Washington Indivisible Podcast

As part of our town hall series in partnership with the Washington Indivisible Network and Indivisible Tacoma, we present an evening of conversation with four candidates running for statewide office.

Chris Reykdal is Superintendent of Public Instruction, and he’s running for reelection. Representative Gael Tarleton is running for Secretary of State. Also Lieutenant Governor candidate, Senator Marko Liias joins us, as well as Rep. Mike Pelliciotti, who’s running for state Treasurer.

All four candidates represent a tremendous opportunity for us to advance real, progressive ideals and policy here in the state, and the following hour is an opportunity for you to get to know them, and to get excited about their campaigns.

This conversation was recorded live on the evening of Tuesday, September 1st.

https://www.chrisreykdal.org/

https://www.voteforgael.org/

http://markoforwa.com/

http://www.electmikep.com/

With racial equity issues top of mind, we speak with educator Erin Jones. In 2016, she came within a point of winning the race for the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and was the first black woman candidate to run for statewide office.

We talk about a series of online courses for adults and children on racial equity that Erin is teaching during the pandemic. And we get her thoughts on how we can be engaging in the difficult but necessary conversations we need to have in this country on race.

Links:

21-Day Racial Equity Challenge: http://www.athenaplace.com

More info on the Becoming class: [email protected]

Facebook: Erin Jones LLC

Twitter: @ErinJones2016

Instagram: @Erinin2016

Reading: anything by authors Dr. Beverly Tatum, Zaretta Hammond, Ibram X Kendi, Jason Reynolds, Kathy Obear, Richard Rothstein, Michelle Alexander, or Dr. Christopher Emdin; New York Times “The 1619 Project”

Podcasts: Revisionist History, Code Switch, This American Life, Words Matter, Teaching While White, 1619 Project, Nice White Parents, Calling Justice, Seeing White, Facing Ourselves, Speaking of Racism, Throughline; Christian: Pass the Mic, Quick to LIsten, Truth’s Table

Watch: TV: This is Us, Black-ish, The Red Line, Black Earth Rising, When They See Us; Black Lightening, Watchmen, Self Made, Dear White People; Film: The Hate U Give, Emanuel, Hello, Privilege. It’s Me, Chelsea, Cracking the Codes, 13th, Just Mercy, Selma, If Beale Street Could Talk, I Am Not Your Negro, Dear White People

Websites: Teaching Tolerance, culturallyresponsive.org, https://mlpp.org/21-day-racial-equity-challenge/

Varshini Prakash is the co-founder and executive director of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-driven movement that advocates for political action on climate change, and that first gained prominence when they occupied Nancy Pelosi’s office in 2018 to demand passage of the Green New Deal.

She has just released a new collection of essays she’s co-edited entitled “Winning the Green New Deal: Why We Must, How We Can.” The book is equal parts explainer, call to arms, and road map, with essays by Naomi Klein, Joseph Stiglitz, Bill McKibben, and many others.

In a wide ranging discussion, we talk about the nation's multiple climate crises, the Sunrise Movement's impact on Biden's climate platform, the conflict between capitalism and the climate, and whether she is optimistic about the future.

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Green-New-Deal-Must/dp/198214243X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PDKO9M01DGOM&dchild=1&keywords=varshini+prakash&qid=1598662937&sprefix=varshini%2Caps%2C291&sr=8-1

As the country grapples with acts of hate and violence, we touch on a matter close to home, here in Washington.

Right now in the city of Redmond, there is pressure on the city council to pass a resolution condemning hate against Muslims promoted by an organization called the Alliance for Persecuted People Worldwide (APPWW).

APPWW is a Washington nonprofit based in the city of Redmond, and it has engaged with the City (including having the Council President participate in one of their events), despite the fact many people consider APPWW and its actions as expressly anti-Muslim. The city council is currently deadlocked as to whether or not to pass a resolution specifically condemning the hate promoted by APPWW as documented in a Public Statement signed by over 140 organizations (including numerous Indivisible groups).

Aneelah Afzali, Executive Director of the American Muslim Empowerment Network at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, joins us to discuss.

As part of our town hall series in partnership with the Washington Indivisible Network and Indivisible Tacoma, we present a conversation with 8th District Congresswoman, Dr. Kim Schrier, who is running for re-election in November.

Congresswoman Schrier is the first Democrat to hold this seat in the history of the district, in large part because the 8th district was drawn to be a Republican stronghold.

In her first term, she has proven to a highly effective member of our state’s Democratic delegation, and this podcast offers an opportunity to get to know her, and to get excited to #DoTheWork to get her up and over the finish line in November.

Links:

https://drkimschrier.com/

This week, we speak first with State Representative Gael Tarleton, who is running for Secretary of State. Alongside the governor and the state attorney general, Tarleton has mobilized a response to the Trump administration’s sabotage of the United States Postal Service here in the state. We’ll hear her demands to put a stop to the dismantling of our postal infrastructure, and she also list of ways that you can get involved in the fight.

Then, if you’ve been wondering what’s at stake in this year’s state, congressional, and legislative elections and about where you should be putting your time and resources, we have a show for that. Join our panel to hear how you can make a real difference here in Washington in 2020.

Links:

Gael Tarleton’s List of Calls to Action:

- Contact your county auditor and find out where a ballot box is near you: go to https://www.sos.wa.gov. https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/auditors/#

- Vote early!

- Thank your postal worker!

- If you hear of any dismantling of equipment, contact your county auditor, your member of Congress, and your state representatives and senator!

USPS National Call to Action:

Saturday, August 22, 11 AM

Show up at local post offices across the country to save the post office from Donald Trump and declare that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy must resign.

Find an action near you: https://www.savethepostoffice.net

Other steps from Indivisible:

1. Text USPS to 977-79 and we'll send you a script to call your Reps.

2. Show up Saturday: https://bit.ly/2QhofdP

3. Sign up to talk to voters: http://2020.indivisible.org

4. Be ready to Protect the Results: http://ProtectTheResults.com

Instructions on how to use the Washington State Campaign Planner map!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/151WXmOpy0dqB3ghBmvhflSMh-NoAidcpqpjKAKb_c5E/edit

To get your biggest bang for your volunteer buck, focus on the districts that are pink, light blue, or purple!

https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=a99e6f79f08e486fa40bf62fdfa61bbb&extent=-129.2653,44.1499,-113.0385,50.3097

As part of our town hall series in partnership with the Washington Indivisible Network and Indivisible Tacoma, we present two candidates for the state Supreme Court, Justice G. Helen Whitener and Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis.

Both of these candidates are running to retain the seats they were appointed to this year by Governor Inslee, and they are in every way extraordinary. Each has had a long and distinguished career as attorneys and on the bench. And each represents history: Justice Whitener is the first Black woman to serve on the Washington Supreme Court, the fourth immigrant-born Justice, and the first openly Black LGBT judge in the State of Washington. Justice Montoya-Lewis is the first Native American Justice to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court, and the second Native American to serve on a state supreme court nationwide.

This conversation was recorded live on the evening of Tuesday, August 18th.

In conjunction with Indivisible Eastside, we present a live town hall with 9th District Congressman Adam Smith.

He is the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, and he joins us to we discuss this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes how much the US spends on defense each year. (This year, it’ll be somewhere in the neighborhood of $740 billion.)

We break down how the money is spent, how it might be better spent or even drawn down, and how it reflects our priorities and values. We also touch on how Smith sees fight against authoritarianism, and about what he believes it will take to restore our standing in the world post-Trump.

As part of our town hall series in partnership with the Washington Indivisible Network and Indivisible Tacoma, we present two Democratic candidates for the state legislature from the 42nd LD, Alicia Rule and Representative Sharon Shewmake.

The 42nd LD (Bellingham) presents a real opportunity for Democrats, to both protect a seat and flip one. Both of these tremendous candidates had close primaries against their Republican opponents, so this is an opportunity to get to know them, and to get excited about doing what it takes get them up and over in November.

Links:

Alicia Rule:

https://www.votealiciarule.com/

Rep. Sharon Shewmake:

https://www.sharon4whatcom.com/

Theme music from filmmusic.io

"Pure Joy" by Otis Galloway

License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

As Washington votes in its state primary, we revisit our interview with South Carolina senate candidate, Jaime Harrison. Lindsey Graham has held the seat since 2004, but Harrison has recently pulled into a statistical dead heat in this traditionally deep red state, which may be a solid indicator of how things are shifting for the Democrats as we count down the days to November 3rd.

Links:

Jaime Harrison’s campaign website: https://jaimeharrison.com/

Theme music from filmmusic.io

"Pure Joy" by Otis Galloway

License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)