WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 100822 The Importance of Local Government with Harry Curtin (Part 1) 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:02.960 Welcome to another episode of Civic Ciper. I am your 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:06.200 host Ramsey's job. Big shout out to q Ward, who 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:10.440 has taken the week off to do a bit of recovering. 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:13.520 I won't put his business out there, but everything is 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:16.600 good in q Land and we look forward to a 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:21.200 speedy and safe return of him to the show very soon. 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:23.840 This week, we have a lot for you to stick 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:27.440 around for, not the least of which is a gentleman 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.639 who is joining us now. He is someone that I 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:36.879 met at a city council meeting. We're electing a new 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:41.240 city council person in my district where I live, and 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.280 he just had some really important things that he brought 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:46.760 up in the debate. I guess it would be called 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:49.120 and I thought of inviting him up on the show 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:51.479 to talk to us today about some of his policies 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:53.279 and some of the things that I think we need 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:59.480 to discuss in this forum here. He has led a 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:07.640 billion plus dollar in technology and transformatory transformational initiatives. He's 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:09.440 also been an advisor to many of this country's the 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:13.119 most successful corporations, and of course again he's now running 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.280 for city council and District six in Phoenix. We have 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:19.880 Harry Curtin with us today. Thank if you want, Thank you, yes, sir. 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:21.040 And then of course we have a lot more to 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:23.880 stick around for as well. We are going to be 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:28.039 discussing Benjamin Banneker for our way Black History Fact. We're 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:30.720 also going to be talking about how you can become 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:34.560 a better Ally. There is a lot going on with 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:40.119 Alabama and the way that their district lines are drawn 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.520 for voting. A lot of folks feel like they are 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.280 trying to weaken the black vote and there's a lot 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:46.840 of eyes on that, and there are a lot of 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:49.360 national implications for that. So we're going to break that 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:51.520 down for you as well. So that and of course 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:54.720 plenty more to stick around for on today's episode of 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:58.160 Civic Cipher. But first and foremost, like we always do 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:00.800 right around now, I'd like to artist off with some 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:05.240 Ebony excellence. So this week's Ebony Excellence is sponsored by 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:09.160 Let's Keep Growing hair Care Products. They make organic hair 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:12.280 and hair care and growth products which are available through 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:16.120 Walmart and of course Let's Keep Growing dot Com. And 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:19.680 I'd like to take this week's Ebony Excellence. Normally, I 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:21.880 pull a story from somewhere really cool and I share 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:23.160 it with you. But this one is a little bit 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:26.080 more personal. It's a little closer to home. Gentlemen, I 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:29.959 know by the name of Iron Daniels aka Rockadala. I 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.359 don't want to shout him out because he recently released 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:37.320 a feature film. It's called The Unhitch King, and he 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:39.519 is an example of a person who came up through 0:02:39.560 --> 0:02:43.880 adversity and has a we'll call it a street level story. 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.440 But over the past several years he's focused on his 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:51.040 passion for filmmaking and the most recent result of his 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:54.240 efforts is called The Unhitch King. So it's really special 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:57.799 to see someone start from where he started and now 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:01.080 has a film in movie theater that you and I 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:08.000 can go and see again. It's the culmination of a 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:12.520 year's long effort, and it's a comedy. It's hilarious and inspirational, 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:14.359 and of course he's an example of exactly what a 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.280 person can do with their life despite the many challenges 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:19.560 of their youth, to rise above and become a master 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.720 of their craft and ultimately make a national splash. I'm 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:26.200 very proud of Iron Daniels. We all are. We know 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:28.560 him as Iraq, we know him as Rockadalo. He has 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:33.280 many names in where I live, but now that he's 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:35.880 on a national scene, we have to call him Iron Daniels, 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:37.520 so we will do just that. But again we're very 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:39.680 proud of him, and we employ to go check out 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.240 as movie. I'm sure you'll love it. And if you 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:44.160 can't make it to a theater near you that's carrying 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.640 the film, bear in mind that it will be making 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:52.040 its way to streaming platforms nationwide after its theatrical run. 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:56.200 So that for this week is a more personalized Ebony Excellence. 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.000 And once again shout out to our sponsor. Let's keep 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:04.440 growing haircare again. Let's keep growing. Now, Harry Curtin is 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.560 with us today, Yes, sir, so let me tell a 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:12.160 little bit more about the story. So I was invited 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:18.040 to the meeting. We have a current city council person 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:23.440 in my district and he has termed meaning that he 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:27.640 cannot run again because of term limits, and so I 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:30.800 believe there were six people on a stage. I was 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:33.240 invited to this event by one of my neighbors who 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:35.719 knew I was politically active, and of course that I 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:40.039 host the shows. And her name is Niki, So shout 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:41.720 out to Niki. She's a listener of the show as well. 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:46.599 She invited me here. Had never been to something like this, 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:48.679 And of course I'm sitting and I'm listening to everyone, 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:54.000 and I very early on realized that I was one 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:56.240 of two black people in the room, one of whom 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.240 was on the stage, but the only one from the 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:03.760 community city there and listening for obviously, there are things 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:07.080 that affect our community, but there are other things that 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:12.800 affect black people, specifically that and brown people, and they 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:14.760 don't affect other folks. And so I was listening with 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:17.000 that ear because a lot of times, and as I 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:20.120 could see, those ears weren't present in that room, those 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:24.400 questions would not could not be asked with any authenticity, 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:29.839 because there would not be any lived experience underneath systemic 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:34.640 or oppressive systems or whatever, invisible or otherwise. And so, 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:37.960 listening to this panel of six people who all are 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:43.080 very eloquent, very well versed understand sort of what the 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:48.280 needs of the city are, one person stood out to 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:53.200 me as being empathetic and really addressing things on a 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.200 human level. There was a person who was really technically like, 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:58.160 you know, we're going to get business, and business is 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:00.240 going to do great, and that's all love good, and 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:02.680 there's another person. We need to be safe, and we 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:04.680 need to our first responders, and of course that's all 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:06.760 well and good. Other folks you know about water and 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:08.960 other folks you know they have every teachers. All of 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:11.200 these things are necessary. We're human beings. This is the 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:13.760 way our society works. This is how we grow and 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:18.359 prosper and thrive as a society. But I think that 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:21.120 the thing that stood out to me was the individual 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:25.880 I found myself listening to had more to say about 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:30.400 how individual human beings are affected by different things and 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:34.960 how experiences might be different. And when we start there, 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:39.479 we can develop policy that has a real impact and 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:43.080 really feels like it resonates with folks. And that person, 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:45.760 of course, was you appreciate that? Yes? 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:46.839 Speaking from heart? 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:49.599 Yeah, yeah, so. Let so that's how I got to 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:51.280 meet you. But I don't know your story, and our 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.039 listeners of course don't know. Sorry, let's talk a little 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:54.640 bit about your background sort of what led you to. 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.240 Yeah, no, I appreciate it. I think just to kind 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:01.039 of get on top of that, I think for me 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:05.800 it's a revolution of being human, you know, getting back 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:08.279 to the truth, and I think we just get farther 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:10.280 and farther from the truth in politics, and one of 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:12.680 the reasons why I wanted to run. But you know, 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:14.680 it's always important. I like to tell my story and 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:18.160 why am I doing this? You know, it's just such 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:21.360 an odd thing to run. Everyone's afraid of it right now, 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.400 and they have good reasons to be. You know. For me, 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.360 it's really been a long story. I mean for probably 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:31.160 ten years, I've been thinking about it. You know, I've 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:34.800 gone through an evolution of that process and thinking about it. Sure, 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:36.800 you know, I think ten years ago I thought, well, 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:40.040 that's what you do, you go run for office. And 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:43.720 then as I grew up more and more I realized, well, 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:48.200 I think I just want to help people. And in business, 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:50.320 I found that the things I love the most. You know, 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:52.120 you mentioned some of the things I've done, and I've 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:56.200 really been instrumental in really large scale projects and things 0:07:56.280 --> 0:07:58.920 that have really made a difference, some billions of dollars 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:00.680 a loans for people that could and they couldn't get 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:03.680 loans before. There's all sorts of areas I've worked that 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:07.200 have been really special to me and powerful. But sometimes 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.440 it feels like I'm just making a lot of people money, 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:11.679 and I haven't really gotten to the root of helping 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:14.480 people the way I want. But that took me years, 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:16.720 you know, to kind of go through this process, and 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:20.520 eventually I got to Okay, Well, this city council position. 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.600 You know, legislature can be really noisy. There's a lot 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:25.840 of members, but in your city council, there's a small 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:29.280 group of members making big decisions. In Phoenix, you've got 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:32.040 you know, a billion one point six billion dollar budget 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.720 plus that are decided by eight people, plus an air 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:39.479 that's your city, you know, that's police, fire, that's streets. 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:43.200 This is what you see every day. And so I said, 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.200 well that's something I could maybe get my handle on. 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.600 You know, I've got a grip on that I can 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:49.480 work with the people, with a small group of people 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:50.960 and get some things done. I see it, you know, 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:52.839 I see a connection. I think I also saw that 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.360 Phoenix isn't too far gone. You know, I think some 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:58.640 cities are so old. I grew up in Buffalo, New York. 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:02.200 It's so beer, it's so slow. I don't know if 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:03.960 I can fix anything there, you know, but this is 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:08.400 still a young city. We have good infrastructure. We did 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:11.520 things right from the beginning, but we're just starting to slip. 0:09:11.559 --> 0:09:15.199 It's like everything's getting slower and more bureaucratic and more 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:18.640 about politics and decisions, and every city does that. What 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.160 about if we're not that way? You know. So that's 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:23.640 part of the reason that it I came here. But 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:26.120 one of the course for me too was not only 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.800 my kind of business. I think experience and knowing that 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:34.640 I could solve big problems was growing up as a kid. Yeah, 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:37.040 you know, I grew up. It was hard for me. 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:40.199 I grew up. My mom was severely mentally ill. She's 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.360 still institutionalized right now in our institutions. My whole life 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:48.440 bipolar and manic depressive, very intelligent woman, very capable, but 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:53.480 this disease has really overtaken her. And my father very 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:56.920 nice man, but severe alcoholic and always brought us really 0:09:57.000 --> 0:10:00.199 financial burden because of that, you know, power going out, 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:03.320 a lot of government cheese. You know. I lost my 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:06.040 sister in the mid eighties, my oldest sister. They're a 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:10.640 terrible rape and murder that ended up being national news. 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:13.160 The guy ended up going on the road and we 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:16.400 had police protecting our home and it was really intense, 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:18.280 and I really ran out of there as soon as 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:20.160 I could. I got on a motorcycle when I was eighteen. 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:22.240 I ran for the West Coast because it was as 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:25.080 far as I could go from all these memories and 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:27.960 really started to pick myself up and work and get 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:30.120 a job, get two jobs, get three jobs, and then 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:33.559 start to just forget about that past. And I think, 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:35.440 now I'm at a point in my life I've got 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:37.640 some skills. Well, I don't want kids to go through 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:39.640 what I went through, so maybe I can put those 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:41.920 skills to work, you know, So sure. 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.640 No, I love that, And I think it's important that 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:50.360 people listen to stories like this. Obviously, you know, we're 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:54.240 listening to around the country. But you know the fact 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:56.520 that you said, you know, this is a place where 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:58.560 I feel like I can make some changes. I can 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:02.319 you know, make a splash an impact, and they're doing 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:04.760 just that. I think that's something that a lot of 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:07.160 people can relate to, especially after the past couple of 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:14.360 years there's been a growing divide ideologically politically in terms 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:18.439 of morals and values and things like this. I remember, 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:21.200 I'm forty years old now, so I remember once upon 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:24.320 a time that for the most part, everyone kind of 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:29.480 was pointed at the same outcomes, hoping for the same outcomes. 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:30.880 I just had different paths. 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:32.600 Of getting there. I know what connected my speech now 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:35.160 when you say that point, sure, sure, exactly, we'll get 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:39.800 to Now it feels as like we can't even agree 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:43.000 on what a shared reality is. It's like one of 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:49.520 us is subscribing to a vivid and tactile reality and 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:57.199 the other group is imagining their world as a separate, 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:01.280 independent thing that It's just it's a little weird, and 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:05.480 so no, I think politicians are dividing us, not bringing 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:08.520 us together. Yeah, this is the reason I'm really doing this. 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:10.800 I just think it's broken. You know, they don't have 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:12.520 to when I get down to it, Man, I got 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:17.280 friends that are Republicans, Democrats on far sides. You just 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.720 talk as people you find really, yeah, you want the 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:23.360 same things. You want safety in schools, you want all 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:26.360 these things we want, but we politicians continue to just 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.719 rip us apart. It's just not right, and it's a 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.240 main reason I'm driving at this and trying to make 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.280 it more human, you know, telling my story. I have 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.200 a passion for fixing problems. I have a passion for people. 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:40.439 That's why I'm here. I want I want. I hope 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:42.480 that message picks up. You know, whatever happens with this, 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.920 I hope somebody steals it, you know. And we kind 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:47.560 of because I can't just sit back. 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:49.640 Yeah, yeah, I know exactly what you mean. And and 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:52.640 to your point, you know, there's I had a conversation 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:56.040 the other day with a gentleman named Rodney Glassman. Rocket 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:58.520 Glassman was running for I believe it was attorney general, 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:05.680 and he is a far right leaning individual. I wouldn't 0:13:05.679 --> 0:13:09.000 call him far right, but you know, solidly republican, and 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:11.000 of course I have a little bit more of a 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:16.240 liberal philosophy when it comes to how to govern a 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:20.600 group of people. And you know, we ended up just 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:23.960 talking just we ended up meeting just randomly on the street, 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.960 and we took a liking to me and I you know, 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:28.880 he's telling me about his story, I'm telling him about mine, 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.160 and again, we had a lot in common. So it 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.840 was really interesting to see, you know, me this tattooed, 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:40.600 you know, younger looking sort of individual who clearly doesn't 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:43.680 come from the means that this man comes from just 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:49.760 having a real right Yeah, and so you know, and 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.840 I'm five eight, you know, on a good day, you 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.360 know he were just different people. But you know, he 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.559 loves his children. You know I love my sons. We 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.120 talked about that, schools, you know, things like this, and 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:02.520 it wasn't even a political conversation, was a human conversation. 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:06.280 You would have never he didn't lead with his politics, 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:08.440 and or did I. We just were two people that met. 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:11.319 I was familiar with him, and then as it turned out, 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.040 he had heard of me from being on the radio 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:14.640 for such a long time, as like, oh, I'm familiar 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:17.920 and yeah, you know, so I'm glad you made that point. 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:23.000 So let's do this. I'll be honest, I'm newer to 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.440 the political arena me too. In brief, well, you may 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:28.840 know the answer to this better than I do. Yeah. 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:32.000 In brief, let's describe what a city council person does. 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:36.040 Yeah, yeah, So the city council is responsible for your police, 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:42.240 your fire zoning. Okay, we'll talk about that because it's 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:46.000 an important topic. It's picking up your trash, it's potholes, 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:48.720 you know, it's all these little things we usually take 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:51.880 for granted every day, but they can have an impact 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:56.120 and and all their larger scale things, but maybe smaller 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:57.520 like environment, et cetera. 0:14:57.680 --> 0:14:58.240 Maybe water. 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.520 You could do some things, but you're really please fire. 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:03.560 Zoning is, from what I've seen, is really the core 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:06.480 of this and the potholes in the trash pick, you know, 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:08.480 but you try to kind of influence as much as 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.000 you can in areas that maybe are more state federal. 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:15.040 Okay, understood, understood. So you mentioned aes zoning and it 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:16.840 seemed like you wanted to get into that. Let's do 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:17.760 it right now while we're here. 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:21.120 Yeah, yeah, we you know, so zoning is a really 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:26.080 interesting topic because it's not talked about a lot. Sometimes 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:28.680 it is, but there is a I'm just going to 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:31.880 say it. There's an inherent racism and zoning. I mean, 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:35.120 there just is. I know. Yeah, yeah, so you know, 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:36.920 I mean, but it's not talked about. You know, they 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:38.960 didn't come up. I don't think it would ever come up. 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:41.240 You know. It's a pretty it's it's a tough thing 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.240 for people to handle. But this is what's been going 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:46.360 on and part of what I've and I've learned that 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:49.200 through this process. You know, what's been really interesting is 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:53.400 that people that are in the development space sometimes you 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:55.720 know why they you know a lot of times, but 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:57.760 they know that that's part of the problem, like they 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:02.640 can't get projects done because of these frameworks that were 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.720 set up a long time ago, and they want to 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:07.120 they want to sell us, they want to make it affordable. 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.080 You know that's good business, sure, sure, but yeah. 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:13.880 You know something that I realized is that a lot 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:20.880 of people that end up benefiting from let's call it racist, 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:26.360 a racist framework that has its roots in a racist 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:31.720 past that historically was discriminatory or whatever. Pick your poison 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.320 for this one. A lot of the people that benefit 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:41.400 from it or further it do so because they are 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:44.720 unaware of the history of the legacy. They're unaware of 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.800 the profound implications on people that don't look like them. 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:50.680 They lack the frame of reference to personal experience or 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:52.600 access to conversations to even. 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:55.360 Always wealthy be anything about wealthy people. 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:58.120 Watch this, watch this, So on this show, of course, 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:00.440 we reckon those folks, our brothers, and there is the 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:03.320 same as anyone else. We recognize that they just lack 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.600 the perspective, but they often have the power. And what 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.720 we what we've learned in our travels here is that 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:21.080 white supremacist institutions are visible or invisible push back against change. 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.080 This is how they were designed to, you know, and 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:26.040 then it's just human nature. I don't want to blame 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:30.639 any person on an individual level, it's human nature. I 0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:33.080 imagine any group of human beings that were. 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:36.280 Sometimes how you learned, sometimes what you exactly, Sometimes an 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.800 experience you had has impacted and it hasn't given you 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:40.560 an opportunity to rethink that exactly. 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:42.760 And then you know, I you know, it's really easy 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:44.520 for folks to look at it and say, well, these 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:46.880 folks lack empathy. I'll be I'll be honest. I've I've 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:49.600 thought that at different points in my life too, and 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:53.000 I think in my clearer moments or my moments of clarity, 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:57.520 I should say I have realized that, you know, these 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.320 folks aren't inherently bad they're doing with human beings would do. 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:04.360 It's kind of like absolute power corrupts absolutely, and so 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:08.640 we have to they have to be given the breadth 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:14.000 to change in the in the latitude, to you know, evolve. 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:16.040 Otherwise it's just war. It's just a war. 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:17.800 So I wanted to make sure that I said that 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.439 before we got past it. So you know, I realized that, 0:18:20.560 --> 0:18:24.639 but regardless of what the outcomes are, you know, this 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:28.000 is what our charge is for anyone who has any 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:31.280 power and lacks perspective. 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:32.280 Man. 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.040 Yeah, yeah, I think I'm one of those people. 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:38.640 Angry. I've been there. It never really did me much good, 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:42.720 cleaning things up more than anything, but love kind of 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:43.720 makes things a little easier. 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:47.600 Yeah, this is exactly exactly man. So so how about this. 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:51.080 Obviously I need to ask you this question, but let's 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:54.199 make sure that our folks outside of Arizona get some 0:18:54.240 --> 0:19:00.520 perspective as well. Specifically, what would you bring to role 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:06.840 as city councilmen in Phoenix and what do you see 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:10.480 as perhaps issues that affect the country as a whole 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.560 that could be addressed on let's say that level. 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:16.080 Yeah, yeah, so I think so start with me kind 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.960 of where my difference is. I think we're heading into 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:22.080 a pretty heavy economics storm. 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:22.600 Okay. 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:28.400 I'm a wartime constickliary. I am someone that solves big 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:31.520 problems when s hits the fan. I mean, this is 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:35.800 what I do. I do it through diligence. I just 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:39.120 don't give up until the problem solved. I love solving problems. 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:42.160 This is my difference and I'm not I'm not doing 0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:44.399 this because I want to be a career politician. You know, 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.639 I don't know what my future is. I I just 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:49.800 know I'm good at solving problems. Yeah, and I won't 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:52.000 give up. I mean part of that is a fear. 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:54.200 I fear that a little bit because I'm wondering what's 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:56.919 coming for me. If I get this opportunity, I'm going 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:00.800 to be changing things. Yeah, maybe drastically. You know what 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:02.760 does that mean? How are they? You know, it's it's 0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:04.520 not going to be easy to do that in a 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:08.280 place where it's not used to changing, right. But I 0:20:08.280 --> 0:20:10.520 think for me, that's really my biggest asset is being 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:13.040 able to get into these problems. And it's funny when 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:16.160 you see a big problem, what people think is causing 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:19.360 it is usually wrong when you get into the facts, right, 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:21.800 if you really spend the time, you can find out 0:20:21.800 --> 0:20:23.879 what's really causing it, and you can come back and 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:25.679 actually address the problem. And we can talk about some 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:27.280 problems I don't want to get too far off, maybe 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:31.160 homeless or police and yeah, talk about yeah. 0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:34.320 Yeah, well listen, well how about this this. 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:36.119 Place is national that's something we could talk about too. 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:38.040 Yeah, of course, do you know we're going to talk 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:41.240 about that? So well, let's let's take a moment, let's 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:44.480 talk about let's say, homelessness. You know, this is something 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:48.080 that is it affects us here in Phoenix or you know, 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:50.600 California has a problem with it. And then just course, 0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:55.919 housing prices around the country have gone way up in homes. 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:00.000 Home prices having kept up with wages, of course, graduates. 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:05.119 The cost that it takes to go to school and 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:08.200 graduate means folks are saddled debt. And there's just kind 0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:10.040 of this whole backwards thing where if you look back, 0:21:10.080 --> 0:21:12.280 you know, thirty forty fifty years ago, it wasn't that 0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:14.480 way folks could really get out there and make something 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:17.159 on themselves. And so yeah, let's talk about you know, 0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:18.919 let's you said homelessness, let's talk. 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:21.040 Yeah, So that one's really close to me again. That's 0:21:21.040 --> 0:21:22.679