One way to change your hometown? Run for office. That’s what Alex Lee, James Coleman, and Lucy Shen decided to do in the 2020 elections. All three are among a number of young, queer candidates of color who ran in local races this year.

They’re from different parts of the Bay Area – with unique relationships to their hometowns – but they all found themselves looking for change and diving into politics.

This is the first episode of By The People, The Bay’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in.

Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Silicon Valley reporter

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Read the transcript here.

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