The Andrew Miller Show

Michael Bagdes-Canning has held elected office for 33 years in Cherry Valley Borough, Butler County where he is currently Mayor. He is a retired teacher having spent almost 36 years in the classroom, the last 29 teaching delinquent and dependent boys. He was a union member throughout his working life, serving as president, vice president, and building representative in his local. Since his retirement, Bagdes-Canning has been an organizer in the fracking / climate fight locally, statewide, and on the national level. He serves on the board of several community organizations and is a cofounder of Marcellus Outreach Butler (Butler County), a cofounder of the Better Path Coalition (PA), and works with Beyond Extreme Energy (national).  You can learn more about Michael at gp.org and gpofpa.org.  

With a niche in Actuary Science and academic background in Mathematics, Kiel Corkran is answering a much needed calling to run for Commissioner of Insurance without taking campaign money from the insurance industry and other corporate lobbyists. This gives the voters of Kansas a chance to have real representation and service regarding their insurance needs and matters. Kiel's professional experience includes having worked as a paraeducator at the Manhattan Alternative High School, a visual data analyst for Sperry Rail Service, and a tax examining technician at the Internal Revenue Service. Kiel also engages with his community through civil and political activism. He has been involved in several political campaigns including Yes on 2: Healthcare for Missouri and Clean Missouri. He has served as Treasurer for the Kansas City Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Loading Dock Manager for Flourish Furnishings, and has volunteered at food pantries and cold weather shelters.  Kansas has an opportunity to vote out an incumbent who has insurance industry donors and lobbyists to answer to, by voting in someone who only has the people of Kansas to answer to.  To learn more and help, visit corkran4commissioner.com 

Hunter Crow has been a member of the Green Party of the United States since 2015 and currently the State Party Chair of the Texas Green Party as well as the County Party Chair of the Tarrant County Green Party. His vision for how he wants to fulfill the role includes making the Texas railroad commission stronger by reviving its original promises and to protect Texas citizens against a big industry. His goal is to steer the TRC back to its original intent to hold the concerns of Texans over the interest of private industries. Visit https://sites.google.com/view/hunter-crow-for-txrrc2022 to learn more about Hunter and is campaign.

Laura has served in a number of leadership positions at the county and state levels of the Green Party of California. She was a founding member of the Green Party County Council in Alameda County and a co-founder and managing editor of the state’s Green Party newspaper, Green Focus.  She also organized with “50 Years is Enough” to point out that the World Bank was not at all successful in its stated goal of “reduction of poverty.”  In 2014, Laura ran for California State Controller on a platform of correcting Proposition 13, which directed the majority of “tax relief” to giant corporations and not individuals.  Having worked for years as a trouble-shooting systems analyst, the recognition that solutions are also interrelated appealed to Laura as she wants to be a part of bringing in solutions, to positively affect the future of all beings. 

Alfred Molison has volunteered as a meeting facilitator operating with the consensus decision making process in several different non-profit organizations and in the past 20 years they’ve overwhelmingly been Green Party organizations such as the Greens in Houston, Texas and the Green Party of Texas.  For the office of Land Commissioner, his initial proposals are to increase revenue to the Permanent School Fund, and make it cheaper for all students to attend publicly funded colleges and universities, such that students leave or graduate from school with no debt. Alfred also aims to increase the number of full time employees to make state parks cleaner, and more accessible to the public. Another proposal of his would be a help desk for low to upper middle income people to provide guidance on cleaning up the titles to ownership of inheritable property along with development of a standardized group of methods to deal with complex home and property title situations.

It's just easier to name the show after myself.  I dive into that along with an example of why this show exists.  

Chris Richardson is the Green Party candidate running to represent California's 6th Congressional District (formerly 7th district but just recently redistricted).  Chris comes from an interesting career of having done significant work for different government agencies and helped start the not-for-profit WorldVistA in 2002.  This episode includes discussion of the following:  environmental issues affecting the constituency and what can be done about them; the COVID-19 pandemic and how it's being handled; why the incumbent is not the best choice; and ways government services can run more efficiently and effectively based on first hand experience of his.  You can learn more about his platform and causes at rcr4congress.us.  

Joanne Kuniansky is the Socialist Workers Party candidate for Governor of New Jersey.  Her labor movement activity includes having walked the Teamsters picket line at Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx and joined rallies supporting United Mineworkers currently on strike against Warrior Met Coal in Alabama. Her experience as a worker has spanned from oil refineries, meat packing, and Walmart.  She is a longtime participant in the fight for women’s rights. The Socialist Workers Party is the oldest third party on the ballot in this election.

Gregg Mele is the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor of NJ.  Gregg graduated cum laude from Montclair State and New York University School Law School with his LL.M. In between he earned his MS from Stevens Institute of Technology, an MBA from Baruch College of the City University of New York and his JD from New York Law School.  Unlike many politicians, Gregg campaigned in all 21 counties in NJ.  In this episode we discuss tax and spend issues, competitive bidding, climate change, education, transportation infrastructure, whether the Republican candidate's long political career has anything to show for, the incumbent's handling of COVID and weather disasters, and the difference Gregg sees between what some call a handout and what some call a hand up. 

Bart Everson is the Green Party candidate running for City Council in New Orleans, LA.  He aims to bring greater visibility to climate issues and highlight the need for action in the face of the climate crisis.  He also wants to improve transportation options in New Orleans and hold Entergy, the energy company for the area, accountable.  Bart works at Xavier University of Louisiana’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development.  More of his achievements include being a co-creator of Rox TV series, noted for political activism (marijuana legalization) and technical achievements (first TV show on internet), founding member of Green Party of Louisiana, and founding member and past president of Friends of Lafitte Greenway just to name a few.  You can learn more and help out at https://barteverson.com.