Women Don’t Have Time For Extremism (with Rep. Emilia Sykes)

This week, Amanda Weinstein sits down with Ohio Congresswoman Emilia Sykes. Emilia is an inspiring force for good working hard for the people of her district! She and Amanda chat about how extremist Republicans keep trying to thwart the will of the people and deny women reproductive freedom, her amazing work to protect the victims of domestic violence, and how she won her election despite all the gerrymandering in Ohio. And, of course, they talk about the power of suburban women!

On Monday September 18, Red Wine & Blue is holding an exciting virtual event with one of our favorite guests of all time, Heather Cox Richardson! Heather will explain why 2023 is make or break for 2024 and why it’s so important that we all get involved. You can RSVP for that event here: https://pod.redwine.blue/HCR918mt.

And if you’d like to watch this interview on video, you can check it out at pod.redwine.blue/SWP.

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

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Transcript

The Suburban Women Problem - Season 4, Episode 2

Amanda: Hi, thanks for joining us. I'm Amanda Weinstein, and this is the Suburban Women Problem. This week we're joined by Ohio Congresswoman Emelia Sykes. Emelia, welcome to the podcast. 

Rep. Sykes: Thank you, Amanda. I'm so excited to be with you today. 

Amanda: So I should say, we know each other. Emelia was a very early supporter of Casey, so I will never forget that. Also, I have a daughter named Emelia, spelled the same way, and when we were at your swearing in to become a Congresswoman it got a little awkward because I had to keep yelling at Emelia to only eat one cookie. And people were looking at me like, “how dare you talk to the Congresswoman that way?” And I'm like, “Oh no, it's my daughter. It's my daughter is Emelia. That's why I'm like, Emelia, stop running. It's fine. If Emelia's running.” 

Rep. Sykes: That's also like the story when Casey was first sworn in and Emilia was super little, and I think she was getting like a little active during the swearing in ceremony. And you were saying “Emelia! Emelia! And Casey's like, wait, I meant my Emelia, not you!”

Amanda: It gets confusing and our Emelia loves it. 

So I want to start by asking you about Ohio, and our ballot initiative here in Ohio. Republicans have been trying to keep us from voting for reproductive rights by any means necessary. I keep thinking that everything they do is going to be like their last Hail Mary pass, but they always have another one in there of somehow trying to prevent this. What is your perspective of what is going on here in Ohio with reproductive freedom? 

Rep. Sykes: Well, if I could sum it up in a word, I'd say it's shameful. Disrespectful, offensive, those are a few words. We've seen over the years the many attempts that the Republicans have used their extremism to keep women from making decisions for themselves. And as we always talk about that, we think that they finally met the mark at which they stop, or they feel like they've gone too far. And then next thing you know, there's something else. 

And so the Issue One campaign that was brought to us during the August special election was exactly that. We had just gone through the process of eliminating August special elections because the Republicans identified that not enough people are coming out to vote. It's not representative of the state. It's very costly. You have to go through all of these activities to get people to engage. And then they use an August special election to put on the ballot, an initiative that would prohibit us from being able to make decisions about our reproductive rights and our freedoms.

And so it's shameful. It's offensive. It's disrespectful to the voters and to the people of the state who've had for a hundred plus years the ability to petition the government through the citizen led initiative. And it's really unique and it's special to Ohio. And the fact that someone would want to take it away because a bunch of women dare to stand up for ourselves and our rights just lets us know that they have, they have a suburban women problem. They have a woman problem. And they are going to some really great lengths to make sure women don't get the opportunity to make the decisions for ourselves. And so fortunately coalitions all across the state said no way and we defeated it handily. And now we're looking towards November.

Amanda: Oh, and we are excited for November. And I, you know, they're doing a lot of this because they know the majority is not with them. Women are not with them. And the majority of Ohioans are not with them when it comes to reproductive freedom. We want reproductive freedom. 

So you talked about suburban women. Your newly drawn district includes a lot of suburban areas. What do you think about the power of suburban women? 

Rep. Sykes: Well, obviously, suburban women were key to the victory that I had in Ohio 13. So one, I just want to say thank you. But also this is an opportunity for women, especially in a district like this one, that is highly competitive. That was one of the most competitive in the country. I mean, most folks probably didn't quite realize it, but it was a $21 million race, all things added together. And it's scheduled to be and set up for just as big of a matchup come 2024. 

But one of the things that I heard consistently and from women across the district was the extremism from the other side, even though I ran against a woman, the extremism is just too much and abortion being on the ballot in a very real way, turned a lot of voters away from my opponent and away from the Republican party in a year that Democrats were supposed to lose it all. You know, we are in a Congress where Democrats are just five seats away from the majority. We were predicted to lose 40 or 50. And it was because women all across the nation, quite frankly, and including in Ohio 13, just said “enough, enough is enough. We need some reasonable, considerate, thoughtful legislators because our children's future, our future, our community's future is on the line.” And, and folks just weren't listening to that craziness. 

So I'm really grateful for, again, I know women, I am a woman, I am friendly and have friends all over the district, even in our rural areas in our, in our cities. And people were just really motivated to just get rid of this extremism. So really grateful for that. And it's one of the reasons why I love representing this district. I mean, there's no better district in the country. I fight all my colleagues about it on a pretty regular basis, but you get all of America in Ohio 13 and it's a really good opportunity to represent such a diverse district, but just really thoughtful, kind, considerate folks who reject extremism.

Amanda: Oh, that's such a good point that women are not, we are not here for the extremism. We don't have time for this. And the issues around reproductive freedom are really extreme when it comes to the Republicans trying to stop it. They're on the extreme end. 

So you mentioned that you have one of the toughest races in the country. In 2022, you defeated a Republican Fox News commentator to represent Ohio's 13 districts. So what was the secret to your win? Do you have a secret you can share with us? 

Rep. Sykes: Well, really it was just being authentic and genuine and showing up. You know, this district was really special because it included my hometown. So I'm from Akron born and raised, and it was really a delight to just be around my community and being able to talk about the greater Akron area and what the connections we had to it, I had to it. 

There were some canvassers who came in from New York to help in the district. And they said, they came back in, they said, “I've never experienced this. We've been all across the country. We stopped at one door and they said, ‘Oh, I went to high school with Emelia.’ We stopped at another door and someone said, ‘Oh, we did gymnastics with her.’ We stopped at another door and they said, ‘she helped me with an issue with my grandmother, we were trying to find her a facility and she helped to step in there.’” And so just the fact that I was born and raised in this community and people had seen me, people continue to see me. Just today, I was walking from my office and people were yelling at me from the street. “Hi, Congresswoman!” I mean, that's just the connection that people deserve and haven't been able to get. And that's what the value was. 

And that's what we talked a lot about on the campaign trail, having an accessible, available, reasonable member of Congress really can make a difference and Summit County where we're from, Amanda, you know, we have four different Congress people. And we were split all up. And so finding our Congressperson who lived two or three or four counties away really made representation difficult. 

And then the other part is abortion. Abortion access was a really big deal to a lot of voters. I talked to men and women all across the district in every corner who were really concerned about the lack of freedom and the willingness of the Republican party to interject themselves into really personal and intimate decisions. Not just about abortion, but child care and who they can marry and who they can love. And folks said that enough is enough. 

And then just being able to talk about the issues. You know, I spend a lot of time in the community talking to voters. My opponent didn't care to do so. And it's a job interview. Campaigning is a job interview. And if you're not going to show up to the interview you probably aren't going to be well positioned for the job. So, you know, I know we're going to have another battle on our hands in 2024. You know, the Republicans have a target list and then they have the target list and then there's me.

Amanda: You’re a super target! You're like in the bullseye of their target list. 

Rep. Sykes: Exactly. And you know, every millennial thinks that they're very, very special and so according to the Republicans, I am very, very special in their eyes. But really why I'm willing to continue to fight for this and spend so much energy is the representation and having good, accessible, responsive representation is so important. 

And we've learned in the, I don't know, almost nine months, nine months I've been in this office that people really don't even know how to engage with their federal government. I talked to a mayor in one of my suburban communities and asked him, “what did you need from us?” And he said, “no one's ever asked me that question. I don't even know what to ask you.” And so I said, “okay, well, let me give you a couple of ideas because we need to get you resources. We need grants. We need to get some folks out here.” And that's what our job is. 

So I'm looking forward to another vigorous campaign cycle. Stay tuned. Let me apologize in advance for all of the TV commercials. They're probably going to be, there's going to be a lot. 

Amanda: It is. Yep. Oh, man. I love that you talked about, so not only was it one of the toughest races, you had a lot of people doing all the polls who almost counted you out giving you almost no percent percentage shot to win. And I think what they discounted was exactly what you said. They did not have a way to quantify how much you have shown up for your community and had those real conversations with people from across your community. And that really, really matters that you put in the time and the effort to be a community member… basically your whole life.

So, you mentioned how Summit County's been chopped up, and we know that through redistricting, Ohio has become, you know, even less of a swing state, more of a red state. Is gerrymandering worse in Ohio than other states? Sometimes I feel like it's just me sitting here in Ohio in Summit County that's being used to being chopped up like a pizza. Is there anything that we can do to fix this gerrymandering? 

Rep. Sykes: Yes. Ohio has some of the worst gerrymandering in the country. And we knew that going into the redistricting that happened in 2022 and or 20, yeah, before the 2022 election. And Democrats and Republicans have used gerrymandering to their benefit. I mean, ultimately the best predictor of an election is how the lines are drawn. And folks know this, this is not a secret. And so who has the power of that pen is really important. 

And we were all hopeful that the redistricting commission and the new process that Ohio voters approved with really high supermajority margins were going to pan out. But unfortunately the people who were in control of the process decided their power was more important than the people. And that's what we got in our lines. 

And so now we're going through this process all over again, but I can tell you, Amanda, the thing is, you know, it's difficult for candidates and elected officials to figure this out and make sure we're doing the campaigning, but it's far more difficult to people in the district in our community members who have no idea who their representatives are, there's probably not a week that goes by that we are not explaining and re-explaining what Ohio 13 is. And people always say, “okay, well, when are you going to open your Youngstown district office?” Never. My district's not in Youngstown anymore. And so we've had people just constantly ask us that same question and I feel bad for disappointing them, but the district's changed. 

And so when I talk to people and they say to me, “Oh yeah, I know who my congressperson is,” and they say anyone other than me, and then I go through the explanation and then I see the glazed look, it is how people are getting disenfranchised from the process. They don't want to engage. They're confused. They may not want to admit it because they don't want to feel like they've done something wrong. And we're really not serving the needs of people in our district. So this is a really big deal.

And I do hope people continue to stay engaged in this. I know it is annoying. It is incredibly annoying, but it's designed to get people to count out, count themselves out, not participate, but please do. This is so important. It is so vitally important to make sure that we have good representations and mostly responsive representation. You gotta know who to talk to when you don't like something. And if you're moving around every couple of years, it makes it really hard, hard to do. 

Amanda: You're so right. Like we got you and we got Greg Landsman and we got more Democratic Congress people in Ohio because the districts got a little bit better. Like Akron now has someone that represents them instead of having multiple Congresspeople represent them. And Summit County has a person that represents them. And so it's really important for the members of that community to have someone that represents them. So when they do have an issue, they know who to go to. They know the office to go to, and we can start working on the things that really matter and those communities. 

So I know one of the things that you've been a champion for is you've been a champion for victims of domestic violence, and you've worked with Republicans and Democrats to get HB1 passed. I'd love to hear more about that. 

Rep. Sykes: Absolutely. So House Bill 1 from my state legislature days was certainly a labor of love. It was first introduced in my first term in the state legislature, which was almost 10 years ago, my goodness. And we really introduced it, me and my colleague, Kristi Koons from Cincinnati, just thinking that one of the Republicans would steal it. We were two freshmen members in the minority party and we knew it was a good idea. And we had sort of gotten a bit of approval from the former speaker. And he just said, “okay, go for it.” And we just thought they would steal it. 

But it went through the process, but then it died in the Senate and then it came back as House Bill 1, which was the most important piece of legislation for that General Assembly. It was the first time a member of the minority party ever had that designation. And it was really important and shocking because it was a bill that protected victims from violence, particularly women. And one of the things that happened when I first introduced the bill, you know, you start talking to people and other colleagues getting support is a Republican colleague of mine said to me, “That is a stupid idea. It is never going to pass.” And I thought, “oh, wow, what a really interesting blunt thing to say.” And I said, “Well, just watch me.” 

And so at the end, he did everything he could to stop the bill from passing. And quite frankly, he lost that battle because again, women need to be protected. Women need to be protected from violence. And right now we're working on a bill sort of a continuation of that is protecting people from being stalked by like Air Tags and those electronic tech tracking devices. I had a constituent whose boyfriend, former boyfriend, put something in her car. She went to the police station and said, “Hey, this thing's been following me around.”And basically the police said, “There's nothing we can do. There's no law on the books that says this is illegal.” 

So the final bill I introduced in the state legislature was this tracking bill. I offered an amendment to a bill in Congress a couple of weeks ago. So it made it into another bill. So the amendment will be there while we're working on a standalone piece of legislation. But now people are using these tracking devices, devices to track property, your luggage, when you know you're going through an airport, people are putting in cars or dropping them in women's purses and then stalking them and figuring out their location. So there are no laws on the books virtually anywhere. There isn't any federal legislation. And so a continuation of that work in the state legislature is what we're doing in Congress because women deserve the protection. We need the protection. And if we don't protect ourselves, you know, sometimes there's no one else going to do it. So happy to take on that mantle and looking forward, fingers crossed, we get that over the finish line. 

Amanda: That is so important. And I love that you, I feel like a lot of women are just problem solvers. We see a problem and we're like, we can fix this. And maybe some men like the Republicans, you're just like, “Oh, that's so weird. I don't understand this. So I can't see how this happens.” And you’re like, “look, I'm going to solve problems.” 

So, what are you most excited to work on this fall? 

Rep. Sykes: Well, this fall we're working on a package of domestic violence and intimate partner violence safety bills. People have talked to us a lot about personal safety, community safety. And I think this package of bills will be really helpful with impacting and making people feel safer and at least showing that there are solutions to these problems. Again, the tracking device is a good example. Something that some folks didn't even know existed as a problem, but it's growing as folks are finding a loophole in the law. 

We're also looking at ways to continue to lower costs for people. Things are just still so expensive. We're not in a recession and the administration's been really helpful, but you know, I can tell just a quick personal story. I've got a car lease. I went to, it's coming up soon, I went to go look at some cars and basically my lease payment will almost triple and it's because of interest rates. And so having these kinds of conversations and thinking, “okay, if I'm going through this, I know my constituents are going through this. Well, how can we get more money in people's pockets? How can we deal with these corporations who are profiting off of inflation?” And again, inflation is in fact happening, but also they're taking advantage of people. How can we lower costs for prescription drugs and advance all of that? 

And then we have to get serious about gun safety. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, just absolutely positively refuse to accept that gun violence is the number one killer of young children. The statistics are there, the numbers are there, but the inability and unwillingness, not inability, the lack of will to tackle this issue to save our children is just awful.

Amanda: But then they walk around saying that they want to protect children.

Rep. Sykes: Yes! Let’s protect children from things that are actually impacting them, not these make believe things like books and drag queen stories. Like this is not what is killing children. So we've got to focus our attention on these things, lowering costs, increasing safety and making sure folks have opportunities. And so that's what we're going forward, looking into this year and, and really hoping we don't end up in a government shutdown. 

Amanda: Oh, I hope not. Well, it has been so great talking with you today, but before we let you go, we always like to ask some rapid fire questions. Emilia, are you ready? 

Rep. Sykes: Yes, I'm ready.

Amanda: All right. So I know, well, do you still consider yourself a newlywed? You're still kind of a little, are you still in like the honeymoon phase? 

Rep. Sykes: I am! My husband and I actually just got back from our honeymoon since we didn't get to take it last year. 

Amanda: Oh, so nice. Oh, where'd you go on your honeymoon?

Rep. Sykes: We went to Italy. We were really excited. 

Amanda: Yes! Oh, pasta and wine. There's, yeah, that's highly recommend. That's awesome. All right. So now that you're back from your honeymoon, what's your favorite place to go on a date night? 

Rep. Sykes: Our couch. We are so busy, so it's so nice to just sit at home, make dinner at home, watch TV, watch movies. It's the perfect place. 

Amanda: Oh, that's the best. So both of your parents are also in politics. What was it like to run for office as the daughter of two public servants? 

Rep. Sykes: It's interesting in a word. You know, I didn't want to be in politics because of them. I saw exactly what it was and figured I could help my community in other ways, but it really does help having two people who've experienced it, be able to coach me along to encourage me to know exactly what I'm going through, especially my mom. She did this as a Black woman. She was the first Black woman on Akron City Council. So she completely gets it. She knows the challenges of women. She knows the challenges of young women being in office. And she's always been supportive and helpful and just really encouraging. 

So now it's funny, my mom was just saying yesterday that people come up to her all the time and ask her all these questions about me being in Congress. And so she's always trying to be my back at home spokesperson when I'm in DC, but she, I think they are both very much excited and very proud of me, but mostly just really excited for our district and our opportunities.

Amanda: Oh, they are. You can see it on their faces. Every time you see them, they are just like beaming and glowing with pride. It is very clear on their faces. 

So what's one hobby you have that might surprise us?

Rep. Sykes: I really like to cook. Now when I get to cook is another story, but I really like to, it's sort of mindful. You have to be focused on what you're doing in the moment. Then it's just kind of fun to see what comes out. I very rarely use cookbooks. So it's sort of you know, that show where they're like, What do you have in your cupboards? You've got a can of tuna and tomato sauce. And so usually that's what it looks like. And then we come up with something. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not, but I really do enjoy it. It's a lot of fun. And then when I have a little bit more time, I like to bake. 

Amanda: Oh, do you have a go to favorite dish or favorite thing to bake? 

Rep. Sykes: So my Aunt Hazel, before she passed away, gave me her recipe to 7Up Cake and she told me not to share it with anyone. It is my recipe to give it to a family member, someone special in the future. So the other caveat was if someone asks for it, I have to make it, I can't give out the recipe. I try to make it on holidays. I have a couple of aunts who have basically, you know, kidnapped me for the recipe. I'm like, nope. Aunt Hazel said no.

Amanda: Gotta listen to Aunt Hazel. 

Rep. Sykes: I gotta listen to Aunt Hazel, so. I just make it for them when they ask me to. 

Amanda: Oh, that's so cool. All right. Well, we always end our podcast by sharing a toast to joy. It could be something in your personal life, something you saw on the news, anything positive that brought you a little joy this week. So what is your toast to joy today?

Rep. Sykes: My toast to joy is to all of the young ones headed back to school. It is always so adorable seeing them with the little poster boards and their cute little backpacks and their back to school outfits. The school years are so full of promise and excitement, and I just wish nothing but the best for all of our young people going back to school. And I really pray for their safety as well. I just love those moments of back to school and I, again, really hope everyone has a great, fantastic school year and they learn a lot. And they become lifelong learners cause we we're so proud of them. 

Amanda:Oh, that's so cute. So my Emilia got so excited for a star student being picked that she made herself sick and had to go to the nurse's office because she was that excited about star student of the week in her first grade class.

Rep. Sykes: She's going to get it. I know she is.

Amanda: All right. So my toast to joy today is, so we actually went camping and it's usually an ordeal for my husband, Casey. He is not a camper. So it is like the one time of year where he agrees to go camping with me. And I'm like, “look, I'll put up the tent.” But he actually had a great time. All of our friends brought out like different water activities and we got to like boat and kayak and paddleboard and jet ski. We did all of the water things at West Branch, one of our, one of our good lakes, one of the great lakes we have in Ohio. So it's super fun. Love camping. Love getting away and just getting out in nature, although my allergies don't appreciate it as much now. 

Rep. Sykes: We got great parks here in Ohio, so hopefully you didn't have to go too far to find one.

Amanda: No, not far at all. All right. So this is a reminder before we let all the viewers go that we need to vote in November and in Ohio, we need to vote yes in November to make sure that we can keep and maintain our reproductive rights here in Ohio. Emilia Sykes, Congresswoman, thank you for joining us today on the Suburban Women Problem.

Rep. Sykes: Thank you so much. It was a pleasure to join you.