WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:07.060
[on-hold music] It's Quinn.

2
00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:18.180
Maybe you're like me, and sometimes you just spiral out, not just because everything is a lot all of the time, but because some part of you actually wants to do something about it.

3
00:00:18.220 --> 00:00:31.660
But, I mean, holy shit, where to start, right? Great news. We built an app for that. It's called What Can I Do? Even better news, it's free and it's fast. It takes just three clicks to start unfucking the world.

4
00:00:32.160 --> 00:00:35.540
Visit whatcanido.earth to get started for free.

5
00:00:36.240 --> 00:01:00.980
[on-hold music] Things are a little tough out there, so you, our listeners, our readers and viewers all across the world, want, no, need more examples of fight and progress you can actually see, touch, and feel.

6
00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:09.780
And in these series of conversations, in partnership with our best friends at Run for Something, we are giving you exactly what you asked for.

7
00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:19.680
Each episode features two guests, both sourced from the Run for Something pipeline and graduating classes, the next generation of American leaders.

8
00:01:20.100 --> 00:01:29.400
First, I'll introduce one young elected official at the state or local level who's made real measurable progress on an issue facing more Americans than ever before.

9
00:01:29.890 --> 00:01:43.700
And then in the same conversation, I'll introduce a bright-eyed candidate currently running for a state legislature, mayor, city council, or school board who's similarly hellbent on attacking the very same issue in their own hometown or state.

10
00:01:43.900 --> 00:02:00.840
And for all you know, it could be yours or yours next because you and I will find out together what they're working on and why, where they've made progress, where they've struggled, and how their exact tactics and strategies can be transferred to other schools, towns, cities, and states across the country.

11
00:02:00.880 --> 00:02:11.120
If these conversations inspire you, you can do two things today. One, find out what office you or some young person you love can run for at runforwhat.net.

12
00:02:11.760 --> 00:02:20.440
Number two, find and support incredible candidates endorsed by Run for Something and other amazing organizations we support at whatcanido.earth.

13
00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:35.520
And last, number three, yes, there's always three, share these conversations, please. If you need this, and I definitely need this, many more people you know and don't know need this. First up today, our topic, transit.

14
00:02:36.020 --> 00:02:43.020
We need way more of it. We used to have more of it. We need it to be more reliable, and we need it to be more affordable.

15
00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:50.900
Of course, we also need a few million more houses near transit that already exists, and we need to come to terms with how we got here.

16
00:02:51.000 --> 00:03:07.340
And here's a brief aside on that from Nicholas DeGen Bloom, who I had on the podcast a couple years ago and wrote in his manifesto, The Great American Transit Disaster, "Transit went from one crisis, bankrupt private ownership, to another, underfunded public ownership."

17
00:03:07.880 --> 00:03:08.080
Why?

18
00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:25.700
He continues, "Redlining compounded transit divestment by encouraging long-term population and commercial abandonment of many neighborhoods best served by transit, and race and the white preference for highly segregated public spaces were crucial factors in the American transit disaster."

19
00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:30.040
Surprise, here we are, turtles all the way down.

20
00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:43.740
But as always, we push forward because old systems like New York don't have elevators for most of their transit stations, and newer systems, like in Tucson, don't have funding to keep their current systems running, much less fare free.

21
00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:53.020
Let's meet our guests. Introducing our incumbent, New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes was born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

22
00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:02.420
Following Superstorm Sandy, Andrew co-founded Bay Ridge Cares, an organization that prepared twenty-five thousand hot meals for victims after the storm.

23
00:04:02.460 --> 00:04:12.220
As a member of the Riders Alliance, he organized and formed the Concerned R Train Riders to fight for better service and demand handicapped accessible subway stations in South Brooklyn.

24
00:04:12.980 --> 00:04:25.960
Andrew also worked with Bay Ridge Advocates for Keeping Everyone Safe, or BRAKES, and successfully pressured lawmakers to allow speed cameras in school zones, a fight he continues to wage all the way to Albany.

25
00:04:26.020 --> 00:04:32.060
And now let's talk about our candidate. Miranda Schubert is a candidate for Tucson City Council Ward 6.

26
00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:41.940
Miranda works full-time as an operations manager, on-air DJ, producer, and youth broadcasting camp counselor at KXCI Community Radio.

27
00:04:42.320 --> 00:04:52.720
She serves on two City of Tucson commissions, is the founder of Tucson For Everyone, a local housing and transit advocacy group, and helped form the Transit For All coalition.

28
00:04:52.800 --> 00:05:02.440
So you've got two amazing humans here fighting for more, more affordable and safer transit for more of our neighbors. Let's go find out what it means for their hometowns and yours.

29
00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:19.380
[on-hold music] Our first guest today is New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes. Senator, congrats on your re-election last year. Very exciting. Tell us a little bit about your district. First, thanks for having me on.

30
00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:24.880
Excited to chat. So I represent kind of the western coast, if you will, of Brooklyn.

31
00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:44.840
I represent three hundred and forty thousand people spanning from Bay Ridge in the south by the Verrazzano Bridge, think like Saturday Night Fever, all the way up the Brooklyn coastline to the base of the Manhattan Bridge, so neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Red Hook, Sunset Park, and others in between.

32
00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:56.460
And I've been in the state senate now for seven years. Okay, awesome. Does that include Greenpoint? It does not include Greenpoint. My brother's in Greenpoint. Yeah, just out of reach. Someone else's district. Gotcha.

33
00:05:56.540 --> 00:06:06.004
No worries. No, that's okay. We'll deal with them later. Well, that's fantastic. That's a lot of folks. That's a big responsibility.It certainly is, and it's half of a congressional district.

34
00:06:06.064 --> 00:06:13.144
You know, New York is just so big. Yeah. There's 63 state senators in this state of nearly 20 million people, and so we have a lot of ground to cover.

35
00:06:13.454 --> 00:06:24.124
And actually, you know, apropos of the topic we're here to talk about today, I could not do my job as well as I think I do were it not for my ability to get from one place in my district to the other on public transit.

36
00:06:24.664 --> 00:06:34.884
Sure. Sure. And we're gonna talk about how that has changed. I lived in New York in Manhattan 1,000 years ago, 2005, 2006, and boy, has a lot changed around transit since.

37
00:06:35.284 --> 00:06:45.224
In a lot of ways, what was the commissioner's name? Khan, I believe her name was- Yeah... who fought the fight against fight for bike lanes and stuff, and then obviously we had the super storm and everything since.

38
00:06:45.284 --> 00:06:59.604
So lots to cover about how that's changed and especially since you have been in office. Why did you run the first time? 'Cause your first time was 2012. Is that right? I ran for the state senate in 2012.

39
00:06:59.924 --> 00:07:02.204
Maybe I had no business running at that time.

40
00:07:02.644 --> 00:07:31.284
I just felt, you know, the state senator at that time had not been challenged for a decade, stood for things that were totally antithetical to what I believed in terms of respect for the LGBT community, for immigrants, and for someone who was arguably the most powerful Republican in New York City, one of two state senators from New York City, did absolutely nothing to make a difference in the lives of people that I thought needed help, whether that be transit or school funding or you name it.

41
00:07:31.344 --> 00:07:38.134
I fell short. I came a little short that election. You know, ran 'cause everyone said I couldn't win, so in my mind, I couldn't lose, right? As long as I did better- Love that...

42
00:07:38.134 --> 00:07:41.534
than the people expected, I would've come out a winner, and I, I think I did.

43
00:07:42.044 --> 00:07:53.864
And then I ran again, you know, six years later in 2018 against that same incumbent who, you know, did not seem to learn his lesson from first go-around. And by this time, the neighborhood had changed more.

44
00:07:53.964 --> 00:08:13.783
There was more diversity of backgrounds, ethnicities, and we also saw a political awakening post Trump's inauguration and the first few years of the Trump administration, Trump one, where, you know, the blue wave was a very real thing in my district, and I won a Trump district by more than 1,000 votes in that year.

45
00:08:14.584 --> 00:08:24.804
That's awesome. And just because they're such wonderful humans and organization and, and they're working with us on this show, Run for Something did not exist in 2012.

46
00:08:24.874 --> 00:08:34.724
Started by Amanda after the 2016 election, and they were around for 2018. How did you find each other, and how were they supportive of your campaign?

47
00:08:34.824 --> 00:08:44.884
You know, at that time, there were a number of groups that were springing up to support candidates at all levels of government and to really just give us the tools to say, "Hey, you can run for office.

48
00:08:44.944 --> 00:08:50.764
You can make a difference in your community, and we're here to help you. We're here to help you answer your questions. We're here to help you fundraise.

49
00:08:50.784 --> 00:08:57.604
We're here to help you figure out who you need to hire, what things you need to be worried about." And Run for Something was at the top of that list.

50
00:08:57.964 --> 00:09:09.274
I applied for their endorsement early on after I announced my candidacy. I think it was, like, end of 2017 or very early 2018 to their program, and just the wealth of resources was phenomenal.

51
00:09:09.324 --> 00:09:16.994
But more importantly actually, they sent volunteers our way because people said, "Hey, I wanna help with some of your local candidates." Mm.

52
00:09:17.004 --> 00:09:26.504
And they sent us a bunch of volunteers, including people who I ended up hiring on the campaign trail and then ultimately hiring in my government office after I won.

53
00:09:26.544 --> 00:09:38.404
And but for Run for Something, those staff members and those team members would not have been a part of what we were able to accomplish. That's amazing. I love it. They really do tremendous work. Do they win every race?

54
00:09:38.984 --> 00:09:48.304
Not by any stretch, but I don't know if you subscribe. Amanda sends an email every week, and it is basically a list of all the amazing folks like yourself who are running or have run in,

55
00:09:49.504 --> 00:09:52.904
from school boards to sheriffs to city councils, you name it.

56
00:09:53.524 --> 00:10:06.484
She will go after any office, and it's fucking awesome, and it's just one line, "Hey, this is the first person elected of this ethnicity," or whatever it might be, "to come after," you know, again, snap.

57
00:10:07.384 --> 00:10:18.824
You name it, because they were on it themselves, or they were evicted themselves, or whatever it might be. And it is so fucking uplifting and necessary, and that's... I wanna shine a light on you folks m- more than ever.

58
00:10:19.004 --> 00:10:26.864
That's the one, one of the few emails I look forward to at the start of my work week every single week is getting- Yeah... her real feel-good update. It's great. Yeah. No, it's the best.

59
00:10:27.244 --> 00:10:37.924
Okay, I wanna talk about transit today, and again, that's obviously one of those issues that people can touch and feel. We're all affected by it, whether you have public transportation available to you or you're

60
00:10:38.944 --> 00:10:50.304
a walker or a biker, or you don't, and you're in car hell. But it's obviously dramatically complex. It's a bit of a hyper object, right? But it does apply to you in some way, and your neighbors, whether you're in

61
00:10:51.504 --> 00:11:04.784
Idaho or Arizona, like the candidate we're gonna talk to, Colonial Williamsburg like me outside, or Brooklyn. It really matters. So you have come at transit from some very specific perspectives. Talk to me about

62
00:11:05.844 --> 00:11:17.184
which ones and why, and where have you seen measurable progress? Yeah. So I am a public transit rider. I take the subways very often. I take the bus, uh, not as often, but still pretty often.

63
00:11:17.244 --> 00:11:23.724
I grew up taking, you know, mass transit, really crucial to how I lived in Brooklyn, how I live in New York City, how my kids get around, how my family gets around.

64
00:11:24.044 --> 00:11:37.514
When I ran for office in 2018, this was coming off of the infamous 2017 Summer of Hell when, because of such a crucial lack of investment in the nuts and bolts, literally nuts and bolts, of the- Yeah...

65
00:11:37.534 --> 00:11:44.884
New York City transit system, the system was coming apart. Breakdowns on the tracks, fires on the tracks, delays and delays.

66
00:11:45.344 --> 00:11:55.004
The governor at that time, Cuomo, was, you know, was known for saying, "Oh, it's not my MTA," you know, "It's not my responsibility." Bullshit, of course it's your responsibility. You're the governor of New York.

67
00:11:55.044 --> 00:12:03.063
You control the majority of the appointments. And it was just miserable for tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people who relied on that system.

68
00:12:03.084 --> 00:12:07.412
And so when I ran in 2018, I actually, one of my-Key planks was public transit.

69
00:12:07.462 --> 00:12:16.452
I had this rider-first platform where we talked about trying to make the tr-transit system reliable and accessible and accountable for everyone.

70
00:12:16.592 --> 00:12:33.222
Now, what that meant was, number one, increasing investments into the operating needs of the transit system to make sure that it had the funding to run the trains that it needed to run, to run the buses, to repair the buses, to repair the tracks, to put the new signal upgrades in so that trains could run faster.

71
00:12:33.272 --> 00:12:37.632
Increasing investment would make it more reliable. Number two, making it accessible.

72
00:12:42.132 --> 00:12:53.591
[upbeat music] Imagine this: you get some goddamn notification about something you give a shit about, and you just wanna stop what you're doing, whatever you're doing, and actually do something about it.

73
00:12:54.072 --> 00:13:03.592
You can't just live out here on the receiving end of these things. So you head to whatcanido.earth, and boom, right in front of you is our new intelligent starter action section.

74
00:13:03.992 --> 00:13:13.532
Front and center, exactly the action you want and need to take right now. Head to whatcanido.earth right now to check it out, because the world won't unfuck itself.

75
00:13:13.812 --> 00:13:29.052
[upbeat music] New York City, the subway system, we have four hundred and ninety-two, ninety-four, ninety-four subway stations.

76
00:13:29.092 --> 00:13:34.212
Right now, only about thirty percent, maybe a hair more than thirty percent, are accessible.

77
00:13:34.252 --> 00:13:49.052
So if you have mobility issues, if you're in a wheelchair, you can't get around, you're pushing a shopping cart, or like parents we are, like, you're trying to push a stroller and get on the subway, it is a near impossibility for you to access the lifeblood of New York City, which is the transit system.

78
00:13:49.372 --> 00:14:00.792
And so you-- particularly in the outer borough communities that I was running to represent and that I still represent, you know, there's elevators all over Midtown, right, so that everyone in Midtown gets an elevator.

79
00:14:00.932 --> 00:14:10.022
If you're out in Bay Ridge, good luck, right? Right. If you're out in Bensonhurst, good luck, right? And so I really made accessibility and pushing for more elevator accessibility key.

80
00:14:10.532 --> 00:14:17.051
At that time, there were eighteen subway districts in my Senate district that I was running to represent. Not a single one was accessible.

81
00:14:17.332 --> 00:14:22.942
It's crazy, and at least at that time, like, y-yours was the more affordable part of New York City, right? Yes.

82
00:14:22.952 --> 00:14:33.192
And obviously that keeps making its way outwards, but it's crazy, and this is why Amanda and I, all we do is text about our kids and about someone please just run on, like, a families first platform in New York.

83
00:14:33.232 --> 00:14:38.592
It's crazy. Oh my God. Yeah, absolutely. And at this time, by the way, I didn't have kids. I wasn't a parent.

84
00:14:38.632 --> 00:14:46.712
So I just knew from hearing from other people, from knocking on doors, and from seeing other people literally struggle up and down the stairs to access the subway system.

85
00:14:47.122 --> 00:14:56.292
And then the third thing I ran on in that part of that platform was accountability. There's always been this sense that this transit system is unaccountable to the people who ride it.

86
00:14:56.572 --> 00:15:03.632
And so I was pushing for this idea to give riders a seat, a voting seat, on the board- Mm-hmm...

87
00:15:03.732 --> 00:15:12.732
of the MTA so that they have skin in the game, and that they can vote on the MTA's budget, the MTA's priorities, the MTA's projects, et cetera.

88
00:15:13.152 --> 00:15:25.312
And those three things together rounded out my campaign, and I went to every single subway station in the district. I went to key bus stops. I made special campaign literature and palm cards just on my transit plan.

89
00:15:25.492 --> 00:15:37.152
I took that message everywhere I could go, and it resonated with folks who felt like for too long, transit needs were just ignored because no one felt like anyone could do anything about it. Sure. Yeah.

90
00:15:37.212 --> 00:15:47.092
I mean, it's an enormous, enormously complex system. Again, like, I've lived in London and Barcelona and Los Angeles, which its own issues, which are becoming both simpler and more complex.

91
00:15:47.572 --> 00:16:00.752
But it's hard to figure out where to come at it, unless you look at something like that and go, "Elevators. I'm gonna fight for fucking elevators that are not in the majority of the stations," which is crazy.

92
00:16:00.952 --> 00:16:08.252
Again, you can see that even if you don't have kids or if you have a loved one that you're responsible for with some sort of disability. It's not complicated.

93
00:16:08.592 --> 00:16:17.472
So seven years later, it feels like three hundred years later, talk to me about where you've seen some progress. So we've seen, I think, some really good progress so far.

94
00:16:17.592 --> 00:16:43.872
Number one, you know, we have worked very hard, and I pride myself in really getting into the weeds on this, the improving the revenue streams for the MTA and increasing operating support for the MTA, which is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs our transit system, so that we could actually improve the reliability of the system, as well as increase the capital needs and the capital budget of the system, so that we can modernize it and bring it to the twenty-first century.

95
00:16:43.992 --> 00:17:02.112
With something as simple as the signals that the system uses, so that a train knows when it can go and when it has to stop, some of the signals, I-- this is not hyperbole, are literally copper wires hanging around a nail in the middle of a tunnel, and we've used that system since the 1920s.

96
00:17:02.692 --> 00:17:13.562
What? This is New York City, right? Like, greatest city on the globe, greatest, you know, amalgamation of wealth and resources ever- Yeah, holding on by a string... in the history of...

97
00:17:13.612 --> 00:17:21.952
And we are using hundred-year-old copper wires and a nail and, like, duct tape to run the transit system.

98
00:17:21.982 --> 00:17:31.472
And so because of things like congestion pricing, which increased support for the capital budget, we were able to start systematically upgrading and updating all of the signals.

99
00:17:31.492 --> 00:17:34.592
And we still have a lot of work to do, but we're making steady progress on that.

100
00:17:34.672 --> 00:17:49.012
I'm really proud that on the accessibility front, in my first year in office, I got funding included in the capital plan for three elevators specifically for my district, where prior to that, not a single station had an elevator in-district.

101
00:17:49.572 --> 00:18:03.552
Now, in the most recent capital plan that we just approved, we got funding to build an elevator at the tallest subway station in the country and the third tallest or the second tallest in the world, which is in Carol Gardens, Brooklyn.

102
00:18:03.612 --> 00:18:10.852
Mm-hmm. It's a hund- ninety-five feet up in the air.Does not have an elevator, and you rely on your feet or a broken escalator.

103
00:18:11.512 --> 00:18:20.532
We now got funding for a new elevator there, which we should see come online in the next couple of years. That's incredible. That's progress. What's the damage on an elevator these days? What are we looking at?

104
00:18:20.872 --> 00:18:27.892
For that elevator in particular, you're looking at about $150 million. Wow. Yeah.

105
00:18:27.992 --> 00:18:35.692
Because the Natalie in particular has really complex engineering design issues because you can't- you're building, first of all, a hundred feet up.

106
00:18:35.792 --> 00:18:45.312
You have to build it in a way so that you can still collect the fare revenue, have it be secure, have it be steady. You gotta do it on both sides of the platform. You need two elevators, one for each side.

107
00:18:45.352 --> 00:18:54.592
So those costs add up. You know, but for your average elevator, you're looking at anywhere between $20 to $50 million. And people scratch their heads and say, "Oh my God. Why is that so expensive?"

108
00:18:54.632 --> 00:18:59.992
And it, it is expensive, but you're also digging underground for the vast majority of these elevators.

109
00:19:00.272 --> 00:19:13.832
In New York City, you're digging through gas pipes and electric wires and water pipes and, you know, hundred-year-old artifacts of God knows what. Like, it's complicated to dig these things, and you gotta do a lot of it.

110
00:19:14.312 --> 00:19:21.152
These costs add up. Despite those costs, though, we've actually worked to bring those costs down. This is why.

111
00:19:21.652 --> 00:19:31.832
Up until a couple years ago, the MTA would bid out each elevator project one at a time, and the requirements for the elevator were, like, customized.

112
00:19:31.892 --> 00:19:43.872
Custom sprockets, custom, you know, lists, custom air cushions, custom buttons, custom- Jesus. So stupid. And if something breaks down, now you gotta customize this part.

113
00:19:44.332 --> 00:19:54.052
The MTA has now started, they've learned this idea of, like, consolidation. They've now started to bid out five projects, 10 projects, 15 projects at once.

114
00:19:54.132 --> 00:20:05.692
That has driven the cost down and also sped up the installation of these projects, which I think is a great innovation that they're now deploying, and there's still room to grow in terms of improvement there.

115
00:20:06.072 --> 00:20:11.172
But what a difference it's made in our ability to deliver a more accessible system.

116
00:20:11.712 --> 00:20:25.312
And also just, I mean, the more you can standardize these, again, you're not gonna be able to do it for all of that, but the more you can standardize the contractors, the assembly, the parts, you're really doing a favor to your future self 'cause elevators need a hell of a lot of maintenance, especially with the traffic that you all have.

117
00:20:26.132 --> 00:20:36.112
So over these seven years, what sort of obstacles have you run into, people problems and more politically, logistically, whatever it may be?

118
00:20:36.172 --> 00:20:42.262
And of those, what were known knowns versus, "Oh, shit, I didn't realize this was gonna be such a hassle"?

119
00:20:42.632 --> 00:20:54.292
You know, I think the biggest obstacle is fighting against the MTA's own reputation of being a mismanaged agency that just fails to deliver. Mm-hmm. When you talk about, "Hey, we need to save the MTA.

120
00:20:54.392 --> 00:21:04.231
Hey, we need to invest in the MTA," the average person's like, "The MTA is shit. I have to take it every day. I hate it. I hate waiting. It's dirty. It's filthy." I know. "It wastes so much money.

121
00:21:04.372 --> 00:21:10.232
Why is my fare going up? How come it's like a black hole with this, that, and whatever?" And you get that from the average rider.

122
00:21:10.752 --> 00:21:26.932
You get that from someone who's never stepped foot into a subway station but has a lot of opinions about how the subway should be run, and you get that from other legislators and other government officials who maybe they don't represent parts of New York City, but, you know, we're talking about a state agency.

123
00:21:26.992 --> 00:21:40.332
A, a senator from West Chazy, New York, which is, like, as far north country as you could go, has just as much of a vote on what happens with the MTA that's primarily based in New York City and the surrounding counties as I do.

124
00:21:40.622 --> 00:21:51.872
Yeah. And I live in the system, right? Right. And they're saying, like, "Why should I give a hoot about the MTA when we don't even have bus service in my county? We don't even have trains in my county."

125
00:21:51.912 --> 00:21:58.152
And they're not wrong in that we should be talking about expanding access. And, and I'm working on something to that point, you know, we'll get to next.

126
00:21:58.232 --> 00:22:08.772
But, you know, that's a huge issue to kinda combat, and it takes a lot of effort and a lot of work. And, you know, the MTA was poorly mismanaged. We've put a great leadership team in place.

127
00:22:08.812 --> 00:22:15.652
We're working to change their reputation. But then COVID hits, and they had to be bailed out because no one's riding the system. Yeah. And now they're running deficits.

128
00:22:15.972 --> 00:22:19.312
So now we're bailing out the system, and then we're doing congestion pricing.

129
00:22:19.352 --> 00:22:33.712
And congestion pricing's another billion dollars, and people have opinions about congestion pricing, which for those that aren't aware, basically we charge a fee for drivers driving into lower M- to Manhattan, and we put that revenue towards infrastructure for the MTA.

130
00:22:34.152 --> 00:22:45.642
And that went in place right after we bailed out the MTA post-COVID. And then the MTA had a already scheduled 10 cent fare increase. And so, you know, in everyone's mind, that's one thing to the other. Yeah.

131
00:22:45.692 --> 00:22:53.732
It's hard to overcome that. But I think despite that, people realize that there would be no New York City economy, there'd be no New York State economy- Yeah...

132
00:22:53.772 --> 00:23:04.082
without the 5.5 million people who use that system every single day, having that system be there for them. Well, and that's the thing. It's gotta be yes, and, right?

133
00:23:04.172 --> 00:23:10.812
About, like, of course, all of those different parts of New York State, and I've been all over them. I went to Colgate University in the middle of nowhere up there.

134
00:23:10.872 --> 00:23:19.012
You know, trying to get from Utica to Oneida and all these things, like, it's cars, you know? There's not a lot of options. And in the depth of winter, there's not much more. But

135
00:23:20.232 --> 00:23:31.692
also, the entire rest of the state is dependent on your economy, which is dependent on that transit system. Which, like you said, leadership, funding, political priorities, whatever it might be, has been a nightmare.

136
00:23:32.172 --> 00:23:40.992
I mean, barely got congestion pricing th- through after ridiculous hurdles. But one of the things we're really focused on here, and obviously this is a huge example, but it does matter.

137
00:23:41.032 --> 00:23:48.072
And again, having spent time in both London and Los Angeles, I was in London before congestion pricing and after.

138
00:23:48.532 --> 00:23:55.272
And it was kinda like being in college before the smoking ban in, in bars and restaurants and after in New York State. And

139
00:23:56.472 --> 00:24:01.752
it works, and New York knew it would work, and it was complicated, and New Jersey had their issues, and this and that.

140
00:24:01.832 --> 00:24:12.232
But we've seen all the tweets and such about, oh, you know, traffic is down this much, and congestion's down this much. Tell me how it has helped on the revenue side for the MTA.

141
00:24:12.472 --> 00:24:21.648
Tell me about the nuts and bolts side of that. Has that been-What you were looking for? It has been a huge boon for the MTA.

142
00:24:22.028 --> 00:24:29.788
We designed the congestion pricing program to basically draw in roughly a billion dollars in cash revenue a year.

143
00:24:30.268 --> 00:24:45.698
Net revenue would be bonded out to roughly just under four times that value, so that the billion dollars in congestion pricing revenue would net us fifteen billion dollars in bonding capital that we could use for investments.

144
00:24:46.608 --> 00:24:49.088
Right now, we are seeing, you--

145
00:24:50.108 --> 00:25:00.477
When Governor Hochul paused congestion pricing, then she restarted it, and she lowered the congestion fee, it did take a little bit of a haircut off of what the target revenue collection would be. Mm-hmm.

146
00:25:00.528 --> 00:25:06.288
Closer to eight hundred million and change. But we are well on path to reach that point.

147
00:25:06.308 --> 00:25:15.878
And so from that metric, even though it's a little bit short from the original goal, it is meeting and exceeding its goal for the new revised targets, and that money is getting bonded out.

148
00:25:15.888 --> 00:25:34.148
We're already out in the bond markets, and that's allowing us to go raise the capital to make investments into the signaling network I had described earlier, new elevators, replacing platforms, putting in place new security measures, cameras, elevators, escalators, stairs, you name it.

149
00:25:34.188 --> 00:25:58.608
And why it's so important, and this is, like, in the weeds of government finance and government bonding, but having a steady revenue source like congestion pricing that we know is recurring is crucial to allow us to go into the bond markets to be able to raise the money in capital debt to then invest in these projects.

150
00:25:59.018 --> 00:26:12.508
If you do not have a recurring revenue source, no one will give you access to their bonds in order to make these types of investments. And so the, really the crucial piece here is recurring revenue

151
00:26:13.908 --> 00:26:19.728
gets you bonding revenue, and that's why this program's been so wildly successful so far. I love it.

152
00:26:19.798 --> 00:26:31.298
And that's the part I feel like we have to keep hammering out loud to people because it really is the part that the most number and diversity of people are gonna touch and feel are the infrastructure upgrades.

153
00:26:31.368 --> 00:26:39.888
Like, you might not ever ride or drive a car into Lower Manhattan, and that's totally fine. I get it, you know. Or maybe you like to do it or whatever.

154
00:26:40.908 --> 00:26:43.548
But the rest of that is gonna affect just a profound number of people.

155
00:26:43.568 --> 00:26:51.248
And like you said, I mean, your example, it is such a clear metaphor for America, which is without recurring revenue, no one's gonna loan you anything, which is why we don't have houses.

156
00:26:51.648 --> 00:26:54.308
But at the same time, it really does matter.

157
00:26:54.368 --> 00:27:06.728
And to prove that, and to look at other cities where it has worked that are very different, and at the same time, what is transferable and go, "If you just turn this on, we can prove that it works 'cause it has worked in other places," that can go a long way.

158
00:27:07.168 --> 00:27:18.328
What else? You worked on speed cameras, I believe. Is that right? Around schools, which really... Schools, lunches, s- cars speeding by schools all makes me flames out of my face angry.

159
00:27:18.648 --> 00:27:31.188
So tell me, why did you go after that, and how is it working? So I was involved in the creation of the very first pilot program to set up automated speed cameras in school zones. We started in twenty thirteen.

160
00:27:31.368 --> 00:27:36.808
We started with twenty cameras from seven AM till four PM on a very limited basis.

161
00:27:36.888 --> 00:27:44.788
And in fact, we had to convince the guy that I beat ultimately, but who I lost to in twenty twelve, to support the program because he was opposed to it.

162
00:27:45.208 --> 00:27:54.128
He was the one that let twenty cameras go through, and over time, that steadily grew to about a hundred and forty cameras. The cameras were up for renewal in twenty eighteen.

163
00:27:54.968 --> 00:28:04.388
They wanted to expand the number to two hundred and fifty. He was opposed, did not want to expand the cameras, was adamant that he was not going to expand the cameras.

164
00:28:04.768 --> 00:28:16.538
As someone who worked on the creation of this program and whose family was impacted by a traffic death, my grandmother lost her twelve-year-old daughter to a traffic crash way before I was a thought, right? Yeah.

165
00:28:16.568 --> 00:28:26.208
But that memory and that impact has still trickled down to affect my family today. Street safety was a huge issue in my twenty eighteen campaign.

166
00:28:26.268 --> 00:28:43.748
So while everyone is campaigning about the Blue Wave and about Trump, and I did all of that, and immigrants' rights, and LGBTQ rights, and all this stuff, I was also hyper-focused on, like, this guy in office is literally making it more dangerous for our kids, for your kids to walk to school safely.

167
00:28:43.758 --> 00:28:52.708
Yeah. And that is just untenable. Yep. And so we won on that issue. My first year in office, we expanded the cameras to six hundred cameras.

168
00:28:52.988 --> 00:29:06.268
We expanded the hours to be u- up until ten PM, and then over the years have succeeded in expanding the program so that now we have two thousand cameras in New York City operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

169
00:29:06.308 --> 00:29:17.848
The results are incredible. You know, if you get caught with a speeding ticket once, you will not get caught again. Eighty-one percent of the drivers never get caught again because they learn their lesson.

170
00:29:18.208 --> 00:29:21.868
It has dropped speeding by school zones by sixty-seven percent. Wow.

171
00:29:21.968 --> 00:29:36.888
And it has been wildly successful at helping to improve street safety, even though we still have a problem of repeat reckless drivers who, you know, this solution doesn't work for, but we have other ideas that we're trying to target specifically for that group of folks.

172
00:29:36.968 --> 00:29:45.408
But by and large, the vast majority of speeding cars slow down when they get just one speeding ticket, which is exactly what we thought was gonna happen. Sure.

173
00:29:45.648 --> 00:29:51.488
And one measure isn't gonna accomplish all of the things, but it can really start to go a long way. And again, it's lives saved. I've got a...

174
00:29:52.368 --> 00:30:02.738
My old swim coach from Colgate University, side example, twenty-five years later up in Richmond, Virginia, up here, which has a lot of traffic fatality issues around the university and everything.

175
00:30:02.788 --> 00:30:10.828
He spent ten years raising money to build this amazing pool complex that's funded in part by the city of Richmond and private money and all these things.

176
00:30:10.868 --> 00:30:20.524
And their whole deal was, "We're gonna teach every second grader in Richmond how to swim." Full stop.And they've got a list, and at this point it's 7,000 kids or something like that.

177
00:30:20.564 --> 00:30:28.284
And if you know the number of drowning deaths among children, which is like still top three, I think, causes of death for kids under 12,

178
00:30:29.484 --> 00:30:41.324
you can do the math on that and just look and go, "This isn't saving everyone 7,000 times whatever. They've probably saved 50 lives, flat out. Full stop." Definitely. That's it.

179
00:30:41.764 --> 00:30:45.804
So it's not at all, but that stuff can go a long way, so I really do appreciate that.

180
00:30:46.104 --> 00:31:01.454
As you continue to work on traffic stuff and everything else, who are your most frequent allies, whether they are other people in the state senate, the legislature, groups on the ground, advocacy groups, citizens, whoever it might be, that you can look forward to?

181
00:31:01.484 --> 00:31:08.584
Yeah. So we have a great coalition of outside groups, and I have a lot of great colleagues. I don't wanna start mentioning some and then forget some, and then I get a phone call. Yeah, totally.

182
00:31:09.144 --> 00:31:18.004
But we do have a good bench of legislators who care about these issues, street safety, public transit, investments in transit, and reducing our reliance on private cars.

183
00:31:18.244 --> 00:31:38.224
There, there is a great constellation of outside organizations that whether they are transit-focused, like the Riders Alliance or the Straphangers Campaign, or they do transit policy work like the Regional Plan Association, or they care about livable streets and livable cities, you know, Open Plans and Open New York, which cares a lot about housing and, and you know, livable communities.

184
00:31:38.644 --> 00:31:46.704
We also... My campaign was really the first time that street safety in particular, at least in New York, became an electoral issue.

185
00:31:46.724 --> 00:32:10.444
That idea of my opponent stopping the speed camera reauthorization really galvanized a political action movement specifically of street safety advocates, which took root in New York City in that year, has since grown to support many other candidates, has now branched out statewide, and they're developing chapters across the state as well as across the country.

186
00:32:10.694 --> 00:32:21.284
And so Streets PAC, uh, you know, was really a crucial organization to our efforts, as was an organization which now has taken hold c-across the country, which is Families for Safe Streets.

187
00:32:21.564 --> 00:32:32.664
Families for Safe Streets is the best organization you never, ever wanna be a part of because it is an organization of people who have lost loved ones to traffic crashes. Yeah.

188
00:32:32.724 --> 00:32:39.384
And they are phenomenal human beings who you wanna spend all your time with, but never wanna spend time with.

189
00:32:39.544 --> 00:32:51.024
They have figured out how to take their personal tragedies and their pain and turn it into real action, mobilization on the ground, legislative advocacy, victim support services.

190
00:32:51.064 --> 00:33:00.904
If I have a traffic crash in my district, my first call is to Families for Safe Streets and says, "Hey, we have another one. Can you guys connect them to some help? Can you help this family navigate?"

191
00:33:01.444 --> 00:33:08.224
That organization has now gone national. There is a phenomenal New Yorker article that I'll recommend to your listeners- Mm-hmm...

192
00:33:08.244 --> 00:33:15.204
about the history of Families for Safe Streets that really, I think, captures the entire story, and they've only been around for just about a decade.

193
00:33:15.704 --> 00:33:31.164
So they've been a huge part of our efforts as well, and you know when you get them involved in a project up in Albany that people listen 'cause it's very hard to turn your face from someone holding a picture of their eight-year-old son who was mowed over by a speeding car chasing their ball down the street.

194
00:33:31.744 --> 00:33:38.804
Yeah. It's very hard to look away from that. For a while, we kinda had a little tagline for this whole endeavor called Science for People Who Give a Shit.

195
00:33:39.484 --> 00:33:53.664
Kinda broadened it out now because science is in everything, and as I say, there, f-fortunately and unfortunately, there's a lot more people who give a shit about, about this constellation of things that from public health to street safety to poverty and vaccines than ever before.

196
00:33:54.224 --> 00:34:03.764
And part of that does include folks like, I have a very good friend named Jay Scott. He runs an organization called Alex's Lemonade Stand, named after his daughter who died of pediatric cancer 20 years ago.

197
00:34:04.184 --> 00:34:14.264
An organization he never wanted to start, never wanted to run, still questions whether he wants to run with his wife, would love to put himself out of fucking business, but you have to listen to him, and he knows that people are gonna listen to him.

198
00:34:14.844 --> 00:34:18.864
And there's a lot of folks like that, and they don't wanna do it, but they have to do this job.

199
00:34:18.894 --> 00:34:25.424
And that's why a lot of my conversations with people who come in maybe with big money or something like that and say, "Should I start something new?"

200
00:34:25.464 --> 00:34:36.104
I go, "There's usually some incredible people doing this who just need your support." And that sounds like one of those organizations. Again, would be great if they just could not have to exist, but here we are.

201
00:34:36.244 --> 00:34:43.363
And so I'm thankful for them and thankful for your support with them. So this is a big piece of the puzzle, and then I'm not gonna keep you too much longer.

202
00:34:43.404 --> 00:34:51.694
You're in a unique situation as for, you know, representing part of Brooklyn and New York City and, and part of New York State. That said, what are some lessons,

203
00:34:52.624 --> 00:35:04.044
tactics, strategies, whatever you have picked up in the past seven years that you find might be most transferable to other U.S. cities, states of really any size, U.S.

204
00:35:04.184 --> 00:35:15.164
streets of any kind, that you might feel other folks can find useful? It's a great question 'cause, you know, each battle's been a little bit different and has required a different, you know, tactical approach.

205
00:35:15.284 --> 00:35:20.804
But I think over the course of my last seven years, I've been able to amass a good arsenal of tips and tricks.

206
00:35:20.884 --> 00:35:29.024
If you're trying to, you know, persuade outside advocacy, those personal stories, whether it be from someone like Families for Safe Streets, or it could be from...

207
00:35:29.484 --> 00:35:37.024
You know, we have a group in New York called the Elevator Action Group that, you know, has really been organizing for accessibility at stations, and they give personal testimonials.

208
00:35:37.344 --> 00:35:41.764
"I can't go to my doctor because I can't get my wheelchair up the stairs, down the stairs."

209
00:35:42.184 --> 00:35:51.384
Those stories are really key and crucial for building the narrative as to what the problem is, and you cannot ignore the, the power of those personal testimonials.

210
00:35:51.404 --> 00:35:57.124
And if you yourself have a personal connection to a story, all the better. That really goes a long way.

211
00:35:57.904 --> 00:36:14.384
The other thing I'll say is when you're trying to work the inside game, whether you are an elected official or you're an advocate who is trying to play the inside and outside game, you know, we live in this moment where nuance is lost and nuance is dead, and no one wants to know about the details and the specifics, right?

212
00:36:14.804 --> 00:36:47.916
But I think there is incredible value to paying attention to the details and to understanding how things work.The way we were able to successfully push through funding for the MTA is because I spent time studying the MTA's finances and how it works and how it doesn't work, so that when I encountered a legislator or even an outside person who was like, "Ah, no, it's just more money after bad," and I could actually refute that with facts and say, "Look, I hear you, but here's actually how it works."

213
00:36:48.336 --> 00:36:53.356
Or a legislator who said, "Oh, we're bailing out the MTA again. They can't get their finances in order." No, I'm sorry.

214
00:36:53.936 --> 00:37:02.436
COVID, which no one expected, blew a hole in their finances because the New York City transit system is the least publicly subsidized transit system in the country.

215
00:37:02.556 --> 00:37:12.036
But we have to publicly subsidize it when there's no one riding the system. And then afterwards, we had already scheduled, come due, a discussion on the capital budget plan.

216
00:37:12.216 --> 00:37:24.596
And once you're able to kind of get into the weeds on that and set people right, you don't give them refuge to hide behind their misinformation or their willful ignorance. Sure. Yeah. And that's really key as well.

217
00:37:24.616 --> 00:37:34.536
And, like, I know we're all trying to simplify things and fit things into 140 characters and, like, the pithier the better, and no one cares about details, and just say whatever you want.

218
00:37:34.576 --> 00:37:46.816
There's value in that in political communication and political rhetoric, but you gotta know the details really well if you actually wanna move the needle or move the ball down the field, whether that's one yard or 100 yards.

219
00:37:47.296 --> 00:37:56.566
Yeah. No, absolutely. Really helps to have done your homework. It's so weird. Amazing. Who would've thought our teachers were so right? Yeah. God, I know. My kids are so annoyed by that. I'm like, "No, I promise you,

220
00:37:57.476 --> 00:38:05.976
if you show your work, it doesn't just help your grade. Like, it'll teach you something." And they're like, "That can't be true." I'm like, "Okay. Well, good luck." All right, I don't wanna keep you much longer.

221
00:38:06.016 --> 00:38:15.456
I have two questions I ask everybody. One is, what's one book you'd recommend to our audience? And it can be about transit or New York, or it can be about dragons. I don't care. What do you love?

222
00:38:15.656 --> 00:38:23.696
Or that you're reading to your kids. That's always a good one. Oh my God, what am I reading to my kids? Mm-hmm. You know, I wish they made a kids version, a toddler version of The Power Broker.

223
00:38:24.116 --> 00:38:27.916
I don't know if there's, like, a normal person version of The Power Broker. No.

224
00:38:28.336 --> 00:38:46.716
But I do think, you know, for anyone interested in how power works, any of the Robert Caro books, the Lyndon Johnson books or the Robert Moses book, The Power Broker, phenomenal explorations of the use of political power and how things and why things are the way they are today, and how you can learn from the abuses of those powers.

225
00:38:46.856 --> 00:38:59.535
I still swear by those books, and I often find myself going back to rereading portions of them to either understand why something is this way today or to figure out how did this happen or how can we avoid this type of scenario.

226
00:38:59.616 --> 00:39:10.596
Um, so- No, I mean, the Lyndon Johnson ones, it's so important to understand, like, how and why did we get here, and those ones are incredible and just so drastically illuminating for what we're seeing today.

227
00:39:10.606 --> 00:39:14.756
And specifically on those books, if you are at all interested about, like, the John F.

228
00:39:14.836 --> 00:39:30.396
Kennedy assassination, the 63 pages that make up the chapter on Dallas in The Passage of Power, which is the most recent book that came out 10 years ago, arguably the best s- you know, story, narrative about John Kennedy's assassination I've ever seen and ever read.

229
00:39:30.836 --> 00:39:35.496
Amazon, in fact, sells it as a standalone e-book chapter because it is that good.

230
00:39:36.016 --> 00:39:46.296
So for those folks who are interested in that story and never heard about that story or read that story and just knew that Kennedy was assassinated, it's only 63 pages. Highly recommend that as well. Great. Okay.

231
00:39:46.796 --> 00:39:57.976
And last one, are there any playlists that you can't get enough of right now that you might wanna tell people about? What are you listening to? Oh my gosh. I mean, I have a dinosaur playlist saved on my Spotify.

232
00:39:58.196 --> 00:40:11.916
I have a dinosaur lullaby playlist saved on my Spotify. I have a Blippi playlist saved on my Spotify. Yeah. And, you know, I, I'm, I'm not really great with, you know, the most recent pop culture. Mm.

233
00:40:11.926 --> 00:40:20.376
But ever since the whole thing blew up about Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl- Mm... I started listening. I wanna, like, what's the big deal? Like, I've never listened to Bad Bunny music. Yeah.

234
00:40:20.536 --> 00:40:31.646
I have been listening to Bad Bunny radio on Spotify when I'm on the subway going to and from the city, just so I can appreciate the music that everyone's lighting their hair on fire over. And it's great. Yeah.

235
00:40:31.676 --> 00:40:40.336
It's amazing. But- It's, he's, he's incredible. His story's amazing, from uploading tracks on SoundCloud while he was, like, a dishwasher or whatever to now. It's pretty awesome. It's pretty awesome. Yeah.

236
00:40:40.356 --> 00:40:44.336
Senator, can't thank you enough for your time. Thank you. Anything else you wanna share with the people before we get you out of here?

237
00:40:45.456 --> 00:40:50.336
No, but anyone that listens that ever wants to reach out, you can find me on Twitter or Instagram at A. Gounardes.

238
00:40:50.376 --> 00:40:56.656
Would love to hear from you guys, and if you're working on things that you think are interesting, I'd love to learn about it. Awesome. Rock and roll.

239
00:40:59.055 --> 00:41:15.236
[upbeat music] My guest for this portion of the conversation is the great Miranda Schubert. Miranda, can you tell us what office you're running for and where? I'm running to be a city council member in Tucson, Arizona.

240
00:41:15.656 --> 00:41:29.156
Here in Tucson, we have wards, so I'm running to be the Ward 6 representative on Tucson City Council. Okay. How many people will you represent? Gosh. Yeah. Close to 90,000. 90,000 constituents.

241
00:41:29.216 --> 00:41:39.236
[laughs] Yeah, that's decent. Yeah. That's decent. Okay, awesome. And so you said there are six wards, is that right? That's right. Or you're Ward 6. Yeah, and- Okay... and our ward, our ward is the best.

242
00:41:39.436 --> 00:41:49.016
No, just kidding. Um, but it's in the middle- Sure. No, we're not cutting that out, by the way. Sorry... it's in the middle of Tucson. Mm-hmm. So it touches the other five wards, so I like to call it the heart of Tucson.

243
00:41:49.516 --> 00:41:51.796
Sure. Yeah. I think that's how most people refer to it.

244
00:41:52.256 --> 00:42:01.496
Did you move there, uh, to that specific ward on purpose, or th- is this where you found yourself in the heart of Tucson, and you said, "Now I want, wanna represent it"? Why this ward?

245
00:42:01.856 --> 00:42:15.016
I moved to Tucson over 14 years ago, and Ward 6 also encompasses the university and downtown, so it's just naturally where I gravitated as somebody who has been car-free for most of my adult life. The dream.

246
00:42:15.256 --> 00:42:18.016
That's great. Yeah. For me, it's the dream. Yeah. No, I get it.

247
00:42:18.256 --> 00:42:28.536
We got one of the new VW Buzzes, the bus, the new version of the bus, 'cause I've got three children with just so much stuff, and I'm in downtown Colonial Williamsburg. Different than downtown Tucson.

248
00:42:28.936 --> 00:42:42.186
Not as much transit for all. Very walkable. Very walkable. But-So much stuff I bet it's really cute, or I bet the- It is very cute... I bet the bus is cute. Yeah It is. I really-- I'm very annoying to everyone here.

249
00:42:42.366 --> 00:42:50.085
I would love more adorable electric trolleys. There's one. It's not electric. We're working on it. We're working on it. It's a whole different side conversation.

250
00:42:50.406 --> 00:43:01.466
We don't have a lot of revenue, the proper city of Williamsburg, because the proper city hasn't grown in four hundred years, and most of the land is owned by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Great.

251
00:43:01.906 --> 00:43:12.046
Doesn't pay property taxes. College of William & Mary, awesome. Doesn't pay property taxes. A bunch of really historic churches, great. Also doesn't pay property taxes. And then there's, like, some houses.

252
00:43:12.086 --> 00:43:20.575
So when you're like, "Hey, we would like to do this thing," they go- No wonder... "Great. Would you like to pay for it?" So it's complicated. That is so interesting. Mm-hmm.

253
00:43:20.686 --> 00:43:38.386
I mean, we have something similar in Tucson where we have a ton of unincorporated area in the city's sort of outskirts, and all those folks are coming into Tucson and, you know, in basically every way are Tucson residents, but don't pay the same taxes that you pay when you're in the city limits, so- Mm-hmm...

254
00:43:38.406 --> 00:43:48.226
yeah, it drags things down, right? Your infrastructure's being used. You're trying to shore up, like, these amenities for the public good, and- Sure... you're in a constant state of scarcity. It's frustrating.

255
00:43:48.426 --> 00:43:53.846
I just spent a week at the YIMBY Town Conference up in Connecticut, which was great, and it's so wonderful to hear.

256
00:43:54.226 --> 00:43:59.046
I mean, it's just a bunch of people who are criminally underpaid trying to get other people houses and transit, right?

257
00:43:59.526 --> 00:44:10.886
It's amazing, and everyone is there 'cause they're trying to make the most nuanced, like, feet in the door for their respective municipality or state or whatever it might be, and it was inspiring, and it was wonderful.

258
00:44:10.946 --> 00:44:21.046
But you also learn, as weird as the situation is here, everybody's got their own shit, right? As much as there's, like, transferable things for everybody, it's complicated everywhere.

259
00:44:21.266 --> 00:44:32.186
Things are always more complicated than they seem, and I wanna go to a YIMBY thing so badly 'cause I helped to start the first chapter here in Arizona. The first- That's awesome... actual YIMBY action chapter.

260
00:44:32.286 --> 00:44:41.086
So I'm always looking at the conferences like, "I wish that were my job," but it's not my job yet. It's not your job yet. I'll tell you what, though. I was sitting in one meeting. First thing, huge introvert.

261
00:44:41.246 --> 00:44:49.146
This is as much, like, social energy as I get for the week, and then I'm done. Don't love conferences. This was amazing. It was fantastic.

262
00:44:49.246 --> 00:45:01.766
It was my first time, and also, as much as you have a bunch of people in, like, random advocacy groups and city governments and this and this, sitting in one breakout session, guy raises his hand, he goes, "Well, I'm the mayor of Ithaca, New York, and here's what I'm dealing with."

263
00:45:01.786 --> 00:45:07.496
I'm like, "Good for you for just coming." Mm. That's so cool. You know?

264
00:45:07.506 --> 00:45:17.116
But, I mean, what is more, a more specific application of his job than to go spend four days, like, learning from other cities and other people who are struggling and/or succeeding with that stuff?

265
00:45:17.166 --> 00:45:27.946
I was like, "Fuck yeah, man." That's where it's at. That's where my obsession is. Yeah. So don't know where the next one is. They're taking RFPs. Could be Tucson. Very exciting. Ooh. Can you imagine?

266
00:45:27.986 --> 00:45:38.236
I mean, we do have fare-free public transit here, so... What a great segue. I love it. That sounds amazing. Let me pause for one second. Please do. You ran for this office in 2021, which- Yeah...

267
00:45:38.286 --> 00:45:49.106
as listeners know, was 1,000 years ago. How did that go, and why are you running again? It did not go that badly. I mean, I learned a lot. I didn't even know what I didn't know at the time.

268
00:45:49.746 --> 00:45:58.706
If I had, then maybe I wouldn't have done it, so it's kinda good I didn't. But we earned 28% in a primary against a longtime pretty popular incumbent.

269
00:45:58.716 --> 00:46:17.926
And so for the remaining time between then and now, you know, I've been pretty single-handed about, you know, what can I do to really prepare myself for this role and to be the kind of representative that I really think can push forward the changes that we wanna see at the local level, which is, again, like how you were saying, the things you can feel, the things you can touch, like- Mm-hmm...

270
00:46:18.026 --> 00:46:27.686
the literal roads you're traveling on, like how you're getting from point A to point B. Do you have dignity? Do you have pretty things to look at when you're going outside? You know, all that jazz.

271
00:46:28.046 --> 00:46:37.986
Is it a good place to raise a family, right? Yeah, no, 100%. Let me ask you, and this isn't too much of a side journey. I'm actually trying to keep things on track, which is not my MO typically.

272
00:46:38.526 --> 00:46:51.496
When did you decide to run the first time, and secondarily, when you didn't win the first time against this incumbent, did you immediately go, "I'm coming back for that guy," or did you have to be talked into it?

273
00:46:51.586 --> 00:46:59.926
What was the process like? 'Cause here's the thing. We also get feedback from people when we say, "Have you ever considered running for local or state office?" And some people are like, "Absolutely not.

274
00:47:00.106 --> 00:47:10.006
No one will like me," or, "I'm scared of the result," which is understandable, or, "I don't understand enough about it." Hearing from folks who've not only run once, but

275
00:47:11.126 --> 00:47:21.206
learned a lot but didn't get the office, let's say, and have decided to do it again, I think that's very interesting and could be very helpful for folks. So do you mind talking through that real quick? Not at all.

276
00:47:21.246 --> 00:47:27.076
It's one of my favorite things because I want people to see me doing it and go, "I could do it, too." Yeah.

277
00:47:27.146 --> 00:47:39.466
There are so many different reasons to talk yourself out of it, and I feel like, you know, I'm a little weird for wanting to do it because when I lost in '21, it was immediately like, "I'm gonna wanna do this again," once the sort of the dust settles.

278
00:47:39.606 --> 00:47:50.526
If we did that well this time- Mm-hmm... and knowing all the things that we could have done differently, I mean, the reason I originally got interested in running, you know, 2020 was a lot, right?

279
00:47:50.706 --> 00:47:58.786
I mean, for a lot of different reasons. I was working at the university at the time, you know, when the pandemic hit, and I was an academic advisor working one-on-one with students.

280
00:47:58.906 --> 00:48:06.386
I had, like, hundreds of students on my caseload. Mm-hmm. You know, the pandemic hits. We didn't know what we had coming.

281
00:48:06.606 --> 00:48:30.266
We had a university administration who was more concerned about making sure that they were collecting tuition and trying to keep things as normal as possible, you know, and I'm like, "Okay, I literally have students who are crying on Zoom to me about the fact that both their parents have COVID and they need to drop their classes and go home to work, but their professor's not giving them leniency."

282
00:48:30.546 --> 00:48:57.106
You know, you get mad, or you do something about it, and there were some activists on campus that were getting organized together into an ad hoc group called the Coalition for Academic Justice, and that was really such a saving grace for me to try to navigate sort of the pandemic and all the different layers ofThe ways that it was affecting us on different levels, like having all these like-minded, you know, folks from student workers and grad students, you know, working as TAs all the way to, like, tenured faculty.

283
00:48:57.166 --> 00:49:06.445
So it's wall to wall. So it started as an ad hoc group. We ended up unionizing Labor Day of 2020, and it was just, like, a really heady time.

284
00:49:06.506 --> 00:49:18.426
Like, I was part of the steering committee, so we were really laying the groundwork of, "Okay, what does it even mean to organize as workers on a university campus that's incredibly, like, hostile to unions and run pretty conservatively?"

285
00:49:18.466 --> 00:49:26.736
It's that weird university thing of, "We're liberal," but actually we're run very conservatively, and the Koch brothers have money on campus and all this jazz. Right.

286
00:49:26.736 --> 00:49:39.886
And so I think the union, combined with the Black Lives Matter George Floyd protests in the summer and the sort of introduction in my mind of the conversation around city budgets- Mm-hmm...

287
00:49:39.906 --> 00:49:55.826
and how city budgets and policing impacts community safety, and the way that this profession has been, you know, sort of fed into over the years and wanting to be a part of shifting that dynamic, it led me to start watching city council meetings.

288
00:49:56.466 --> 00:50:06.086
And it's so funny to me, like, the cognitive dissonance between the qualities that you probably need to have in order to want to run for office versus the ones to govern- Mm-hmm...

289
00:50:06.106 --> 00:50:08.446
at the local level, 'cause they're, like, pretty different.

290
00:50:08.876 --> 00:50:17.926
And, like, I think that a lot of people get caught up in the campaign stuff, and it's like, "Oh, I think I'm really good at talking to people," or, "I think people will like me," or, "I'm charismatic," or this or that.

291
00:50:17.986 --> 00:50:25.286
Like, I was not thinking about any of that stuff. It was really a very pragmatic, "This is something I want to do.

292
00:50:25.826 --> 00:50:30.786
I'm really passionate about putting work into trying to bring people together, and somebody's gotta be the leader."

293
00:50:30.826 --> 00:50:39.526
It's less of a, "Look at me," and more of a, "Well, somebody's gotta fucking stand up and be like, 'Hey, guys, let's go do this thing.'" Mm-hmm. You know? Yeah.

294
00:50:39.646 --> 00:50:46.346
I have a very sort of horizontal and less hierarchical view of the way that leadership should be working, and it's like shoulder to shoulder, you know?

295
00:50:46.406 --> 00:50:54.726
I'm not here to dictate to folks or be the one in the room who's the smartest. So yeah. I think local office is where we can really undermine those kinds of dynamics.

296
00:50:54.786 --> 00:51:05.486
And, like, at the end of the day, there are so many people who are so... You know, they're struggling to make ends meet, right? Half the people in line at Campus Pantry are workers at the university of real jobs.

297
00:51:06.246 --> 00:51:13.406
The only way they're gonna get ahead is if we change the system because it is rigged against regular people. Oh, yeah. Like, it just is. No. Yep. No.

298
00:51:13.466 --> 00:51:25.006
Fully, purposefully, and obviously that's becoming even more apparent every day how deep that goes. I'm in a heavily military armed forces area, obviously, in every version you can think of.

299
00:51:25.266 --> 00:51:31.906
And, you know, in the past couple weeks with the shutdown, they're some of the first ones in line at the soup kitchen. Levels of anger. Tell me, how did you...

300
00:51:31.926 --> 00:51:36.166
For the first time, and then again this time, how did you and Run for Something find each other? Oh, gosh.

301
00:51:36.426 --> 00:51:44.896
I think the first time, I was lucky enough to know somebody who knew about Run for Something, and so I applied for that endorsement in 2021.

302
00:51:45.586 --> 00:51:56.286
I mean, just the second that, that I was introduced to the concept of it, it was just like, "Fuck yes. This is where it's at." It's something that I am constantly talking to people about here in Tucson. Like,

303
00:51:57.326 --> 00:52:06.466
right now the ballot returns for our local race, like, ballots are in mailboxes. Election's on November 4th, but early voting has started. Vast majority is 65 plus.

304
00:52:07.106 --> 00:52:19.966
When you look at our leaders who are in office, like, two of the people that I'm running alongside for the other two wards that are up for election, Selena and I together will lower the average age of our local city council by 20 years.

305
00:52:20.706 --> 00:52:26.206
And I'm 41. Like, I barely even meet the cutoff. Yeah. No. I mean- So-... rinse and repeat everywhere. Yeah. For sure.

306
00:52:27.466 --> 00:52:36.886
I almost didn't ask, like, for the Run for Something endorsement this time around 'cause I assumed I was too old. Well- It's like when you look around at any political fundraiser, it skews really old.

307
00:52:37.126 --> 00:52:48.066
So it is, "Oh, shit, I am still young in comparison." Anybody who's running any political fundraiser, any HOA meeting, any city council meeting, any board of supervisors meeting, that's it. That's who can show up.

308
00:52:48.106 --> 00:52:56.666
That's who does show up. That's who's most likely to be either paid or just straight up manipulated on the internet to show up. That's it. Unless you work on it. Unless you work on it. Unless you work on it. So the...

309
00:52:56.856 --> 00:53:10.326
There are changes happening here in Tucson. There was a pretty landmark neighborhood association board election in which the challenging slate garnered over 240 votes. We're talking about a neighborhood association.

310
00:53:10.386 --> 00:53:21.516
[laughs] Like- That's awesome... everybody got involved, and the board is much more representative of the median age of Tucson, which is 35. Yeah. It's a disconnect. Mm-hmm.

311
00:53:21.516 --> 00:53:31.486
My HOA has a solar manifesto coming from me shortly that they don't know is coming. I'm pretty excited about it. You gotta get in the weeds, man. You gotta do the work- Oh, the best... if you wanna change these dynamics.

312
00:53:31.506 --> 00:53:37.826
Yeah. That's it. If you don't show up, who will? Let's talk about transit. You and I talked a little bit about that. It's why we're here today.

313
00:53:38.026 --> 00:53:47.526
Obviously, like housing or climate change or food, you can come at this 7,000 different ways. Why transit, and where in particular...

314
00:53:48.486 --> 00:53:59.886
I guess both where in particular in Tucson and Ward 6, but in general, what part of the transit battle are you focused on making real measurable progress that, again, people can touch and feel?

315
00:54:00.066 --> 00:54:10.826
What do those outcomes look like to you? It's twofold. We have k- managed to keep public transit in Tucson fare-free since 2020. So awesome. Um, yeah. It's amazing. It was a lot of work.

316
00:54:11.006 --> 00:54:23.726
Initially, the reason it became fare-free was because we received COVID relief money, ARPA funds, and the merit council was pretty visionary about deciding to put that toward transit to waive fares for folks.

317
00:54:23.866 --> 00:54:31.776
And so, I mean, our ridership here in Tucson has risen when many other municipalities have fallen. It's doubled our ridership.

318
00:54:32.126 --> 00:54:42.066
So to me, it's really about not only keeping it fare-free, but securing full and responsible funding, 'cause we don't have a dedicated source for transit funding here in Tucson.

319
00:54:42.126 --> 00:54:54.066
So this is an interesting f- thing, like you said, getting in the weeds so people understand how these things work.It's so great, uh, to be even a pra- a practical idealist and say, "Fair, free transit for everybody," right?

320
00:54:54.206 --> 00:55:02.546
Like you said, a lot of people got ARPA funds. Some places were pretty visionary and did things like this that really helped folks, but then you have to continue paying for it.

321
00:55:02.666 --> 00:55:15.206
So tell me how that is reflected in your platform. How are you gonna make that happen? Because that is the part that we wanna help people understand they can take to their cities and towns.

322
00:55:15.266 --> 00:55:23.906
The next part of that is, like, what's transferable from your plan, or where are you learning from- Right... to pay for that, to make it something that's long-standing? Yeah. Okay.

323
00:55:24.046 --> 00:55:33.026
So, I mean, first of all, at the most, when we did have fares in place, it accounted for 8 to 10% of the total operating cost of the system. Mm-hmm.

324
00:55:33.186 --> 00:55:40.726
So one point that I continually make is that, like, the funding problem for transit would exist whether we charged fares or not.

325
00:55:41.066 --> 00:55:51.586
It's a bit of a, you know, it's the wrong tree to be barking up if we're talking about wanting to have better buses, you know, expanded routes, and more frequent service, and more comfortable.

326
00:55:51.706 --> 00:56:04.286
We talk about funding a lot because we don't really have the money to pay for many of the things that we need to put more funding into. You know, the social safety net, affordable housing, shelter, et cetera, et cetera.

327
00:56:04.906 --> 00:56:14.366
We are in a couple of different battles here locally. One is a regional transportation plan that will set sort of funding for the next 20 years for our region.

328
00:56:15.006 --> 00:56:23.856
It's a half-cent sales tax, and it, it's going to the voters in March, and it has a portion in it for transit funding, but it's not enough. Mm-hmm.

329
00:56:23.946 --> 00:56:33.646
So one avenue that we're working on is spreading the word that if we don't pass this, we can come back with a better plan. Okay. So unfortunately, sales tax is gonna be a part of it.

330
00:56:34.126 --> 00:56:43.026
The other ideas that I've been pushing have been establishing a taxing district- Mm-hmm... in areas where there's a lot of tourism and collecting fares that way.

331
00:56:43.546 --> 00:56:58.266
So one thing I would say to advocates is to look beyond the fare box if the question is that public transit needs more funding, that collecting at the box, like, when a rider gets on, is a really outdated and inefficient way of collecting revenue.

332
00:56:58.706 --> 00:57:10.626
The infrastructure, the staffing, the enforcement, the increased interactions with transit staff, all these things drag down the ability to actually collect money, and it's not very efficient.

333
00:57:10.676 --> 00:57:21.746
And it also disproportionately impacts lower income passengers. So, like, in 2022, they did a survey of the people who use public transit, and the average household income was 35,000 or less.

334
00:57:22.446 --> 00:57:29.126
So I mean, it really adds up. People can say, "Oh, it's a couple bucks. Who can't afford a couple bucks for a ride on the bus?"

335
00:57:29.146 --> 00:57:34.756
And it's like, okay, but if you're riding it every time you have to go to work and every time you have to go home, and it, it...

336
00:57:34.806 --> 00:57:43.586
maybe your kid has to use the bus too because the school buses don't go out where they're from or it's easier to do it that way, I mean, it just starts to really... it starts to stack up.

337
00:57:43.646 --> 00:57:50.386
And then the other argument for investing more in transit is that it generates more local economic benefit.

338
00:57:50.666 --> 00:58:04.906
And actually, there's a study that a professor emeritus and somebody from the city did together that's gonna be published in "The Harvard Review" that has some really compelling numbers about our streetcar line and the impacts on local economic development.

339
00:58:05.366 --> 00:58:17.036
So I think it's also a matter of shifting our perspective about what are expenses, because not all expenses are the same. Some expenses are investments that are generative. Yeah. Yeah.

340
00:58:17.036 --> 00:58:28.406
Who are some of the other allies that you began working with in 2020, in 2021, and now, which is almost 2026, which doesn't feel real, that are on the ground?

341
00:58:28.456 --> 00:58:38.316
Again, folks who are already in various offices, potential new council members or existing ones, advocacy groups. Who is helping to really do that work to find that funding?

342
00:58:38.726 --> 00:58:49.586
Yeah, I mean, I think right now it's the folks on council that have sort of remained on our side in the fight to, to keep fares free and to continue searching for more funding.

343
00:58:49.706 --> 00:58:57.426
We have Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz and Council Member Kevin Dahl. So we have a couple council members. Honestly,

344
00:58:58.726 --> 00:59:09.966
I think that I really have to try to get into office because we need to be making more urgent progress on chasing down this funding because it's continuing to ratchet up in pressure.

345
00:59:10.026 --> 00:59:18.556
The local media has been reporting on safety incidents at transit stops and on buses in ways that are pretty misleading.

346
00:59:19.046 --> 00:59:33.266
Not that those things didn't happen, but unfortunately, recently they've been linking it to fares not being charged, so sort of trying to make this false corollary between safety issues and, well, just anybody can get on the bus kind of a thing.

347
00:59:33.296 --> 00:59:36.606
Mm-hmm. Which there's absolutely no evidence to support.

348
00:59:36.666 --> 00:59:49.586
And if anything, with fares in place, buses were less safe because of the increased conflict over things like needing to kick somebody off if they couldn't pay a fare or, you know, if the thing's not taking your dollar bill 'cause it's too wrinkled and you're holding up the line.

349
00:59:50.156 --> 00:59:55.965
Oh, yeah. There's a million things, right? But the other thing is that we do very much have a coalitional approach to this.

350
00:59:56.186 --> 01:00:05.586
So I mean, there are more expected groups that we're working with, like Living Streets Alliance- Mm-hmm... and a local organization called Families United Gaining Accessibility or FUGA.

351
01:00:05.686 --> 01:00:08.086
They do, like, community bike rides.

352
01:00:08.526 --> 01:00:25.166
So the, kind of the transit nerd crowd, but also expanding from that to, you know, the, The Florence Project, Tucson Clean and Beautiful, you know, different nonprofits who work in different areas of, like, social justice or equity or environmentalism.

353
01:00:25.386 --> 01:00:32.026
We have a growing list of organizations who are a part of supporting the continuance of fare free transit.

354
01:00:32.626 --> 01:00:45.206
I'm interested in connecting more with some of the tourism groups 'cause I think we need to make that bridge between the so-called business community and the nonprofits, you know, in order to really help them understand that it's good business.

355
01:00:45.506 --> 01:00:58.092
It... This isn't just about being nice and, like, giving-People who don't have money, the ability to get to their doctor appointments. It's also really good for investment development. Sure. I mean, in a world where

356
01:00:59.342 --> 01:01:00.182
so many people

357
01:01:01.762 --> 01:01:34.662
in this country are working, are renters who are working hourly jobs with no childcare if they need it, or elderly care if they need it or need to provide that, who can afford to own a car or pay the insurance, whatever it might be, who are also in the service jobs that makes these cities and economies run, especially tourism, you're gonna want them to need to get to- to be able to get to work and to be able to get home and to be able to do it safely and without having to choose, like you talked about, that wrinkly dollar.

358
01:01:34.742 --> 01:01:42.822
They have just decided that this dollar is what they're gonna use to get to work, which means it's not going somewhere else. We make it very expensive to be poor in this country, and

359
01:01:43.742 --> 01:01:51.242
you want them to not have to make that choice, because then you can have more tourism, and you can have healthier- Yeah... citizens. All of the above. Exactly.

360
01:01:51.402 --> 01:02:00.782
You know, and it is definitely the case here in Tucson that the people who make Tucson a tourist draw are the people of the s- the service industry, hospitality.

361
01:02:01.142 --> 01:02:09.802
They're the makers and the musicians and the artists and the artisans, you know? So it's like we gotta take care of those folks. They need to be able to get around.

362
01:02:10.182 --> 01:02:21.042
The average Tucsonan right now is spending around twenty percent of their household income on transportation alone, and you are, like, in a good position if you're paying under thirty percent of your income on housing.

363
01:02:21.502 --> 01:02:24.942
Mm-hmm. If it's thirty percent or over, you're cost-burdened. It was so sad.

364
01:02:24.982 --> 01:02:33.902
I was talking to some university students about this a while ago, and I mentioned the cost-burden thing of thirty percent, and they started laughing at me. And I was like, "So are you paying forty percent?"

365
01:02:33.922 --> 01:02:46.942
And they kept laughing, and then I was like, "Fifty?" It-- No, it was like seventy percent. Yeah. I just spent fifteen years in Los Angeles. We make it very expensive to live and have any semblance of wellness and

366
01:02:47.962 --> 01:02:57.692
support of any kind. And it's a lot of work, too. Yeah, it is. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. People talk about free bus passes, and I'm like, "You had to go in person." Yeah. Yeah.

367
01:02:58.182 --> 01:03:04.502
Look at everybody getting kicked off Medicaid 'cause they've missed a form on one of the twenty fields they have to fill out every six months. This makes a ton of sense.

368
01:03:04.642 --> 01:03:14.922
I really love you talking about the allies that are already there and how you start with sort of these core transit dorks and move your way out, because that is truly... We always-- When people say, "What can I do?"

369
01:03:15.002 --> 01:03:35.502
If I'm talking offline or online to someone who is looking to branch into the sorta more philanthropic echelon of contributing, the first thing I plead with them to do is not to start their own thing, 'cause there's already so many people on the ground already doing these things, and they could use your funding and for you to get out of the way or maybe even your warm body if you would follow instructions.

370
01:03:35.982 --> 01:03:44.722
There are already allies in most of these places doing this work because usually they have to. And so I love always hearing about that because it's very easy for folks.

371
01:03:45.102 --> 01:03:51.082
You know, look, man, you haven't gone to a city council meeting. I get it. You should. You don't even have to talk. Just go to your first couple.

372
01:03:51.462 --> 01:03:55.022
But to get the sense of who's out here trying to make our streets safer, I get it.

373
01:03:55.082 --> 01:04:02.422
I guarantee you there are folks who are doing that, and to hear yourself say, "Yes, I'm running 'cause I said, 'Fuck it, I'll do it,' and I'll do it again."

374
01:04:03.662 --> 01:04:13.992
But it is to be, you know, both a leader and an instrument for a lot of these groups and this broader coalition, right, who are trying to say- Oh... we have to find this funding. Or so much of what- Yeah...

375
01:04:13.992 --> 01:04:25.062
we've gotten used to in the past five years goes away. That's right, and we need to expand. I mean, it's such an important and essential service for so many people right now, and it doesn't even serve...

376
01:04:25.202 --> 01:04:33.022
I mean, I was at the community college on the east side, and they were like, "Gosh, it'd be great if the bus went out to Vail." There's definitely students that would ride it, and we have more work to do.

377
01:04:33.142 --> 01:04:44.462
Tucson is spread out over two hundred and fifty square miles, and we have a comparable population to Baltimore, and Baltimore is in, like, a fraction of maybe, like, seventy square miles [chuckles]. That's wild.

378
01:04:44.682 --> 01:04:53.802
I mean, that's so indicative of US cities, right, especially these, quote-unquote, "newer ones." Get them in Colina, Weemsberg, where you see, like, the sprawl, and then they're like, "Here's Paris."

379
01:04:53.862 --> 01:05:02.901
And, you know, it fits in six city streets. Yeah. It's crazy, and obviously you go, "Well, how do you want people to get around?" Okay. You have been fantastic, by the way. You're killing this.

380
01:05:03.242 --> 01:05:11.012
I'm gonna ask you the last two questions I ask everybody before I ask you to promote your campaign. Number one, what's a book you'd recommend to the audience? And it can be anything from

381
01:05:12.382 --> 01:05:23.662
one of my favorites, The Great American Transit Disaster, or it could be a coloring book or something about dragons, which is what I often read at night to turn my brain off. Either way, our listeners love it.

382
01:05:24.282 --> 01:05:31.182
Saving Time by Jenny Odell. Okay. This is a really fantastic book. It's about the attention economy, and it's about the way we look at time.

383
01:05:31.682 --> 01:05:44.541
And so it's just a great, like, brain opener if you're feeling the crush of daily capitalist existence. [chuckles] Really beautifully written and really, yeah, just stunning. I love it. That's awesome.

384
01:05:44.922 --> 01:05:55.542
And my newest question, I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but it's nice. What's one playlist you can't get enough of right now? Playlist. Mm-hmm. You're asking a radio DJ. [chuckles] Oh, I know. I'm aware.

385
01:05:55.612 --> 01:06:02.142
That's why I knew you weren't gonna be allowed to back out of it. It was gonna be like choosing among your children, but I need an answer. You can do more than one. It's fine.

386
01:06:03.462 --> 01:06:17.182
You know, I'm gonna go with the Tucson 250th playlist that KXCI that I work at. Tucson just... We celebrated our 250th birthday, and this playlist slaps. Yes. It's very Tucson, so. Okay. Where can our listeners find it?

387
01:06:17.762 --> 01:06:26.422
Is it on Spotify, Apple, YouTube? Where is it? Yeah, you can find it. You can find it on Spotify. Okay. Great. Awesome. We'll put a link to it in there. Mm-hmm. This is great. Everybody needs this stuff.

388
01:06:26.662 --> 01:06:37.742
You need the, not necessarily the distraction, but music makes it a little better. We need joy, though, right? Mm-hmm. We have to sustain ourselves 'cause this is exhausting. That's gonna be our lead into the show.

389
01:06:37.822 --> 01:06:47.902
Me, a tired millennial running for local office. I'm exhausted because all I'm doing is obsessing over voters all the time, and how can I reach more people? No, I get it.

390
01:06:47.942 --> 01:06:56.302
We have this whole other parenting podcast, but it's not, as we say, it's not an advice show. It's a commiseration show. It's about parenting in these times, and it's just me and my co-host.

391
01:06:56.462 --> 01:07:06.642
And most of it is just, like, long sighs, basically. So don't worry. Mm-hmm. They're used to it. That's fantastic. Tell us about your campaign. Where can people find it? How can they help out?

392
01:07:07.982 --> 01:07:15.222
So it's mirandaforwardsix.com, all words and the number six. Very detailed platform. You could donate.

393
01:07:15.562 --> 01:07:25.902
I mean, we're trying to raise under three thousand more dollars in order to close out the campaign, so we are right there. Election day is on November fourth. I'm a climate champion who's against data centers.

394
01:07:25.942 --> 01:07:34.962
I'm pro-transit, pro-housing, pro taking care of people, you know? Pro compassion. Miranda, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

395
01:07:35.022 --> 01:07:40.642
That's it for this week, and I hope you loved these conversations and people as much as I do.

396
01:07:40.722 --> 01:07:52.892
Huge, huge, huge thanks to our partners at Run for Something for all of their hard work every day, but also to bring these conversations to life. As always, this conversation was produced and edited by Willow Beck.

397
01:07:53.302 --> 01:08:00.262
Reminder, you can find candidates who are endorsed by Run for Something and other awesome organizations we trust at whatcanido.earth.

398
01:08:00.882 --> 01:08:09.362
If you or someone you love is under forty and wants to run for something at the state or local level but doesn't know what's available, head on over to runforwhat.net.

399
01:08:09.812 --> 01:08:21.642
And if you wanna know more about our work, read our newsletters and essays, check out our other podcast, or even get some of our awesome T-shirts, hoodies, stickers, or coffee mugs, head to importantnotimportant.com.

400
01:08:22.022 --> 01:08:24.102
Thanks for listening, and thanks for giving a shit.