WEBVTT - Don't Wait for New Leaders. BECOME Them

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<v Speaker 1>Baratunde here with another Citizens story. This is for April nineteen,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty five. I think we're up to story number

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<v Speaker 1>six out of eight, just three more to go, and

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<v Speaker 1>this one West Virginia can't wait. So I you know,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a setup embedded. And the thing my point in

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<v Speaker 1>doing this audio in front of the audio from the

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<v Speaker 1>video is just to check in with you a little

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<v Speaker 1>more loosely. We don't have to keep keep it so

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<v Speaker 1>rigid as in the three minute limits on Blue Sky

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram. So we're we're coming into the home stretch

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<v Speaker 1>on this effort. And we've been posting these on substack,

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<v Speaker 1>on LinkedIn, on Instagram, on blue Sky, on Mailchimp, where else.

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<v Speaker 1>We've been putting it the backyard, the front yard, the

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<v Speaker 1>bus station, you know, wherever, wherever we can get it.

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<v Speaker 1>And this this story is about places that we overlooked,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's about people that we overlook in in our

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<v Speaker 1>political process. So I love this story because it is

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<v Speaker 1>based in Appalachia, and I grew up visiting parts of Appalachia.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm from the DC world, uh, Washington, DC world, and

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<v Speaker 1>so the Blue Ridge Mountains uh is almost my backyard.

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<v Speaker 1>And went camping there with my mom and all kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of explorations, and then I got to revisit in my

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<v Speaker 1>adult life with the America Outdoor Show I wasted on

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<v Speaker 1>PBS and the thing that I felt there, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we we were doing stories about uh, adaptive whitewater rafting,

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<v Speaker 1>about regenerative agriculture, about coal miners who became bee keepers,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was just like, this is a story of Appalachia.

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<v Speaker 1>We're not seeing. We're We're only hearing folks who want

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<v Speaker 1>to cling to a particular business model cause it makes

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<v Speaker 1>them some money. They want to just cling to the

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<v Speaker 1>coal industry they want, you know, in this case, it

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<v Speaker 1>was Senator Joe Mansion at the time, who has his

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<v Speaker 1>way of doing things and a lot of financial interests

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure things stay a certain way. But I

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<v Speaker 1>was seeing this new story, this innovative, adaptive, creative spirit

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<v Speaker 1>of some fiercely independent but also interdependent people, the people

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<v Speaker 1>of of Appalachia, the people of the Hills. And the

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<v Speaker 1>story that you're gonna hear today reminds me of that.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not about white water rafting, but it is about

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<v Speaker 1>navigating choppy waters of our political system and what is

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<v Speaker 1>going on in West Virginia. It is a lack of

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<v Speaker 1>patience for the status quo, and it's really an invitation

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<v Speaker 1>to everyday people to get into the process. But they're aided.

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<v Speaker 1>There's facilitation, there's training, there's there's a community around, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's accountability and follow through. And so if you're tired

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<v Speaker 1>of your politicians, make some new ones, become one. But

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<v Speaker 1>do it, you know, not alone, so you don't get

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<v Speaker 1>eaten up by the machine. Anyway, I'm not trying to

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<v Speaker 1>spoil the whole story. Enjoy the sounds of West Virginia

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<v Speaker 1>can't wait, and please if you want to follow through

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<v Speaker 1>on what you're hearing in these we're always linking to

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<v Speaker 1>uh the substack version of the post where we've got

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<v Speaker 1>links to the group, to the Instagram post, to the

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<v Speaker 1>LinkedIn post. You want to find all these folks in

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<v Speaker 1>their social platforms. You want to support them, you want

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<v Speaker 1>to learn from them or or connect it to something

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<v Speaker 1>you know going on, which we're trying to make it

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<v Speaker 1>easy and just put it everywhere and find us at

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<v Speaker 1>stories dot howdositizen dot com. This is a group effort,

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<v Speaker 1>by the way, so just a major appreciation to share

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<v Speaker 1>a Bromlitz who has been like project managing this to

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<v Speaker 1>my partner Elizabeth Stewart, to my brother from another mother,

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<v Speaker 1>John Alexander, and to our video producers. That video producers

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<v Speaker 1>are test No Vaughtnoy and gut Ridge and Alexa Limb.

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<v Speaker 1>And they went out and really conducted these interviews that

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<v Speaker 1>you're hearing and edited them down and we try to

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<v Speaker 1>package them so they could travel the farthest in this

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<v Speaker 1>particular test. All right, enjoy your weekend, and if you

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<v Speaker 1>hear this years later, enjoy whatever day it is for

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<v Speaker 1>you in the future. I'm talking to you from the past. Look,

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<v Speaker 1>time travel is a real thing. Are you tired of

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<v Speaker 1>your limited political choices? So am I? And sometimes it

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<v Speaker 1>helps to be reminded that we are not limited to

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<v Speaker 1>what is on the menu that someone else chose. That

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<v Speaker 1>we can just go in the kitchen and start cooking,

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<v Speaker 1>mixing ingredients the way we want. But the point is this,

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<v Speaker 1>real people can take over the political process, especially when

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<v Speaker 1>they work together to do it. And some of the

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<v Speaker 1>best democratic innovation in America is happening in that way.

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<v Speaker 1>In Appalachia, check out the story of West Virginia Can't Wait.

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<v Speaker 2>We passed a non discrimination ordinance as well as a

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<v Speaker 2>ban on conversion therapy. Those things seemed impossible in a

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<v Speaker 2>conservative Appalachian city, and they passed unanimously. My name is

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<v Speaker 2>Rosemary Ketchum. I am a volunteer and formered candidate for

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<v Speaker 2>West Virginia Can't Wait. We have run Republicans, Independents, and Democrats,

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<v Speaker 2>all on very similar platforms. Local politics is often very practical.

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<v Speaker 2>It's about potholes, it's about preservation and restoration. We want

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<v Speaker 2>to make sure that our candidates put these local issues

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<v Speaker 2>at the forefront of their campaigns. Folks feel like, well,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not a lawyer. I don't know how to write

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<v Speaker 2>a bill. Those are the very people that we need

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<v Speaker 2>in elected office. If somebody got elected and they were like,

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<v Speaker 2>how do I write this? Are there examples from other cities,

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<v Speaker 2>we would be that liaison. So we build a Counsellor's Club,

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<v Speaker 2>which is essentially a text group of dozens of city

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<v Speaker 2>councilors across this date who can share policy ideas, or

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<v Speaker 2>commiserate about a tough council meeting, or essentially have a

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<v Speaker 2>friend group. We've seen over fifty one primaries run with

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<v Speaker 2>West Virginia Can't Wade candidates and nearly twenty five elected

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<v Speaker 2>officials across the state get elected on our platform with

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<v Speaker 2>our support. One of our great candidates in Parkersburg, Wendy Tech,

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<v Speaker 2>has been working fixing their roads in a new fire station.

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<v Speaker 2>Brian Butcher and Ixye Vega in Morgantown, West Virginia have

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<v Speaker 2>been focused on houselessness to support their local free shelter.

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<v Speaker 2>I think one of the things that I'm most proud

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<v Speaker 2>of in my own political career is helping demystify politics.

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<v Speaker 2>It is just everyday work for everyday folks.