Luke Bronin Unfiltered

Luke Bronin recently pulled off one of the biggest surprises in Connecticut politics, defeating longtime Congressman John Larson at the Democratic convention to become the party-endorsed candidate for Connecticut's 1st Congressional District.

In this episode of Connecticut Unfiltered, we talk about that unexpected victory, his decision to run for Congress, his years leading Hartford as mayor, military service in Afghanistan, and the experiences that shaped his approach to leadership. It's an honest conversation about politics, public service, and what's next for Connecticut.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This season of Connecticut Unfiltered is proudly supported by our seasoned partner, The Happy Confection.

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the voice behind the reheated coffee club, the Instagram page with 50 plus thousand followers, sharing our state's hidden treasures in the little moments that can make life magical.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

If Connecticut's been showing up on your feed lately, that's not an accident. The Virginia's grandparents remember is long gone. This isn't a drive-thru state anymore. It's a destination. And on this podcast, we talk to the people making that happen. This is gonna make it unfiltered. Today I am joined by Luke Bronin, former mayor of Hartford, and now the endorsed Democratic candidate for Connecticut's first congressional district. Luke has had a pretty impressive past from Yale in Oxford to military service in Afghanistan, the Obama administration, and eventually to one of my favorite cities, Hartford. And we are going to get into it all today. Welcome, Luke to Connecticut Unfiltered.

SPEAKER_04 0:53

Thanks so much for having me, Ali.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Um, I know that you haven't gotten to see too many of my podcast episodes yet, but I do always start with a gift. All right. You get a gift today. Um there is a little bit of explanation. So normally I have it wrapped, but I literally picked it up on the way here because I had it made and I was kind of a little late to get it made. Um my girlfriends and I have a saying that we do when we've decided that men are allowed to come to our island and our all-girl island. Um and that is that they can come to the island. Now I can't say that you can come to the island quite yet because I need to converse with the council. Um I can give you the first step, which is you are an unproblematic white male.

SPEAKER_04 1:37

I'm honored. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

So that's for you. And uh Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:42

Why thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

So um so congratulations. That was such a huge victory. You've been all over my feed lately. How are you feeling?

SPEAKER_04 1:50

I'm feeling good. I'm feeling uh I'm feeling tired still. It was uh it was a crazy week. But you know, I'm I'm really grateful to uh our team. We had a great team. I'm really grateful to the delegates. Uh you know, I mean when I started this process nine months ago, uh I always believed that when we got to the August primary that we would be able to win it. I think you know voters are ready for a change. I I did not think nine months ago that it was a possibility to make a convention against a 28-year incumbent, you know, really competitive, let alone win it. And so, you know, to come out of that with the win, uh, which for for what might be the first time in Connecticut history that a sitting member of Congress didn't get the endorsement of the party, uh it's a big deal, but I'm really grateful to everybody who was part of it.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

So you went into it thinking that it was gonna go Larsen?

SPEAKER_04 2:34

No, I mean nine months ago, I I thought it was gonna go overwhelmingly Larsen. Coming into it, I knew we had a lot of strength. You know, we've I've been out there talking uh talking to folks for months and months. We've been doing the rounds. Every one of the 27 towns around this district, and we got a lot of traction and a lot of support. Um coming into this, I I knew that it was gonna be close. Uh I thought that we could get it to a second ballot, and I knew the second ballot was gonna be jump ball, and it was about you know convincing those people who were still making up their minds. And uh you know, we were able to do it. But it was a team effort, and uh you know, and uh it's uh it's a good way to start this next stretch because this next three months is about talking to the tens of thousands of voters who are gonna be coming out in August.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Aaron Ross Powell I saw that you won maybe like a few minutes after there was a news article like every other millennial, I get my news from my phone. And so it pops up and I was just like, oh my God. And I think I immediately texted you like, Congrats. But that was just like, was the whole room just like booming, excited?

SPEAKER_04 3:27

The energy in that room was was huge. Uh and and you could feel the difference, I think. I think one of the things that made the difference is that you could feel the difference in energy on our side and our team. Uh and the number of young Democrats who are out there, you know, carrying signs and a part of the effort. Um you could you could feel it. It is also true that I think there are a lot of people who kind of feel like their voice hasn't mattered because we haven't had competition here for a long time. You know, this is the first time in this district, this is the first time in 28 years that there's been a real contest for this seat, where there's a real debate and where there is a real choice and where people get to be a part of that process in a way that doesn't just feel, you know, like pro forma or like, you know, a coronation, that that it's actually what democracy is supposed to be, which is a competition and choice.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

Yeah. And where theoretically every voice is heard.

SPEAKER_03 4:15

Right.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

I think that you speak to a lot of younger voters who historically were like burn your bust. Like I'm not gonna vote anyone who's not like totally changing up the system. I think that you are kind of this middle ground where it's like approachable and people from both sides can probably maybe not to all of your policies from the more conservative side, but I feel like you are resonating with a lot of people who do want to shake up the system and want change, but it's not too radical that they feel scared about it.

SPEAKER_04 4:48

Look, I I think it's pretty clear there's a bunch of parts of American life where we need radical change. I mean, and and we shouldn't be afraid of talking about it. You know, everybody knows our healthcare system is broken, right? Including Republicans. Republicans, business owners, just as much as Democrats know our healthcare system is broken. I mean, even if you have a decent plan, the combination of premiums, deductible, copay make it feel you know uh totally unaffordable, if you can even get an appointment to see somebody or navigate the system after, it's just broken. And so I think this is one of those areas where, you know, as a Democratic Party, we have to be a lot more courageous about saying, look, we need big change, and we shouldn't be afraid of talking about it, and we shouldn't be afraid of pushing a lot harder. Uh the system just feels broken in a lot of different ways. And uh and I I you know I do come to that from the perspective of somebody who is practical and pragmatic, right? I'm not just an ideologue. I ran a city for eight years. You gotta try to just get shit done. Yeah. Um and and I hope to bring some of that mindset down there, which is like we actually have to get some shit done, but let's be bolder about what we're aiming for here.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

It's it's hard because you feel as like an American, as like a single person, that your voice will never be heard. And as much as you want to vote for change, you and I'm I'm not saying that I don't. I absolutely do. I mean, you know more than anyone, my listeners, everybody, I'm very, very liberal. But it's gotten to a point that it feels like the powers at B, these like wealthy 1 percent men running our country, that they could essentially buy an election or they can change things. And it almost makes you feel like your voice isn't gonna ever gonna be heard.

SPEAKER_04 6:29

Aaron Ross Powell Yeah, because it's true. I mean, when Elon Musk can spend a quarter of a billion dollars to buy a president, the system is broken.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Right.

SPEAKER_04 6:38

Um but we don't have to just accept that as a thing that we can't change. I mean, we we we need a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, to make it impossible for a billionaire like Elon Musk to buy a presidency. Absolutely. And and I think that we've gotten too narrow in our in our vision of what's possible in politics. You know, we haven't amended our constitution in any real way in the last fifty years. There was one amendment, it was about congressional pay, it was a little issue. The fifty years before that, we amended the Constitution six times. Like we used to know how to make bigger changes. And we've stopped even trying. And so I think that's part of it too, is to say, look, we know stuff's broken, but we actually do have the tools to fix it if we aim for it, if we mobilize, if we build an organization and build a movement to do that. And I think, you know, Citizens United is one example, but it's a really good example. We have to get rid of that unlimited flow of dark money. I mean, you're seeing it right now, you know, the crypto industry pouring, you know, massive amounts of money to make sure that there's no regulation of crypto. AI right now is pouring a flood of money in to make sure that there's no debate about AI safety, you know, or or preparing for the economic disruption that's coming our way. So I like there is actually something we can do about that.

SPEAKER_03 7:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:52

And we have to get back to, you know, being ambitious about making some of those changes.

SPEAKER_02 7:58

I feel like now is the time because people are so angry from both sides about what's going on in the world. They're like now is the time to make big waves.

SPEAKER_04 8:05

Aaron Powell, Jr. I totally agree with that. And I think it's one it's sort of the flip side of how bleak things feel right now. I mean, I I know you probably feel a little bit this way too. Like a little. It is really hard sometimes. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: You know, yeah. I mean, it it feels bleak. You know, it feels like things are slipping away if they haven't already slipped away. You know, I mean when we talk about, you know, a slide to fascism, it's not just like hyperbole, it's not just rhetoric. Like that's that's what's happening here. Um and and also the flip side of things feeling so bleak is that everybody's recognizing that things are broken.

SPEAKER_03 8:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:42

Um and that may create its own political moment, right? That may create the m the opportunity to build a different kind of coalition. And even to get people who you know voted for Trump because they were frustrated, they were pissed off, they couldn't handle the costs of you know health care and housing and childcare, and go down the list and they they bought his lies. That he was going to be focused on. Right. They bought his lies, but they're realizing that they were lies. And so that people are. Some people are. But but that creates a different kind of moment. You know, I think I think it's really important to remember that politics, you know, is things change, things are fluid. People pay attention, if not to, you know, what people are saying on, you know, some political show. They're paying attention to what's happening in their own lives. And and I think that the the pain and the frustration and the brokenness of the economy and the bleakness of our politics may actually create us create a moment for us to rebuild something totally new.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

Aaron Powell Yeah. I mean it's also he put people in his office that have no credibility to be there whatsoever. So we're essentially being run like our country is being run by like a circus. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_04 9:52

Our country is being run like a reality show. I mean, I you know, we have And I love reality shows.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

I do. Yeah. However, not to like live my day-to-day life in. Trevor Burrus, Jr. No.

SPEAKER_04 10:02

Or or, you know, a reality star running the Pentagon or a reality star running the FBI or go down the list, right? Or a reality star running our health system. Um I mean, it's the there's such a deep lack of seriousness in the that administration. It's worth worse than a lack of seriousness. I mean, it's an intentional destruction of things that are meant to help people. And I do think it's really important that as Democrats, we don't get stuck in this, you know, idea that we just have to go back to the way things were. There's lots of things that weren't working all that well. There's lots of things that are not working well. We have to be willing to say we need to make big, big changes. But making big changes to fix things that are broken is totally different from just taking a wrecking ball to everything.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

Yeah. Yeah. I agree with that. I had a marriage counselor tell me very similar advice once. She said that you don't want to go back to the relationship as it was. So you're building something new, and then that's what you have to strive to. So don't look to don't look back. So if we're in a relationship with the United States, we're not gonna look back, we're just gonna look forward and see how we can progress.

SPEAKER_04 11:04

Aaron Powell Yeah, and uh, you know, uh you may know, I mean, I I got divorced recently. Um I um we we uh final finalized our divorce last fall, but we'd been separated for a little while. Uh Sarah and I are like the best friends. Um and it was it was uh one of the things that was hard about that process for us sort of getting to that decision is that things were never so bad that we couldn't have kept going with it. Uh and yet um I think we both realized that if we did that, then probably what would happen is ten years down the road, we would both be looking back and saying, Man, we kinda wish we had that time back. And it was hard to know what was gonna come from that change. Uh but it's actually been really good for I think for both of us, and even really good for our kids. Having gone through I know that might feel like it's sort of an aside, but I mean having gone through that in my personal life recently, I I think we need a little bit more openness to thinking about how things can be different in big ways, you know, even in our politics. And and just being, you know, reimagining what things can look like and not being as scared of the unknown and being willing to take some risks.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

I mean, and to your point as well, I think just transparency within politics.

SPEAKER_03 12:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

I feel like people have trouble really connecting or even approaching political figures because they just don't look at them like real people. Like I think that the more open people are about their lives, especially in this new age of like social media where everything is so online, I think the more likely people are to trust the people that are in power and that they have their best interests in mind because they're just people like you and me. Like you're going through your own things. You're you're you're a father, you have kids that you're worried about. And so does everyone else, or so do a lot of people in America. And I feel like the more people understand that politicians are everyday people that are dealing with the same shit that we all are, but they're just in a position that they can advocate for change.

SPEAKER_03 13:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:09

Um let's take it a step back because I want to talk about uh a little bit of like upbringing and because you have a pretty extensive academic record. You started in Greenwich in a prep school.

SPEAKER_04 13:18

Aaron Ross Powell I mean, originally from Westchester, New York. You know, grew up in in in Westchester, then moved to Greenwich for a while, um, and then you know went to ended up in New Haven for seven years for college and law school.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

Aaron Ross Powell And then you got the Road Scholar, which that's pretty prestigious.

SPEAKER_04 13:37

Yeah, I mean it w I I uh I I felt really lucky to get that. I was coming out. You know, so that was between college and law school. So after after college, you applied for that.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

I think what is it, like 32 people a year get that.

SPEAKER_04 13:48

From America. From America. I mean there's more from around the world, but 32 from America.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

Aaron Ross Powell So you've always kind of liked the selective races. Was that your first like rush to victory?

SPEAKER_04 13:58

I don't know. I don't know if I think about those in the in the same way. I mean, are you kidding?

SPEAKER_02 14:01

It's so if that's a really competitive scholarship.

unknown 14:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:04

I mean I guess if you're saying like I I've never been afraid of you know going after something that had pretty shortly long odds, that's true. You know, I I'm I I don't I'm not really worried about you know the risk of failure. I mean, my my I my view is like you try for things. You you know, you take your shots. And and I think that uh I think that's important. I think it's important not just in going after you know things, but it's important in what you do with the opportunities you've got, what you do with the positions you've got is to say, all right, if I've got this chance to try to make a difference somewhere, then like let's really try to do it.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

Yeah. So did you ever try for something like growing up that you completely lost or failed in?

SPEAKER_04 14:41

Aaron Powell I mean when I was when I was younger, I was uh I would loved football. I was obsessed with football. Really? You know, you may not see it sitting in this chair, but I'm uh I I stopped growing at about five, seven and three quarters. So that was not gonna, you know, that was not gonna be my my path. Um but you know, all we all go through like a million, you know, you have your ambitions, you think you're gonna be something. My my uh after those you know early years of caring about football, like m my aspiration was music. Uh I I wanted to be a a musician, a singer, a songwriter. You know, I did a lot of that, I did some of it seriously uh for a while. But life takes you in different directions. And you know, I so I I just think it's um you know I I think of it less about you know what did you fail at and more about just you know you've got to be open to to what the opportunities bring. You know, and I'm looking like using a using a football. And I was like, you've gotta you've gotta look for where the hole is. And sometimes the hole you think thought you were gonna run through, you know, closes up, but another one opens up and you know you gotta take it.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

Aaron Powell So who's your football team?

SPEAKER_04 15:43

Aaron Ross Powell I mean it's the Pats, but you know, I don't I don't watch as much as I mean this last year I hardly watched any.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

Aaron Ross Powell You moved to England then for this?

SPEAKER_04 15:50

Aaron Ross Powell For the rest of the house. Yeah. So two years over there.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

Aaron Ross Powell What years were you there?

SPEAKER_04 15:54

Aaron Ross Powell So I left to go over there two weeks after September 11th.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

Aaron Powell Okay.

SPEAKER_04 16:00

So I was there from fall of 2001 to spring of or summer of 2003.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Aaron Ross Powell Wait, that's crazy. So that all goes down. Did it change like were you considering not going because of it?

SPEAKER_04 16:12

Aaron Ross Powell No, I don't think so. I mean it was obviously a really uncertain time. It was a crazy time.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

Aaron Ross Powell And I can't imagine the airports two weeks after.

SPEAKER_04 16:18

Aaron Ross Powell Yeah, yeah. But I I it um but never seriously thought about not going. Uh but it was a it was a really fascinating time to be over there. Uh you know, going over there with this group of Americans together, you know, as a group a couple weeks after September 11th, um including a number of folks who were coming out of the service academies. You know, there there were uh at least four uh three, maybe four no four or more, more than that, who had come out of service academies, West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy. Um and uh you know, and and I think they knew even as we were going over there that their life was probably gonna change, you know, pretty, pretty dramatically when they got home. And uh and then watching the shift from arriving in those weeks after September eleventh to a really international place. Uh, you know, at Oxford University, you got students from all over the world, and the amount of sort of solidarity and sympathy uh for the United States, and then the way that just dramatically shifted after the access of evil speech and after the beginning of the Iraq war. And just feeling how profoundly, you know, w our sort of standing in the world shifted. That was a pretty powerful thing to to feel over there.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Did you feel like people treated you differently?

SPEAKER_04 17:31

Sure. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

And then was being there post-9-11 kind of what started getting the wheels turning about maybe joining the military?

SPEAKER_04 17:42

I don't know that it was being there post-9-11, but iq a a couple of the folks who you know I mentioned who who were in the military, who were there, you know, on the road scholarship, but they were they were gonna be going back to serve, um, became some of my closest friends. So uh, you know, one one guy who was out of West Point, one guy who was you know Army Reserve but was, you know, was gonna be uh serving, um, one guy who was a Marine. And those were those were among my closest friends. And so by the time I came back and went to law school, uh, and by the time I was finishing up law school, most of them had served one or two tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. And I just felt this huge like gulf between where they were, what they were experiencing, what they were shouldering, and this place at Yale Law School, which was just this like, you know, Ivory Tower that just felt so disconnected from that. And I and I felt I did feel at that time the burden was being carried by too small a group of people, like too few people were were carrying that burden for our country because it felt personal, because I had, you know, friends who were who were over there. Um so I think that's what got the wheels turning more than anything. Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

So was there thought that you were going to be going like a political career after that? Did you feel like this was like gonna be advantageous to kind of like a resume to progress in like a political career, or was it purely like the pull to be part of something to make this?

SPEAKER_04 19:08

I think it was just the pull. I mean, like a lot of people I think from my generation who were coming out of school or growing up around, you know, late teens, early twenties, 9-11 and what followed felt like a defining moment. Yeah. And and you know, and and so it was that feeling like I had to do my part that was that was pulling. And I think it's probably that same feeling that pulled me into doing the policy work, right? I just um Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

You you go with your intuition. Some might say that that's a little bit woo-woo.

SPEAKER_04 19:35

No, I think it's really I think it's really important.

SPEAKER_02 19:38

Um I say that because if it wasn't that mug I was gonna get you, it was gonna be a book that was uh astrology for dummies. Because I know that you will not entertain any of my No. I think I once mentioned to you um at my at my podcast launch party that there was a tarot card reader. I was like, are you gonna get your cards right? You're like, No, no, no.

SPEAKER_04 19:57

I don't want to know.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

So when you went to Afghanistan, did you already have kids?

SPEAKER_04 20:02

I had one daughter, my f my oldest daughter was uh 14 months when I left. And uh we found out not long before I went that Sarah was pregnant with our second. Oh my god. So she's a disbog emotions.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_04 20:18

Sarah is Sarah is tough. Uh so I mean hormones are still hormones. It was yes. Um So I got back from Afghanistan about 72 hours, 48, 72 hours before our son was born.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Wow. By like was it planned? Like you knew she was going into labor, so you had to get back?

SPEAKER_04 20:37

No. No. I mean it worked it's it worked out. Aaron Powell So there was a chance you could have missed the birth. Yeah.

unknown 20:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

So that adds a whole other layer of leaving. Because I mean, as a parent, I cry if I'm like two nights away from my babies. I cannot imagine being in this other country where there's a lot of unknown. There's probably some things you can't tell your family and communication's not great at different time zones.

SPEAKER_04 21:00

I mean, yeah, it's true, it's true. Although I will say that you know it's probably it was probably a very different experience than you know if we I had been serving somewhere decades before, because you know, I could, not not all the time, but I could get on FaceTime sometime or you know, or whatever it was at the time. But um Skype. I could get on Skype and you know and video. No. That was like a Right. This was this was pre-prepandemic when everyone was working on the phone. But you could do you could do video chat. Or I could, you know, I could make phone calls. Um and um and that that was, you know, I could I could I could read my daughter a story from Afghanistan, right? I mean Does she remember any of that time?

unknown 21:35

No. No.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

Um did you ever talk to your baby in her belly over the phone?

SPEAKER_04 21:42

Uh you know, uh I don't remember. I don't remember.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Um So that must have been kind of scary, though.

SPEAKER_04 21:51

I mean, look, I let me say first of all, I was not in combat.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

You know, I I was I was there, you can't know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_04 21:58

And in both you know, Iraqi And Afghanistan, you know, they're just like they're uncertain places and you know we're not defined front lines in the same way. But I was never in combat. I I was uh an intelligence officer. I went over there, uh was gonna be in what was called a joint intelligence operations center, uh, and then ended up getting pulled over onto the anti-corruption task force that uh that had been set up. And so which was you know a uh uh a pretty you know fascinating and uh uh talented team of people who were trying to deal with one of the deepest problems over there, which is the corruption that just caused everybody to lose all faith in government. And it was actually a huge part of the reason that we never had a real path to success in Afghanistan is that we never had a real plan to bring legitimacy to that government or for the government to bring legitimacy to itself because it was so captured by corruption and you know, and self-enrichment and enrichment of friends, and you know, this small group of, you know, oligarchs or new o near oligarchs who sort of got, you know, got the contracts or got the wealth or you know, stole money from the hospitals and to redirected medicine that was supposed to be going to patients. I mean, the level of the corruption over there was so corrosive that uh that's one of the reasons that we were destined for failure over there. And and the anti-corruption task force that I was part of was supposed to be part of both uncovering that and then putting pressure on the government of Afghanistan and the military of Afghanistan to fix that. But I don't think we as a country ever really had the will to really push that. And and looking back, I do think that's one of the reasons why things failed so tragically over there. Um but it was, you know, it was a really interesting sort of perspective to see what happens when there is a war without a strategy. We could see that we were asking, uh our country was asking Americans to put themselves in harm's way, to be wounded, to be killed. And we never had the plan that would have made those sacrifices justified. Um and you could see it. And so you know, looking back on that, I I A, it makes me angry. B, you know, I think we've got to take that the the lesson that um we we have to be able to look ourselves in the mirror and recognize when something's broken and say it early.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

Trevor Burrus Do you feel similarly like that's what's happening now?

SPEAKER_04 24:30

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

As far as like going in without a plan. Oh, there's no question.

SPEAKER_04 24:33

I mean, you know, I think this war in Iran was uh totally reckless, totally without strategy or plan, and we're paying the price for it. You know, and and uh I mean we've already lost America. Like literally too. Well, you know, as of today they claim it's $29 billion so far, but they can't really tell you tell us how much it costs. But beyond that, I mean Americans are paying the price, uh obviously in the form of you know, gas prices that are through the roof. Um, but we're paying a much deeper price. I mean, we are in a weaker position as a country right now because of this war than we've been in a long, long time. And uh and I think you know, back to the point we were talking about before, this is what happens when you have reality show, you know, people put in place as cabinet secretaries. This is what happens when you have somebody, you know, who is totally incompetent, like Pete Hegzith, who's chosen for his jawline and not because he knows anything about, you know, either leadership or national security. And uh it r it it we should all be angry about this war that he's let us into. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

I don't I don't know many people. Actually, I don't think I've ever talked to someone who is for this war. Um I have a nep my husband's nephew is in the Merchant Marines, he's an officer. And he's out there and doesn't know when he's coming back, and he was engaged, they broke it off. Like he's just it's it's horrible. And now they're talking about maybe a mandatory draft. Like how that that can't really happen.

SPEAKER_04 26:02

I mean, what they've said is they're they're automatically enrolling people in Selective Service. You already had, you know, boys, men already have to enroll at 18, they're making that automatic. And they're saying they're not taking the draft off the table. Um and you know, I'm my son's now fifteen, uh so I I worry a lot about that. I mean, I was proud to serve in an all-volunteer military. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_03 26:24

But it was your choice.

SPEAKER_04 26:25

It was my choice. And you know, and I hope we never get back to the place where we we are conscripting Americans, men or women, to serve uh when it's not their choice.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

Um It'll be interesting to see what happens when men have to worry about doing things that isn't their choice. Women wouldn't know what that's like. Was there anything else that you wanted to say about the draft before we move on?

SPEAKER_04 26:49

Aaron Powell I don't think so. Uh you know, although this is, you know, to me taking us in a different direction, I I um I would like to see more opportunities for different types of national service. You know, I I'd I'd love to see more, you know, you think back to the Great Depression and the Civilian Conservation Corps, you know, Works Progress uh administration. There were in the in the face of that crisis, we recognized that one of the ways to respond was by creating more opportunities to serve and get paid for it in ways that were not military service. I actually think we'd we'd benefit from that hugely in this country right now. So, like give me an example. Well, I mean opportunities to teach, maybe a new v gener generation of Civilian Conservation Corps, where we were doing work, you know, to protect our environment, to, you know, to maintain our parks and our natural beauty. Um, you know, uh creating new art, I mean funding funding artists, musicians, creators, writers. We used to do that, and we should do it again. Um I think there's all kinds of national service. The Peace Corps is an example, uh, which you know I'd love to see us expand that, not shrink it. I I think there's lots of forms of service. And I think this is gonna matter for a couple reasons. One, young people are gonna find it harder and harder to get jobs earlier in their career because AI is turning our economy upside down. Yeah. And two, you know, the the the other thing about the military that's so rare in American life is it's one of the few places where people really are coming together from all kinds of backgrounds, all parts of the country, all kinds of backgrounds, uh, and are part of one bigger thing. And I wish we had more opportunities for for that uh in our country that's not in the military.

SPEAKER_02 28:23

Aaron Powell And you feel like that should be implemented on like a federal level rather than by the same. We're gonna take a quick break and hear from our sponsors, and then we will be back with more Luke Rhodan Unfiltered. If you're someone who cares about supporting local farms, you should check out Pink Tractor Crew. They're passionate about connecting people with Connecticut agriculture, whether that's finding fresh dairy delivered right to your door or tracking down maple syrup straight from the tap. It's all about supporting local farmers and making fresh food more accessible. You can explore their resources at StantonsBM.com. You know how edibles can feel a little intimidating if you're not exactly sure where to start? That's actually why I love the Happy Confection. A Connecticut brand based in Westbrook, they've made edibles really approachable by creating ratio-based cannabis gummies. So instead of everything hitting the same way, the experience is dialed in depending on what you're looking for. Whether that's relaxing or feeling creative or just unwinding at the end of a day. There's even options for medical card patients looking for higher potencies. Everything is chef crafted with organic ingredients, vegan, gluten-free, and made with strain-specific terpenes, so you get a consistent experience without that bitter aftertaste that a lot of gummies can have. They're also queer-owned, women-owned, and family run, and you can find them in over 60 dispensaries across Connecticut. You can find the closest one nearest to you at thehappyconfection.com, and don't forget to sign up for their email lists where you can find out about product launches and deals going on near you. They're called the Happy Confection, and it's cannabis crafted for joy. Looking for insurance is honestly so stressful. Every year when I have to deal with it, I feel like I need a spotting after. And that's why I love keating agency insurance in West Hartford. They're a third-generation family business with a real people-first mantra. They do the hard part for you, shopping multiple companies to find the best coverage. They handle home, auto, business, life, and even umbrella policies and can bundle things to save you money. So instead of spiraling online, comparing policies, just call Keating and let them handle it. Okay, welcome back, Luke. When we left, we were kind of wrapping up our thoughts about your time in Afghanistan and what that looks like for America moving forward and the war we're in now. Um after your time in the war, then you were in uh working with Obama, that must have been like a career highlight.

SPEAKER_04 30:39

Yeah, so I I I went to I went to Afghanistan actually in the middle of two different parts of service in the Obama administration. So I I started I was at the Treasury Department. I started there right pretty close to the beginning of uh President Obama's time in office. It was in March of 2009, you know, right at the tail end of the financial crisis and worked on uh as part of the team that uh helped build what became the Dodd-Frank Act, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act, which among other things, it created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is built to try to protect Americans from financial abuse, from predatory lending, from uh from corporate financial abuse, and the Trump administration has now ripped it down. Um but it was it was something that really mattered, and it was an example of the way that government actually can make a huge difference in protecting people. Um and then the second part uh was on the national security side. So I s I ran the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, uh, which is sort of the the national security side of treasury. It's about trying to keep money out of the hands of bad actors uh and uh and protect the integrity of the financial system. And also at the time, about half of it was actually trying to use financial leverage to get Iran to the negotiating table to do the nuclear deal that Trump then ripped up. You know, so for the better part of two years, every morning I started out by going into the secure uh facility where you can read classified information and reason reading intelligence about uh Iran. And uh and uh but it's a another example where taking a wiser course of using the tools we have to create an incentive for negotiation and dipl and a and a window for diplomacy, and then getting something that you know made the world safer uh was was the right way to go versus a reckless war without a strategy, without a game plan that weakens us and breaks our economy even more.

SPEAKER_02 32:34

Trevor Burrus I mean I think that anyone would agree that going into war without a strategy is you would think anyone would agree.

SPEAKER_04 32:39

Yeah. But it didn't take a lot of imagination to think about all the ways that this war uh against Iran could go wrong. And and it didn't take a lot of imagination for all the people who were saying it right then.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Aaron Ross Powell Yeah. Do you keep in touch with people who you served with?

SPEAKER_04 32:53

Aaron Powell Some, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

Aaron Ross Powell How do they feel about what's going on?

SPEAKER_04 32:56

Aaron Powell I haven't talked with many of them about this. Um the j the general who I served under uh is H.R. McMaster, who actually uh was Trump ended up later becoming Trump's national security advisor, but then has written a couple of books that were quite critical of the Trump administration. I'd actually be really interested in what he has to say about it, and I don't know the answer yet. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Let's get him on the pod. Trevor Burrus, Jr. But you know, I've I've talked to some folks who who feel the same way that I do, uh, but um but I haven't talked to many of them about this.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

You also have a very interesting perspective of it, though, because you've been in it and you've seen what happens when you don't have a plan and you're like shaking people like history is repeating itself. Right.

SPEAKER_04 33:41

And and you know, and in both Iraq and Afghanistan, we did it for 20 years.

SPEAKER_02 33:46

Aaron Ross Powell That's crazy.

SPEAKER_04 33:47

With thousands of our of lives lost, many tens of thousands of non-American lives lost, and literally trillions of dollars that could have gone to building up our infrastructure, building schools, investing in education, investing in healthcare. Um the waste of that is like just hard to wrap your mind around. And you know, I hope, I hope, I like we do not get to that place in in this war. I hope we're not about to put troops on the ground. I think that would be a you know a catastrophic mistake. Um but already we see the costs of it and they're real. Um not to mention just sort of the the the m you know moral um rot of a president who you know puts out on uh Twitter or whatever the hell you call it that like he's going or hit truth social that a civilization will be wiped out. I mean the the the cost in in lives, in money, in uh uh in our position in the world, but also just the moral cost of it.

SPEAKER_02 34:47

Trevor Burrus I think that it goes without saying that he has some kind of mental illness. Like it reads as a manic episode. He had like 55 tweets or I'm I'm not even on Twitter. I think it's called X now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:59

And he like How is Trevor Burrus For anybody who's willing to be honest about it, he clearly should not be in office. He clearly should be-I don't just mean about you disagree with him's policy, but he's not morally stable. Trevor Burrus, Right. He's an unwell man. Right. We have a mentally unstable person with access to the nuclear codes. Yeah. This is reason enough to remove him from office if he hadn't also committed uh more impeachable offenses than like we could count on all of our fingers and toes. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 35:30

And if he wasn't like a convicted felon.

SPEAKER_04 35:31

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Go down the list.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

Um but that goes back to the point that I was making earlier where people see all these things he's doing. They read his insane messages, they see what's going on with ICE, they hear about his um sexual abuse and horrible things that this man has done, but yet he is still in office. It makes people's voice feel so small, like this is all happening. This guy could murder someone on the street and still be in office. Like, what would you say to people that just feel like he's not impeached, he's still running, like people feel helpless.

SPEAKER_04 36:07

No. But the response has to be we have to take control back. It can't just be to give up. I mean, if if if your response to that is, well, then there's nothing we can do, then we're totally screwed. Yeah. Forever, not just in this moment. Forever. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 36:22

For our children. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_04 36:23

And we also should not let ourselves think that this is as bad as it can get. As bad as it is, it could get way worse.

SPEAKER_02 36:31

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Oh, I've read that.

SPEAKER_04 36:33

Right, and we uh and we have to stop that damage. So to anybody out there who's saying, you know, there's no difference between the parties, doesn't matter who's elected, that's complete bullshit. Yeah. You know, we we have to stop this damage. And then I think the challenge and the and the mission for the Democratic Party has to be we have to do more than just ride the backlash to Trump. You know, I I think that there's a really good chance that Democrats take back the House of Representatives right now because people are so mad.

SPEAKER_03 36:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:59

And and that anger alone may help us take that majority back. But if we want to do more than just ride that backlash, see, you know, ride the pendulum swing and then just see it swing right back, we have to be serious about building an agenda that we're gonna push with the same sense of you know urgency uh and speed that they pushed Project 2025. Because if people don't really see us trying to fix the stuff that's broken, they're gonna give up forever. And and this is these next couple of years are gonna be a critical moment. And that's why I think that, you know, these next two years, uh it matters who's in Congress even from this seat. You know, I had a lot of people call me and say, why don't you just give John two more years, you know, uh even though he's never said that he would only serve for two more years. But I had a lot of people say, just give him two more years. I think every minute matters right now. And and especially over these next two years, when we need members of Congress who are using every minute to build a movement that allows us to get a president elected and to build an agenda that we're ready to push when we get the White House and the Senate and the House, God willing, after 2028.

SPEAKER_02 38:00

It's funny that you mentioned Project 2025 because that was something that Trump was like, I know nothing about this. I didn't I'm not involved. And then so many things from the writings have come to fruition. I feel like there needs to be more accountability with politicians in all areas because they can essentially say whatever to get the vote. And then their actions have a completely different story. And it makes this huge disconnect between people because they might have voted for something that now they're getting completely shafted. And there just has to be some level of accountability.

SPEAKER_04 38:33

Yeah. But here too, I think there's a difference. I mean, what we saw was from Donald Trump is just flat-out lies. Yeah. And we we're used to that, so people stopped paying attention to them at a certain point. But I mean, he said he was going to focus on costs from day one. Everything he's done has driven costs up. I mean, you go down the list of promises he's made, he's broken almost every single one. Uh so during that time that I was doing that work at Treasury focused on national security, I was traveling a lot. I was I was all over the world, um, you know, dozens of countries. Uh and at that point we had two little kids and it was not sustainable. So it was clear that, you know, that we had to something had to change. And at that, around that same time in 2012, the end of 2012, uh Governor Malloy here, our our prior governor in Connecticut, asked me to come up and be his general counsel, his his chief legal counsel. Um and Sarah, meanwhile, had been teaching up at Yukon Law School uh for much of that time. She had taken some semesters elsewhere and you know and and sort of made it work. But she had continued to come up to to uh Connecticut because she was teaching at Yukon Law School. And so it was a way to kind of bring some sanity to our life and also to work for a governor who I respected and uh and do work that mattered. So we came up here uh with our then two kids, uh, you know, our third uh uh sorry, girl boy, girl. So our our third kid, second girl, was born um not too long uh after we got back up here. And uh and I'd worked for two years for Malloy as general counsel. Aaron Ross Powell, so did you ever con So was it always Hartford or were you considering New Haven since you you know No, I mean we we had we had made Hartford home in 2006 and it felt like home. Even when we were in down in DC, we expected that we were going to be coming back to Hartford. Uh and um and so we came back up in the very beginning of 2013, and uh we moved, you know, into the place right next door to the apartment that we had had uh when we were there here the first time. Oh, that's right. Uh and uh you know, and and Hartford just became home.

SPEAKER_02 40:35

It's funny because you wouldn't think of Hartford, especially what it was when you were living there before you became mayor as some place that you would want to raise kids. Because it was, I mean, pretty rough and in kind of financial despair. I mean, when I was even considering moving to Connecticut years ago, it took me a few years to end up in Connecticut because life happened. My sister needed a kidney, I had twins, I was like I had to be in Florida, unfortunately. Um a global pandemic happened. I mean, what's that? So but when I was considering moving, it was always like, you don't want to look in Hartford. You don't want to look in Hartford, stay away from Hartford. The schools are bad, it's dangerous. Maybe West Hartford, but not Hartford. And then I come here and I'm looking around Hartford and I'm like, I love this city. What are they talking about? But I think a lot of that was due to work that was done during your years as mayor. Like you did a lot of work investing back into the city, getting Pratt Street going. Now there's like it's like I mean, from my perspective as somebody who moved here, it seems like a booming city.

SPEAKER_04 41:35

I don't know if I'd say booming yet. We got a lot of work to do, but I do think that you know it's moving in the right direction. I mean it's it's it breaks my heart to think back to 2019 and the beginning of 2020, because you know, having after uh I mean Hartford's been through a lot of tough times, and then we had a financial crisis and near bankruptcy, you know, which which I inherited when I came in as mayor, and we got our feet under us, started to build, started to get investment and some real energy building. And coming into 2020, it felt like you could, you know, like we were firing on our all like we were firing on all cylinders. Uh it just felt like you could feel the energy from just feet on the street, the combination of you know, new folks uh you know moving in because we were finally building housing for the first time in a long, long time. And you know, companies coming in uh rather than going out for the first time in a while. It felt like it was starting to really come together, and then the pandemic came and just you know punched us in the gut. And that was a you know, that was a tough time, right? And we we pushed through that. And I think Hartford is still in the midst of a recovery from that and uh and probably will be for a while. You know, I I think one of the keys to dealing with that is continuing to build a lot of housing. You know, we have a housing crisis in this state, but also I think we need more energy and more of a neighborhood feel uh in in in Hartford, especially in and around the downtown. And so uh I I think we have to continue to build a lot more housing opportunity.

SPEAKER_02 42:53

Um I I think that the housing market is absolutely nuts. We bought technically in West Hartford because we wanted the school systems, which ended up being funny because my daughter's in a magnet, which is a lottery anyway, or it could be. Um but we're very close to the Hartford line.

unknown 43:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:07

And at first, even our realtor who was driving us around was like, the closer you get to Hartford, like the more we love our street.

SPEAKER_03 43:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 43:14

We love our street. We can walk to AC Peterson's, we walk to the playhouse, we have like everything we need. My daughter plays on the street, no problem.

SPEAKER_04 43:21

Like, the other the other thing is you I mean, you know this coming from Florida, like any other part of the country, all of these places would be one city. Right? I mean, the idea that West Hartford, Hartford, and East Hartford and Windsor are all different towns, that's a Connecticut thing. Any other part of the world, this is all one city. Yeah. And that was part of what I one of the things I tried to make uh a mission as mayor was to to create more of that sense that we're all in this together. You know, that that this one this region really does hang together. And you know, did a whole tour of of towns around the region saying, you know, you can't, in the long run, you cannot be a strong suburb of a struggling city, that we really rise or fall together. And we've got so much, you know, amazing culture and arts and restaurants and and food and history. And and I I wish we thought of it a little bit more beyond the boundaries of our towns in this state. Uh where it's a little a little too insular. Uh and and because we have this region that that really does have just an extraordinary amount to offer. And if we thought of it a little bit more as one place, I think that there would be more people like you who were moving in uh for for what this place is.

SPEAKER_02 44:31

Hartford County is like I think like the number one search place on the Trevor Burrus.

SPEAKER_04 44:35

It's true. It's getting there. But this comes back to the housing. There's a limit to how far we can go because there's so little housing opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 44:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:43

And so what happens is the more that people want to move here, it just sends prices through the roof and prices people out. And you know, cost of rent goes through the roof. And cost to buy becomes totally unattainable. And so that's where, you know, bringing this back to the congressional stuff, that's where another example of where I think we need a bigger focus in this country on creating new housing opportunity. And I want the federal government to be serious about getting back in the game of creating housing opportunity in this country.

SPEAKER_02 45:12

It feels like from the average person, I would consider my family pretty middle class, which is funny because five years ago, maybe eight years ago, I would have said, oh, we're doing really well, but now that dollar having a $100 bill is like having a $20 bill now. But I would say that I don't know if that'll ever go through federal because I don't think the billionaires in charge give a shit if the lesser die off or are homeless because it's not affecting their wallet.

SPEAKER_04 45:41

But what you said is really important. You know, you everybody's feeling that pressure of the housing market. Everybody, even if even folks who are in their 40s or 50s or 60s and they've got a home, their kids can't find a place to live. Right. Everybody is feeling that. And kind of like with healthcare, when everybody feels that something's broken, it creates the moment to try to build a coalition to fix it. And and I'm not naive about how hard that is, but we have to be ambitious again. We have to say, if this is broken, politics exists to try to fix things. And if the people in charge aren't doing it enough, then there has to be pressure from below to do it. And and that's where you know it's really important for people not to give up on our politics. Like people really have the ability to create that pressure from below to affect what happens.

SPEAKER_02 46:30

The homeless population is insane. Um it's actually not, at least from what I've seen in Connecticut, it's not as bad here as it is in other places.

SPEAKER_04 46:37

I think homelessness in Connecticut may look different from a lot of places, partly because you know it's a colder climate, you might not see as much uh you know, as many encampments or tents out there. But there's a lot of folks who are who are, you know, sleeping on somebody's couch uh and are and are moving from place to place and sleeping in the car. There's a lot of invisible homelessness in Connecticut. I mean, thousands of kids in Connecticut public schools who are homeless every year.

SPEAKER_03 47:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:02

Um in you know, one of the richest states in the richest country in the world. Right. Um and and so we we have to make sure that we're not pretending that it's not there. It is there, it is growing, more and more families are are struggling just to to you know pay the rent or pay the mortgage. And and we ha that's why there's real urgency here. That's again back to why every minute matters. We can't just say, oh, we'll fix these problems a couple years from now, let's fix these problems four years from now. We have to s we have to start that work now in a serious, serious way.

SPEAKER_02 47:35

Aaron Ross Powell Well, so I know that some people had a bit of an issue with the fact that you are advocating for like the middle class and maybe grew up pretty affluent. Do you feel like you can empathize with people who are in that position even though it's not necessarily your lived experience? Aaron Powell Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:52

I mean, first of all, for eight years, you know, I was mayor of a city that's one of the poorest cities in the country. Um and I fought I worked my ass off every minute of every day for this city. And and I think the way that I b became mayor, because a lot of people when I ran for mayor didn't think that it was possible for me to win that race. And I went door to door to door thousands of times just talking to people and and listening to people. And uh and then as mayor I fought like hell for this city uh to get uh even a fraction of the support that we deserve from the state, uh from our biggest companies, uh, to try to make this city serve this community in the way that it hadn't for a long time. And so, you know, I I think and hope that what people saw as as mayor when I was mayor, you know, um is somebody who uh who is who is uh not afraid to fight for the people he serves. Um the other thing is, you know, look, I I I I'm really lucky. I mean I I my d my dad's a doctor, um, you know, my my mom was a a a graphic designer and then and then did uh was a teacher at various times. Um but they didn't come from wealth. I mean my my dad uh grew up with a a single mom and had nothing. My mom was the daughter of a New York City cop. Um and I'm really grateful for the opportunities they gave me. Um but I also saw in some of the places where I went to school, some of the places where I grew up, I saw a lot of kids who uh, you know, were not for nothing special, didn't we not particularly talented, didn't work particularly hard, and they're doing just fine. And then I saw so many kids in Hartford who are extraordinary, who were brilliant, who are brilliant, who uh who are talented, who understand the world in ways that a lot of those other kids can't even begin to imagine. And yet they have barrier after barrier after barrier just to build a stable life, let alone do what they could do for our world. And that uh drives me. Uh you know, that's that's one of the reasons we created the the Youth Service Corps in Hartford, which you know has given at this point thousands of young people their first chance to get a paid year-round job and get connected to supports and resources to make a plan for what comes next. Um and that's the kind of thing that I want to do down there.

SPEAKER_02 50:25

Aaron Powell Sounds like a little bit of the dad in you that has the empathy for these kids growing up and having less than they should.

SPEAKER_04 50:35

Aaron Powell Maybe. I I think also it's just, you know, if you if you open your eyes and you and you look around and you listen to people and you and you and you like actually care about people, yeah. It's hard not to see just how fundamentally broken and uh unfair, you know, th this country has become.

SPEAKER_02 50:56

Well that's what I think.

SPEAKER_04 50:57

And Connecticut is some of the starkest examples of it. I mean, you know, we we have here in this region, you have one of the poorest communities in the country in the midst of tremendous affluence. And uh and we don't we don't force ourselves to look at it enough. Too many people don't force themselves to look at it enough and recognize that it is broken.

SPEAKER_02 51:23

I I will say from an outsider, because I've grown up in a place and you know I would go to charity events and gallas and Florida and it was wealthy people putting money in to get more golf courses, to get more whatever, yachts. Everything that I have gone to here, and again, this is just like a small microcosm of what probably is Connecticut, it has been people wanting to put their money into places that matter, whether it's private NICUs, whether it's blood cancer, whether it's, you know, supporting politics who are gonna make policies that will help us.

SPEAKER_04 52:02

But I I totally agree with that. I think there's a lot of people trying to do really good work. What there's not enough of is trying to make some of the systemic change, right? The fact that when we have school systems that are funded by local property taxes and you have communities with vast economic disparities, that means that what zip code you grow up in has a huge impact on the educational opportunity you have. And you know, there was just this battle for education funding in the state right now. I don't think there was nearly enough put into education at the state level. And the federal government has basically stopped caring at all about education. I mean, they've demolished the Department of Education, but they're not putting any serious resources into education either. And and and we need that's another example of where we need as a Democratic Party to be loud on an issue that I think most people understand why it matters to them and and most people care about. I mean, we we need a federal government that actually cares about educating.

unknown 52:58

Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 52:58

Yeah. I think that when it I've had this conversation with so many people, but I think that when a lot of politics, not all, but most politics boil down to it all comes back to education. You don't want people having abortions, okay, let's educate them on safe sex and about their bodies and what's actually going on. Like in Florida, they've eliminated uh reproductive health care or taught in schools education. Um you don't want systemic racism, okay. Let's teach them about what happened instead of erasing history with Prague or You and acting like it didn't happen and taking away like Apria African-American studies courses. I think that most things can come down to education. And the people, like wealthy billionaire Republicans, don't want to invest in education because they are gonna get votes from people who are uneducated.

SPEAKER_04 53:47

Well, I and also what they're focused on right now is artificial intelligence, which is going to take away the jobs for anybody who's who we're not preparing right now. Artificial intelligence is moving so fast right now that it it is gonna turn our economy upside down. And that means that we've got to double down on educating our kids to operate in a world that's gonna look totally different. And and that means a much bigger commitment of resources too. So I want to see a tax code that that captures the revenue that AI is generating instead of just seeing it, you know, make a few companies and a few people even more ridiculously rich and invest it in things that people are doing for people, with education at the top of that list. I mean, we should, in a world where kids are having more trouble paying attention, we should have smaller class sizes. In a world where more kids are stuck struggling with uh special education needs, we should be funding special education from the federal level. These things are gonna matter more than ever in the years ahead. And so it it has to be a part of our response, and it has to be something we're talking about now, because if we let ourselves fall further behind this, we're gonna lose generation. Um I I actually think there's a real link between what's happening in AI right now and the need to completely uh change how the federal government thinks about its obligation to help educate the next generation.

SPEAKER_02 55:06

Aaron Ross Powell It is wild how unregulated it is.

SPEAKER_04 55:09

AI? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 55:11

I mean look, when it comes to AI, there's a whole bunch of different issues. There's the basic AI safety issues, like the the kind of crap that my kids are getting fed on their feeds, the risk of deep fake videos, right? I mean, all of that stuff is so dangerous. Um there's the there's the risk of cybersecurity uh you know intrusion and risk to critical infrastructure, which is real and growing. Um and and then there's the economic impact and the way that it's gonna turn our economy upside down and replace a lot of jobs. And on all three of those things, we are way behind the curve already. And and partly, as you said, it's because there are a handful of companies, uh like OpenAI, for example, that is pouring massive amounts of money into the political system to try to stop any debate about AI safety, about protecting kids, about preparing for the economic disruption.

SPEAKER_02 56:00

So I'm guessing ChatGPT doesn't write your speeches.

SPEAKER_04 56:03

No.

SPEAKER_02 56:04

I have a documentary for you that you have to watch. It's called um The AI doc how I became an apocalyptimist. And it's actually brilliant. That was what I was on the Oprah podcast for, but there was both spectrums, right? Like it's like total world destruction can end the world or actually used for good and to be made a better place. Um but Claude, which is a system, there was actually an example that the person was testing it out and said, um I want to fire so and so. So I'm gonna be letting them go this week. And then act, they asked Claude, act as if you are the person who is being fired. What would you do? Claude actually went through all of the company emails to find an affair that was happening between that person and a higher-up to where they formulated blackmail. And if AI can do that with just like a few sentences of a prompt, imagine what they can do with like nuclear nuclear codes. Right.

SPEAKER_04 57:06

Which also, I mean, you don't have to jump even as far as you went just to say, you know, the the surveillance risk of the surveillance risk in private hands right now is is getting out of control already. Um I mean to your point about you know optimists versus apocalypse, yeah. We we should recognize there's a there's a lot of good stuff that can that can come from this technology if we regulate it and control it properly. I mean, there there it really does create the possibility to to find new cures, to f to discover new treatments and new medicines, to potentially, you know, uh like revolutionize some of our our health care and healthcare prevention and diagnosing diseases way ahead of when we can do it right now. That stuff's all good, and we should we should want that. We should embrace it. But we should also recognize the risks. Yeah. And then we should protect against them. And right now you have too many people who are just saying, you know, all gas, no brakes on AI, and that's not responsible. That's how you crash the car. Like we we we should be all for the ways that AI can make people's lives better and healthier and puts more, you know, more time in people's lives and more money in people's pockets. We should we should do everything possible to make sure AI doesn't just make a few people richer, a few companies more powerful, and make life harder for everybody else.

SPEAKER_02 58:19

I yeah, I agree with that. I um from my perspective and my career, for a while that was the trend. You know, it was the using AI to make flyers, it was the using AI for um videos for voiceovers, whatever. And now there is this huge shift already, and it happened pretty quickly of people being like, I'm not gonna support this business if they're using AI for this flyer, I'm not gonna do this, to the point that companies have come out and like released like statements like, I'm sorry that I did that, I won't be doing that again. So I feel like people similarly are like AI's already gone a little too far. And that's gonna be, I think that's gonna be on a lot of ballots, like discussion about AI and how to regulate it. Because I think that that's something that we can all come together about from both sides. Um So I want to talk to you about something a little bit different. Um so as a woman, and I know a lot of my listeners are women, um we're worried that men in power don't necessarily have our best interests in heart, even if they say they do, because it's sometimes just to get a vote. Um because you've never had to worry about access to like birth control, you've never had to worry about like carrying a baby, you've never had to worry about like bodily autonomy. Um why should women believe you that you're gonna advocate for them and fight for their rights?

SPEAKER_04 59:37

So two reasons. One, because I got two daughters, and I am pissed off that they have fewer rights today than when they were born. And two, I've done it. Uh I I you can look at my record when I was mayor, we were the first city in the state that took action to protect against deceptive practices by crisis pregnancy centers, which were trying to trick women into thinking that they were going to get full reproductive care and advice and bring them to a place that was just about trying to indoctrinate them with anti-abortion rhetoric. And and we passed an ordinance at the local level, the first uh city in Connecticut to to uh not just shine a light on it, but to prohibit that kind of deceptive practice. And that became the model for a law that was then pushed at the state level. Um I I will be a loud and uncompromising voice on protecting reproductive freedom and women's rights, both because I've always been committed to it, but especially because I got two girls, and I want them to have full control over their lives, their bodies, their decisions, their health, their choice of when and how to start a family, and anything else that matters to them. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:42

Do you feel like that should be more on a state level or a federal level?

SPEAKER_04 1:00:44

Aaron Powell It needs to be federal level. I mean, I we're lucky that there's a lot of protections in the state of Connecticut, but we're also seeing right now attempts to create a backdoor national abortion ban. I mean, this attack on MiFepristone and uh you know and and the ability to get the medication that is necessary for about half the abortions that, you know, happen in this country is an attempt to create a national ban. It's an attempt to restrict access for everybody, blue states and red states. And we have to be serious uh about trying to we have to recognize that that is a part of their game plan. You know, the the plan was never to stop at Dobbs. The plan was always to do what they're doing now, which is try to restrict abortion access and make it uh unavailable, and they're trying to make it illegal for women everywhere. So we have to respond with federal legislation that enshrines in federal law a protection for women to make their own choices about their own bodies and their health care.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:46

I did learn recently after a session, actually, um that Connecticut is one of the fewer states that people can come from other states to get a safe and legal abortion. And if they don't have a place to stay, don't have food, um, they're taken care of by the state.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:03

Aaron Ross Powell That's a perfect example of why we need to do this at the federal level, because uh while Connecticut has put those protections in our law, there are states around the country that are trying to criminally prosecute women who travel to exercise those rights.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:17

Aaron Ross Powell And that that's I mean that's such a crazy thought to me, but it is the reality we're living in. I didn't I don't know if you've seen it because it came out on Mother's Day, go figure. But there's a website now from the White House, from like the from Trump's from Trump, probably probably his brilliant idea. Um, like mommy.com or moms.com, where it's supposed to look at first glance if you're not really reading into it, like all these resources for women, but it's all just pushing that like anti-abortion, pro-women staying in the kitchen, why working during your pregnancy could be dangerous. Like this is a website put out by our government on Mother's Day. Trevor Burrus, Jr. It's a crazy work. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:00

You know, put out by an administration that's not doing a thing to make it easier for families to afford childcare, um, you know, or uh or more affordable health care, you know, or anything that would make it easier to actually raise a family and raise kids.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:17

Trevor Burrus It's I was talking to my friend Kathleen, um, you know Kathleen from Connecticut bucket list, and she was just like, I don't know how anybody has children these days. She's like, I live alone and like she does pretty well for herself. She's like, I'm just getting by. She's like, I don't understand how people are still having kids. It's almost like irresponsible to have kids if you are not extremely well off at this point, because I mean, just an example. We were looking at daycares, and we ended up choosing one that my twins, because I have two-year-old twins, you have to pay double, you don't get like a twin discount. We only have them in half day. So not even a full day. I leave my work day in the middle of the day, pick them up, and then hope that they nap. Um it's $2,200 a month. Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:01

Yeah, it's insane.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:02

Like that's what, 30, something whatever. It's a beginning teacher's salary in Florida, actually.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:11

And then people will say, well, we'll just stay home with them. Right. Okay. But I have a career too. I I am a person outside of motherhood.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:18

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: And also, you know, you you need I mean, even with two decent incomes, the costs don't add up right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:26

Yeah. No, it it's they want to make they want to force women to have babies, but they don't care about what happens after birth. So I always say if somebody says that they're pro-life, I'm like, no, you're not. Right. Babes. You're you're pro-birth.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:40

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:41

I'm actually pro-life because I care about their lives.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:43

Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.: I agree.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:44

Um so we're gonna do something a little different now. Okay. We're gonna play a game. I like games. Do you like games?

SPEAKER_04 1:04:51

I'll I'll tell you afterwards.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:53

Um so I'm gonna call this game shut up and vote. Because the the term uh politicians answer is typically because you know politicians give like the runarounds. They don't necessarily answer a question direct at times. So I'm just gonna ask you some questions. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:10

That's fine. But I am gonna say at the start, that sometimes sometimes the more honest answer is not a yes or no. Sometimes things require some new answer. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:21

I didn't give you too many rough ones, okay? Um so we're gonna I'm gonna give you some things and you're just gonna tell me whether you would vote yes or no on it. Okay. Okay. Um Members of Congress having age caps.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:33

Government-funded childcare.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:37

The Electoral College.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:40

You mean change. Change it. Get rid of it.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:42

Yes. Um National Abortion Protections. I guess we just touch on that. Pineapple and Pizza.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:50

100%. I love pineapple and pizza. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:52

Love that. Student loan forgiveness.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:56

Yes, but it has to be done in a way that's not just forgiving loan. Loans for folks who actually have pretty good income and are doing well. Trevor Burrus Sliding scale. Yeah. Sliding scale and also like I think a big expansion of public service loan forgiveness.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:10

Higher tax on billionaires.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:12

Trevor Burrus Yes. That was the first thing I put out in this campaign.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:14

And a TikTok ban.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:17

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:18

Smart man. Do you know whose podcast you're on? This is how I make my living. Actually, no. TikTok doesn't like me because I don't engage with it. So I'm more on Instagram. Anyway, so I always end my podcast with asking my guests to do a shout-out to a nonprofit of your choice and how people can get involved if they want to.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:36

Okay. I mean it's tough because as you said before, I mean there's a lot of people doing great work in this state and this city. The one that I'd shout out, and it is it is a there there's a lot of good ones, uh, is our Piece of the Pie, which is an organization that does a lot of great work for young people in Hartford and the Hartford area, but they're also the ones that run the Youth Service Corps, which uh which I mentioned earlier, which has, you know, we we set up in uh my first year as mayor, you know, raised a bunch of uh money, uh philanthropic funds to build it up, and then we're able to get some grants to to expand it. But it it has given thousands of young people in this city their first chance to get a paid job, doing work that matters in the community uh and and build a plan for what's next. And it's not it's not just first come, first serve. It's specifically for young people who are disengaged and disconnected. You know, they may have dropped out of school, they might have finished high school but had are not working and have not gone on to to education beyond. Um it's it's and uh and a lot of the young people uh have faced challenges that for a lot of folks around the state are unimaginable. You know, being uh DCF involved, uh growing up and experiencing homelessness or repeated homelessness, justice system involved, but a extraordinary kids. And and so I I I am in awe of the work that the team at R Piece of the Pie does in running the Youth Service Corps, but also a lot of the work that they do beyond that.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:57

Aaron Ross Powell That's amazing. I've actually never heard of them, so I'm definitely going to look them up. Um for people wanting to get involved. Is it more monetary donations? Do they need volunteers?

SPEAKER_04 1:08:06

So I I mean funding is is hugely important. Sure. Um, you know, some of the sources of funding uh have, I think, started to dry up a little bit for the for the youth service corps. And the other thing is, especially if you're in the Hartford area, uh is finding uh or proposing uh projects and work that the that the Youth Service Corps members can do. You know, they they get paid uh minimum wage, get paid through the Youth Service Corps, but on work that actually matters. So I mean they they build community gardens or they'll build benches or they'll you know staff community meetings. They're they'll shovel s shovel snow for uh uh they'll shovel snow for seniors in the winter who you know aren't able to shovel their their driveways. Um but but finding opportunities for there to be work that actually needs to be done that makes a difference for people or makes a difference for community, that's another way that people can help.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:52

Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I'm looking forward to the next couple of months and seeing how this race goes. Um but I think that people will get a lot out of this conversation. And thank you for being you.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:01

Thank you for having me on.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:02

This podcast is kept caffeinated by Sola Karaoke, the Happy Confection, Pink Factor Crew, and Keating Agency Insurance. Thank you for listening to Connecticut Unfiltered. If you like the conversation, please make sure to like, subscribe, follow, and share, and keep the conversation going about how we can make Connecticut more than just the drive through state.