When People Have Power
09/03/20 • 24 min
This episode tells Ellen Freidin’s story of leading a successful gerrymandering reform campaign in Florida, and then fighting to make sure the new electoral maps were drawn fairly. Ellen’s story took place over several years, starting with her discovery of how damaging gerrymandered districts were to Florida’s democracy, and through the painstaking process of crafting a redistricting process that could honor a truly diverse group of stakeholders. Ellen asked many questions, she listened, and she persevered. Listen and remind yourself what’s possible!
Find Us Online
-Website: https://www.thepledgepodcast.com/
-Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJVtjN
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PledgetoAct
-Twitter: https://twitter.com/PledgePodcast
This episode tells Ellen Freidin’s story of leading a successful gerrymandering reform campaign in Florida, and then fighting to make sure the new electoral maps were drawn fairly. Ellen’s story took place over several years, starting with her discovery of how damaging gerrymandered districts were to Florida’s democracy, and through the painstaking process of crafting a redistricting process that could honor a truly diverse group of stakeholders. Ellen asked many questions, she listened, and she persevered. Listen and remind yourself what’s possible!
Find Us Online
-Website: https://www.thepledgepodcast.com/
-Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJVtjN
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PledgetoAct
-Twitter: https://twitter.com/PledgePodcast
Previous Episode
This is Bigger than Us: Sheena Meade Part 2
In the second episode featuring Sheena Meade and the fight to restore voting rights to returning citizens in Florida, we see how persevering in the face of expected and unexpected obstacles is a crucial part of making our democracy work. The amazing victory of Florida’s Amendment Four in 2018 was just the beginning of a long and ongoing battle to give people back their voice.
As Hedrick Smith says, “Democracy is a participant sport. It’s not a spectator sport.” For Desmond and Sheena, democracy is also about a focus on people and their needs. This took on new meaning as COVID-19 began to impact their community.
Find Us Online
-Website: https://www.thepledgepodcast.com/
-Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJVtjN
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PledgetoAct
-Twitter: https://twitter.com/PledgePodcast
Next Episode
It Mattered! Gerrymander Reform in Michigan
In this episode we move to Michigan, where a group of novice activists got fed up with gerrymandered districts with politicians who were unaccountable to the people, and decided to do something about it.
Nancy Wang is the Executive Director of Voters Not Politicians, the nonprofit organization that led the 2018 campaign to defeat gerrymandering in Michigan, but that was never her plan. Responding to a Facebook post from a stranger, Nancy became one of the thousands of volunteers throughout the state to get involved. As an attorney, she ended up leading the policy committee that drafted the new amendment. Eventually she left her job teaching law at the University of Michigan to head up the organization full-time.
Listen and feel hopeful. People-power is real!
Guests
- Nancy Wang is the Executive Director and a founding member of Voters Not Politicians. As a volunteer, Nancy led the policy committee that wrote the constitutional amendment language with input from the public, and served as Board President during the Proposal 2 campaign. @NancyWangVotes
- Katie Fahey is the Co-Founder and Executive Director at The People. She started the grassroots campaign that ultimately became Voters Not Politicians. @KTeaFahey
- Art Reyes III is the founding Executive Director of We The People Michigan. He was born and raised in Flint, MI and hails from three generations of proud UAW members. @ArtReyesIII
Find Us Online
-Website: https://www.thepledgepodcast.com/
-Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJVtjN
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PledgetoAct
-Twitter: https://twitter.com/PledgePodcast
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