Latest / Breaking The Meta / AIPAC Spent $5M in Her Race. Here's What She Built
Transcript
- Mike Winson: Hello everyone, welcome to Breaking the Meta. My name is Mike Winston. Today's guest has is a return guest from Anabel Mendoza: Mm-hmm. Mike Winson: back in the beginning of the year when she was running for District 7 in Illinois Congress. Her name is Annabelle Mendoza, and we're so excited to have her back, not just to see how things have been since the race, but talk about her new venture, which is hopefully going to be doing something amazing in her area and you know, maybe if we're lucky, spread around the country. Hello, Annabelle, how are you doing? Anabel Mendoza: Hey Mike, I'm doing well. happy Wednesday. thank you for having Mike Winson: Yes. Anabel Mendoza: me back on. I'm really excited to to chat with you. And as I was saying right before this, it's like it's wild that it's been so long since we reconnected. Mike Winson: It ha it is, it is, and it's so nice to see the faces of the people that especially that I got to interview in the beginning when I first started doing it. So I'm really excited to to talk with you. So let's let's just start off like how how have things been since you know, since the race? Because Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: obviously you were working your butt off and and you know what What was it like after and and how how did the you get to the process to the point you are now? Anabel Mendoza: Yeah, definitely. Hopefully I have a little bit more liveliness and color in my face post election. I Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: feel like I took a a beat after the campaign and was just like, okay, I need to just recover as a human. because it's Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: just such a emotional eight months, nine months roughly of the campaign. And then also just you know, you're you're just going at a pace that is like constant. And so you realize afterwards. your body actually finally catches up. And so you might get sick after the campaign. And luckily I had some time to recover for sure and had a lot of support from friends and family. But you know, thinking back and reflecting on the campaign, it is wild to think that it was six months ago was the primary. while Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Anabel Mendoza: the outcome, you know, certainly wasn't what I had hoped or what the folks who had supported my campaign had hoped. We had still run a really incredible race. With very limited resources, might I say. We were running a grassroots campaign, all individual donors. We didn't get a single penny from you know, any outside money. And and we also Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: openly stood ten toes down to reject dark money. And that was something that, you know, we didn't see other candidates doing. And that's a shame. but I think that it really only deepened this sense of this new project that I'm really excited to obviously get into and talk to you about. But on a personal level, I'm doing well, Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Anabel Mendoza: which is always, always really nice. Mike Winson: What just for just kind of I just want to go into it a little bit. So obviously election night did not go as planned. You took some time to recover. What Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Yeah. Mike Winson: like what was going through your brain once you recovered? Like where where where was your where were you thinking of heading before you ended up heading into into this or putting together this organization that we're gonna talk about in a bit? Anabel Mendoza: It's funny because on election night and like the days after a lot of people reached out to me and they were like, Will you run again? And I was like, I am not even entertaining that conversation right now Mike Winson: Ha. Anabel Mendoza: because I need to fully recover. My bank account needs to recover. Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: so you know, that was just something that was not even on my mind. It's it's not on my mind currently. but what came out of the days and weeks that followed, The campaign was really, you know, what are we gonna build out what are we gonna continue with? What are we gonna continue to build out of what we've already started here on the campaign trail? There was so much excitement, so much energy from people in the community, people who I was meeting, voters who I was getting to talk to every day. And I didn't want that just to end. And I think there were so many people who were invested in my campaign because of the principles and the values that I stood on. And I've said it before, I'll say it again, those things don't just go away because a campaign has ended. I started the campaign at a time in my life where I genuinely believed this was a place where I could deepen the impact and the vision for the future that I think our country needs and deserves, one that puts working people at the center, one that addresses the racial wealth gap in this country. And I still believe that. The campaign and office might not be the vehicle right now where that is going to be something that I'm able to push, but there's plenty of other ways to continue to deepen impact and to take action and certainly to continue the relationships of people who invested in my campaign, people who took a bet on me as a first-time candidate, as the youngest candidate on that ballot. And I don't take that for granted, I don't take that lightly. And I think that that's why this next project, it was developed in conjunction, in coordination with so many of the people who believed in my campaign and who said, We believe in this future that you're fighting for. and we we want to continue to help and support you and what you do next. So that's really what came out of those days and weeks after. Mike Winson: you know, the the almost the frustrating thing about having a primary so early in places Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: like Illinois is once you guys have the primary to the rest of the world, Illinois kind of falls off the map. And unless Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: something specific happens, we don't really hear about what's going on anymore. So Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: what what have things been like? in Chicago in your area since since the last time we talked. Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of the sentiment has been that people people want to see what this next individual who won the primary state rep, LaShawn Ford, who is the Democratic nominee, what what he will do when he's in office. I think people are open to seeing how he will follow through on a lot of the promises. And one thing I'm proud of during the campaign was the ways in which I pushed forward. A lot of the progressive priorities that I hold, and again, those values that I hold that I sincerely hope he addresses. and I think that we obviously need to see what his record looks like once he is in office. Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: but I think overall the sentiment has just been that people are are kind of like in a space where, you know, those those very real issues that were facing them, healthcare. insecurity, housing insecurity, obviously the continued affordability in this crisis in this country, where so many of the black and brown, working class, low-income communities on the south and west sides are bearing the brunt of the decisions that are being made at the federal level. Things like the snap cuts that we saw in Trump's big ugly bill, right? those are things that are on people's minds and Ultimately those need to continue to be addressed. And of course, I hope that they're addressed by the people elected to office. But also the intention here is how do we how do we continue to create pressure on the outside by the people who have a lot of power and might not realize that power. But you know, we need to kind of have a better understanding also of the ways that dark money got involved. in the 7th district and other districts across the south and west sides. And that's where I noticed a major political education gap. Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: was that lack of awareness and understanding around not just how dark money operates, but their increasing their deceptive tactics. to infiltrate a lot of our communities and neighborhoods, obviously to push forward their agenda that ultimately is only worsening the daily cycle of survival that many working people are caught in. And so, Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: you know, that's it it angers me. And it's something that I think I'm excited to be able to talk to more people about that. Because I think once people understand that, and many already do, but once more people understand that, I think they will be able to connect the dots between the day-to-day cycle of survival that they're caught in, the reason why gas prices are almost six dollars a gallon and have steadily been that way, the reason why housing issues have not been addressed in their communities and how it ultimately ties back to a lot of these dark money groups and the agendas that they're pushing. Mike Winson: Yeah. so obviously you go through all of this and you we're here really to talk about this new organization that you've started called Democracy Unbought. do Anabel Mendoza: Yes. Mike Winson: you wanna give us a little background on how the the idea for it came about and what its purpose Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: is? Anabel Mendoza: Yeah, sure. So as as I mentioned, this is really something that came out of the learnings and the lessons after my race. There was that time where, you know, you you reflect, you look at what you did well, you look at where were their shortfalls, what were the hurdles that got in the way. what would you have done differently? I I genuinely believe that everybody should do that kind of reflection. Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Anabel Mendoza: And also, what were the learnings? What were the lessons that came out of that? And one of the most important lessons that I saw was the involvement of APAC's Super PAC United Democracy Project that heavily poured five million dollars roughly into the seventh district race, into Mike Winson: Wow. Anabel Mendoza: supporting and standing up a candidate who they wanted to win. Ultimately, that candidate lost, and that was a candidate who I openly called out in one of our forums. For being okay with that kind of money getting involved in this race. and so again, Democracy and Bought was created by a lot of the people who supported the vision that I was pushing forward, one where I believe candidates should stand ten toes down and say, I will never accept a single penny from dark money because I know what that money comes with. It comes with strings attached, it comes Mike Winson: Mm. Anabel Mendoza: with the the influence and the power to shape. what gets legislated, what gets voted on once you're sitting in that seat, and what priorities are actually put forth. And Democracy and Bot is an organization that is focused on exponentially growing the political education on Chicago's South and West Sides, communities that have lower turnout but are being increasingly targeted by dark money forces. And that doesn't just include AIPAC, that's the AI and the crypto lobby, right? That's the real estate lobby. And the way that I've defined dark money really is groups that have a vested interest in protecting the wealth inequality gap in this country, right? They want to Mike Winson: Gotcha. Anabel Mendoza: not only protect it and maintain it, they want to widen it, right? At Mike Winson: Yep. Right. Anabel Mendoza: whatever cost and whatever expense it is required. And we wanna make sure that we're educating folks about how these groups are operating, what their agendas are ultimately, and making that connection to their day-to-day life. Again. Not many people are necessarily thinking about the reason why their gas prices are so high is because of the war in Iran and because APAC is actually pushing forward that war and continuing it. So those are the kinds of deep political education that we're trying to do in coordination with faith leaders and partners on the ground here who are trusted in their communities and also have seen this gap of political education and see a need for something like democracy on bond. Mike Winson: Yeah. So in what ways is democracy unbought going to hoping to enact that vision of Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: teaching people and and educating people on what's going on and dark money and all the other problems that you're talking about. Anabel Mendoza: Yeah, so you know, I think it honestly goes back to my own upbringing here in Chicago. I grew up on the Southwest side. I come from a proud, Latino immigrant and working class family. And it's so funny because the reason I I I credit myself for Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: making sure that my parents are engaged politically Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: and civically. because the truth is when I was growing up, they were not. They were concerned about. How they were going to feed us. They were concerned about the fact that they had seven dollars left and they had to figure out and work some kind of magic to stretch that money. That was their concern. Are their kids going to eat tonight? and many families are facing those same circumstances because of the increasing affordability crisis, because of the fact that working people's priorities are not put forth and prioritized by our elected officials. And ultimately, you know. Working families are facing this moment where there is a deliberate agenda by dark Mike Winson: Mm. Anabel Mendoza: money groups to get involved in certain areas of the city, because they know that they can skate by undetected, essentially, or at least that's what they're hoping for. And Mike Winson: Yeah. Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: what I've long said is we're not gonna reach low-income working class communities through webinars and through having a workshop where we come in. Mike Winson: What? Anabel Mendoza: Teach you about APAC, right? I know, right? Mike Winson: Really? Anabel Mendoza: Groundbreaking. That's just not going to be the way that it happens. to reach people, you have to go where they are and you have to be invested in the long-term work that is required to build trust and to be able to build real relationships that are not transactional, right? Real relationships where you actually understand someone's story, you understand their family, their roots in Chicago, and you know. That's why so much of the work that Democracy on Bot is invested in is also in partnership with faith leaders, with community organizers, because they already have a pulse on their communities. They already are talking to their communities every week, every day. And these are folks whose voices are already trusted by those in the community. And so, you know, we are working with different churches across the South and West sides to be able to speak to their congregations. To be able to set up those spaces where we're actually engaging in the kinds of conversations about what are the pressing issues on their mind and making the connection to the forces that are making those conditions worse, or at Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: least maintaining those conditions. And so it really is a kind of grassroots approach of how we're meeting people where they are at their block parties, at their cookouts, in their churches, at their basketball practices where they're sitting watching their kid waiting for pickup, right? We need to go where where people are. Mike Winson: So I'm sure that it's early enough on. I I know Democracy Unbought is very focused. Its purpose is Chicago. Like that's what you created was for the people of Chicago. Anabel Mendoza: Yes. Yes. Mike Winson: Obviously, as someone who interacts with people around the world, my brain goes, Have you ever are is there a part of you that would love to expand democracy unbought nationwide? Have you interacted with anyone else across the country that is kind of doing the similar thing in order to because obviously there are lots of cities across the country that have the same issue that Chicago does in terms of in terms of education and and Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: getting people out to vote and things like that. Anabel Mendoza: Yeah, absolutely. And it's a really, you know, it's a really interesting question because when we first started Democracy on Bots, certainly that was like the the question on our minds. Do we do we start something that's more national or do we start something that's more local? I think in this current moment and and what we've known to be historically true is that significant change can happen at the local level when you start local. And I believe that and Again, this being my home, this city being my home, this city being one that I've grown up in that I know, it's where I believe I can have the most impact. Certainly I hope Democracy on Bot one day can grow to a national scale. And and we certainly want to build on also the efforts that are happening in other cities and in other localities where there are also really important lessons and through lines that we can make connections to here in Chicago. But right now our focus is on the south and west sides in areas that are low turnout districts. and where, to be completely frank, where these communities have been taken for granted and where oftentimes they're seen as an afterthought. And we really want to make sure that we're invested in the kind of political education that I wish existed when I was a kid for people like my parents. But at the same time, as I mentioned, we can still draw lessons from other parts of the country. And that is something we are really intentional about doing. We saw in Michigan, obviously, the primary that happened Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Anabel Mendoza: for Dr. Abdul El Sayed's race. And I won't go into or comment too much on that so that I can can focus more so on democracy on bot. But as we know, in Detroit, that was an area that was tricky. we saw not only APAC's involvement with tens of millions of dollars into that primary, Mike Winson: So much money. Anabel Mendoza: just an absolutely insane amount of money. Mike Winson: Yep. Anabel Mendoza: but we also saw the kind of responses that were happening in different pockets of the state. And so, you know, we already have set up different conversations to get to know you know, what were some of those lessons that came out of that specific moment and what were people hearing about APAC? How was that You know, perhaps how was that influencing their way of thinking about some of the issues that are impacting their day-to-day life? Or how was it not? Right. And how can we use those lessons to sharpen the way that we're talking about dark money and helping people connect the dots here? Because I do believe dark money is one of the biggest existential threats to our democracy right now, and has been for a very long time. I'm grateful that so many more people are waking up to it, but I also know that here in Chicago and and really at the hyper local level, there is a deep gap for political education. Mike Winson: Yeah. You have now run for office and started an organization, neither of which I'm assuming you had a whole heck of a lot of experience doing before you jumped into it. Which Anabel Mendoza: No. Yeah. Mike Winson: one was was more difficult? Like what what were the challenges Anabel Mendoza: yeah. Mike Winson: of both and and and and you know for anyone that might be listening and might be considering doing either of them? Anabel Mendoza: You know what? I would say actually the challenge, the most challenging part is the in-between. What you Mike Winson: Hm. Anabel Mendoza: decide after your candidacy or your campaign ends. And I think that, you know, there is there are so many ways that we can be making an impact. And I do believe that all of us have a responsibility to show up, to be engaged in our communities and to use, you know, everybody has a different level of privilege. To use what we have at our disposal to better our communities, however, that is, depending on the resources and the level of privilege that we have. I had the privilege of running for office. Many people do not. And it was a brutal race, right? I Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: mentioned to you that we were grassroots, we were first time, a first time candidate, first time campaign at this kind of scale at the congressional level. So many lessons learned, a ton of money that needed to just be competitive in this kind of race. Mike Winson: Right. Anabel Mendoza: And many people don't have access to be able to do that. and I think that the the challenging part after was: are you going to let a loss of a campaign define this moment? Are you going to find another way and be creative to still have the impact that you want to have? Maybe it's Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: not. elected office, but I don't believe the answer should just be okay, well, I'm just gonna disappear until the next time I wanna run or the next time that I want people to pay attention. I don't I don't believe that. I think that one of the lessons I learned Mike Winson: So what you're what you're saying is you're not gonna be the Jill Stein of of sorry. Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: Exactly. No, no, no, no. But exactly. I I think we owe it to people. If we are to run, we owe it to people to show through our actions that we genuinely mean it when we say we we want to work in tandem with our Mike Winson: Yeah. You're more than just someone who's running f for a for an office. You're actually you're actually Anabel Mendoza: Exactly. Mike Winson: part of the community that you say you're a part of. Anabel Mendoza: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that that's something that is a long long term commitment that to me is one that is important to make and one that also is attempting to meet the this urgency of the moment that we're in. Mike Winson: Mm. Anabel Mendoza: and so that's something that is is deeply important. I'm excited to, as as I mentioned, democracy and bot is still very new, but I'm excited to see. where we can take this organization and the kind of energy and excitement that it might generate here on the ground. And hopefully it serves as a lesson to other folks in other areas of the country who might be curious about doing something similar in their areas where they're seeing dark money come in and take advantage of their communities. Mike Winson: Yeah. It was there something that you learned from running for office that helped you in the creation and the running of this organization? Anabel Mendoza: wow, that's a good question. there's a lot of lessons from when I ran, but I think probably one of the most important ones was to build a solid foundation first. Mike Winson: Mm. Anabel Mendoza: and by that I mean you have to have the support from people who genuinely see the need and see Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: the vision and and also similarly believe in it. Right. And I think that that was something that Made the start of democracy unbought just such a natural progression because there were so many people who genuinely saw the same gap that I did from the community, right? Who were like, we do not have enough political education around dark money, around the fact that you are having dark money groups come under very innocuous names, like make Chicago affordable or keep Chicago affordable. Or Alex Chicago women, right? Names that you wouldn't bat an eye at, that you wouldn't think Mike Winson: Yeah. Right. Anabel Mendoza: twice. But how are those packs, those shells created with the deliberate intention to actually continue to make your life worse? Right. and I think part of it is making that's that's the really key part, is making that connection between how these groups are pushing forward an agenda that are actually making the issues you care most about, the issues you want to see resolved, they're Mike Winson: Mm. Anabel Mendoza: They're not just getting in the way of those issues being resolved. They're actively making those issues worse for you. Mike Winson: Yeah. Yeah. And I think this administration and just everything that has happened, especially over the last year and a half, has probably woken people up to dark money and the way money is getting used in some just really horrible ways more than probably ever before. I'm sure everyone kind of knew it existed, but it's really it's really Affecting people in a way that it Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: hasn't before. Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. No, definitely. I think you're you're right that people know it exists. and there there tends to be a level of cynicism and and even perhaps apathy that could politics Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Anabel Mendoza: ever really work for us. And I I genuinely believe in a politics that makes our lives better, that actually addresses the wealth inequality, the racial wealth inequality in this country. That puts working people first and puts us at the center. and I think that again, one of the biggest things is you can know something exists, but the difference is do you know how it's actually impacting you day to day? And I think even at the local level, there's a lot of examples of that here in Chicago, where, you know, on in the area where I ran my race, one of the biggest issues that was coming up for a lot of people was housing, housing access, the cost of housing. first-time home ownership, wanting to be able to buy a home for the first time, but not being able to afford it, the barriers to that, and how it connects kind of the historic redlining that has happened in this city against particularly black Americans. And you know, one of the things that we saw was there was a a real estate tax called Bring Chicago Home, and that tax would have actually made an effort to essentially anybody who was buying a home over a million dollars would face a slight tax increment, increase. Whereas those who were buying a home that was valued under a million dollars, which is the vast majority of us here in Chicago, I certainly can't afford a home that's a million dollars. you would have a lower tax increment there. but what happened with that tax proposal? Well, we saw the real estate lobby get involved. unsurprisingly, they got involved under a pack called Keep Chicago Affordable. That was the name of the pack. You would not think twice. I want Chicago to be affordable, but Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: there's a deliberate effort, right, to take these, take these real estate lobbyist groups agenda, slap a label on it that people would not bat an eye at. And ultimately, that pack was able to defeat the Bring Chicago. Home real estate tax. They defeated that tax from moving forward. And so those are everyday examples that we want Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: to make sure people are aware of and again understand the tactics that these groups use and ultimately help to do the work for people so that you don't have to do the digging of jumping through hoops to find out who the hell keep Chicago affordable is. But we do that work to say, actually it's the real estate lobby behind this. And you need to be aware of them because now they're running ads, they're telling you this, they're telling you that. But here's actually who's behind this group and why that matters to you. Mike Winson: Yeah. Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: and so that's the work that we're really invested in doing and the kind of education that we wanna spread on on the south and west sides of the city, especially. Mike Winson: Yeah. So for anyone that wants to learn more about democracy unbought or wants to support you guys, where can they find Anabel Mendoza: Yeah. Mike Winson: you? Anabel Mendoza: They can go to democracy on bot dot org.org. I got it wrong the last time and I said dot com on accident. It's dot org, y'all. Mike Winson: Org Ha No no no Anabel Mendoza: democracyonbot.org. You can definitely follow us also at democracy on bot on socials. but definitely go visit our website if you'd like to learn more. we always appreciate donations if you are if you have the means to do so, of course. Mike Winson: Yeah. Anabel Mendoza: but even spreading the word about the organization in our early stages really does help. Mike Winson: Yeah. Annabelle, thank you for coming back. It was great to talk to you again, to to see you, to see what you where you've gone from your first time race and how you're I'm looking forward to seeing what you will do for the people of Chicago. Anabel Mendoza: Thank you, Mike. Thank you for having me back on. Hope hope we can continue chatting, Mike Winson: Yes. Anabel Mendoza: especially as things develop. Mike Winson: Absolutely. And for everyone else to listen this far, thank you so very much as well. Please hit all those buttons down below. It makes it possible for me to keep interviewing amazing people like Annabelle here. And for those of you that may be new to this podcast, Breaking the Met is about having hard conversations when necessary, fighting to break the status quo and the idea that all people, no matter your race, religion, gender, identity, deserve rights, respect, dignity, and safety. Again, Annabelle, thank you for being here. And everyone else will see you next time on Breaking the Meta. Anabel Mendoza: Thank you, Mike. Mike Winson: Bye guys.