but catching the eye,
Speaker 1: you know, making it interesting rather than something that you
Speaker 1: can easily like turn away from because it's a bunch
Speaker 1: of words, um that you don't understand, you know, Section
Speaker 1: one whatever, intro law. UM. We're just trying to get
Speaker 1: straight to the point to educate people about their rights
Speaker 1: and what they can do to to to be active
Speaker 1: in their communities. It's so important. And the other thing
Speaker 1: that I think is really interesting, just the time that
Speaker 1: we're living in, how much social media has played a
Speaker 1: role in everything. Do you plan on continuing to social
Speaker 1: media when you're elected or just focus more are on policies.
Speaker 1: Social media is how I mainly connect to I guess everyone,
Speaker 1: including you know, people in my district. We are living
Speaker 1: in a pandemic still, so conventional campaigning as in door knocking,
Speaker 1: um and speaking to people face to face is somewhat dangerous,
Speaker 1: so uh, connecting to people online and through social media
Speaker 1: has been a large use of our large implementation of
Speaker 1: my campaigning UM during this past year. I mean, I
Speaker 1: also think it's super successful and in terms of getting
Speaker 1: thoughts and ideas the room to the people, and also
Speaker 1: being able to to hear back from from what people
Speaker 1: think about what I'm putting out there. Something that I
Speaker 1: loved that you guys were just getting people to register
Speaker 1: to vote, UM, which is so important. If you aren't
Speaker 1: registered to vote, please registered to vote. UM. Do you
Speaker 1: ever wish because you are twenty two? UM? And I
Speaker 1: know I go through this sometimes, like what it's like
Speaker 1: to be a normal teenager or a normal twenty two
Speaker 1: a year old? How do you balance having a professional
Speaker 1: career but also having a life. You know, it's kind
Speaker 1: of hard to be a teenager or twenty something. Y're
Speaker 1: old right now because we are in a pandemic UM,
Speaker 1: so things are closed and I'm not able to do much.
Speaker 1: I think it would be a little different if it
Speaker 1: we're open UM. But you know, I'm still myself. I
Speaker 1: still where what I want. I still listen to the
Speaker 1: same music that I like. I I still talk to
Speaker 1: the same people that I talked to prior. Um. I
Speaker 1: like your glasses, by the way, thank you, Thank you
Speaker 1: take them off sometimes, but this is when I'm on
Speaker 1: political whatever. You're very business e, but also like thank you.
Speaker 1: I appreciate that I'm still myself. I don't know, you
Speaker 1: just followed me on Instagram, I saw, but you'll see
Speaker 1: that I'm still you know, the same same me. Um.
Speaker 1: Definitely a little more appropriate on on social media now.
Speaker 1: But UM, the balance has been interesting. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: it's it's really interesting just to figure it all out. UM.
Speaker 1: Do you think you would even be running if the
Speaker 1: pandemic hadn't happened. I don't think so. I think this
Speaker 1: pandemic was a reset for me to think about what
Speaker 1: I wanted to do next in my life. You know,
Speaker 1: after losing my job, it was working in nightlife and hospitality. UM.
Speaker 1: And you know, obviously that's changed after the pandemic hit. UM.
Speaker 1: And you know a lot of gig workers and hospitality
Speaker 1: workers and a lot of my co workers were out
Speaker 1: of jobs. UM. And I I did not know what
Speaker 1: to do, you know, I was I was really rethinking
Speaker 1: my my my career or whatever. My career would be
Speaker 1: because we had no end sight or end dates of
Speaker 1: when this pandemic would end. Um. But I think one
Speaker 1: event led to another, um, George Floyd. Um, you know
Speaker 1: going out every single day. Uh, you know, diving into
Speaker 1: two local politics, and it got me to this point.
Speaker 1: And I guess to answer your question, I don't think
Speaker 1: I would have been running if it weren't for the pandemic.
Speaker 1: It's crazy how life happens. That's what I realized this
Speaker 1: past year, like we can't control life and what happens
Speaker 1: to us. I ready went to college, but you haven't
Speaker 1: graduated yet. Do you think you'll ever go back and
Speaker 1: finish up or is that not the priority right now?
Speaker 1: I think I'm going to go back to school after
Speaker 1: I finished my terms in the city council, so maybe
Speaker 1: I think that's eight years. So at the end of
Speaker 1: my eight years, I'll go back to school or maybe
Speaker 1: take some night school and during my time on the
Speaker 1: serving on the city council. You can do in part time.
Speaker 1: I know people that do that. Yeah, I might do
Speaker 1: that for sure. UM. I will say that, you know,
Speaker 1: if you are in school, stay in school. Um. But
Speaker 1: if you think you don't need school, to do what
Speaker 1: you want to do. Then either take time off and
Speaker 1: try to do that or um, yeah, just test out
Speaker 1: all your options. I mean when gap years are great, UM,
Speaker 1: test out your options before you get you know, older,
Speaker 1: and even when you're older, you can test out your options.
Speaker 1: But uh yeah, experiment. So what what made you want
Speaker 1: to be like, Okay, I want to take some time off. Well,
Speaker 1: my dad passed away and my dird semester at Chapman.
Speaker 1: So I did move back home from that, UM and
Speaker 1: you know, I was working in New York and I
Speaker 1: just really enjoyed being back home with my my family. UM.
Speaker 1: Insteaded not to go back because of that. UM and
Speaker 1: then obviously one thing let to another. I enjoyed working
Speaker 1: in the city, enjoyed being um back with with with
Speaker 1: my friends and my family. UM. And then that we're here,
Speaker 1: I'm so sorry about your dad. That's never it's terrible,
Speaker 1: It's it's definitely a part of life. It's definitely a
Speaker 1: part of my journey to to be doing what I'm doing. Now.
Speaker 1: Do you think that made you like adult faster? Absolutely,
Speaker 1: that's a really great question. I actually haven't heard that
Speaker 1: one yet, but it's something that I do say a lot. Um. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, losing a parent at a young
Speaker 1: age UM really puts a lot more responsibility on your
Speaker 1: plate and really just reframes your vision what life is,
Speaker 1: especially losing a parent at a young age. UM. And
Speaker 1: it definitely did mature me. I mean I think, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, even speaking to some of my peers after
Speaker 1: the passing of my father, UM, it just you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes they didn't feel like we were mentally in the
Speaker 1: same place because of the experience that I experienced rather
Speaker 1: than you know, the lack of experience that that they had.
Speaker 1: With that. I'm not saying I wished that on anyone else.
Speaker 1: Grow up a lot faster, absolutely, I mean I think
Speaker 1: it really re shapes what problems mean or are in
Speaker 1: your life and what to be grateful for. Um. And
Speaker 1: you know that happened to me, and you know I
Speaker 1: never wish for something not to happen in my past.
Speaker 1: That that makes sense because I think it created the
Speaker 1: person that I am today. It just goes show to
Speaker 1: a testament to your work ethic that you wanted to
Speaker 1: be with your family but also keep working. I find
Speaker 1: it so fascinating because I know you worked at Deepop.
Speaker 1: You said you did some hospitality stuff. Do you think
Speaker 1: any of the skills you learned from that has been
Speaker 1: helpful in running a campaign? Absolutely? So. Like during my
Speaker 1: time at Deep Pop, I was producing events at this
Speaker 1: club called Public Hotels. Um So I worked in nightlife.
Speaker 1: And working in nightlife and getting people to come out,
Speaker 1: um every single night that I went out is a
Speaker 1: part of organizing. You know that that that tool that
Speaker 1: I picked up there is going to be the same
Speaker 1: thing that I'm I'm picking up to get people to
Speaker 1: go to the polls and vote for me, you know.
Speaker 1: Um So that's definitely you know, a tool of organizing
Speaker 1: that um an excitements that that I'm using behind this campaign.
Speaker 1: What is your goal as a politician if you you know,
Speaker 1: when you get elected, do you want to run again?
Speaker 1: Would you want to run um for Congress? What are
Speaker 1: your goals? Do you want to continue in this path
Speaker 1: or do you just don't know? Because that's totally fine
Speaker 1: because you're twenty two. Well, when I get elected, I
Speaker 1: want to help my neighbors and want to help my community.
Speaker 1: I want to ensure that people aren't evicted from their
Speaker 1: homes during this pandemic. I want to ensure that the
Speaker 1: small businesses in my neighborhood receive the grants and the
Speaker 1: fiscal needs that they are able to receive so that
Speaker 1: they don't close during this pandemic. I want to fight
Speaker 1: for for those that have not been vaccinated yet. I
Speaker 1: want to make vaccines more accessible within this district. I
Speaker 1: want to uh nurture or create a community um where
Speaker 1: individuals can feel like they start their own businesses so
Speaker 1: that we can reboot this economy. My entire mission right
Speaker 1: now and what I'm running on in my major priority
Speaker 1: and nothing further than that, is to help my neighbors
Speaker 1: and to help my community, and to help my district.
Speaker 1: And I guess we'll see what happens after that. I
Speaker 1: love what you're doing, and I think it's so important
Speaker 1: to not let age define what you do. And for
Speaker 1: those listening, if anyone ever tries to tell you that
Speaker 1: they're wrong, and prove them wrong. And I'm just so
Speaker 1: honored that you came on my podcast. Yeah, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for having me. It's what a privilege, awesome,
Speaker 1: it was so great to meet you. Congratulations on everything
Speaker 1: you're doing. Thank you, I appreciate you. Congratulations for you too.
Speaker 1: I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. G thank you
Speaker 1: so much for coming on my podcast. I cannot wait
Speaker 1: to see what you do. Go follow him if you
Speaker 1: haven't already, and follow me on Instagram at it Sammy J.
Speaker 1: That's I T S S A M M Y j
Speaker 1: A y E. I hope you're having a great day
Speaker 1: and I hope this episode made it a little bit better.
Speaker 1: I'll see you guys next week. Bye.