In this final episode of Season 11, Shavonda Miles, CEO of Vonda Mone' LLC, and former federal employee Shernice Mundell, discuss their personal journeys in this political climate and give their definition of perseverance.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 Welcome. I'm Erik Fleming, host of A Moment with Erik Fleming, the podcast of our time.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 I want to personally thank you for listening to the podcast.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 If you like what you're hearing, then I need you to do a few things.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:19 First, I need subscribers. I'm on Patreon at patreon.com slash amomentwitherikfleming.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:24 Your subscription allows an independent podcaster like me the freedom to speak
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 truth to power, and to expand and improve the show.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:32 Second, leave a five-star review for the podcast on the streaming service you
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 listen to it. That will help the podcast tremendously.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:41 Third, go to the website, momenterik.com. There you can subscribe to the podcast,
00:00:42 --> 00:00:47 leave reviews and comments, listen to past episodes, and even learn a little bit about your host.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:51 Lastly, don't keep this a secret like it's your own personal guilty pleasure.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:57 Tell someone else about the podcast. Encourage others to listen to the podcast
00:00:57 --> 00:01:02 and share the podcast on your social media platforms, because it is time to
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 make this moment a movement.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:10 Thanks in advance for supporting the podcast of our time. I hope you enjoy this episode as well.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:16 The following program is hosted by the NbG Podcast Network.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:55 Music.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:01 Hello, welcome to another moment with Erik Fleming. I am your host, Erik Fleming.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:06 Today, we're going to talk about perseverance, right?
00:02:06 --> 00:02:13 So I have a couple of young ladies on who are going through some things,
00:02:13 --> 00:02:19 but they're rapidly approaching the other side of the mountain, right?
00:02:19 --> 00:02:25 One is immersed into politics, and one kind of got thrust into politics.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:35 And, you know, they're navigating that journey in a way, but they're navigating it in a positive way.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:44 And I'm really honored that they wanted to come on the podcast to kind of share
00:02:44 --> 00:02:48 what they're going through and share their thoughts about what's going on in
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 the world that we're dealing with.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:56 So I hope that you will enjoy those interviews.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:01 I had a lot of pleasure in talking to them.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 And, you know, like I said, I just hope that y'all enjoy it because I think
00:03:06 --> 00:03:07 y'all will get something out of it.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:14 We're still trying to get to our magic number, 20 subscribers.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:20 You can go to patreon.com slash momenterikfleming and go ahead and sign up for that.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:29 And, you know, we got some things lined up. This is the last episode for season 11.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:37 And as you know, the way it's going, I've been doing about a couple of seasons a year.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:43 And the only reason why I say, because, you know, in doing these podcasts basically
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 year round since I started.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:52 And, but I break it up so that way, if you want to go back and say,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:57 well, I need to check and see what season was that interview with such and such,
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 then you can go to the website,
00:04:00 --> 00:04:06 momenteric.com and, you know, go on the episode and then you can break it down and find it.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 It's a lot easier to find it that way than trying to remember the name.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:15 But then you can also go to the guest page on the website if you remember the
00:04:15 --> 00:04:22 person and go ahead and, you know, click on that person and it'll direct you to the episode.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:29 So please go to momenteric.com, you know, and kind of catch up on episodes and
00:04:29 --> 00:04:37 all that, you know, and, you know, you can go there too and connect to support the podcast.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 You know, we'll take reviews, you know, commentary, whatever.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:47 What has been happening lately, which has really, really been great,
00:04:47 --> 00:04:52 is that people have been using the website to try to get on the show.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:58 Now, you have to use the guest intake to set up if I invite you on.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:03 But if you if you think that there's somebody that needs to be on this podcast,
00:05:03 --> 00:05:08 somebody you think I need to interview, then you can just email me via the website.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:14 And or you can go to the guest and take thing yourself and set it up for them.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:15 Right. If they don't mind.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:23 But, you know, if you email me and I'll correspond and and we'll see if we can
00:05:23 --> 00:05:28 get them on. But, you know, most of the, I don't think I've rejected any suggestions.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:33 It may have been a couple early on, but I don't even think it was through the
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 website. It might have been through another deal.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:42 But, you know, I try to be selective on who I want because I want guests that
00:05:42 --> 00:05:47 are doing some things in the community that are of value to the political discussion
00:05:47 --> 00:05:51 and of value to the listeners. Right?
00:05:52 --> 00:05:57 There's a lot of great people doing a lot of great things not related to politics,
00:05:57 --> 00:06:02 and that's not to minimize what they're doing, but this is a political show.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:10 And so everything that I'm doing here is to build the conversation in the political
00:06:10 --> 00:06:15 diaspora and to kind of remind folks,
00:06:15 --> 00:06:20 most people like me who have been elected while we were elected,
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 that these are the people we get our ideas from.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:28 Yeah. You know, it's not everybody that gets elected is a natural genius.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 It's like, oh, I've got these agendas in my mind.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:37 No, you get your ideas from people. And so that's what we try to do here.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:44 And, of course, we also get our ideas from the news. So let's go ahead and get this program started.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:51 And as always, we kick it off with a moment of news with Grace G. .
00:06:51 --> 00:06:57 Music.
00:06:57 --> 00:07:02 Thanks, Erik. President Donald Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine and threatened
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 sanctions on buyers of Russian exports.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:14 is seeking $20 million in damages from the Trump administration for alleged
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:20 A federal judge in New Hampshire blocked the Trump administration from denying
00:07:20 --> 00:07:25 citizenship to some U.S.-born babies, allowing a class-action lawsuit to proceed
00:07:25 --> 00:07:29 and issuing a new national injunction against the policy.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:33 A U.S. Senate report revealed a cascade of failures and a lack of accountability
00:07:33 --> 00:07:37 within the Secret Service that allowed a gunman to shoot at Donald Trump during
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 a campaign rally last year.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:44 An immigrant father of three, U.S. Marines Narciso Barranco,
00:07:44 --> 00:07:49 was released from federal custody after being detained by immigration agents last month.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:53 A California farm worker died from injuries sustained during a U.S.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:57 Immigration raid on a cannabis operation that led to hundreds of arrests.
00:07:57 --> 00:08:01 A federal judge in California issued temporary restraining orders against the
00:08:01 --> 00:08:05 Trump administration, halting aggressive immigration tactics such as racial
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 profiling in detentions.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:12 U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered half of the 4 National Guard
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 troops to be removed from Los Angeles.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:19 A federal appeals court overturned the mortgage fraud conviction of former Baltimore
00:08:19 --> 00:08:24 State's attorney Marilyn Mosby due to overbroad jury instructions on venue.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:29 Despite losing the Democratic primary, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
00:08:29 --> 00:08:33 will run as an independent in the New York City mayoral general election.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:39 Texas Democrats are criticizing President Donald Trump's plan to redraw the
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 state's political map, fearing it will dilute minority votes.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:47 And three people, including the shooter, were killed and multiple people were
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 injured in a series of related shootings around Lexington.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 I am Grace G., and this has been a Moment of News.
00:08:56 --> 00:09:02 Music.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:07 All right. Thank you, Grace, for that moment of news. And now it is time for
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 my guest, Shavonda Miles.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:14 Shavonda Miles is a Georgia native and a longtime resident of DeKalb County.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:20 Over 15 years of media and communications experience, including work at CNN
00:09:20 --> 00:09:25 and Warner Media, where she managed breaking news and supported on-air talent.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:29 Shavonda has devoted years to working with media and campaign management,
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 working with prominent political candidates like Attorney Zulma Lopez,
00:09:34 --> 00:09:38 the first Latina elected in DeKalb County, and Attorney William K.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:45 Boddie, the 2022 statewide Democratic nominee for Georgia Labor Commissioner.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:50 Today, Shavonda specializes in brand management, helping clients and local candidates
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 shape effective branding and media strategies.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:58 In addition to her consulting work as the CEO of Shavonda Monet, LLC.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:03 She volunteers with nonprofits across Atlanta and DeKalb County.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:07 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest
00:10:07 --> 00:10:11 on this podcast, Shavonda Miles.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:22 Music.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:26 All right, Shavonda Miles. How you doing, sister? You doing good?
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 I am doing wonderful. I'm thankful to be here.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:34 Well, I'm honored to have you on. I wanted to pick your brain a little bit.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:38 And since you're active in the political scene here in the state of Georgia,
00:10:38 --> 00:10:44 and just wanted to kind of highlight you and some of the work that you've been doing. So.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:50 Thank you. In order to start the interview, I usually do a couple of icebreakers. So.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 All right. The first icebreaker is a quote.
00:10:54 --> 00:11:00 Okay. I believe in having the utmost professional work ethic and owning your narrative.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:05 I learned from my parents early in life that if you agree to do something,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 follow through with results. What does that quote mean to you?
00:11:10 --> 00:11:16 That is such a story of my life. Literally, everything you just say is what I do.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20 I was able to be a journalist for 15 years working at CNN.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:25 And the one thing that you learn as a journalist is to control your narrative.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:30 I care about the way I look. And most importantly, I want to make my parents proud.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:34 So literally that quote, which I will get that after this episode,
00:11:34 --> 00:11:38 that is literally how I live my life. If I'm not making my parents proud,
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 if I'm not controlling my narrative, if I don't show up being serious,
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 no one's going to take me seriously.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 And the most important thing you want in life is respect.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:53 Yeah. All right. So the other icebreaker is what I call 20 questions.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:58 So I need you to give me a number between one and 20.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:03 All right. Let's go with lucky seven. Okay. What do you consider the best way
00:12:03 --> 00:12:09 to stay informed about politics, current events, health, et cetera?
00:12:09 --> 00:12:13 That's a very good question, Mr. Fleming.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:17 I would say now used to be non-linear media.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:25 Now everything is digital. I literally check my YouTube channel. I check it.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:31 I check Instagram, podcasts. So I would say all those, what I just named,
00:12:31 --> 00:12:36 that is what I do literally on a daily basis from the time I get up in the morning. Okay.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:40 All right. So you kind of started it a little bit when you were answering about
00:12:40 --> 00:12:44 the quote, but explain the journey from growing up in Decatur,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:49 Georgia, to becoming a political consultant, shaping the future of Georgia.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:55 Thank you. So I would say I grew up in the 80s, 80s baby.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 Early in life I had to
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 learn how to figure things out I would say the
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 journey to where I'm at now I knew
00:13:05 --> 00:13:09 from going to college University of West Georgia I knew I wanted to be a journalist
00:13:09 --> 00:13:15 that was directly something I wanted to do to tell people's stories I learned
00:13:15 --> 00:13:20 early in life how to write and it's one of those things I enjoyed it I was probably
00:13:20 --> 00:13:24 the only student it really went into detail to write things.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:30 And I was so thankful Ms. Ledbetter at Lakeside High School gave me an award of how.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:35 Detailed my writing was. So I knew at an early age, this is what I wanted to
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 do. I didn't know the journey to it.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:43 And my parents, I would say particularly my dad, gave me the confidence to,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:48 if you apply for something, you don't give up if you don't get it the first time. You keep going.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:53 So to be hired at CNN, even though it took like two to three years to get on
00:13:53 --> 00:13:59 because you go through such a tedious process, to be an employee of a national
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 media outlet, it was an honor.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:05 And I took that very seriously and did that job for 15 years,
00:14:05 --> 00:14:10 whether I was representing CNN anchors and domestic or the people on the phone.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:16 I was positioned as a liaison and one of my last assignments was working with
00:14:16 --> 00:14:20 junior business analysts and business analysts for the rollout of HBO Max.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:25 That was my last assignments before the layoff. So I know for 15 years,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 I got to do something that I passionately love.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:35 And I was thankful to merge from that to getting offers of working with Dominion
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 Voting, which I did behind the scenes.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:41 I have worked recently with DeKalb County as a poll worker, a poll assistant manager.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:46 So I would say the transition into politics, it kind of was just destined because
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 I worked very closely with the CNN brand.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:54 And if you're watching that all day at work, you literally see in real time
00:14:54 --> 00:14:58 bills being passed, historic things going on nationally.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:03 So to be asked, I have been blessed that I have been asked by people to represent campaigns.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:07 It is like a perfect marriage. I got to see the media side controlling the narrative
00:15:07 --> 00:15:12 and the media and the politicians work together to verge a story.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:17 So that is kind of how my path was able to move from a layoff from CNN to directly
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 in politics. So it kind of works together. So I'm very thankful.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 And it's something I passionately love, both sides.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:30 Yeah. So talk a little bit about the layoff. What happened there?
00:15:30 --> 00:15:34 Because you had been with the company for like, what, 14, 15 years?
00:15:35 --> 00:15:43 Correct. Yeah. So talk about the layoff, you know, and then kind of what you
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 were dealing with right right after the layoff.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:51 So it's it's still it's like people there when I worked there,
00:15:52 --> 00:15:56 if you were there in a company for 14, 15 years, you literally grow with people like family.
00:15:57 --> 00:16:02 So one of the things that I saw in my capacity, I was working with consultants.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 We had a project called Turner 2020.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:09 Now that I look back at it, we were one of the first companies that was using
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 AI technology way ahead of time.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:17 I had to program recordings, voiceovers with Parlance, which records audio greetings
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 for hospitals, big corporations.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:24 But CNN, when you work at CNN, you're ahead of the shift already because of
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 the technology that you're working with. And my last division was business systems
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 and technology, working with Sina Internal Communications.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:36 So our clients were internal clients. So I kind of had this feeling when I'm
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 working, when you work with consultants, you're going through the processes,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 your project management, your shareholders, your deliverables.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:47 But I never would have thought that the shift in technology,
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 as we are doing right now in podcasting, politics.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:57 The incipients of President Trump, it speeded up the process of whatever he
00:16:57 --> 00:17:02 said to his viewers, it affected our company.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:07 If you keep saying things, people are going to believe that and there is a blurred
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 line between something that's true and false.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 And the validity, it was just the hardest
00:17:13 --> 00:17:16 thing to see These are people's lives that were affected
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 From just doing their job And if
00:17:19 --> 00:17:24 you speak to any journalist Their job is to report the truth To get the questions
00:17:24 --> 00:17:30 out that someone needs to know And when you are affecting lives of thousands
00:17:30 --> 00:17:35 of employees It still is a sore subject Because literally the CNN Center in
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 downtown Atlanta The building is gone.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:42 Those restaurants, Moe's, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, all those businesses are affected
00:17:42 --> 00:17:45 when employees went downstairs to buy coffee or food.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:50 So I would say that it still is something to this day.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 Some of my friends, I know, and I used to always say, I want to go back home,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 but you can't because the technology has shifted.
00:17:56 --> 00:18:01 There is not just a non-linear watching television for your news.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 You're now getting it through streaming. You're getting it through podcasts.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:09 So you have no choice but to adjust with technology. which I'm still doing now.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:13 Think a few years ago, we didn't have Canva. So you didn't need,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:17 now you may not need a PR person or a graphics designer. You can do these things on your own.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:22 So I would say, but going through that, I am forced to stay consistent,
00:18:23 --> 00:18:28 to pay attention, keep reading, keep watching different podcasts, news, digital things.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 So I had no choice but to adjust, but it was very difficult.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:37 It still is because for 15 years, that was my home, that was my business.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:42 So any advice I would give to somebody, stay consistent and pay attention and
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 do your research and homework.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:50 But to answer that, it's still a transition shift because that's something I did for over a decade.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:55 Yeah. And then it's kind of like the ironic thing is you were working with consultants
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 during a lot of that period.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:02 And now you are a consultant in the political realm.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:06 So I think you've transitioned pretty good. I think you're doing okay.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:10 So let me ask you this. Let's let's get into the political discussion.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:17 What is what is the most frustrating thing to you about this current political climate?
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 That's a very loaded question. What is the most frustrating thing?
00:19:22 --> 00:19:27 I would say having a strategy. I think that what's confusing to me.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 What is the strategy for going forward?
00:19:31 --> 00:19:39 When this last election, both candidates nationally, completely different paths.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 Completely different strategies, completely different audiences.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:49 And I guess for me, I, as a consultant, I pride myself on having strategies for clients.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:54 What are our audiences? Who is our coalitions? And it's just confusing to me
00:19:54 --> 00:19:59 that we're just kind of moving along. But what are the strategies?
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 What are the time when you're in a business? You have four quarters, business quarters.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 What are we doing in the first quarter, in the second, third and fourth?
00:20:06 --> 00:20:09 What are our ideas? Where are our events at?
00:20:09 --> 00:20:16 It's very frustrating for me to just wake up one day and see a story and we have no strategy.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:20 What are we going to do to combat that? I would believe our political system,
00:20:20 --> 00:20:25 we elect these people to make decisions speaking on behalf of us, our voters.
00:20:26 --> 00:20:29 So for me, coming from the media side and the political side,
00:20:30 --> 00:20:36 I can't understand what are the strategies, where we're at right now in July,
00:20:36 --> 00:20:40 I think, what's the day, July 17th today, 2025.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:48 What is the strategy for this quarter? What are we doing to combat the problem? it has to be a solution.
00:20:48 --> 00:20:52 Everything has to have a solution. Are we having focus group meetings with voters?
00:20:52 --> 00:20:55 Are we having focus groups with small business owners?
00:20:55 --> 00:20:59 What are the issues that affect your local voters?
00:20:59 --> 00:21:05 How do we get people to the polls? How do we get people to trust the election system again?
00:21:06 --> 00:21:11 And not just with election deniers. How do we, where are our strategies and
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 where are our solutions? Where are we going?
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 So that's probably the biggest frustrating thing for me.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:20 So when you when you lay out a campaign for a candidate, do you work from election
00:21:20 --> 00:21:26 day back or how do you how do you organize a campaign?
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 Thank you for that question. For me, I don't do it that way.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:33 I think it's best like you said to me at the beginning of this podcast.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:37 You need to know your client. You need to know their history.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:42 You study them. And what are the key people in that community.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:46 When I worked statewide, I divided it up. When you're a journalist,
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 you have 12 media markets. I think it's in Georgia.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:51 I divided the state up into regions.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:56 Who are the people, key influencers in each region, whether it's the coast,
00:21:56 --> 00:21:59 southwest Georgia, southeast Georgia, northwest Georgia, the metro?
00:22:00 --> 00:22:05 You have to break it down. And the first thing you do is know you're a candidate.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:09 Really ask the questions. What are your platforms? How was your history growing
00:22:09 --> 00:22:13 up? What makes you, why should someone vote for you?
00:22:13 --> 00:22:17 Why should I get out the house and go to the polls? So I start with that process
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 and deduct information.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:22 And then I want to know, I said this to my candidates all the time,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 who is your school board member? Who is your commissioner?
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 Who is the sheriff? Who is your state rep? Who is your state senator?
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 Who is your U.S. representative?
00:22:30 --> 00:22:33 Do you know what Sonny Dye is if you work in a state house?
00:22:33 --> 00:22:38 You need to know, why are you running for this position?
00:22:38 --> 00:22:43 So some people go backwards into backwards or chronological. I break it down.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:47 What's your relationship with the PTA? Do you go to events? Do you go to church?
00:22:48 --> 00:22:51 So I break it down of learning the candidate, who are the key people in your county?
00:22:52 --> 00:22:55 I have spreadsheets where I ask you these questions. That, for me,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 helps me to understand, do you take this seriously or not?
00:22:58 --> 00:23:02 And then we learn through messaging, communication side for me,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:06 what are the messaging that relates to people in your community?
00:23:06 --> 00:23:14 You cannot win unless people feel authentic presence because there are people
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 who say you meet them where they are.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:22 For me, canvassing the fields where I started, that is one of the most important parts of the campaign.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:26 Yes, you got to have money and fundraising is important, but if you're not getting
00:23:26 --> 00:23:29 those people to believe in you and persuade with the messaging,
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 they're not going to vote for you.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:34 So I just deduct it from my communication skill set.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:39 That's what I enjoy. I want to build a relationship with my client.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:43 I want to know what makes them the best person for the job.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:48 So I basically use a calm style with canvassing in-person events.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:51 I think people need to believe in you and you need to be authentic.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:58 Yeah. All right. So you successfully helped in securing a Democratic nomination
00:23:58 --> 00:24:02 for a candidate, but that candidate did not get elected in the general election.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:06 What about Georgia did you learn from that experience?
00:24:06 --> 00:24:13 And what do you think it will take for a Democrat to win a statewide constitutional
00:24:13 --> 00:24:19 race in Georgia? And I had to make the delineation because Georgia has two Democratic U.S.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:26 Senators as elected statewide, but every constitutional position in the state
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 of Georgia is a white Republican man.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:35 So what was it going to take for a Democrat to be able to break that?
00:24:35 --> 00:24:41 Thank you for that question. I think we start with, for example,
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 you have people, like you said, you have your U.S.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:46 Senators who represent the state and go into the Capitol.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:52 We have our state senators, our state house reps, and obviously municipals and
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 other positions as well.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:59 For me, all I could think about being a political strategist,
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 particularly, and I'm going to say if I'm working with the Democrats,
00:25:02 --> 00:25:06 which I have, all my clients have been, 91.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:11 91 is that number that's in my head. You need to know how many,
00:25:11 --> 00:25:15 what is that number we need to get to to get legislation passed.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:21 If we don't focus on our local races, no matter what bills are brought up in
00:25:21 --> 00:25:26 that legislative session, we have no power to get any legislation changed.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:31 And like I said, it goes back to strategy. Okay, so we have people who worked
00:25:31 --> 00:25:37 on national campaigns, but where are the strategies for directly the statehouse?
00:25:37 --> 00:25:40 How do we get to that number 91?
00:25:41 --> 00:25:47 And then you look at the districts. Yes, my candidate, I was asked to represent him in District 81.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:54 So I had to learn that district, speak with people, some of them weren't Democrats,
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 and I actually made it homework.
00:25:57 --> 00:26:00 I didn't have a lot of time to do that by the time I was introduced to him.
00:26:00 --> 00:26:06 But I just knew if we can get to that number 91 and we focus on down ballot
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 races, things will change.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:13 But you got to actually do the action and the work. It is not an overnight success.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:18 You have to go to events in person. You need to canvas and you need to learn
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 how to spend money wisely. And most importantly, it got to be the messaging.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:25 If people don't connect with that messaging, they're not going to vote.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:31 And I took that very seriously. I can't control how other people are seeing,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:37 but I'm hoping that we can, as consultants, do our job and literally invest
00:26:37 --> 00:26:41 in your candidate and most importantly, in your community.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:47 You cannot win if that community does not feel led to go vote.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:53 It is persuasion, but it is being in the community, meeting people where they are.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:56 If they're going to church, are they going to a fall festival?
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 Are you going to give food to the homeless?
00:26:59 --> 00:27:05 You have to be authentic and be in the community And I think that we have to
00:27:05 --> 00:27:10 invest and remember we're here to do a job This is not a popularity contest.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:13 This is not just looking. I mean, you're going to get to the legislature And
00:27:13 --> 00:27:17 nothing gets done and we're just wasting time So for me, I think you have to
00:27:17 --> 00:27:22 make sure that you're doing the steps on a daily basis or weekly basis To make
00:27:22 --> 00:27:25 sure that we get to that number 91.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:29 So when someone, if we don't have control of the statehouse,
00:27:29 --> 00:27:32 that bill is just going to be something different.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:35 It'll be a little bit of resistance. That's what's in my head, 91.
00:27:35 --> 00:27:41 So if I understand what you're saying, if I'm running statewide,
00:27:41 --> 00:27:46 like for governor, lieutenant governor, my best strategy is to make sure that
00:27:46 --> 00:27:50 there's some active campaigns in Albany, Georgia.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:54 There's some active campaigns in Milledgeville. There's some active campaigns
00:27:54 --> 00:27:57 in Columbus, Macon, Savannah, Rome.
00:27:57 --> 00:28:04 I need to make sure that we're having competitive races, whether it's in the
00:28:04 --> 00:28:10 state legislature or county commission or whatever, in those places that'll
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 generate enough excitement.
00:28:12 --> 00:28:20 For my statewide campaign. So if we can win in these spots, then overall we win the total election.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:26 Correct. And like you just said, it goes back to building, learning those key
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 people in your community.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:31 Who is your commissioner? Who is your school board member?
00:28:31 --> 00:28:34 Once you start learning those people in the committee, in your community,
00:28:34 --> 00:28:38 that candidate needs to build relationships with the voters.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:42 The voters need to know that candidate on a first name basis.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 Oh, that's Representative Fleming.
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47 Oh, that's Representative Sam.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:51 You know, like you need to, the voters have to know who you are.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 They are the people that elect you.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:57 And if they don't know who you are, that means you're not in the community.
00:28:57 --> 00:29:03 You're not going to events and you work to build coalitions with the key people.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 We're supposed to be a team.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:09 We have one goal, to represent the people and your party's values.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:15 We should be working together, coalition, and getting the messaging that is
00:29:15 --> 00:29:18 clear that represents the people in your community.
00:29:18 --> 00:29:22 Like you just said, so if you're doing something statewide, you have a much
00:29:22 --> 00:29:26 bigger areas and you still got to divide it across the regions across the state.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:29 What does the people on the coast want? What are the people of southwest Georgia,
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 northeast Georgia, Northwest.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:33 Everybody has different qualities.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:38 Those county party chairs. You need to build relationships with the county party
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40 chairs. They have these meetings every month. They have committees.
00:29:40 --> 00:29:45 They have post-seat holders. They have precinct captains. It should be a community.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:50 And you cannot win if we're not cohesively working together.
00:29:50 --> 00:29:55 That is something I believe that is a winning strategy to build relationships.
00:29:56 --> 00:30:02 Let's get rid of the egos and let's actually work together so people will feel, okay, they're strong.
00:30:02 --> 00:30:06 They got a plan. And that goes back to having strategies.
00:30:06 --> 00:30:09 But I think that we, there's nothing wrong with being competitive. This is America.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:13 We have the right to run. This is public office. You're doing your civic duty
00:30:13 --> 00:30:15 to represent your voters.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:19 But it got to be a plan, a strategy, and working together with the inner circles,
00:30:20 --> 00:30:24 your chairs, your state reps, your local government, your city council.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:28 You need to build a real community and,
00:30:29 --> 00:30:37 of course, affect issues that affect the voters yeah all right so representative
00:30:37 --> 00:30:41 jasmine crockett recently said in an interview with the grill that she felt
00:30:41 --> 00:30:45 like she was being used by the democratic party to help them raise money but
00:30:45 --> 00:30:48 was not respected for the leader she is,
00:30:49 --> 00:30:53 Do you feel that Black politicians, political activists are being used?
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 Just give me your take on that.
00:30:56 --> 00:31:00 Okay. I do know what you're talking about. I did see that interview with the Griot.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:06 I think what we need to do, we can't use one person to keep doing media outlets.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:08 That is exhausting to do.
00:31:08 --> 00:31:11 We also don't know, and I can say this from my experience working at CNN,
00:31:11 --> 00:31:13 people get death threats.
00:31:13 --> 00:31:17 It happened a lot with anchors. Some of these people are now independent journalists.
00:31:17 --> 00:31:22 I did that job. I had to communicate with a team several times with Homeland
00:31:22 --> 00:31:25 Security, APD, when it was at the CNN Center.
00:31:25 --> 00:31:29 We had packages that came. We had to change processes.
00:31:29 --> 00:31:33 So she's probably speaking, I'm booked on this show.
00:31:33 --> 00:31:38 I'm booked on this podcast. You're using one person to get the messaging across.
00:31:39 --> 00:31:44 There are other legislative officials that should also be doing the same thing.
00:31:44 --> 00:31:47 If you're going to do a press run, it is a very draining thing to do.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:53 You're basically trying to think quickly and make sure that your language is not offensive.
00:31:53 --> 00:31:57 You have to make sure that you're not being too passionate. This will drive off this voter.
00:31:57 --> 00:32:01 Are we still making sure that the ratings are high? But I think she's probably,
00:32:01 --> 00:32:07 I'm assuming, again, she's probably tired of being able to have a busy schedule.
00:32:08 --> 00:32:13 She's being worked a lot. When you hear her name, there are other people in
00:32:13 --> 00:32:16 the Democratic Party that is just as intelligent as she is.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:21 And I don't know. I can't control who's booking her if she has an agent doing
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23 that. But she could possibly be just really tired.
00:32:24 --> 00:32:28 I hope that we can hear more point of views from other elected officials.
00:32:29 --> 00:32:32 That's something that I'm hoping we can do. I know she's not the only one.
00:32:32 --> 00:32:37 We have just as many as that. And you never know. Maybe if we use others or
00:32:37 --> 00:32:41 book other people, that's going to inspire more regular citizens to run for
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 office because that's what it's about.
00:32:43 --> 00:32:45 You need that person to say, you know what? I want to be like her.
00:32:46 --> 00:32:50 I want to be like him. But you have to not use the same person for each media
00:32:50 --> 00:32:52 outlet. But that's my opinion. Okay.
00:32:53 --> 00:32:59 All right. Karine Jean-Pierre stated that she was leaving the Democratic Party
00:32:59 --> 00:33:04 after all the events that took place in the 2024 presidential election.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:08 Do you feel that she was right to do that so publicly?
00:33:08 --> 00:33:14 And more importantly, is it time that black Americans start reassessing their
00:33:14 --> 00:33:16 loyalty to the Democratic Party?
00:33:17 --> 00:33:22 Thank you for that question. Again, she was in a high profile position.
00:33:23 --> 00:33:28 She was a press secretary. That has to be one of the most stressful jobs in the country.
00:33:29 --> 00:33:34 You're literally on video. You're at a podium. And you're taking questions from
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 all type of media outlets.
00:33:36 --> 00:33:40 And you're expected to give an answer. But you can't say that and make sure
00:33:40 --> 00:33:44 you don't say the wrong thing because that is going to be clipped, sliced, and cut up.
00:33:44 --> 00:33:51 And that can ruin your career. The same stress that Representative Jasmine Crockett has I'm sure Ms.
00:33:51 --> 00:33:57 Pierre had the same stress I don't know why she put her personal opinion I assume
00:33:57 --> 00:34:03 she may, obviously she had a book So what do we do to sell books?
00:34:03 --> 00:34:07 You got to give something, a catchy headline Something to get people to buy
00:34:07 --> 00:34:09 it That was her personal opinion.
00:34:10 --> 00:34:15 But the rest of the people who are in party or consultants or campaign management,
00:34:15 --> 00:34:17 their job is to represent their
00:34:17 --> 00:34:21 client and making sure that you persuade those voters to get elected.
00:34:21 --> 00:34:25 Those were her personal opinions. So, again, it goes back to what I said.
00:34:25 --> 00:34:31 I think if we train, really help train candidates how to deal with media,
00:34:31 --> 00:34:34 that's a class that we need to do.
00:34:34 --> 00:34:40 How do you handle an interview? What if you have to do a press run on a forward media outlet in one day?
00:34:40 --> 00:34:45 Sometimes that happens. Or one week. How do you answer those questions repeatedly
00:34:45 --> 00:34:47 over and over and over again?
00:34:48 --> 00:34:51 Ms. Pierre, that's her opinion. But I think it goes back to how do we train
00:34:51 --> 00:34:54 and have more than one person doing one press run?
00:34:55 --> 00:34:58 One candidate doing several press runs. You're going to burn them out.
00:34:58 --> 00:35:00 And that happens a lot in politics.
00:35:01 --> 00:35:05 Consultants, campaign management, they get burned out quickly.
00:35:05 --> 00:35:10 It's not a regular job where you're working sometimes up to seven days a week.
00:35:10 --> 00:35:14 And obviously, you know, in a high position where Representative Jasmine Crockett
00:35:14 --> 00:35:17 or Miss Pierre, they are doing a stressful job.
00:35:18 --> 00:35:23 And it is our duty to make sure that we have training to help other people so
00:35:23 --> 00:35:27 they want to step up and run. You know what? I really want to do that.
00:35:28 --> 00:35:32 And we shouldn't crucify people who did take the responsibility to step up and
00:35:32 --> 00:35:35 do that. we should be supporting them most importantly than ever.
00:35:36 --> 00:35:38 So her personal opinions, that's her personal opinion.
00:35:38 --> 00:35:43 But she also probably was really stressed. I'm assuming she also wanted to sell
00:35:43 --> 00:35:45 that book too. So that's why she said that.
00:35:45 --> 00:35:50 So let me combine those two questions and reframing it.
00:35:50 --> 00:35:55 And I'll use a number like you use 91, I'll use 92, right?
00:35:55 --> 00:36:02 So 92% of Black women voted for Kamala Harris to be president.
00:36:02 --> 00:36:10 And now we see that, you know, black women are not being as,
00:36:10 --> 00:36:16 well, they're not participating in a lot of these protests. They're not doing a lot of things.
00:36:16 --> 00:36:20 That's the kind of thing in social media. It's like, you know,
00:36:20 --> 00:36:22 they say they're taking a break.
00:36:22 --> 00:36:27 As a black woman that's involved in politics, how do you feel about that?
00:36:27 --> 00:36:29 Do you agree with that assessment?
00:36:29 --> 00:36:36 Do you, because you kind of said that these women that I mentioned are high
00:36:36 --> 00:36:40 profile people and you probably need to take some stress off of them.
00:36:40 --> 00:36:45 But as a black woman that's engaged in politics, how do you feel about black
00:36:45 --> 00:36:49 women saying, yeah, we're not going to be on the front lines anymore?
00:36:49 --> 00:36:51 How does, how does that make you feel?
00:36:51 --> 00:36:56 So I was thinking about when You said that when I worked a statewide race,
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 I worked consistently for 18 months.
00:36:59 --> 00:37:05 Throughout the week, you might drive to Albany. There are times I went to small
00:37:05 --> 00:37:08 cities like Montezuma, Cuthbert, and Randolph County.
00:37:09 --> 00:37:14 Again, we need to support our Black women.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:19 When I was on those win with Black women calls, there were times that those
00:37:19 --> 00:37:23 moderators, they were allowing so many women in that Zoom call.
00:37:24 --> 00:37:29 People were excited. It was exciting to see a woman of color who looked like
00:37:29 --> 00:37:32 me at one of the highest positions.
00:37:33 --> 00:37:39 And as a woman, we work so hard in the industry that's particularly dominated by men.
00:37:40 --> 00:37:46 Sometimes you don't get promotions. And when you do get promoted, it can be a small number.
00:37:46 --> 00:37:48 There were times I had maybe a 3% raise.
00:37:49 --> 00:37:53 That's not going to affect my bill cycle, but we work just as hard.
00:37:53 --> 00:37:57 So a lot of those Black women felt, what did we do wrong?
00:37:57 --> 00:38:02 We were out there on the front line, 92%. That's a high, high number.
00:38:02 --> 00:38:06 These are women that are breadwinners in their families. They're mothers.
00:38:06 --> 00:38:12 They're probably taking their kids to softball games and gymnastics or, you know, football.
00:38:12 --> 00:38:19 We can handle so many different roles. So to see you wake up one day and say, what happened?
00:38:19 --> 00:38:23 And these women now, as you see, we knew.
00:38:24 --> 00:38:27 You listened to the press run interviews from a few months ago.
00:38:27 --> 00:38:33 There are people that have shown a contrast from today, from a few months ago. We showed up.
00:38:34 --> 00:38:37 We showed up. We did our part. They need a break.
00:38:38 --> 00:38:42 Let them have their break. Let them go back to what they want to do to make
00:38:42 --> 00:38:45 happy, whether it's boots on the ground dancing. That's the one thing about
00:38:45 --> 00:38:47 Black women. They are resilient.
00:38:47 --> 00:38:51 We don't get the credit sometimes for working right next to a man,
00:38:51 --> 00:38:53 but they deserve their break.
00:38:53 --> 00:38:57 And when they get ready, they're going to be right back out there when they
00:38:57 --> 00:39:01 are ready. So I think that I just give them the grace.
00:39:01 --> 00:39:05 I know when I worked statewide, I needed a break. I love my family.
00:39:05 --> 00:39:08 If anybody go to my Instagram page, you will see I'm in a Disney World with
00:39:08 --> 00:39:10 my family. You need that break.
00:39:10 --> 00:39:14 They deserve that break. So I support them having that break.
00:39:14 --> 00:39:17 And when they're ready, I'll be back out there with them. Yeah.
00:39:18 --> 00:39:21 All right. So the Democratic National Committee called and said,
00:39:21 --> 00:39:26 Vonda, we need your help in the 2026 midterm elections.
00:39:26 --> 00:39:30 What advice would you give them? Thank you for that question.
00:39:31 --> 00:39:34 My advice goes back to when we first started. What's the strategy? you,
00:39:35 --> 00:39:39 Do we have focus groups? What are our committees? Just like in the statehouse,
00:39:39 --> 00:39:41 they have study committees.
00:39:41 --> 00:39:45 We can't just do whatever we're doing before.
00:39:45 --> 00:39:49 The definition of the Senate is doing the same thing over and over and over
00:39:49 --> 00:39:51 again, expecting a different result.
00:39:52 --> 00:39:57 Clearly, something been wrong. The messaging did not resonate with the voters.
00:39:57 --> 00:40:01 We had over 70 million people that didn't even vote. they
00:40:01 --> 00:40:04 didn't care when we lose our core
00:40:04 --> 00:40:08 base there is a problem but you
00:40:08 --> 00:40:14 have to be authentic and have these conversations let's talk to the voters in
00:40:14 --> 00:40:18 the note the local neighbors in the rural communities you can't expect someone
00:40:18 --> 00:40:26 from atlanta to have the same point of opinion as somebody in Savannah or Cuthbert or Stevens County.
00:40:26 --> 00:40:32 We have to talk to those voters, have those focus groups, and get a committee and study.
00:40:33 --> 00:40:36 So if I'm asked to be a part of that, what are our studies?
00:40:36 --> 00:40:40 Are we going to have weekly meetings with people, the county party chairs?
00:40:40 --> 00:40:43 Are we going to go to the festivals and actually do a civics class?
00:40:43 --> 00:40:46 Everybody, you can't assume everybody knows what the judicial,
00:40:46 --> 00:40:48 legislative, and the executive branch does.
00:40:48 --> 00:40:54 I took Georgia history in high school, but you can't assume that we have the
00:40:54 --> 00:40:55 same curriculum from years ago.
00:40:55 --> 00:40:59 So I would say if I'm asked to do that, what are we going to do?
00:41:00 --> 00:41:03 Let's get started. Let's break down in our studies and let's get started in
00:41:03 --> 00:41:04 getting out to the communities.
00:41:05 --> 00:41:11 We need to have one person, an ambassador, to go to those different regions of the country.
00:41:11 --> 00:41:14 If you're asking for DNC, you got to divide out in the country,
00:41:14 --> 00:41:16 but you got to do some homework.
00:41:16 --> 00:41:20 We got to start back and scratch and we got to have a strategy without a strategy
00:41:20 --> 00:41:27 we're lost yeah all right so let's close with this using your life journey to
00:41:27 --> 00:41:29 find the importance of perseverance.
00:41:31 --> 00:41:34 Perseverance to me is not giving up.
00:41:34 --> 00:41:41 It's fighting for what you want. I don't like to give up. I knew I wanted to work at CNN.
00:41:41 --> 00:41:44 I applied several times. My dad said, just keep playing.
00:41:45 --> 00:41:48 Go back, look at your resume, make them keyword changes.
00:41:49 --> 00:41:54 You get back out there. But you have to know when to make some transitions when things don't work out.
00:41:55 --> 00:42:00 And most importantly, have respect for your neighbors. have respect for everyone
00:42:00 --> 00:42:03 who lives around you. I don't try to treat anyone disrespectful.
00:42:04 --> 00:42:09 I listen. I make those changes. Most importantly, being a consultant,
00:42:09 --> 00:42:14 I want people, when my name is mentioned, that I fought for you when I wasn't even in the room.
00:42:14 --> 00:42:19 Or I want to make sure that my name is attached to integrity and quality.
00:42:19 --> 00:42:23 For me growing up in DeKalb County, being a part of the the M program,
00:42:23 --> 00:42:29 being bused across the county at an early age from 1988, I learned and my parents,
00:42:29 --> 00:42:31 I didn't understand them. I'm older now.
00:42:31 --> 00:42:35 My parents wanted me to understand what being a diverse community, what the others think.
00:42:36 --> 00:42:38 So I went to schools across the county.
00:42:38 --> 00:42:42 Best experience ever happened to me. I was able to understand different issues
00:42:42 --> 00:42:45 in the Latino community, the white community, and the black community.
00:42:45 --> 00:42:51 You just need to be respectful and just understand that you got to keep going.
00:42:51 --> 00:42:56 I knew I wanted to do CNN. And that is one of my most proudest goals because
00:42:56 --> 00:42:58 I learned how politics work.
00:42:58 --> 00:43:04 When I watched those TV shows and listened to AM radio with my father at a young
00:43:04 --> 00:43:08 age, Neil Bortz, learning from Bill O'Reilly with his O'Reilly factor when I
00:43:08 --> 00:43:09 was there, you need to know both sides.
00:43:10 --> 00:43:15 You need to know both sides. What are the issues that resonates with this party and the other party?
00:43:15 --> 00:43:19 So for me, you just got to keep going. And I hope in my heart that people,
00:43:19 --> 00:43:25 when they see my name on paper or an event, she gave it 100 percent and she's respectful.
00:43:25 --> 00:43:32 So perseverance means being respectful, showing up and not giving up. Yeah.
00:43:32 --> 00:43:37 All right. So, Shavonda Miles, if people want to get in touch with you,
00:43:37 --> 00:43:42 if people want to utilize your services and your talents, how can they do that?
00:43:43 --> 00:43:47 Thank you so much. I'm working on my website. It will be finished soon.
00:43:47 --> 00:43:59 Www.vondamone.com. but currently you can reach out to me through Instagram and
00:43:59 --> 00:44:07 it's still the same at lowercase V-O-N-D-A-M-O-N-E on Instagram.
00:44:07 --> 00:44:12 So I try to keep it consistent if people can find me. I like to use my Instagram
00:44:12 --> 00:44:16 just to show duality when I'm working with clients and my life.
00:44:17 --> 00:44:21 You have to have a balance or you'll burn out as we discussed earlier today.
00:44:21 --> 00:44:23 That those are the best ways to reach me.
00:44:24 --> 00:44:28 Well, Shavonda, it's been a delight and an honor to have you come on the podcast.
00:44:30 --> 00:44:36 I know that I'm not the only one to see that you are a rising star in Georgia
00:44:36 --> 00:44:41 politics, and I hope that your profile continues to expand beyond Georgia.
00:44:42 --> 00:44:47 And I just, I don't have to wish you much success because I know you're going
00:44:47 --> 00:44:55 to achieve it, But I just I'm just encouraged and I I'm glad that you came on the podcast.
00:44:55 --> 00:44:58 So thank you for coming on Thank you for this opportunity.
00:44:58 --> 00:45:04 I take those words very seriously I Just gonna hope that that manifests what you just said.
00:45:04 --> 00:45:10 Yes, ma'am All right, guys, and we're gonna catch y'all on the other side Music.
00:45:10 --> 00:45:28 Music.
00:45:28 --> 00:45:34 All right. And we are back. And so now it's time for my next guest, Shernice Mundell.
00:45:35 --> 00:45:40 Shernice Mundell is an Air Force veteran, mother of three, and a passionate
00:45:40 --> 00:45:42 advocate for equity in government.
00:45:42 --> 00:45:46 Based in Maryland, she formerly worked at the Office of Personnel Management,
00:45:47 --> 00:45:52 where she negotiated contracts with health insurance carriers for postal employees
00:45:52 --> 00:45:57 and retirees, until her job, as well as thousands of others,
00:45:57 --> 00:45:59 was eliminated by the Department of Government Efficiency.
00:46:00 --> 00:46:05 Shernice is committed to increasing Black representation in government to help
00:46:05 --> 00:46:07 build a more just and inclusive society.
00:46:08 --> 00:46:12 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest
00:46:12 --> 00:46:16 on this podcast, Shernice Mundell.
00:46:18 --> 00:46:28 Music.
00:46:27 --> 00:46:31 All right, Shernice Mundell. How are you doing, sister? You doing good?
00:46:32 --> 00:46:36 I am good. How are you? I'm doing great. I am really, really honored that you
00:46:36 --> 00:46:38 accepted my invitation to come on.
00:46:39 --> 00:46:43 I know when I initially reached out to you, you was like, who,
00:46:43 --> 00:46:45 me? What? You want to talk to me?
00:46:46 --> 00:46:49 It was like everybody else was talking to you. I said, yeah,
00:46:49 --> 00:46:50 I want you on my podcast too.
00:46:52 --> 00:46:58 But I'm serious. I really am glad to see you and and that you decided to come on.
00:46:59 --> 00:47:01 Thank you for reaching out. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.
00:47:02 --> 00:47:07 So how I normally start off the interviews is that I do a couple of icebreakers. Right.
00:47:08 --> 00:47:12 So the first icebreaker is a quote that I want you to respond to.
00:47:12 --> 00:47:19 And the quote is, change will not come if we wait for some other person or if
00:47:19 --> 00:47:20 we wait for some other time.
00:47:21 --> 00:47:26 We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
00:47:26 --> 00:47:28 What does that quote mean to you?
00:47:29 --> 00:47:37 That means to me right now, given the state of the United States, I have to take action.
00:47:37 --> 00:47:43 But I have to, I always say if I want to want something to change,
00:47:43 --> 00:47:45 I have to participate in it.
00:47:45 --> 00:47:51 Yeah. All right. So now the next icebreaker is 20 questions.
00:47:51 --> 00:47:55 So I need you to give me a number between 1 and 20.
00:47:56 --> 00:48:02 Seven. Okay. What do you consider the best way to stay informed about politics,
00:48:02 --> 00:48:05 current events, health, etc.?
00:48:06 --> 00:48:11 To read, to listen to different outlets.
00:48:11 --> 00:48:18 I listen to Urban View, and I get a lot of, listen to all the talk show hosts
00:48:18 --> 00:48:22 on that station, and I get a lot of different information that way.
00:48:22 --> 00:48:26 And I know a lot of people always say, do your own research,
00:48:26 --> 00:48:32 but I really mean to do your own research and not just look at the headlines of something.
00:48:33 --> 00:48:37 Look at the article, read the article read find
00:48:37 --> 00:48:40 out more about about it yourself yeah
00:48:40 --> 00:48:43 all right so what was
00:48:43 --> 00:48:47 your life journey prior to february the 13th 2025
00:48:47 --> 00:48:51 um i it
00:48:51 --> 00:48:54 was i just figured you know everything was just
00:48:54 --> 00:48:57 going along i i'm
00:48:57 --> 00:49:00 a single i was a single mom young when i
00:49:00 --> 00:49:04 went into the air force so everything up
00:49:04 --> 00:49:07 until last year it
00:49:07 --> 00:49:10 was like basically doing everything to make sure my kids
00:49:10 --> 00:49:19 were okay last year I just decided to try to move into a another job field because
00:49:19 --> 00:49:25 the job that I was I previously had they were all like you know stable nothing
00:49:25 --> 00:49:27 was you know the pay wasn't that great,
00:49:27 --> 00:49:31 but it was enough to make sure that my kids were okay.
00:49:31 --> 00:49:34 My youngest son is graduating high school this year.
00:49:34 --> 00:49:41 So I just decided that maybe it was time for me to look into exploring another
00:49:41 --> 00:49:43 career with more opportunities.
00:49:44 --> 00:49:50 And so that's when I decided to apply for the job with the federal government.
00:49:50 --> 00:49:56 And I mean, up until, I want to say maybe the election, I thought everything
00:49:56 --> 00:50:01 in my life was taking a turn for the better because the pay had increased.
00:50:02 --> 00:50:07 I liked my coworkers, and everything was going good until...
00:50:08 --> 00:50:13 The day after the election. Okay. So how long did you serve in the Air Force?
00:50:14 --> 00:50:17 I was in the Air Force for three and a half years. Okay.
00:50:18 --> 00:50:24 And I understand that your oldest child just got a master's degree. Is that right?
00:50:24 --> 00:50:27 My middle daughter. Oh, it's the middle one. Okay.
00:50:28 --> 00:50:32 She just got her master's last year.
00:50:34 --> 00:50:37 Okay. All right. But I know there's something about the oldest one.
00:50:37 --> 00:50:41 I think she had just got a job or she was doing something because she was telling
00:50:41 --> 00:50:42 you, mom, it's going to be OK.
00:50:43 --> 00:50:45 And, you know, don't worry about all this.
00:50:46 --> 00:50:52 That's her. That's her. My oldest son is 29. He just turned 29. He is a truck driver.
00:50:53 --> 00:50:56 Yeah. Over the road truck driver. And my middle daughter, my daughter,
00:50:57 --> 00:51:00 she just got her master's in accounting.
00:51:00 --> 00:51:03 And yeah when the the
00:51:03 --> 00:51:06 whole thing happened with me getting fired you
00:51:06 --> 00:51:09 know of course I was you know upset trying to
00:51:09 --> 00:51:14 figure out what was going to happen and she just did basically tell me you know
00:51:14 --> 00:51:20 take my time take everything in find I didn't have to rush to to find another
00:51:20 --> 00:51:25 job and you know she would take care of everything as best she could with the
00:51:25 --> 00:51:28 bills all right so you had two Two boys and a girl.
00:51:28 --> 00:51:34 So I'm sure that was that was kind of an adventure, having a girl in the middle of two boys.
00:51:34 --> 00:51:42 All right. So what happened on February the 13th, 2025 that changed this life journey you were on?
00:51:43 --> 00:51:46 Well, I had just a little backstory with the hiring.
00:51:46 --> 00:51:53 I had started working at OPM, Office of Personnel Management, in August of last year.
00:51:54 --> 00:52:00 It was two days in the office, three days remote. So, I mean, it was a new department.
00:52:00 --> 00:52:04 They were still in the process of hiring everyone when I was hired.
00:52:05 --> 00:52:10 So we didn't have any funding for office space. So they were trying to find
00:52:10 --> 00:52:13 office space for us. So we were 100% remote.
00:52:13 --> 00:52:18 So I when I started, I think maybe a few weeks into me starting,
00:52:18 --> 00:52:23 I spoke with my supervisor and she told me that because the department was new,
00:52:23 --> 00:52:28 we would have other positions available and that I would just,
00:52:28 --> 00:52:29 you know, be on the lookout.
00:52:29 --> 00:52:34 And if once the job openings came, she would send them to me because of my skill
00:52:34 --> 00:52:39 set, I probably would qualify for something else. So in September,
00:52:39 --> 00:52:44 she sent me a job opening and told me I should apply for it.
00:52:44 --> 00:52:50 I applied for it, and I was hired in October. So I started that new position in November.
00:52:51 --> 00:52:56 So after the inauguration in January,
00:52:57 --> 00:53:05 we had started getting emails, not from HR, just from this random email address,
00:53:05 --> 00:53:07 which I now know I'm sure it was Doge,
00:53:08 --> 00:53:11 saying that we could accept the fork in the road,
00:53:11 --> 00:53:19 which was the designated resignation program, which was basically saying we
00:53:19 --> 00:53:25 could resign and stay on payroll until through September of this year.
00:53:26 --> 00:53:28 We would still get our full benefits, still accrue leave.
00:53:29 --> 00:53:33 But, you know, we would give up any rights to sue the government after,
00:53:33 --> 00:53:37 you know, after we accepted it. I didn't accept it.
00:53:38 --> 00:53:47 A few people on my team did accept it. So after they closed out the window to accept that,
00:53:47 --> 00:53:52 they started sending me emails saying that I was a probationary employee and
00:53:52 --> 00:53:56 that they're reevaluating my job to see if I'm still needed in government.
00:53:57 --> 00:54:05 So February 13th, I spoke to my supervisor that morning and she was calling
00:54:05 --> 00:54:09 us to see who had accepted the resignation. And I told her I wasn't accepting it.
00:54:10 --> 00:54:13 And she said, OK, well, I just wanted to know because some people accepted it.
00:54:13 --> 00:54:17 We're going to have to start divvying out the work different way.
00:54:17 --> 00:54:20 She just wanted to know who was going to work on what.
00:54:20 --> 00:54:25 And I said, OK. And she said she would get back to me later on that week or whatever.
00:54:25 --> 00:54:32 And we had a meeting, a department meeting at one o'clock that day over Teams.
00:54:32 --> 00:54:36 So I logged on to the meeting. It was from one to two thirty.
00:54:36 --> 00:54:41 In the middle of the meeting, I got a message from a team's invite saying,
00:54:42 --> 00:54:46 join this meeting, urgent, join this meeting at 2 o'clock, which I wasn't sure
00:54:46 --> 00:54:49 what it was because this meeting was scheduled until 2.30.
00:54:50 --> 00:54:53 So I'd emailed my supervisor and asked her if she knew anything about the meeting.
00:54:54 --> 00:54:58 And she said she didn't know. So she asked, she called me and asked me to share
00:54:58 --> 00:55:01 my screen with her so she can see what the meeting was.
00:55:02 --> 00:55:05 I shared it. She said, I have no clue what this is.
00:55:05 --> 00:55:10 She said, just hop on the meeting and just let me keep me informed about what's going on.
00:55:10 --> 00:55:15 Because at this time, none of the upper management knew what was going on,
00:55:15 --> 00:55:16 like the emails that we were getting.
00:55:17 --> 00:55:22 If it didn't concern you, you didn't get it. Most of the time when everyone
00:55:22 --> 00:55:27 else in the world learned about the resignation, that's when we learned about it.
00:55:27 --> 00:55:30 They would send us emails 10 o'clock at night, 1 o'clock in the morning.
00:55:30 --> 00:55:36 So I get on that meeting about 1.50.
00:55:36 --> 00:55:40 And as I'm getting on, it's maybe about 10 people on there.
00:55:40 --> 00:55:44 And there's a lady talking and she says, if you're a part of the union,
00:55:44 --> 00:55:47 you should get your union rep on the phone. And then she muted her mic.
00:55:48 --> 00:55:54 So we waited for about 10 more minutes. By that time, it was about 70 people on there, 70, 75 people.
00:55:54 --> 00:55:57 And someone asked her if she could repeat what she said.
00:55:57 --> 00:56:01 And she said, sure. So she said, I just wanted to say, if you're part of the
00:56:01 --> 00:56:04 union, you should get your union rep on the phone.
00:56:04 --> 00:56:08 And a lady had said, well, we were told we couldn't have any supervisors or
00:56:08 --> 00:56:12 anything on this call and she said, well, they're probably about to fire us anyway,
00:56:13 --> 00:56:19 so you should turn your cameras on and let them see and after she said that,
00:56:19 --> 00:56:20 everything just went blank.
00:56:20 --> 00:56:24 They disabled the chat, disabled our cameras, disabled our mics.
00:56:25 --> 00:56:31 So we had to sit there for maybe about 20 more minutes, 20, 25 minutes and we
00:56:31 --> 00:56:35 got another invite And it said join this meeting.
00:56:35 --> 00:56:40 So we clicked I clicked on that and it was a pre-recorded call from whom I'm
00:56:40 --> 00:56:47 assuming is the acting director of the of OPM now, I think is Charles, Charles Ezell.
00:56:48 --> 00:56:52 And he just basically said that I was a probationary employee.
00:56:54 --> 00:57:01 And that they had evaluated our position and we're no longer needed in the government
00:57:01 --> 00:57:06 at three o'clock today, all of our will be terminated.
00:57:06 --> 00:57:12 If you were in the office, you needed to pack up all your non-government issued equipment.
00:57:13 --> 00:57:17 Well, pack up all your government issued equipment, leave it on the desk and
00:57:17 --> 00:57:22 exit the building and give your ID card to the guard at the front desk.
00:57:22 --> 00:57:25 And if you were home that they would contact
00:57:25 --> 00:57:29 us on how to return our equipment and they
00:57:29 --> 00:57:33 said we would have a follow-up email telling us why we were terminated and you
00:57:33 --> 00:57:36 know basically thank you for your service good luck in your journey and then
00:57:36 --> 00:57:42 it just went on a loop again and then I emailed my supervisor told her what
00:57:42 --> 00:57:46 was going on you know she didn't know her supervisor didn't know.
00:57:47 --> 00:57:50 The department head didn't know that this was going to happen.
00:57:50 --> 00:57:54 They all just got on a team's chat and just was telling us, you know,
00:57:54 --> 00:57:59 how sorry they were because it was a few of us in the department that were all
00:57:59 --> 00:58:00 probationary and was fired.
00:58:00 --> 00:58:03 And then at three o'clock, my access was terminated.
00:58:04 --> 00:58:14 Wow. All right. So you said that you had read Project 2025 and you had kind
00:58:14 --> 00:58:19 of stated that things were a little different after the election.
00:58:19 --> 00:58:25 So in other words, you were kind of anticipating that something was going to happen, right? Yes.
00:58:25 --> 00:58:30 You just didn't think it was going to happen this quick. Exactly. Yes.
00:58:31 --> 00:58:37 So at a congressional shadow hearing, you testified that I think eventually
00:58:37 --> 00:58:39 we're all going to need counseling.
00:58:39 --> 00:58:43 I'm just trying to hold it all together right now. I just want to find a new
00:58:43 --> 00:58:49 job where I can provide for my family because I'm not used to not working and
00:58:49 --> 00:58:50 not being able to provide.
00:58:51 --> 00:58:58 So let me ask you this. How have you been holding up? What's been going on with you since that day?
00:58:59 --> 00:59:06 Well, since that hearing, there was a court order back in April when they said
00:59:06 --> 00:59:10 that the probationary employees for certain agencies were supposed to be brought
00:59:10 --> 00:59:15 back and placed on administrative leave with pay. I was one of the employees.
00:59:15 --> 00:59:20 OPM was one of the agencies. I got paid one pay.
00:59:20 --> 00:59:25 And then ever since then, I've been put on leave without pay.
00:59:25 --> 00:59:31 Nobody will contact me when I try to email them because there's no phone numbers to call.
00:59:32 --> 00:59:36 They won't return anything to let me know why I'm on leave without pay.
00:59:37 --> 00:59:42 Because it is actually illegal for them to place an employee on leave without
00:59:42 --> 00:59:45 pay, without the employee requesting it. And I didn't request it.
00:59:45 --> 00:59:47 So I haven't gotten paid since April.
00:59:48 --> 00:59:51 I guess I'm technically still employed.
00:59:52 --> 00:59:56 But I mean, I guess that's just a name only.
00:59:57 --> 01:00:00 I haven't found a job yet. I'm still looking.
01:00:00 --> 01:00:07 My unemployment will be running out next month. I think up until last month, I was doing okay.
01:00:08 --> 01:00:13 Always optimistic about what's going to happen because I know because of the
01:00:13 --> 01:00:17 faith that I have in God, I know that he's not going to just leave me.
01:00:17 --> 01:00:21 I'm sure he's, you know, everything happens for a reason. So I know eventually
01:00:21 --> 01:00:22 I'm going to get through it.
01:00:22 --> 01:00:27 But I know in the past month, I felt like I was in a,
01:00:27 --> 01:00:30 I wouldn't say a funk I've been pretty depressed
01:00:30 --> 01:00:33 I'm just feeling like I'm coming out of it because
01:00:33 --> 01:00:36 I just I don't know something just feels like
01:00:36 --> 01:00:39 it's about to change for me and so I
01:00:39 --> 01:00:44 feel a lot better this this past week but I know the the past month has been
01:00:44 --> 01:00:51 like really hard I did I had a pre-scheduled trip for my 30th high school reunion
01:00:51 --> 01:00:57 we went to Punta Cana for a week and that kind of cleared up things for me.
01:00:57 --> 01:00:58 I got to enjoy myself a bit.
01:00:58 --> 01:01:03 I'm sure it would have been even more enjoyable if I wasn't in this predicament,
01:01:03 --> 01:01:05 but I did get a chance to do that.
01:01:05 --> 01:01:10 But right now I feel like I'm coming out of my funk and, and I think I'm hoping
01:01:10 --> 01:01:12 things will, will get better soon.
01:01:13 --> 01:01:20 Yeah. So when you, who, do you know who is handling the legal aspect?
01:01:20 --> 01:01:28 Is, is this, is this still in litigation right now as far as whether y'all are back or not?
01:01:28 --> 01:01:35 Are you in contact or is anybody in contact with you as far as how this is going in court?
01:01:35 --> 01:01:41 No, not really. I did once when I was initially fired because you have 30 days
01:01:41 --> 01:01:46 to file an appeal with the MSPB board and I did that.
01:01:47 --> 01:01:51 But then when I got rehired. I mean, that's still pending.
01:01:51 --> 01:01:56 I did reach out to the union. My union, they were helping me.
01:01:56 --> 01:02:03 They did file a grievance because the union president did contact OPMHR like
01:02:03 --> 01:02:06 three or four times over email and they never responded to her.
01:02:06 --> 01:02:10 So she filed a grievance, which she basically said to me.
01:02:11 --> 01:02:19 They're not following any of the court orders anyway. So I guess it's just a wait and see game.
01:02:19 --> 01:02:24 I don't know. I know they did. The lawyer that was assigned to assist me with
01:02:24 --> 01:02:30 appeal, he contacted me and said that he contacted me like two days ago and
01:02:30 --> 01:02:32 he said that the judge ordered,
01:02:33 --> 01:02:37 made an order that OPM couldn't be included in the class action lawsuit.
01:02:37 --> 01:02:41 So right now I'm
01:02:41 --> 01:02:44 just like getting information wherever I can get it from and
01:02:44 --> 01:02:47 waiting and trying to figure out everything on
01:02:47 --> 01:02:51 my own there I know everybody always says that we're this is we're in unprecedented
01:02:51 --> 01:02:57 times but this is I don't think well I know that there's never been a president
01:02:57 --> 01:03:05 that's just actually just defied the law the way he's doing so every it's new for everybody.
01:03:05 --> 01:03:08 So we're all just learning as we go along.
01:03:09 --> 01:03:11 So are you a member of AFGE?
01:03:12 --> 01:03:18 You're a member of that union? Okay. So that's the association of federal government
01:03:18 --> 01:03:19 employees? Is that? Yes.
01:03:20 --> 01:03:23 All right. So at least, okay.
01:03:24 --> 01:03:29 So technically you, you are being represented by the union at this particular point.
01:03:29 --> 01:03:33 Yes. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's still kind of crazy.
01:03:33 --> 01:03:37 All that. So in an interview with the National Employment Law Project,
01:03:38 --> 01:03:41 you said this, I've always wanted to be an activist.
01:03:42 --> 01:03:47 And I think this was God's way of pulling me out of that comfort zone and pushing me.
01:03:47 --> 01:03:52 I've been asking what my purpose is. I think my purpose is to be more active
01:03:52 --> 01:03:54 and to possibly run for office.
01:03:54 --> 01:03:59 I'm looking into that. So my question to you is, are you still looking into that?
01:04:00 --> 01:04:06 Yes, I am looking. Before I was brought back on admin leave,
01:04:06 --> 01:04:12 I was prepared to go and file the paperwork to run for Congress here in Maryland.
01:04:12 --> 01:04:18 But because of the Hatch Act, I can't run, it has to be bipartisan.
01:04:19 --> 01:04:23 So I couldn't do anything yet.
01:04:23 --> 01:04:30 But like now I'm just, I feel like I'm just in limbo and they're holding my life up.
01:04:30 --> 01:04:34 And so I'm just looking into seeing what I need to do to move on,
01:04:34 --> 01:04:38 to go and run, because that's something that I really want to do.
01:04:39 --> 01:04:45 Because I, Like I said, you know, your first first quote, like I have to be the change.
01:04:45 --> 01:04:50 We have to change. And if we don't get back the house, you know,
01:04:50 --> 01:04:54 some I don't see us having a democracy after next year.
01:04:54 --> 01:05:02 So is your district, your congressional district represented by a Republican at this point? Yes. OK.
01:05:02 --> 01:05:06 Yes. He I've contacted him. You know, he.
01:05:07 --> 01:05:12 I contacted him through email when I first was fired. I think I would send him
01:05:12 --> 01:05:13 an email every other day.
01:05:13 --> 01:05:20 He never responded, just an auto reply with the, I agree with what the administration is doing.
01:05:20 --> 01:05:25 I've called his office, left messages, and I know that you're supposed to contact
01:05:25 --> 01:05:31 the constituent back when they leave you a message. He's never contacted me back.
01:05:31 --> 01:05:37 He doesn't have town halls. He had one town hall that was a call and you had
01:05:37 --> 01:05:40 to send in pre-screened questions for them.
01:05:40 --> 01:05:45 He didn't answer any questions. So he's not doing much, but,
01:05:45 --> 01:05:48 you know, holding the water for this administration.
01:05:49 --> 01:05:56 So is there anybody running against that person now or is at this point this person's unopposed?
01:05:57 --> 01:06:03 I did see that one person has said that they were going to run against him. Okay.
01:06:04 --> 01:06:09 All right. Because, yeah, it's like, you know, with these congressional and
01:06:09 --> 01:06:13 Senate races and presidential stuff, people try to get out early.
01:06:14 --> 01:06:17 And I know that was your intention based on what you were saying.
01:06:18 --> 01:06:22 Yes. But, yeah, because you're kind of in this limbo. you don't know if you
01:06:22 --> 01:06:27 are officially a government employee or not because you're on this leave that
01:06:27 --> 01:06:30 really ain't a leave kind of thing.
01:06:32 --> 01:06:36 Exactly. And I do, you know, I have so many people that are,
01:06:36 --> 01:06:39 you know, willing to help me with the to start the campaign.
01:06:39 --> 01:06:43 But, you know, until I figured that out, you know.
01:06:44 --> 01:06:50 Yeah, I would. Well, I guess I shouldn't be giving campaign advice,
01:06:50 --> 01:06:55 but I, you know, it sounds like to me that you if you really are serious about
01:06:55 --> 01:06:56 doing that, you might want to.
01:06:57 --> 01:07:00 Have you talked with anybody? Let's let me let me do it this way.
01:07:01 --> 01:07:05 Have you talked to somebody that's like an expert in election law,
01:07:05 --> 01:07:09 like an attorney or something like that to kind of guide you through to see?
01:07:09 --> 01:07:14 Because this is all unprecedented, if you say, well, look, I want to run,
01:07:14 --> 01:07:18 I want to start filing my paperwork, would I be in violation if I did that?
01:07:18 --> 01:07:20 Have you had that kind of conversation?
01:07:21 --> 01:07:25 Not with an attorney, just other, because I know that there's a lot of other
01:07:25 --> 01:07:29 federal employees that were fired that we have like a little,
01:07:29 --> 01:07:34 starting a little coalition where we're supporting everyone on that they want to run for office.
01:07:35 --> 01:07:39 The only thing that we really found that if you violate the Hatch Act is that
01:07:39 --> 01:07:41 you would be fired. Gotcha.
01:07:42 --> 01:07:46 I mean, I feel like I'm basically fired now, so.
01:07:47 --> 01:07:51 Yeah, it's kind of like, okay, well, you're not, you know, it's like at this
01:07:51 --> 01:07:52 point you don't have anything to lose,
01:07:52 --> 01:07:56 but I'm glad that there's a support group out there that a number of you all
01:07:56 --> 01:08:01 are sitting there talking about it and assessing whether it's something that
01:08:01 --> 01:08:03 you should do and all that kind of stuff.
01:08:04 --> 01:08:08 So how do you, How do you feel?
01:08:09 --> 01:08:13 Well, let me ask you the question this way. What do you want to see happen going
01:08:13 --> 01:08:19 forward as far as you personally and as far as how the country goes?
01:08:20 --> 01:08:25 I just, for the country, that's easier for me.
01:08:25 --> 01:08:30 I just want people to wake up and realize that what's going on,
01:08:31 --> 01:08:33 even though it's not affecting you right now,
01:08:33 --> 01:08:38 if you look at the bill that they just passed, everything is going to eventually
01:08:38 --> 01:08:41 trickle down to affect everybody.
01:08:41 --> 01:08:45 Kind of how they think trickle-down economics is supposed to work.
01:08:45 --> 01:08:49 That's what's happening with the destruction of this country.
01:08:49 --> 01:08:54 There's so many people that are not informed about what's going on,
01:08:54 --> 01:09:00 which I can't really say that I understand because before, I mean,
01:09:00 --> 01:09:02 I have a love of politics.
01:09:02 --> 01:09:07 But if, you know, when my life was fine and nothing was affecting me,
01:09:07 --> 01:09:09 I had no reason to, you know, I would go vote.
01:09:09 --> 01:09:15 And once, you know, whoever was in office, as long as they were doing a good
01:09:15 --> 01:09:21 job or wasn't anything crazy like was going on now, I just kind of went along with the flow.
01:09:21 --> 01:09:29 But I just want people to understand, you know, not just listen to talking points
01:09:29 --> 01:09:36 from, you know, right-wing outcasts, I mean, broadcasts and everything like that.
01:09:37 --> 01:09:43 I just want you to know that, You have to look into it and see what's going
01:09:43 --> 01:09:45 on because, like I said, it's affecting everybody.
01:09:45 --> 01:09:51 And even with people that aren't like MAGA supporters, just regular people,
01:09:51 --> 01:09:56 people that are not brainwashed by what's going on, I just still want them to
01:09:56 --> 01:10:01 be informed, too, because it's a lot of my family and friends that they don't
01:10:01 --> 01:10:04 really know what's going on either until I told them what was going on.
01:10:04 --> 01:10:09 You know, a lot of people think that we were fired because we didn't want to go back into the office.
01:10:10 --> 01:10:13 And that's not why we were fired or we weren't doing any work or we didn't want
01:10:13 --> 01:10:18 to, you know, work or, you know, they just don't know what's going on.
01:10:18 --> 01:10:23 So I just want them to be more informed and get more get involved,
01:10:23 --> 01:10:30 because right now we can't really depend on just our leaders. This is right now.
01:10:31 --> 01:10:37 It's going to take the people to take back what has what we've lost in these
01:10:37 --> 01:10:38 past seven months. Yeah.
01:10:39 --> 01:10:44 And that's the most important reason why I wanted you to come on,
01:10:44 --> 01:10:50 because you early on, you were kind of like one of the people willing to go
01:10:50 --> 01:10:53 on the air and explain to people what was happening.
01:10:53 --> 01:10:59 And people need to understand. And just your personal experience shows that
01:10:59 --> 01:11:04 even folks that are close to you don't even know all the facts.
01:11:04 --> 01:11:09 So it's important to be able to get these facts out, what you're going through,
01:11:10 --> 01:11:16 what that experience was like, and hopefully we can figure out a way to do better, right?
01:11:16 --> 01:11:20 So I want to ask you a couple of questions real quick before.
01:11:20 --> 01:11:22 Well, I got one more question.
01:11:23 --> 01:11:27 And now as I'm talking, it kind of slipped my mind.
01:11:27 --> 01:11:36 What do you, what would be the definition of perseverance for you?
01:11:37 --> 01:11:41 How would you, based on what you've been going through and all that stuff,
01:11:42 --> 01:11:44 define what perseverance means to you?
01:11:45 --> 01:11:51 Basically, overcoming any obstacles that are put in my way. I mean,
01:11:51 --> 01:11:55 even if I, I feel like even if I run for office and I don't win,
01:11:56 --> 01:11:59 I still feel like I persevered because I didn't give up.
01:12:00 --> 01:12:05 It's, you know, doing the hard thing, even when you don't want to,
01:12:05 --> 01:12:08 because, you know, there's days that I don't want to get out of bed.
01:12:08 --> 01:12:16 But I still have to get up and do it because, you know, that's just what I have to do.
01:12:16 --> 01:12:24 So just overcoming obstacles that that you wouldn't normally have to overcome. Yeah.
01:12:25 --> 01:12:29 And well, I did have the now I thought about the question.
01:12:29 --> 01:12:36 The in doing my research on you, one of the things that you stress a lot is
01:12:36 --> 01:12:37 that you like to help people.
01:12:37 --> 01:12:44 Where did that desire to help people come from and how do you feel that you'll
01:12:44 --> 01:12:46 be able to do that going forward?
01:12:47 --> 01:12:51 I mean, I think it came from my mom.
01:12:51 --> 01:12:56 She was always like, she wasn't the, excuse me, she wasn't the,
01:12:56 --> 01:12:59 I'm not going to say she wasn't nice.
01:12:59 --> 01:13:05 She just had a hard shell, outer shell, but her heart was so giving.
01:13:05 --> 01:13:11 And she always, you know, if it was my friends and when I was younger,
01:13:11 --> 01:13:17 the kids in the neighborhood, if she had it to give, she would give it to you and she would help you.
01:13:17 --> 01:13:22 And I'm looking now that I think about it because I never thought about where
01:13:22 --> 01:13:24 that came from. It all came from her.
01:13:24 --> 01:13:31 And, you know, if I can help anybody, if I have it and I can it's not going
01:13:31 --> 01:13:34 to even sometimes it might be to my detriment.
01:13:34 --> 01:13:39 And if I can help you, I'll help you if I can. I think it all came from her.
01:13:40 --> 01:13:45 Okay. So if people want to get in touch with you to talk to you about running
01:13:45 --> 01:13:51 or, you know, just want you to come on their show or come and talk or whatever,
01:13:51 --> 01:13:53 how can people reach out to you?
01:13:53 --> 01:13:58 How can people keep track of what's going on with you? A lot of people have
01:13:58 --> 01:14:04 been reaching out through LinkedIn or my Instagram or Facebook.
01:14:06 --> 01:14:11 Yeah, that's, and I don't think anybody reached me on Twitter or anything,
01:14:11 --> 01:14:15 but it's mainly been like Facebook or Instagram or LinkedIn.
01:14:15 --> 01:14:21 So kind of talk about real quick, your LinkedIn profile, because it's a little
01:14:21 --> 01:14:26 different than a typical profile. Talk to me about LinkedIn so folks will be
01:14:26 --> 01:14:27 like, oh, okay, that's her.
01:14:28 --> 01:14:37 Oh, look, I just went on there because I was trying to put my resume on there because I needed a job.
01:14:37 --> 01:14:43 And that's where everybody, like, I just go on there and people will just send me a message.
01:14:43 --> 01:14:46 Y'all want to send me a message and connect to me that way.
01:14:47 --> 01:14:52 And excuse me, not the LinkedIn. I said LinkedIn, I meant Instagram because
01:14:52 --> 01:14:53 your Instagram is pretty unique.
01:14:54 --> 01:14:59 Oh, yes. They my Instagram, they just go in and they just yeah,
01:14:59 --> 01:15:00 they DM me on there as well.
01:15:01 --> 01:15:06 Yeah, but it's not what I'm getting at is not it doesn't have your name initially.
01:15:06 --> 01:15:09 It's about collections or something like that.
01:15:10 --> 01:15:14 Oh, I have one. It says it's my niece. And then I have one for it because I
01:15:14 --> 01:15:17 like to coupon. So I have two different ones.
01:15:17 --> 01:15:24 One is for couponing and then one is my own like personal one where everybody will DM me for stuff.
01:15:25 --> 01:15:28 And that's my niece. I think it's my niece 77. seven.
01:15:28 --> 01:15:32 I guess I hit the coupon one. That's why I was, that's why I was fascinated.
01:15:33 --> 01:15:37 I was like, coupons. Okay. I feel it. I said that, I said, that's going to come
01:15:37 --> 01:15:40 in handy right now until, until some break.
01:15:40 --> 01:15:46 It does. Look at my basement, down to my basement. I will not be stuck.
01:15:46 --> 01:15:49 Like in a pandemic, we was not stuck without the toilet paper.
01:15:50 --> 01:15:59 Well, well, Shernice Mundell, I'm really glad that you came on and I will continue
01:15:59 --> 01:16:06 to keep up with you and hopefully things will work out either job wise and or
01:16:06 --> 01:16:08 seeking political office.
01:16:08 --> 01:16:13 Because, you know, just reading about you and your heart's in the right place,
01:16:13 --> 01:16:17 whether you want to serve in government as an employee or serve as an elected official.
01:16:18 --> 01:16:21 And I hope you get that opportunity to do that.
01:16:22 --> 01:16:27 So I just I just want to thank you for coming on and thank you again for doing
01:16:27 --> 01:16:28 what you're doing and hanging in there.
01:16:29 --> 01:16:32 Thank you. Thank you for getting my story out.
01:16:33 --> 01:16:37 I really appreciate that. And when I go file, I will let you know,
01:16:37 --> 01:16:39 because I'm definitely. going to be filing.
01:16:40 --> 01:16:43 All right. Yeah, please, please do that. And you have an open invitation to
01:16:43 --> 01:16:46 come back. So that's, that's a rule for all my guests.
01:16:46 --> 01:16:51 It's like, anytime you want to come back on, just let me know and we'll, we'll make that happen.
01:16:52 --> 01:16:57 Okay. Thank you so much. All right, guys, and we'll catch y'all on the other side. Bye.
01:16:57 --> 01:17:07 Music.
01:17:08 --> 01:17:14 All right. And we are back. So I want to thank Shavonda Miles and Shernice Mundell
01:17:14 --> 01:17:23 for coming on and giving of their time and being open about what they're what
01:17:23 --> 01:17:27 they're dealing with and and how they're pushing through. Right.
01:17:28 --> 01:17:33 You know, and that should be encouraging for all of us in this day and age,
01:17:33 --> 01:17:35 in this time that we're living in.
01:17:35 --> 01:17:39 We're going to make it. It's not going to be easy, but we're going to make it.
01:17:39 --> 01:17:40 We're going to get through it.
01:17:41 --> 01:17:47 So I thank them for coming on, showing themselves as examples of that.
01:17:49 --> 01:17:54 And, you know, I just want to say I know a lot of people are,
01:17:54 --> 01:17:59 as this is airing, folks are talking about this Epstein thing.
01:17:59 --> 01:18:09 It is what it is. You know, the big picture is that we can do better than what we got.
01:18:10 --> 01:18:14 I know people, and I'm going to do the benefit of doubt thing this time,
01:18:14 --> 01:18:20 because I feel some kind of way about how everything went down in 2024 still.
01:18:21 --> 01:18:26 But let's do the benefit of doubt. And people voted out of anger and frustration.
01:18:27 --> 01:18:30 And they felt like for some reason they weren't being heard.
01:18:31 --> 01:18:35 Yeah, we can't do that. We can't be in our feelings, though, right?
01:18:36 --> 01:18:39 We got to be smart about this thing from this point going forward.
01:18:40 --> 01:18:43 And, you know, we're not going to be perfect in that. I mean,
01:18:43 --> 01:18:46 people were candidates are out there to win.
01:18:46 --> 01:18:50 And, you know, when I was out there, I was trying to say things,
01:18:50 --> 01:18:56 you know, and appeal to the voters, you know, trying to touch on issues that
01:18:56 --> 01:19:00 I felt not only were important to me, but important for the district.
01:19:01 --> 01:19:05 And, you know, my opponents did the same thing. And, you know,
01:19:05 --> 01:19:07 people running for all the offices did the same thing.
01:19:08 --> 01:19:14 You know, we elect public service commissioners and transportation commissioners
01:19:14 --> 01:19:17 and, you know, tax commissioners, you know, all these different spots.
01:19:17 --> 01:19:22 So they are going to be focusing in on certain things that pertain to that job.
01:19:23 --> 01:19:27 And, you know, there's going to be some folks that exaggerate or there's going
01:19:27 --> 01:19:31 to be some folks that are overly optimistic about what they can do. Right.
01:19:33 --> 01:19:34 But, you know.
01:19:35 --> 01:19:40 We still have to be thoughtful. And I've said it before. It's just like,
01:19:40 --> 01:19:43 don't go to a grocery store hungry, right?
01:19:43 --> 01:19:49 Don't go to a voting booth angry, right? Be smart about it.
01:19:50 --> 01:19:58 And vote for the person that's going to do the best job in keeping your city,
01:19:59 --> 01:20:04 your county, your state, your nation moving forward, right?
01:20:04 --> 01:20:09 That's going to do things that's going to make your life better,
01:20:09 --> 01:20:11 not convenient, better.
01:20:12 --> 01:20:16 Because a lot of times when we get angry, we're dealing with something that,
01:20:16 --> 01:20:22 oh, man, I wish this thing would work or I wish this thing wasn't that expensive.
01:20:22 --> 01:20:25 You know, I wish I had enough money to do what needs, you know.
01:20:26 --> 01:20:31 But you blame that circumstance instead of looking at the big picture,
01:20:31 --> 01:20:36 right? And the big picture is that we've got to have leadership that values
01:20:36 --> 01:20:40 work, that values life, right?
01:20:40 --> 01:20:46 And not in a grandstand kind of way, but in a pragmatic, effective way.
01:20:46 --> 01:20:53 You know, why are you going to have a limit on giving people tax breaks that
01:20:53 --> 01:20:58 work every day, but you want to make tax breaks for rich folks permanent?
01:20:59 --> 01:21:03 Right. Why do you want to sacrifice the health care of people?
01:21:04 --> 01:21:06 Why do you want to sacrifice the education of people?
01:21:07 --> 01:21:12 Why do you want to terrorize people who are just trying to work? Right.
01:21:13 --> 01:21:16 I mean, those are the kind of questions that need to be asked,
01:21:16 --> 01:21:23 because when a person is crafting legislation, when a person is addressing a
01:21:23 --> 01:21:26 particular issue, it's not just you in that living room.
01:21:27 --> 01:21:31 Right. It's a collective of people that might be in the same situation you're in.
01:21:32 --> 01:21:35 Some people are probably in worse situations than you in.
01:21:36 --> 01:21:43 And when you vote, you have to look at who's going to take care of us. Not just me, us.
01:21:44 --> 01:21:50 And so when we get into that mindset, it won't be hard to find somebody that
01:21:50 --> 01:21:53 believes in reparations, right? Because that's an us thing.
01:21:54 --> 01:21:56 It's not a me thing. That's an us thing, right?
01:21:58 --> 01:22:02 It's not going to be hard to find somebody that's sincere about education or
01:22:02 --> 01:22:04 health care because that's an us thing.
01:22:04 --> 01:22:06 That's not a me thing, right?
01:22:07 --> 01:22:11 You will benefit from it personally, but it's got to be about us.
01:22:11 --> 01:22:19 So we got to figure out a way to support farmers and so that our food will be cheaper, right?
01:22:19 --> 01:22:25 Not just from an industrialized vantage point, but these independent farmers, right?
01:22:25 --> 01:22:32 I mean, there's a lot of things in the big picture that can still have a positive
01:22:32 --> 01:22:35 impact on what happens in your house, right?
01:22:36 --> 01:22:41 You know, do we have to have a monopoly on power companies? You know,
01:22:41 --> 01:22:43 at one time there could have been an argument.
01:22:43 --> 01:22:48 Yeah, we need to be pragmatic about it and make sure that one person,
01:22:48 --> 01:22:50 one entity is responsible for our light.
01:22:51 --> 01:22:53 But in this day and age, maybe not.
01:22:54 --> 01:22:59 You know, but that's a big picture conversation. It's not just about you and
01:22:59 --> 01:23:01 your individual light bill.
01:23:01 --> 01:23:08 You see where I'm going with that? It's like, it's a hardship for you when inflation
01:23:08 --> 01:23:13 goes up to buy groceries and to pay for gas and all that stuff.
01:23:13 --> 01:23:17 Individually, yes, that's true. But you're not the only person going through that.
01:23:17 --> 01:23:23 And so what you want to do is elect people who have a big picture mentality
01:23:23 --> 01:23:28 and realize that there are thousands, if not millions of Americans that are
01:23:28 --> 01:23:31 dealing with that situation. or in a particular state.
01:23:32 --> 01:23:39 And so in Chicago, for example, my hometown, all the cities I've been to,
01:23:40 --> 01:23:43 that's still always going to be my favorite because that's where I grew up.
01:23:43 --> 01:23:46 It's where my foundest memories are, right?
01:23:47 --> 01:23:49 Jackson's a real close second. But.
01:23:50 --> 01:23:57 It's like when they decide that they're going to create more revenue for the
01:23:57 --> 01:24:01 city, they have a bad habit of putting it on gasoline tax.
01:24:02 --> 01:24:08 So maybe in the city of Chicago, y'all may need to say no more gas tax increases.
01:24:08 --> 01:24:11 I mean, a concerted effort, right?
01:24:11 --> 01:24:15 If you want to put it on something else, cool.
01:24:15 --> 01:24:20 But don't just keep sticking it on the gasoline because gasoline in Chicago
01:24:20 --> 01:24:26 is higher than every place else, except a few other cities that emulate that model. Right.
01:24:27 --> 01:24:34 But if if I'm in Jackson and the gas is like two ninety eight and I get to Chicago,
01:24:35 --> 01:24:37 the same gallon is like four dollars even.
01:24:38 --> 01:24:45 It's not because it's hard to get gas in Chicago. It's not hard to transport gasoline to Chicago.
01:24:45 --> 01:24:50 It's because, you know, they put taxes on it, right?
01:24:50 --> 01:24:54 So if you decide that you want to get behind candidates and say,
01:24:54 --> 01:25:02 we're not going to put any more burden on gasoline tax, that's an issue. That's an us issue.
01:25:02 --> 01:25:06 That's not just about you struggling to pay for gas. Right.
01:25:07 --> 01:25:13 And Mayor Johnson, if you hear this, don't I'm not trying to I'm just using it as example.
01:25:13 --> 01:25:16 Brother, don't don't be coming on me. It's like, hey, why are you jumping on?
01:25:17 --> 01:25:23 I'm just using that example because that's something that I've been in politics
01:25:23 --> 01:25:28 and being in a position where we're making decisions about where revenue was going to come from.
01:25:28 --> 01:25:31 I just know that's something that Chicago does historically.
01:25:33 --> 01:25:36 I'm not trying to say it's right or wrong. I'm just saying if you don't want
01:25:36 --> 01:25:42 that as the body, as citizens, then you need to elect candidates that are not for that.
01:25:43 --> 01:25:49 That's all I'm saying. But it's like the big picture is you've got to elect
01:25:49 --> 01:25:55 people that have a big picture mentality, have a mindset to help everybody,
01:25:55 --> 01:25:58 not just a select few folks.
01:25:58 --> 01:26:02 See, part of the 2025 that me and Ms. Shernice talked about,
01:26:02 --> 01:26:04 right, that's for a select group of people.
01:26:05 --> 01:26:08 That's not for everybody. That wasn't designed for us.
01:26:09 --> 01:26:13 If there are some of us that benefit from that, okay.
01:26:14 --> 01:26:19 It's a very narrow window of people that look like me and sound like me and
01:26:19 --> 01:26:24 all that that's going to, but it wasn't designed for us. Right.
01:26:25 --> 01:26:32 And so that's what I mean. If you think you fit into that category, you're probably wrong.
01:26:33 --> 01:26:34 And so.
01:26:36 --> 01:26:43 When we elect people to represent us, then they need to have a mentality of
01:26:43 --> 01:26:46 us, of helping us, right?
01:26:47 --> 01:26:52 In the preamble of the Constitution, it didn't say provide for the general welfare of a few.
01:26:53 --> 01:26:56 Provide for the common defense as a few, right?
01:26:56 --> 01:27:00 Protect individual liberty of the few. It said the nation, we the people,
01:27:01 --> 01:27:04 in order to form a more perfect union, right? it.
01:27:05 --> 01:27:07 It's about all of us.
01:27:08 --> 01:27:12 And you might be uncomfortable with people and their lifestyle.
01:27:12 --> 01:27:15 You might be uncomfortable with people that you don't understand their culture.
01:27:15 --> 01:27:18 You might be uncomfortable with people that don't look exactly like you.
01:27:19 --> 01:27:24 But I promise you, the overwhelming majority of people in this country want
01:27:24 --> 01:27:26 the same things you want.
01:27:27 --> 01:27:32 They want to live in a neighborhood that's safe. They want their children to be educated.
01:27:32 --> 01:27:39 They want to be able to attain wealth, either with a good paying job or to establish their own business.
01:27:39 --> 01:27:44 And primarily, they just want to be left alone to live the life they want to
01:27:44 --> 01:27:45 live and live it abundantly, period.
01:27:46 --> 01:27:53 They want to be able to go to the doctor, not just in an emergency situation, but to be preemptive.
01:27:53 --> 01:27:57 Just like we're encouraging people to go to the gym, just like you see all these
01:27:57 --> 01:27:59 things about taking these vitamins and all this stuff.
01:28:01 --> 01:28:06 Before you could advertise all that stuff on TV, the most effective thing was,
01:28:06 --> 01:28:09 hey, I need to have a physical. I need to go to the doctor.
01:28:10 --> 01:28:14 And people were able to do that. And now as health care costs are going up,
01:28:14 --> 01:28:16 it's not as easy to do that.
01:28:17 --> 01:28:21 Not unless you have great health insurance, which means that you've had to have
01:28:21 --> 01:28:24 a great job with great benefits.
01:28:24 --> 01:28:28 And that shouldn't be the case. Every American should have that opportunity
01:28:28 --> 01:28:31 to have access to health care.
01:28:31 --> 01:28:35 Every American should be like the United States Congress.
01:28:35 --> 01:28:38 The best health care plan in America is the United States Congress.
01:28:38 --> 01:28:41 If they need to see a doctor, they just go.
01:28:42 --> 01:28:45 If something happens to them, they get immediate health care.
01:28:46 --> 01:28:48 They get rapid response right then.
01:28:48 --> 01:28:52 They ain't got to worry about a bill. They ain't got to worry about the stress
01:28:52 --> 01:28:56 of the bills afterwards, they get taken care of.
01:28:57 --> 01:29:02 And these are the people that are representing you. So if the people that represent
01:29:02 --> 01:29:05 you have that kind of health care, then why don't you have it?
01:29:06 --> 01:29:09 Right? Because they're supposed to be a representative of you.
01:29:10 --> 01:29:15 That's all it is. And that's what we need to be focused on when we're talking
01:29:15 --> 01:29:22 about electing people, electing folks that understand the basic principle of doing no harm.
01:29:22 --> 01:29:27 Once they get in there, don't do anything illegal, right?
01:29:28 --> 01:29:33 Don't do anything immoral either, or unethical, but definitely don't do anything illegal.
01:29:35 --> 01:29:41 Right? And then that has a mindset that I want to lift everybody up.
01:29:42 --> 01:29:46 I do believe that a tide raises all boats.
01:29:47 --> 01:29:51 And your elected officials should feel that way too, right?
01:29:52 --> 01:29:56 Everything that Black people fought for in the civil rights movement has benefited
01:29:56 --> 01:30:04 everybody, Even to the point that other folks have used the strategies, right?
01:30:04 --> 01:30:07 Whether it was legal, how to protest, all that stuff.
01:30:07 --> 01:30:09 The rising tide lifts all boats.
01:30:10 --> 01:30:15 So that's the mindset that we have to have in governing.
01:30:17 --> 01:30:22 And despite the reality TV show type theatrics is going on right now,
01:30:23 --> 01:30:28 the biggest sin of this current administration is that they don't give a damn about everybody.
01:30:29 --> 01:30:34 They just only give a damn about a few. And that's not the right mentality to
01:30:34 --> 01:30:36 have in elected office. us.
01:30:36 --> 01:30:41 We can have differences about how to approach an issue,
01:30:41 --> 01:30:48 but the ultimate goal is that we want to help the most amount of people once
01:30:48 --> 01:30:52 we get to an agreement of how we're going to do it, right?
01:30:53 --> 01:30:57 If your whole objective is, well, I'm going to pad my pocket and take care of
01:30:57 --> 01:31:02 my friends and screw everybody else, that's not what government is about.
01:31:03 --> 01:31:05 That's why government is not like a business.
01:31:06 --> 01:31:10 Doesn't matter how much you pay into the government. If you're a citizen,
01:31:10 --> 01:31:13 you're supposed to benefit from it, right?
01:31:14 --> 01:31:20 The collective agreement is that all of us pay our fair share to make it work for everybody.
01:31:20 --> 01:31:23 And there are some folks that don't understand that concept.
01:31:24 --> 01:31:30 People that make the most money pay higher taxes or a higher percentage, right?
01:31:30 --> 01:31:35 Or just volume, even. If everybody had the same tax rate, they would pay more
01:31:35 --> 01:31:38 because they have more money, right?
01:31:38 --> 01:31:42 But there's people that have money that don't get that.
01:31:42 --> 01:31:47 And so they elect people that have that just keep us safe and let everybody
01:31:47 --> 01:31:50 else figure it out. It's not how it's supposed to work.
01:31:51 --> 01:31:58 Now, you can get caught up in Epstein and SignalGate and all the other gaffes
01:31:58 --> 01:32:00 that's out there, but the biggest mistake,
01:32:01 --> 01:32:06 the biggest problem with this administration is their lack of vision.
01:32:07 --> 01:32:10 Their lack of comprehension.
01:32:10 --> 01:32:16 And what do they not comprehend, Erik? They don't comprehend that government
01:32:16 --> 01:32:21 is of the people, by the people, and for the people. all of them,
01:32:22 --> 01:32:24 not just your favorite few.
01:32:25 --> 01:32:29 So when you go to vote next time,
01:32:30 --> 01:32:33 make sure you're voting for somebody that gets the big picture,
01:32:33 --> 01:32:38 that understands what the preamble of the United States Constitution is really
01:32:38 --> 01:32:43 about, and not somebody that's just trying to create their own little club.
01:32:44 --> 01:32:49 I promise you, we'll be better off for it, and you will be too.
01:32:49 --> 01:32:53 All right, guys. Thank you for listening.
01:32:53 --> 01:33:00 Don't forget, momenterikfleming, patreon.com slash momenterikfleming. Go ahead and subscribe.
01:33:01 --> 01:33:07 And, you know, just, just, just, just keep, keep listening, keep supporting
01:33:07 --> 01:33:09 the podcast. Until next time.
01:33:10 --> 01:33:57 Music.