Today, I'm interviewing 2 candidates running for office here in Western North Carolina. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara is a North Carolinian, Christian minister, founding director of the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE), and mother of 3. Service and faith are the driving forces in her work, from teaching in prisons to founding an organization to advocate for LGBTQ equality across the Deep South. By showing up—especially in small towns—and telling the stories of families, Jasmine's organization (CSE) helped win marriage equality in North Carolina and Mississippi. She is running to unseat Republican Madison Cawthorne for US Congress.

Maggie Ullman was Asheville's first Sustainability Director. Her leadership has resulted in over $5 million of new grant dollars to communities in the American South who work with their local government to address climate change equitably. She is a candidate for Asheville City Council.

Together, both Maggie and Jasmine want to bring people together to incite change and protect what's precious.

In this episode, Maggie, Jasmine and I talk about why local elections are so important, how you can get involved, and how even the tax code is proof that representation matters.

Also mentioned in today's episode:

• Jasmine's background and vision
• Maggie's background and vision
• Why the tax code represents only the people who were in the room when it was passed
• Why local elections matter and what city government does
• County level politics and what it includes
• How priorities translate from local to national politics
• How you can get involved in your local area to get candidates you care about elected

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Links:

Connect with Jasmine and Maggie:

Jasmine's website: https://www.jasmineforcongress.com/

Maggie's website: https://www.maggie4avl.com/