Connecticut Unfiltered
Connecticut Unfiltered is a podcast about the people redefining what it means to live, work, and build something meaningful in Connecticut — from entrepreneurs and creators to leaders shaping culture across the state. We talk about why Connecticut is the nation’s pizza capital, why it’s far from a drive-through state, and why this isn’t your grandma’s Connecticut anymore.
If you care about Connecticut lifestyle, local business, entrepreneurship, tourism, food culture, community, and New England living, this show highlights the voices proving Connecticut is a place people are actively choosing — not passing through.
Connecticut Unfiltered
Brandon McGee Unfiltered
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This week on Connecticut Unfiltered, I sit down with Brandon McGee, CEO of the Connecticut Social Equity Counciland former state legislator, for a conversation about opportunity, equity, and creating pathways to success in Connecticut.
We talk about Brandon's journey from public service to leading the Social Equity Council, the mission behind the state's social equity efforts, what economic opportunity really looks like in practice, and how Connecticut can build stronger communities for future generations. We also get personal, discussing the experiences that shaped his leadership style, the challenges he's faced along the way, and his vision for a more inclusive Connecticut.
Whether you're interested in marijuana and curious about where the taxes and money generated from it goes, business, community impact, or leadership, this is a thoughtful conversation you won't want to miss. Tune in for Brandon McGee Unfiltered.
This season of Connecticut Unfiltered is proudly supported by our seasoned partner, The Happy Confection.
SPEAKER_00And this is the voice behind the repeated 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_04If 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 people making that happen. This is Connecticut Unfiltered. Welcome to Connecticut Unfiltered. Today's guest is Brandon McGee, CEO of the Connecticut Social Equity Council. So he is right in the middle of one of the most talked-about industries in the state right now. He's a Hartford native and a former state representative who served four terms, so he really knows how Connecticut works. He's a dad, he's clearly a fashion icon. He's doing amazing things for this state. And now he's figuring out what equity in cannabis actually looks like here in Connecticut and whether or not it's working. So welcome to Connecticut Unfiltered, Brandon.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_04Can I tell you something? Yes. You are actually the first guest I have that I didn't know personally before this.
SPEAKER_01Really?
SPEAKER_04So this is gonna be a really unfiltered conversation. So I know because we talked a little bit. Yeah, I know we talked a little bit before, so I know that you haven't seen the podcast yet, but I will tell you that every episode I give a gift to my guest. So you get a gift.
SPEAKER_02Oh, can I open it later?
SPEAKER_04No, open it now. Now? Yeah, you gotta open it on camera.
SPEAKER_02Oh boy. Okay.
SPEAKER_04So I know you make a lot of difficult decisions in life. So I thought that maybe what's more equitable than a magic eight bulb? Okay. To uh solve some of like try me.
SPEAKER_02Where do I try you?
SPEAKER_04Have you ever used a magic eight ball before? No. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02I am that kid that did not play games. I wanted to be like Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King when I was young.
SPEAKER_04I feel like Luther King would have had a magic eight ball, though, if it was around.
SPEAKER_02I wanted to be the first black president. I wanted Barack beat me.
SPEAKER_04But like, you know, you know, that's me. Blame Obama.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so every time I shake this thing, it'll give me.
SPEAKER_04So if you look at the back, there is a little window here. And so you ask it a question like Should this municipality get one million dollars? And then it'll tell you the answer. What did it tell you? Well, it's a little stuck. I think it'll work better out of the box. I'll open it later. It'll be like and then sometimes it'll be like try again later. Are you a millennial?
SPEAKER_02What what is that? I'm 42.
SPEAKER_04Okay. I think that you were right on the cusp of being a millennial and Jenny.
SPEAKER_02So my response is right. Like I don't know where I fall. It just depends on the day and who I'm talking with.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_02My kids think I am like ancient.
SPEAKER_04To be fair, I would have guessed that you were maybe 36, 37. So I'll let you have that. And I'm not just blowing smoke. Like yeah. So welcome. Thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER_02I I you know it's a pleasure to be here. Um if folks like Anthony Anthony speak well of folk, and he's like, Yeah, I need you to be there, I'm going. Awesome. So he spoke very highly of you. And your reputation reputation precedes itself. So that's a really good thing.
SPEAKER_04Aaron Powell Well, it's really cool because we are taping here at Tapeworks in Hartford and you are a Hartford native.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Born and raised in Hartford's North End, to be exact. Okay. Uh and slightly different than the South End of Hartford, although we are in this very small city. And you would think literally everybody should know everybody in Hartford.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But Hartford is such a diverse city. Yeah. A melting pot of sorts. And in my community, Barber Street is where I grew up. And uh one of five. So am I. Yeah. So I think families. Yeah. I am the youngest. Yeah, the youngest of the crew. I think I'm the oldest, though, but you know, I know everything. I know more than them. Sure.
SPEAKER_04Did anyone else go into politics?
SPEAKER_02No. As a matter of fact, my family is not even into politics. Although my grandmother, Barbara Long, worked for the city of Hartford 30 plus years as a social worker, uh, never involved in politics, but always found herself in neighborhood revitalization groups, speaking on behalf of her community. She was the first to own a home in our family. She was the first to do a lot of different things. My grandfather, her husband, married for almost 50 years, worked for public works in the city of Hartford. So they really loved this city, and it was their love for the city of Hartford that really just gave me this, hmm. I want to be a bit more involved. Yeah. And I want to help people. I want to make a difference.
SPEAKER_04You know what you're doing now. So it's kind of funny though, because like everything is innately political, especially now. So it's almost like even if they don't think they're political, like their jobs and their careers, having being the first person in your family to own a house, I'm assuming that they are African American as well. So that is innately political.
SPEAKER_02I mean she created, she helped to start the first Block Watch in our neighborhood. You know what I mean? So it's super political, but then you wanted to you're frying chicken for the entire community. Y'all have them card night at our house.
SPEAKER_04Like No conservative Republicans doing that. No, no.
SPEAKER_02So But yeah, born and raised, uh, went to school in the city. Um I grew up in uh one of the many housing developments in Hartford. I grew up in Westbrook Village, which is now better known as the Village, um, near Scarborough. So we used to like look down the street and be like, yeah, when I grow up, I want that house. Um but yeah, grew up there, went to school, and then I was essentially bust out. Meaning Project Concern is what it was called. It's now open choice. I went to school in Collinsville in Kent.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02From Hartford, right? And that's a whole story in and of itself. We probably can spend hours talking about the education system. Why might a student and its family send their child 40 miles from their home district? Yeah. We can go down that hole. Or going private, or going private, parochial, you name it, right? So did that, came back, uh eventually graduating from Prince Tech, uh vocational high school. I was supposed to be an electrician, uh, and I was like, uh, I don't want to get my hands dirty, so I want to go to college.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But I did get a job at uh Northeast Utility right out of college. Okay. Um making, I think it was $75,000.
SPEAKER_04Um, I'm sorry, but like back then that's like $150,000, $200,000 now.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes. It was amazing. Yeah. But I could I did not see myself sitting in a transformer. No disrespect to any guys working at what is the new, it's not Northeast, it's uh Eversource. Oh yeah. Um but I just didn't see my I didn't see myself in that field, right? And so um I got a scholarship uh to attend Alabama State University. And I went all the way down to the dirty south.
SPEAKER_04Wow. My neck of the woods. Yes, yes. Wait, you're from the South? I'm from Florida.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So my that's how my whole platform started with why my family moved and we wanted essentially to be a little bit more.
SPEAKER_02No, don't tell me the story because now I'm gonna go back to the house. Okay, okay, okay. But yeah, went to school there. Um, my dad actually drove me down to do the whole college visit because they're like, You really want to go to Alabama? Yeah. And I'm like, Yeah, I do actually. Well, how about we buy you a car uh buy you a car and you stay home? You know, like we want you here. And I'm like, no.
SPEAKER_04You sound like my dad when I was like moving out of Florida. He was like, What if I buy you a house? I'm like, oh no.
SPEAKER_02And I left and it was there. And I always tell this story at Alabama State University. I found my why. I always knew like I was interested in politics. I always wanted to make a change and a difference. I mean, I grew up in church. That's another piece that's extremely important. Okay. Uh, church, um it was just it's it's a part of my being. Um, and and it was there I learned the importance of community giving back, the idea of servant leadership. Um and and and and always giving back to the community in which you grew up that helped to shape you, and all of that. So Alabama State, I became all the things, pledged in a fraternity, joined the NAACP, and I was this and that and all of that in a bag of chips right on campus.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02Um and worked for uh state representative there in the Alabama state legislature, John F. Knight. We affectionately called him JFK, black guy.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02And he was the first African American to serve as chair of the appropriations committee. They called it the Ways and Means Committee. And anyway, it was at that time I'm like, oh my God, I want to be that guy. Like he's helping these these school districts. He's he's the vice president right there at our alma mater, Alabama State University. He's like doing all the things I thought was so cool, but it was impactful.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And so it was there. I found my my additional why.
SPEAKER_04Did he kind of act as like your mentor?
SPEAKER_02He did in many ways. In many ways, also. We do to this day. Oh, uh he's like in his 80s now, uh still doing great work there in Montgomery, Alabama. Uh, but one of the highlights of my career there in Alabama as a student, um, I had the distinct pleasure of serving as a pallbearer for Mrs. Rosa Parks. And it was because I was the president of the state youth and college division of the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. And Ms. Rosa Parks, she didn't have she didn't have any family, and she didn't have any immediate family. Uh and so her entire trust was entrusted to the NAACP and the youth and college division. They gave me an AMX and said, You and your group, you all need to plan this funeral. And we were like, huh? What do you mean? Like we're college students. What do you mean? That's crazy. But I I it was there I met George Bush, Martin Luther King III, Condoleezza Rice, uh uh L. Sharpton, the big L. Sharpton. The big L. Sharpton, not the not MSMB, C, but like Reverend L. Sharpton, Jesse Jackson. I mean, you go down the list of civil rights leaders. We were there sitting in the mist, you know, talking about intergenerational leadership and the importance of passing the baton and ultimately the impact. Oh my God.
SPEAKER_04Like, how do you top that?
SPEAKER_02You can't. I mean, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, like all of these people who have since, you know, passed on, and their children are now carrying the baton. Um but it's those types of opportunities that I was afforded, and I'll never forget it, right? And so return home, I'm back in Connecticut, and I'm like, what in the world am I gonna do with my life? And what prompted the move, because I plan on being in the South rest of my life. Like I'm like, this is easy living, it's nice, the people are nice. You had connections, connections, racism is very upfront and in your face, whereas here in Connecticut is a little different. But um I just loved it. My father passes away. My grandmother passes away, right? So like it was like, hey, we need you to come back home. And so I made it back home and uh I've always wanted to be mayor in the city of Hartford. I always wanted to run for office, um, and I just jumped in. I put on my organizing hat and I just started to get back involved at my home church, um, my fraternity. So while I pledged on a college campus, we have what we call alumni chapters. And so I quickly joined the adult chapter of my fraternity, where you have a group of men who just basically give back. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_04And so I was able to start the positive side of fraternities. It is less of the like drinking out of dirty shoes and yes.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Yes.
SPEAKER_04And more of the like the what it is intended.
SPEAKER_02Exactly, exactly. And I am proud to say that I did not have to experience any of that. No hazing. Uh no.
SPEAKER_04Or are you sworn to secrecy?
SPEAKER_02Uh we are a non-hazen organization. Did you have a secret handshake? Uh we do have a secret handshake.
SPEAKER_04Can I know it?
unknownNo. No.
SPEAKER_02But we can invite you to one of our mini mixers we have.
SPEAKER_04Listen, I'm fun at a party. So I think I should be there. I'll be friends with all the frat boys.
SPEAKER_02Wait, did you pledge in a sorority?
SPEAKER_04No, I went to five different undergrads. I bounced around quite a bit. I'm a Sagittarius through and through. Wait a minute. Let me sip this tea here. Yeah, no, I I only went to one place for my MBA. Really? So, but when I was in college, I was. Were you a military kid? No, I'm just a Sagittarius with a heart of gold. Hmm. No, to be fair, I was always like following a boy.
SPEAKER_02Well, clearly you found someone that you can follow. Because I met a really nice one.
SPEAKER_04No, nobody follows me. Oh. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So as my daughter would do, is it this? Oh, yes. Oh, I'd get home with your daughters.
SPEAKER_04That's the T. That's the T. Um. But no, yeah, no. When I was when I was younger, I just didn't I didn't know what I wanted to do. So I was like in elementary education, and then I was in the U.S.
SPEAKER_02You give me teacher vibes.
SPEAKER_04I love I'm actually launching a marketing like school online.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_04And I because I spoke on the panel for content made for Connecticut about influencer marketing, and there was such a need for it that I decided to make an online platform where I have like modules and people can go in.
SPEAKER_02So you're just this serial entrepreneur.
SPEAKER_04Serial entrepreneur through and through. I get that from my dad. Absolutely. Um so that's really cool. I'm we're happy to have you back. I think that Alabama would have loved to have you there, but I think Connecticut's benefiting.
SPEAKER_02I think so too. Quite a bit. And I still I still go back. I go back to Alabama State University. I have a scholarship uh in my name there where my goal is to get as many Connecticut high schoolers to attend Alabama State University. Uh and oftentimes in our I'll just say our circles, we tend to promote the very few schools we think all black kids should go to. The Howards of the World, the Morehouse, the Clark Atlanta, you name it perpetuating like racism and HBCUs, and those HBCUs, my dear friends out there, I'm a proud supporter. However, I wanted to really uplift and and promote Alabama State University for all it's worth right there seated in Montgomery, Alabama. So I still do that. Um and I'm just really I'm I'm proud of having had the opportunity to go to college. Uh and if I if I can be real with you, I um this is unfiltered, right? Absolutely. I I knew I was always destined to go to college and to have a really great career. But there was always this this silent yet loud noise from our community where they told you, because you come from a particular side of town, you will not make it. Right? And so always having to counter those negative voices and actually being surrounded by a loving mother, father, you know, all these mentors that she put me around, um speaking the total opposite in that yes, you can go to college or go straight to work, whatever you want. But don't put a cap on your success, right? And so looking back, I'm like, wow.
SPEAKER_04I mean, it's it's almost like it's so so I'm I'm very empathetic to people, but there's and like I just as an in general I'm an empath. Like I feel things so deeply, and I don't need to be in someone's shoes to feel for them. But it's like a totally different mindset that I can't truly grasp because as like a white woman, I was always told like growing up in a pretty affluent home. I was always told you can do anything. You have to go to college. These are the colleges you can go to. If you want others, here are more.
SPEAKER_01And so he in like Sorry, that's State of Connecticut emails.
SPEAKER_04It's so much more impressive and admirable to me to hear someone from the perspective of my community didn't really think I could because or not necessarily didn't think I could, but the people that were set up.
SPEAKER_02It's not the entire community. It's almost like, and even if I can clarify a bit, it's almost like you have your community that's telling you you will be somebody. Yeah. You will do something. But when you look on the news, the statistics. Yeah, or something. Yeah, that's more what I meant. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, no, you can't. No, you can't. And here's why. Because you come from this neighborhood where they shoot and crime is here. And it's like, but why?
SPEAKER_04Right. Right. So And I love that. I love that you were like, I'm gonna ignore this voice.
SPEAKER_02That's right.
SPEAKER_04And I'm gonna go for what I truly feel, what my loving parents are encouraging me to do, what my actual community is encouraging me to do. And I think that that is a really good message that more young men and women in your shoes, maybe in those areas, need to hear and know that they can and to not look at the statistics. Nope. Because they need to be changed.
SPEAKER_02Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Which is why my church, my fraternity, my civic engagement, and even the work that I'm doing now is really important to me, right? I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have those mentors who and I have a lot of them. Yeah. I need a mentor, a marriage, mentor for finances, for dieting, for exercise. I need mentors. And I am never in a position where I just got it all together, right? Does anybody No, some people think they do. So I'm like, you need a therapist.
SPEAKER_04Those are the people that are like need to benefit the most from a therapist.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. And so I I I just I I love to pour myself out in terms of like what I have and my access. Can I grab someone and bring them along with me? Um, has always been part of my story.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I don't know why some days. You know, like why are you going above and beyond for these people? You know? Because it's your calling. I know.
SPEAKER_04It's your calling. And it's gotten you where you are today. It's gotten you in the doors, it's gotten you with the mentors that you do have.
SPEAKER_02Indeed. And it's my currency, honestly.
SPEAKER_04Think about how many people who you've come across as well and that you've inspired to pursue something that they didn't think that they could. So that's your why.
SPEAKER_02That's powerful.
SPEAKER_04Um you are younger than a lot of people in leadership roles in Connecticut. Do you get do you ever have to like feel like you need to defend your position, so to speak? Or do you get taken seriously in rooms?
SPEAKER_02So I remember I was I was first elected in 2012. I was born in 2013. And there was a lot of stories of it that led up to that. But I remember my first day.
SPEAKER_04And this is for the state representative.
SPEAKER_02State representative, thank you. State representative. Um I'm walking into the chamber, and as you can imagine, it's very white, older white men, um state trooper. Excuse me, excuse me. Uh no, no, no. This is just for the elected to come into this door.
SPEAKER_04And I'm like, I say loud. I'm like, excuse me. Are you supposed to be here, sir?
SPEAKER_02So I I didn't, I didn't I didn't give them any sass, although I did, but I'm just like, oh no, no, no, no, I'm Representative McGee. And so, you know, my first year, I was always, you know, having to defend my title, who I am, and and and quite frankly, like why I'm here. Um every room I would show up in, uh yes, I was the youngest, uh, I was the darkest. Uh and you were the best dress. Indeed. Um and also coming with new ideas, but also lifting up the voices of many communities, i.e., my community. Uh while there were while I had predecessors who did a human's work carrying that baton, raising the profile of our community, I wanted to push the needle a bit further to talk about systemic challenges. Not just saying, oh, you're racist, you're racist. No, no, no, no, no. Let's talk about the system that's not been able to help people, right? And so being in those spaces, you know, folks will almost look like, well, who is this guy? You did you just how much time did you spend here to talk? You know, it's almost like just sit at the table and wait your time, right? And so I always I I've I've always grappled with that. And you asked me a question, are you a millennial? I always felt like I've been a bridge.
SPEAKER_04I mean, uh technically, 42 you are.
SPEAKER_02Like, I don't know where I've always been in a place where I I I fit in a little bit, but I don't, but it's like I'm over here, but don't really understand that group. So I'm like in this weird space. It's always been that. Even in my friend group, like I have 60 plus year old friends and 22 year old friends. And it's like, damn, y'all go in all night. I can't do this. I am tired. 62, you're it's too early to go in. Like So yes, I've always had to defend but show up, right? When I wanted to wear the sneakers, nah, Brandon, you can't. You you you you you gotta pull yourself together. Um uh and so there were things that I've always had to overthink, over plan, just to be ready, you know, for the conversation. Given the spaces that, you know, I was I was walking into. And that was okay because from my perspective, par for the course, right? Just being ready.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um and yes, I do come from a place where I do have to work nine times harder than my counterparts. And it sucks.
SPEAKER_04It's just unfair. Yeah. But it's so important to have someone like you in there because it is almost like like a gateway drug. Like you're like, look at this cool, black, proud, educated man who's making things happen. Yes. And they're like, we need more of this. Yes. Bring them in. Yes. And so I feel like when white people, especially older white people, hear the word racism, they their defenses immediately go up. You almost need to like Oreo it. You know what I mean? When it's like a compliment sandwich, it's like so good. But this is what's wrong. But this is also really good.
SPEAKER_02Yes. I I have a story for you. So at the height of the pandemic, um there was a lot of debate around police accountability. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Oh yeah. And in the legislature, I was I had just become the chair of the black and Puerto Rican legislative caucus. In layman's term, I was the chair of the black and Puerto Ricans. But we were the largest voting block. So we came with a lot of influence and power and all that. And so we're debating the police accountability bill. And as you can imagine, we were all in our little safe spaces. Republicans here, Democrats here, and then maybe a few in the middle. There was a time in which we weren't even talking to each other. That's how bad it was.
unknownRight?
SPEAKER_02Nothing's getting done if you're not talking to each other. Nothing. Nothing. Okay? It was almost like if you looked at me wrong, I might scream racism. The temperature was hot in the geopolitical space at that time. Donald Trump was president. Right. Right?
SPEAKER_04So innately everything.
SPEAKER_02Everything was heightened.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_02And so the speaker then, speaker Ritter, Matthew Ritter from Hartford, he pulled me aside. And this is a true story. He said, look, we're getting ready to go into this heavily heated debate in which you will be a part of this debate because I was chair of the Black and Latino caucus and I had to debate the bill. He says, But I'd like for you to have a conversation with the Republican Party, and you're the only person I think that can do that. And I looked at him. I said, What do you mean by that? He was like, yo, B, like I just think he couldn't explain the it, but I think there is something about your delivery and being able to sit and listen, but also respectfully push back on some narratives that are just untrue. And perhaps you can be the one to educate people who don't look like you why this bill is important. And I was like, okay. Because I had to compartmentalize my own emotional just response to what was happening, right? And it and these are not isolated situations. This is like ongoing years before I was born.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Right? So I went in, I went in, long story short, I went into that conversation and I was able to have those conversations with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. And my point in all of this is that when are we ever going to identify some people who can actually step back? You can still be who you are.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You can still be who you are, believe in what you believe in, but at what point do we actually just have the conversation? Let's just have it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. It's hard because we've lost the respect for people.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah. There's no humanity. It's like we're good. It's like uh you have an R on your face or a D, I don't want to talk to you. It's like, really?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And the only way to change like ass backwards thoughts is by education. And that education's not going to happen without the conversation.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So my naivete thinking that everybody will actually come together and we're going to sing, we shall overcome, and all that good stuff, right? It may not ever happen in our lifetime. And so I had to quickly figure out what lane I can play for the rest of my life in terms of helping to move conversations forward, create opportunity within spaces where there aren't any equity, right? Right. And bringing like-minded humans, whether we agree to disagree, but bringing us together to have some of these conversations to advance progress in communities throughout the state of Connecticut. That's what I'm committing myself to. So I may not be able to change the entire system, but perhaps there is a group that I can coalesce, we can all work together to see some real impact. And that's that's just where I am.
SPEAKER_04And then that led you to running for mayor.
SPEAKER_02So what led me to it's so it's a little, ooh, this is juicy.
SPEAKER_04You know I'm having Luke Bronan on the podcast too.
SPEAKER_02Tell him, tell him that his boy talked about him.
SPEAKER_04Should we have a brawl? Should we have a debate? We do a debate and ask the magic AP.
SPEAKER_02Should Brandon McGee have won that election?
SPEAKER_04Ooh. Nothing came up. It says uh come back later.
SPEAKER_02Come back later. Um No, so what led me to run, I I my campaign was really simple. Um I I've always been a little disgruntled with our political leadership in the city of Hartford, in that we always we tend to look out to bring people in to speak to our challenges and our opportunities that the very leaders that you've homegrown are saying, Hey, do you want to be a part of it? Yeah. You don't give us an opportunity. I was unique in that I had already served in the legislature three terms, you know, prior to my last term running for mayor. Now, there are a lot of things that come along with that fundraising, relationships, all of the things, right? And to Luke Bronan's credit, you know, he had worked at uh with Daniel Malloy, our then governor as general counsel, and you know, just doing some really, really unique and cool things.
SPEAKER_04Um Well, that's not to say you weren't either.
SPEAKER_02Exactly, right? And so my whole thing.
SPEAKER_04I mean, he wasn't in Rosa Parks.
SPEAKER_02But he he would he would drop the mic on, but I did work for Barack Obama. That's true, so I'm like, all right, boy, whatever.
SPEAKER_04Two impressive men. Two impressive men.
SPEAKER_02So he and I So basically, my my argument to the voters was, you know, while we appreciate the development of our downtown communities, I would like to raise the profile of our neighborhoods that can feed into our downtown. We must make investments into our neighborhoods. We've got to tackle the lack of housing, we've got to tackle job opportunities within our neighborhoods, the crime that persists. Yeah. And we also need to figure out the poverty in the city of Hartford that's pervasive. And there is a way. Now we may not eradicate poverty, but we've got to begin talking about that. And also our education system. So very hyper-local. Um and my run, um, I would do it all over again. I'm proud of what uh I was able to accomplish. Um and I didn't view it as a loss. I really, I mean, then when I did, I lost the night, I was just like, what the f you know, like what is going on here? Um but the stakes were really high. So you had the sitting mayor, Luke Bronan, you had a former mayor, Eddie Perez, um, I forget whoever the fourth person was, not important. Um, and myself, right? And so it is what it is, but it created so many other opportunities for me outside of the city of Hartford, of which I've never left and I'm still very much committed to. Um but what helped me was me realizing you can't be upset about this one loss. Because we'll always have wins and we'll have some losses. Absolutely. And my mentor said, if you sit on the sideline because you're pissed off because you lost an election, shame on you, you little spoiled brat. Get back to work, you call Luke Bronin, you you you congratulate him, and you all hold hands and y'all help this city.
SPEAKER_04Amazing.
SPEAKER_02And that's exactly what I did. It was a really tough pill to swallow, but I did not allow for the politics to get in the way of the overall progress that we needed to make in the city of Hartford. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Because Hartford would have taken a big loss if it didn't have you still advocating after the loss. Would you run again?
SPEAKER_02Um It's not it's not out of the question. Um I may have my eyes on a higher seat. Okay. And that's the first time I'm saying that publicly here. Okay.
SPEAKER_04So this is an exclusive, a Connecticut unfiltered exclusive.
SPEAKER_02Indeed. Um But I I still feel young and like I have something to offer. And being a little older, a little bit of silver in the girl in the beard here, um, lived experience, life, I think I have I have some something more to offer uh with respect to uh communities of color not limited to, but in particular throughout the state of Connecticut.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. Um do you feel like some of the platform that you ran on still got done with the mayors that came after? Do you need some bourbon in that tea?
SPEAKER_02Um yes. I I um I take it as a compliment. It was almost as if it was a copy and paste of of my plan in terms of tackling housing, jobs, the business community.
SPEAKER_04Um Were you consulting on it?
SPEAKER_02Uh I was in May Arun in Aroulam his run. Uh I sat on his transition committee. Um Luke and I had a lot of conversation. Uh during that time, I think I had transitioned during my last term in the legislature. I became I ran Ned Lamont's second gubernatorial uh race and I became deputy commissioner for the State Department of Housing. And um it was that time Luke and I really locked we locked in and we were able to bring a lot of money back to the city of Hartford, um, addressed a lot of her um housing concerns. Uh and so use utilizing my platform really helped the city of Hartford and also a platform that I ran on. And so it it just it felt good. Yeah. It was the right thing to do. Um and then full disclaimer, not just the city of Hartford folks, it was the entire state. Um but nonetheless our capital city benefited from me being in the Department of Housing.
SPEAKER_04Aaron Ross Powell I think ultimately having people in politics that have a strong moral compass is important and kind of rare.
SPEAKER_02If you don't have it, I don't know how people don't have it. You cannot work in this and not money, power?
SPEAKER_04Like what do you mean?
SPEAKER_02You don't make money in this. I mean, okay. You can't you can. Yeah. Right? Maybe post. Yeah. But like when you're in it, uh Yeah. Uh unless you're doing something yucky. Yeah. And and that, from my perspective, I don't want to embarrass my girls. That includes my wife and my two girls. Like, it's just why.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Like Do your daughters, how how old are your daughters?
SPEAKER_02Um two two girls. So I have uh silver, not the color, but S-Y-L-V-E-R. Ooh, lovely. Which is my wife's maiden name. She's eight. And Bailey, uh she's six.
SPEAKER_04Named after the liqueur. Mike girl.
SPEAKER_02And she has a spicy little tooth, but yeah.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I love it. I got a six-year-old too, who's spicy as heck.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04So I'm learning how to just girl dads are a different breed.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Like you gotta be tough, but also very soft. Soft at the same time, understanding and tough skin, soft heart is what I call it. And how you treat your wife will be like a direct like what did uh Reese Witherspoon, I think, think said this on Armchair Expert. It said that men, fathers write with Sharpie on their daughters' brains. Like it stays forever. Wow. With what how they talk to their mother and how they talk to them. Whereas like what mom says might be a dryer erase marker.
SPEAKER_02But it really is. What do you say? I was I was wrong yesterday on my uh mom's birthday. Uh her birthday is April 27th, right? Okay. And so I'm taking the kids to school and they're like, yeah, Nana's birthday is coming up. And I'm like, yeah, it's on Sunday, April 27th. The six-year-old, no daddy, the 27th is not on a Sunday. It's a Monday, definitely. And I'm like, no, it is Sunday. And so anyway, they go by, and I'm like, I call my mom because she does aftercare, and I'm like, hey, you got the girls with you, don't you? I'm like, can you pick up the phone and uh just let me talk to Bailey? I need to let her know that she was in fact correct. Daddy was wrong.
SPEAKER_04I love that.
SPEAKER_02And so here's my oldest told my mom, Daddy is always right. And the 27th is on Sunday, and I'm like, oh God, I'm wrong. But you're right though. Very, very like whatever dad says, how he says it, it has a great impact.
SPEAKER_04Admitting when I mean this is for any parent, but admitting when you're wrong to your kids and apologizing to your kids are like the.
SPEAKER_02I was in a meeting, by the way. Texting, and I walked away from that meeting because I was like, I gotta do it right now, because if I don't, I'm gonna forget. And I need those girls to know that they were right and I was wrong.
SPEAKER_04So Do you have ADHD?
SPEAKER_02A lot.
SPEAKER_04Really?
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. I still comment. Nobody ever told me, but I'm like, I think so. I don't know.
SPEAKER_04I mean, that's my special sauce, my gift. It's there is a book about how it's a superpower that my sister read because her son is pretty severely ADHD. Got it. But it can be, it's a superpower.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um, I mean, like anything. I'm I'm pretty OCD with things, and I consider that my superpower because I will while the intrusive thoughts and like the catastrophizing is not fun. I know the ability to like hyperfix it on something, like I will have an idea and I cannot stop until it's done.
SPEAKER_02That's me. That's me. It's almost like as small as um the dishes. So yeah, we have a dishwasher, but I don't like the dishwasher. My wife does. Okay. But I also don't like a sink with dishes in it. Okay. I cannot go to sleep until the kitchen is clean. All right, gotta invite you over. Whereas the other person, she's like, oh, we'll get to it, Tamara. And I'm like, I need to make sure this is clean. I don't care if it's 12 o'clock at midnight or six o'clock in the evening. We need to make sure it's clean.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Listen. I'm that guy. We love that guy.
SPEAKER_02I mean, definitely our moms, I don't I can't speak for your mom, but my mom in-house, my dad would always do things on the outside.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. But it's also almost like we were forced into it too, because it's almost not sustainable to have a one-income household anymore. Like both parents kind of need to be working. So it's while I might want to be home with my kids.
SPEAKER_02I would love to. But then again, you gotta make money. No, I don't want to be home. I want those girls would drive me crazy.
SPEAKER_04I know. I'm like, Daddy, daddy, daddy, can you do this? I'm like, God, they're so funny though. Like this this age, like six is pretty funny because they're starting, they're like, I don't know about I mean you said she's a little spicy. Like it's kind of like a teenager. Yes. I was in Aruba. I'll tell you a quick story. I was in Aruba last week for vacation with the kids and Maisie, and it was all inclusive. So my six-year-old, her name is Maisie Moon. Oh. And yeah, talk about cool names. We got some cool named kids, but um, so she is loving that she can go up and order her daiquires. She tried to order a margarita, like I gave her like a look. Um, but she she's ordering her drinks. We're going through like this like buffet thing. I order a steak and I say, I'll have the steak medium. And then I'm looking at her like if she wants me to order for her. She's like, I got this. And then she goes up and she goes, I'll have a steak large. I'm loving. Confident. I'm confident. And I was just like, you go girl. Oh my god. And I'm like, just make it medium. She's like large. I'll have a steak, I'll have a steak large. Cracked me up. It's too cute. Yeah, it's really cute.
SPEAKER_01Super cute.
SPEAKER_04Um, we are gonna take a quick break and hear from our sponsors. And when we get back, we're gonna talk about where you are now with the CEO of the Social Equity Council and uh talk more about Brandon McGee. 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 spot 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. Welcome back to the podcast. We are going to be talking more with Brandon McGee, and we are going to jump into social equity and what that exactly means. So, social equity, it's like kind of like a broad term. It is. Right? And upon doing research, it's this is this is my interpretation of it. And tell me, and tell me if, and at least for the council, and tell me if you think that I have a good understanding. So all of the money that Connecticut makes from taxes on cannabis, you distribute to municipalities who are most heavily affected from the war on drugs.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_04And but it doesn't have to be cannabis related. You might be working on housing, you might be working on daycares.
SPEAKER_02You got it.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_02You got it.
SPEAKER_04Like Am I a politician?
SPEAKER_02Yes. I I would just add to it. Please. Um we're also creating opportunity within the industry for individuals who wish to start their own business. We provide access to capital, the training on how to stand up a cannabis business, um, the regulation, the zoning, all of that. And also training of a workforce who might be interested in working at a dispensary or cultivation. Um there may be people who are not interested, to your earlier point around economic development, they may not want to work. They may want to work at a daycare, but they need the certification, right? And so we are in the business of facilitating those scalable opportunities, providing financial uh dollars to organizations who are currently doing that work. So we create the framework, we distribute the funds, and we work alongside our partners to make that possible in places like the ones you mentioned, hardest hit by the war on drugs. We refer to them as disproportionately impacted communities or areas of DIAs.
SPEAKER_04Does that also include like helping people who may have been incarcerated from marijuana before it was legalized?
SPEAKER_02Yes, ma'am. So as a part of our data points uh within the metric, we look at poverty, we look at unemployment, we look at conviction rates, um just to name a few that help to determine which of these cities and towns might identify as a CIA, right? And that's how we're able to articulate our investments. But just to back up a little bit, the council was created in 2021 as a result of the police accountability bill that I talked about earlier. One of the major components of the bill uh was creating this form of the scary word that I'm about to say, reparation, you know, for communities throughout the state. And I wasn't always on the same page of legalizing adult use cannabis. I came from uh a heavy church background. Naturally, black and brown people are conservative on a lot of issues. Okay. Now, while we have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, and we can talk about the Reagan era, we can talk about all the policies that basically was designed to target a certain group of people, we can get into all of that. But usually for the most part, black and brown people are conservative when it comes to these types of policy points. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_04And it's interesting because you would think the opposite.
SPEAKER_02Nope.
unknownNope.
SPEAKER_02Now we're not a monolith. Right. Right. So there may be more people saying no, we're good with it than those who are like, eh, I don't really want to be a part of that debate.
SPEAKER_04But uh do you think that they don't want to be a part of it because of like fear?
SPEAKER_02Um it's many different things. You know, it's like, oh, but we're Christian and we shouldn't, or uh isn't that a drug? You know, can I still get a job? Yeah.
SPEAKER_04You know, so I mean, some of you can't.
SPEAKER_02You can't. Right, right. Yeah. Right. So we've decriminalized cannabis, but we've not made it's not mainstream. It's still not federally recognized, although I did see something just recently. Like yesterday. Yeah, no, I saw that too. So, but we're designed. We were designed to respond to the legalization of adult use cannabis. So our thing was, sure, let's legalize it because it because the train is going to leave the station and there's gonna be a lot of money made. Right. And so we want our communities to benefit from the revenue. And so, in order to do so, we need to create some sort of a program uh that will be central uh to the distribution of these funds and the standing up of these businesses. We just don't want a bunch of dispensaries just popping up. Right. Right. So, so we said, let's create this council. And I was still in the legislature when this happened. So my whole journey getting to where I am today is like full circle. It's crazy. I wake up every day like, oh my God, I am doing the work that I helped to pass in the legislature. You don't think about, oh, one day I'm gonna work at this. Yeah. No, like it's a policy. You want to see it implemented in the world. Well, I don't know.
SPEAKER_04You grew up thinking that you were gonna be the first black president. So maybe you were manifesting. I was doing something. You're manifesting.
SPEAKER_02So we we focus on uh three three areas community reinvestment, which is our chief program, um, social equity entrepreneurial support. So we provide resources to businesses and business owners and folks who think they are business owners.
SPEAKER_04Are these like grants and stuff too?
SPEAKER_02Loans, grants, training programs.
SPEAKER_04How can people find out about it?
SPEAKER_02Um they can go to the website, they can go to I know, right? You should. Uh they can go to our website, Social Equity Council, just type that in, it'll come up. Okay. Um we have our workforce development where we're working with these businesses who are required to provide access to employment for those or to those disproportionately impacted area residents. So anybody who is from a particular neighborhood and there is a dispensary within their application process, they have to articulate to the Social Equity Council we're committing X amount of jobs for this community and for those individuals to apply. Um that's the workforce development piece. And then we have an educational opportunities arm where we're offering scholarships to attend, for example, the Connecticut College system. If anybody is interested in pursuing a career in the cannabis space, there are certifications available and we want to help you get there. That's a good idea. And so we have like these virtual classes, non-accredited uh virtual classes. They're they're ongoing, so you can kind of plug in when you have time and you complete the course, but we're paying for that. And at the end, you'll have an opportunity to identify a job within the industry, obviously, if one is available, but that's our goal. Workforce, go right into the code. Creating jobs. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's really cool too because this Social Equity Council has created a system that even people who don't partake benefit from it.
SPEAKER_02Aaron Powell Yeah. Because I mean, shame on us if we assume because you're from Hartford, you know, and you're a DIA resident, you just want to go in the cannabis industry. Right. What if that was the very drug that put you in jail for 30 years? What makes you think you want to come back out and go back into that same industry?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Right. And then conversely, there are young people who have never been to jail. They're growing up and they want to remain in their community. Why can't we create opportunities for those young professionals who may not be interested in cannabis, but interested in something else to help reimagine their communities?
SPEAKER_04It's it's I mean, it's it's brilliant.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Are other states doing this? Is this unique to Connecticut?
SPEAKER_02We're a unicorn in that we have invested a lot of money thanks to Governor Lamont, the state legislature. There was some seed funding of $50 million to stand up this organization. Uh and nowhere else in the well, maybe Maryland, they did a great job standing up their program. But nowhere else are they a line item in the budget. Nowhere else will there be a cap at 75% of the overall total revenue coming in from cannabis going directly to social equity programs like here in Connecticut. Uh so we're committed. We're definitely committed. Now, if you do a little Google, several years back, this place was in turmoil. It was it was not in a good place because there was no framework, there was no understanding how do you measure success? You're saying you're putting all this money out, but we've not seen anything. What's going on, right? So we've since turned the page on that. Um, but it's a lot of show and tell. But my commitment has always been in order to show impact, you've got to work alongside the people who are closest to the challenges in their community, right? And so that's what we've been doing and partnering with those trusted community messengers who are already doing the work. Right. So we want scalable opportunity. I want to come in, I want to work with, for example, ex uh nonprofit that's providing re-entry services. We don't want to come in and recreate another program. Right. That's not we're not in the business of doing that. Yeah. But here's our framework, here's our metric, we want to partner with you so that we can get more folks who are re-entering our community. We want to provide a holistic resources and support to them.
SPEAKER_04Do you find that more people are coming to you and and the and the council to ask for your services, or are you seeking out both both and because naturally, having served in the legislature, there are a lot of relationships across the state that I have.
SPEAKER_02So now it's like, yo, B, what y'all doing over there? We need some help in our community, you know, and I'm having to kind of, you know, hey, we're coming.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But here's how you can access these funds, right? We're not just making it rain on all of the problems throughout the state. It would be nice. It would be nice, but it's definitely not realistic. And it wouldn't be smart of us if we're saying we want to see impact in these communities, we want to see some change. Well, it needs it needs to be focused, intentional, we need to be able to measure uh success. Uh we need to be able to pivot if we have to. Uh so over the next three years, we're investing $36 million in 10 communities throughout the state of Connecticut, where we're focusing on three very specific programs, uh, priorities, re-entry, youth initiatives, that's um both well, re-entry, justice-impacted youth and adults, youth initiatives, and workforce development. So organizations who uh draft their proposals that support those priority areas would have the opportunity to be funded.
SPEAKER_04Aaron Powell When you say youth development, is that like uh schooling and daycare and programs, after school programs? Mentoring programs. Like Coventry and that's I went to their like gala and that like is the first-well Covenant Prep. Covenant. Covenant Prep. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Amazing program, by the way.
SPEAKER_04Aaron Ross Powell So that is kind of how I'm picturing what when you're speaking about like youth programs. Is that kind of on the right?
SPEAKER_02It could be um an after-school book club, it could be a soccer anything that is positive and an opportunity for young people to benefit from. And so my whole argument to all of our partners um is we don't want to overly prescribe what it is we think you all should have in your neighborhood. We're gonna give you the program, priority, what we're measuring, and you need to articulate within your proposal why you should be funded. Like I want you to support your mission. I want you to support what you're doing. Right.
SPEAKER_04But if they don't have a clear path, then how are they gonna allocate the money? So that completely makes sense. Do you already have the 10 communities that you're gonna be in?
SPEAKER_02So we're governed by a 17-member um council, that's our board. Uh so I tend to reference our agency as like a quasi-type of situation in that, yes, we are still a part of the state of Connecticut, um, but we have an off-budget account, real simple. It is our money rolls over, we have a bit more flexibility in how we procure our dot our dollars. Um, but the 17 member body, um, body member, member body, whatever, um, they help to govern all the things that we do. Okay. Right. And so they recently, uh, I want to say in December, approved 10 communities throughout the state. And again, those communities have the highest uh census track that make up the DIA or the disproportionately impacted community. Uh, and we just figure let's start there, and then we can add communities after year three based on all of the analysis, success of the reports that are coming in.
SPEAKER_04Can you name the the ten communities or is that let's see.
SPEAKER_02So we have Hartford, East Hartford, which is one region, Stanford, Waterbury, Danbury, New London, Norwich, Wyndham, um, New Britain, Meriden. Did I say New Haven? I think I did. New Haven. Okay. And I think I'm missing maybe one. But yeah.
SPEAKER_04All right.
SPEAKER_02All right.
SPEAKER_04And how do you how are you actually measuring like the success of it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, we haven't started yet, but we do have a reporting system on the back end and best practices and all the nerdy things. I mean, all of the things that my research team. Yeah, let them handle that. I will let them handle that. But we do on our website though, to your point, there is an area on our website, it's entitled, uh, it's titled Community Reinvestment. And you hit community reinvestment, and it literally breaks down all of our grant managers who help us to distribute these funds. Okay. Um, because it is cannabis dollars. Yeah. And a lot of our CBOs, community-based organizations, receive federal money. And so we don't want to interrupt that because cannabis is not federally recognized. Uh and so you'll see a list of our partners, all of the 10 regions there, frequently asked questions in terms of the reporting, measuring success, working alongside these communities over the next three years, how to apply, when to apply. And the good thing is the notice of funding opportunity has not been posted yet. And so within these ten regions or these communities, folks still have an opportunity to apply.
SPEAKER_04Oh, that's great. Yeah. That's great. If you're in those communities, you better get your shit together. Get it together. But it's actually a really good talking point for your like conservative aunt on Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_02Like if they're like, what's my return on investment?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, right. And you could be like, actually, go to this website, you could see exactly where the bring that up.
SPEAKER_02So CBIA, Connecticut Industry Business Association. Yeah, yeah. Great friends. Um and as a matter of fact, Chris DiPatima, he's one of our co-chairs on our uh working group around market, market industry, but non-cannabis. Because my goal is while you represent the larger industry, there's a space for my friends, my colleagues to serve within this larger ecosystem of workforce throughout Connecticut. Um, some of your members are backers to many of our businesses. And so there are ancillary type of jobs, whether it's electrical uh or the little mini devices used, you know, in the in in the manufacturing facilities. Let's have these conversations. Let's talk about the investments and the money that can be made. And so Chris and his folks have been extremely engaged in a lot of our work. Um and likewise Metro Hartford Alliance. Like they've been a part of the conversation, and so it's super cool.
SPEAKER_04It is really cool. And in that regard, I feel like Connecticut is like ahead of the curb. Yeah, we're like we're a little behind in some things.
SPEAKER_02We're a we're behind on a lot of things, but yeah, we're ahead.
SPEAKER_04Um so you're drinking the tea, but I'm gonna ask for the tea. Yes. Because you weren't the first person in this position.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_04There was somebody else and there was like a little bit of controversy. Yeah. I've read some things. I've read some things. Um I don't know how true all of it is. I mean, I heard that there was maybe money being misallocated, like asking for donations to like a church. I don't know. Yeah. So what was the reason why the person before you, did they resign or did they?
SPEAKER_02You know, I um I I I knew uh my predecessor, um, knew her very well, uh, extremely gifted uh in in her space within community development, worked for the state many years, did a lot of great work. Um my assumption outside looking in uh is that standing up a new business is hard in and of itself.
SPEAKER_04Aaron Ross Powell And that is the Social Equity Council.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Introduce the Social Equity Council a new business in state government, and then you add on the social equity component, the political piece. That's some hard work if if you don't fully understand all of the complexities that this work standing up a new business actually comes with, right? So I think there were some challenges there, um, standing up the business. Um I think the other challenge, uh now that I'm in the seat, lacked framework, best practices, socializing a lot of ideas so that everybody can be on the same page. So there were a lot of, I think, missed opportunities.
SPEAKER_04Um but you don't feel like any of it was malicious.
SPEAKER_02I don't believe any of it was malicious at all. Um I mean, we've since gone through audits and investigations, and so I came in in the in the gutter, in the thick of it. Right. Right. And so um there was a lot of I think because of the lack of systems, policies, and procedures that just yield itself, yielded itself to a lot of assumptions being made about how dollars were spent because of the lack of gossip. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Your girl included.
SPEAKER_02But but but it's there there's always truth, right? So there was distribution of funds to organizations and no shade to any nonprofit that received funds from the SEC three years ago, right? They did what they had to do. Right. They fundraise, they put that money on the street to support their programs. Okay. Period. Hard stop. Okay. Right. But there was no accountability on the SEC side.
SPEAKER_04It just needed more organization is what we're doing. All of it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. All of it. When you're talking about millions of dollars within a program that already had a rough start. Right. And we're talking about cannabis.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's like a touchy subject.
SPEAKER_02It's a touchy subject if you don't have your together. Yeah. Right? And so a lot of that at play and it and thus the result. And I'm here today.
SPEAKER_04So it was very messy when you got it. So you're like me. We like things a little messy. I do. I do. Do you thrive in the chaos?
SPEAKER_02I do actually. I do. I I didn't realize that until maybe over the last decade. Like I start twiddling my fingers when I'm like, wait, I ain't got nothing else to fix.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you're like, it what did I hear? I heard that if if things are like too calm, you're like, what did I forget? Yes. I am missing something. I should be.
SPEAKER_02I forgot all the things. And I'm like, yep, that's what I'm saying. Oh yeah, that's why that was calm. But yeah, it was it was messy. It was it was really messy. And and I mean, that's on top of current investigations around, you know, dollars being spent by local nonprofits. It's just a lot, right? And so my wisdom and lived experiences had to quickly come in and really stabilize the organization. That was re-establishing a relationship with our board members who felt like they weren't a part of the conversation, getting Governor Lamont, who's my boss, like helping him to understand the program is good. We just need to organize a little bit. Give me give me some time. Yeah. I'm gonna fix it and we can keep it moving.
SPEAKER_04So, how long do you feel like it took you to get like a well-oiled machine? Sure. Or is it like still ongoing?
SPEAKER_02No, no. We let me tell you something. When I got in in 24, my first order of business, I had to conduct a three-year strategic plan. And I had to do it in less than six months.
SPEAKER_04Fun.
SPEAKER_02But I did it.
SPEAKER_04Of course you did.
SPEAKER_02I did it. And that plan, we're now implementing phases of it now. Um so I would say it took a better part of a year and maybe five months just to get us at a a place where we can now build. But we're talking not just community dollars, you're talking about individuals who started a business three years ago and still waiting on the Social Equity Council to help them. Oh, okay. So I'm having to build, I have one wing, we still trying to fly, put that wing back on, get people, coalesce ideas, socialize. All of that is happening at once. Our first legislative uh session, I had to be ready to go, Finn, because they were ready to chop this thing off. Right.
SPEAKER_04You like saved it.
SPEAKER_02So I'm like, what in the hell is going on here? Right. And so I had to go on that campaign to reintroduce alongside my amazing board chair, Andrea Comer, and so many other amazing people, right? Yeah that supported my leadership and my strategies trying to make this thing whole. Uh and and, you know, so far so good. I mean, we're we're building a team. I have an amazing team working with me. Uh, and you know, I I think there's more to come.
SPEAKER_04Aaron Ross Powell And you know, like conversations like this are so important for like the average person here because they're probably one like you hear often like, oh, cannabis is so expensive in Connecticut, go to Massachusetts. But then if you know why it is, the same thing with tax dollars, if you know where your tax dollars are going, like schools, libraries, parks.
SPEAKER_02But you know, that's the debate right now. So the debate right now around cannabis is that our I call them our sister states, sister states, New Jersey, Mass, all of these folks, the potency level higher. The marketing is much better, right? In Connecticut, we have or have adopted in DCP, Department of Consumer Protection, they're the regulators in this space, not the SEC, right? So we own the equity portion, we own that process, the resources that come along. We hang our hat on the reinvestment side. Right. But we work alongside DCP to come up with guidelines and practices and all of that. But in Connecticut, our packaging, black and white, yeah. It's very much the medical. All they did was turn the page and say, okay, adult use cannabis, move forward. So a lot of the businesses, businesses are saying, we're competing with these guys, and our folks are leaving because they just they're not attracted to the marketing. That could be that could be true. Very well true. The potency level, that's another issue.
SPEAKER_04And we have like the potency tax. We do. Which is pretty unique to Connecticut.
SPEAKER_02I don't care. I do. I mean, I I like it, but I also feel for a lot of the businesses because they're paying like four or five different taxes.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And it's a lot.
SPEAKER_04It is a lot. But you know, like I'll probably get some flack for this. I'm not opposed to Connecticut taxes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Because we We really benefit I'm from a state that had lower taxes and shit schools, shit libraries, dirty parks, like a huge homelessness problem.
SPEAKER_02I am not I am I'm okay with the taxes like you. Um thankfully we're in a really good place where we're able to just like not have to worry about a lot, but there are a lot of people who do.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And so one of the recommendations this session was to just create a flat tax so that there's a bit more predictability, the consumer is paying less. Like I I get it. Yeah. It's a great idea. I really do, right? The argument though, not against the tax or the taxes, but against the potency levels and the marketing. The argument has always been, well, what are you doing to prevent our young children, you know, from partaking partaking? Here's where I believe the Social Equity Council should be a part of the conversation.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_02And that is it's not so much the regulated regulated market that we're worried about, it's the illicit market, the black market, where there are so many corner stores, right? And all of these random smoke shops, they have coloring, colorful packaging, Snickers, and Skittles, and they're selling this shit to our kids. And our kids are ingesting this. And it has like CBD and it's an illicit market. It's it's a black market out there, right? And so you don't kill the over over-regulated market because these people have done all the right things. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? Abiding by the law, the rules, and making sure it is safe to ingest. Okay. We need to have those conversations. That's what we're doing. We're trying to center the conversation, talk about the things we need to talk about, but just saying no to sex or drugs back in the day, all you're doing is creating, well, maybe I do want to try it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Right? So we have to have these conversations.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So the vaping is out of control.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Okay. These kids are mixing and doing all of this stuff with cannabis. Okay. So we have to educate our students. And so our working group that I mentioned earlier with CBIA and a few others, they've been able to help us understand where youth are coming from. And so we're in the process of recommending maybe we need a statewide youth-led conversation.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You know, on this to help inform the marketing so that And not in the way that Dare did it.
SPEAKER_04You guys have Dare growing up? Like the that just made me interested. It did. I would see the pictures of like the people being woozy. I'd be like, that looks fun.
SPEAKER_02Or or was it your lung or something they they took a oh uh the egg that was frying, this is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Oh my gosh. You know, like all of the scare tactics. It doesn't work.
SPEAKER_04It doesn't work. No. And the legalization of marijuana only makes it safer. Yes.
SPEAKER_02Yes. And and I mean, I am not suggesting that we promote the cannabis leaf, because you won't find any cannabis leaf on any of our marketing. Because that's not our job. Right. Our job is to ensure that our folks are being supported, that we provide the resources to stand up businesses, we inject capital, and we reinvest dollars. But we're also responsible, Social Equity Council, for these types of conversations and to demystify the boogeyman behind the screen. And it's like, no, let's let's have the conversation, right? So it's it's been it's been interesting to be here going on two years, um, and and just working through working through a lot of the noise, but this is the fun noise. Yeah. Um, really getting to a place where we can have some of those critical and technical conversations. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Very cool. And you know, my first time meeting you, but you seem to be the perfect person for this job.
SPEAKER_01I I'm enjoying it. I don't know how long I'll be here, but I'm I'm enjoying it.
SPEAKER_04Um so I want to pivot a little bit. Speaking of taxes, we're gonna play a little game.
SPEAKER_05Oh God.
SPEAKER_04So I made up this game. It's called Tax or Pass. You made up the game. Yeah. Oh, let's get ready. I love games. I have a board game closet that's like the size of this wall.
SPEAKER_02And can I tell you I don't know how to play games?
SPEAKER_04Oh, well, this is an easy one. Okay. So this is an easy one. It's called Tax or Pass. I'm basically gonna tell you something.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_04And you say whether you think it should be taxed or not. Tax or pass.
SPEAKER_02Let's do it.
SPEAKER_04You could even tell me to what capacity. It could be sales tax, it could be state tax, whatever. Just tax or pass.
SPEAKER_02Will all the taxes come to Social Equity Council?
SPEAKER_04Sure. Sure. All right, you ready? Yep. Homegrown cannabis.
SPEAKER_02Mmm. Wait, what were the choices again? Tax Tax or pass.
SPEAKER_04Like you don't think it should be taxed. Pass, okay. Cannabis startups.
SPEAKER_02Pass.
SPEAKER_04Rent.
SPEAKER_02That's a tough one. Because now I'm overthinking.
SPEAKER_04Just go with your gut.
SPEAKER_02Rent?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Like tax? Okay. The third child.
SPEAKER_02Tax.
SPEAKER_04Tax tax. Tax all. Tax. Uh groceries.
SPEAKER_02Wow. But I f I think about the small business owner.
SPEAKER_04All right, Lynn, groceries from big chains.
SPEAKER_02Tax. Walmart, tax. Target, tax.
SPEAKER_04Parking fees.
SPEAKER_02Pass. Although municipalities benefit from it.
SPEAKER_04Listen, no one said this game was easy. No. Um, an inheritance.
SPEAKER_01Ooh.
SPEAKER_04Tax. Okay. All inheritance, even if it was like a hundred bucks or over a certain amount.
SPEAKER_02I'm not gonna get into it.
SPEAKER_04Political donations.
SPEAKER_02That's a sticky one. But we do pay taxes on it. Well, maybe a fee. For act blue.
SPEAKER_04Tax. Okay. Uh affordable housing.
SPEAKER_02On the development of it?
SPEAKER_04No, on the payment of it, let's say. Like your No.
SPEAKER_02Pass. Okay. That's almost like my rent situation.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, you're right. It kind of goes the same. Um daycare.
SPEAKER_02Tax.
SPEAKER_03Although I hate taxes. Daycare is expensive.
SPEAKER_02It's so expensive. All right, pass. Okay. Yeah. Like that.
SPEAKER_04Men.
SPEAKER_02Pass. Don't tax us.
unknownDon't tax us.
SPEAKER_04Men need a men need a 20% inconvenience fee.
SPEAKER_02We need for women, I will give you 18%. And then also they need to leave a gratuity. Because it's like, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. I like the gratuity. All men should leave gratuity in the presence of women. That was very good. So um I had a a meeting with Anthony before this, actually, and he told me a little a little tidbit.
SPEAKER_01Oh God.
SPEAKER_04I heard that you guys saw Polly Shore once. How was that? How much go go just pretend that that's a glass of bourbon.
SPEAKER_02I don't remember.
unknownI don't remember.
SPEAKER_04That's how much fun. So it was a good time. It was a good time.
SPEAKER_01Oh, Anthony.
SPEAKER_04Listen, listen. Anthony's actually been there for some nights that I don't remember either. So we had a blast. I love that. We really did. He also told me that you were Connecticut's connection to Justin Hayes.
SPEAKER_03Yes. That's really cool.
SPEAKER_04So Justin Hayes is an amazing designer who helped design some of the pieces for the Pizza Nation Capital kind of whole marketing innovation.
SPEAKER_02And so so How do you know him? So from the church community, because he's also a singer and like all of that. But chief among all of it, he is an amazing designer. And so I needed a tuxedo. I needed a bunch of things, right? And he came highly recommended. And um I've been by the hip with Justin. Like all of my clothes, well not not today, but my suits. Like he's the man. And I said, you know, Justin, we need to introduce you to the chief marketing person. We actually, why are you in Springfield?
SPEAKER_04Like Does he live in Connecticut?
SPEAKER_02He's a Springfield guy.
SPEAKER_04Oh, was that Massachusetts?
SPEAKER_02Massachusetts. Okay, okay, okay, sorry. So like still learning New England. But he spends his life in Connecticut. Yeah, so we just gotta move here. I'm like, dude, just move here. Historically, it's so cool. And like, I'm like, you've gotta meet Anthony Anthony, you know, and the rest is is kind of like history here. Um his ability, I mean, he's such he's just an amazing human being. Yeah. But the fact that he's touched this entire world, quite frankly, um it's super dope. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Do you have any of his pieces?
SPEAKER_02I do.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I d uh a lot. I was looking at my my finances, I was like, wait a minute, I spent quite a quite a bit of money. But it was it's all worth it. I mean he just recently did a where you dress. Make sure you dress.
SPEAKER_04I was dressed well. Oh good. I I sat next to him at the uh awards show. I um I am very into fashion. You wouldn't know by what I'm wearing today. But I see the I'm very into um like thrifting and sustainable shopping. That's it. So I like to yep.
SPEAKER_02So him and I have he design has he designed anything for you yet? No. Ooh.
SPEAKER_04He should love that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Would absolutely love that. I like to take like curated pieces and then kind of match them with like modern stuff. Really? Um but I'm an avid thrifter. It like breaks my I mean, I will support small and support local. Sure, sure. But it like breaks my heart to go to like a But you have a creative brain where I am Justin has said it.
SPEAKER_02He's like, you're boring. And I'm like You are not boring. Oh, he says it all the time.
SPEAKER_04He's like First of all, Anthony wouldn't have suggested somebody to come on my podcast if they were boring because they need to be conversationalists.
SPEAKER_02He said, Look at you. You just wear like a shirt and a blue jacket. And I'm like, yes, that's me. That's me. Well my attitude and my personality is enough.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Yeah. Um yeah, I I definitely dress my husband. Oh, good. Because I feel like men's style, it's there's not as many avenues you can go with like women. But I am noticing, are those meta glasses?
SPEAKER_03They are.
SPEAKER_04That is cool. I gotta get me a pair. Oh, I saw the little light flash. Yeah, yeah. That's like inception doing like a picture and a video in the glass. That's cool. Yeah. Um those are do you like them?
SPEAKER_02I love them.
SPEAKER_04Do you get them prescription?
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, I can't see.
SPEAKER_04Oh, so those are prescription- Okay. Yeah, yeah. So you buy the frame and then you get your prescription put in them.
SPEAKER_02Yep. But they send some really, really um quality uh lenses and they're transitional. So like they are really sunglasses. Um you just gotta spend the extra money to put your prescription in them. Uh but I present a lot, and so you can put your presentation in the app, and literally, instead of looking down at an iPad or you know, your notes.
SPEAKER_04It shows it to you. This is stuff that I made up when I was a kid, and like we are in the future. This is the Jet Sens.
SPEAKER_02We're here.
SPEAKER_04That's crazy. I didn't know it did all that.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_04My mind is blown a little bit. Wow. Super cool. That is really cool.
SPEAKER_02You can, I mean, I can talk. I don't need my AirPods, music on right now. I heard it also trans.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I can hear it. Yeah. What are you vibing to? Is that MM?
SPEAKER_02No. This is uh Talib Kwale.
SPEAKER_04Alright.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's so cool. I love that.
SPEAKER_02All the little gadgets my wife is like, don't spend any more money on the floor. Gadgets are fun.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04It's like you're like a like a grown-up spy. I am okay. So what can we expect upcoming? Any exciting tidbits, things happening, events happening? I know we were saying we had to plan an event together. I would love that.
SPEAKER_02We do. I would love, so outside of state government, um, I am really involved um with my fraternity and I run a nonprofit within the fraternity. It's the Beta Sigma Lambda Educational Foundation. And um, yeah, we give out the scholarships and the things and we have programs, but I also utilize the organization to host events to bring potential professionals who are interested in giving back to be a part of our ecosystem. But let's just have fun, let's have conversation, let's kind of help each other wherever you are, whatever. Uh so I do that. But I also love to throw really, really nice parties. And so my parties are like really nice places with music and good people and food.
SPEAKER_04I have a venue for you. Or for us if we just do it. But we should do it. I just went recently to Dead Language Beer Project in Hartford.
SPEAKER_02I've heard about them.
SPEAKER_04Amazing.
SPEAKER_02Really? And you should have a podcast on the day.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Like literally. Let people talk, jib. Yeah, like a live podcast.
SPEAKER_04I'm gonna be doing a live podcast at the Yale Innovation Summit.
SPEAKER_02Do one here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Um it's really cool. It's really cool, and the people are super nice. And basically the whole concept of it is that they felt like beer culture was kind of going more trendy. So they took a trip to Germany. They learned all about German style of beer, and so everything there is like really authentic German. Um with cannabis? Yeah. I don't think so.
SPEAKER_02Oh boo.
SPEAKER_04But maybe they would. Maybe they need a couple of years.
SPEAKER_02But they're trying to pass legislation, but I doubt if they pass.
SPEAKER_04I have had cannabis-infused drinks. Yeah. Um I like them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But you don't know when it's gonna hit.
SPEAKER_04Yes. I'm I am a very one. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I don't feel it. And then when it hits, you're like, okay.
SPEAKER_04I'm somebody who likes to be in control. So I don't think.
SPEAKER_02Sigmere, which is why I don't do too much. Yeah. Um and if I'm with friends, maybe.
SPEAKER_04Um but I take gummies to sleep, actually. Indeed. Because the the indica ones will.
SPEAKER_02It's the best sleep ever.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Will put me right to sleep. And um the happy confection is actually one of our sponsors of the podcast.
SPEAKER_03Really? Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Shout out. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I like that.
SPEAKER_04So um this has been lovely. To end the podcast, I always ask my guests if they would like to shout out a nonprofit. I know you just mentioned your paternity.
SPEAKER_02I I mentioned um BSL Educational Foundation, but I'd also like to highlight um the Citadel of Love, which is a church in North Hartford, my home church. And um we have a community development corporation. We're in the midst of building a 76-unit uh apartment building, affordable housing in Hartford's North End. And if anybody knows anything about Hartford's North End, it's been under-resourced, um, just not a lot going on. Great people, yeah, amazing folk. Um but in terms of economic development and housing, access to affordable quality housing, not there at all. Right. And so this is the first development in over 30, maybe 35, 40 years in that community. And this little small church with its members, I included, developing this project. And it is just so amazing the direction it's going, um the revitalization, revitalization that you feel, uh, and the energy uh in the community, just seeing the bulldozers and the folks coming in and working, it's had on that entire neighborhood. And so if I could just give them a shout out and just appreciate the leadership there, uh the persistence and their grit being told no year after year, no, we can't do it. Uh, we don't have any money and all this other stuff, just to see things happening now. Um and Luke Bronin, Bronin, a part of it. Arunin, uh I always mess his name. Ara Lampalam. There we go. That is a tongue twister. It is. Uh Ned Lamont, Commissioner of Housing, Saila Musquera Bruno. Um, so there's a lot of great things happening, but beyond developing affordable housing, they feed people, they provide mentoring opportunities, they provide mental health support. So there are so many things that's like beyond just like the hallelujah on a Sunday, it's some real practical, let's be a part of community.
SPEAKER_04It's like doing what a church should do. So, how can people get involved besides going into the street?
SPEAKER_02Um it is the Citadel or the citadeloflove.org. And that's C-I-T-A-D-E-L, Citadel of Love.
SPEAKER_04And there's a place on the website that if people want to monetarily donate, they can.
SPEAKER_02Yep, they can do that. Amazing. Um visit uh if you want. There are a lot of community events where partners they partner with us, whether we're given out free backpacks, uh our annual uh community health fair.
SPEAKER_04Um I'm sure they love having volunteers as well. Absolutely. So if you want to volunteer, it's a great volunteer opportunity.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes. Um we have all denominations of religion.
SPEAKER_04Non-denomination. Non-denomination.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. So anybody can come. We actually partner with another church, Wintonbury, out of Bloomfield, uh, and they come into the city and we partner, and we have what we call Love Wins on Barber Street. So just imagine uh in North End of Hartford, we got horses on the street, and you know, face painting, and you name it. Um it's happening, and that's usually in June. But that also can be found on the website.
SPEAKER_04Very cool. Well, thank you so much for being here and having the conversation. I think it's been fun. So fun. You know what? I love podcast days because I always have the most interesting conversation with like cool people, and now I have a new friend.
SPEAKER_01I appreciate this.
SPEAKER_04And I'm looking forward to planning events together and in the future. But um, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all for being thank you. Yeah. Um, thank you all for being the best part of Reheated Coffee Club and have a great rest of your day. This podcast is kept caffeinated by Sola Karaoke, the Happy Confection, Pink Tractor 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 a drive thru state.