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Speaker 1: Native Lampod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with

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Speaker 1: Reason Choice Media. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, welcome, welcome. All right, Hello, Hello, Hello, everybody,

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Speaker 1: This is Andrew Gilliam coming to you live on this beautiful, beautiful,

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Speaker 1: beautiful Monday afternoon. Depending upon where you are in the country,

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Speaker 1: I think everybody is about almost afternoon. Welcome to our

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Speaker 1: California West Coast folks, still a little morning left. I

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Speaker 1: just wanted to thank you, thank you, thank you for

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Speaker 1: joining us this afternoon. We all have been eagerly anticipating

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Speaker 1: these conversations that we're trying to bring to you increasingly

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Speaker 1: at Native Lamppod, which is how the politics of Washington,

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Speaker 1: how politics period, how democracy and decisions around that really

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Speaker 1: trickle down to impact your everyday life. And I would

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Speaker 1: even argue, in some cases might impact your lives more

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Speaker 1: regularly and consistently and in more substantial ways than anything

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Speaker 1: that you might hear about on the eating news regarding

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Speaker 1: what's happening in Washington. But the truth is is that

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Speaker 1: all these things work together, hopefully for the good, but

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Speaker 1: in some cases to stave off the bag so that

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Speaker 1: we all get to experience some of the good. I'm extremely,

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Speaker 1: extremely happy to be joined today by three mayors from

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Speaker 1: three different states, two states of which are kind of

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Speaker 1: becoming swing states, if you will, in the political landscape,

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Speaker 1: and we'll have to ask the mayors a little bit

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Speaker 1: about that and what their thinking is and how true

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Speaker 1: or how close we may be to truly swing state

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Speaker 1: status for them. For the purposes of our conversation, we'll

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Speaker 1: spend about forty or so minutes with the mayors. We

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Speaker 1: want to invite all of you. If you've got questions,

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Speaker 1: put them in the chat lolo. Y'all already know is

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Speaker 1: going to be helping me to filter through and try

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Speaker 1: to get some of those questions ask pose to the mayors.

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Speaker 1: So without further ado, stay tuned. You're going to enjoy this.

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Speaker 2: It will be.

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Speaker 1: Educational, informative, and I think inspiring. So if you will

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Speaker 1: help me, welcome the mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas. That

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Speaker 1: would be Mayor Frank Scott, Mayor Vana Johnson of Savannah, Georgia,

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Speaker 1: and Mayor Leo Williams of Durham, North Carolina. And if

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Speaker 1: you're if you're wondering what two states I was talking

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Speaker 1: about regarding swing I was speaking pretty specifically about uh,

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Speaker 1: North Carolina and Georgia. But you know, Mayor, Mayor Scott,

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Speaker 1: you may have something else to say about Arkansas and

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Speaker 1: whether or not y'all give yourselves closer to a swing status.

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Speaker 3: We're trying to get to the plane, to get to

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Speaker 3: the swing.

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Speaker 1: Okay, there it is, there is Welcome Mayors, I want

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Speaker 1: to welcome all of you to to Native Lampid. Welcome home,

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Speaker 1: as we say here and Mayor said, just kick us

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Speaker 1: off real quick. I could have done the whole bio read,

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Speaker 1: but but I actually wanted and prefer to hear from

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Speaker 1: you all's voices what it was that inspired you to

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Speaker 1: run for public office. One day your citizen X and

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Speaker 1: the next day you're elected official. And a lot of

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Speaker 1: people find that transition pretty difficult to conceive in their minds.

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Speaker 1: And I'm hoping that, like my experience in Florida running

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Speaker 1: for public office, that is actually a lot more common

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Speaker 1: a reaction, a more common a thought than what people realize,

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Speaker 1: and it is a more actionable thought than what many

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Speaker 1: people are willing to take. But but Mayors, why don't

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Speaker 1: we start with you, Mayor Leo, telling us a little

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Speaker 1: bit about your decision to run for public office.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, thanks so much Andrew for having me and the

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Speaker 4: other mayors here who are good, good not only colleagues,

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Speaker 4: but good alpha men. It's great to be on with

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Speaker 4: you all. You know, I, like many you might hear

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Speaker 4: the cliche I didn't plan to run for office.

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Speaker 5: Why I really didn't.

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Speaker 4: I enjoy being a political operative behind the scenes and

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Speaker 4: education policy. However, my wife came home stressed one day

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Speaker 4: and you know, she was a restaurant manager, left her job,

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Speaker 4: told her to leave it, and shortly after that we

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Speaker 4: ended up opening a restaurant that was her talent. And

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Speaker 4: I was all about all the big bright ideas until

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Speaker 4: I got my first tax bill and how am I

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Speaker 4: supposed to pay this? I have to pay rent or taxes.

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Speaker 4: But you know, my community truly leaned in because we

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Speaker 4: love supporting small businesses here in Durham, in Nipol City,

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Speaker 4: and so that just really gave me true insight of

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Speaker 4: the power of community. However, it was really hard to

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Speaker 4: do business, although we bragged about supporting small businesses, and

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Speaker 4: I just wanted to be a part of that change.

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Speaker 4: So we didn't have any small business representations on the council.

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Speaker 4: So I ran and realized that, you know, just being

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Speaker 4: able to be practical or pragmatic was the way to

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Speaker 4: go and rather than just you know, extream one side

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Speaker 4: or the other. And that just yielded me up to

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Speaker 4: being the candidate to run from mayor.

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Speaker 5: And I wanted a landslide. And so now here I am.

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Speaker 1: Nice, nice mayor. John said you want to go next?

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much.

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Speaker 6: I appreciate the opportunity and again always honored to share

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Speaker 6: time with These are two amazing mayors who were doing

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Speaker 6: great things in our country. So my role was a

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Speaker 6: little bit different. I've been in this now. This is

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Speaker 6: my twenty third year in an elected office. I know

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Speaker 6: I don't look like it, but I got all the

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Speaker 6: battle scars to prove it.

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Speaker 2: And so for me, it was really a calling.

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Speaker 6: It was that I had a radio show that I

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Speaker 6: was involved with here in Savannah out of college. I'm

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Speaker 6: from Brooklyn, but I was I ultimately made Savannah my home.

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Speaker 6: I had a radio radio show, I had a weekly

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Speaker 6: journal in the paper talking about things that were going on.

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Speaker 2: And then one day it was.

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Speaker 6: Just you know, you're the person if you have to

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Speaker 6: stop complaining about stuff and be the person to get

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Speaker 6: in the game and make it happen. And so twenty

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Speaker 6: three years ago I got on city council or ran

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Speaker 6: and ran against an incumbent, which is something you generally

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Speaker 6: didn't do in Savannah. You had to be from Savannah,

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Speaker 6: you had to you know, seek permission from the elders.

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Speaker 2: And so I ran.

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Speaker 6: I won, served on council for sixteen years, and then

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Speaker 6: in twenty nineteen, I was the youngest person on council

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Speaker 6: but had the most experienced electoral experience, ran from mayor

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Speaker 6: against the incumbent and once and now I'm in my

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Speaker 6: seventh year of my eight year stint as being mayor

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Speaker 6: of Georgia's first city.

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Speaker 1: That's all right, that which also means the voters like

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Speaker 1: what they saw because they re elected you. You were

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Speaker 1: on a four year term and I re elected to

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Speaker 1: another four year That's awesome.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, so six.

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Speaker 6: Six, six times I've been elected and done pretty well.

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Speaker 2: You know, I don't take none of that for granted.

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Speaker 1: I feel you finally, May Scott.

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Speaker 3: Yes, sir, well, it's indeed an honor to be in

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Speaker 3: the second term of my hometown being the mayor here

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Speaker 3: in Little Rock, Arkansas. What I was sharing is just

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Speaker 3: when you talk about ones why fear and frustration are

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Speaker 3: the greatest motivators. So for me being a person that

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Speaker 3: being managed my first elected office.

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Speaker 7: While I did spend some years and got my first

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Speaker 7: opportunity in politics working for the last Democratic governor, Governor

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Speaker 7: Mike bb for five years, I was a private citizen banker,

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Speaker 7: really kind of minding my own business, trying to be

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Speaker 7: a very typically engaged by private citizen. And during that

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Speaker 7: engagement came frustrated with the establishments, frustrated with the powers

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Speaker 7: that be.

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Speaker 3: And when I figured out that I.

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Speaker 7: Wasn't being listened to, when I was asked to provide

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Speaker 7: certain thoughts about different things on how I see would

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Speaker 7: grow together, I got frustrated and at the age of

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Speaker 7: thirty four, decided to through something very bold and what

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Speaker 7: people thought was crazy and run and so we were

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Speaker 7: able to win and get elected in December twenty eighteen.

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Speaker 3: I'm now my second term.

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Speaker 7: I'm also the first black elected mayor of the city

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Speaker 7: of Liutroc, and so our internal wives to nightgrow and

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Speaker 7: transform Lutrock, making it acauds for the new South.

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Speaker 1: All right, Yeah, they're approaching that swing status. I can

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Speaker 1: hear that in your voice. Mayor, you're going to be

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Speaker 1: the deliverer of that. But while we're talking swing status,

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Speaker 1: and I really mean that in the sense of national politics,

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Speaker 1: but the truth is is at the local level, you

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Speaker 1: all are already swing statuses from any term to another.

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Speaker 1: These offices can swing back and forth between the person

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Speaker 1: who may have a different party affiliation but appears the

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Speaker 1: most committed to your own local communities. I know that

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Speaker 1: now you all have had to deal with another X

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Speaker 1: factor in the picture, interrupting how it is that you

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Speaker 1: all are able to deliver the kinds of services and

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Speaker 1: the kind of leadership that your communities demand. Right now,

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you we have gotten, at least at our show,

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Speaker 1: a pretty regular cynicism about whether or not leaders are

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Speaker 1: standing up, whether or not leaders are are are are

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Speaker 1: pushing back, if they're fighting hard enough. And I'm just curious,

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Speaker 1: while your cities may not have yet individually been bullseye

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Speaker 1: for some of the administration's tactics coming down very specifically

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Speaker 1: around ice and deportations, federal budget. And I would like

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Speaker 1: for you to just for us, if you could connect

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Speaker 1: how the decisions that are made in Washington show up

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Speaker 1: on the everyday doorsteps of people in your community. So

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Speaker 1: many people like to disconnect what's happening in DC from

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Speaker 1: their lives, and what we try to do is make

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Speaker 1: the connection of Okay, you think that's remote and you're unconnected,

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Speaker 1: but let me just give you a few examples. Mayors,

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Speaker 1: directly from the horse's mouth, give us some examples of

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Speaker 1: how the decisions in dcs tend to impact what you

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Speaker 1: all are able, willing, capable of doing at the local level.

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Speaker 1: And either of you can jump in first.

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Speaker 3: Well, I think what I would share is from an

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Speaker 3: economic perspective.

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Speaker 7: When a lot of these policies were rolled out from

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Speaker 7: our nation's capital, I don't think people took in the

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Speaker 7: impact that would have on the economy.

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Speaker 3: And what do I mean by that.

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Speaker 7: We received several phone calls from existing entrepreneurs that some

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Speaker 7: of their subcontractors and or partners in contracting work showing

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Speaker 7: up for work, and that really stalled a lot of projects.

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Speaker 7: I'm talking about big dollar projects. I'm not just talking

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Speaker 7: about residents completely commercial projects, things of the nature, and

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Speaker 7: so they had to figure out a new flow, a

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Speaker 7: new alignment of the work product as they moved together.

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Speaker 7: So I think many times, when you know these grand

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Speaker 7: ideas are developed and may not take into account the

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Speaker 7: economic impact and or how it impacts the workforce.

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Speaker 1: I appreciate that.

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Speaker 2: I'll already jump in.

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Speaker 6: And I think for us, I'm the president of the

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Speaker 6: African American Mayor's Association of Mayor Frank Scott was preceding

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Speaker 6: me as president, and Mayor Williams is on our board

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Speaker 6: of trustees. The reality is that we've really worked hard

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Speaker 6: to press Congress and the administration for really god rails.

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Speaker 6: There's some things, as you know, that our sentiens have

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Speaker 6: to know. First of all, we don't control ICE, we

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Speaker 6: don't control c VP, we don't control DHS operations. But

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Speaker 6: yet we are still responsible for keeping our cities safe

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Speaker 6: and for maintaining trust between residents and local government. The

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Speaker 6: reality is the action is taking care of in DC

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Speaker 6: or in action of our federal government. You know, weeks

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Speaker 6: here locally in our local governments. The folks that are

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Speaker 6: not being paid from TSA, they live in our communities.

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Speaker 6: The folks who need food, the high cost of gas.

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Speaker 6: Folks in our communities are the ones dealing with those things.

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Speaker 6: Our our modus operandi has been to really be supportive

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Speaker 6: of the mayors where they are. Some people want mayors

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Speaker 6: to pushback, pushbacks, push back, but that doesn't work for

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Speaker 6: every single mayor in every single city because we know

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Speaker 6: that some moneys from the federal government has been clawed back.

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Speaker 6: That's been very, very dangerous. So on one end of it,

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Speaker 6: you know, some mayors depending on where you are, depending

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Speaker 6: on your state. For example, our brother mayors in Chicago.

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Speaker 6: You know Brandon Johnson, I mean, he will go in hard,

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Speaker 6: but he also has a state that will help supporting that.

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Speaker 2: They have Brandon Scott in Baltimore. We're in in quote

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Speaker 2: unquote red.

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Speaker 6: States where kind of those blue dots, and so we

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Speaker 6: have to be very very careful about you know, we're

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Speaker 6: keeping it real goal was wrong because there are consequences.

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Speaker 2: So I mean, we have to do it sometimes.

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Speaker 6: Through our associations, through our organizations, we have to do

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Speaker 6: it through diplomacy, we have to do it sometimes through lobby.

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Speaker 6: But making no mistake, we are certainly feeling the effects

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Speaker 6: of a federal government has not only gone wild, but

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Speaker 6: it's totally ineffective at this point and leaving mayors to

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Speaker 6: be able to navigate these challenges for our citizens at

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Speaker 6: this time.

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Speaker 1: May I just wanted to follow up before we hear

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Speaker 1: from the Williams, do you hear from citizens when they're

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Speaker 1: sort of demanding the sort of the fierce, very blatant

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Speaker 1: fight back. I understand completely what you're saying, these sort

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Speaker 1: of blue dots and red states. Do you hear from

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Speaker 1: citizens about that, and if to the extent that you do,

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Speaker 1: what's generally your response around how you calibrate their expectations

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Speaker 1: for how you are to perform versus what's in the

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Speaker 1: best interest.

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Speaker 6: Now, I think that more appropriate questions when we don't

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Speaker 6: hear from them, we see them everywhere we go, if

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Speaker 6: we're in the stores, if we're in church, if we're

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Speaker 6: walking down the street. You know, the fact is local

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Speaker 6: governments where the people are so anything that folks are

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Speaker 6: dealing with, they see us and they are putting out

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Speaker 6: their frustration and their anger on us. Again, I go

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Speaker 6: through the Savannah Hilton and International Airport. I went through

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Speaker 6: at least ten times in the last two weeks. I

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Speaker 6: have to walk by our citizens who have not been

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Speaker 6: paid in certainly over three pay periods, who are hungry,

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Speaker 6: who need the gas to be able to get to

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Speaker 6: and from work. I mean, these are the challenges that

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Speaker 6: people are facing because on the other end of it,

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Speaker 6: you have again in Congress that's duly elected like them,

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Speaker 6: like we are, but rather than solve problems, they're back

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Speaker 6: and forth where they are, and so we're charged to

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Speaker 6: be able to make do I know, our brother mayors,

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Speaker 6: I mean, you know, we're out there feeding folks. I mean,

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Speaker 6: we didn't budget to provide food for people, provide things

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Speaker 6: that people need, but the fact is is that they

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Speaker 6: have to eat.

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Speaker 2: So we have to figure out ways to navigate those

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Speaker 2: things that was going on.

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Speaker 1: I appreciate that.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, thank you.

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Speaker 4: You know, I'm going to take the angle of the

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Speaker 4: social impact. You know, it really is about managing expectations.

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Speaker 4: And for the first time, I've seen middle class people

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Speaker 4: starting to apply for unemployment. You know, they're rally Durham area,

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Speaker 4: especially Durham ninety percent of the research trainle park. It's

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Speaker 4: right here in my city and my county.

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Speaker 3: We are.

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Speaker 4: You know, we're the second largest I believe, recipient of

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Speaker 4: USAID and those jobs were slashed big time. So you one,

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Speaker 4: there's a cost to the anxiety and the fear that

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Speaker 4: that you know, folks are feeling, and they start to

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Speaker 4: retract they stopped spending daycare, they start to keep their

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Speaker 4: kids home more. They stopped spending as much in the

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Speaker 4: grocery store. So I'm starting to fill it in my

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Speaker 4: in my economy, a local economy. Secondly, uh, we have

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Speaker 4: the costs of just regular everyday goods, the cup of

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Speaker 4: the costs of a cup of coffee, you know. And

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Speaker 4: and when as a business owner ourself, my wife and

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Speaker 4: I own a few restaurants, we like to know what's coming.

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Speaker 4: And it's really hard to plan for the unknown, you know.

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Speaker 4: So we're trying to manage our business. We have people

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Speaker 4: that are, you know, wanting to make sure they're getting

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Speaker 4: a decent, fair wage, and we don't know if we

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Speaker 4: can pay it or not. That brings me to the

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Speaker 4: municipal side of it. And I'll give you an example

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Speaker 4: of what just happened. AI is here all right in

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Speaker 4: my city. We hosted all Things AI. Four thousand people

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Speaker 4: came to my city. They have a AI summit. We

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Speaker 4: had the Venture Connect Summit, two thousand people here. Venture

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Speaker 4: capitalist funded funders looking to innovate and I mean invest

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Speaker 4: in our innovators. And we had Elevate got AI. So

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Speaker 4: we're trying to from my ProView, we're trying to, you know,

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Speaker 4: set parameters on how AI is going to be utilized

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Speaker 4: in our local governments across the country, so that we

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Speaker 4: aren't taking advantage of it. But instead I had someone

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Speaker 4: burst in the room, pulled up a sign and said,

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Speaker 4: I can't believe your meeting with these murderers and Gaza.

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Speaker 4: They're killing kids in Gaza. It's like, whoa, what are

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Speaker 4: you talking about? Parlaunteers killing people? And I'm just learning

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Speaker 4: who and what Valenteer really is. You won't find me

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Speaker 4: working with Palenteer. But volunteer had nothing to do with

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Speaker 4: what we're doing. We're actually trying to do the other

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Speaker 4: extreme and make sure that we are, you know, protecting ourselves.

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Speaker 4: But I have people that, you know, because of what's

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Speaker 4: going on at the federal level, they're expecting me to

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Speaker 4: shut down all technology, shut down all AI, you know,

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Speaker 4: stand up and make sure I speak against these companies

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Speaker 4: and not let them in here and let not let

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Speaker 4: ice use this information.

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Speaker 5: And I, you know, and it's I voted for you.

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Speaker 5: You do what I tell you to do. Wait a minute, man,

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Speaker 5: And and she said, she said, I'm a Jewish white woman.

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Speaker 5: I voted for you. I'm a resident. You do what

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Speaker 5: I tell you to do.

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Speaker 4: And I said, wait a minute, let's get out of

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Speaker 4: the mayor resident face here. I'm a black man. You're

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Speaker 4: a white woman telling me in my face what I

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Speaker 4: can and cannot do, as if you're the only one

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Speaker 4: that voted for me. Let's have a reality check, you know.

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Speaker 4: And and I had to, you know, I have to

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Speaker 4: be forceful back with her. I understood her fear, but

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Speaker 4: I have to tell her that's man. I'm working on

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Speaker 4: taking your fear and positioning you to be fierce and

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Speaker 4: not let these uh this these uh this technology take

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Speaker 4: over us or or replace us. It's meant to make

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Speaker 4: us better. So there's a lot of fear out there.

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Speaker 4: We have to manage those expectations. And it's really hard

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Speaker 4: because we're getting attacked from the left as well as

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Speaker 4: from the right, and that's a lot.

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Speaker 2: That is a lot to manage.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you know, it's You bring up an interesting

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Speaker 1: point around how the federal the sort of the convultion

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Speaker 1: of what happens federally, meets the road at the local level.

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Speaker 1: And I think what the moment is requiring of us

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Speaker 1: is particularly at the local level now to have your

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Speaker 1: tentacles so far out. The good news is that in

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Speaker 1: all three of your cases, you operate, yes, at the

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Speaker 1: local level, but you're also part of a national apparatus

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Speaker 1: where your leadership and you get briefings on issues that

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Speaker 1: many communities haven't had hit the doorstep yet. You get

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Speaker 1: to be in front of I'll use example of your

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Speaker 1: pension funds and the fact that people are increasingly waking

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Speaker 1: up to where corporations are choosing to invest those moneies,

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Speaker 1: where pension funds are going. We saw a story national

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Speaker 1: story recently coming out of Atlanta where they realize that

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Speaker 1: a number of the pension dollars that were being invested

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Speaker 1: by local residents were also being turned around and used

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Speaker 1: to buy up affordable housing and to then kick people

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Speaker 1: out of the housing after you know, missing the rent

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Speaker 1: deadline by a day because it's now been federal not federalized,

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Speaker 1: but it's basically been taken over by a number of

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Speaker 1: these venture capital funds that have no investment in the

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Speaker 1: local level and could care less about that. So where

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Speaker 1: do you draw the balance, Mayors, Where does it make

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Speaker 1: sense for you to have to have the consciousness of

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Speaker 1: who is doing business with who you're doing business with,

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Speaker 1: and what ways are we enabling versus deconstructing or further

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Speaker 1: crippling harms that could be coming towards our citizens.

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Speaker 7: Uh well, I think, first and foremost, I think all

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Speaker 7: of us do our job in a way that we

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Speaker 7: have to be very intentional. I think, as you speak

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Speaker 7: to you know, the larger skill even the pitching funds,

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Speaker 7: is to ensure that all of our procurement dollars are

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Speaker 7: reflective of our divers cities, to ensure that we are

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Speaker 7: helping our small, local and minority in women owned businesses.

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Speaker 7: One understand that the city economic apparatus that we're helping

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Speaker 7: provide them all with technical systems. For us and Little Rock,

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Speaker 7: we have build academy, building, business united and leadership development

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Speaker 7: that we help these entrepreneurs aspire in or existing move

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Speaker 7: through our process of technical systems to compete for those dollars,

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Speaker 7: so we can ensure that we have their reflection dollars.

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Speaker 7: From that standpoint, and then but as it relates to

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Speaker 7: when do we step up to fight, we step up

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Speaker 7: the fight every day, whether it's you know, a public

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Speaker 7: balancing public safety and public reform.

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Speaker 3: Understanding that as we deal with technology.

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Speaker 7: And public reform, public safety reform, whether it's utilizing different

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Speaker 7: technologies to ensure that there aren't any biases, and the

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Speaker 7: technologies that we use to create a disproportionate impact our

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Speaker 7: residence at writ large, and so we have to be

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Speaker 7: very decisive on what we do, and so many times

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Speaker 7: that we.

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Speaker 3: Can't take on everything.

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Speaker 7: We have to take on what benefits our residents, because

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Speaker 7: what's good for Little Rock may not be good for Durham,

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Speaker 7: may not be good for Savannah. But in each way,

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Speaker 7: all of us are working together to figure out how

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Speaker 7: we navigate these national issues that are driving to us,

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Speaker 7: so we can pick and choose what's good for our residents.

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Speaker 3: On how we are FIERCD in that moment.

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Speaker 1: Appreciate that. Appreciate that. Mayors and Mayors. We're also getting

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Speaker 1: some questions in from our listeners on our YouTube channel,

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Speaker 1: and we want to welcome all of those who are

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Speaker 1: there to the conversation. I think may and Williams is

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Speaker 1: one directed for you, which is quote, how are you

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Speaker 1: fighting back against building data centers in your city, especially

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Speaker 1: since the evidence of how harmful these places are i e.

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Speaker 1: Mentis Northern Virginia and how they're hurting us.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, local governments one

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Speaker 5: thing we do have as long as we have it.

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Speaker 4: Uh well, let me let me back up and say this,

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Speaker 4: we are It's really important to have these conversations with

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Speaker 4: the context of whether you are a home row state

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Speaker 4: or dialon road state. North Carolina is a Dalan road state,

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Speaker 4: meaning we are council manager forms of government. And the

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Speaker 4: way you explain that is everything you want to do

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Speaker 4: just consider it, you know, illegal unless the General Assembly

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Speaker 4: has told you you can. And our home role state

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Speaker 4: everything you want to do, consider you can do it

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Speaker 4: unless the General Assembly told you that you can't. Uh

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Speaker 4: So we are preempted a lot by our by our

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Speaker 4: state government. That being said, we do have the power

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Speaker 4: of zoning at the local level. And let me tell

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Speaker 4: you we are in a housing crunch like never before.

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Speaker 4: We're the second fastest growth region in the nation. We're

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Speaker 4: the most educated populist, second most educated populist in America,

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Speaker 4: with the second most resilient and future ready city in America.

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Speaker 4: And we have people wanted to move here because it's

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Speaker 4: really attractive. Our population has grown by fifty thousands of

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Speaker 4: the last seven years. That being said, if you think

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Speaker 4: we have room for a big old data center, take

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Speaker 4: it up space, You got another thing coming. So we

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Speaker 4: are looking at how do we ensure that our zone

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Speaker 4: does not reflect the ability to build those I know

437
00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:19,560
Speaker 4: that data centers want to be close to electrical brids

438
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:21,520
Speaker 4: that can handle it, and they want to be close

439
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:23,359
Speaker 4: to water so they can try and keep cool. But

440
00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:29,439
Speaker 4: we have the world's largest data center for Dale Technologies

441
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:31,680
Speaker 4: right here in Durham. You'd never know because it looks

442
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,000
Speaker 4: like a regular corporate building, but it takes up acres

443
00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,840
Speaker 4: and you get inside, it looks like the matrix. I

444
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,240
Speaker 4: appreciate the world's Internet for Dale going through Durham, but

445
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,720
Speaker 4: I could probably put it an entire neighborhood in that center,

446
00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,000
Speaker 4: in that space. So we definitely have to look at

447
00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:51,639
Speaker 4: how we better utilize our land. Maybe the state government

448
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,679
Speaker 4: and federal government can put in infrastructure into rural areas

449
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:58,119
Speaker 4: where the space is available in plenty, but putting it

450
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,480
Speaker 4: inside of a city where we're already cr for land,

451
00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:03,440
Speaker 4: where landlocked we need more housing than anything. I'm not

452
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,879
Speaker 4: a fan of data center's coming here, and I'm going

453
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:07,560
Speaker 4: to fight that as much as I possibly can.

454
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,160
Speaker 1: I appreciate that and thank you for again making centerfold

455
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:16,440
Speaker 1: these UH the jurisdiction of most land use and land

456
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,120
Speaker 1: use management being at the local level, which which really

457
00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:22,200
Speaker 1: takes me to an ice related question. And again I

458
00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:23,720
Speaker 1: said I wouldn't tarry too long in the and the

459
00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,600
Speaker 1: federal issues, but it is one where the rubber mesa road.

460
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:32,359
Speaker 1: The question that came in is around how does ice

461
00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:37,800
Speaker 1: UH as a major issue impact Black Americans. All three

462
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,440
Speaker 1: of you represent constituencies that consist of of of significant

463
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:47,040
Speaker 1: black populations. How are people talking about it where you live?

464
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:51,119
Speaker 1: Are the concerns as great and if they aren't, identify

465
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,919
Speaker 1: for us why we ought to have our ire up

466
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:56,959
Speaker 1: when it comes to the issue of ice and how

467
00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 1: how it interacts with with us as black folks in community.

468
00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,560
Speaker 6: Well, I'll start and I'll answer first in the macro

469
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,720
Speaker 6: on behalf of the African American Manage Association. Our mayors

470
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:14,120
Speaker 6: are demanding transparency, accountability and reform. This is the question

471
00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:16,760
Speaker 6: was how it is ice a major issue for Black Americans? Well,

472
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,720
Speaker 6: the reality is it's a major problem for everyone. Many

473
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:24,240
Speaker 6: of our cities, we limit local involvement UH in federal

474
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:28,840
Speaker 6: immigration enforcement because issues like not calling nine one one

475
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,320
Speaker 6: or reporting a crime, or sitting your child school does

476
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,399
Speaker 6: not become a problem. The reality is is that in

477
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 6: many of the activities we've seen innocent people, people who

478
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:44,560
Speaker 6: were Americans, have been involved in issues involving ice. Just

479
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:49,240
Speaker 6: here in my community we had ice a d H

480
00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:54,639
Speaker 6: h H agents chasing someone who ran into a school teacher,

481
00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:59,840
Speaker 6: a black lady and teacher going to school, and she died.

482
00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:04,040
Speaker 2: They just you know, just t bones. And so it's

483
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,240
Speaker 2: an issue all over it, and so we continue.

484
00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,840
Speaker 6: We're working with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement

485
00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,240
Speaker 6: Executives which is called Noble UH and the National Forum

486
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:16,200
Speaker 6: for Black Public Administrators to be able to demand that

487
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:20,000
Speaker 6: you know, issues like no mask. I mean in Georgie,

488
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,080
Speaker 6: you're not supposed to wear a mask anyway. I mean,

489
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:27,240
Speaker 6: that's an issue that requiring body war and cameras, judicial wars.

490
00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,840
Speaker 6: I mean right now, you know, people just kind of

491
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,280
Speaker 6: busting people's houses. It should be signed by a judge.

492
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,200
Speaker 6: Issues like sensitive locations like you shouldn't be able to

493
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,480
Speaker 6: go to a school or shouldn't go to a hospital.

494
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:43,120
Speaker 6: The reality is when you have uh, these cowboys who

495
00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,720
Speaker 6: don't have it. I'm a law enforcement officer by trade,

496
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,840
Speaker 6: who don't have police training. It is a different set

497
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,960
Speaker 6: of skills being a police officer and being an PACE agent.

498
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,040
Speaker 6: When they're in a situation where they are pursuing someone,

499
00:27:57,680 --> 00:27:58,760
Speaker 6: public safety.

500
00:27:58,520 --> 00:27:59,680
Speaker 2: Is not top of their mind.

501
00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:02,560
Speaker 6: And so everyone, whether you're black or not, should be

502
00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:08,080
Speaker 6: extremely concerned about these operations occurring in your communities because

503
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:14,000
Speaker 6: here we're insisting that they respect local policies, civil rights,

504
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,719
Speaker 6: and human dignity, and we speak up publicly when they

505
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:20,320
Speaker 6: do not. And what we've seen in many cases, certainly

506
00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:24,439
Speaker 6: in Minneapolis and other instances around the country, where unfortunately

507
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:29,239
Speaker 6: that did not happen, individuals who are American citizens who

508
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,679
Speaker 6: should not have been affected at all were adversely impacted.

509
00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:37,640
Speaker 6: Their lives changed forever or ended because of this activity.

510
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,760
Speaker 6: So I think ICE is a major issue for everyone

511
00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:43,920
Speaker 6: until it gets rained in, refined in its purpose, and

512
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:49,400
Speaker 6: start respecting local law enforcement agencies and their need to

513
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,240
Speaker 6: protect safety for the public.

514
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:54,000
Speaker 2: That's fair and just.

515
00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,720
Speaker 1: For the question, I recall that among the first deaths

516
00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:01,520
Speaker 1: that we saw experience under ICE as a young African American,

517
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,640
Speaker 1: the Renee Good and Alex Pretty, a white woman and

518
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:09,080
Speaker 1: a white man. Uh uh, you met their demise at

519
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:13,080
Speaker 1: the hands of ICE both US citizens and I underscore

520
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:17,680
Speaker 1: again white, which tells me that if they're killing white folks,

521
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,080
Speaker 1: white men and women on on American streets, we barely

522
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 1: have a chance. Uh. And many regards, So Tom, I

523
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:32,400
Speaker 1: appreciate your response. Uh, I not hear someone coming out

524
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:32,840
Speaker 1: I was.

525
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:34,920
Speaker 5: I was just going to say, uh, you know, uh,

526
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:36,080
Speaker 5: let's go back to the beginning.

527
00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:40,600
Speaker 4: Uh, when when I started to invade in cities across America,

528
00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:46,640
Speaker 4: there were democratically black led cities, democratically black last cities.

529
00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:48,960
Speaker 4: And that is that is why it's so important that

530
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,600
Speaker 4: we you know, just sort of man up on our

531
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:56,120
Speaker 4: resources because we don't really have the resources.

532
00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:56,840
Speaker 7: Uh.

533
00:29:57,920 --> 00:29:59,320
Speaker 5: You know, the congressional leaders.

534
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,280
Speaker 4: What they have, you know, more money in the coffers

535
00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:06,120
Speaker 4: to support them politically year round, like we are, non

536
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:10,200
Speaker 4: partisan local leaders boosts on the ground, you know. And

537
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:13,960
Speaker 4: I will say that, you know, there are folks that

538
00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,520
Speaker 4: want us to get really loud and push back on ICE.

539
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:21,080
Speaker 4: But and normally you know, just being you know, fully transparent.

540
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,080
Speaker 4: That's coming from in cities like mom where we're ninety

541
00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,960
Speaker 4: percent Democrat, is coming from pretty progressive white members of

542
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 4: my community for the most part, which I'm with them.

543
00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:31,960
Speaker 5: I'm like, look, let's fight.

544
00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:35,960
Speaker 4: But I'm also hearing from like an Hispanic community, I'm

545
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,720
Speaker 4: hearing from my African community, my Indian community, and what

546
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:41,880
Speaker 4: they're saying is, hey, hey, hey, Mayor, we appreciate the fight,

547
00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,960
Speaker 4: but please don't don't poke the bear because they're coming

548
00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:49,120
Speaker 4: after us. You guys can fight for us, but they're

549
00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:51,600
Speaker 4: not coming for you. They're coming for us.

550
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,040
Speaker 5: And so we have to be careful on how low.

551
00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,360
Speaker 4: At some point they're going to any They're gonna come

552
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:09,000
Speaker 4: after us anyway. It's tough to deal with.

553
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:11,440
Speaker 2: Mayor.

554
00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:12,880
Speaker 1: You went out there a little bit at the end,

555
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,960
Speaker 1: but I really appreciated you bringing in the perspective of

556
00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:21,720
Speaker 1: the communities who find themselves the target, basically saying don't

557
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:24,120
Speaker 1: don't kick the hornets nests because when they show up

558
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:26,560
Speaker 1: in force, it's us they're coming to get it, not

559
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,240
Speaker 1: necessarily you and brother, brother.

560
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:31,920
Speaker 6: If I could just drop right there because of the issue,

561
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,480
Speaker 6: you know, we're a nation of immigrants, I mean, people

562
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:36,280
Speaker 6: are from all over.

563
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:40,480
Speaker 2: We have naturalized citizens that are also at target.

564
00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,080
Speaker 6: Because now all of a sudden you've brought like you said,

565
00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,120
Speaker 6: you kicked the hornets nets and now your city is

566
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:50,120
Speaker 6: a focus and the target. So you know, we're telling

567
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,760
Speaker 6: the folks walk around your passports because you just don't

568
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:57,040
Speaker 6: know what will occur when all of a sudden, you know,

569
00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:59,440
Speaker 6: your name might seem a little bit different.

570
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,480
Speaker 2: I mean, just those little nuances makes life difficult for everybody.

571
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:06,760
Speaker 6: So, where you have some people in our cities telling us, hey,

572
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,680
Speaker 6: go hard, push back on the other end, as Mayor

573
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:11,960
Speaker 6: Leo says, you know, they're like, hold up, we don't

574
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,800
Speaker 6: want that smoke in our cities. We don't want that

575
00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:17,800
Speaker 6: type of disruption in our cities. We we don't want

576
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,479
Speaker 6: that type of attention in our cities. So as mayorags,

577
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,400
Speaker 6: we have to be able to balance the need to

578
00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,920
Speaker 6: be able to uh speak out boldly, but also to

579
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,720
Speaker 6: be able to protect the public and not harm them

580
00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,560
Speaker 6: by us being too bold.

581
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:34,920
Speaker 5: That's my wife, man, that's my wife.

582
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:42,600
Speaker 2: Nobody knows.

583
00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,080
Speaker 1: There are a lot of us who are getting increasingly

584
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:52,200
Speaker 1: nervous about the upcoming election, A lot of us specifically

585
00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:56,440
Speaker 1: very particularly in the South, where we've now had you know,

586
00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:03,400
Speaker 1: the the the uh decimation of of most federal protections

587
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:07,400
Speaker 1: that existed that that came into existence because of the

588
00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,840
Speaker 1: barriers that were erected throughout the geopolitical South to keep

589
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,520
Speaker 1: black folks from being able to access the ballot box.

590
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:16,440
Speaker 1: Add to it the redistricting that's taken place that has

591
00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,040
Speaker 1: taken a lot of seats away from from from our

592
00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:22,480
Speaker 1: members at the federal level, or at the very least

593
00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,200
Speaker 1: pitted them one against the other in a in a

594
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:30,520
Speaker 1: decreasing number of seats that that African Americans would have

595
00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:33,880
Speaker 1: access to it at the federal level, I am curious

596
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:37,240
Speaker 1: if we are to take the federal government and and

597
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,160
Speaker 1: and and their henchmen and women at their word that

598
00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:47,520
Speaker 1: ice will be present at polling stations, that there will

599
00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,800
Speaker 1: be a presence from the federal government and an effort

600
00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:54,920
Speaker 1: to quote keep illegals or folks who are not registered

601
00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:58,280
Speaker 1: from voting, but obviously have the impact of turning off

602
00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:00,640
Speaker 1: a whole range of people who just don't want that

603
00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:03,080
Speaker 1: kind of trouble, who just don't want to confront what

604
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,800
Speaker 1: that means for them just to go out and vote.

605
00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:10,640
Speaker 1: You all of the front line of defense, if there

606
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:12,680
Speaker 1: is one, you know, if the federal troops are not

607
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,320
Speaker 1: being sent in to protect people's right to vote, but

608
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:18,920
Speaker 1: instead to quail their right to vote. Then who becomes

609
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,480
Speaker 1: the defense for everybody's right to get the access to

610
00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:24,920
Speaker 1: the ballot box? How are you all thinking about that,

611
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:26,840
Speaker 1: Mayor's I'd love to hear from all three of you

612
00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:31,359
Speaker 1: on that question and what power resides with you at

613
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,560
Speaker 1: your respective level to intervene to ensure that every voter

614
00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,280
Speaker 1: in your county and your cities where you have jurisdiction,

615
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:39,879
Speaker 1: who want to vote and are legally eligible to vote,

616
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:41,239
Speaker 1: have that ability to go and do so.

617
00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,319
Speaker 3: I think it's good for us to recognize we're now

618
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:48,399
Speaker 3: in the sixty first years since the Votes Right Act

619
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:52,360
Speaker 3: in nineteen sixty five, and to understand that, you know,

620
00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:57,000
Speaker 3: our elders, our ancestors, fought, bled and died so we

621
00:34:57,160 --> 00:34:59,480
Speaker 3: could actually have the right to vote, exercise of their

622
00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:02,640
Speaker 3: right to vote. And so while we need to be

623
00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:07,840
Speaker 3: increasingly aware and concerned of all the new laws, but

624
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:10,239
Speaker 3: our same ancestors had to you know, they had to

625
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:12,520
Speaker 3: count the number of beings in the jar to sit

626
00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:14,480
Speaker 3: rether or not they had the opportunity to vote. So

627
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:18,040
Speaker 3: this is not something new to us. It's our It's

628
00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:18,760
Speaker 3: in our history.

629
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:21,439
Speaker 7: That's the reason why we have to continue to share

630
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:23,520
Speaker 7: our history with our youth and our young adults, so

631
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:27,480
Speaker 7: they understand this isn't something new that we have the

632
00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:31,200
Speaker 7: ability to navigate and to figure out ways to make

633
00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:34,600
Speaker 7: sure we get our vote exercise and the cross as

634
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:36,960
Speaker 7: it relates to the public safety, understanding that there could

635
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:40,600
Speaker 7: be some shenanigan, I think we all to go to

636
00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:44,000
Speaker 7: uphold the public safety welfare of all of our residents,

637
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,800
Speaker 7: and so that falls on line. We will be in

638
00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:50,799
Speaker 7: contact with our county clerks to ensure that we are

639
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,640
Speaker 7: aware of what's going on at polling locations and if

640
00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:56,600
Speaker 7: and when we need to provide the public safety, that's.

641
00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:57,239
Speaker 2: Part of our job.

642
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,840
Speaker 7: And we should not allow uh any negativity from outside

643
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:04,520
Speaker 7: forces to prevent the right to vote. Because if you're

644
00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:06,279
Speaker 7: prevent the right of vote, vote and you're doing it

645
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:08,640
Speaker 7: in a forceful way, that mean nine times out of

646
00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,920
Speaker 7: ten you probably are breaking a existing.

647
00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:13,720
Speaker 3: Law here in our respective cities.

648
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:15,880
Speaker 7: And so as long as we do our job and

649
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,040
Speaker 7: make certain that we don't forget what our job is

650
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:22,120
Speaker 7: to ensure that the residents have a safe walkway, a

651
00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:25,799
Speaker 7: safe halfway to exercise to vote, I think those are

652
00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:27,880
Speaker 7: things that we have to be focused on in addition

653
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:31,200
Speaker 7: to all the other laws that are being tossed around,

654
00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:33,719
Speaker 7: whether it's the jerry managing, tracking, the backing and all

655
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:36,080
Speaker 7: the different things, the cutting, the slicing of our districts.

656
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,400
Speaker 7: So when we get to that first two day November,

657
00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,040
Speaker 7: that we all know the rules of the game, that

658
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:45,320
Speaker 7: we are present, that we focus on those rules, and

659
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:47,399
Speaker 7: we do it in a safe way. But we're there

660
00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:49,480
Speaker 7: to protect our residents first and foremost.

661
00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,440
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm gonna I'm going to be requesting that our

662
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:57,759
Speaker 4: that our police and sheriff, you know, uh, just be

663
00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:00,359
Speaker 4: present to make sure folks are safe and to make

664
00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:04,400
Speaker 4: sure that people can vote. It's getting aggressive out here. Uh,

665
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:08,720
Speaker 4: and we'll we'll try to do our part. My sheriff

666
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:16,440
Speaker 4: just uh uh spoke, uh testified at the uh in Congress.

667
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:19,440
Speaker 4: UH and he went back and forth with Senator Kennedy

668
00:37:20,239 --> 00:37:23,040
Speaker 4: and h on Ice and and it was it was

669
00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:26,759
Speaker 4: quite interesting the line of questioning. But as as brother

670
00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:29,359
Speaker 4: Mayor Scott, just say that, you know, sixty one years

671
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 4: after the Voting Rights Act, UH, I want to say

672
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:37,120
Speaker 4: that ignorance is the greatest currency, the greatest political currency.

673
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:38,040
Speaker 1: Uh.

674
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:41,960
Speaker 4: That folks are looking to expend, they want to utilize technology,

675
00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:44,240
Speaker 4: they want to keep you ignorant. They want to misleadure.

676
00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:46,480
Speaker 4: They want more more young black men to say, man,

677
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:48,640
Speaker 4: I'm not voting, what is going to do for me?

678
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:51,600
Speaker 4: You know, like people say that your phones are listening,

679
00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:54,200
Speaker 4: and they want to build on that, they want to

680
00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:58,759
Speaker 4: keep they will. The social media platforms are intentionally and

681
00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:02,920
Speaker 4: socially disenfrenchised people to make us more ignorant and make

682
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:03,759
Speaker 4: us disengage.

683
00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:07,479
Speaker 5: Meanwhile, in North Carolina, you know, we are the state

684
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:08,399
Speaker 5: of jerrymandering.

685
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:12,880
Speaker 4: And fortunately Phil Berger, the Senate leader majority leader, who's

686
00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:15,240
Speaker 4: been in office twenty five years, who's had a chokehold

687
00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:17,840
Speaker 4: on this state for the last fourteen, just lost his

688
00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:22,399
Speaker 4: primary and he was the architect to it. To jerry

689
00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:25,120
Speaker 4: mandery in North Carolina. He would be going home in

690
00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:29,640
Speaker 4: November still to another Republican, but just not as strategic

691
00:38:29,719 --> 00:38:33,720
Speaker 4: as he's been. But you know, they've stripped our governor

692
00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:36,960
Speaker 4: of all his powers. Now we have the weakest governor

693
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:40,759
Speaker 4: in the state. Local government, we're mandated to pass a

694
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:42,920
Speaker 4: city budget, but we are the only state in the

695
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:48,040
Speaker 4: Union that has not passed a budget. Our General Assembly

696
00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:52,240
Speaker 4: is heavily Republican in both houses, and our Supreme Court

697
00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:57,080
Speaker 4: is heavily majority Republican and not really to get partisan.

698
00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:00,440
Speaker 5: These are just facts. But the reality is, you know,

699
00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:03,839
Speaker 5: it is extremely difficult for us to come back from

700
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:05,360
Speaker 5: from for us to come back from that.

701
00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:07,400
Speaker 4: But if our ancestors had to count beans and our

702
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:09,879
Speaker 4: dang one jar, we can at least get our busts

703
00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:12,120
Speaker 4: out to the polls and just vote. But we have

704
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:14,440
Speaker 4: to communicate with one another on what we're voting for,

705
00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:17,960
Speaker 4: go beyond just registering people to vote, and help communicate

706
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:19,200
Speaker 4: why this is so important.

707
00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:24,839
Speaker 6: Well, it's twenty twenty six and we're not singing any

708
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:29,680
Speaker 6: new songs. It's unfortunate that it's tragic that here, at

709
00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:34,040
Speaker 6: this time, we are still fighting for people to have

710
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:37,680
Speaker 6: the right and access to vote. Brother Gilm, you already

711
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:41,240
Speaker 6: know what Georgia is. Georgia is bipolar in many ways.

712
00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:43,320
Speaker 6: I don't know if we're a swing state. We're you know,

713
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:48,520
Speaker 6: we have a Republican governor, Republican legislature. We have two

714
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:54,279
Speaker 6: Democratic senators, which is really interesting, and Georgia has shown.

715
00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:57,520
Speaker 2: A way to really be independent and have an independent mind.

716
00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:00,880
Speaker 6: That being said, even if we're not being partisan at

717
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,920
Speaker 6: this time, we better be political and there's a difference

718
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:07,520
Speaker 6: between partisan and being political, and the reality is is

719
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:11,480
Speaker 6: that these laws keep coming down despite our Republican governors

720
00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:15,600
Speaker 6: saying that we've had no election widespread election fraud here

721
00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:17,800
Speaker 6: in the state of Georgia. Of course, what do the

722
00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:21,640
Speaker 6: federal government do. They bust into a Fulton County election center.

723
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,280
Speaker 6: The hard thing for many of us is that although

724
00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:29,960
Speaker 6: we're mayors of cities, most elections are county run, and

725
00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:33,080
Speaker 6: so we don't have that type of control. Fortunately, in Savannah,

726
00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:36,760
Speaker 6: on election day, the mayor by charter, is in charge

727
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:40,680
Speaker 6: of law enforcement in our city. However, by that time

728
00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:43,440
Speaker 6: the damage might have been done. As Mayor Leo says,

729
00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:45,719
Speaker 6: if it's too hard for me to do it, I'm

730
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:47,480
Speaker 6: just not going to do it. If I have to

731
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:52,239
Speaker 6: worry about ice, you know, accosting me at a polling place,

732
00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:55,840
Speaker 6: I have to worry about having to provide a marriage

733
00:40:55,840 --> 00:40:58,440
Speaker 6: certificate or a birth certificate or.

734
00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:00,560
Speaker 2: Passport, I'm just not going to do it.

735
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:04,520
Speaker 6: And so what ends up happening is the resistance becomes

736
00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:08,000
Speaker 6: so much that the biggest voices are those who don't

737
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,560
Speaker 6: vote or just not encouraged to vote.

738
00:41:10,719 --> 00:41:12,839
Speaker 2: Those just say the hell with it. I'm just going home,

739
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:16,520
Speaker 2: and then by that way the outcomes are also changed.

740
00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:22,279
Speaker 1: M Mayors. As we wrap up our conversation and the

741
00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:24,799
Speaker 1: time kind of breeze by, I would love for each

742
00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:27,400
Speaker 1: of you to the to the to folks on the

743
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:30,520
Speaker 1: listening in today and also those when this is published

744
00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:35,680
Speaker 1: on on on iHeartRadio. What is your ass what's your admonishment?

745
00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:39,040
Speaker 1: What is the thing you want? People? If you could

746
00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:41,560
Speaker 1: wave a wand and say do this and we all

747
00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:44,319
Speaker 1: do it, what would that thing be? As we look

748
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:46,360
Speaker 1: down the trajectory of the next couple of weeks and

749
00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:51,120
Speaker 1: months into this next election, and folks are are desperate

750
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:52,040
Speaker 1: for the what do I do?

751
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:52,920
Speaker 2: What do I do?

752
00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:53,680
Speaker 3: What do I do?

753
00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:55,960
Speaker 1: How do I help? How do you answer that?

754
00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:03,080
Speaker 7: I think the first answer is we have to understand

755
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:10,640
Speaker 7: our history. We should not be afraid of the activity

756
00:42:10,719 --> 00:42:15,120
Speaker 7: that we're seeing to price buriers for us to vote.

757
00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:19,000
Speaker 7: Understand those same barriers. They're sixty one years ago and

758
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:24,640
Speaker 7: we were able to prevail and we can still prevail

759
00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:27,360
Speaker 7: right now. And so not only do we need to

760
00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:30,520
Speaker 7: understand our rights to vote, we need to engage ourselves,

761
00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:33,440
Speaker 7: educate ourselves, and then vote. But I really want to

762
00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:35,959
Speaker 7: speak to those voters who have a voter registration card

763
00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:39,439
Speaker 7: and have never decided to vote. We have so many

764
00:42:39,560 --> 00:42:42,719
Speaker 7: people who are choosing not to vote they have a

765
00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:45,839
Speaker 7: voter registration card, that we just need to figure out

766
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,680
Speaker 7: the ways to revive them to get them to the polls,

767
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:50,839
Speaker 7: because what's going to happen at the end of the day.

768
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:53,680
Speaker 7: You know, gas is three dollars and fifty cents here

769
00:42:53,719 --> 00:42:55,719
Speaker 7: in lit Rock, I don't know what it is in

770
00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:59,040
Speaker 7: North Carolina and Georgia. People start making some decisions. There's

771
00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:02,840
Speaker 7: a reason why, uh, you know, the these pocketbook issues

772
00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:06,759
Speaker 7: are driven down from our national government. Uh, and so

773
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:09,480
Speaker 7: there's a reason why gases up. We know that there's

774
00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:11,640
Speaker 7: a reason why we're expanding these different issues, and we

775
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,239
Speaker 7: can correct some of the issues of today if we

776
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,319
Speaker 7: focus on tomorrow and making certain those who are.

777
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:21,359
Speaker 3: Already registered to vote to give up and exercise their

778
00:43:21,440 --> 00:43:22,000
Speaker 3: right to vote.

779
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:26,319
Speaker 6: Appreciate that, Mayor, I guess I'll go second, I think,

780
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:31,240
Speaker 6: and thank you so much again, brother Givin, for the opportunity. Again,

781
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:34,040
Speaker 6: you could not have picked the two better mayors, and

782
00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:38,360
Speaker 6: Mayor Williams and Mayor Scott. I think that we have

783
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:41,879
Speaker 6: to praise if everything depends on God, because it does.

784
00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:44,719
Speaker 6: But then we have to work like everything depends on us,

785
00:43:45,040 --> 00:43:48,080
Speaker 6: because it does. We have to stay vigilant. We need

786
00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,760
Speaker 6: to check out voter registration status. We have to register

787
00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:54,680
Speaker 6: as many people as possible. And really we have to

788
00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:58,600
Speaker 6: remember the pain and the frustration and the anger that's

789
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:02,480
Speaker 6: been expressed throughout this cu during these no Kings protests.

790
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:04,880
Speaker 6: I mean, we could be bad and we can protest

791
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:08,360
Speaker 6: all day long, and that does not translate into votes

792
00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:11,080
Speaker 6: at the polls. We were wasting our time. We were

793
00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:13,480
Speaker 6: having a good party. And the fact of the matter

794
00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:15,640
Speaker 6: is is that you know, people are so upset, and

795
00:44:15,719 --> 00:44:17,480
Speaker 6: I mean I think some of that as buyas remorse,

796
00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:20,920
Speaker 6: because some of these folks either didn't vote or decided

797
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:24,440
Speaker 6: that they have voted another way and they've recognized. Remember

798
00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:27,360
Speaker 6: how much gas costs now when you go vote, Remember

799
00:44:27,640 --> 00:44:31,120
Speaker 6: those TSA employees who haven't gotten paid when you go vote,

800
00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:33,799
Speaker 6: Remember that we have wars.

801
00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:34,480
Speaker 2: And stuff all over the time.

802
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:38,000
Speaker 6: Remember the individuals who have been killed overseas for a

803
00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:40,920
Speaker 6: war supposedly that we didn't start, but we find ourselves in.

804
00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:45,320
Speaker 6: Remember all of those things and cast your frustration in

805
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:48,600
Speaker 6: the way that we as Americans have had the opportunity

806
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:52,600
Speaker 6: to do so. By casting your vote for the individuals

807
00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:54,760
Speaker 6: that best represents your interests.

808
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:55,920
Speaker 2: That's how we do it.

809
00:44:57,160 --> 00:45:01,839
Speaker 4: So thank you Andrew and Uh and Frank and Van

810
00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:04,439
Speaker 4: really appreciate it. I'm going to I mean, you guys

811
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:06,480
Speaker 4: said most of what I was gonna I was gonna say,

812
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:09,960
Speaker 4: But I'll close with this. We have too many churches

813
00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:13,040
Speaker 4: to have the voter turnout that we have. We have

814
00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:15,880
Speaker 4: too many. I mean we're all alphas here. We Roland

815
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:20,000
Speaker 4: Martin and and uh and uh Reverend Barber, Revend Barber,

816
00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:23,360
Speaker 4: he's my chapter brug Yama Beta. They just called on

817
00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:26,160
Speaker 4: when I was we have the Alpha South Region's right

818
00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:29,120
Speaker 4: here in Raleigh. Uh, they just called them one thousand

819
00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:30,840
Speaker 4: Alpha men to activate.

820
00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:31,719
Speaker 3: Uh.

821
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:34,240
Speaker 4: We got to do the same in every Divine nine organization,

822
00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:38,319
Speaker 4: every church, every Divine nine organization. We need to that's

823
00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:40,120
Speaker 4: at the micro. That's what we can do right now.

824
00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:44,000
Speaker 4: Make sure we're registered and we are multiplying our registration

825
00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:48,240
Speaker 4: and also educating people why we should be voting. Secondly,

826
00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:54,040
Speaker 4: on a on a more macro level. Uh, we need

827
00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:58,480
Speaker 4: to make sure that uh, well even more micro. Actually

828
00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:02,000
Speaker 4: if you can this is It sounds extreme, but I'm

829
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:03,480
Speaker 4: going to put it out there. If you have the

830
00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:10,160
Speaker 4: ability to move to a region next door, outside of

831
00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:15,480
Speaker 4: your metropolis, into the rural lands or neighboring county, that

832
00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:18,839
Speaker 4: is like, right, Durham is ninety percent Democrat. Next door

833
00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:23,080
Speaker 4: is Alements County. Where we are, it's like plus eleven red.

834
00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:25,759
Speaker 4: But now there that was a couple of years ago.

835
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:28,080
Speaker 4: Now they're like plus red four because people are moving

836
00:46:28,080 --> 00:46:29,719
Speaker 4: out of Durham. Well they can't get in Durham and

837
00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:33,759
Speaker 4: they're moving to next door and we're making that deep

838
00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:34,920
Speaker 4: red county purple.

839
00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:36,400
Speaker 5: That is a strategy.

840
00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:40,440
Speaker 4: Also in your states, every race needs to be contested.

841
00:46:40,640 --> 00:46:43,040
Speaker 4: I don't give them how red it is every state.

842
00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:47,239
Speaker 4: This is the North Carolina strategy. Every state has to

843
00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:50,600
Speaker 4: be I mean, every race has to be contested. And

844
00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:54,160
Speaker 4: on a macro level, we need to make sure we're

845
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:56,680
Speaker 4: constantly telling the story of how where we are, how

846
00:46:56,760 --> 00:46:57,840
Speaker 4: we got here, and.

847
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:00,839
Speaker 5: Egos have to be put in the back door. All right,

848
00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:03,640
Speaker 5: just just put the get over your ego.

849
00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:05,880
Speaker 4: You may not even like me as a mayor, but

850
00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:09,680
Speaker 4: don't not vote because you don't like me, vote because

851
00:47:09,719 --> 00:47:12,840
Speaker 4: you pissed off of whatever you pissed off about. Please

852
00:47:13,480 --> 00:47:16,120
Speaker 4: move your ego aside and move your vote to the front.

853
00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:20,520
Speaker 1: That's all right, Mayors UH and NLP audience help me.

854
00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:24,840
Speaker 1: Just thank and appreciate again Mayor Scott, Mayors Scott Johnson,

855
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:28,359
Speaker 1: UH and Williams for giving us some of their time.

856
00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:31,200
Speaker 1: They're busy folks, and I just appreciate you all pulling

857
00:47:31,320 --> 00:47:33,800
Speaker 1: back the you know, the curtain a little bit so

858
00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:35,759
Speaker 1: that folks can look in and see what is it

859
00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 1: that our mayors do. What is it our mayors can do?

860
00:47:39,239 --> 00:47:41,040
Speaker 1: And I really think that you all have provided an

861
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:44,320
Speaker 1: inlet into this and into this, into this process for

862
00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:46,640
Speaker 1: our listeners. And I hope that you won't make this

863
00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:48,239
Speaker 1: your last time. You'll come and join us on the

864
00:47:48,320 --> 00:47:52,400
Speaker 1: main show with my colleagues and myself, and that you

865
00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:56,600
Speaker 1: will become again increasing reliable resources and experts as we

866
00:47:56,760 --> 00:47:58,920
Speaker 1: navigate some of these tough questions in the day's ahead.

867
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:02,680
Speaker 1: So thank you. It is.

868
00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:06,520
Speaker 4: It is Andrew to the Men's the Chievement Center here

869
00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:08,120
Speaker 4: at n c CEO. I'm about to go and speak

870
00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:10,880
Speaker 4: to one hundred and twenty young black men about what

871
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:13,800
Speaker 4: we're talking about today and they're all watching from a

872
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Speaker 4: distance on the other side of my computer.

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Speaker 5: Screen, quietly shout out to these guys. They're all registered

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Speaker 5: to vote.

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Speaker 1: We're those young men. Weel you see you. Yes, we

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00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:25,120
Speaker 1: wish them well. And by the way, fam you fam

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Speaker 1: you all day, all day, state and what that will

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Speaker 1: just say? Welcome home, everybody, were out of here. Native

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Speaker 1: Lampard is a production of iHeart Radio and partnership with

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00:48:50,960 --> 00:48:54,640
Speaker 1: Resent Choice Medium. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit

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00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:58,719
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

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00:48:58,760 --> 00:48:59,440
Speaker 1: favorite shows.