In this week’s episode, Grace sits down with Sr. Political Director of Women Winning, Jillia Pessenda, to do a little mythbusting around “electability”. Jillia shares her experience with the increasing numbers of women running for office, gives us tips on how we can engage and support their campaigns, and tells us more about the amazing services offered by Women Winning. Bri & Grace have thoughts afterwards and of course, provide your weekly witchy moment with our tarot pull. 

Meet our Guest: 

As the Senior Political Director at Women Winning, Jillia is passionate about building a more reflective and representative democracy. Jillia has extensive experience working as a community organizer, fundraiser, and political strategist. At Project 515 and OutFront Minnesota, Jillia advocated for the passage of marriage equality and the Minnesota Safe & Supportive Schools Act. Jillia served as the Finance Director for Ilhan Omar’s historic 2016 campaign and advisor to her Congressional Campaign in 2018. In 2017, Jillia was the first woman and openly queer person to run for the Ward 1 Minneapolis City Council seat. Although she narrowly lost, Jillia ran an unapologetic campaign rooted in racial and economic justice that helped build support for passing a $15 minimum wage ordinance in Minneapolis. About Women Winning: Women Winning’s mission is to encourage, promote, support and elect pro-choice women of all political parties to all levels of public office in Minnesota. 2020 Goals: Women Winning candidates will FLIP the Minnesota Senate to a pro-choice majority! We will increase pro-choice women's representation in the Minnesota House. And we will work to elect the first pro-choice woman PRESIDENT. Call to Action: VOTE in Minnesota's Presidential Primary for a pro-choice woman on March 3, 2020! Volunteer and/or donate to ELECT a pro-choice woman in 2020! Questions? Email us at info@ womenwinning.org 

Show Notes: Women Winning - Endorsed Candidates 2020 Rita Albrecht for MN Senate Ann Johnson Stewart for MN Senate Amanda Matchett for MN House Kelsey Waits for MN House Barbara Lee Foundation - How Women Candidates Can Talk About Politics, Parenting, and Their Personal Lives NY Times - Gender Gap Closes When Everyone’s on the Ballot, Study Shows Star Tribune - MN GOP Works to Recruit Women

In this Super-sized episode, we cover all things Super Tuesday: when it is, why it is, and what Minnesota’s role is this year. (Go vote, people.) We’ll also talk to Emily Jensen, Minnesota State Director for the Elizabeth Warren campaign, who tells us how campaigns prepare for Super Tuesday (spoiler alert: it’s super different than how voters prep). Plus, what’s a super delegate and when do we have to care? As always, get witchy with our weekly tarot card pull.

Show Notes

Meet our Guest - Emily Jensen

Emily is the Minnesota State Director for Warren for President. Her previous work includes: Midwest regional director for the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) at the DNC from Aug. 2017.  Coordinated Campaign director for the South Carolina Democratic Party, Sept.-Nov. 2018.  Campaign manager on Draft Rick Nolan, Apr.-June 2017.  Campaign manager on Ken Martin for DFL chair, Nov. 2016-Mar. 2017.  Deputy director of candidate service for the House DFL Caucus, June-Nov. 2016.  Minnesota Caucus director on Bernie 2016, Nov. 2015-June 2016.  Aquatic assistant department head at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Dec. 2014-June 2015.  Direct support staff at Opportunity Matters Inc, July-Dec. 2014.  Studied political science, international relations at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University.

In this week’s episode, Grace & Bri finally give you the sweet, sweet details about what caucuses and conventions actually are. Because we don’t have the answers, we sit down with the Minnesota DFL’s Organizing Director, Alyse Maye Quade, to ask all the important questions about wtf a caucus is, how it’s different from the Presidential Primary, what a convention is, and more.

Party business can be weird as hell, but we’ve got your covered. Learn why caucuses are so important and how you, normal Minnesotan who cares, can participate. As always, we provide that witchy content you’re looking for with our weekly tarot card pull.

Show Notes

Super Tuesday is right around the corner, and Minnesotans across the state are getting ready to cast their first votes of 2020. So as you get ready to ballot up, you need to know how Minnesotans vote and what your rights are at the polls -- plus all the ways Minnesota is great at voting and all the ways we need to do better #RestoreTheVote. Special guests this week are Kate Redden and Katie Lauer from Minneapolis Election and Voter Services! And, as always, your weekly tarot draw. Get witchy. Show Notes Check Your Voter Registration Register to Vote What’s On My Ballot? Polling Place Finder Voters Bill of Rights What You Need to Same-day Register Resolution form Restore the Vote resolution text to be placed in the body of the Resolution form: WHEREAS the right to vote forms the core of our democracy, but Minnesota laws deny the right to vote to citizens while they are under supervised release, probation, or parole; WHEREAS over 52,000 Minnesotans are denied the right to vote because of felony convictions, even though they live in the community, work, raise families, and pay taxes like all of us; WHEREAS people of color are disproportionately affected by the current system; WHEREAS voting is a powerful way to engage and to feel invested in the community; WHEREAS research has shown that people are less likely to reoffend in states that immediately restore voting right after release from incarceration than in states where they face permanent disenfranchisement; WHEREAS making this change would also reduce confusion among voters and election officials, reducing government costs; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party support legislation which would allow people to vote once they have served their time and are living in the community. Meet Our Guests, Kate Redden and Katie Lauer Kate Redden Kate joined the Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services (EVS) division in 2017 and currently serves as a Supervisor Election Administrator. Her work focuses primarily on administrative functions, including candidate filing, legislative tracking/monitoring, public inquiries and front-counter service, and project management. Prior to joining EVS, she worked in the nonprofit sector where she oversaw large-scale planning initiatives ranging from international medical relief to youth homeless programs. Katie Lauer Katie just recently started her Communications & Outreach Coordinator role with the City of Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services (EVS) ahead of a busy election year. In addition to creating election-related communications for 2020, Katie is assisting with projects relating to the upcoming census – specifically facilitating ‘trusted spaces’ within different Minneapolis communities for residents to access and complete the census. Prior to her role at EVS, Katie worked as the Program Director for the Ann Bancroft Foundation and Interim Director of Summer Academic Programs at Carleton College.

Welcome to Renegade Feminist!

Interested in Minnesota politics? Excited, and a bit terrified about the upcoming election? Girl, same.

That's why we made Renegade Feminist.

We dive into Minnesota politics, bringing in local experts to answer questions about how the process of democracy works (like, wtf is a caucus?) and connecting with the female and non-binary candidates, elected officials, organizers, and activists shaping Minnesota politics - for the better.

Check us out.