Latest / Breaking The Meta / Lauren Jewett: The Teacher Running to Oust Steve Scalise
Transcript
- Breaking The Meta: Hello everyone and welcome to Breaking the Meta. My name is Mike Winson. Today we are sitting down with Lauren Jewett, who is running in Louisiana's first US congressional district. Hello Lauren, how are you doing today? Lauren Jewett: I'm doing well, thanks for having me on the show. Breaking The Meta: Absolutely, absolutely. So ⁓ to start, for people that don't know Louisiana, could you let us know what part of Louisiana encompasses ⁓ the District 1 of Louisiana? Lauren Jewett: Yeah, I'm running in Louisiana's first district. This is seat that Steve Scalise, who's the House Majority Leader holds. This district is pretty much southeast Louisiana. We have two districts, District 1 and ⁓ District 2, which is typically a Democratic ⁓ seat. And those are both in southeast Louisiana. I have 10 parishes. We call them parishes here in my district. So I do have parts of Orleans Parish. in the district, which is actually where I work. And then I have mostly Jefferson Parish, which is a suburb of the Metro New Orleans area. And then St. Tammany, which is across the lake. So I have a whole lake in my district. ⁓ So yeah, St. Tammany Parish and Jefferson Parish, which is where I live, are the two main parishes in the district. They comprise about 75 % of the congressional district. Breaking The Meta: There you go. Gotcha. Lauren Jewett: And then Orleans Parish is a little bit, that's the third biggest part of the district. And I have all these other sets of precincts in different parishes, like, you know, anywhere from 10 to 30 precincts are kind of gerrymandered all in there, but they're all very, many of them are very coastal parts of the district. So parts that go out into Plaquemines Parish and St. Bernard Parish and Lafourche Parish. ⁓ So yeah, it's a pretty diverse parish when we think about ⁓ the land that it covers, but a lot of those parts of the district go out into the Gulf. Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Gotcha. ⁓ To start, would you mind giving us a little background on who you are and then why you decided to run in the first place? Lauren Jewett: Yes. So again, my name is Lauren Jewett and I am a nationally board certified special education teacher of 17 years. And I'm also a union member, a strong and proud union member and organizer and community advocate. And I am getting in this race because as I kind of just described, we're in a district that is actually quite vulnerable when we think about natural disasters and storms. Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: And I'm somebody who every day gets up and serves our most vulnerable children. I serve kids with disabilities. I have done so for my entire career. I grew up with somebody in my family who has a disability. My aunt had Down syndrome. So I learned from a very early age that we work to ensure an accepting and inclusive ⁓ space for everybody in our world. And that's kind of what got me into doing special education work. Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: And I mean, I'm running, I'm running ultimately because I want a representative who's going to be responsive and accountable and is going to show up. And I show up every day for the kids and families of my school and my area and my district. And I want somebody who's there in Congress fighting for us and fighting for the constituents of our district. And I hear that over and over again, that our representative has. abandoned us for Washington politics and is not responsive, does not hold town halls in the district, is not somebody who they feel is really representing their interests. And I'm somebody who's on the ground and has been teaching for as long as my congressional representative has been sitting in Congress. And before that, my congressional representative was a state legislator for 12 years. So, you know, I'm almost 39. He's been in elected office for 28 years. It's about 75 % of my life. ⁓ And I just don't think that we should have people who are career politicians and make that their career. You my career is educating children and my career is really predicated on that. And I want that. I want to be able to do that. And that's my passion. But unfortunately, as we've seen across the last few years, teachers have become targets and have been vilified. And we are also the recipients of a lot of funding cuts. Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: that affect our kids. And so I feel like it's only fair that we fight for this position and run for this position because this person is not doing their job. And so if you're going to come after my colleagues jobs and the students that I work with every day is only fair that we put you on notice and we work for the position and try to try to get in there and try to change some things. Breaking The Meta: Yeah. What are, as you go around and talk with people ⁓ in your district, what are the common pain points? What are the things that most of the people talk about in your district? Lauren Jewett: Yeah, that's a great question. ⁓ I've been talking with people for a long time, but as I decided to potentially get in this race, like last summer, I was having conversations with people one off, you know, whether at a coffee shop or at community meetings. And a lot of people here are concerned about the cost of living. ⁓ They knew that the passage of the big, beautiful bill last summer ⁓ meant some, you know, potential harm to their way of life and when comes to healthcare. We don't have a rural hospital in district one, but we know that a lot of rural hospitals exist in our state and that that does impact even us down here in Southeast Louisiana. When we think about access to healthcare, I mean, we have doctors leaving the state because of a lot of draconian laws that are being passed by our state legislature. So when you have doctors leave your, your, your losing quality of care. ⁓ because people don't want to practice here or raise their families here. And then ultimately too, because we are experiencing storms that are much more ⁓ strong or stronger, I'm hearing time and again that people are concerned about the cost of home insurance, flood insurance, and potentially losing the homes that they've worked their entire life. either to purchase or to pay off. I'm a homeowner. I am proud that I was able to buy my house at the age that I did. And I've been in my house for 10 and a half years, but my flood insurance has gone up many, multiple percentage points. Like over the years, I've had to rebuild parts of my house from a category four storm that happened here in 2021. And we are having cuts to Breaking The Meta: Yeah. Lauren Jewett: like our, you know, NOAA, we have cuts to NOAA, people are concerned about levee inspections being ⁓ reduced, and there's this balance of ⁓ the coast eroding and then our congressional representative not having a very good record when it comes to environmental issues and when comes to climate change. So I am hearing about the, it's the cost of living. It feels like it's, It's really ⁓ restricting a lot of people's ⁓ joy and like just livelihood, being able to just exist. It's like, are we just existing to try to like keep up with the costs of everything when our wages are not keeping up with that? So that's what I'm hearing is people afraid that they're not gonna be able to afford basic needs, groceries, medicine, and their homes. Breaking The Meta: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah, and I'm sure a lot of people in Louisiana still have PTSD from the last time the levy didn't hold in Louisiana. ⁓ I can only imagine what that that fear must be like after Katrina. It was Katrina, right? Lauren Jewett: Yeah, and I also like to, I didn't say this in my intro, I did not grow up in Louisiana, I actually grew up in upstate New York. I moved here four years after Katrina. I moved here as a 22 year old. But that storm completely reshaped lots of things in the city. And yes, and even our entire education system was changed. Breaking The Meta: Okay. whole towns. Lauren Jewett: And ultimately, people have a lot of critiques about that. I work at the only public school that is directly run by our school board, and that just opened a year and a half ago. the rest of our schools are charter schools. And that was ushered in ⁓ in the wake of the storm. ⁓ And so there's a lot of changes that happened. And it's... Breaking The Meta: Wow. Yeah. Lauren Jewett: and it changed the fabric and culture of a city that has a lot of history and roots and like legacy ⁓ of organizing. ⁓ We continue to organize, it's, it's, yeah, things like that. Our storms are only getting stronger and the coast is eroding more. And then that creates more vulnerability of other parts of Southeast Louisiana that people think were not vulnerable to begin with because they were. you know, further up the coast, but when you don't have that buffer there anymore to prevent and you don't have wetland habitats, like that all of those things within an ecosystem, like work for a reason. And when you're in there tinkering and drilling and doing all these things that we're not holding corporations accountable for, that hurts people. And I've said this before too, is that mother nature does not, and like climate change did not care about what letter is next to your name. These are actual issues that affect every human being and it's Democrat versus Republican, no. Like these are real environmental issues. So, yeah. Breaking The Meta: Yeah. Yeah. One of the other things you talked about, which is something that I often bring up, and it's always shows how ⁓ not just in one area this problem is, is something that I think is, again, something that doesn't matter whether you're Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal or progressive, is this idea of accountability or the lack thereof when it comes to our ⁓ our politicians, our representatives. So my question to you is, what does accountability mean to you? How does being held accountable by your constituents, like what does that look like to you? Lauren Jewett: ⁓ I mean, for a congressional representative, it's be, it's more than just like having somebody in your office, picking up the calls and doing the intake and responding to, know, whatever emails that are being sent, because I know many people have come up to me at events I've been holding in the district and have said, I call the office and like, sometimes I get a response, but they said, sometimes I don't even get a response. I mean, this is, that's his baseline, like to get back to people. Breaking The Meta: Yeah. Yeah. Lauren Jewett: Because I know in my profession, it's expected that if a parent contacts you, you contact them back within 24 to 48 hours. I I try to get back very quickly because it could be something urgent. I text with my students' parents. I call them. We have a very clear communication system with them through the school and through teacher to classroom to parent. Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Yep. Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: And so that's very responsive, right? Like I am serving their child. And so there has to be an accountability piece there. So it's one, like communication. ⁓ Two is like understanding that you do represent a wide swath of people and that you are gonna have people that disagree with you. Like I have to work with anybody whose child walks through my classroom door. And it doesn't mean that we're gonna agree about everything, but at the end of the day is like, what is best for the kid, right? And what is best for the district? ⁓ Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Lauren Jewett: Like, and being able to distill that down and explain why certain decisions are being made for people, not for the president, not for like someone that you're trying to ⁓ kiss the ring for, because that is what we're seeing. ⁓ And that is not serving people, right? So accountability to me is that a representative in the House Breaking The Meta: Ahem. Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: for federal government should be serving the people because it is the people's house. And that's what is written and intended to be is that the US House of Representatives is the people's house. It is a office that is elected every two years. I mean, there's some municipal races and offices here that have longer terms, right? These positions are very infrequently or very frequently elected and they're, mean, supposed to be based on population. Yes, population has changed, it's, we're meant to be serving people and to be responsive to the changes of what's happening every two years. And ⁓ I don't think you should be accountable to the executive branch. You're the legislative branch. You have a specific role outlined in the constitution and you take an oath to the constitution. So when we talk about accountability, you are taking an oath to our guiding founding document. Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yep. Lauren Jewett: and not cherry picking it when it's convenient for whatever narrative that you want to spin. And that's what we keep seeing. And like, we have to be fair. Like I teach my students about fairness all the time, and they have a very clear metric or meter when they see something's unfair, like they feel a sense of injustice. And so we're applying the Constitution very arbitrarily. And that's not that's not being accountable. Breaking The Meta: Yeah, absolutely. ⁓ Since the end of World War II, ⁓ the United States has kind of been at the head of every table, everywhere. And in the last year, this administration has pretty much destroyed that almost entirely, whether you're talking tariffs, Venezuela, Greenland. the back and forth of tariffs, the threats to leave NATO, blah, blah, blah. Regardless of what this administration thinks. place has changed in the world. ⁓ How do you see the foreign policy of the United States going forward after this? Lauren Jewett: It's definitely off the rails, I'll tell you. grandfather, my grandfather, like, and I never, you I never met him because, you know, he passed when my mom was a teenager, but he served in World War II. And it's like, just, these people who are veterans or like served in these wars that like, we're literally trying to fight fascism and fight authoritarian countries. And now it's like, and now it's like the tables have turned. And we are not even like, Breaking The Meta: Hahaha Lauren Jewett: we are not viewed, I know, by other countries, people I know who live, friends who live in other countries, they're like, yeah, like, what's going on? Like, what's happening? I mean, so, yeah, I think we have lost our standing because we don't have people who are experienced in that sort of foreign relations or like diplomacy, like just having some like actual diplomatic like skill set. I mean, we have people serving in this administration who I was to say, they're the wealth, they're the wealthiest cabinet we've ever had. But they're not, want, they're wealthy in terms of money, but they're not wealthy in terms of actual people skills, like, or actual dealings of how you actually handle very tense and like serious things. Because, and, and aren't we have, I mean, Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: our country has had a history of also intervening in places when we shouldn't be putting our nose in there and then saying, ⁓ well, there's instability here. But it's like, well, who created the instability? So I mean, a lot of that in Latin America. So yeah, I think we just have people who don't have the skill sets to be handling things. yeah, they're not skilled in what they Breaking The Meta: Shouldn't have, yep. Lauren Jewett: they're doing when we keep hearing names of people pointed to different cabinet level positions. It's like people who don't have any background in what they should be doing. And I know like the education secretary does not deal with foreign relations, but like she just said no business being in that position as does like other people like who are doing right, the Homeland Security, you know, your secretary of defense, like all these people like Breaking The Meta: Yeah. Yeah. does most of the cabinet and if not all of it. HHS. Yep. Lauren Jewett: have, it's very, it's very sad and enraging to see work that has been done over time, like literally be dismantled like very quickly. Breaking The Meta: Yeah. Yeah. I want to do a little bit of future casting. So November 3rd comes around. Lauren wins, defeats Steve Scalise. ⁓ January 2nd comes around. You are sworn in as ⁓ well. Yeah. Sworn in as a representative of the first district of Louisiana. What's the first thing that you do? Lauren Jewett: ⁓ I want to, well, I have a couple of things to do because I'm very, I'm very ambitious. Like, you know, as a teacher, you know, we're very, I mean, I want to address healthcare. ⁓ I believe healthcare is a human right. And I mean, like I just said, we're the wealthiest country. Well, we have the wealthiest cabinet, like we wealthiest country in the world. And I want to ensure that Breaking The Meta: You can give me a couple, that's fine. Okay. Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: families have the protections that they need. So ⁓ really working to expand supports ⁓ in a way. And of course, I'm one person. I have to work with the entire elected House of US representatives. ⁓ And knowing that I'm freshman representative, I'm going to have to learn the ropes. of all, ⁓ codifying protections for reproductive rights, because we've lost those, we don't have. ⁓ We have very stringent laws in a lot of our states, including my own. And just in trying to ensure that we have the funding to protect our land here in states that are very vulnerable, like Florida and Texas and Louisiana, need that. ⁓ We need that continued funding to protect ⁓ us from. Breaking The Meta: Mm. Lauren Jewett: storms. need that infrast ⁓ Breaking The Meta: Yeah. If someone who's listening to this has listened to this point, heard everything that we've talked about up till this point, ⁓ what are one or two things that no matter what, you want to make sure that they come away with about you and about your campaign? Lauren Jewett: ⁓ I want people to understand that I'm a fighter. I might teach elementary school and you know people think that's all. Breaking The Meta: Sometimes say what some people would say being an elementary teacher is probably the biggest fight of all let's be fair Unless you're a middle school teacher, I think that's the only ⁓ Lauren Jewett: Yeah, you know, like ⁓ I do teach some middle school grades. mean, I'm mostly a top elementary school, but I am doing fourth through sixth grade right now. Breaking The Meta: ⁓ see? ⁓ okay, so yeah, definitely a fighter then. Lauren Jewett: Yeah, know, lunch duty, lunch duty is really, it is really tough. ⁓ But yeah, I want people to understand that as a teacher, I have a documented history of public service, right? That is I am doing public service every single day. And while I may not have been in a prior elected office, I have been serving people. So I've run for office before I've run for local school board. I've run for state school board. Those were fights. I gave it my all. I didn't win those positions. And while I don't know, like I didn't win a race, I know how to run one. ⁓ And we're running a serious race. I want people to understand that this is an uphill battle, but we're being very thoughtful and serious about it. announced early, we announced on Labor Day ⁓ back in September. Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: And we've been very strategic and thoughtful as we've moved along in this race, because we know that an early race helps us build the momentum and helps us build the fundraising. we need, we definitely need support with fundraising because we're running against somebody who has a war chest and has a lot of money. But at the end of the day, while I may not have been spending my time in the halls of Baton Rouge for 12 years or Congress for 16 years politicking. I've been spending my time in the hallways of the school, like working with kids or driving down the streetways of my district, making sure people have food because there's food insecurity ⁓ and really doing the actual work that people on the ground need. I have proximity to the issues. ⁓ And so I need people to understand that, that we need to start electing people. Breaking The Meta: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Lauren Jewett: who are just average, everyday people. Like I'm a teacher, I'm not a superhero, but like I know some people who characterize this, but like we are just working class people, teachers, nurses, farmers, like doctors, people who like actually like understand what is happening and are people who are like first responders to problems. Like we have skillsets to do that. So I want people to understand that. Breaking The Meta: Yep. Yep. Lauren Jewett: We need to start electing people who are problem solvers and not career politicians. Breaking The Meta: Totally agree. ⁓ Lauren, if someone wants to learn more about you ⁓ and volunteer or donate, where can they find you? Lauren Jewett: So they can go to my website. My website is just my name.com. So it's www.laurenjuit.com. L-A-U-R-E-N-J-E-W-E-T-T. We're on pretty much all socials. Instagram, Elect Lauren Jewett, Facebook, Elect Lauren Jewett. We are on TikTok, ⁓ threads, and Blue Sky. Blue Sky, think it's do it Jewett. Breaking The Meta: Okay. Lauren Jewett: Yeah, because we get things done. Breaking The Meta: And get things done. There you go. Lauren, thank you so much for sitting down and talking with us. It was great to meet you and learn about what you hope to do for your district. Yeah. And for everyone else who has listened this far, thank you so much. It means the world to me. Please hit all those buttons down below. Like, subscribe, all this stuff. It makes it possible for me to keep doing what I'm doing, which is meeting with these amazing people and giving everyone a chance to learn what they hope to do for ⁓ you, for this country. ⁓ Lauren Jewett: Thank you. Breaking The Meta: These are people that aren't, don't want to take PAC money. They, they want to do things right. They want to be held accountable. They want to do all the things that we keep saying need to be done and what politics needs to be. So that means we need to come out and we need to watch this stuff and we need to help and we need to give them the visibility and name recognition necessary to actually take on all of these people that are doing things that we say need to stop in politics. So if you can. Please like and share and do all the things, whether it's on this video or on their platforms, on their sites as well. So please help on that. And for those of you that are new to Breaking the Meta, just so you know, Breaking the Meta is all about having hard conversations when necessary, fighting to break the status quo, and the idea that all people, no matter your race, religion, gender, or identity, get rights, respect, dignity, and safety. Again, Lauren, thank you so much for being here. And for everyone else, we'll see you next time on Breaking the Meta. Bye, guys.