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We Like to Party · The Schmidt Show PDX

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Mike Schmidt, former Multnomah County District Attorney, current amateur pizza chef.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: I got one of those cool ovens in my backyard now.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty sweet.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Not very good at it.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've only lit two or three on fire so far.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, part time podcaster.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: And today we have a show for you.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking party politics and one party in particular that seems
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: to be surging right now at a moment when it feels like both major parties
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: in our predominantly two party system are going through their own realignments
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: and more voters than ever are turned off by that entire arrangement.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about some of the numbers here in Oregon.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: 26% of Oregonians think that this state is headed in the right direction.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: 85% say the cost of living is getting worse.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: 77% say housing is getting worse.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And 1.4 million Oregonians, 44% of every registered voter in this state.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Some of it is probably just not being inspired by either one
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: or maybe not ever having sat down and worked out a preference.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, it's a massive block that neither party can fully claim.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And this spring,
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: the Working Families Party started shaking up Democratic primaries,
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: not afraid to back candidates who align more closely with working family values and
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: to take on powerful incumbents backed by more centrist and moderate interests.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: By WFP's own count,
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  SPEAKER_00: this marked the first So today I'm sitting down with a person running
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: that operation, Annie Naranjo-Rivera, state director
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is Schmidt Show PDX.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Schmidt Show, Annie Naranjo-Ribera, State Director of WFP.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So excited for you to be here.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a big fan, big supporter of the Working Families Party.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Really appreciate all the work that you all do.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: What is the Working Families Party and why is it necessary?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's funny.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: I walked into the gas station the other day
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: and I was wearing my Working Families Party sweatshirt and just some random clothes.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Gas station attendants were like, yeah, that's what we need, a party for working families.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And they, you know, they're like, we don't do politics.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: But they responded that way just to the message of a party that would,
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: you know, stand up for working families.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that's really what we are.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: So we've seen that the two-party system doesn't really deliver for working people
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: and we deserve something better.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so enter the Working Families Party in Oregon.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: we've existed for 20 years and But we're at a really important time
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: where people are sort of waking up to the fact that we can actually ask
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: for what we deserve and we deserve a political party that meets our needs
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: and isn't just fighting for the wealthy and well-connected.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I have a working families sweatshirt, a hoodie.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Do you get the same response?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, it's just three bold words, working families party.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so funny to me.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: I can see people processing as they read it.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I can tell they don't know the political connotations of it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And they're also like, yeah, let's party.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like we're in this together.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a working family.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Or like you say,
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: or people who do understand like the political connotation,
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: but they don't know it exists.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: So they're like, we do need that.
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  SPEAKER_00: Like that.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, good news.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: It exists.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you actually.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm like kind of incognito out at the coast where I live.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, And so it's like, yes,
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  SPEAKER_01: I'm the state director running the political party,
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: the Working Families Party for the whole state of Oregon.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, just in a small community out there in rural Tillamook County.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: So it's interesting that that message does resonate from Portland all the way out
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: to every corner of the state.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people are like, hmm, we can reimagine what has existed.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: And even people that haven't paid attention to mainstream politics at all are like,
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: we're struggling.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: We need a voice.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, hmm, maybe this is our voice.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe this is it.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe this is our time.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't agree more.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think all of us are,
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: and I don't care what your political stripe or background is,
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: most people, it seems, are really struggling.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you feel like you're more conservative and you've traditionally voted
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: for Republicans, but right now you're like, this is not my party.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And same with Democrats who feel like this is not the party that has my interests at heart.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: How did you, what's your origin story, Annie?
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: How did you get into this work being the state director of the Working Families Party?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Now, it's, you know, it's really personal for me.
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  SPEAKER_01: I'm the daughter of a Cuban refugee and I grew up in poverty.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: then I was fortunate to be really well educated and presented with a lot
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: of opportunities that I think every child deserves.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I work every day to make that reality be true.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think that it is too much to ask for people to have those kind of,
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: to have access to a high quality education and food on their table.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, my family struggled a lot and I'm pretty fortunate.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: I live in one of the most beautiful places in the state and I frequently try to escape politics.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: I jokingly say that,
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: if I could and I could walk away and I would know that things are okay, I would.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: But right now,
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: we're all being called to work together to build coalitions and fight for
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: a different reality.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Because we see everything from the number
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: of people accessing food banks going up exponentially to people not being able
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: to pay their rent, utility bills going up.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: And we see more and more, the powers that be are
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: Are beholden to like corporations.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: We have people who are bought and paid for by corporate interests
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: and they are just unaware of the struggles of working people.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I'd say even like well-intentioned,
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: like middle upper income politicians just don't know what they don't know.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: They don't have the lived experience.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: So personally,
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really passionate about making sure that we can uplift and empower folks
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: with lived experience to be in The decision making spaces.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the only way that we're going to have policy changes,
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: everything from,
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: you know, in your local school board or city council on up to the top of the ticket.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: We're just not going to see change until we have those voices in
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: that representation,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: which is why,
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: my whole story comes to building the Working Families Party and building
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: the multiracial working class.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: So for me,
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: being biracial and having a father who is,
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: a refugee in that lived experience,
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  SPEAKER_01: poverty,
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  SPEAKER_01: having a single mom,
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: being a child of domestic violence and all these things that shaped
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: who I am caused me to be a warrior, I guess, on all those fronts.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I'll probably do this until I die, unless we achieve our goals sooner than that.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lifelong project.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of people...
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe have a lot of pieces and similarities of their own struggle and
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: where they've come from, but haven't reached the same conclusion that you have.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it seems like what you have seen in your life or experience is
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: that politics actually matters and can change people's lives.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: I hear a lot of people that they're like, it doesn't matter.
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  SPEAKER_00: It just doesn't matter.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I think especially with our two party dominated system,
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: you hear a lot of they're both bought by mega corporations.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: They're both bought by the oligarch class who runs things.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I certainly see evidence of that all over Oregon.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: So what is it about you that you've seen you've actually seen this work for people?
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: it's really a special thing to get to see people come into their own power and
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: to get to be part of watching what we call co-governance,
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  SPEAKER_01: which is where,
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: there is some kind of people powered movement and campaign that coalesces
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  SPEAKER_01: with somebody who's in a position of power.
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  SPEAKER_01: That policy is achieved.
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  SPEAKER_01: There's victory.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that like really beautiful synthesis that happens in that victory gives me hope.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: To know that we can continue to do this on a bigger scale.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Those people aren't wrong.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: I've knocked hundreds of thousands of doors all over the country.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: We used to say turf is turf all over the earth because and turf is,
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: the area where you're knocking doors because in like rural South Dakota or
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: the middle of the metro somewhere in a big city,
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: people are seeing the same things and those struggles are similar across all
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: of these lines.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: I have been affiliated and supported by and a supporter of the Working Families Party, I think.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that I would characterize it as,
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: and I want you to tell me if this resonates or if I'm not thinking of it correctly,
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: but a through line that I see for people from the coast to the metro to the desert,
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: you know, all across is at the end of the day, a lot of our struggles are the same.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's things you've already mentioned.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's child care.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's food on the table.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's a job that pays a living wage.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's health care.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care what your political stripe is.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Those things matter to everybody.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so what I would the way that I think about
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: the Working Families Party is traditionally you've got these left right dynamics
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: and those are clearly at play,
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: but it almost seems like Bottom top dynamics for the Working Families Party.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: And essentially we've got this,
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: you hear people like Bernie Sanders talking about the oligarchs, but that's real.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, in Oregon politics, we see it.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: There is this corporate class of people who are bought and paid for
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: by corporate entities and that's how they make their decisions.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: So they're not thinking about So it really is all
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: of us versus this tiny minuscule group of people.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: So back to your question about
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, hope and optimism that I have for us being able to do this.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Essentially, we have all of us.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: We do have strength in numbers, which,
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: you know, has become cliche, but I have seen the power that we have collectively.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: So really the disengaged people and that,
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: so many folks in my family, like I don't do politics, like none of this matters.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: Annie does this crazy stuff.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know why she does it.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: She helps me fill up my ballot.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: I text her once a year.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, more and more people are like, actually, like, can we can we do this?
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: And even people who have like come out to like a protest for the first time.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's like,
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: that's not the end will be all like coming to a protest isn't going
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: to change fundamentally the entire fabric of our society.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: But people are waking up and they're waking up to their power and what our collective power is.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Again,
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: like if we have people who are from The working class from that like bottom 99%,
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: we absolutely can take on that top 1% and make changes,
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: which is like a big thing about the Working Families Party.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's like we say we're a non-delusional third party.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: So we're not like some other third parties that I won't name
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: where you see like virtue signaling,
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: like we're going to run the perfect person who's like 1000% ideologically aligned
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: with us.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: And we're going to do it for purity sake.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, OK, there's not fine.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: There's nothing wrong with that person.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they're lovely.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: But what are you delivering for working people?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: So when we continue to see that the only resistance to this corporate class,
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: like that top Is,
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: you know, a couple of folks that we're throwing out there just for feel good.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: People do get the message that it's not possible.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Change isn't possible.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: But that's not true.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Change is absolutely possible.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: And not only will we run our people, we'll train them.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: We'll train the staff to run their races.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: And then we will deliver for the working class.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: And that responsibility we take really seriously.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: Because once we get our folks elected, you know, there's a high bar.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: This is an experiment that's very public and people are watching.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: So for instance,
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: like in the Portland City Council,
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: it's like we got all these progressive working class champions elected
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: and now we need to deliver and people are going to be watching.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: And that is going to reflect whether or not everyone believes
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: that change is possible, which it is.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you said non-delusional and I like that.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: It resonates with some of the, I'll say,
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: We see people run that know they're not going to win because they want their issue
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: to be elevated.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing wrong with that.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Another way I think of saying what you're saying, I might say, is pragmatic.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: That your concern is actually delivering wins for working families.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: You're not here to just say, oh, We matter.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget about us.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, no,
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: we're at the table and we're going to force you to the table
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: because working families lives are at stake.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: We always say, if you're not at the table, you're on the menu.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's one of
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: my favorite things.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're telling people, pull up a seat to the table.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: You deserve to be at this table.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: And for too long, the two major parties have held a stranglehold.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, it's not necessarily grassroots members of those parties.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's the people who are running and setting the agenda.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: And those people are bought and paid for again by like corporate interests.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: So they're protecting their own.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: They're not thinking about the struggles of the working class.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, one of the things that I think demonstrates what we're talking about Is that
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: the Working Families Party has and would get into races across
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: the traditional political spectrum.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: You've gotten into Republican races and obviously Democratic races.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: So you're not just an internal function to push the Democratic Party,
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: but you are there to fight for working families.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because let's face it, in some communities, a Republican is going to win.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you have gotten into some of those races to fight
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: for getting working families issues on the agenda.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what speaks to the fact that your focus is on delivering for people.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: So talk a little bit about that,
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: because I think a lot of people might think, oh,
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: working families party, aren't they just like some sort of Democratic insider party?
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, just to go back to what you were saying about being ruthlessly pragmatic,
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: that's what we say.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: We do need to be strategic in terms of what we're able to deliver.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: So as we look at the whole map of the state,
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: it's like,
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're absolutely not just like some faction of the Democratic Party.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, in Oregon, we're one of three states that has fusion voting.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: So we actually are a minor political party.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's an identity.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we've got people who are registered WFP voters.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: Say more about the fusion.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because even I, was like, I grew up in New York.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: I could vote for a working family party candidate.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was like you vote for the Democrat version of Barack Obama.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to start with a complicated question.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: You could vote for a working family Barack Obama, right?
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's – It's really something that a lot of people don't know unless you're,
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: you know, like a history or civics teacher.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: But we used to have fusion voting in many places in the country.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Oregon has like a hybrid version.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're like Mike in New York,
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: you could see Zoran Mandami,
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: Democrat, and you could vote for him on the Democratic Party line.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: And on your same ballot, you would see Zoran Mandami.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: Working Families Party.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: In fact,
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: Zoran put out a video and was like,
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm voting for myself on the Working Families Party line.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like, join me in working on the Working Families Party line.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: What's cool about that is in New York,
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: you can actually see This percentage of people came to this candidate because
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: of Working Families Party.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Which we can't see in Oregon yet.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: But we'd like to.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: One day.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: But here right now, what we still do have and we're fortunate for that is we have fusion voting.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: It is not disaggregated like that.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not broken out and you can't see this is the amount of people that came
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: from Working Families Party.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: But we know from polling basically that we still bring a significant chunk of voters
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: to a candidate.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll see somebody on your ballot like Christina Stevenson,
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: Labor Commissioner, Democrat, working families party, independent.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: And here you can list up to three parties.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: So she could get a chunk of voters from independents.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: She could get a chunk from working families party and the Democratic Party.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: But what's interesting is even Democrats are looking For the Working Families Party.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: So when they see that on there,
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: that signals to people,
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: this is somebody who meets this threshold and is meeting these values,
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: which are a home you can afford,
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: healthcare you can count on, a good job to support your family, childcare.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so there are like more specific policies and from-
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, year to year, we're fighting for different things.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: This year,
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: the big struggle has been,
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: dealing with the attacks coming from the Trump administration and
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: the federal government.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know,
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: we worked really heavily on the immigrant justice package bills to protect all
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: of our community members and our constitutional rights.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: And also,
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: as we're facing these huge,
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: massive cuts to health care and everything through the big,
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: beautiful bill, H.R.1,
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: a massive struggle that we were a big part of is fighting to disconnect
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: from Trump's tax code so we can make our own decisions here in Oregon
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: about how we can avoid being in a,
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: $900 million deficit hole and fund things like SNAP and like keeping food on
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: the table and, you know, health care and all the things, child care, schools.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to get off topic.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: My last episode and my first episode this season were both about
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: the Governor's Prosperity Council.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the recommendations is to reconnect the QSBS tax issue tax credits
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: for people who are investors into startups,
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: that they could take shares of stock instead of salary and that that should be Tax
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: at a lower rate.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the things that came out of H.R.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: 1 and Oregon disconnected from.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: So the Prosperity Council,
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: the Governor's Prosperity Council is saying,
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: no, we need to reconnect that because we're not competitive.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what I do know is and also we could do a whole different podcast on this.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: We do not support the recommendations of the governor's Prosperity Council,
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: and I think it maybe is inappropriately named for
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: the proposals they put forward will not lead to prosperity for Oregon.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know,
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: we're pretty vehemently opposed to a lot of the things that you saw there,
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: but not super surprising considering who was appointed there.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you're listening to this episode and you want a deeper dive into
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: the Governor's Prosperity Council,
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: check out the previous episode with Juan Carlos Ordóñez from the Oregon Center
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: for Public Policy because we do a deep dive into their perspective on this.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Those recommendations.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: I want to get back to WFP.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, it was my aside.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: So it sounds like, you know, you have the five planks.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: there are policies that you see that are important
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: to achieving your main five planks.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: But the five planks, as you just read them to me, you know, child care, living wages.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: I can't name them all.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: Again, it's a home you can afford,
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: health care you can rely on,
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: a good job to support your family,
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: child care when and where you need it and time to spend with your family.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: So it strikes me, who is against those things?
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's pretty common sense.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: So we've gotten to the place where some people would say,
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: oh, are you like a radical leftist group?
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like,
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: I can't understand how anyone could Say that any of
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: the things I just listed are radical.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's not, it's not radical to think this is the American dream.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: Time to spend with your family, childcare.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: If you're working full time,
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: you should be guaranteed some basic stability and some basic rights to enjoy living.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what the working class is asking for.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: So as we're talking to people across the state,
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: people are like,
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: I just want To not have to work three jobs and still be unable
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: to meet my basic needs and be wondering how I'm going to make it through the day.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what we're fighting for.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: So to tie that back to WFP,
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: it's like the political home is the vehicle for getting those things.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: And as one individual, it may feel hopeless.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: You may be out there and you're like, nothing good is ever going to happen.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's not possible.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: But when we can bring people together into this political home,
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: we absolutely can deliver on these things.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: And we will.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: One of my favorite elected legislators representatives is Representative Dacia Graber.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Love her.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: She just put out a statement.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, my wife was reading it to me.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: She was highlighting,
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think in the social media post,
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: that there was a study that came out that Oregonians who rely on
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: the Oregon health plan, a large percentage of them work for major I saw that.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, shout out to Dacia, incredible representative.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: And the firefighters right now across Oregon
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: and everywhere.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: Our thoughts and our gratefulness for firefighters across the state and across
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: the country dealing with wildfires.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: I so appreciated that she called that out because I think,
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: all these people being like health care,
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: you know, you should work for it or whatever.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, yeah, people are working.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: They're working three jobs and not getting health care and the state is picking up.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: I live in Tillamot County and where I am.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: Not only is there a complete shortage of medical providers that will take Medicaid,
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: so there's access issues with the current system, but we're facing more cuts.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we've got hospitals closing like Seaside Providence just closed their maternity.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's like, where are people going to go if they need to give birth on the North Coast?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: And we're starting to sort of see these dynamics across all of the spaces.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: So there's pharmacy shortages, there's provider shortages.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: And on top of that, we're facing more cuts.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think people realize what that,
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: you know, as we see the rolling impacts of Trump's policies.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: In the next year, in 2027, significant cuts are going to happen to Medicaid.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so a lot of people were like, oh, I don't want that Obamacare.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, oh, you're on the OHP.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: That is Obamacare, right?
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: That is Obamacare, yeah.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: And my kids can only go to the doctor because we're on OHP.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: And we're lucky we have a doctor because the few towns over don't have one.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: So those folks drive here to our doctor and so on.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: So that has sort of been like how we've gotten by.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: But we have a big opportunity.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: Actually,
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad you started talking about health care because,
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: in this moment of great crisis where people are going to be kicked off,
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: there are going to be cuts to Medicaid.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: There are going to be, you know, cuts to even...
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: There is going to be the potential to put in place, you know, a universal health care system.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: And everyone's like, how are you going to pay for that?
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, very good question.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: This all ties together.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: Revenue,
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: we do need to raise revenue and it's not going to be done properly through
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: the recommendations of someone like Tina Kotex Prosperity Council.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: We need to not ask that working people carry this on their backs.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: These taxes should not be on the backs of working people.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: The ultra wealthy need to pay their fair share.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that hasn't happened in Oregon.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a lot of proposals.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: I won't bore everyone on your show with, you know, you talked about OCPP.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: They have tons of incredible resources and we work with them, you know.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I was ready to run Juan Carlos for president.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, you should do it, man.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: I like what you're saying.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: He's wonderful.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: But basically, you know, there are ways, there are
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: Get to a fairer tax system and pay for the things that we need.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it's you wouldn't go to a grocery store and be like, I'd like to buy this box of crackers.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then they're like, oh, OK, sure, we'll send you a bill later for that.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: And you get home, you're eating the crackers and you're like, Oh, wow, I just got this bill.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: I owe $1,000 for a box of crackers.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: You would never do that, right?
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: And that is what our healthcare system is like.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like, you don't know.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe you go and you're like, oh, I'm starving, hungry.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: I need a box of crackers.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, I'm sorry.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Not in this town.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: You can't have any crackers here.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: You're going to have to drive
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: four hours.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm starving.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to die.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so we've got all these problems with the current system.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: And we have an opportunity.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I always like to think about the silver lining.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's like in this time of crisis, how can we reimagine what is possible together?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: And we have more and more champions and there are people like Daisy O'Graeber,
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: legislative champions who are visionary and who have a different vision
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: for what's possible.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: So tying into like what we're doing now,
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: our elections work,
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: it's like, okay,
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: if there are people who maybe are from an older paradigm
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: And they are serving corporate interests.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: They're taking corporate dollars in their reelections.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: When you see somebody who's taking like half a million dollars
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: in corporate donations,
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: who do you think that person's going to serve when they're elected into office?
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes,
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: primary interventions are a thing that we do as the Working Families Party.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to get to that.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about, you know, our ballot line.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we cross nominate people in the general election.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: So in November, you'll have a chance to vote for Working Families Party candidates.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: But.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, at the primary election, which just passed, you'll also see Working Families Party.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: And in fact,
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: that's the place to start looking because when we're putting our name
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: behind somebody in a primary, that's a big deal.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think,
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: to the extent that people feel like,
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: oh, well, I'm not sure politics will ever change anything.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody serves the same corporate masters.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, well, if politics got us into this mess, then politics can get out.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a reason those corporate masters and oligarchs are pouring money into it
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: because they are getting what they want right now.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think if people realize, no,
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: actually,
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: if we band together for our interests,
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: we can get what we want because it turns out the government actually has to listen
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: to us.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: They do.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and think about who it benefits.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: So they want everyone to feel disempowered.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: They want people to be out of their power.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: So who is benefiting in the system the way that it is, right?
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of what you have to look at.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: So absolutely,
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: they have a vested interest in keeping things the way that they have been,
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: but it doesn't have to be that way.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: It is hard.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: So it's hard to run candidates for office and it's hard to get our champions elected
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: into these positions when we're up against dollars like that.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: But truly what we've seen in races like Myrna Munoz out in.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: I was just going to get there.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, let me let me ask that question.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: So there was a big primary, multiple primary races.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, congratulations on your success in the primaries.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: Working Families Party did exceedingly well with the candidates that they backed.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: One of those candidates was Myrna Munoz against incumbent Janine Solman.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: Janine Solman was backed by a lot of money.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: And there were some big kind of, I think, corporate interests into the outcome of that race.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: So why don't you tell us a little bit about that specifically,
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: because this,
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Probably people are aware the Oregonian,
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: you know, covered this and made a gaffe at the multiple times.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, at the five yard line.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so tell us about that race, why you targeted that race.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, because, again,
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: a lot of times people just think,
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: oh, well, the Democrats and the Working Family Party, they're aligned.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: But this was you guys targeted a race because you felt like there was somebody there
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: that was better to champion working family values than the incumbent.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, first, I want to really quickly say, you know, people think, oh, Oregon's a blue state.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: Portland's a blue city.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone's just progressive and everything's fine here.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't need to pay attention or it's going to be fine.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like most of the basic things are under control, whatever the basic things are.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know,
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_01: we've been following Washington County and there's a lot happening there,
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: including the, you know, County Commission, which is under Democratic leadership.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: They were going to vote to roll back DEI, diversity and equity and inclusion protections.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: And one sole voice, Nafisa Fai, rose up.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: She's a refugee and just this incredible community leader.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: And a county commissioner.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: So Commissioner Fi was this sole warrior standing up
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: for what I think are like pretty commonly held values.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_01: Now, a normal person who's not like sitting around paying attention to all of
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_01: the inner workings of politics day in and day out, like some of us.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't going to be necessarily tracking that.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: They just assume like these folks are doing the right thing.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: They're representing me.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like everything's going to be fine.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so all of a sudden people in Washington County were like, what's going on?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: And we've seen that also around the data centers.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: So all of a sudden we've got people who are like, What's happening in my backyard?
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: I thought these people were doing the right thing.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_01: They're Democrats.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm driving down this road and suddenly all this farmland is under construction.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so Myrna's race to me is,
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: I actually think Myrna's race is the most significant race that has happened in
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: the more than two decades that I've been working in Oregon politics.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: Not just because we won,
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: but because the coalition of people that was empowered through that race and
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: that came together was absolutely a beautiful thing to behold.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that coalition is so powerful.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_01: You had like farmers and people who are not like traditional Democrats getting involved.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_01: And if you look at who voted,
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: There's a significant number of people who've never voted in a primary.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_01: Zero of the last four elections who came out and did vote for Myrna.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a reason for that.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: She's offering something that people have not previously been offered.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: She's offering hope.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: She's offering a voice and true representation.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what the Working Families Party is about.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: So those are the kind of people I'm talking about when I was saying earlier,
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: you know, those people with lived experience.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's Myrna, you know.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so she really got fired up around immigration and the tepid response
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: that we have been seeing and, you know, definitely we're seeing with ICE activity.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's like,
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: you know, in Hillsborough, businesses, thriving businesses are shuttered because...
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so as we see that sort of lack of response and it's irresponsible and it's immoral.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: To not respond in a time of crisis like this in a community like that,
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_01: especially where we see like people are being targeted in greater numbers.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so I know that that was a huge issue.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know,
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: so this brings me back both of those issues, data centers, immigration enforcement.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: We have seen across this country in Republican and conservative areas
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: and progressive and Democratic areas.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: We've seen people motivated to fight back against those things to say,
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: hey, these are our neighbors.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: These are people contributing to our society.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: They're important to us.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: These are not the criminals or bad guys.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: These are working families in our community.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing with data centers.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, you know.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: What you're promising,
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: you're getting all these tax benefits,
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: you're not paying into our local economy and roads and schools,
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: and you're making our electric costs more expensive.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: In some places, the water supply is being damaged and taken advantage of.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's against working families.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so I guess that's what I appreciate so much about the Working Families Party.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: Again, it's not necessarily left-right.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: It is a relentless focus on I mean, look, we know that it's immoral to take people
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's not moral.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel passionately about that personally.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: But even if you aren't coming at it from that angle, there is economic impact.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_01: And there's community safety impact.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: So if these ICE agents are coming in arbitrarily causing terror and fear
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_01: in communities and rounding up anyone that has brown skin,
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_01: that is not acceptable community-wide.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_01: So there are all these levels,
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_01: but essentially we know that this isn't moral,
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: we know that this isn't legal,
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_01: and we expect leadership from these elected officials.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that means being out front at a time like this I do think with the data centers,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: it's the same thing.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: If I had a magic wand,
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_01: I would not wake up and say,
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: I would like this community to wake up with their farmlands being stripped.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, their energy bills.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: Their energy bills going up,
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_01: their water being contaminated and unknown public health impacts
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: that haven't been studied,
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: potentially higher rates of cancer in nearby areas, things like that.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't wish that on a community.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_01: However, again,
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_01: I will say silver lining is Like I said before,
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_01: in these times of crisis, we do see an opportunity for communities to rise up.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so all of a sudden,
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: people who you'd never think are coming together in coalition,
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_01: And awakening to the power that we do have collectively.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: So on Myrna's race,
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: it was absolutely incredible to see a teacher and a janitor and a farmer
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: who just was working in their field all morning,
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: coming out to knock doors for Myrna.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: And when we were out there talking to people,
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_01: I work with the political world where people spend ungodly amounts of money
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: on polling to find out how voters are feeling about things.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_01: I always say,
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: the best poll you couldn't possibly pay better money for is talking to real voters
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: and knocking on doors and having those real conversations.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_01: That is the polling.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're out there doing that,
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: you will know how people are feeling and you will be in touch with the community.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: We are talking to people who said things like no one's come out here and bothered
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: to knock on my door ever.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: we talked to somebody who was like,
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: Nobody's knocked on my door since Barack Obama's first campaign.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, think about how long ago that was.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know,
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_01: these politicians,
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: let's say even if they're elected with some good intentions,
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_01: they're out of touch with the people in their district.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: So we're out there having real conversations with folks and,
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_01: you know, saying, hey, you can stand in your power.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like you can have a voice in this process and you have a champion who wants
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_01: to listen to your voice.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's Myrna Munoz.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: So typically the Working Families Party frequently makes headlines by
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: the candidates they endorse.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: But sometimes you make headlines by the candidates you don't endorse.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we've already referenced one such candidate a couple of times in this show with
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: the Governor's Prosperity Council.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: But the Working Families Party declined
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: to endorse our incumbent sitting Democratic governor in the primary.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure that that is a conversation that will be revisited in the general.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: But Can you give us any insight as to why did
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: the Working Families Party not feel like this governor was standing up
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: for working families?
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: Well, to be fair,
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_01: what we said publicly is true,
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_01: which is that we didn't receive any applications from people who were viable,
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_01: which we care about as a non-delusional third party who were also in line
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: with our values.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: And we did not actually receive an application for endorsement from the governor's office.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: However,
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think if you look at the landscape,
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_01: you see there are people like OEA members who voted not to endorse.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_01: They declined to endorse Tina Kozak in the primary.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: And part of the reason for that,
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think,
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: is that,
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: folks are looking at things like what happened around Preschool for All and
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_01: the Prosperity Council and those kind of things.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: And they're seeing somebody who maybe they don't believe is going to fight for working people.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_01: I am heartened to see that she came out against the data center in Salem.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I love to see things like that.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_01: But that's what we can expect in demand of our elected officials.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_01: If we have a Democratic governor and a blue trifecta,
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_01: which means we control all of the branches of government.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: And by we, you know, that would be blue Democrats.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_01: We expect and demand that the needs of working people who are the majority,
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_01: not just of Democrats, but of people across the state.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_01: Be what is top of mind.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that's that's what we are demanding and will continue to demand
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_01: that Tina is going to be at our.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_01: Big event that we have coming up mid-August.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a nominating convention in person.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_01: We haven't done that since COVID.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll be gathering Working Families Party members and folks
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: from community organizations doing the work and all of our grassroots coalitions,
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_01: labor unions, and elected officials together.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: And she'll be there.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think that shows the You know,
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: that it is important and she recognizes that it's important to be in touch with what
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: the needs of working people are.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: So you're saying there's a chance.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to be a member vote.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: So if you want to vote and you're a registered WFP voter,
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: you can come on the 16th, Sunday, the 16th.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have our cross nomination convention.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: So like we talked about with the ballot where you see Zoran,
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_01: Working Families Party,
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_01: Democrat, etc., There is a chance to nominate in any partisan race.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_01: And we don't just nominate Democrats.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: So theoretically, a Republican could be cross nominated or an independent.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_01: And we have done that before.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_01: And in fact,
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_01: we did work on a Republican race,
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_01: a challenge against Cliff Benz in Congressional District two,
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: where there is a union member,
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_01: SEIU member,
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_01: incredible human being who Threw their hat in the ring against Cliff Benz and is
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: a Republican.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, she's like, I ride horses.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_01: I do all the things.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a cowgirl SEIU member in CD2 and is in line with our values and,
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: you know, wants to fight for working people.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: That obviously is a long shot kind of a race.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's not the kind of congressional race that we necessarily are like.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: This is going to win right now.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: But building that traction and helping people know that there is a different reality
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_01: than just somebody who is not in touch with the folks in their district
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_01: and taking big corporate handouts.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_00: one of the things you mentioned,
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: the democratic control of all the major statewide offices in this state.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the legislature,
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_00: the courts by virtue of appointment frequently,
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_00: and of course, the major statewide elected offices.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that I think a lot of people are disappointed in is we hear all
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_00: the time from our elected officials, just what's not possible.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_00: We just don't have money for that.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's so hard.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_00: And look, I'm not saying that these things aren't hard.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_00: They are.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it's challenging to find resources and other things.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_00: But then you look nationally and you look at the Trump administration and
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: the Republicans that have control of all three branches,
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: judiciary, legislature, and president.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: They don't seem to give a fuck.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: They are doing what they want to do on behalf of the people that put them there.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think for a lot of us who have been for years hearing from
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_00: the Democratic Party, oh, we wish we could do that.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, we wish we could invest more in education.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: We wish we could have health care for all.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: We just can't.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: We just can't.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: We just can't.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're kind of tired of that.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't what people want.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so it is incredible to watch.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: And you see Working Families Party wins across the country in all kinds of states.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: And you, you know, in some of those places, those are also DSA folks.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_01: You see this huge upswell of people demanding what we deserve and putting people
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_01: into office who are going to be relentless fighters.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_01: So the time of these,
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_01: lukewarm center Democrats who don't really want to take a stance and they're like,
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_01: this isn't possible.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_01: We wish we could do better.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_01: We can do better.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: Theoretically, we have a super majority in the Oregon legislature.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_01: So That begs the question,
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_01: then why aren't we able to deliver on these policies that we've said that we support
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: for all these years?
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_01: And that blame or responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the people
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_01: who are in leadership.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I would venture to say that a significant number of people who are
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: in leadership positions in the Democratic Party are Voters are,
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: you know, still in this old paradigm that people don't want anymore.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_01: Voters are saying we don't want this.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: Regular people are saying we demand better.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not going to be OK to just say, you know, we're going to pass the buck maybe.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, some...
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_01: Future year, 2050, we'll talk about how we're going to do this.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_01: People can't wait.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so we are demanding better and we will remove and replace the people
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: that are impediments to that one by one.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: So trust and believe that's a promise.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_01: And we're not going anywhere.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_01: So come along.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_01: When we're talking about the budget,
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_01: the tragedy that I've seen, and I've been in movement spaces and nonprofit.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_01: I've been in political spaces.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_01: I run campaigns.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_01: And in all the worlds,
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_01: we see this race to the bottom where people are fighting for crumbs and
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_01: when they divide us that way.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know,
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_01: you hear you go in and there's a hearing and whoever could actually make it to
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_01: that hearing that's at 9 a.m.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: on a weekday when people who are working have to work full time.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_01: They have to travel to Salem to maybe get a chance to give testimony.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_01: For two minutes.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_01: People are begging.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_01: They brought their disabled children.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, we can't live without this critical funding for our in-home caregivers.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_01: My child needs round-the-clock care.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_01: And they're begging and crying for crumbs when we know that it is possible.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: It is absolutely possible to not only accrue the resources, but spend those resources properly.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, we should not be giving money.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_01: Corporate handouts to data centers and subsidies when we have people who are begging
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_01: for their in-home caretakers or when we're talking about schools not being able
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_01: to be funded.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: These critical needs of people across the state.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_01: We demand better now and we will continue to push that agenda.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_01: Trust and believe again that we're fighting in all of the rooms.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_01: I was telling Mike, I showed up here.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: As a regular person,
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a regular working class person,
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_01: but I have access to rooms where there are people of great power.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to not only be a voice,
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: I am a voice for all of the things we just talked about,
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_01: but I want to pull other people into those rooms because this is a political home
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_01: for you.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not one leader.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_01: We're a movement of leaders.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_01: We need leaders to emerge and be given the opportunity to be in those rooms and to be heard.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_01: The race to the bottom is over.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like that paradigm is over.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_01: We won't be divided.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_01: We will come together.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so rather than, oh,
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: the teachers are just going to fight for their members or, oh,
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_01: the janitors,
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_01: like these people are just fighting for this one issue or that issue,
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_01: or we're going to just come and beg for crumbs for caregiving.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_01: When all of those people come together,
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: transportation,
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_01: all of the things,
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_01: We can actually change the entire systematic problem,
• 48:51
  SPEAKER_01: and that's what the solution is.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_01: These are Band-Aid fixes that we've seen, and they give us that.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, okay, here's a little Band-Aid fix.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_01: We'll give you a little pot of money for this one side project,
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: and you guys will scratch your back a little bit next session.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's not enough.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's not good enough,
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: and we're now demanding things like There's something pretty nerdy called Guilty
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_01: Fitty,
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_01: which has been now renamed to Necktie,
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_01: which is basically like people who are offshoring their profits.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's like corporate taxes that are, you know, that's not benefiting Oregon.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, hey, how can we...
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_01: Hold these big major corporations accountable.
• 49:31
  SPEAKER_00: These corporations that benefit from our roads,
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: our electrical grids, our education, our workforce that they derive from.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like they are deriving all of these benefits from being here.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_01: And they're not paying their fair share of taxes.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, you know, if you're just a regular person like Bob, who's like, my taxes are too high.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm paying really high taxes and I'm having a hard time making ends meet.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, you're right, Bob.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_01: You are paying too much in taxes,
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_01: and we hear you that you're not able to make your budget work
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_01: for your family anymore, and things are getting very tight and hard to maintain.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's not fair.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_01: And how do we make that more fair?
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's absolutely not going to be taking handouts from those same corporations
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_01: that are assuring their profits and then going to the legislature
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_01: and serving those interests.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, here's one thing that came up on a previous show that I think...
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_00: Any Democrat or anybody across the spectrum that is aligned
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_00: with working families ought to be pushing for,
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_00: which is transparency in what corporations pay in taxes,
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_00: because we know what Bob pays.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's obvious.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_00: Bob has a job.
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_00: We know his.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, tax bracket.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: We know what he pays.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_00: But these corporations who are offshoring or doing other things
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_00: to avoid paying their fair share of the tax burden, we ought to know what that is.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, there's not transparency there.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that seems like an That's an easy win that ought to be,
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: you know, that one would think the Democrats would be aligned with.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_00: I want to you mentioned the Democratic Socialists of America.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to pull on that thread a little bit because I think especially
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: in this Portland area and we talked about the Myrna.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_00: Munoz, she is aligned with the Democratic Socialists.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_00: So people, I think, might have a sense, oh, is WFP just DSA?
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_00: Is it just three different letters for the same
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: thing?
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_00: What I appreciate is I think we've established through this interview, like, Yeah.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_01: We had a new charter for the first time ever representation in every part of Portland.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I worked on a race where people east of 82nd had never run before.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like nobody's ever knocked on these doors or bothered to talk
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_01: to these folks,
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_01: let alone give them meaningful representation in Portland city government.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so when we had the charter reform, we had this huge, again, opportunity reform.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_01: On the ashes of all of the harm that has been caused by some of the previous people
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_01: who were in charge of Portland,
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_01: we have an opportunity to put in new folks,
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_01: young people,
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_01: BIPOC people,
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_01: DSA members,
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_01: and folks who are going to represent all of these voices across the city
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_01: who have not had a voice.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so a lot of people were like,
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_01: we'll be so excited if we get three voices Or maybe even four,
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_01: if we're lucky, champions elected in Portland.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_01: And the Working Families Party strategically looked at the map and we were like, absolutely not.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to get a path to seven.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_01: We want a governing majority because people deserve that and it's possible.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_01: And we did get seven of our endorsed candidates through, which is amazing.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now, TSA worked on two of those races, Mitch Green and Tiffany Kuyama-Lane.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so what happens in,
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_01: reality on the ground is there's this huge group of passionate,
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_01: incredible people that want to knock doors that are doing the work.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's an army of boots on the ground, as we say.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_01: And we see that also now,
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_01: like fast forward to 2026 and Tammy Carpenter's race and Myrna Munoz out
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_01: in Washington County, which is incredible.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what we do is we build The infrastructure and support for campaigns to be able
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_01: to plug in that army of boots on the ground.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_01: So in both of those two races, Myrna filed very late.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_01: Tammy had actually gone through our Working Families Campaign School hosted
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_01: by Working Families Power, our nonprofit sister org.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so she was trained by us and so was her campaign manager and staff.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we were able to help her build that infrastructure early on and plug
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_01: in this really enthusiastic army of DSA folks who want to engage
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_01: and finally see somebody who represents their values.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_01: And folks will say, Oh, you can't win with, you know, saying you're a democratic socialist.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_01: And definitely people would say that outside of the Portland metro.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_01: And we proved that to be wrong.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, we proved that to be wrong in 2024.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_01: And even I was nervous running Rep Chai Chi, Farah Chai Chi's re-election.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, she is a DSA member.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_01: There was a DSA logo on her information and her mailers and her walk pieces.
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_01: And people were identifying themselves as DSA volunteers when they knocked on doors.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_01: not everyone involved in any of these campaigns is DSA,
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_01: but I do think it goes to show that attitudes are changing
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_01: and perspectives are shifting.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you absolutely can be a democratic socialist and run for and win office.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_01: What I like to highlight is in cases like Zoran Mandami and so many
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_01: of these other places where you see these huge victories across the country,
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_01: that is a coalition of people working together.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_01: And that's true here as much as it is there.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's not just DSA.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's a huge, powerful coalition of working class folks coming together.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_01: And that does include WFP.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm really grateful for our partnership.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_01: In the races like Tammy and Myrna's,
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_01: it's a powerful block of folks working together in an unstoppable way.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you mentioned the shifting politics happening.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that I see that.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_00: In the major parties, you see a battle for the Republican Party.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_00: I hear from people who've been Republicans their whole lives and they're like,
• 55:44
  SPEAKER_00: this is not my party.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: Same with Democrats.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think we've highlighted some of the things that we've seen
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_00: with our institutional Democrats that have maybe gotten out of touch or taken things
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_00: for granted.
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_00: You've been in politics for decades.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_00: At this point, you've seen the Working Families Party.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_00: You've now been with the Working Families Party for two years in this in this role.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_00: Is the Working Families Party similarly changing identities or shifting?
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there must be, right?
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_01: No, this is a really good question, and there's a lot of directions I want to go with it.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_01: So just to tie us back to Myrna's race.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it is not it's still not a thing that is done to challenge an incumbent senator.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_01: The last time that that happened was Rod Monroe in 2017, 2018.
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that was a three way race.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_01: I was involved there.
• 56:36
  SPEAKER_01: And at the time running Casey Jama, now Senate Majority Leader Casey Jama's campaign campaign.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_01: And we were able to take out Rod Monroe.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_01: Rod Monroe was, you know, stopping all housing legislation from going forward.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_01: He was the chair of the Senate Housing Committee.
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_01: So what a lot of regular folks who might be listening to the show don't know is that
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_01: if you're in charge of a committee on, say,
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_01: housing,
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_01: And let's say you potentially have a bunch of claims against you
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_01: for not keeping your rental properties in order.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_00: He was a big landlord.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_01: He was a big landlord.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_01: And some of his properties, you know, the claims were against him, like black mold.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_01: Rats, things like that.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, OK,
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_01: we've got potentially I don't want to be libelous here,
• 57:19
  SPEAKER_01: but potentially a slumlord running the housing committee of the Senate.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that's outrageous.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_01: So you've got somebody like that who gets to decide what bills are talked about and decided.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_01: So.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_01: Anyone that cares about housing,
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_01: which should be like anyone that cares about working people,
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_01: is like, hey, we have to do something about this.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_01: And that was a successful primary challenge.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_01: Fast forward,
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_01: still now,
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_01: when you have somebody like Myrna Munoz running against an incumbent,
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_01: Senator Janine Solman, who, again,
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_01: is in leadership positions and holds committee chairships,
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_01: somebody like that,
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_01: when you run against them,
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_01: We hear from consultants who are like,
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_01: we're sorry,
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_01: we can't work for you or we'll be blacklisted by the political establishment.
• 58:03
  SPEAKER_01: Still now in 2026, people, it's a courageous act to get involved in these things.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we want to make this something that is more accessible for all people.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_01: So you step up to run for office.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_01: We've got your back.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to help you navigate this.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to give you the skills and the tools, and we're going to change this paradigm.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so anyone,
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_01: if you look at anyone who was involved in Myrna's race,
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_01: Each person took on political risk to do a thing like that.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_01: Great political risk, especially her staff and the consultants that took that on.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_01: For instance, truly,
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_01: we could not find a male consultant who was willing to do her mailers
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_01: when you get those.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_00: And to be clear, right?
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I experienced this during my campaign.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_00: I had people who were saying, hey, Mike, I'd love to support you.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to endorse you, but I'm being threatened by establishment people.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_00: And those establishment people control wealth and they control investments.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so for campaign consultants,
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_00: they're thinking down They're like,
• 59:11
  SPEAKER_00: if I take this race,
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_00: when you say great political risk,
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_00: their livelihoods at stake because they are being told you will be blackballed from
• 59:19
  SPEAKER_00: the establishment.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_00: We will never use your services again if you help her.
• 59:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not just this war of ideas where we're going to both put out our ideas
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_00: and democracy will choose the best ideas.
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll emerge.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a fair process.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: The game is rigged and we're working on unrigging the game essentially.
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know,
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_01: there aren't that many people that would probably maybe come on this podcast and say
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_01: the things that I've seen and that I know.
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_01: What I know is that in these rooms, legislators are threatened.
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_01: Consultants are threatened.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you see like STLF,
• 59:53
  SPEAKER_01: which is the you know, it's the pack that runs Senate races for incumbent Democrats.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_01: You see them spending a quarter million dollars.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_01: Just them, not talking about corporate donations to Janine Solman's race.
• 1:00:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's wild.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're a senator and let's say you think Myrna Munoz is
• 1:00:14
  SPEAKER_01: a better representative of her district and you want to get involved
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_01: and show support, do you think there are political consequences to that?
• 1:00:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 1:00:22
  SPEAKER_01: So what I know is that those paradigms still exist and those people who are clinging
• 1:00:29
  SPEAKER_01: on to those last strings of power are She will be that.
• 1:00:32
  SPEAKER_01: She will be a representative for the people,
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_01: but she's also changing the entire fabric of the landscape and showing that
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_01: We can win.
• 1:00:51
  SPEAKER_01: We will win.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_01: And we don't have to do things this other way.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_01: We don't have to be beholden to these corporate interests.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_01: We don't have to say, sorry, you have to wait your turn.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_01: This stuff isn't possible now.
• 1:01:05
  SPEAKER_01: It is possible now.
• 1:01:06
  SPEAKER_01: And we're making it possible now.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_01: And we're not going to stop.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_00: For someone listening to this podcast and they're like, wow, I had no idea.
• 1:01:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you and I talked about this off camera is,
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of people are seeing electoral success from the Working Families Party
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_00: across the country and they're thinking themselves like, oh,
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_01: What is this?
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_01: What is this thing?
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_00: So we're coming up on a major important election cycle in November.
• 1:01:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if people across the political spectrum are hearing what you're saying
• 1:01:36
  SPEAKER_00: and they're thinking to themselves,
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_00: wow, this actually I want to get involved in this.
• 1:01:41
  SPEAKER_00: What should they do?
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_00: How like maybe someone who's never been involved in politics in their entire life.
• 1:01:45
  SPEAKER_00: I know you come across people like that.
• 1:01:48
  SPEAKER_00: Where do they get started?
• 1:01:48
  SPEAKER_00: What do they do?
• 1:01:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, for a lot of people, there's different ways to come into the WFP.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_01: There are people who are like, hey, we tried to reform the Democratic Party and this isn't it.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't where I want to put my time and energy anymore.
• 1:02:01
  SPEAKER_01: And they're looking for a new political home.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're one of those people and you're listening, welcome.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_01: The cool thing is you actually don't have to be registered WFP to be a member
• 1:02:11
  SPEAKER_01: and be part of what we're doing.
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_01: You can be anyone.
• 1:02:14
  SPEAKER_01: You can have any party affiliation.
• 1:02:15
  SPEAKER_01: You could be I'm a NAV,
• 1:02:18
  SPEAKER_01: a non-affiliated voter, and you're welcome to be part of what we're creating.
• 1:02:24
  SPEAKER_01: And for people who haven't been part of anything and who are maybe
• 1:02:28
  SPEAKER_01: who have lost hope or who have just been like left out for too long,
• 1:02:33
  SPEAKER_01: disenfranchised by the political process, there's a home for you here too.
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_01: So we're bringing everybody together in that way.
• 1:02:40
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly,
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_01: like sometimes we're Obviously,
• 1:02:42
  SPEAKER_01: we work with the Democrats,
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_01: so it's ironic,
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_01: SDLF spent a quarter of a million dollars against us in one race that they lost.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_01: And now...
• 1:02:55
  SPEAKER_01: We have to work with SDLF to get some of these folks elected in the general.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_01: And we do.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_01: So like in 2024,
• 1:03:01
  SPEAKER_01: we worked really heavily on swing races like Rep Wad Nguyen,
• 1:03:07
  SPEAKER_01: RIP and people like that.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_01: What's interesting is I'll talk about that race.
• 1:03:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you see a five point difference and which is major.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_01: And people who would vote for her as a working families party independent,
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_01: as opposed to as a Democrat.
• 1:03:23
  SPEAKER_01: And so a lot of places where people are recognizing that the brand
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_01: of Democrat isn't really like carrying any weight,
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_01: perhaps because people expect them to deliver and they haven't in the way
• 1:03:34
  SPEAKER_01: that they want and need.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_01: And still seeing WFP and independent carries a different level of weight.
• 1:03:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's true now still.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_01: So in places where there are a lot of non-affiliated voters or people
• 1:03:48
  SPEAKER_01: who have been left out of the process, they see WFP and we're going to engage there.
• 1:03:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we're in rural areas, we're in urban areas, we're all over the state.
• 1:03:56
  SPEAKER_01: Again, I've been here for Just over two years in this position.
• 1:03:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I say this is like WFP 2.0.
• 1:04:02
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a new, really bold time for us where we're building power.
• 1:04:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, Nicole,
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_01: our organizing director,
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_01: wasn't able to be here to talk about the incredible work that's being done
• 1:04:12
  SPEAKER_01: to build regional groups and bring people in,
• 1:04:15
  SPEAKER_01: give them like a local place to plug in a hub for for local organizing.
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_01: And to sort of integrate into like the broader WFP, what we're doing.
• 1:04:24
  SPEAKER_01: But if you don't have a wolf pack near you, you can start one.
• 1:04:29
  SPEAKER_01: We'll help you.
• 1:04:30
  SPEAKER_01: And we're growing like,
• 1:04:32
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 1:04:32
  SPEAKER_01: a year ago we had no wolf packs and now we have 12 wolf packs all over the place.
• 1:04:39
  SPEAKER_01: So again, in rural, urban, and there are places for you to plug in.
• 1:04:44
  SPEAKER_01: We make the process really accessible.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_01: We don't want this to be a top down political party.
• 1:04:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so there's a lot of like member engagement and participation.
• 1:04:53
  SPEAKER_01: And as we grow,
• 1:04:54
  SPEAKER_01: that will only build a more a small and mighty crew,
• 1:04:57
  SPEAKER_01: but, you know, doing the good work of the people day in and day out.
• 1:05:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you for that good work.
• 1:05:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's so crucial where we see growing inequality across this country just out of control.
• 1:05:09
  SPEAKER_00: And like we've established in this episode,
• 1:05:11
  SPEAKER_00: people having to drive hours for the nearest local healthcare,
• 1:05:16
  SPEAKER_00: experiencing not having enough food to eat on the table, not making living wages.
• 1:05:21
  SPEAKER_00: While we're subsidizing corporations for paying people less money at the same time.
• 1:05:27
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for putting a relentless light on that issue and fighting for
• 1:05:32
  SPEAKER_00: the working families of Oregon.
• 1:05:33
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 1:05:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's grotesque.
• 1:05:37
  SPEAKER_01: The wealth inequality is grotesque.
• 1:05:39
  SPEAKER_01: And it sounds so sanitary when we say things like,
• 1:05:43
  SPEAKER_01: and I do this all the time,
• 1:05:44
  SPEAKER_01: but when we say,
• 1:05:45
  SPEAKER_01: you know, people can't put food on the table, it sounds so sanitary.
• 1:05:49
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't know what that is like,
• 1:05:50
  SPEAKER_01: if you don't know what it's like to have children and open the cupboard and see
• 1:05:54
  SPEAKER_01: that there's not food to make for dinner,
• 1:05:57
  SPEAKER_01: you can't know why we fight the way that we fight and we're not going to stop.
• 1:06:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I see people who Are like, oh, maybe they should eat less avocado toast.
• 1:06:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we hear things like that.
• 1:06:09
  SPEAKER_01: And people say things like that in rooms that I'm in.
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the way that they behave.
• 1:06:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not just talking about people on the other side of the aisle.
• 1:06:16
  SPEAKER_01: For too long, it's been like, oh, our problem is mega.
• 1:06:19
  SPEAKER_01: These right-wing Republicans are causing all these troubles for us.
• 1:06:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, yes,
• 1:06:25
  SPEAKER_01: there is a problematic group of mega people who are just completely beholden
• 1:06:32
  SPEAKER_01: to We have a Democratic Party leadership in Oregon,
• 1:06:35
  SPEAKER_01: and we expect and demand that they fight for working people
• 1:06:37
  SPEAKER_01: and not just window dressing and lip service.
• 1:06:39
  SPEAKER_01: Deliver on policies.
• 1:06:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we expect.
• 1:06:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we demand.
• 1:06:42
  SPEAKER_01: And we will continue.
• 1:06:56
  SPEAKER_01: We'll continue to fight to make that a reality by putting in people who have
• 1:07:01
  SPEAKER_01: the lived experience and who will uplift the people who have the lived experience.
• 1:07:05
  SPEAKER_01: So that's the bottom line and we won't settle for anything less.
• 1:07:08
  SPEAKER_01: But I can't do that by myself.
• 1:07:10
  SPEAKER_01: So please join the Working Families Party.
• 1:07:12
  SPEAKER_01: We need you.
• 1:07:13
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, at the state level, we have.
• 1:07:16
  SPEAKER_01: Labor unions who are made up of regular folks who drive buses and are the janitor at
• 1:07:22
  SPEAKER_01: the school and are your local community college professor or community orgs,
• 1:07:29
  SPEAKER_01: BIPOC led nonprofits who do incredible work in lots of different ways across
• 1:07:33
  SPEAKER_01: the state.
• 1:07:34
  SPEAKER_01: So that's kind of what the makeup of our leadership core is.
• 1:07:37
  SPEAKER_01: And our members, again,
• 1:07:38
  SPEAKER_01: are like every kind of political voter, people who haven't been political before.
• 1:07:44
  SPEAKER_01: And we're just building this really beautiful multiracial working class party.
• 1:07:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, take it from me.
• 1:07:50
  SPEAKER_00: Go out, get yourself some working families party swag.
• 1:07:53
  SPEAKER_00: It'll start conversations at the gas station, in the grocery store.
• 1:07:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good time.
• 1:07:58
  SPEAKER_00: Annie, thank you so much for coming on the show.
• 1:08:00
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know this, but I always like to do some sort of little game thing at the end.
• 1:08:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I've curated a game for you.
• 1:08:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's called Knock, Knock, Who's There?
• 1:08:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's a door knocking game.
• 1:08:12
  SPEAKER_01: Say knock, knock.
• 1:08:13
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what we're going to do.
• 1:08:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're knocking my door.
• 1:08:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening the door and I'm going to just give you a one line prompt and you have
• 1:08:21
  SPEAKER_00: to respond in a way that's going to make me not shut the door, but engage.
• 1:08:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:08:29
  SPEAKER_00: You ready?
• 1:08:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:08:30
  SPEAKER_01: Understand the rules.
• 1:08:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:08:31
  SPEAKER_01: I understand the assignment.
• 1:08:33
  SPEAKER_00: All right, here we go.
• 1:08:34
  SPEAKER_00: Knock, knock.
• 1:08:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening my door and I say to you, yeah, I don't really vote.
• 1:08:41
  SPEAKER_00: Both parties are pretty much the same.
• 1:08:42
  SPEAKER_00: I don't see why this matters.
• 1:08:44
  SPEAKER_01: You're right.
• 1:08:45
  SPEAKER_01: Both parties have left us out and we deserve a voice.
• 1:08:49
  SPEAKER_01: We have a person named Marta Munoz who's throwing her hat in the ring.
• 1:08:54
  SPEAKER_01: She's a regular person.
• 1:08:55
  SPEAKER_01: She's working class.
• 1:08:56
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 1:08:57
  SPEAKER_01: she's the daughter of refugees,
• 1:09:00
  SPEAKER_01: immigrants to the U.S. She's seen the way that our communities have been let down.
• 1:09:05
  SPEAKER_00: And we're asking you to believe.
• 1:09:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening.
• 1:09:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening.
• 1:09:08
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me more.
• 1:09:09
  SPEAKER_00: OK, great.
• 1:09:10
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 1:09:12
  SPEAKER_00: Knock, knock.
• 1:09:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening the door.
• 1:09:13
  SPEAKER_00: Look, I already vote straight down the Democratic ticket.
• 1:09:16
  SPEAKER_00: Appreciate you being here.
• 1:09:17
  SPEAKER_00: But why do I need to why another party?
• 1:09:21
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, thank you so much for voting.
• 1:09:24
  SPEAKER_01: We want to make sure that everyone turns in their ballot and that,
• 1:09:27
  SPEAKER_01: you know, when the election dates are.
• 1:09:28
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what we would lead with.
• 1:09:30
  SPEAKER_01: And then,
• 1:09:31
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 1:09:32
  SPEAKER_01: it's important to vote,
• 1:09:34
  SPEAKER_01: but we want to let you know what the opportunity is and who you can vote for.
• 1:09:38
  SPEAKER_01: So This person who has been representing you,
• 1:09:42
  SPEAKER_01: for instance,
• 1:09:44
  SPEAKER_01: is a Democrat,
• 1:09:45
  SPEAKER_01: but there's somebody else on the ballot and the other person represents the values
• 1:09:49
  SPEAKER_01: of working people.
• 1:09:52
  SPEAKER_01: How are your utility bills?
• 1:09:53
  SPEAKER_01: And we would have a conversation, Mike, and we would talk about all the things.
• 1:09:56
  SPEAKER_00: Utility bills?
• 1:09:58
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me more.
• 1:09:58
  SPEAKER_00: All right, here's the next one.
• 1:10:00
  SPEAKER_00: I see you're wearing your working family parties swag.
• 1:10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Aren't you just DSA?
• 1:10:06
  SPEAKER_00: Isn't this the same thing?
• 1:10:07
  SPEAKER_00: You're some lefty, crazy person.
• 1:10:09
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 1:10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me where this door is.
• 1:10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, good question.
• 1:10:12
  SPEAKER_00: This door is in Portland.
• 1:10:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 1:10:17
  SPEAKER_01: we definitely work with DSA and this candidate is endorsed by DSA and
• 1:10:23
  SPEAKER_01: the Working Families Party.
• 1:10:24
  SPEAKER_01: The reason I'm here knocking on your door is because Tiffany Kiyama Lane is going
• 1:10:28
  SPEAKER_01: to fight for working families.
• 1:10:30
  SPEAKER_01: She's a teacher and she's seen those struggles that we've talked about
• 1:10:34
  SPEAKER_01: through our conversation show up in her classroom.
• 1:10:38
  SPEAKER_01: So she has the lived experience, not just herself, but herself.
• 1:10:42
  SPEAKER_01: From folks that have come through,
• 1:10:44
  SPEAKER_01: all the families that she has served in her role as a teacher,
• 1:10:48
  SPEAKER_01: she knows why we need policy change.
• 1:10:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we've brought her in to
• 1:10:52
  SPEAKER_00: do that work.
• 1:10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 1:10:53
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Knock, knock.
• 1:10:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening the door.
• 1:10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Look, I'm a Republican, but I'll tell you this.
• 1:10:58
  SPEAKER_00: My taxes are killing me.
• 1:11:00
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you got to say about that?
• 1:11:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, taxes are too high.
• 1:11:04
  SPEAKER_01: The working class has been paying.
• 1:11:06
  SPEAKER_01: And what are what are we getting?
• 1:11:08
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know,
• 1:11:09
  SPEAKER_01: honestly,
• 1:11:10
  SPEAKER_01: there are these folks that are just not paying their fair share
• 1:11:13
  SPEAKER_01: and we need tax accountability.
• 1:11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like you shouldn't have to pay more taxes.
• 1:11:17
  SPEAKER_01: We need relief.
• 1:11:18
  SPEAKER_01: And the relief comes by demanding the ultra wealthy pay their fair share.
• 1:11:46
  SPEAKER_00: All right, knock, knock.
• 1:11:48
  SPEAKER_00: You're working families party.
• 1:11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you guys are against data centers.
• 1:11:51
  SPEAKER_01: We should have started with this.
• 1:11:52
  SPEAKER_00: You're against data centers.
• 1:11:54
  SPEAKER_00: What's the deal?
• 1:11:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I thought you guys were pro-labor, pro-jobs.
• 1:11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Isn't this going to create jobs for our community?
• 1:11:59
  SPEAKER_00: What's your deal?
• 1:12:00
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow, Mike.
• 1:12:01
  SPEAKER_01: You want to go there?
• 1:12:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 1:12:07
  SPEAKER_01: first of all,
• 1:12:08
  SPEAKER_01: there needs to be a community process whenever we're considering doing something
• 1:12:11
  SPEAKER_01: as major as bringing in a data center into a community.
• 1:12:16
  SPEAKER_01: If there are going to be data centers, we need to ensure that they're being put in responsibly.
• 1:12:22
  SPEAKER_01: We're not displacing local farmland.
• 1:12:25
  SPEAKER_01: We're thinking about community impacts,
• 1:12:27
  SPEAKER_01: the impact on your utilities,
• 1:12:30
  SPEAKER_01: the electric grid,
• 1:12:31
  SPEAKER_01: the quality of your water and health impacts to the surrounding area.
• 1:12:36
  SPEAKER_01: So we need to be very intentional.
• 1:12:38
  SPEAKER_01: If we are going to be doing data centers, we shouldn't be giving them massive subsidies.
• 1:12:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, one of the arguments that's being made is that it's an economic boom for us.
• 1:12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like, oh,
• 1:12:47
  SPEAKER_01: these people are going to bring revenue to Oregon,
• 1:12:50
  SPEAKER_01: but that can't be possible and can't coexist with us giving them subsidies
• 1:12:56
  SPEAKER_01: to be here.
• 1:12:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we're subsidizing these people to come in and destroy our communities with no process at all.
• 1:13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's not acceptable and we demand better.
• 1:13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well done.
• 1:13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Knock, knock.
• 1:13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Little kid answers the door.
• 1:13:09
  SPEAKER_00: My mom.
• 1:13:12
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 1:13:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a mommy.
• 1:13:14
  SPEAKER_01: So is your mommy here?
• 1:13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the mom of four kids.
• 1:13:18
  SPEAKER_00: The only wrong answer was here's some candy.
• 1:13:23
  SPEAKER_01: No, actually, I love talking.
• 1:13:24
  SPEAKER_01: I love when kids are there.
• 1:13:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know, again, I've knocked like thousands, hundreds of thousands of doors.
• 1:13:30
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 1:13:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I love talking to two kids because they're in the background and they hear
• 1:13:35
  SPEAKER_01: and they see how we behave.
• 1:13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:13:37
  SPEAKER_01: And if we want to have children that have hope for the future.
• 1:13:40
  SPEAKER_01: Which is a thing right now.
• 1:13:42
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people are losing faith and believing maybe there isn't
• 1:13:47
  SPEAKER_01: a future reality that's livable for us and that's going to be positive.
• 1:13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Kids are watching.
• 1:13:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so every chance that I have to bring power and hope to people at a door, I love.
• 1:13:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I love when kids are in the background for that.
• 1:14:00
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Last one.
• 1:14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Knock, knock.
• 1:14:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening the door.
• 1:14:04
  SPEAKER_00: I see you standing there, Annie.
• 1:14:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you people show up every two years.
• 1:14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, we need to do better on that, Mike.
• 1:14:12
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's actually this isn't really an answer to a knock knock,
• 1:14:16
  SPEAKER_01: but it is true that for too long it's been transactional.
• 1:14:22
  SPEAKER_01: So you see,
• 1:14:23
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 1:14:24
  SPEAKER_01: people showing up every two years at election time or
• 1:14:27
  SPEAKER_00: even less frequently,
• 1:14:28
  SPEAKER_00: as we talked about since Barack Obama ran.
• 1:14:30
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just this transactional interaction where you're like, hey, we want your vote.
• 1:14:35
  SPEAKER_01: Give us your vote.
• 1:14:36
  SPEAKER_01: We're out.
• 1:14:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's also not acceptable.
• 1:14:40
  SPEAKER_01: We need to maintain a long term relationship with people and have that feedback.
• 1:14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that's part of the way that these folks get out of touch.
• 1:14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Some of the candidates aren't even doing that every two years,
• 1:14:51
  SPEAKER_01: as shown by the Barack Obama comment.
• 1:14:55
  SPEAKER_01: But the two years itself isn't good enough.
• 1:14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like we need to be having this kind of interaction and creating space for people
• 1:15:02
  SPEAKER_01: to get engaged in the political process,
• 1:15:04
  SPEAKER_01: which again, like for too long, it hasn't been a transparent process.
• 1:15:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, where can I come?
• 1:15:10
  SPEAKER_01: What decisions are being made that impact me?
• 1:15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, there's a data center going in.
• 1:15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Was there a public meeting?
• 1:15:15
  SPEAKER_01: How did people have the opportunity to even learn that there was a public meeting or
• 1:15:19
  SPEAKER_01: that their voice could be heard potentially?
• 1:15:30
  SPEAKER_01: You deserve that.
• 1:15:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like you're a community member.
• 1:15:32
  SPEAKER_01: You live here.
• 1:15:33
  SPEAKER_01: You have a voice.
• 1:15:35
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what we should give people more than every two years.
• 1:15:38
  SPEAKER_01: So you're right.
• 1:15:40
  SPEAKER_01: We don't show up at the door that way.
• 1:15:41
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll notice the big difference in the like we did paid field for Myrna.
• 1:15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So if we knocked on your door,
• 1:15:47
  SPEAKER_01: that was a different interaction than the one that you probably are used to having
• 1:15:52
  SPEAKER_01: with like the traditional folks that show up every two years on an election cycle.
• 1:15:56
  SPEAKER_01: We genuinely care.
• 1:15:57
  SPEAKER_01: We had working families, members out knocking doors.
• 1:16:00
  SPEAKER_01: They're from the working class.
• 1:16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Some of them are from the neighborhood and talking to their own neighbors
• 1:16:06
  SPEAKER_01: about what is possible.
• 1:16:08
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll feel a difference if a working families party person knocks on your door.
• 1:16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, congratulations.
• 1:16:14
  SPEAKER_00: You won the game.
• 1:16:14
  SPEAKER_00: You got my vote.
• 1:16:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm supporting the working families party.
• 1:16:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can count on me this November.
• 1:16:21
  SPEAKER_01: I want to really quickly say.
• 1:16:23
  SPEAKER_01: We do have that big event coming up that I mentioned.
• 1:16:25
  SPEAKER_01: So the Working Families Party nominating convention weekend.
• 1:16:28
  SPEAKER_01: We'll be joined by our national director, Maurice Mitchell, who's coming out.
• 1:16:33
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely inspirational, incredible leader.
• 1:16:35
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll have lots of folks who are doing incredible work across the state,
• 1:16:40
  SPEAKER_01: talking panels and camaraderie, a dinner, a big dinner together.
• 1:16:46
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to join WFP, you can text the word member to 30403.
• 1:16:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so we would love to see you there.
• 1:16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 1:16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much for those of you listening.
• 1:16:58
  SPEAKER_00: I will paste a link in the show notes so that you can go on and click there.
• 1:17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Or like Annie said, just text that number and become a member of the Working Families Party.
• 1:17:07
  SPEAKER_00: I heartily endorse that and suggest you do.
• 1:17:09
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Annie, for being on the show.
• 1:17:27
  SPEAKER_00: So a party that just proved it can be a sitting Democratic senator
• 1:17:30
  SPEAKER_00: in her own primary,
• 1:17:31
  SPEAKER_00: won 37 out of 49 races that they got involved with,
• 1:17:36
  SPEAKER_00: have a message about corporate power and affordability that on paper should
• 1:17:40
  SPEAKER_00: at least land with everyone,
• 1:17:42
  SPEAKER_00: and the 1.4 million Oregonians who've walked away
• 1:17:44
  SPEAKER_00: from both parties entirely searching for a home.
• 1:17:47
  SPEAKER_00: The question I keep coming back to is one that we spent half of our conversation on,
• 1:17:52
  SPEAKER_00: is that is this Working Families Party a message to changing the Democratic Party
• 1:17:58
  SPEAKER_00: from within,
• 1:17:59
  SPEAKER_00: or are we fighting across the spectrum from Working Families everywhere?
• 1:18:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think you heard from their state director that this is a party that everybody can get behind.
• 1:18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever you make of that, one thing is true.
• 1:18:10
  SPEAKER_00: This November,
• 1:18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oregonians are going to keep answering their doors to canvassers asking
• 1:18:14
  SPEAKER_00: for their vote.
• 1:18:15
  SPEAKER_00: Whether those canvassers can turn that unclaimed 44% of unaffiliated actual voters
• 1:18:20
  SPEAKER_00: into votes, that's the story we'll be watching between now and Election Day.
• 1:18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much to Annie Naranjo Rivera for the conversation.
• 1:18:28
  SPEAKER_00: If this was the first time you were learning about Oregon's Working Family Party,
• 1:18:31
  SPEAKER_00: check out the show notes.
• 1:18:33
  SPEAKER_00: You can click the links to figure out where you can connect with them,
• 1:18:35
  SPEAKER_00: share this episode,
• 1:18:37
  SPEAKER_00: tell other people about what you learned,
• 1:18:39
  SPEAKER_00: and let's have a more informed electorate as we go into
• 1:18:42
  SPEAKER_00: a very important midterm election in November.
• 1:18:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Mike Schmidt.
• 1:18:46
  SPEAKER_00: This has been Schmidt Show PDX, and we will catch you next time.