All Politics Is Local - Maryland
A Podcast to educate and inform a younger generation of voters beyond the ballot box about local civic matters in the state of Maryland and Prince George's County.
All Politics Is Local - Maryland
Integrity Matters - Social Changemakers Podcast Interview of Tamara Davis Brown
I had the distinct pleasure of being interviewed on the Social Changemakers Podcast, and while it preceded my decision to run in the August 6th Special Election, it is worth a listen to learn more about me, the priority issues and the work I have done in Prince George’s County. Take a listen, like and share, share, share Countywide!
Welcome back to another episode of All Politics is Local, the Maryland edition, with me, your host, Tamara Davis Brown. First, I need to apologize for my leave of absence due to family caretaking responsibilities. But I'm thrilled to be back. And guess what? Thanks to all of you, my amazing listeners, for your likes, shares, and subscriptions. All Politics is Local has ranked number seven among all Maryland political podcasts. How about that? We even surpassed former Governor Ehrlich's podcast, and this is incredible news, and I couldn't have done it without you. So I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your continued support. Your likes, shares, listens, and subscriptions have brought us this far. So let's keep the momentum going. I have a goal to be in the top three in the rankings by the end of the year. So please keep liking, sharing, listening, subscribing to All Politics' local podcasts. During my leave of absence, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Miss Khalila Denny for her podcast, Social Changemakers. You may remember Miss Denny from when I interviewed her for the good news segment of this podcast. Well, she has started her own podcast now, and I was honored to be her 17th interviewee. I'm going to share that interview with you today on All Politics as Local as we dive into my background, the work I've done in the county, and my future plans. It's a fantastic conversation recorded several weeks ago before the recent news of the vacant county council seat, but the timing feels divinely orchestrated. Speaking of the county council seat, I have some exciting news that I want to share with you that I'm breaking on this episode. I have officially filed to be a candidate for the at-large county council seat. This is a significant opportunity to represent the entire county of Prince George's County, and I couldn't have been, I couldn't be more excited. It means every registered voter in Prince George's County can vote for me. Now remember, Maryland is a closed primary state. So on Tuesday, August the 6th, which is the date of the special election, Maryland, uh Prince George's County registered Democrats will vote for their Democratic candidates, and likewise uh Prince George's County Republican uh voters will vote for their candidate. So on Tuesday, August 6th is the primary election with early voting starting July 31st through August 5th. The Maryland Board of Elections will be mailing out mail-in ballots beginning July 23rd. So keep an eye out for yours in the mail. I'm sharing this news with you today because this episode is the perfect opportunity to reach the entire county and let them know about my campaign. Not everyone may know my name or have heard my voice on this podcast, but together you can help me change that. So please share this episode with everyone you know from the northern to the central to the southern parts of Prince George's County. Let my campaign slogan, a name you know, and a voice you trust, resonate with as many people as possible. Thank you again for your unwavering support, and I appreciate each and every one of you. Now, let's dive into the interview with Miss Khalila Denny of Social Changemakers Podcast as she interviews yours truly, Tamara Davis Brown.
SPEAKER_05:Hello. Welcome to the Social Changemakers Podcast. I am your host, Khalila Denny. I am here today to speak with another phenomenal individual who is here in our community. Um, none other than Tamara Davis Brown. Welcome to the podcast. Well, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, I feel like you're reciprocal because you were a guest on my podcast. Yes, I was speaking of your podcast, tell us about the podcast.
SPEAKER_03:So, my podcast, I'm actually proud to say I have not announced it yet, but I got news that I am ranked the seventh most uh rating for a political podcast. So my podcast is All Politics is Local, um the Maryland edition, with me, your host, Tamra Davis Brown. So as soon as you finish listening to this, run over that. That's right. Shameless Cloud, Shameless Club. Yeah. It's a All Politics is Local, the Maryland edition. And so that's that's the name of our buttons.
SPEAKER_05:Well, I'm glad you mentioned it because I enjoy being your one of your first guests, I believe, on the podcast, sharing about the Diddy House, our nonprofit, yes, that um and the work that we do in the community and how much, you know, we align as it relates to to just that, you know, advocacy and all that good stuff, all that good jazz, right? Um supporting people in the community, supporting, you know, individuals who don't have a voice, and you know, raising our voices to some more, right? So how has the um podcast space, you know, you just told us about your award or your ranking, if you will. Right. Um yeah.
SPEAKER_03:You put me on the spot as I'm trying to remember the name of the organization. I've been so busy with some other uh endeavors right now that I can't remember, but I just remember getting this email and I was so excited. So I told uh my executive producer and uh the other folks' editors, all the folks that are with me. I was like, well, thank you, because I feel like I had to put as much work as I needed to then. But my podcast, like I said, it ranked number seven above like um uh Bob Ehrlich, who was the former governor of Nair when it's as a pop podcast, and it came like just under um former Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele podcast.
SPEAKER_04:So I feel pretty.
SPEAKER_05:Well, I must say you're in good company because a lot of us who are overachievers feel like we're not doing enough, right? And you know, the world or you know, those who you know are looking in or telling us, oh, you're doing such a great job. But we always could see the ways that we can improve. And I think that ain't nothing wrong with that. Um, so I'm just I'm just as proud as I can be um to be a part of uh such a successful podcast. Yes.
SPEAKER_03:Um in your segment, um, just to kind of explain that a do toothing the goal of the podcast and one of the reasons why I wanted to bring you on is because of the good work that I know you do in the community, but how you work with young adults, this yeah, I don't even know what to call it in gin or whatever, it's millennial.
SPEAKER_05:What are you a gen, a gin-wide, a gin? So it's not just the gin generation, okay, all of those.
SPEAKER_03:Um, but it was twofold. One to educate the younger generation on politics and how it impacts them and what local government and civics and all of those uh types of subjects, why it's important to be involved and engaged. But the other thing I wanted to report on is the fact that we hear so much negative news. And I and I said, I'm gonna start a network called instead of like CNN, I was gonna say GNN, good news network. Yeah. And so I wanted to feature, so I have a segment that's good news. Yeah. I wanted to feature good news that's going on in the community that you're doing that involves young people, Gen X, yeah, um, type people. And so I didn't remember you immediately came to mind. I was like, Khalila Denny and the Denny House, they are chilling again. Thank you. And what they do here in the community and all the young people and young adults that they're impacting and teaching them a trade and skill. So I really, you know, admire you and love the work that you do. Thank you. And so I wanted you to be one of the first uh persons that we interviewed in terms of getting the good news out about what we're doing. And I gotta invite you back. Yeah, because I know you got some good stuff going on, and now that you got this your podcast.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, ma'am.
SPEAKER_05:We gotta we gotta reciprocate. Yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am. So I appreciate that we are continuing to do good work, um, serving our our youth and um our return over. Oh, yeah, yeah, for thank you annually. Um, I'm just so grateful to just continue to be able to do something that I love, that I enjoy, and that, you know, brings brings me joy, you know what I mean? Right. Um for so long I worked in, you know, corporate America, if you will, and I was not happy. I was just working for PayChat. So when I was able to start my own business, even start this nonprofit, um yeah, I was forced into it. But, you know, I'm glad I was forced into it. It's sometimes Lee, I was sharing with a young lady recently that, you know, sometimes we're not, we're not looking at the right, if you get let go or fired from a job, it's not necessarily, you know, a loss. It might be a win for you. It might be pushing you into that desired, desired purpose that I have for you. And that's exactly what happened to me. You know, I was pushed into that desired purpose. I was already doing the work part-time. Right. And then, you know, I decided, you know, I'm gonna just go all in when I lost my job. And uh, this is what I've been doing ever since with this and my for-profit Diddy's Consultant, which is why we're here, you know, uh supporting other nonprofits, helping them grow, and um, you know, just working with people in the community. So you're one of those good people. And we want to talk a little bit about your advocacy, the work that you do, you know. Um, I want to share with people like just the success that you had today. Um, tell us a little bit about your work and advocacy.
SPEAKER_03:So um my work and advocacy really started, and I hope I'm not jumping again, but I I I do feel like I need to kind of tell the coal story. Yeah. Um, because I know we were gonna talk about my upbringing.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, let's start there. I was I I'm not a jumping line with that question. So it didn't, you know, keep me in line. Ain't nothing wrong with that. Keep me in line.
SPEAKER_03:Well, let's start with your upbringing. Well, what really got me interested, and I wouldn't even say interested, I was dragging to, and I use this term. My parents used to drag us to city council meetings, PTSA meetings, school board meetings, this, that, and the other. And um, you know, I had no idea what was going on. I just knew that we were going to another, you know, something civic, some city council meeting, and my dad was getting up to speed, the other mom was getting up to speed about some issue and some redress that they wanted in their community. Right. And so it's just been instilled in me to be a person that, I don't know, keeps our elected officials accountable. And I remember this story and always like to tell this story. My mom, we were in a city council meeting, and my mom kind of, I think I was in the third break. Yeah. Kind of like leaned over to me and she's like, see those people up there. I said, Yes, ma'am. And she said, those people, our tax dollars paper, they're salaried, they're accountable to us. Oh, wow. Yeah. And I the left food. Yep, I've always remembered that. And then she went on to tell me what we were there for. I had no idea You can't remember that. But you meant seven, about seven years old, third grade, like, okay, yeah, back to coloring in my coloring book or whatever I was doing occupied my island. Now that you grow up here, so I really grew up not in Prestorgis County. I actually grew up in Houston, Texas. That's where my family is, and that's where I was born and raised. I came to the Washington, D.C. area and actually moved to Prest Georgis County in 1988 when I was at law school. I got accepted to Howard's Law School. Okay. And I ended up staying with a friend of mine's a failure, um, who I went to undergraduate with. They lived in Fort Washington, right off above Carmel, Carnel Road, yeah, 210 in Lynn Allen Acres. And I decided that I really liked uh Prince George's County. I like the fact that it was at that time, it was still, you know, we Glenn Denny was, I think, still the um county executive, but uh Wayne Curry was, you know, coming. You're right, Little Internet. And becoming our first blind African, you know, African American county executive. And you know, the county was really pressing in. And I like the southern area of the county because it it I felt a little bit like home. It felt a little bit like home. I like the role this, you know. I'm used to uh, you know, I'm my I live off of the Scantaway Road down from Pascantaway stable. Right. So I, you know, the forces there and all that stuff in the farmer's market, you know, in Texas, they have what they call my daughter. Like, what does this role does FM stand for? And the road is called FM, whatever number, 1960. It's named for farmers market. Oh, okay. Because that road leads you to the farmer's market, literally. So, but that kind of I kind of fell in love with, you know, just that rule and it's the local farms and this and that. And um, but I've been here, you know, I decided to um practice law that where I the type of law that I practice, I actually need to be in Washington, D.C. to do it because it's a battle practice, administrative practice. It's telecommunications, I can get into that later. But um I knew I needed to be in this area in order to pursue that type of the career that she wanted. Yeah, and everything I wanted. Okay, so that's kind of how I got got started and got to Prince George's County, and I've been living in, you know, other district, uh, Council District 8 or Council District 9, um, the entire time. Mostly nine, because I've uh lived in Fort Washington just those three years, and then I moved to um I was at Agate for a year, and then I got the current home that I'm in now. I've been in that home for over 30 years.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, wow, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So you said that um you you went to law school at Howard University. And um, so how was that experience coming from Texas to how are you? Right.
SPEAKER_03:That was that was amazing, absolutely amazing. Out of uh I to this day, I'm just so grateful for the education that I got at Howard because it really opened my mind and expanded my mind. And and it also helped instilled in me to be the community activist that I am, because we're taught to be social engineers. And what a social engineer is, is that you it doesn't matter what type of law you practice or what you do, you use your legal skills to benefit your community. Right. Right. And you use your legal skills to help somebody else and to help the overall uh, if you will, social, economic, and political impact of African-American communities. And that's always kind of been my vision, not my vision, but my my drive, because that was so instilled in us. It's like, you know, we don't care if you practice tax law, we don't care if you practice corporate law, we don't have iron middle, you gotta come back and help and use it to help your community pretty well. That's that's been my push, you know, always remembering those lessons at Howard Law School. And it's it's it was phenomenal. I loved it.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, beautiful, beautiful. So once you left Howard Law School, what did what did what did it look like for you? Did you go into uh private practice or did you work for the government? How how did your career start once you left Howard?
SPEAKER_03:Once I left Howard, I uh actually had a job waiting for me at a uh law firm that specialized in telecommunications law. So that's my specialty. I do wire specifically wireless telecommunications before the Battle Communications Commission. And so um I went to work for uh what they call a full teacher law firm because they were very spec highly specialized. Right. And that's where I cut my teeth and and you know, and learn a lot because at that time, which was I graduated in 1991, um, cellular was not out, it wasn't that as popular, and you know, only the the rich and the famous had those big break phones back in the day, or it was kind of walkie, what they call walkie-talkie type stuff. But I used to represent a lot of uh private companies that use that push to talk um technology. Yeah, and that technology parlayed itself to what they call PCS personal communication service. Okay, and then that became the ubiquitous cell phone service that we all know. Right. And so I love what I do because the technology is always changing. Yeah, the law is trying to catch up with the technology. Yeah, so it's always learning facts. I'm always learning something new, it's always a new legal issue. It's like, oh, what do you think about that? With the technology does this, you know, how does it affect that? You know, like now the big thing is AI. And how do we kind of either wear it in a little bit because you know, there's some negative impacts that we can see, just like you can now see the negative impact in social media on teens. You probably saw, at least I saw recently how the Surgeon General's mic say we need warnings, and children don't leave cell phones before ice team. Which is something I've been hearing a lot of that. Yeah, yeah. And so uh, so the technology is always changing, and you've got to figure out, you know, what's that social impact? You know, if I take my law, my Howard Train law degree, what does that impact? How does that impact negatively or positively on the African-American community? Yeah, and what kind of laws and what kind of changes need to occur in order to make sure that our quality of life is not um decline or or is actually imprudent.
SPEAKER_05:Right. Well, I'm glad you touched on that because I wanted to know how that translates to the work that you do to support your community. How does the the laws that, you know, um govern the technology space, how does that help you to get back in on our and serve your fleet.
SPEAKER_03:I I kind of keep those two things separate in terms of my law practice and then what I do as a community activist. What I do as a community activist is what I cult to be and hope people benefit from is that they are educated and engaged about what their local state, the federal government is doing. Mostly local and state. I'm more sorry, because that impacts you the most. What what happens in Congress sometimes is is is such not over your head, but such um high level that it may or may not trickle down to how it affects you. Some of it does. Yeah. Some of it does, yeah, a lot of it does, and you I see you kind of doubting me.
SPEAKER_05:No, no, I'm I just have my own opinions and I'm I'm thinking about about it from the same lens. I do believe that local and state governance, um, the laws and things at the local level uh impact you more. Um, but I also think that the the things that happen in Congress also impact you. I think a lot of times we, as you're probably alluding to, we get so caught up in the presidential elections and all of that, and we forget about how important it is at a local level to vote for people who have the same goals, have the same core um values as you, who want to see the same things improve in your community that you do. Because if you don't, you know, if you don't focus on that, if you don't vote for those those individuals, you don't really get a chance or have the right to even, you know, uh gripe about the fact that maybe the school, the laws are changing in the school systems. So especially when it comes to, you know, certain things like uh your uh your school board. If you're elected of those people that you elect for the school board, drive a driving force that, you know, tells you what's gonna happen um in your public schools. If you want your kids to go to public school, you want to know who these people are, what their core values are, what they stand for, and how they're gonna govern the school system that's gonna benefit Chanchula. So that's right. I'm I'm I'm with you. I just was like, yeah, it's it's still important.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, it's important. It's important. Yeah. But uh what I think and you said it exactly, and get the nail of it. Yeah, so many people want to vote that presidential election, and then when the local elections come around, like, okay, you know, I'll I'll vote for the person that looks the prettiest, or the post person that I've seen the most. I got the I got so much mail from this person, so I'm gonna vote for them. Never do that homework. Never. So what I try to do is I try to make it easy for them. I try to help our local Prince Georgian to say, these are the people that are running. Here's a website where you can buy out some information about them. Or these are the issues like in November, they're for it to be ballot initiatives. Every presidential cycle, there's always a ballot initiative where we always vote um on ballot initiatives. And I don't want to go into the people don't know what these questions are asking. So what I try to do is use my legal degree and and break down because a lot of it is written in legally, yeah, and sometimes it's narrative spiritually confusing.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. So I and a lot of times we only see it the day of election, and we we haven't seen it before, right? Haven't read it before, don't understand what it is, but we're actually making a selection that's uninformed.
SPEAKER_03:Exactly. Exactly. So what I try to do is it advanced that, read it, do the research, and tell you, hey, this is what this is asking you to do, and this is how it's gonna impact you. Yeah, and I give the pros and the cars, and I try not to give my personal opinion. Sometimes I do, sometimes I say, I I'm not voting this way, or I don't like this legislation or this bill because yeah, but that's just my personal opinion. Right. I still want you to do the leg work, but at least I've given you the background information. I try to be as uh neutral as possible. Yeah, give you the background information, let you know what um the whether it's a bill, whether it's something that you're voting on, whether it's uh any piece of legislation that is coming out, what you need to vote on. Yeah, I mean what you need to know in order to make an informed decision. Yeah, yeah. Because it's it's it's so unfortunate that we don't make informed decisions and we can see the results of that take away, you know, at the national level, and we can definitely see it at the local level. And then we kind of wonder why, well, why is it why did this happen? You know, why did they approve this, you know, but why did they approve this development and they still didn't widen the roads? Or why are they doing this and we still have the same old uh run down school?
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, well, I can appreciate the fact that she has done that for several years. As long as I know you, since 2018, I've seen that piece like always be consistent with you, whether, like you said, whether it's those issues that we're checking yes or no on, or whether it's you know, the individuals who who are running for election and being able to just share their information. Um, I've been the recipient of a lot of those emails that has really helped me just be able to, okay, now I got it in front of me. I'm reading it. And, you know, so now I can go and do my own research, but just open my eyes to some things. Like I was just telling um our cameraman here, Q, that I'm not even aware of who's planning on running right now. Like I'm not seeing um as much, I guess, information just yet as who's coming out for county council. We were saying some people dropping off, some things are happening in the news. There's some new seats that are available. So it's like um I'm looking for that information. Right. Uh so I know something's gonna come out uh uh soon from you sharing with you know what's happening in District 9 and what's happening, you know, in French Shortage County. So I look forward to that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. And please share it, you know. Yeah, I do. I always say at the bottom of my emails and um, you know, I send out blast emails and I and the reason I start the podcast because I know the Jen Xers are not reading emails and it's all social media and what have you, but I do um for uh for the for my generation and and and above older than our season and seniors, they still, you know, they still read.
SPEAKER_05:That's still much in paper, that's still all the tangible thing they can hold and yes, the black and white, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And then they pass it on to others. So I, you know, I'm hopeful that you know the information is getting disseminated and people know. And you know, um, I you know, I always make myself available to to answer questions. I try to, you know, make sure I check my email so that if somebody has a question about something I did, or sometimes I don't like disclose like how I'm voting or how I feel. Some people will come out straight out, like, what it okay, just tell me what you're gonna do. And I'll have that conversation with privately. Um, or you know, send them an email privately. It's like, okay, but I don't want you to, I don't want this disseminated. This is just me telling you how I personally feel. But I I never try to impose my will or what my decision. I want you to come to your own information.
SPEAKER_05:Right, right. And that's that's good to have that position because you don't want to force or push on anybody um anything, really, but you just want to give them some insight. Sometimes people don't want to ask the questions, but they do want they the they want to know what you're thinking. They want to know what, and it's for me, it's important for me to understand who I am and what what what matters to me. But I also want to hear, you know, some insights from my peers, the people around me, what they're thinking, because they may have a different perspective that I never thought about. Right. Um, not to say that I may that it, you know, I'm gonna go with or sway with the wind, but it's important to hear, you know, more than just one side of the story. There are all there's so many different levels that people can bring to the table. They think differently. So it may, you know, give you some insight that you didn't think about to change your mind. Right. Right. Um, speaking of that, you know, uh, you've had a um political career of your own, right? That you at least, you know, have a tip a dance to have one, right? Me let's talk about it.
SPEAKER_03:Well, um, I think because of the advocacy that I was doing for the community, whether whether it was on our children's PTSA, I was active in our children's PTSA. I think I was secretary and the liaison to the the county's PTSA um program that they had. And um because I was you know in those meetings and going to the county council meetings, going to Annapolis to testify all the bills. I felt like I had something that I could contribute and that I had an insight, not necessarily of politics, because I don't see myself as a politician. Okay. I s I definitely see myself as a community activist, and I see myself as, you know, someone who likes to do investigation, someone who likes to uh read and make sure I understand. Yeah. You know, I don't always, you know, I don't know all the answers, but I know how to get the answers. I know how to ask the right question.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And that's some legal training. You may not know the answer, but you know how you know how to ask the right questions to get the answers that that you need.
SPEAKER_05:So when you say you're not a politician, you you consider yourself a community activist, give us a definition of that.
SPEAKER_03:I think a community activist is a a a person who uh is just as the word said, active in the community, but not only active, but as an advocate. So if there is a issue that I think needs to be addressed or redressed. Let's let's use your platform, for example. And and then you and I'd have this conversation. I have a pet peeve about trash. And I cannot stand. My mom used to uh I as I told as I told you, we had our whole uh litter tickers and litter pickup, and I was so my mom would make me go up and down the block, pick up this trash. So now I have a pet peeve about it, and it really bothers me. So you know, I'm just using this as an example, but um with a lot of the so I would always um contact at a 311, say, hey, these dumping here, there's litter here, there's whatever, you know, and then I I'm noticing that people are not, they will call me and say, Well, um, did you see that they dubbed the like, yeah, you can call 311 yourself, right? You know, and so I kind of noticed that people write people weren't, they were kind of dependent on me to either be the activist and the advocate, right, which I didn't mind, but you know that the squeaky will gets the Greeks. So I was like, well, you need to call too. Yeah, not just me. You call and then you call. Everybody call as everybody's calling, at some point it's gonna get some attention from someone because there's so much attention. It's like, okay, well, we really need to go see and pick up this, you know, this little dumping, you know, on Cascadaway Road or you know, Thrift Road, wherever, you know, it may be in the county. Yeah. And what I'm really happy about is that one of our state senators has taken it upon itself because the outcry was was was countywide at that at some point and said, okay, we gotta get it. I think it still is.
SPEAKER_05:I think no, it's still and it's still in crisis, or is I feel like we're in a crisis when it comes to the trash and you know, the illegal dumping all over accounting. Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And I I know some of it is all because I've seen literally throw out McDonald's bow margin for, you know, riding that because I have I'm I'm off a main street and another main street in my house, it's right at the corner. And I'm outside just about every day picking up trash and it yesterday it was McDonald's, somebody's happy meal. Um and so it is some uh some yes, but I think that it's a lot of you know, people into the county that also I contribute that also at and I used to always contribute it to the folks further south in Charles County because at one point, although they changed now, they didn't have um uh what is it? Um the uh bulb trash crash picked up. Right. And you know, between ch between Charles County and the southern part of First George's County, there's a lot of unlit roads where it's really easy to just fill up and and dump something over the county a little bit. Right, right. And then the other thing I attributed to you, and I would would wish that our county council would do this, is that there's no bulb trash kick up for any apartment companies. Really, yeah. So the you know, and we're building more multifamily units all over the county, but in particular in Presthorse County, and I would like to see them require the landlords to at least once a month, once a quarter, to bring in to have a bring in a dumpster, have your residents do all their bull trash, take it out, take it to the dumpster, they charge whatever fee that they charge us. But we need to consider that as well because um apartment dwellers don't have that access as homeowners, right? We do. So I think that's important. Yeah, but I use that as an example of the type of advocacy.
SPEAKER_05:So I'll, you know, I just speaking out for those who, you know, either don't want to use their voice or don't have a voice.
SPEAKER_03:Right. You being an envoy. And then I mobilize and try to mobilize people that do want to speak up, that have gotten just so frustrated. Right, they're ready to put action. So it's either drafting the petition, like, okay, we're gonna write our county council person, we're gonna write this the Senate, yeah, we're gonna write Annapolis, we're gonna write the governor, we've got to write Congress. Yeah, you know, so I try to um help do that as well, and then do it in a way that it it's received on the other end. Right. Yeah. So that action, but yeah, sure. That's usually it.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, well, I'm I'm glad you broke that down. That's pretty much what I thought, but you know, just for those who may not know, we, you know, I'm glad you were able to break that down for us. But so I see that. I see that in, you know, pretty much everything I know about you as it relates to just advocacy and seeing you out in the community, um, supporting domestic violence, uh, support supporting, you know, when I say support the domestic violence, I mean, you know, advocating for those who are, you know, I'm experienced in that sort of thing. Right. Um, tell us uh a couple of the other things that you are like uh heavily involved in as it relates to the advocacy.
SPEAKER_03:Sure. So the I think the biggest thing and thing that I probably leave most know for, and to some people, both of both the developers. I'm into you know making sure that we develop our county in a way that's sustainable. Yeah. I'm not against developing them. No, I want improvement. I want to see nice things come to our county. I want to see nice homes, I want to see, you know, nice townhouses, even multifamily, but I want it done in a way that's sustainable. Sustainable. That's and that we can that it doesn't just saturate us. Yeah. And that we are overcrowded, overcrowded roads are, you know. You know, we still have the same two-lane roads. I mean, coming here, um, even though it's uh ugly. It was a little after rush hour. I took the back way past Costco Park. Uh, because I was like, I was like, I'm not coming to that intersection of Old Branch, Scataway Woodyard. Yeah. That is our matter. I I would be I would have been late. Yeah. So um, but one of the big things that I'm trying to make sure that we do as we build, because this area, District 9, is the area of what we call the last matching of developable land. Yeah. Because there's so many people property right. And those persons, you know, their children, the water farming, right? You know, sell that land, you'll say I have Bernie, you'll get over signed inheritance. Oh fuck, and you know, and I can't fall off to that. I can't fall off them for that. But in the meantime, uh, you know, I'll drive, I've driven to um Miss Um Johnson. She'll is it Sheila Johnson? Yeah, is it? I'm trying to remember, make sure I'm saying our first Sheila Johnson just um part was part owner of the Mystic Cino, the Monumental City. And she has her uh uh she just she just acquired the the former Mandarin Hotel that she now has. Um I'm I don't know why the the name of her um resort is escaping me. It'll come to me in a minute, but like in any any event, driving to her hotel and resort in golf Queen indeed out in Virginia, you pass some of the same in my my landscape that you kind of see in the rules, rural tier. Yeah, they don't want us to say rural tier anymore, but the southern part of Prince George's County, you know, uh farms, wineries, all of those same. But they're they are starting to develop out. I believe that's loud in the county, they can't remember for sure, but they're still starting to develop out in those areas. But what they're doing is, and I don't I don't know some of the reason, but they're still they're putting in the infrastructure first. They're widening the road, right? They're um putting in all of the infrastructure first before they move the individuals as people and on that end of it. You know, uh, you know, new schools are are being built for these new communities, yeah. Um new middle schools and a new rec center. Uh all those things are coming up with the community. Here at Christorchus County, we do the exact opposite. We're building and letting the people come and then we'll figure out our roads later, and you know, we'll put a turn in lane, you know, yeah, a hundred, uh, I mean, you know, half half a mile, if that even it not that length, but yeah, uh quarter mile in and out. And I'm sure that's all we do. We don't ride the roads. So my big thing has been to try to advocate for infrastructure movement and development as opposed to um just allowing it unfettered. Now, part of the problem in the southern part of the county is that the county does not actually own the land. Like they own a lot more land in the central and the northern part of the county than they can. But not in the southern. And not in the southern. So they can't really tell, you know, the heirs to these farms like, well, what to do with their land. Yeah. They we don't owe it, you know, unless we take actual imminent domain of it. Yeah. Somehow. And, you know, and that may be something that we need to really consider doing more of in the southern part of your county to say, hey, we need to take this land to use it for this purpose for everybody, not just, you know, just your family or what have you. But that's part of our problem in this southern part of the pro um the county. But there has to be a happy media, and that's what I try to communicate to developers and people who are, you know, wanting to subdivide the land and put, you know, a thousand townholds on, you know, maybe four to five acres. Yeah. Yeah or so. So um, and I I know that's I'm exaggerating, I'm exaggerating, but you know, it is sometimes not that not many, you know, they're trying to subdivide the land so much that it's it's you know, you're really right on top of each other. And you come out on a two-lane road. Yeah. So those those issues are the have been what has been driving me for the most part. So it's not just when I say infrastructure, public safety.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:You know, we have the same same in Clinton. We still have the same volunteer fire department. We don't have a professional uh fire department here in Clinton, and they just built a professional um fire department in Brandywine. They did this, but um the calls for service and the time it takes you to get to those calls. Yeah, it's critical. You know, if I'm having a heart attack, I don't want you to be stuck you know on Willyard Road trying to get to me. Yeah. I want you to be able to get to me and serve, you know, and prevent me from dying. That's right. You know, so um, those are the kind of things that I'm looking, you know, really trying to focus on. And lately, you know, having fit community meetings, bringing the stakeholders so that people know who can contact. Well, this is the person in the park and planning department. This is the person in the department of public works and transportation. This is a person in the department of permitting inspection and enforcement that you need to contact about some of the issues that you have. And I'm uh so far I'm seeing that people are being a little bit more proactive in that.
SPEAKER_05:So if you share those kinds of resources with us, we'll definitely get it out to the community store. So um keep us in mind as you're developing things and making, you know, making it neutral, you know, um, we can definitely share that out with the key. So so with all that being said, and I hear the the passion you have about behind, you know, making sure that um our community members are considered uh when you know development happens. What's what's what's what's next for you? What what do you see yourself doing that?
SPEAKER_03:Um well I'm I'm still interested in serving in a political office. Uh I have not given up, even though I have not I've come so very close so many times. Anyway, uh I um still have not given up. And I see different things that sometimes I want to give up. And I was you can't.
SPEAKER_05:You've got so many people, you know, um, who voted with you. There's so many who support you and support the work and they understand and get the vision. Um and they have the same um desires that you have. So that's why they send yes, yeah, all the fitness. And thank you. So yeah, yeah. So you have to you have to keep peeking in my in my opinion.
SPEAKER_03:So um, as you know, and you kind of alluded to earlier, there's uh open seat that just opened up with the resignation of um former um district manager kind of a member, but he just seat currently right now is the at-large council seat. So I was kind of considering that. I was talking to my strata as things like he's not giving me the okay to to pursue that. I but uh you know, I did I did um think on it a little bit um over the weekend. So what about November? Well, November, we're now remember, we're in a presidential uh cycle. Okay. So the presidential cycle, we are only voting for Senate if the Senate seat is open. You know, the Senate um term is longer, you know. For Congress, the House of Representatives, they run every two years. Okay. So we're only gonna be voting for our Congressperson and our state. Um there is a state senate seat because um in Maryland, Ben Carton reside. He stepped down, he's not running again, he's retiring. And so we are gonna be voting for a state senator. We still have senator um Chris Van Holland. His his seat will um he'll have to run for re-election the next presidential cycle. Oh, clearly, not not this much. So it's and next uh the uh county. Yeah, the statewide offices is not until 2026. 2026. So I still have some ties to consider, but you know, my heart and soul, um, like I said, I've been in our we've been in our house since for 30 something years in Clinton. My heart and soul is still always district nine. Yeah. And uh, you know, so that's that's that's mostly first priority and first interest for me is to to pursue that. But I did uh, you know, take take the, you know, I got the interested, you know, when that little bit. I was like, oh, okay, something's coming up over here. Yeah. Let me think about it. So but if you've got a plan, you know, I'll Well, you know, I I haven't totally ruled it out. I mean, this is so new. I think the council met last night to to set the dates, oh, where the special election is gonna be and all of that. They haven't actually formally announced it. I haven't heard any news, so I'm not breaking any news clear. But um, I think they voted last night of, you know, when they want to do it, what the dates are gonna be and all of that. And I think they'll release that. Uh it probably most likely. I'm sure it was a public hearing. Uh no, it was a public hearing because it's a decision of the the council. Okay, um, teach me. But clearly, I don't know what up. The decision of the council, because I think our charter says that if a person, if a county council person resigns and there's still two years or more left on their term, or not resign, but you know, leave office for whatever reason. Why would be a resignation, it could be unfortunately they put away and everything, um, you'd have to have a special election. Yeah. If it was a little later in the session, I mean later in the term, like the term was almost over. They can appoint somebody. They can appoint somebody, right? Okay. So um, so I I'm assuming a you know, publication is gonna be coming out, press release or something's gonna be coming out next week, yeah, at the earliest, and announcing the date, setting in the following deadlines for those who are interested in solar, we'll send and I'll I'll I'll be sending out some information about her um as I as I normally do. And um, you know, we just want, you know, we want the best for our county, and we want good candidates and and people that and this is why I talk about not being a politician. It's it's okay to uh I think to have you know build those relationships because you because politics is that you've gotta build relationships compromise, get it tape. Right. You know, you're not gonna always agree on, you know, what's the right course. Yeah. But you gotta be able to work together and you know and make some compromise. But we don't meet what I consider people as like career politicians, if they're just trying to, you know, with them. Yeah, we went from one position to the next and and and net never are I won't say never are satisfied, but just they may be in it for the wrong minutes.
SPEAKER_05:Well, I I I hear you on that. I'd like to see those who are moving from one position to another, it's because they're actually make affecting change change. Yeah. And that's positive for our community. So I'd love to see that, you know, be a consistent right um uh mirror of those that we had, you know, left it like currently. So um with the priorities that she set out just pretty much um knit just now with all the development and you know, trash and you know, unification of our community. And um, if you were to say, you know, tip your, you know, get your toe wet in that special lesson, um, are there any other priorities you think you would want to share? Um that's a good question. Um when you think back to what your constituents um shared and were more most passionate about.
SPEAKER_03:Um, you know, what I what what I think about in terms of particularly if it's at large, uh what I'm hearing a lot of stuff. I went to um the Brandywine North Keith um Civic Association meeting last night and they met um normally they meet at Brandywine Elementary School, and they met this time at um the community center in um Timothy Branch. There's just new big development behind the Pasco and all of that. So what what I'm hearing are people are concerned about public safety because, you know, unfortunately we've got this these band of teenagers that have nothing else to do but break into people's cars and carjack and this and that. So they're concerned about public safety.
SPEAKER_05:But again, that and it's such a small group of individuals that just mess it up for everything.
SPEAKER_00:But everybody.
SPEAKER_03:Everybody. Yeah. So definitely um looking at public safety. But again, I attribute some of that to overdevelopment because you know, if we had enough officers to be able to patrol the area, and District 9 is the largest land mass-wise, space-wise, mileage-wise, you've got enough um officers to patrol all of that area, you could probably cut down all some of that because you're seeing the police officers more frequently patrolling your area where you're less likely to try something.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, but I also I also think that if we have more outlets, more opportunities for kids to uh for the youth to express themselves, have some fun, right, you know, in a way where it's safe and you know, um that is a I think a concern too. I think a lot of times um you know, they're left to their own devices and there's really nothing for them to do. Right. So uh, you know, would be the we rely more often more.
SPEAKER_03:That's what we have on part of planning for. And I think park and planning can potentially, I've seen them make great efforts, you know, in their extreme teams, programs and trying to have basketball um sessions at night and all those things to kind of help bring our young people, you know, together.
SPEAKER_05:I wonder if they're talking to the young people, like if they're having conversations with them to understand what it is or what and what what they want versus doing what they think should happen. But yeah. Because a lot of times we we as the older seasoned, you know, individuals, we get in a room and we have a conversation about what we think they need and what we think they want and what we feel should be happening, and we're not actually um listening or having some input from that generation that's telling us what their desires are, what's lacking in their combs or what you know, what they need, right? Right. And it it it plays a major role, I think, in the reason why some of the youth are are being pulled into a certain direction or into a certain group, you know, because there's one getting the attention that they weren't getting before, they've got someone who's listening, someone was paying attention to them, and now that they're, you know, they have that that individual has their ear, they're giving them the things that we don't want them to have. But if we had more of an opening, uh open mind to bring them in and hear what they have to say and listen to their concerns and take that seriously and actually act on what we hear from them after life, we'll have less of the crime that we're having now. I I don't think it's gonna ever go away. Because I know every generation says, oh, you know, you know, um, you know, they weren't as bad back in my day, but it was always something happening. There was always somebody that just, there's always somebody that just gonna be a right man, you know. Um, but there is several kids who would probably choose differently if they had other access to opportunities and other outlets of people actually listening to them. We always want to also say that, you know, we need to get with these parents and figure out what they're doing. And, you know, that's always been the case too. Um, and sometimes they just need a little help. You know, I still believe that it takes a village to raise a child. I don't care, you know, what anyone says. It doesn't, you know, these days nobody knows. We don't know our neighbors, we're not saying hello, we don't have that same um I feel the the environment that I grew up in. Like well, mom, my mom, she lived in a we lived in an apartment, but everybody in the apartment building knew each other. Right. It wasn't nothing I could do that nobody that, you know, and nobody, you know, go back our mom to tell, or you know, something, if something was to happen and they were there and my mom wasn't there, they straighten me up. You know what I mean? And we don't have that community likely used to. So I'm trying to build that. That as you said, I I try to make sure that this is a safe space, that people come in here, they still like, you know, they've got a voice, they, you know, can do what it is that they, you know, feel will help them, you know, grow and mature as an individual. And I expose you the youth to opportunities, to um careers and things that they wouldn't typically think about because the only thing you see on TV is, you know, I can be a doctor or a basketball player or a lawyer, you know, and some of them they feel like that may be unattainable. And there's other options that they can choose that will help them to, you know, gain a um a skill. They can gain a skill, they can uh do a career, they can work for themselves, and they can, you know, gain wealth in a way that you know doesn't require them to rob anyone or steal anybody's car. So I'm sorry, I'm off my soapbox on that one.
SPEAKER_03:No, no, no, no. And I appreciate the work you're doing in that, you know, getting um it's um landscaping. Yeah, landscape management. Yeah, but then you know, I I know someone who lives in District 9 right now, I used to go to church with yet. You know who does a thriving landscaping um business, and he, you know, and his business is taking him uh literally all over the world. I mean, he posts, you know, more of some of these. Yeah. Some some of them um, you know, he's just posting on vacations that he's again and this and that, but um, but some of the projects that this guy um because of the landscape all business.
SPEAKER_05:And he's still paying quite everybody, everybody means that these, especially with the evening COVID. I think most people don't even realize that, and and maybe they do now. Um, you know, COVID exposed the fact that, you know, we're in our homes war now, and you know, everybody's looking around, they wanted to look beautiful, and oh landscape it was one of the industries that shot up and it's still going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:So um, no, I wholeheartedly increan you, but we were talking about, you know, some of the initiatives. So public safety would be where um the the other that I I'm hearing um a lot about, you know, is just the ability to to manage the county's budget. Um we I think the county council just uh approved the budget, but we were facing a deficit. Um and there was little whispers about potentially raising taxes. What I heard last night was, you know, we pay a lot of taxes, we don't get the services that we have, but so how do we uh manage our our our budgets a little bit better? And this is where the federal government comes in more in terms of making sure that we're applying for those federal dollars. Yes, yeah, yeah. That we don't have to tax our citizens so much because let's face it, and it's it's I've heard it a thousand times, but it's absolutely true. We are a county of residents and not a lot of business and big industry business that can pay the corporate tax dollars that maybe Montgomery County or Fact Facts or Alexandria are getting. And so until we change that paradigm, and I know that the county council and the county executive are really working hard to try to do that, but until we do so, we need to come up with other areas of how to get dollars into our community. And I think that's where we have our partnership with our federal partners. Yeah. So at the federal level, there are so many federal brands. And one of the things that I do in my day-to-day job, I actually have a broadband business where uh we are working to provide high-speed internet service to the rural and underserved areas. Okay. And so I know for a fact, isn't it? That our county can do a better job in in terms of whether it's housing, affordable housing, whether it's um anything we're rural agricultural, uh, just a lot of federal brands saying we need to take advantage of a little bit more in terms of getting money to pay for services that we have or that we need to push out to our residents that won't be a tax burden to that. Because guess what? It's still our tax dollars because guess what? The money that the federal government comes from us. From us. So either way, we're still paying for it, but we might as well be. Might as well reap the benefit. Reap the benefit of those federal tax dollars as well. That's what we can get from the state and at the local level, and not try to, you know, continue to raise taxes and so forth. So uh, you know, just looking for other creative ways to do that. And I think the other thing that the pandemic has done is bring about more philanthropic work and from bigger foundations. So when I'm talking about bigger foundation for foundations, you know, the huge amount there start to look for ways that they can help individual community. And I think yes, yes. And so we also need to tap in. So if they're not moving here to do business here, yeah, you know, you know, throw some dollars, you know, towards um some of the projects or some of the the things that we want. to have done here and I think uh those partnerships uh we could do you know would be something that would be a priority for me.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah awesome well that that sounds like something that we could get upon for sure. Um the if there was anything um you wanted to share as it relates to your business because you just spoke about you know the broadband business that's the first time I've heard about it. Okay. Um I'm gonna flip the script just a little bit uh let's let's talk about that.
SPEAKER_03:Let's talk about sure sure so again because of telecommunication one thing that I learned way back in 1993 uh was that um I was actually work working and I was doing doing this doing this work and I knew what our hourly rate was as a law firm. And I was thinking to myself but I was like these people are paying us this amount of money in order to do this spy and do this work they have to be making good money in order to do it right. Yeah and I said I need to be on the business side okay and not necessarily always on the legal side. So I always thought I said that in 1993 and I've always thought that I wanted to do something in the telecommunications realm. So we kind of talked about um when it was the cellular service first came out and when it they came out with what was well first I actually thought about was owning towers. Telecommunications towers when I said well then you got all the land or at least lease the land I don't have any property other than my own home and I and I'm definitely not the let's although we probably need a tower because I lose signal sometimes in our area going down some of those those little valleys but I said I thought about doing that. And then I thought about the big way that they came in for what they at the time it was called the Battle Communications Commission called it the PCS personal communications service. And that's before they you know started calling the cell phones or their mobile phones or what have you but um they really engineered that for larger companies for the for the um Verizers and the ATTs and all of that. They didn't engineer it for the smaller person. But it wasn't until I actually ran for county count for in district nine okay I was knocking on doors in the rural area of Prince Rose County literally in the rural tier I think I was in in in Baden somewhere and when I say your door knocking I was literally knocking getting in my car driving the next right man that I heard that people was like well I just need you know and they found out our telecommunications attorney said well we just need access to the internet you know I was like do you guys don't have access to revenge you only like a 15 minute drive before all the traffic was right you only like a 15 month minute drive from DC how do you not have access to the internet they won't come out here blah blah blah else and really and I put two together went off the light bug went off and I said I am going to start a broadband business with the focus and the name of my company is called Last Mile Broadband last mile broadband of Maryland and the the tagline is is that we go the distance to bring you the internet. Okay and so meaning that we'll come we'll go that last mile get you the service you need and I I've been really big my business partner well is a former military has done military telecommunications installation on military bases all over the world so he knows this stuff like the back of his hand and then I met him believe it or not at a function I didn't realize that I could keep the only 10 minutes away from me but I met him at a function for another form you know kind of a political function for a former um county executive of course for the county and I kept his card I was like I'm gonna need this guy's card where I kept his card and I just called him out of the blue and said this is the name of the company this is what we do do you want to start this business because I can see uh I can see I said in our own backyard there are people up I've knocked on the doors I know and we said yes and we got started and off to the races. Now as unfortunate as the pandemic has been the bearded boom for our this does now at first it was really really tough because we couldn't get the funding you know we we we were applying for things and it was like nobody that it's not that they didn't believe us but it's just like they didn't see that there was a need. Yeah then when the pandemic hit everybody had to go online to go to work to school everything for life it brought everything to light. And so a lot of what I do now is just like grant writing to get that's why I mentioned those grants I know about a um I I write the grants to get funding. We have been focused on on HBCUs actually. Okay. And so we've got a project at Southern University of Louisiana we you know we're working with some other um well one other guy that um we know that has some access to other HBCUs that we're working on and then we're you know we're trying to actually help the folks down in um in the Baden in the possible area luckily for I won't say luckily for us because we actually didn't get the work but because of our our um grant writing and advocacy I think like the Comcast and the ATTs and the predicted boys kind of woke up and said oh there's a community down that's in George County that needs broadband and we're gonna provide it for them. But um nevertheless I'm happy that it happened because you we I saw the need and now the need is being fulfilled if it it just so happens it may not have been our company I wouldn't love for it to have been our company but nevertheless there's still lots of areas that do not have access to the area that because there's they're not in a densely populated area and the big boys won't spend the money. Now the interesting thing is is since the Biden administration has said that we're making this a priority it's almost like rural electrification when they brought lights out so that everybody had electricity yeah it's the same process okay so they're throwing money at it and now the big boys want oh can we get like can we can we apply it's like no you had an opportunity but you're anything got the funds right so now that too many chose not to now you want to come in and then you know try to elbow us out the way we've been here all along so you know but we're we're we're we're making progress and we're making um we're we're we're meeting some needs and so I'm really happy about that. Come on that filed for you so that's how many years the composite so I can't believe it's it's been as long as it I I thought it was I think we we formally filed in the state of Maryland I believe in 2014. Okay. So that's 10 years. Why? Yeah and um you know like I said we had to fits you know stops or starts and all this other kind of well you survived the pandemic a lot of people can't say that. Yeah and like I said the pandemic was a boom for us yeah because it brought to light what we were saying all along. Yeah and now that the federal government is starting to put federal funding behind it we now it's a lot easier for us to you know keep get the grants and and do the things that we need to do for that so how how's all of this been on your family life? I know you're a wife a mom like how how is that you know positively or and you know negatively I bring it along now you know some some people that how many kids do you have yep two okay and they are grown adults now we have a son he will be 20 I can't believe it didn't be 27 in August and our daughter will be 25 in November. And no she is a big uh reason why you started podcasting the five guys yes she was the one that says you know you know mom we're not reading those emails we you know you need to come up with the target on social media the podcast so she's my executive producer and I'll say executive producer that's that's her we up um we have an idea for something to come up pretty soon around um what's happening in the county with the open seat and what have you so we're gonna you're gonna be releasing something pretty soon but um so just like my parents drugged me to tell us any idiots they were kids I drugged them to all the media and the good news is it's kind of roped off on them at least my daughter for sure but my son as well you know they are very politically astute and they know how to ask the right questions and you know what had you and advocate for themselves and what they want. So um it's my husband's always been very supportive um I remember I'm early days of my for office you know he was the one now you know now I've got an quote unquote sophisticated and I have have a team that goes out and put up signs for the money. Yep I remember my husband and his brothers would be out there putting up signs and using the regular the team and all that stuff and we've come a long way but he's always been very supportive and it was him that if I couldn't drag the kids with me he would be at home with the kids when they were younger obviously it's so good to have that kind of support but having my husband at home with the boys is that just a dust and I would not be able to do a lot of the work that I was at I've been able to do over the years if it wasn't for him.
SPEAKER_05:So that's great.
SPEAKER_03:Yep strong man. Yes yep and that you know 100% never you know every once in a while he's like uh Tamil maybe you shouldn't you know whatever but when he sees that my mind's made up and I'm a dean he's like okay go for it. Why don't I get behind Randall Exactly and so he um you know always had been supportive so they you know I I asked him this time I was like well what do y'all think about and they always tell me you know you know don't run again y'all need to run again this and the other and then they see what they but and my daughter literally called me yesterday when I with all the news broken she was like you know well you know it integrity matters you really yeah you you you need to to do it so I you know again I've got I've got a a strategist and I yeah you know run things through so I'm even if I don't do any special election or or anything I'm I'm content with the local district nine and doing that you know I really love this area I don't know like I said that I was here you know for the the three years that I was in Fort Washington but we were you know Fort Washington is still very South really you know it is yeah still very you know south but then when I found Clinton and Ackiteak um yeah I lived in acting for a year. Then um I was I just kind of fell in love with the area and I was like oh wow we're we're this close to the Potomac we're this close to Washington Park we're this close to the Patuxet you know just all of these things around natural yeah um you know I like to walk and so I'm I'm not a gym person or a treadmill person. I like to go out you know I was just at Costco Park walking the other day you know just around the lake yeah and then I take the actual trail in Costca you know they've got three um three trails they will need to do a little work guard I gotta call them but got a couple of fallen trees yeah um on some areas but um just just being out in nature the climate I don't like to hear like when I'm out walking I don't like to hear cars you know I don't mind hearing you know I don't mind people and talking and children playing and I don't hear horns and I don't want to hear no none of that and so I just like to get out and you know walk in the park and enjoy nature and bring fresh air see the you know the the animals whether it's birds or they got egress or turtle around the I love that we found a turtle here in the um in our backyard.
SPEAKER_05:We had one in our backyard. We kept it for a little while but it got too big for the for the tank and then we released it at Costco Park.
SPEAKER_04:Did you and all the kids every time we go they look for that turtle see they know that there's like hundreds of turtles in the embark I don't they look if it had one put a mark on them or something and if we did it be gone now because I know they shared their people don't realize that they shared that share on for the like me I can't figure out where the one that was in our backyard it was it was a baby turtle.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah I was like where's the muscle I brought it some like lettuce to even I'm like there's gotta be some parents somewhere that'll not and um probably a couple of days later it was gone. It was gone.
SPEAKER_05:She said uh you're not feeding my baby no lettuce we want real food out there look at these grass over here by stop um well this has been nice and you gotta come back when we're ready to announce and you know tell everybody what you're doing and you know everybody a little tea gave us a little tea today but yes come back and share with us you gotta come back I sure I sure we gotta come so if you had one last thing you wanted to leave our audience with if there was something you know inspirational some um something that you um just feel like you wanna you want to share to help those who want uh maybe you know consider an advocacy themselves maybe considering being that voice for the voice list what would you leave them with do it do it um pick up the phone call you know as my mom told me those people our tax dollars pay for their salaries they're accountable to you so you know pick up the phone write that email send that note uh write that letter you know we PC them at an event step talk speed truth to power speed truth to power and um I've started putting at the bottom of some of my emails a quote I don't do it all the time it just depends on the the topic of the email it's um a quote that I've um found from Plato that says that um if I'm not I know I'm not saying it correctly but it's basically saying that if if you're not involved in politics you're allowing someone not as astute as she to rule over you.
SPEAKER_03:Wow and well it's so it it's it's that whole you know speaking truth to power and you know asking for what you want because you know power concedes nothing without a demand. Yeah and so if that is the case that um you don't want to you know just take any and everything that whatever somebody is in office to give me where you've got to make that demand and so I encourage you to definitely free to power defining make that demand and and and be her yeah well I couldn't end it any better than that thank you so much thank you um again for coming on the podcast yeah um thank you to you all for sticking around this long and if you did I hope you hit that follow button like and share this out um share some comments down uh with us let us know how you feel about the content um if you like this content for sure and until next time it's the Social Changemakers podcast signing out.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks for joining me today on this episode of All Politics is local the Maryland edition where we hope to inspire and activate a new generation of informed voters to move beyond the ballot box and take action. Remember all politics is local
