WEBVTT - Councilwoman Anna Hernandez on Local Elections (Part 1) 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:03.040 Broadcasting from the Hip Hop Weekly Studios. I'd like to 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:05.720 welcome you to another episode of Civic Cipher, where our 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:09.520 mission is to foster allyship empathy and understanding. I'm your host, Rams, 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:10.000 this job. 0:00:09.880 --> 0:00:12.879 He is Rams' job. I am q Ward and you 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:14.560 are tuned into Civic Cipher. 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:16.639 This you are, and we would like for you to 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:21.000 stick around for both halves of today's show because we 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:27.560 are going to have a conversation that we feel is necessary, 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:32.959 a conversation that represents a push that we've seen kind 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:39.040 of forming in spaces, in online spaces, on social media, 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:43.640 and something that we feel can be effective if you 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.080 have if you feel like there's work to do since 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.520 the last election. The conversation we're going to have today 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:53.880 is with a dear friend of ours and a dear 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:55.400 friend of the show. She goes by the name of 0:00:55.440 --> 0:01:00.040 Anna Hernandez. She was elected State Senator Senator for the 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:04.440 Arizona Legislative District twenty four and is currently the city 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:07.040 councilwoman for District seven in Phoenix, Arizona. We're going to 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:12.600 have a conversation about local politics, local politicians and their 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:17.520 roles and how you can become a leader in your 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:20.920 community by engaging in the democratic process and what all 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.840 that entails. We're also going to learn about her because 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.880 she is a phenomenal human being that we're all incredibly 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:30.319 proud of here and in this city. And you know, 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:32.959 you can replicate that success in whatever city you live in, 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:35.400 because you know, the template is very similar. And then 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:37.400 for the second half of the show, we're going to 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.920 have a conversation about how we can be effective in 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:44.520 accomplishing what it is that we feel we need to 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:51.240 accomplish on a local level in what Q has implored 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:55.840 me to call Trump's America. You know, these are some 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.800 interesting times ahead, and this is one way that we 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:00.800 can push back so all that so much more. But 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:04.240 before we get there, it is time for some ebony excellence, 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:04.880 shall we? 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.520 You want to take this, sure, then you chot today's 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:10.960 abny Excellence sponsored by Actively Black. There is greatness in 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.720 our DNA. Visit actively black dot com. This is from 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:19.320 the Black Information Network. Representative Jasmine Crockett highlighted the stunning 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:24.000 hypocrisy of Republicans criticizing DEI while President elect Donald Trump 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:27.400 uses his good old boy system to feel his cabinet positions. 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:31.880 On Wednesday, November thirteenth, Crockett broke down the hypocrisy during 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:35.120 an appearance on CNN, which came after Trump announced he 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:39.000 was nominating former Florida Rep. Matt Gates for Attorney General. 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:42.480 I mean, she said in a quote, we are just 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:46.720 an uncharted territory. But if anybody is surprised, then I say, 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:50.600 you haven't been paying attention because the reality is that 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:54.040 we have someone that is not qualified morally or otherwise 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:56.720 to be president of the United States. So why would 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:59.720 we expect so why would his appointments be qualified? 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:01.440 I'm sorry. Quote. 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:04.639 These are people that have rallied against diversity, equity inclusion, 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:09.280 trying to say that diverse candidates are somehow not qualified, 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:13.480 she continued, But the reality is that what they want 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:15.799 to do is more of this, put people that are 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:19.200 not qualified in and say, well, you know what, because 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.800 he's my homeboy, he is qualified. That's not good enough. 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.440 That is what the good old boys system has always 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:28.920 been about. And it's why we have not ever reached 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.560 our maximum potential end quote. Not think by we, she 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:35.000 means our country. Conservatives have tried to use DEI as 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:38.360 an insult to label qualified black people as undeserving of 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:43.160 their accomplishments. Republicans previously criticized Vice President Kamala Harris as 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:47.080 a DEI higher. Trump's cabinet picks have come under fire 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:50.560 for their lack of experience in roles. Thus far, Trump 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:55.840 tapped Fox News hosts Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.880 and former Rep. Tosy Gabbert, who lacks formal intelligence experience, 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:05.000 as Director of National Intelligence Matt Gates as Attorney General. 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:10.080 So shout out to Jasmine Crockett for holding it down 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:11.880 for us and being the great warrior that she is, 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:16.120 because that is indeed have any excellence that we need 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:21.480 right about now. So and Hernandez, yes, welcome to the show. 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:23.040 Thank you so much for having me. 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:24.839 That was a mouthful to kind of step through. 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:27.400 No, No, that's great. I love Jasmine Crocketts. 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:32.960 Yeah, she's good people. So do us a favor. Yeah, 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:35.479 tell us a little bit about your story, like your 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:37.840 your background story. Yeah, we just touched on what it 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:39.359 is you do right now and that we love you. 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:41.160 But you know, tell us a little about you know, 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:42.360 growing up, schooling. 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:45.920 Just so people, I mean, my life prior to twenty 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.839 nineteen was pretty boring. Born and raised here in Phoenix, 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:53.600 the first generation daughter of Mexican born immigrants. So came 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:57.160 from a very hard working family where we pitched in 0:04:57.240 --> 0:04:57.839 and help each. 0:04:57.680 --> 0:04:58.880 Other out our entire lives. 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:01.839 And and it's funny because growing up, I didn't realize 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:04.719 we grew up poor. I don't think I realized we 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.640 were poor until I was in high school, and because 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:10.599 it was just normal, right, it was what everybody around us, 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.200 That's how we lived. But we made things happen, and so, 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:19.599 you know, went to public public education, went to count 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:22.760 Back High School, and really got into the workforce. 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:24.279 So I didn't go to college. 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:26.080 Got straight into the workforce and just climbed my way 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:30.440 up there. Spent about eighteen years in corporate America and 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.880 the finance world, so mortgage. Last three years of my 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:39.400 career there was in commercial lending. Twenty nineteen, really got 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:43.279 politically active after my little brother was killed by Phoenix 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:47.440 PD in the middle of a mental health crisis. And so, 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:49.440 you know, we grew up, as so many of us, 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:52.960 believing and being told that police is there to help us. 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:55.640 So we relied on that called for help in the 0:05:55.640 --> 0:05:57.800 middle of his crisis, and you know, he ended up 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:01.240 being shot and killed, And that was really my entry 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.080 way into being politically active to the level I'm at now. 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:09.160 You know, faced a lot of hurdles in that, getting reports, 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.200 getting his personal belongings. I would show up to Phoenix 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:16.279 City council meetings to advocate for my family, and that 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:18.840 just that's the trajection that I took to get where 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.240 I'm at now. It would really start as a fight 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:23.760 for my family and became a fight for the entire 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:26.279 community and now really at the city and state level, 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:30.599 and I think beyond that for so many communities that 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.200 look like ours, right, that are people that come from 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:36.120 where we come from, that experience the things that we experience. 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:41.200 And so now here we are about eighteen months, about 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:44.840 nineteen months after my brother was killed, we lost my 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:48.159 dad to COVID, right, just another example of how the 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.680 inequities and healthcare and in our communities we don't have 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.080 the resources we need. He was forced to go back 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.040 to work because he could you know, he just couldn't 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.640 be home because they got bills to pay, as we 0:06:57.680 --> 0:06:58.080 all do. 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:03.240 So those two it's really moved us to do I 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:06.320 sit there and do I just like these losses can't 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:07.440 be just for nothing. 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:10.040 There has to be something that comes out of this, 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:14.320 and so that's the entryway. So in twenty twenty two 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:17.960 where I ran for the Arizona State Senate and won decisively. 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:20.200 I beat a six year incumbent. It was technically an 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:22.960 open seat, but I was going against someone that has 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:26.760 been at the legislature for six years, has heavy name 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:29.960 recognition in politics, has the money behind it, right, all 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:35.480 the connections, and very high level name Zame cess Our Javis, 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:38.520 no relation to the cess Our Javis, and beat him 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:43.520 by fifteen points. Went to the Senate and did really 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:47.720 really great work. Quickly kind of set myself apart because 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:49.840 I was so in tune with the community and willing 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:52.640 to work with anybody and have the conversations, but do 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:54.280 it in a way where I'm pushing back on the 0:07:54.320 --> 0:07:57.080 hateful rhetoric that we hear in all the political spaces, 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:00.120 but found the path to make some things happen. I 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:03.360 want some people that probably would not I would never 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:05.840 align with, but there was one area where we could 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:06.160 work on. 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:07.680 So picked on. 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:11.280 Those things and led on some housing solutions at the 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:14.320 state level, led on repeating the eighteen sixty four abortion 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:18.360 band here in Arizona, led on starting the conversations at 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:21.640 the state level about what police violence and ending state 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:25.760 violence looks like. And now you know, made the jump 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:27.920 to the city council. So I'm finishing up my term 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:29.640 at the state Senate at the end of the year, 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:31.640 and now I'm the councilwoman elect for the City of 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.920 Phoenix for so many of the same reasons, and one 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.000 very decisively in this last election. 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:43.559 By fifty three percent of the vote. So yeah, now here, 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:44.040 we are. 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:47.400 Extremely proud of you. 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:48.000 Thank you. 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:52.200 Yeah, just hearing your story and your why leading you 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.640 to doing the work that you're doing for us. Now 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:03.360 transitioning from one role to the other, listeners are finally 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:05.920 wanting to know more. 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:07.320 About how politics work. 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:10.560 Yeah, I'm electing this person to do this job, but 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:13.600 what does this person actually do in that role? 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:14.280 So give us a. 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.439 Little bit of background on the type of work a 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.360 state senator does and the type of work that the 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:21.360 city council woman does. 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:21.680 Yeah. 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.839 So at the state level, it's really interesting because the 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.839 state level really controls how much money goes into our 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:31.200 K twelve education, to our public education. A lot of 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.120 the think of it. I think about this way. At 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:36.480 the state level, we create the laws. At the city level, 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:39.240 a lot of times we implement the laws, but we 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:42.720 are tasked with also the two things that legally we 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.320 do at the state level is pass a budget for 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:49.800 the state of Arizona, which ours about sixteen sixteen billion 0:09:49.840 --> 0:09:53.760 dollars last year, and with that comes where is the 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:57.560 money invested into? So we do that and pass laws 0:09:57.559 --> 0:09:59.679 that affect us every day. So think of back in 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.600 the day s P. Ten seventy that was pasted at 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:06.360 the state level. Currently, Proposition three fourteen was something that 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.960 came out of the legislature that went to the voters. 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:12.120 That is another version of show me your papers law, right, 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.439 that's going to be used against communities of color here. 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:17.480 So that's really at the state level. 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.480 At the city level we have the most immediate impacted 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:23.880 on our communities, from when your trash gets picked up 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:27.120 to the parks. Do we have parks? Is there benches 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:33.160 in the parks or public libraries? Your utilities, so your water, 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:39.439 your power, that also gets that's within the purview of 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:43.360 the city city council. Bus stops, is there bus stops 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:45.560 at the bus stops? How many bus stops do we have? 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:49.280 Public transportation? Pretty much everything that affects your daily life 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:52.280 is handled at the city council level, and we have 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:55.000 you know, because I was the same way. I didn't 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.880 understand the impact that a city council has, right and 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:03.320 for Phoenix, the city council oversees the Phoenix Police Department, 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:07.400 which has been one of the deadliest forces in the country. 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:13.760 We know, yeah, we all know, right, like because of 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:17.439 an action of the city council to hold individuals accountable 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:20.320 is where we're at now. So there's a lot that 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.120 happens at the city council level, which for me made sense. 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.560 Why make this jump now with the open seat the 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:30.040 previous council member running for Congress and it became an 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:32.480 open seat, and it was a trajectory I thought about 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:36.240 in the long term, but you know, the moment, the 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:38.440 window was here to do it now, and I think 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:41.480 it's very timely for what is happening in the entire 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:44.680 political landscape that you know, I made that jump and 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:47.120 now we want and are going into the council. 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:52.200 So you know, we don't get to have these types 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:57.760 of conversations because you know, the moon and the stars 0:11:57.760 --> 0:11:59.720 need to align in order for it to be as 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:03.840 really nag as it is now. But also, you know, 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:07.480 we don't find ourselves talking to two people like you, 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:09.960 and I suppose we could have the whole time, but 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.000 now's the time. Yeah, And now's the time, and it's 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:19.240 more important than ever. You've run two successful campaigns. Let's 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:24.760 say that there's a listener who's in Tupelo, Mississippi. Sorry 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:26.520 to below, we always pick on you, but we love you, 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:30.000 we appreciate you airing the show. But say there's a 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:33.360 listener in Tupelo, Mississippi, and this listener says, you know what, 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:43.360 I I don't like what's happening in the political arena. 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:47.160 I don't know what to do, but I can't do nothing, 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:50.440 so I'm gonna do what I can. And they say, 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:57.160 I'm gonna run for some local something in my own 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.319 community and try to help shape outcomes for the people 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:02.560 that I'm able to, yeah, to see and interact with. 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:10.920 Talk to us about everything that goes into a campaign 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:13.520 from that point to the point where you are. 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:16.839 Oh a lot. Yeah, So it's a lot. 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:20.280 You you know, there's gonna be a lot of sacrifices 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:21.960 that are going to be made because your family and 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.920 friends aren't going to see you during the campaign because 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:26.120 you have to be on the doors. But I think 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.120 the number one thing on the doors, yeah, knocking on doors, 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:33.040 talking to your neighbors. I think the number one thing 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:34.960 is that it's going to take a lot of hard 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:37.000 work and you have to be willing to put in 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.280 that work as the person that wants to run. Nobody 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:42.079 should be telling you, hey, you need to get out 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:44.240 there and go do the work, like we have to 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:47.240 want to do this. And then it's about going out 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:50.680 there and connecting with the community. So either going to 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.439 community events that are being held in wherever whatever are 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:58.199 you live in, talking to your neighbors, literally going out 0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:00.920 and knocking on strangers doors that you you probably didn't know, 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:04.199 and going to make the case of why they should 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.120 give you a chance. And that is really at the 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:10.440 center of it. Is connecting with the community, talking to 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:14.160 the voters in the community and connecting with them so 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:15.000 they get to know you. 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:18.520 And that has been what has been successful. But with that. 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:23.640 Goes fundraising, right, we have to unfortunately fundraise money to run. 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:25.600 So how does that look. 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.240 It looks different for a lot of different people. 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:31.600 I've gotten pretty creative because, as I said, I don't 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:35.000 come from the Democratic Establishment Party, right. I didn't come 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:39.480 in through this into politics through the typical way that 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:39.840 a lot. 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:40.280 Of people do. 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:43.360 So I had to create my own grassroots, a pull 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:46.520 of donors, hard working people, working class people that are 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.960 willing to give me fifty dollars, twenty dollars, one hundred dollars, 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:53.600 whatever they can to help make this happen. So I meant, 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:57.560 you know, making phone calls, making phone calls to people 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:01.000 that you know, people that you don't know, giving them 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.120 your reason why, and then making the ask of will 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:08.240 they invest into this vision. I got pretty creative where 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:11.640 I would my family like sports, so if there was 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.880 a boxing match, or if there was some big gaming event, 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:18.080 usually my mom would be down to host it and 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:21.360 I would make tacos and my family would come over 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.240 and be like, Okay, here's you know, thirty forty bucks. 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:27.480 And so got really creative that way. We can do 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:31.280 fundraisers different way, but it's really about connecting with the 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:34.880 folks that are gonna believe in your vision to invest 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:35.320 into it. 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:38.200 I want to I want to back up just a bit, 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:40.640 give me a second cue, because I know you got something. 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:45.960 But you said something about the coming into politics via 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:51.120 the democratic established process. So this is something that I'm 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:53.200 not intimately familiar with, and maybe a lot of our 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:56.600 listeners aren't intimately familiar with as well. So what does 0:15:56.640 --> 0:15:59.080 that mean? So that we know what you did to 0:15:59.120 --> 0:15:59.840 circumvent that. 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:04.840 So typically a lot of candidates will be plugged in 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.160 with you know, I am a registered Democrat. I caucused 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:10.640 with the Democratic Party. I'm part of the Democratic Party. 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:14.120 But I didn't come in through the traditional route, So 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.880 I didn't go to the party at different levels and 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:20.720 you know, train with them become a candidate that they 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:24.000 are going to uplift. I really came through the door 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:28.600 through a grassroots movement, through my what I consider my 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.640 movement home, which is bullet in action. They had already 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.720 been organizing in the community, and so I came that route. 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:36.840 But a lot of candidates rely. 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:39.880 Every state and every city has a different makeup of 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:43.640 how their Democratic Party functions. It's really hard to come 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:45.640 in the door and be successful if you don't have 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:50.680 the backing of the establishment. But we knew through our 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:54.360 you know, years of organizing that if you go and 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.080 talk to the people, that's where the real power lies. 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.360 And so that's why I say, I didn't come through 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:04.000 the establishment door, really came in through the community door. 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:06.600 But Poe, their in action kind of gave you a 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.560 little oh yeah absolutely, so yeah, absolutely. 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:11.720 I mean if it wasn't for ball ed like, I 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:14.199 wouldn't be here. They showed up, they were willing to 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:16.840 throw down and do the work. I'm a member of 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.280 one of their groups, the Family Justice Collective, and so 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:21.439 that's how we built that. 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.440 I want to say something to real quick right here. Hey, 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:28.840 so back in twenty twenty when we were out protesting 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:31.480 and all that sort of stuff, and then in the 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:34.359 years that followed, Podir in Action They're always going to 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:36.360 hold a special place in my heart. So shout out 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:37.960 to poterir in Action. I tried to get them on 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:39.879 the show a few times, but they're busy doing the 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:40.400 actual work. 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:42.720 Yeah, well you got me through extents. 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.320 Yeah yeah, so that's what makes me happy. But they 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:48.840 they've they really showed up in a really meaningful way 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:52.520 at a time when I was taking you know, mental 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:56.320 notes of people who were allies to black people and 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.520 you know this this most recent election. Forgive me, I 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.520 know I'm hogging up all the time here, but it's 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:09.760 most recent election, I've seen some some reactions of people 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:13.919 to the exit polls, the numbers of Latino men and 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:16.600 all that sort of stuff in there that's created some 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:21.920 some harsh reactions. I will never forget Ramses, will never 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:24.239 forget that I saw on the street who showed up 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:28.679 for us in pote air reaction, which is like a 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:32.160 hispanic I suppose that's how I would describe it. Led 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:40.080 social justice push organization initiative something like that. You know, 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:43.159 I'm I'm not person that that appreciates division or anything 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:45.040 like that, but if I can take a moment to 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:46.840 just shout them out, i't want to do that, Thank you, 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:47.440 my bad. 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:54.399 A lot of people are justifiably frustrated with what often 0:18:54.440 --> 0:19:01.159 feels like apathy from the political infrastructure, lack of activity. 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.400 People feel disconnected and ignored. 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:04.760 And not seen. 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:08.239 I imagine when you made the decision that you were going 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:10.480 to become a part of the system, that that was 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:13.440 part of the reason why talk to us about why 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:17.280 it's so important to become a part of the system 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:19.840 the way that you did. Instead of just kind of 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:24.200 seemingly being frustrated by the lack of action on your 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:25.880 behalf and on the behalf of your community. 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:28.960 Well, I think we have to be real that this 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:31.960 is not for everybody. Not everybody's going to function well 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:36.040 inside the system, but when there are some of us 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:39.800 that make sense and can handle that because the realities 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:42.240 we're going to we're walking into very violent, work, very 0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:46.040 toxic environments where we deal with all the isms. 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:49.040 Right, like all of them, but. 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:55.600 We believe that who better to lead and have those 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:59.360 positions of power than those directly impacted by the system, right, 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:04.280 and by barriers that have been created through the system. 0:20:04.440 --> 0:20:08.160 I think for me, it's really important because we've never 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:13.840 had at the state legislature a senator or House representative 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:17.399 that has been directly impacted by police violence. So that 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:21.959 completely changed the game as legislation would move forward. I 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:24.440 was able to speak from a different point of view. 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.440 I was able to share my story and move other 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:31.560 legislators to really think about, hey, oh, this is really 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:35.520 the impact. There was a piece of legislation my very 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:39.000 first session, right, I'm brand new, have never run for office, 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:42.280 like learning how to do this job, and there was 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:45.480 a bill that came that would create these drug free 0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:50.040 neighborhood zones under the guise of trying to attack the 0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:54.280 Fentonel crisis. But when I read the piece of legislation, 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:56.000 I knew how it was going to be used, and 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:59.320 so I raised a flag. And this is a bill 0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:02.400 that would have moved forward. And this was a law 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:04.879 that was going to be on the books that was 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:07.880 going to be used to criminalize black and brown people, right, 0:21:07.960 --> 0:21:12.600 because that's another pathway to introduce policing into our communities 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:15.600 or expand the scope of policing. And I raised a 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:19.080 flag and just went really hard within my own cockets 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:21.239 and was able to get that bill held. And that 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:25.400 bill never moved forward, and so things like that, that's 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.680 why it's important to be in these spaces because through 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:32.679 our experience and sharing our stories and as hard as 0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:36.720 it is, as emotionally draining as it is, it's a responsibility. 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:39.760 And so it was my responsibility to share my story 0:21:40.080 --> 0:21:46.040 to move people, to move my colleagues to support opposition 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:49.760 or you know, in support of certain legislation. So for me, 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:52.199 that's the biggest why why it's so important to be 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:55.439 inside the system while we are also working outside of 0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:56.480 the system. 0:21:56.920 --> 0:22:01.680