In this captivating Iron Mind Podcast episode, we dive into the world of Semi Bird, a Washington State gubernatorial candidate. From his tough upbringing in East Oakland to military service and earning a Ph.D., Semi shares his comprehensive vision for Washington. He discusses tackling law enforcement, education, economic growth, and social issues like homelessness and addiction with a blend of compassion and firmness. Semi also addresses immigration, human rights, and the importance of local employment, offering insights into his plans for inclusive and effective governance.
Tune in to discover Semi Bird's profound motivations and his blueprint for a better future for Washington State.
Key Takeaways
Resources
Learn about Semi’s campaign: https://www.birdforgovernor.com
About Our Guest
Semi Bird (Republican Party) is running for election for Governor of Washington. Semi Bird was born in San Francisco, California. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1978 to 1985. He earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia Southern University in 2010 and a graduate degree from Villanova University in 2012. His career experience includes working as a consultant and behavioral scientist. Bird has been affiliated with Phi Kappa Phi and the American Psychological Association.
All contents of this show are rights of Brumley Law Firm and are not to be used unless authorized by written consent.
In this captivating Iron Mind Podcast episode, we dive into the world of Semi Bird, a Washington State gubernatorial candidate. From his tough upbringing in East Oakland to military service and earning a Ph.D., Semi shares his comprehensive vision for Washington. He discusses tackling law enforcement, education, economic growth, and social issues like homelessness and addiction with a blend of compassion and firmness. Semi also addresses immigration, human rights, and the importance of local employment, offering insights into his plans for inclusive and effective governance.
Tune in to discover Semi Bird's profound motivations and his blueprint for a better future for Washington State.
Key Takeaways
Resources
Learn about Semi’s campaign: https://www.birdforgovernor.com
About Our Guest
Semi Bird (Republican Party) is running for election for Governor of Washington. Semi Bird was born in San Francisco, California. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1978 to 1985. He earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia Southern University in 2010 and a graduate degree from Villanova University in 2012. His career experience includes working as a consultant and behavioral scientist. Bird has been affiliated with Phi Kappa Phi and the American Psychological Association.
All contents of this show are rights of Brumley Law Firm and are not to be used unless authorized by written consent.
Welcome to the Iron Mine Podcast. Join me, josh Brumley, as we explore the minds of those who forged their paths through legal battles, business triumphs and creative conquests. In each episode, we sit down with inspiring individuals who sharpened their resolve in the fires of entrepreneurship and law. From lawyers breaking barriers to entrepreneurs overcoming obstacles, we uncover the stories behind their iron wills and innovative minds. Get ready for thought-provoking conversations, practical insights and actionable advice. This is the Iron Mine Podcast. So I'm sitting with Semi Bird today. Semi welcome. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule of running for governor to come talk with our little law firm here.
Speaker 2:That's a great law firm.
Speaker 1:Hi, I appreciate you saying that very much. Can you tell us, for people who don't know who you are or what you're running for? Give us the elevator pitch, buddy.
Speaker 2:As you open with, I'm running for governor for Washington State, I'd like to say for all of Washington State, because I think that is something that's important as a servant leader that we do. We represent all citizens, right? We're just talking about cultures with some of the folks in the hallway and that it's important that we recognize that it's our diversity, that's our strength, right. And so I started out in inner city of East Oakland, california. Mom moved us to Seattle when I was six years old, single mom, seven children, 1961, so pretty civil rights, so rough time, strong woman and a lot of kids.
Speaker 2:And I grew up in Seattle, dropped out of high school, joined the Marine Corps when I was 17. I got my high school diploma to tours, I guess, or terms or enlistments, that's got my honorable discharge and later got my bachelor's degree in business administration, summa cum laude, 4.0. And so never discount a child and how a child learns. And then went on, got my graduate degree, finishing up my PhD in industrial organizational psychology what else? 16 years later I joined the US Army Wow, yeah, post-911, I volunteered for Army Special Forces, became a Green Beret at age 43.
Speaker 1:Congratulations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my first team duck, taped a walker, put a little tennis ball on it and said welcome to the team, grandpa. So that was. We went out for a run after that. But it was great and you know, served post-911 in combat Iraqi freedom, enduring freedom, and it was great. Went into intelligence, left active duty, went into the Washington Army National Guard, became a group of citizen soldiers and became a federal employee with the US Department of Energy and worked my way up to GS 14 out of 15, and the US Department of Energy became a federal director, retired from the federal government, retired from the military and taught at WSU and taught leadership.
Speaker 1:Oh no, you're a cute dog, oh man. Well, you know, here's the thing. It was great to meet you.
Speaker 2:So here's the thing I'm a Villanova Wildcat, proud and true Go Nova. But no, you know, I enjoyed. I enjoyed working at WSU as an associate director and I enjoyed being around students and helping young people grow forward in their academic journey. And then I became a behavioral scientist and my specialty is performance improvement, leadership development. I taught it and then I coached on it and then I wrote on it and I wrote leadership theory, employee-centric leadership. So I've enjoyed it. I love people and so I love helping people develop and grow and it's a beautiful thing to see it come to fruition.
Speaker 2:And so I never had to advertise, so that was kind of neat and but no, it was fun and I love my work.
Speaker 1:Well, I appreciate you taking the time, like I said, out of your busy schedule. If elected, can you share what your vision is for Washington state? Do you have like a platform you'd like to share with the listeners?
Speaker 2:You know it's a lot. There's a lot going on in Washington right now and I don't want to sound cliche, but we are in a state of lawlessness, right, you know, rape is up 51%, murder is up 95%, property crime is up 73%, insidiousness is out of control and people don't feel safe in their neighborhoods and we haven't found the right solutions. The laws don't support communities or law enforcement. I think there's that medium that we have to find. Education system is broke because we need to focus on academic excellence. Academic excellence we should be focusing on trades, those CTE programs, those programs within schools. Kids get credit for actually training with tradesmen and women. Right, let's have junior apprenticeship programs.
Speaker 2:Our economy taxes over taxation. We were talking about insurance earlier and there's a reason why there's more accidents in Washington state and, based on all the studies I've seen, it stems from that out of control lawlessness. Right, we have more crime, more break ins. We have more auto theft. Right, we were number two in the nation, between number two and number three for auto theft. So there's a lot. And over taxation and that falls in citizens. If you're a homeowner, you know in the legislation they're talking about raising our tax cap from 1% to 3%, and I'm already complaining about the 1%, and so we need to start supporting small businessmen and women. We need to lift people out of poverty and despair, because when one person comes out of poverty, that enriches a community, and people haven't realized that yet. You're now paying taxes, you're now engaged in the American dream and you're now setting the standard for generations to come. Right now, our welfare system pays people just enough money to stay poor for the rest of their lives, and that becomes generational. It becomes systemic. So there's a lot.
Speaker 2:I don't know where to start, but I will say day one. I'm going to call for a third party audit of all state programs and offices, and so I'm a geek when it comes to performance improvement. You have to have a baseline. You have to see how are we performing, what is our strategic plan? What are our key performance indicators? Oh, by the way, what are our desired outcomes? Right, what are we shooting for?
Speaker 2:What is our vision for the state and how do we break it down across all of our departments? Why have we doubled our budget? So now it's over $70 billion a year In the last 10 years. It's gone from $35 billion to over $70 billion in the last 10 years, but yet we are all paying more money into the system, but we're not seeing the performance. And let's not forget our brothers and sisters who are living and dying in the streets Out of control homelessness, mental health, addiction. And we don't have the infrastructure in Washington state right now. Even if every person suffering from addiction wanted to get treatment, we don't have the infrastructure. We don't have the beds for those who are seeking mental health treatment and, as a behavioral scientist, I see that gap.
Speaker 1:I think that's a great segue into a bit that I read about you before you came on the show. Now I apologize if this is too deep to ask about, but you have a nephew who passed away from an overdose.
Speaker 2:Is that correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, last year, dominic and it was interesting my eldest sister, edie who, amazing, she was much older than I was I was the baby you can't tell right, kind of a drama queen mama's boy we were talking about that off camera but Edie, much older than I, was, so being the baby.
Speaker 2:When Edie had a child, dominic, we were very close in age so he was like my nephew, but a brother, very close, and you know, when you suffer from addiction, there's no amount of money that changes addiction. It's that person has to have that hard truth that they need help and until they're ready to take ownership, we as a family have to sit back. And it's horrible, and it's not just Dominic, we've had it with other members of the family, and so I think that's one of the reasons why we should be looking for something different in our elected officials, because sometimes it's difficult to fully empathize at a level until you've felt it right. You know, unless you've known poverty, unless you've known despair, unless you've seen that and it's touched you personally, it's sometimes you can't quite empathize as much as often needed to bring about the change that's actually needed. But, thank you, and I, yeah, I miss them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I imagine so. The statistics and my background as a public defender has shined a light on the addiction crisis. It actually being addicted to heroin changes your brain chemistry and it's not so easy to just tell someone just get off the drugs. You know it changes how you think and how you act and everything about your life. And I think we need someone who's going to be compassionate about how to help people, and it's tough if someone is not interested in getting help right. So how do you help guide someone through the criminal justice system, for example, who might not show back up to court?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's it. There is a balance. You know, I have a thing where I say love is truth and truth is love, and not going too deep in that love is a good place to start. If you care about someone and you love someone, you want to get them all the help, and this is true. You've heard that phrase tough love. There is a combination of treatment and tough love. Right, there is, and we have to face that. We have to face that.
Speaker 2:You know, I can't help but think if, if we or I or anyone, had pushed a little harder, dominic would still be alive today. If Dominic was behind bars and that sounds hard he would be alive today. And that's, that's not anything that I'm saying in terms of a policy position, but simply from grief. What is the line between treatment and tough love or having that option? So here's what I would say I've written a program that says we will bring compassion, to bring programs, to offer those services without them worrying about insurance, but that they will have those services, inpatient services needed because, as you said, heroin, phenyl, opioid addiction is so strong that they can't just come in and leave, right, Right, because once you leave, you go back out into that environment and you are sucked into that environment and you are a moment, a second away from falling back where you were. So you know, methadone, suboxone, I mean right, yeah, so we need that full in service treatment. But if a person is unwilling to help themselves, we have to help them. And I will say this we're not going to allow these out of control encampments where people are living and dying on the streets. They don't want to be there. They'll say they do, but they don't.
Speaker 2:I was just out there last Sunday, so it went out with a group. We we served food, we had fellowship, we had a good time, we talked. I met a gentleman and he told me straight up, because I love being here. I said really. I said, if you can go back in time and change anything, would you still want to be here? He said, oh heck, no. But he says I get to do what I want to do. If I need to make money to get what I need to get, to stay right, I can go out and hustle for it. They don't mess with us when it comes to law enforcement or crime. So I get to do what I need to do so I can have a freedom. That's how he is processing it in his mind. But he was very clear that that is not the life that he wants to live or that he would have chose for himself. Every amazing young man, and he was so clear of mine At first I didn't know that he was suffering from addiction.
Speaker 1:I mean, yes, he had tattoos in his face, but that doesn't mean anything to me because you know you you would, you would drive, we've, we've adjusted it's like my staff here has tattoos on their face, boom, right and so you don't.
Speaker 2:I've learned right and I'm just like who's this articulate brother that I'm talking to? Right, because he was just sharp and it wasn't until he said, no, I don't, it doesn't, it doesn't take me out, it just, it. Just, it makes me right. And then I start processing like oh right, and then I figured it out. But no, it was a shame. It was a shame.
Speaker 2:And I've been out to the camps and I remember walking by once, one camp once, and I saw someone so far down and out, and again I walked past and I just swept and it's just again. It was so hurtful that we're just letting people die in the streets. It's cold, it was cold outside last week. We have to, we can't allow it anymore. And compassion is not just letting people go, it's not because if we gave them a better way of life, I think they would choose a better way of life. And once they get clean in my program, it's certifications, it's trades, it's job placement right and we'll incentivize our small businessmen and women that we partner with so that they understand we want you to hire them.
Speaker 2:They may have a past. They may have a past of addiction or even a past with problems with law enforcement. We're giving them a new lease in life and we're going to give them a pathway so that that recidivism is cut quite a bit. Because they have a good paying job, we've reconnected them to their families, in many cases to their children, right. And then the housing comes, because housing without treatment is a temporary fix at the expense of taxpayers. Treatment is that core. Mental health treatment is that core and, as you said, addiction has a direct correlation to a transformation of mental health. It goes hand in hand. So beautiful question. Thank you for bringing it out.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Do you think that under your administration we'd see additional funding for public defenders or the legal resources that are needed, like clinics to help people who are dealing with legal financial obligations, driver's license suspensions all the things that affect people from rejoining the?
Speaker 2:workforce and child support. Yeah, oh, big one. So and this is something people don't think about you get clean, you have a job, but you don't want to take a job because if you take a job, you have a billion dollars in child support back. So, no, thank you very much, or I have a record or this. So, to answer your question directly, it's not just a matter of bringing funding.
Speaker 2:I'm a performance improvement consultant, so I can already tell you, when we double budget from $35 to $70 billion in 10 years, as someone who understands fiscal responsibility, ledgering and performance, money is not being effectively utilized within our state right, we have programs that aren't working, programs that are being funded, that should not be funded. And I'm not talking about cutting staff, I'm just saying perform better, perform more effectively, more efficiently. We save taxpayer dollars and so we can accomplish so much more for so much less. But if it required, absolutely, we would fund those programs. And you spoke of public defenders. We're in a shortage right now of public defenders. We're actually in a shortage. Secondly, speaking of addiction and public defenders, our crime labs, our Washington State Patrol crime labs, drug labs they do all the testing statewide. They're understaffed, they are backed up.
Speaker 2:They're inundated, they are behind Courts cannot maintain those open dockets Right and in the meantime people are being released back on the streets into that element, to where we offend, or back into misery. And sometimes there was a young lady in Centralia who begged the judge to incarcerate her, to put her in jail, because she knew if she was released she would go out and possibly die from overdose. She didn't praise be, but she did overdose but she didn't die. So we have a broken system. We need to reinvest in treatment and we have a compact now for nurses where we can what we call bring nurses in or have reciprocity of licensure. We can bring nurses in from different places and create a pathway so we can get them working because we need them.
Speaker 2:We should be doing that for mental health counselors, drug treatment counselors, so we can recruit those professionals from anywhere in the nation to Washington State and then incentivize them. Also a pathway from high school to an AA, because right now we have you can get your nursing, you can get your, you can go test for your NCLEX to become an RN with an AA degree. So we should have a pathway from high school to fulfill those positions as counselors and addiction treatment professionals. So there's a lot we can do and I don't think there's a dollar sign that we want to put on there. So we as a state will fund what we need to fund without fear to the taxpayers because, don't worry, we'll find ourselves giving tax relief to our taxpayers. I feel that in my heart because I've been doing business consulting for so long.
Speaker 2:For like overspending and not seeing the results Way overspending. I mean, we're just, we're just an ineffective corporation, if you will. Right, we're not, and it's no blame, I don't, I don't do blame, I don't do name calling, I don't do Democrat, republican, I don't. I would prefer not to do that. It's a two-party state, unfortunately, but no, it's a matter of performance, efficiency, and the things we're talking about shouldn't be political, it's non-political, it's just what needs to be done. So I have that mindset of let's go in, do the work, let's get it done, create value for those we serve, and then, for me, I'd then retire.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean you spoke about the two-party state and for those of the listening public that don't know you are running opposed.
Speaker 2:Right, yes.
Speaker 1:So let's tell us a little bit about the difference between you and your opposition. What, what, what makes you stand?
Speaker 2:out. So I don't even see them, as I guess people must see them as opposition. But we have Senator Mark Mullet running on the Democrat side. If you will, I'm Bob Ferguson, Attorney General, running on the Democrat side. I'm a you know, frederick Douglass Republican, a Reconstruction Republican. You know a civil rights, women's rights, parents' rights Republican, and I have to. I have to bring those descriptors in because there's different narratives of what a Democrat and a Republican is. Most of my family is Democrat, so I will never say anything negative about a Democrat because, gosh, my mother was a Democrat. She was a Kennedy, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think there are people who vote a certain way, but there's a time in which we should look at what the person brings to the table, what their positions are, what their platforms are. The other person running as a Republican, dave Recker, much more moderate than I am, and they feel that that's a good thing. Again, I say look at the person, look at their platform, look at their positions and what do they stand for, regardless of party. I'm not a fan of political party, so let me just put that out there publicly, for everyone. I'm a fan of the Constitution and the concept that America is, this melting pot that all cultures, all creeds right, all races, is what makes us exceptional and strong. It's that diversity of thought and in culture right, that's what gives us our strength. That's what those amendments 13, 14, 15, and the 19th, women's rights, right To vote, civil rights. My childhood idol and mentor, reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr, I'm a. He never claimed to be one party or another, but he would be what I would call right. I'm an MLK Republican right.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But you know, honestly, it's about who you are and what you represent. And Dr King represents who I am. You know, judge not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. And I could cite that, I could cite the preamble, I could cite the plaque on the Statue of Liberty, right, because those things matter, right?
Speaker 1:So yeah, Well, let's talk about that. I think in law school I actually did a moot court like an argument, a debate team competition, where we talked about the Statue of Liberty and immigration, and I think that's a hot topic for a lot of people who are leaning one way or the other. You know, I'm here sitting with you in Kent, washington. Kent is an incredibly diverse community with a lot of people not having citizenship who live here, who are victims of car accidents, who go through the immigration process or the car accident claim process totally scared of what the outcome is going to be, and maybe don't call 911 when they're injured in a car accident at no fault of their own because they're so in fear of what the immigration consequences are going to be. How do you feel about immigration in Washington State, in the city of Kent? How do you feel about victims of crime who refuse to call 911 because they're?
Speaker 2:scared, yeah, and so that plaque on the Statue of Liberty. I want to cite that because it's important to this discussion. I think it is. You know, emma Lazarus wrote this the new Colossus, sending your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free that wretched refuse in your teeming shores, send these the homeless tempest, toss to me and I will raise my lamp beside the golden door. Right, I should be very close to a citation on it Beautiful.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you, brother Beautiful.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. And now it's between law and order, rule of law and human decency, humanity. We are a nation of humanity. That plaque is relevant to that statement. So let me be specific. We need to understand that border security is national security it is for me but we can never compromise humanity or human decency or human rights. We can never compromise that, ever, ever. So if a person is injured, we take care of that person. If a person finds themselves a victim to a scenario, well, they're a human being first. That has to be acknowledged.
Speaker 2:And I remind and I said this the other day I had you know, whether you're a human being or a Republican or Democrat, people can be evil at times. And because I'm not that typical Republican, I'm not the establishment's choice, if you will right. I'm not backed by big money, I'm not backed by those who typically get engaged, but yet we are very successful in our campaign. We are ranked towards the top. We just want a Linwood Times poll, number one. I had to remind someone of the value of diversity and inclusion because they said Simi Bird claims to be conservative but yet he lectures on diversity and inclusion. And the lecture was diversity and inclusion colon, generations, cultures and perspectives. And when I have to remind Republicans that we were the party of abolition, the party of women's rights, the party of civil rights and we should be the party of parents' rights, something's wrong. You may need to redefine what a Republican is or what a conservative is, because I will never back away from my beliefs. My beliefs are stronger than any party. I apologize for going out in the diatribe to answer your questions, but there has to be a baseline of what you stand for. Think about that Abolition. Is that not human rights?
Speaker 2:Dr King said that the Declaration of Independence we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator, to certain unalienable rights, which, among them, are life-liberating the pursuit of happiness. Why would a man fighting for civil rights where dogs were being set upon them, firehoses were being set upon them, where Rosa Parks was arrested for sitting, not in the back of the bus? That was a different time. I was born. During those times he marched for equality of opportunity, not equity of outcome. He just wanted fair and equal access to the American dream.
Speaker 2:He brought forth an understanding that this is a human rights issue, therefore a civil rights issue that, aligned to the rights guaranteed all citizens of this great nation by our constitution. We've lost our way and we must not compromise that in any circumstance. That is my belief and, to answer your question, that is the tie between human rights and the law. Human rights must take precedent and priority in a situation like that, where a person should never feel afraid of this nation to get care to be treated fairly and equally. There's a lot more to say about that. I'm sure there is. Yeah, but yeah, so there's nothing We'll have to have you come back on.
Speaker 1:I think it's important to note just in case you get the success after all, the thousands, hundreds of thousands of people watch this podcast, decide to elect you as the governor of Washington. I think it's important to note in conversations I've had with insurance companies they refuse to process a check for payment without disclosure of a social security number and I think that that's a bit of a despicable tactic. And I ask every time if this person doesn't have a social security number, are you not going to pay them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so this is where we're at Again, this is where we go back to. It's a fine line, because I am someone who supports the rule of law, I am, and I'm not going to come here and tell you one thing and then tell someone else another thing. I support securing our borders, but we have a situation where we have people here. Now, right, we must, we must resolve that If a person has an ID to be here and they don't have a social security, but yet they have been found a victim of an accident and a payout is do them. Well then the payout is do them yeah that's how I feel.
Speaker 2:Right, I mean, but if it's by the rules right, I mean if it's by the rules of a person hits this person, this person is a victim with an accident. Absolutely it doesn't change that fact, right, so that person is still do a payout. So this is a deeper discussion in terms of the law and again, this is why we need to first, again I believe, secure our borders, look for a pathway for those who are here, and I strongly support sanctuary within the United States, those who meet that criteria 100 percent. There's some horrific things that happen in Africa, that happen in and Central America. I've seen it right. I mean, we, we have always been that place right For sanctuary. But at the same time, we have to acknowledge the situation at hand. We gave a perfect example. Common sense says, again, a payout is do a payout must be made, but now we have a mechanism that is in place that prevents or precludes it from happening. So what must be done? And that becomes a legal issue.
Speaker 1:Right. I think my problem is that there's not a mechanism that prevents the payout. It's the insurance company trying to prevent the payout by manufacturing a rule that does not exist. You don't have to have a social security number to receive that check.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so there's the thing. So if there is nothing in the law that precludes it, then the payout must be made. It's the same thing with the Constitution. And I tell people who would support me, I'll say as a I hate to say this as a, let's say, republican or a conservative, I spoke to a spiritual person. I'm a very spiritual person, and she said well, we should be teaching religion in this institution. And I said I can't support that. Would I like that? Yes, would I do that? No, I said Article one section of the Washington City Constitution, it's, it's, it's not in the. The Constitution does not allow for that Right, and my personal views do not take precedent over the Constitution of Washington state or the United States of America.
Speaker 2:So in your example, there's no law that precludes it. So therefore, right must prevail and that payout should take place. And if the insurance company is withholding payment because of a technicality, if they know that the payment should be made, well, then the payment should be made. That is an ethical violation in my opinion, if that makes any sense. Absolutely, absolutely, and I don't think that was in violation of the law. But just to save money or hold money back when you know that this person is rightfully entitled to those funds based on the liability and culpability. Yeah, no, despicable it is.
Speaker 1:I, I have another I like. I like tying in political issues to real world examples of how they affect car accident cases. Sure, and that's really that hard for me to do and I think a lot of people might have a harder time doing it. But, for example, in Washington, if you're injured and you're married, your spouse might have a claim for something called loss of consortium. It's the effects of how that injury has affected your ability to have care, comfort of of your partner and sometimes that's related to more the biblical, I guess, term of how you love your spouse. But I think it's important to talk about gay marriage and gay rights and how you feel about whether the same sex couples in Washington state should be allowed to make those same claims.
Speaker 2:If you were governor, oh, I'm glad you asked that actually. So here's my statement. I'm not here to judge a person's lifestyle. I'm here to ensure their civil liberties. So it's quite the opposite. I've lived in times of discrimination and prejudice. I will not perpetrate it on another person. And so a person choose to love a certain way, they have their rights. Now I have again my personal right Views. Well, let me just share those. I love everyone, Period. And so if you're gay, I love you, Period and say that to the camera. I will never discriminate against a person because they choose to love a different way. I love you. That is not who I am. I don't want to insult anybody's beliefs and again, this is my beliefs. Tell us we love our neighbors as ourselves. And just because you choose to love differently does not mean you're no longer my neighbor. It is not up to me to judge. That's above my pay grade. My job is to love, Right.
Speaker 2:I was in church just last week in Seattle, last Sunday, and the pastor said excuse me, the Sunday before in Seattle. And the pastor said we are walking love letters from God to one another. And I know this is spiritual and some below you're talking religious and you know you're. You're running for office, and well, I know I don't run for my faith, Right? So the conceptually we love one another. It's a beautiful thing, right? Sorry, I'm going too long into this.
Speaker 1:No, no, no.
Speaker 2:But I, you know, send people to oh, he's asking the gay question to a conservative, you know, candidate for governor. And again, whether a person doesn't vote for me because I see value in all, all citizens, all human beings, I will not change from that. I will not change from that. I love everyone and will respect everyone, based on who they are, judge not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. And although Dr King did not mention lifestyle, I'm sure he would have felt the same way and if I, you know I'm not trying to speak for the King family or Dr King, but I feel comfortable in that.
Speaker 1:Well, that's a great segue into, I guess, the Black Lives Matter movement and how you feel about how Washington has reacted to the deaths of countless individuals in police custody and how they feel that Black folks are being treated differently by police, and what's your position on that.
Speaker 2:So, boy, there's so much I can say in this. So I support law enforcement fully. I do. I think we should be ensuring that they have the resources that they need, that we do not demonize them, but at the same time, if you're a law enforcement officer and you exceed ethical standards and you are prejudicing against I hope I said that right if you're bringing prejudice against a citizen of this state because of the color of their skin, you're wrong and you will be held accountable. If you are treated adversely because of the color of your skin, you're wrong and you will be held accountable. Fact that being said, we do not presume guilt of a Black person like we do not presume guilt of a police officer. You see where I'm going with this right. We do not judge a person because of their lifestyle. We treat a person based on who that person is. We need to stop this division.
Speaker 2:There has been bad things that have been done to good people. I've been there. I have been there. I have been wrongfully accused, I have been prejudiced against. I may share a story, and maybe two, please. I want to do some breaking news right here in your show. Are you with me on this, or?
Speaker 1:breaking news right here Break breaking news.
Speaker 2:So here I was in the United States Marine Corps and a sergeant who liked to throw the n-word around a little too often. This is 19. This is almost 40 years ago and I said nothing. I did nothing and others had, but it wasn't that often. I mean, you know, in the military we don't have the side of control nonsense, even back then. But this person didn't get the memo and knuckles still dragged, apparently. But as soon as he did that and put hands on me, I popped him in the snout. Now you know, you don't strike another Marine. That's wrong. I did.
Speaker 2:And when I talked to my commander and I told him that this man was a racist, my commander. So that's no excuse. I just wanted my commander to acknowledge that using those words and discriminating against his another soldier because of the color skin, another Marine, is wrong. He would not. I had a problem with that. I requested trial by court under the Uniform Court of Military Justice, aka court warrantial. I requested it To this day, Republicans who are not running and supporting me, and what I mean are Republicans who are supporting the other candidates running. What about Simi's court martial? You see what's going on. Because I stood up against a racist and to bring forward racism happening within my unit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I felt it.
Speaker 2:Remember we were talking about Dominic and when you felt the stung of injustice, injustice it is. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr was 100% correct on that. I will share something else with you, that something someone put out publicly on Twitter today Simi Bird was arrested for theft of a firearm. Oh, this is breaking news. This is the breaking news.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, Do you have the gun on you right now? I'm not backing. I'm not backing. No, I'm.
Speaker 2:You know I'm. I'm for if I wanted to. Legally, I was a reserve deputy sheriff. A lot of people don't know that, but I was, and my roommate when he moved out because we both had to move out. It was his parents' house. We were living in a renting. He grabbed my box with my uniforms and my firearm in it and he moved. I knew he was going to the Midwest Michigan. I didn't know where. He was a friend and his brother still lived locally. He's he's also an attorney in the tri cities and the sheriff's department called and said hey, we need your uniforms and your revolver back. I'm like, yes, 100%, I'm trying to track it down. Oh, they lost their mind, right? I said look, I'll buy you a brand new firearm, brand new. This was an old, you know, even the bluing was. I'll buy you a brand new one. I'll sign whatever. Oh, they weren't having it. Oh, and they came after me. Yeah, needless to say, kerry, my roommate, I found him. He called them, told them I've got it right. Here I'm in the Midwest. I tried to get it back to send me. Sorry, my bad, all charges, dismissed, wow. So I was arrested, right and had to be arraigned. Yes, dismissed. Wow Today on Twitter breaking news Candidate for Washington state governor arrested for theft.
Speaker 2:So to answer your question, my friend, I'm not claiming the race card, I'm not playing the race card, but you know what I'm saying. Is there such a thing? Driving while black, walking while black? Anything while black? Possibly, yes, probably, yes, maybe. It depends on the officer, depends on the scenario in the situation.
Speaker 2:Why did I not mention this? Why do I not live by this? Why do I not wear that on my sleeve? Because I was not ever raised to be a victim. I don't forget. I share my story with you today. I lean into controversy. I don't run from who I am or my history. I am unashamed of who I am as a man, as a person, as a human being. But to answer your question, is there still injustice in our society? Yes, there is, but we have to stop and ask ourselves is it our society, or is it individuals within our society who perpetuate an outdated form of ignorance and they put that under, whatever the guys In my case, are they coming after me because I'm a black man or are they coming after me because I'm the opposition? I can't answer that for them, right? Are we making history in Washington state. Yeah, we are. I can't answer that for them, but I wanted you to hear that from me. And now you have breaking news for your process.
Speaker 1:I'm excited to share it. Yes, Ari.
Speaker 2:Hoffman wants me to be in his show tomorrow. You know Simi Bird, will you comment on this? He likes talking about Simi Bird's baggage, that court martial. I can go on. I'm sure there's a reason why he and Brandi Cruz likes talking about that, but no, you're not going to back me up, back me down, pull me down, hold me down. No, I think people of Washington state can empathize, can relate to someone who's navigated adversely their entire life, who stand strong and rises above to say no, no, I speak truth, I call truth, I lean into it and here I am leaning and you love everyone I do. That's important, I do and that's it. It's forgiveness, it's moving forward and it's not being a victim but being a part of the system to make things better for others Right. Bringing accountability is what we're talking about Accountability, making sure everybody has representation. That dream is not done. It's not realized.
Speaker 2:I wrote a meritocracy. It's on my website, bird for governorcom. Look up a meritocracy. It talks about Dr King's dream and bringing jobs and opportunities and programs and better quality education to all groups and all communities within Washington state so we can raise people about a poverty and despair. We can break those generations of poverty Right, we need to change cultures, and I'm unafraid to call it out. It's amazing how we label one another and separate one another and we divide one another, and what we do is we say this group is supporting this group and this group is against this group, and then they're fighting, but this group gets nothing from other side, right? Have you noticed that? Yeah, right, and we do all this other stuff. It's time for someone to come forward and say what is the mission? Why are we not lifting and benefiting everybody by lifting? So I'm here to lift all citizens up and represent all citizens and to finish that dream equality of opportunity. I'm here to shift and change cultures once and for all, and I do that unafraid.
Speaker 1:That's powerful stuff. Thank you very much for sharing.
Speaker 2:Thank you, dutch, I apologize, I get excited. No, no, you're a good politician. Well, human being, I've never, I don't know, a passionate person, thank you. Thank you, better said.
Speaker 1:I want to discuss just briefly. I think it's important to talk about people who are non-citizens, who work in the United States or work in Washington State. What's your position on that and how do you feel we can help people who are non-citizens, who are struggling to get through, feed their families and work in the United States or in Washington State?
Speaker 2:So that is that question where we need to seal the borders. First and foremost, you have to. But we have families that are here now. We have children that are born here now, that are in high school. This is their home, this is their country. Pathways to citizenship, and you said it, we have people that are here working, that are here contributing to our American way of life. Why would we not try to bring forth a pathway of citizenship to give them that opportunity to the American dream when they're already here contributing? This mindset that because you come from another country, that you're here to do harm and that you're naturally predisposed to this, that's a very racist thing to say.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you used that term. It's a very discriminatory thing to say.
Speaker 2:And I don't say it Clearly. I think I just said something opposite. But no, we have to. We got to call it out the way it is. We have to bring truth to that and we have to deal with it.
Speaker 2:Again, it's not going to be comfortable for people over here or people over here. You see, I have a friend of mine. She's in Kent. Wow, I almost don't want to call her out. She is with a coalition that represents Black Americans in Kent. Her name is Gwen. I respect her greatly.
Speaker 2:I met her. She's a community leader and she's a powerful woman, and she told me when I first met her last year she said it's going to take courage for people from both sides to come together to put aside differences to help others. I believe in every word she said it's going to take courage to speak truth, and you know you may lose votes here or lose votes here, because truth is truth. That's what I'm giving you today is truth. And so, in her honor, ms Gwen's honor, she's with the Kent I think it's Black Action Commission.
Speaker 2:I'm just going to put that out there so everybody knows I respect her greatly and Charles is with her organization as well. We've spoken over the last year and I want to do her honor and, through this podcast, let her know I have not forgotten my promises that I made when we first met last year. I won't honor those promises when I'm elected governor. We must move forward to facilitate better representation for all citizens and ensure that people are safe in our state and that we are working cohesively with love with one another. So I will Again. I hold true to we will secure our state, but we will also address what needs to be addressed, without shame but with humanity.
Speaker 1:I think anecdote that a lot of people bring to my attention is we're really interested in, like, securing our southern border, but not our northern border. Oh my goodness. Yes, what's the deal? Trump doesn't want to build a wall between us and Canada? Yeah, no.
Speaker 2:So I will say this we are more vulnerable at the northern border than the southern border from a terrorist threat. This is my area of specialty.
Speaker 1:So, and we're closer in Washington to the northern border, so it makes more sense geographically for us to care about that one yeah.
Speaker 2:So I've already spoken to this and I published on this, so it's not a new thought for me. Just because you said it, it's also posted on my Facebook page. So it's our northern border and our port border that are wide open and no one talks about it. I am a counterterrorism specialist, or I was, and an intelligence specialist that was like in my specialty but we are very vulnerable in Washington state right now and it has nothing to do with people from the typical demographic discussed from the southern border. But there's also a concern at the southern border greatly, where we call individuals that are on the terrorism watch list right from different countries in the Middle East, right Asia. But that's different. You don't judge a whole culture from an individual that happens to wind up on the terrorism watch list. Does that make any sense? That is wrong and that is that's ignorant. It's simply the individual, not their race or they come from. It's the individual. So we have to get that clear.
Speaker 2:But, no, we are. We are vulnerable from the north, we're vulnerable from the port and, yeah, we are vulnerable by from the south. But I've talked about our northern border and statistically it is a greater threat from individuals who find their way on that watch list from the northern border. So, yeah, wow and no one ever talks about the port.
Speaker 1:No that's. We have a very large, booming port economy here in Washington and it's important to consider that when we're having these discussions. I think it's important to mention as well that you said if you're an individual here contributing to society, that is not here with a legal basis, but you want to create a path for that. I think it's important to understand that, because corporations follow the least restrictive means and the lowest common denominator for costs. A lot of law firms I'm seeing are outsourcing a lot of positions to remote staff in other countries and that's taking jobs away from people in the United States and that's a legal basis that doesn't have any risk of you know, terrorism, for example but it's taking away jobs from United States citizens, giving them to people who they're able to pay much lower than minimum wage. Yeah, and what's your position on people who are outsourcing jobs because of the?
Speaker 2:cost of American labor. I'm glad you said that. And so we talk about economic prosperity for Washington. That has to be addressed. And so you want to do business in Washington. There's ways we can incentivize through our tax process, our tax process. Right, let's make doing business in Washington and hiring from Washington beneficial for corporations. We should be doing that. At the same time, I'm not going to compromise our free market society, but I will prioritize doing business here, hiring here. So it is worth it for them. Right, they're outsourcing for a reason. Well, I want to do everything in my power to make sure that they're insourcing from Washington. Again, that's not saying something to make you or anybody else feel good about Simi's positions on anything. It's just simply economic prosperity for Washington. That should be my job as the chief executive officer. My shareholders are citizens of Washington, right, the people who I serve in Washington, all people of Washington. So we create prosperity for Washington.
Speaker 2:This is like our tourists, right? Tourism, the tourism capital, the side of the Mississippi. You said it. We have this beautiful port state, we have the Cascade Mountains, we have beautiful Eastern Washington, we have rushing rivers and streams. It's gorgeous. Mount Tahoma, oh, my Beautiful here, beautiful here.
Speaker 2:We are just burning up opportunity. It's here if we go get it. We need to clean up our streets, we need to make community safe. We need to make our schools better. We need to bring business here and lift people up here. There's so much that can be done. It's almost like seeing a plane heading into the mountain. Oh gosh, right, and you're a pilot and you're going and you're knocking on the door, right, and you're furiously trying to get into the cockpit. It's like let me in, let me in, let me in. Right, it's kind of like where I'm at. It's like let me in, I need to do this because I see where we're going and I know I can do this. I can fix it.
Speaker 2:There's nothing as a resume item for a career politician. We continue to put career politicians in position where we need people with knowledge, skills and abilities to get the job done Someone who knows acquisition, procurement and contracting. Someone knows leadership, team cohesion, human resources, bargaining right. These are things in my wheelhouse, right? We talked about behavioral science. We talked about knowledge of homelessness and the psychological impact of narcotics, opioids. I mean. There's a lot, for such a time as this, that I bring to the table. So I ask people to look at my resume and I share openly, right, that new Twitter breaking news, because we need to stop looking for a Manchurian candidate that came up within this white picket fence, who looks a certain way, who comes from a certain breed. We need to start looking for representation that reflects all citizens of Washington state and then look for someone who can actually get the job done.
Speaker 2:I may not be saying things that makes everybody happy, where people will go oh, he's playing a race card, he's playing this card. You know what I'm playing? The American card, and that American cards is. We love everybody, right? And if you're gonna lead this state, you need to recognize that and stop the division nonsense. You know how many people are right here.
Speaker 2:I was at dinner our friend's house we were at dinner and there was a couple and they typically vote over here and they said I'm physically conservative, I'm socially, you know, liberal, but they get forced to choose right. Why do we force people to choose one party over another? That's the fault of this two-party system. We need to bring forward a candidate. That person goes.
Speaker 2:Okay, I see you got this little R behind your name, but clearly you've explained. When you say you know you're Frederick Douglass, I get you. You're a silver, I get you right. You're clearly. You realize the human factor. Okay, I can get behind that, but you are gonna fix our economy. You are gonna clean up our streets, you are gonna bring compassion right, you're not gonna burn any more of our money up and you're gonna stop taxing us to death.
Speaker 2:And you are gonna fix our mental health infrastructure that's virtually non-existent 1,750 beds, 400,000 people, adults who didn't get the mental health care that they needed. Right Over 50% of youth ages 17 to 25 who didn't get the mental health care that they needed because we don't have neither the infrastructure nor the capacity. Through those professionals, those mental health professionals right, I have the solutions with actions. I posted most of that on my website. Instead of talking it, I write it and then I sign my name so people know I'm true and sincere, like I was with Ms Gwen, honoring her name, but my promise I meet to her. Clint Bach Action Commission Wonderful.
Speaker 1:What role will community outreach and education play in prevention of personal injury under your administration?
Speaker 2:You know that's an interesting question. If you take personal injury off, that I'm gonna say 100% across the board Personal injury. If I was not looking at it from an attorney standpoint I would go. Well, I worked for the Department of Energy, so we're a federal organization and we have a mindset of safety. We have a safety mindset. So everything that we do slip hazards, fall hazards, all of these other things we are continuous on that. We actually reward employees for spotting and recognizing. So we create a mindset of safety. So that's an industrial, that's an OSHA kind of a thing, but at the highest level.
Speaker 2:But when you said that, the first thing I think about and this is not gonna answer your question, so I wanna ask a little bit back and forth on this I think about financial security, financial literacy, and I'd like to hear from you when you say personal injury, I'm talking about bringing financial literacy to all. Education at an early age, because I didn't know credit scores or the value there. I thought I had bad credit at some point in time in my young adult life. I'm sure that'll be another thing that someone will throw up, but that's okay. You know what's the Breaking news.
Speaker 1:I know breaking news.
Speaker 2:Semi-bird has an 815 beacon score and is a preferred insurance customer. I'm saying I don't know Fact check that I know fact check. I was sure, oh, I thought this brother fact checks everything. But so to your point, I guess that outreach is important because so many communities don't know what they don't know, because it's been generationally not shared, not taught, and people don't know what they need to know to protect them, if that makes any sense whatsoever, absolutely. And so when we say that phrase outreach and engagement, oh I'm all in, no matter what it is, whether it's financial literacy or any other kind of literacy, and so I'm a fan. So it sounds terrible for a podcast guest to say help me to understand better what you mean by personal injury. I understand that from an insurance aspect. I understand from a legal aspect of it being cautious. I mean, I get it from a common sense aspect.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you had the benefit of listening into my previous guest. Anel Galecia for Farmers Insurance if you guys are listening.
Speaker 2:Please buy insurance for sure.
Speaker 1:So she had mentioned that credit score is a big part of the pricing that an insurance company determines whether you're a standard customer, ie sub par more expensive or a preferred customer.
Speaker 1:Someone who has a good credit score, comes from good demographics, has higher income, usually buys higher policies. You actually get cheaper insurance if you have a good credit score and that sees a disparate impact on minorities or people who don't have high incomes. How do we incorporate laws that protect everyone equally for insurance companies to have to offer coverage or to have to provide the same rates to everyone equally, to share that risk for insurance companies, but to make insurance accessible and affordable for people who are driving uninsured or can't afford PIP or UIM coverage who need it?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So the good news is I'm very familiar with PIP and UIM, not just because I sat in on the first. So here's where we will differ a little bit, and I think I was going down the right path, without knowing that I was going down the right path, cause I didn't really understand the context of your question, but I think I was Financial literacy, so I'm gonna take it a different way, where we say we pass laws to make mandatory, so we have to take into consideration and I don't have all the answers, but I'm gonna give you what I know or what I believe in, Wild Offsales, what I know as a consultant in the business industry liability is liability, risk is risk.
Speaker 2:There is a disparate impact and the disparate impact comes from. How should I put this? Well, I'll just say it what I think I alluded to earlier. I never knew I was not taught financial literacy when I was a young man. We were poor, we lived on food stamps. My mother worked her buns off to provide. She sacrificed everything for her children. So she worked all day, came home, gave us love, fed us, did everything. That wasn't a priority to teach us about credit and how to be financially responsible. I never got that. I am there now. My child knows that. I teach that to my child and I support teaching that in our schools. I support laws that brings financial literacy and curriculum from an early age up. But we have to recognize that young drivers statistically are the highest risk. To ensure statistical fact From a credit score I am not into sounds terrible to my friend as a lawyer, law fair I would say I'm not a fan of bringing a lot as a solution to everything and just because I think it's a bandaid right.
Speaker 2:We need to holistically or organically fix a problem which is culturally meaning within communities, and that goes gosh. I think you were already there. Outreach and education is the answer, and why did it take me so long just to realize where you were? That mean, truly that is the answer. So what I would say? Instead of laws, we as a state bring those programs, and not just for that, but for many others, because there are certain communities that need that outreach and education, and that even that sounds somewhat. You know why am I targeting? Because it's not there. Those matters are underserved.
Speaker 2:It's a phrase that we could use and that makes sense. That's one way of putting it. But people, they say they hear underserved and we go oh, wait a minute, that's a triggering phrase, right, because one group says that, the other group goes oh, they've been saying this and usually it brings this right. We have to stop letting people reside in our mind. Sometimes a phrase is the right phrase. Underserved just simply means that they have not been brought this information. I taught a course, a class, and I'll be very quick about this. I often taught leadership to executives. I taught courses Great time to engineers and I was speaking on recruiting more black and brown engineers and an engineer. These are all managers and executives. And one of them said Simmy, I know you don't teach the equity thing. I know you don't talk about the and don't take that out of context meaning.
Speaker 1:And don't take that out of context, it's OK.
Speaker 2:I mean, you guys should get it just for who I am and how I am right, how I roll. I don't like putting numbers on things, I like fixing things right. You don't fix a thing by saying I'll take that, that right, you fix it, so you don't have to do that If that makes sense and this is where I'm leading into. He says why would we go out of our way and spend company funds to target that community and not all communities? I said because that community does not have engineers in it. They don't know the pathway. It's not something that has ever been open to them. They don't have doctors and lawyers, right, and scientists on those blocks, right.
Speaker 2:We grew up and grow up. We grew up in Seattle, but where we started out and he's talking, there is no doctors, lawyers and scientists in those neighborhoods, right, and he's 14th and 86th. You don't see too many, many other communities. We need to bring those mentorship programs and we need to start targeting those. And I explained it to him this way you fished out of this pond. We have plenty of white engineers and plenty of female engineers, and now we still don't even have enough of them.
Speaker 2:Let's fish upon what we haven't fished before. Let's start going to places where there are people who, as you said, are underserved that we have not. Let's start going into those minority colleges. Let's start bringing those programs. And he says that makes sense. It's just sharing the return on investment and I hope I didn't say that in a terrible way, but it's literally bringing opportunity to those who knew those opportunities were not out. There is what I'm trying to say, right, if that makes any sense, showing students in underserved communities may be a path to be a successful engineer 100% from middle school.
Speaker 2:People like me go back into those communities so they can see and go. You're a behavior. What does that mean to be a behavioral scientist? You were a high school dropout and now you have these degrees. How did you do that? You have more than $2 in your bank account. How did you do that? Right, I mean literally, because now you can. They can see me, someone who maybe looks like them, and they can go wow, and I've done that.
Speaker 2:And that's not just children of color, it's all children who fall into poverty and despair. Poverty is does not discriminate, right. Neither does mental illness or addiction, right. But those children who do not see people who've made it from nothing to something, let's have those mentorship programs. Go in early so they can see another pathway, give them hope and encouragement. And let's start talking about building resiliency within our young people. Let's stop teaching them that there's something wrong with them because they're black or they're brown, or they're disabled, or because they're a woman or a girl. You know what I'm saying a girl or no, I want strong right. Tuskegee, airmen, booker T Washington I mean. There's so many people in our history that we can be proud of on all sides, all colors, all religions. Let's bring that in to our schools. That's why value teaching truth and history right, so people know there's strong people in all cultures that we should be talking about. There's nothing wrong with that, so yeah.
Speaker 1:I read a meme just recently. You talked about truth and history. It said that gay marriage has now been around longer than the Confederacy, and it had a little rainbow flag and it said these colors don't run. Do you have anything you'd like to say about that meme?
Speaker 2:No, If it's a statistical fact, it's a statistical fact. Yeah, I've been very clear. I think that was clearer than clear. Yeah, right on my thought on my opinion. And yeah, no, hey, right on. I mean it's just. Would you share that?
Speaker 1:meme.
Speaker 2:That gay marriage has been around longer than the Confederacy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, Like on your social media. Would you share that meme?
Speaker 2:Yes, it's intriguing. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm thinking, I'm processing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm saying yeah because I'm digging it. Yeah, I want to share this interview on my meme On my social media. I appreciate that.
Speaker 1:Oh no, it's good interview.
Speaker 2:So again, politics is politics, and I've already called it out as sometimes being evil.
Speaker 1:And I'm not trying to equivocate at all.
Speaker 2:Here's something I will say very boldly you don't educate people by slapping them in the face and calling them a name, right, you don't do that. But has anybody noticed that we do that a lot. We say cops, are this? White people are that? Black people are that right? Or immigrants are that? That's the first thing we say. We label lynch.
Speaker 2:We need to knock that nonsense off and start bringing true. That's why I said let me look at the statistics, because I think that's intriguing. I'm like I'm chewing that up Because I don't discriminate and again, I will love you if you're gay and I don't care what anybody says about that, because I don't. I don't know any other way to say it. So it Do I have to prove that I'm black? Should I? Should I have to prove? Do I have to prove that I love a person because they choose to live a different lifestyle? Should I have to prove that? Do I have to prove that? I mean, that's how bad our society has devolved into division. I think we need to start showing love instead of talking about love. We need to start showing that we care about one another instead of what we post demonstrate and maybe that's a form for some to demonstrate that we support, but I don't think there's anything more powerful than a person saying who they are and what they believe in and speaking truth.
Speaker 1:Wonderfully put.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:So I have no other questions, but I want to make sure you have an opportunity to share your social media, your website, anything you'd like, for anyone who'd like to learn more about your candidacy.
Speaker 2:Thank you Well, I'm proud of you. I love your beautiful agency. This is awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:So friendsbirdforgovernorcom Semi Bird for Governor Washington's our Facebook page, but go to birdforgovernorcom. You can learn about me. I have my solutions with actions, a lot of videos. I have a YouTube channel so I'm not hard to find. But if you have questions for me, send me an email and help me to understand. Don't just say you said something really dumb, right. Just tell me what you want me to know, help me to learn, help me to understand. I'll listen, I'll listen. As I said earlier, I love everyone. You approach me better with kindness and you'll get me right. I mean I'll listen, I'll listen.
Speaker 2:We mean I'd agree, but don't forget that I mean just because we don't agree on something doesn't mean we can't be friends. It can't doesn't mean we can't hang out right. We won't agree on everything. I mean it's rare, right, but we've forgotten that, that we can still be cool and that agree on everything. We are stronger together. Let's remember that. And we do want to have those differences, I think the last time I checked, we call that diversity of thought Important. It's very important. It must define who we are. So we talk about segregating ourselves along race, along preference. Stop it. Stop it. Don't try to force yourself on other people, help other people understand, and do that with kindness, compassion, gentleness and grace and you'll get a long way further than throw punch them when you first see them. All right, thanks, you guys.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2:Thank you.