WBCA Podcasts

Talk Of The Neighborhoods

Tonight on Talk of The Neighborhoods, we'll be talking to two young people deeply involved in local and state politics. First we have Jack Perenick, the president of the Young Democrats of Massachusetts and a delegate to the upcoming Democratic National Convention. In our second half, we will be joined by Meredith Coolidge, the Campaigns Manager for Democrats for Education Reform.

Duration:: 55m
Broadcast on:: 25 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

And thanks for joining me for Talk of the Neighborhoods. I'm Mary Tamer, and I'm happy to be hosting tonight's broadcast on BNN, which is also being simulcast on WBCA 102.9 FM. We're seeing some historic moves on the national political scene, and tonight we'll be talking to two young people deeply involved in local and state politics. Next we have Jack Paranich, the president of the Young Democrats of Massachusetts, and a delegate to the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Jack will fill us in on what the young Dems are up to and how they're feeling about the recent shifts in the national party. In our second half, we'll be joined by Meredith Coolidge, the campaigns manager for Democrats for Education Reform. Meredith has roots in campaign work here in Massachusetts and Texas, and she'll speak with us about those different political landscapes, as well as initial responses from fellow Gen Ziers to the prospect of electing America's first woman president. Please stay tuned. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Hello again, I'm Mary Tamer, and tonight I am joined in this first segment with Jack Paranich. Jack is the president of the Young Democrats of Massachusetts. He's also a delegate to the National Convention, Democratic Convention. That's going to be in Chicago in just a few weeks away, so Jack, thank you so much for being here tonight. Mary, thank you for having me. It's a really pleasure. So much has happened. This last week has literally felt like a year. I don't even know where to begin with you, but I think for folks that don't know about the Young Democrats, can you tell us a little bit about the group? >> Yeah, absolutely, so our state party, the Democratic Party in Massachusetts has a huge interest in engaging young people, and so we're their official youth group. We're also a segment of the Young Democrats of America that do that job nationally, getting people under age 35, involved in Democratic politics. >> And when we're talking young, how young, could you be 15? >> So we run in Massachusetts, we pre-register voters to vote at 16, that's the first time you can identify with either political party. We really start then, but of course, our high school chapter runs even younger 14. We run up to 35, just like the census defines young people in the country. >> That's amazing. So voter registration drives, which is wonderful, what are some of the other activities that the young Dems do? >> Yeah, I mean, so one of the things that we're trying to get people to do is get into the habit of voting. There's a huge effort every four years to try and get young people to come out to the polls to sway the presidential election. And occasionally every two years, if you happen to live in one of the 10% of congressional districts that's competitive, but really in most elections, there's not a sustained effort to engage youth turnout. What we're really trying to change is getting young people in the practice of voting every single election. Whether it's a, you know, I'm very proud my first time voting was an municipal preliminary election, which is not really a big first, you know, but I think it's really important that in order to get that sustained youth engagement where young people, you know, people who, it's 18, it's their first time voting. They have a town election on a special tax override. They're voting, they know exactly what they're doing. And frankly, with a lot of the reforms we've seen in Massachusetts in the last years, it's easier than ever with things like the votes act, people can vote early, they can vote, you know, early absentee. By mail, there's just so many avenues now, and we're really trying to push young people to get into that habit. Yeah. I would love to know, and I say this as, you know, former president of the League of Women Voters of Boston, and one of my favorite activities were the voter registration drives that we did, and we did them. We went through Boston's high schools. We would be outside the naturalization ceremony, so as soon as someone was sworn in as a new citizen, and they'd come out of Fanul Hall with a flag in their hand, and we would be there with the forms and multiple languages, and it really was such a really beautiful thing, frankly. You know, the whole family's there, and just such a moving experience. How are you engaging young people? Like, is there a secret sauce in this work, and if you have found it, will you tell us what it is? Yeah, I mean, as so far as there's a secret sauce, I mean, I think the most important thing is getting to voters digitally. I think so many of the barriers that have been created to accessing voters, generally, no one reads, you know, paper mail that's communicated, especially young people, although there's been a little bit of a resurgence on that, but really one of the most important ways that we're getting to people is online, and I think that we've seen, you know, a huge attempt to engage young voters digitally through social media, but also through text messages where we actually do see an engagement rate, unlike, you know, no one picks up the digital phone anymore, so calling the landline and asking for, you know, the two 18-year-olds in the household is just not a way that we're reaching young people. But text messages, social media, you know, people's own social networks. I think a lot of effort is obviously put into paid, you know, social media promotion, but really one of the more effective ways is people's own social network, you know, the kind of social contagion that some, you know, even things like online meme content has actually been a huge way of driving democratic engagement, and we're actually certainly seeing that embraced by the new presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. Yeah, it's a really good segue because as I was driving here today, I heard a lot of people heard on NPR, they were talking about the strong meme game that is happening right now with nominee Kamala Harris and nominee to be Kamala Harris, but I know, I want to get to that in what's transpired over these last five days, but you're a delegate to the National Convention taking place in Chicago in the week of August, since it's 20, since it's... It'll run from the 18th to the 23rd of August in Chicago. Yeah, I had the great pleasure to be elected in the month of June right up at the street at Roxbury Community College. I'm one of the alternate delegates for Ayanna Presley's Congressional District. We elect in total 92 delegates, and we much talked about superdelegates, brings us to about 114 delegates. Our delegation as a whole will travel to Chicago, and even actually just today at 2 p.m., the first balloting for nominations for the presidential contest began, and as has been announced by our Chairman Steve Kerrigan, 92 of Massachusetts Delegates, that's all of them have voted to endorse Kamala Harris, so we are going to be part of that nominating process today. Yeah, I really want to talk about this, what's happened. Tell us though, I do think there's a bit of a mystery surrounding how delegates are chosen. So you are 21 years old, you are going to the Democratic National Convention, I can only imagine how exciting that is. How did you get here? How did that happen for you? Yeah, so the first step is obviously looking at the voters, so when people vote in our primary on March 5th year, you're voting for a presidential candidate. And now, depending on how much support that candidate gets, determines how many delegates. So in Massachusetts, Joe Biden won decisively and overwhelmingly against both Marion Williams and Indian Phillips, who were on the challenging him, but also over-uncommitted, which was an option in Massachusetts. So Joe Biden was awarded 91 of our 92 delegates, the vast, vast majority. One was allocated for uncommitted in this congressional district that will be served by Representative Christopher Warrell, who will be joining. But the most important thing is that March 5th vote, when you vote, now, about two months after that, any registered Democrat, anyone, you don't have to have voted in the primary, any registered Democrat can show up at your local caucus. We break that down by congressional district to be representative. So here in the 7th congressional, that was Iana Presley, we met at Roxbury Community College, a couple hundred people gathered, cast their ballots for who they wanted to be, those eight delegates to represent us in Chicago. Okay. Great. Wow. And so tell us a little bit about when you first heard the news last Sunday that President Biden had decided not to seek reelection, what were some of your initial responses, reactions to that news? Yeah. And actually in fulfilling my duties for the Young Democrats in Massachusetts, I was with colleagues in North Carolina, with the governor of North Carolina, who's obviously now widely considered a contender for the vice president. That's right. That's right. Well, colleagues in North Carolina were enthused with that possibility, but really, I mean, the first thing that came to mind was a sense of incredible gratefulness to the president for everything that he's done for the country, for the contributions of the Biden-Harris administration, and really for this very selfless decision to put the party in the country ahead of his own personal prospects of being a second-term president, you have to go back to the 1880s, Rutherford B. Hayes, to find a first-term president who didn't seek reelection. That's right. It's extremely rare. And I think this was the moment to do it, where we do have a democratic process with the delegates who can choose, had the president withdrawn after this national convention. It would have been only the Democratic National Committee, those superdelegates who would decide it. Now we have a very kind of open and transparent process where anyone could be chosen as the nominee, as we've said, obviously earlier this week, Kamala Harris secured the necessary support to be that nominee, but it did provide a really nice democratic backstop to making sure that we had a representative process to choose the president. Yeah, no, and that leads me to my next question, which is I know there's been a little bit of back and forth even within the Democratic Party about open convention versus naming Vice President Harris before the convention even begins. What would you say, obviously the mass delegation just voted unanimously to support Vice President Harris, what do you say to those who might think things should have been done differently? Yeah, well, what I will say is this is an open convention. When President Joe Biden suspended his campaign for the race, unlike the Republican Party, where they can then name someone, designate a replacement, it's not the case for the Democrats. These delegates, 4,000 of them from across the country, could vote for anyone. They could choose to nominate anyone for this party's nomination, and in fact, they still very much could, although most of the majority has announced they'll vote for Harris. This is a completely open process, and in fact, there are people, some very fringy, who are asking delegates to vote for them, will know very soon on the 30th of July, anyone who's received 300 nominations, so there's 4,000 delegates, anyone who gets 300 nominations can appear on the ballot for president. So we may in fact see multiple candidates, but I think given what I've heard and having talked to delegates from around the country, Kamala Harris has won and just secured that strong support that has earned her the nomination. Yeah, have you heard personally from Marianne Williamson or anything? I actually have. I really have. That was a joke question. No, no. It's completely true. She did reach out to delegates. Interesting. This has been reported in the media, and I was one of the delegates who received, not personally from her, but I did receive an email asking her to sign her nomination papers. I very playfully declined, but yes, she is contesting this convention. She's asking for nominations. She didn't win herself any votes to secure delegates to this convention, which makes me think it's unlikely that she'll get more than a few, but there are about 30 uncommitted delegates to this convention who were elected saying that they would not vote for Joe Biden. And so there is 30 of them who were elected on the basis of those primary results, but again, there's 4,000 that were elected for Joe Biden who will now look to their second choice. Okay. And you mentioned the governor of North Carolina. What are you, you know, what are you hearing? I know it's been five days now, but there's a short list of candidates for Vice President. Can you say a little bit about who those folks are? Yeah, there's actually the VP's team announces that they announced that they've vetted a dozen candidates. So it's a little bit a larger list than people are thinking, although I think the conventional wisdom in the press has reported that Senator Kelly from Arizona, Governor Shapiro in Pennsylvania and Governor Roy Cooper from North Carolina are some of the front runners, although I'll say about 10 minutes ago, I had a conversation with a DNC member from Minnesota who was very strongly promoting Governor Woltz. So I think it's very much an open process, but I think what's really exemplary is that we would be well served by any of those people in the vice presidency. And obviously the VP knows this job better than many, many people. She's really had to serve as vice president in more ways than people have before. You know, people will talk a lot about the vice presidency, having limited specified tests. Kamala Harris has cast more votes in the Senate than any vice president ever in United States history. So she really knows this job. She knows what's entailed. She's been assigned numerous different executive office positions. So we, I think really trust is a party that she'll select someone who's exemplary for that role. Yeah. Do you have a personal favorite for vice president? I think so many of them who have been mentioned would be exemplary. I will say having been to North Carolina many times and seeing Governor Cooper, I think his record in a red state, you know, obviously the most important thing is who would be a good president for this country. But also, you know, there's the question of who can Kamala Harris rely upon electorally and as an advisor in the White House. So I think we'd be really well served by any of the dozen who've been announced. Yeah. So it changes as someone who is so politically involved and active in the party and in your community as well, where you've also run for office. What are you seeing hearing from Jaziers in terms of has this, I know there was so much talk and so much media reporting around President Biden and his age, not necessarily his challenger's age, but much about President Biden's age. Do you feel a different vibe, a different energy now that the ticket has changed dramatically? Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I'll say as someone who ran for office myself at 20 years old, I know very much what it's like to be judged immediately at the outset by your age. And I think there are moments where, you know, age can shine through and I think that presidential debate that's been much discussed was a moment like that for President Biden. But really, I mean, I have not seen a huge change in who people are saying they're going to vote for in this presidential election. There were people who were absolutely voting for Joe Biden, who are still now voting for Kamala Harris, but are extremely fervent and excited for this nomination. I mean, some of it is to, you know, having a younger energetic nominee who's so well accomplished and has such a rich history in politics really does embolden people. And I think in particular in our delegation, the history of electing the first woman, the first black woman, the first South Asian woman, I mean, someone who really has an exemplary history, not just as a U.S. senator, but also as an attorney general and a local district attorney. I mean, I've even heard things from our district attorneys here in Massachusetts who are very excited to have someone who's been in that role in Massachusetts. And of course, there is the obvious backdrop of having someone who is a professional prosecutor running against someone who is a convicted felon. Yeah, that's right. And that seems to be a real strong talking point that we keep hearing again and again. What, you know, one of the, you know, I think for folks like us, we, day after an election or even the whole week after election, we sort of pour over all the data that comes out, right? Who voted, who didn't vote, what state breakdowns look like? I know people, it's a sickness in a way. But one of the, of all the stats that came out after the last election, I think it was the statistic that of the folks under voters under 30, that eight out of ten stayed home and didn't vote in the presidential election. And typically when we look at local election, statewide elections and then gubernatorial presidential, you know, gubernatorial get a great turnout, presidential is usually the top turnout. What was it that kept people at home? What do you think and how are we going to make sure that doesn't happen this time? Yeah, well, obviously the last election in the midst of a pandemic that has largely subsided now was a very different backdrop than this one. But I do think, you know, one of the animating factors that gets young people out is if they believe the future of the country's estate. If they believe this is not just a four-year decision, but this is something that, you know, through multiple pathways through, you know, changes to our electoral system, our democracy. And frankly, through the judiciary, we've seen the long-reaching effects that presidents who are out of office can have by way of their judicial appointments. Obviously, President Trump having three appointments to the United States Supreme Court had a dramatic effect on women's rights throughout the country. And I think now, you know, that reality has well and truthfully set in for people understanding that the four years that a president serves can have a legacy that extends 40 years beyond their term. I think that's going to be a motivating factor in this election. Yeah. I know that President Biden has talked about some changes to the Supreme Court before his term ends. What do you think is the likelihood of seeing something like that? I think a legislatively initiated reforms are probably doomed under this current Congress. However, I think there's a lot that he can do. People really have missed the fact that we did have a judicial ethics reform that was incorporated to all judges that requires the disclosure of certain gifts. This is how we're coming to learn of so many of these extravagant opportunities that some of the members of our nation's science court have enjoyed, and in addition to really great reporting, especially from groups like ProPublica that have published troops, that weren't announced in violation of those requirements. So I think reform is certainly possible. Senator Durbin has been pushing this particular line for the better part of a year. But I think the president can really use his bully pulpit now in the remaining six months of his term to take some action on this. And it's also, you know, a clarion called to people who, you know, as we get into this next presidential election, if Democrats secure a majority in the United States House and Senate and retain control of the presidency, I think it's eminently likely. That some sort of ethics reform bill is brought forward that actually may very well enjoy bipartisan success, but it would certainly require democratic majorities to bring that forward to the floor. That would be nice, wouldn't it? And I think it just shows how bipartisan really a lot of the party's platform has become. I mean, things like ethics reform and making sure our nation's judges are held accountable and making sure that they're maintaining a moral and proper ethical standard in their conduct. I think that's something that has a huge majority of support among the American people. Yeah, interesting. Why do you, I'm really curious, especially for someone like you who is a true political observer, why do you think so much has been made of President Biden's age versus former President Trump's age? Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, certainly that is a factor, right? I think President Biden has been in the White House and, you know, as folks saw with President Obama, you know, he came in very much a young man, you know, an energy, and came out with great hair, right, the presidency ages people, four hours of sleep a night, takes a physical toll on the human body. And I think that President Biden, you know, enduring a presidency that's been very stressful. I mean, he's had to deal with a nation in the throes of a pandemic. He ended a major war and was involved in the withdrawal of troops from combat. That's obviously a high stakes military situation. He's now been monitoring, you know, this very scary time in the Middle East when there's been an enormous amount of conflict and obviously, you know, great suffering throughout the world. This President has had to oversee quite a lot. And so I think that that takes a toll on people. It also, you know, this President has been active and engaged and on display a lot throughout the country. And I think that that gives people, you know, opportunities to see, you know, moments that both him and President Trump have as, you know, oxygenarians running for the presidency. But I think that there's, unfortunately, you know, voters will sometimes see that in exaggerated ways. I, myself, have seen a lot of, you know, edited content that's not necessarily fake or deep fakes. But we've seen, you know, edited content that has just been designed to make it look worse. Certainly because we've seen, you know, people concerned about this issue, although what I'll say is with President, the President's withdrawal from the race, he can now focus on running this country on being President in 70 percent of voters in a recent poll, said they have confidence that he can fill the remainder of his term, which is a bipartisan, strong majority. Well, and I will say, you know, we watched his message last night, as I'm sure you did as well. And I just thought it just so well done, like very well done, this, the message I think that we needed right now in terms of unity bringing the country together, yeah. I think it was much promised during the RNC, and we really didn't see that come through. And then, you know, this President has really made that effort. And like I was saying, we haven't had a moment like this where a President has withdrawn from the race since before television was invented. This is really a unique moment in history. Yeah. It's one of the weeks where decades happen. And so it's seeing this on TV for the first time. We're living through history right now. We are. It's exciting. So how are we going to get those young people to vote this time, Jack? Yeah. What's the plan? I think one of the most important things is taking advantage of new opportunities that exist for young people. If you go online, you can look up through your Secretary of State's office, how you can get an early ballot. It doesn't obligate you to vote that way, but it does give you the option if your plans change by election day, or even you want to send that in in advance to make sure that your vote is counted. That's an important opportunity. Massachusetts is fairly unique, and then a majority of our younger students actually go out of state for college. That's something we only share with Massachusetts and Connecticut. So obviously, for those voters who are out of state voting, where they live now during college, is an important way that they can have an influence on this election, especially because if you're at the University of Wisconsin, your vote is worth a little bit more than it is in Massachusetts by way of the Electoral College. That's right. Do you think that will change anytime soon? Well, I will say we have a meeting. I'm a member of the Democratic State Committee. We have a meeting on August the 3rd to select our 11 electors for Massachusetts. I think that there's been a lot of discussions about ways that the Electoral College itself might be reformed, and I think one of the ways that's particularly interesting for me is moving to a proportional Electoral College. So Massachusetts, we're selecting our 11 electoral votes that will be in all likelihood cast for Vice President Harris to become president, but obviously there is going to be 30% of Massachusetts that doesn't vote for that ticket. Very much on the other side in states like when we look at Texas, you're going to have 5 million more votes cast for Kamala Harris. They'll get zero electoral votes. I think a proportional system where we split those electoral votes, not on the basis of congressional districts, but just by the popular vote in each state, would allow us to not require amending the Constitution, which is impossible, would require enormous support. But a proportional system like that could leave it intact while still making everyone's vote equal. And I think that that would be a very important thing for us to pursue. We're obviously a compact state here in Massachusetts, so we're a member of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which is an agreement which would end the Electoral College in a de facto sense. So there is some roots there, but probably a little ways off, certainly not in time for this presidential election. Yeah, what are some of the things that are coming up for you, whether it's with the young Democrats or some of your other political pursuits? What's happening for you? Yeah, well, obviously the young Democrats are going into full drive as we come into the next couple of weeks here. We have events that are going on in New Hampshire and Maine to try and get voters to some of those electoral college votes that are more sensitive than our own. But there's really, I mean, I think going to be a groundswell of attention as we approach the National Convention, I'll be leaving for Chicago soon. I do think there's going to be an enormous effort to get people's eyes on this event, where we will be nominating a president who is newer to the American people than many who have run in primaries before. And I think, you know, especially for my generation that has grown up in a time where it's almost always been an open primary process to select the nominee. We have someone who didn't appear on their primary ballots, and I think it actually might be a wonderful opportunity to get people engaged in the process, knowledgeable about how a convention work, how the parties work, how they can vote in primaries and choose among those nominees in the general election. I think it's a great opportunity actually for people to have a little bit of interest, learn more about the process. Yeah. And what are you most excited about for the convention? Are there certain folks you're hoping to see or hear from or what are you looking forward to? I will say, knowing people who are elected in, you know, almost 30 states, I know so many people who are really exemplary leaders. Among young people, people who have historically been leaders in their different communities, I'm really excited to work in with a national coalition of people, not just to get this president elected, which we're going to work very hard to do, but really to engage a democratic coalition across the country that is energized in getting more voters engaged in enfranchising people that have been historically disenfranchised and making this a process that people can really, you know, understand the moment that we're in, the historic nature of Vice President Harris's candidacy and the historic nature that this election will have. Yeah. Sometime for deep dish pizza maybe while you're there. Yeah. I mean, I think in Chicago hosting this convention, you know, being back in the Midwest in one of our nation's great cities is really a wonderful opportunity for us and I'm going to be very happy to be joined by a great host committee in Chicago between the governor and mayor and all the wonderful people that make this process happen and I think, you know, sometimes there's some consternation about millions of dollars being spent on these conventions and no one watches. People are going to watch this. People are going to watch. People are going to watch. And I really, I hope that they watch a lot of the conventions proceedings because not only is this convention voting on the president, we're going to be voting on a party platform and I think that people, you know, this year should pay a lot of attention to those platforms the Republican party made a lot of substantial changes to their party's platform, including withdrawing support for a lot of our international allies. I think people should take a look at the party platforms this year and, you know, see the issues that people should be voting on as well. Yeah. Well, I hope you have a wonderful time in Chicago, Jack. Thank you. Do the Riverboat cruise. If you've never done the River, the architecture tour is just fantastic. It's a great city. So it's a pleasure to be here and to shed some light on the primary process. Thank you so much for joining and we'll really have to do this again sometime and talk to you again after the convention. Amazing. Thank you. So thanks for all the work you're doing to get the vote out. We will be back with Meredith Coolidge and we will continue this talk with another Gen Zir about her own political activity. So please stay with us. We're getting close to the first pitch here at Fenway Park, but no sign of only the Green Park. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Wally. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hello. Thanks for staying with us. I am now joined by Meredith Coolidge, the campaigns manager for Democrats for Education Reform and someone who has been very engaged in politics also at a young age. Meredith, thanks so much for being with us tonight. I'm happy to be here. Tell me a little bit about how I know that you grew up in Maine, you went to Holy Cross. How did you first get involved in politics? I've been excited about politics since I was a kid. I think Obama '08 is probably my earliest memory of going to the polls with my mom. I couldn't vote yet. But I remember we were leaving and she was like, we just voted for the first black president. It was just so exciting and knowing that each individual person can have an impact was so fulfilling for me. But then yes, I went to the College of the Holy Cross in Western Massachusetts. Loved the Jesuit education there, really felt like service was such a big focus. And I ended up running for student body president, got really involved in the student government, and served in the Senate as an intern in the U.S. Senate as well as at the Department of Education. So really loved D.C., loved politics. But what I was seeing when I was in these spaces was people didn't always understand what was really happening in communities. And so I ended up doing Teach for America, which brought me to San Antonio, Texas. I was a 22-year-old, a girl from Maine. It was an amazing experience. And I learned so much about boots on the ground, what you can really do in your community. And that's led me to a career in politics. Yeah, so what was your step then when you finished TFA? What was your next step? So it was right when the pandemic hit, it was my second year of teaching. And so anybody who's ever been a teacher can imagine exactly what that is like. I felt like a cog in the wheel, and like there was so much that we could do for students that really wasn't happening in my school or in the schools around me. And so I found an organization called the Texas Public Charter Schools Association, and they were doing things to fortify and, you know, make charter schools, public charter schools in Texas better for all students, especially students from marginalized backgrounds. And so I ended up getting involved with their political work in Texas. And as somebody who, you know, I work for Democrats for education reform, I'm a lifelong Democrat, found it kind of a hard landscape to work in, and so found my way back up to New England, and now I'm running campaigns on behalf of Deaver. And local and statewide campaigns, is that right? Correct, yes. And so tell me a little bit about, I admit I've always had this curiosity about politics in Texas, and I know, you know, some say it's a purple state now. It is possible in certain parts of Texas for Democrats to get elected. How did you find the landscape, especially, I would imagine it's vastly different than the landscape here in Massachusetts? It's just a totally different place, and I am so grateful that I had that experience in a different space coming from New England. It made me really love and appreciate Boston, and Maine, and all the different places that I've spent time here in New England. But I would just say, you know, we spend so much time in D's and R's. And in Texas, D's and R's are so vastly different. I remember working on a race down by, in the border, which is like the border of Mexico, and it was a lot of heavily Latino population, and so many of the folks were like proud Democrats and also pro-life. And as a woman, I was so confused by that, but that was, you know, the landscape. And then you come back up here, and some of the folks that I know who are strong Republicans would probably be considered Democrats down in Texas. So it's just a totally different, you know, world and landscape. And I think, you know, when we look at national races, it's just so important that you understand the landscape of where you're working, because something that works with Democrats in Massachusetts does not work with Democrats in Texas. Yeah, it's fascinating, and it's probably true. Our states are all so different and so diverse, right? So diverse, so different and so diverse. And each, even within Texas, so Texas is a huge state. It's so funny when I tell people, oh, yeah, I'm in Connecticut one day, and then I can go up to Boston, and then you can go up to Rhode Island, and people in Texas are like, you can go to us. So how many states in one day? And I'm like, well, yeah, because everything's pretty close together here, and much smaller, but up there, I mean, I was living in San Antonio, which is in the middle of the state, and it would take eight hours to go all the way to El Paso, which is not even, you know, that far, but it was eight hours. So it's just a huge, huge place. I think you raised a really important point, though, that sometimes in terms of party politics, it's really not as black and white as many people think, right? And I think about even, you know, Massachusetts has always been labeled as a blue state, but in fact, we have over 60% of our registered voters are unenrolled. We don't have independent as a party here. It's just unenrolled, and so it is, I think, 62%, 63% of our voters now, and so what do you think about that? I mean, we've had, you know, Governor Healy is our first or second Democratic governor in 30 years, and so I think Massachusetts isn't necessarily what a lot of people think as well, but I mean, our legislature is predominantly overwhelmingly, in fact, democratic, but what do you think about that? I would say I have two points to make to that. So the first one is I think so many folks focus on Massachusetts being a blue state because Boston and the greater Boston area is very urban. There is a forgotten part of the state sometimes, especially in these conversations in Western Massachusetts. A lot of my extended family is all from Springfield and Pittsfield, and I think people don't always remember that those communities just see things differently, have different needs than the greater Boston area, and so even within our state, you know, there's different demographics. The other piece I will say is I'm, through and through Democrat, I think that Democratic values are very important. I also think it's important to think for yourself and be really critical about certain issues, and I say that around, in 2016, there was the charter school question. I was a student at Holy Cross at the time, and I remember my friend saying, "This is how we're going to vote because the Democrats are voting this way." And then when I did Teach for America and I saw what was really happening in schools and understanding how certain schools can be better for certain students and what public school options really look like. It's like you have that sort of switch of, "Oh, once I start thinking for myself, once I start to understand issues," and I think a lot of times people don't discount somebody just because they are affiliated with one group or with another group and have to be right in party line. Yeah, I know you heard my conversation with Jack that just took place, and I want to ask you some similar questions about in this last week, which really has felt like a month. What are some of the things you're hearing, observing about President Biden making this historic decision to not run for reelection, and Kamala Harris essentially getting the nomination, getting the delegates that she needs to be the nominee for the Democratic ticket? What is that meant for you as a woman, and what are you hearing on the ground? My first vote for a presidential election was Hillary Clinton. I'm still sad about it. It was a really hard day when I remember just so naively thinking, "Oh, of course a woman can be president," and then not only to lose, but to lose to somebody who I just thought was so against women was so challenging. And so I think I'm reinvigorated with hope and with excitement. I really love Kamala Harris. I was a big Kamala Harris fan in 2020. I think she is an amazing person, really, really qualified. It's tough to hear all these things on the Republican side about her being a DEI hire or these kind of heinous claims, and I think she really is so qualified, so smart. As a member of Gen Z, it's really fun to be on the Internet right now, because-- Tell us why. For those of us who are not on, maybe in the same places that you are. So the Internet is a funny place after these kinds of big events happen. I think the way that the algorithms all work kind of creates people being very online after Twitter and TikTok and Instagram are all places that Gen Z years go for their news and for their information. And so folks are sharing hilarious reels and memes, and there's this brat summer thing right now that everybody's really into. To the Kamala Harris campaign's point, they've really taken hold of that. And so within 24 hours of this Charlie XCX brat summer meme coming out, they had already rebranded her Twitter because she knew that that was the audience. And so I think she's really responding to voters' needs and making Gen Z and women feel heard for the first time in a long time. And I think that's one of the interesting things about what we're seeing in politics right now, because when, in past presidential campaigns, did you see that level of adaptive politicking, right, that they just switched on a dime and just created and just went with this whole theme, right? And that didn't happen. You had your plan lined up, right? And you typically didn't deviate from that plan. And to think about this really is a new generation, a new time. And as Jack was saying, it's a new way of reaching out to young voters too, that this digital means social media is really critical right now. It's so true. And I hear people say, oh, this has been a long-term plan. Like, this has been how they've been planning this for the whole time. I'm like, no, I actually think that he had 48 hours when he had COVID and made this decision. And that Kamala only knew hours before that she was going to be the next presumptive presidential nominee. And they really, as you're saying, they're building the plane while it's in the air and they're figuring it out. And it's fun. It's a fun time. I think the excitement from my generation is just so palpable. I have friends who are not generally super politically involved, who are getting really excited about it. And just have that kind of hope again. And my little sister, who's six years younger than me, is so excited to vote for her first woman president. And I'm just as excited as she is. Do you think, I mean, I think one of the things we've heard time and time again from political pundits and the media, that this is such a consequential election, do you think, and I had shared with Jack, that eight out of ten people under 30 didn't vote in the last presidential election, do you see that changing this time? And is it because we have a woman candidate, a woman candidate of color, breaking glass ceilings, but also someone who maybe younger people can relate to a bit more? It's a good question. And I think the 80 plus million dollars on the day she announced from voters was a huge 62% of those, I think were unregistered previously or something. And the number of voter registrations over the last couple of days has absolutely skyrocketed. So that in itself, the numbers show that there is this reinvigorated, excited electorate. I think also in the four years, I know for all of us in politics, it does kind of seem like yesterday, but in the four years since the 2020 election, we've just come light years ahead with technology and ways to access voter registration. And, you know, if you Google, how do I register to vote? You're going to get an AI chat, but spitting right back at you exactly how you're supposed to do it. And I think that's my generation. That's how we receive our information. And it's a lot easier to access the resources that you need. Yeah, I have seen a couple of the TikTok videos. So one I keep seeing is she's dancing with a group of students. I think she was visiting a school somewhere and she was dancing with a group of students. And it's adorable and funny. Another one I saw that was more poignant was her doing American Sign Language and signing with, I believe she was visiting a school for the deaf. And so she was actually signing something meaningful to them. And I just thought, that's also something you don't see every day either. Yeah, I haven't seen the ASL one, but I know exactly the dancing one. And it's cute too, because it's her dancing and being so fun. And then it pans to Doug, her husband. That is such a wonderful first family. And I think the modern element of their first family, too. She has two stepchildren. And I come from a blended family. I think many people have those kinds of family structures now. They just seem so real. And you see them on TikTok. You see her laugh. She's like, I'm not apologizing for my laugh. I love my laugh. So she's awesome. And I think it's really fun to see them embrace social media the way they have. So you mentioned your friends and would you say percentage wise? I mean, you're very political. In terms of your friend group, what percentage would you say are somewhat political, very political, not political at all? Well, I would say the debate a few weeks ago, most of my best friends watched it. And I know this because they texted me and they probably wouldn't have, you know, not texted me about it. And we're like, oh gosh, what are we going to do? And I think there was a little bit of a lull with, you know, frustration. And then they've come back. I would say probably about 50% of my friends, my close friends are pretty political. That's also a biased group because, you know, if you're going to be friends with me, you're going to have to be okay talking about politics sometimes. But I do think that there is an excitement around it, especially for women, especially in the educated Boston area. People are excited. Yeah. How do you think, what can people like you, people like Jack, working in this political arena, what do you think, especially for, you know, for folks who are Gen Zers, what can be done to maybe increase, not only increase the engagement, but to maintain it after the election's over? Gosh, that's a good question. I mean, social media, I keep coming back to it. That's really where everybody lives right now. I think, you know, I'm seeing so much about organizing, volunteering to organize. And I think those are really good ways too of, you know, just volunteering, getting on campaigns. I always say that this work is lowercase P progressive in the sense that you really don't know what's coming next, and you just kind of have to hold on for the ride and see, you know, where your heart and your values take you. But I would say getting involved with other friends and going to parties and doing text vote, get out the vote, all of that, and just building community is a great way. Yeah. What do you think, I mean, if you were advising any presidential candidate, what do you think would be some of the tactics? You would tell them that they should be deploying to attract young voters, but really any voters too. I mean, I think the Gaza Israel situation right now is definitely something that's on a lot of people's hearts and minds from my generation. I think that the Vice President has done a good job so far, I think, unlike the Biden administration, she has a lot more empathy around the issue and sort of being able to convey that kind of empathy while also holding firm, that it's important to remain supportive of Israel for various reasons. I do think yesterday's decision, you know, to boycott Prime Minister Netanyahu's appearance in front of Congress, but, you know, to say she had a scheduling conflict was sort of like a fine way of drawing that line. I think that's going to be an issue that continues over the next couple of months, especially students go back to school of figuring out, you know, the best way to handle that. But really, I think it's all about just staying current. And what she's done so far of, you know, people doubted whether she was up to the task and she's truly building the plane while it's in the air and figuring it out day to day, I mean, that's how you win with this generation. Do you think for folks who are part of Gen Z, do you think they are deeply aware of the consequences of Supreme Court picks, and that given the age of certain members of the current Supreme Court, that it's likely that the next president could pick two to three members, possibly more, you never know when folks get sick or something happens, but do you think the younger generation really has a solid understanding of what that means for, you know, three or four decades? I have to say, as somebody who is living in Texas, when Roe versus Wade got overturned, that, and even as somebody as politically involved as I am, I have never been so personally scared as that decision, because I was like, oh my goodness, something horrible were to happen, I would have no options. I mean, they say, you know, you can fly out, but we all know Texas is huge. To drive over the state border is like ten hours. That's not an easy thing. And so I think there were so many women like me who felt that kind of fear and anxiety and watching SCOTUS make these decisions over the last few years and how political it's gotten, and that there, you know, things that we thought were settled law that are coming back up again, they get to decide which cases they take, and they're taking on the cases that are going to overturn these kinds of settled laws. I mean, nobody is missing that, especially with the new abortion stuff. So I do think it's a big deal for folks. And I will say before Biden dropped out of the President Biden dropped out of the race, my younger brother, who's not particularly political, but is a very, one of the most empathetic, thoughtful people I know. We were texting and he was talking about how frustrated he was with, you know, both candidates, but he was like, you know, women deserve rights. And so I will vote for an administration that will put people in the right places to make sure that that happens. And I think that that is how a lot of people are thinking right now. Yeah, that's great. Let's talk a little bit about some statewide races. And one of the things that is frequently said about the State House is that so many of our races go uncontested. And I know that, correct me if I'm wrong, I think there were 18 retirements or step aside. So folks, I think it was 15 in the House, three in the Senate. But just for the incumbents who remain, what are you seeing this cycle? Yeah, so it's so funny because Texas is not like this at all. And so coming back to Massachusetts, I was so, so like, okay, who are we in, who are we not? And I realized pretty quickly that we have, I think, the least competitive races for legislative races of any state in the nation. There's major, major respect for incumbency. And so once you're in office, really until you retire, you're really not contested. And if you are, the rest of the legislature really takes a responsibility to make sure you remain in your seat. Which has its pros and cons, obviously. But as you're saying, so there's 18 retirements, three in the Senate, 15 in the House. And only three, I believe, of those races lean right. So that was a huge opportunity for my organization. But immediately realizing also that not that many people were throwing their hat in the ring. So there are definitely a few seats I'm really excited about. There's the 13th Norfolk Grays I'm really interested in. There's a couple on the Cape as well. First Plymouth is looking interesting. But there's also two people who are running for these open seats who are the only candidates in their races. So they're effectively going to be elected. And so really I think my generation needs to figure out how we build that pipeline. And I think people like Jack and people like the Mass Dems are really working on that. But that's really where we need to put our efforts. What do you think is preventing some people from? I mean it is a lot to run. You know you've worked on campaigns. It's not an easy slog to put yourself through and put your family through. But why do you think we're not seeing more people like Jack who decided to run for local office when he was 20 years old? It's a couple of different things. I think there's a misconception, some based in reality, some based in misinformation. That is it's too expensive to be a state legislator or a city counselor. I think we've talked about you know it's not a full time job all the time. Some people do treat it as a full time job but there's other ways to make a living. The other you know I don't know barrier to this would be I think people don't really have the resources or understand or always know. Especially folks from marginalized communities. And so part of my work and part of my interest is really going out into these spaces and places to make sure that folks understand how to run for office. There's a lot of you know things to get around with OCPF and campaign finance and all of that. And so throwing their hat in the ring is important. Yeah when you think about a pipeline what does that look like? Like how you know a Jack talked a little bit about engagement but how do you think we share with younger folks the importance of stepping up and leading right because I think you know we've talked about how it seems the democratic ticket has really been reinvigorated by having this new younger woman candidate woman of color. How do we convince others and as you said in especially those from marginalized communities that this is the place. Like that they do deserve a seat at the table and how can we help you get there. Like what how do we fill that pipeline. This isn't going to answer the question the way you want me to but I will say I think part of it is Maslow's hierarchy. I don't think that the housing situation here in Massachusetts is super you know hospitable to young people like me. I'm fortunate and happy to live back here but I think a lot of people in my age range and are you know choosing to live outside of the state because they can buy a house for much cheaper. And that's really people's priority when they're in their twenties early thirties is to figure out you know where can I you know make a living. So if we're supporting our young people really investing in our young people I think they'll feel that kind of pride and sense of community and wanting to run. I think also really investing at that most base level which is really sometimes the most important level for policy so school committees city councils not discounting those races. Those are sometimes the places policy really gets made and it's then at the state house so investing in those spaces and understanding those as well. Meredith thank you so much appreciate your passion in being with us tonight and hope you can come back another time. Thank you so glad. Thank you so much for being with us tonight. I will be back in a couple weeks couple of weeks and I hope you'll turn in again to talk of the neighborhoods. Have a wonderful night. Bye bye. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]