Representative Jasmine Crockett, Interviewed by Caitlin Smith

Note: This episode was recorded on June 23, 2021.

Democratic legislator Jasmine Crockett stops by the Pink Granite Podcast. She and host Caitlin Smith discuss takeaways from her first legislative session as well as how and why she got involved in Texas politics.

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Amy Whited

Thank you for listening!

Guest:  Texas State Representative Jasmine Crockett
Host: Caitlin Smith
Editing: Amy Whited
Music:  "Only the Brave Run Wild" Sounds Like Sander
Voice Talent:  Sarah Keats
Executive Producer: Amy Whited

Transcript

Caitlin Smith: 0:39

Hi, you're listening to pink granite. I am Caitlin Smith, pink granite contributor and I am really excited to be here with Representative Jasmine Crockett today. She is representative from the 100th district in Dallas. And this was her first regular session. So we're going to talk about that, as well as her background. Welcome to to pink granite Representative Crockett.

Jasmine Crockett: 1:05

Thank you so much for having me.

Caitlin Smith: 1:08

Yeah, I'm sure you've done a lot of these and and my first question is going to be not super creative. But I was hoping you could give us a little bit of an overview of your first session and maybe kind of the highlights what stands out. You know, what, what were the major wins and losses and the things that you really remember now that we're a few weeks out?

Jasmine Crockett: 1:31

Wow. Yeah. So first session, I would say was a doozy.

Caitlin Smith: 1:39

For you don't know any different, right?

Jasmine Crockett: 1:42

Exactly, exactly. I don't know different. I don't know what a real normal looks like. And if this is normal, boy, God help us all. So you know, it was kind of crazy. Um, the session overall went in the complete opposite direction of anything that I anticipated. What happened, right, so here it is, I'm coming in at a time where we are experiencing a once in a lifetime pandemic. And so people are having housing issues, they're having job issues, they're obviously having health issues. And so I thought, Man, this is an opportunity for us to focus on helping Texans everywhere, making sure that they have better access to health care, making sure that their housing insecurity issues are met, and making sure that we do something to reinvigorate our economy in a much more inclusive way. Because I felt as if not only did we have the pandemic, to kind of highlight some of the areas of neglect, that we have continually neglected, just in general here in the state of Texas, and even in this country. But I thought that it was a time where people finally realized that we are all connected on a deeper level. But when it came down to this pandemic, this person that is working at the grocery store, who's having to go in, who may go in and still be sick, because they don't have health care, because they don't know how they're going to keep a roof over their head, they may go ahead and go in to the grocery store, the very same grocery store that you have to go to. And there was this silent killer that could affect in touch any and everyone. It wasn't limited to a certain socio economic class. And so you know, with that, I thought, Man, there will be some enlightenment. And we will start to get to the issues that matter most to the majority of Texans, sadly, in that in that happen. And so I thought that once we experienced are caught and its failure during the winter storm, I thought, okay, we're doubling down on the needs in this state. And once again, we fail Texans. So overall, there were so many lows. The single high for me, was when my party did decide to break quorum for the purpose of killing SB seven.

Caitlin Smith: 4:23

I'm kind of thinking as you talk about these things, I think maybe if you're embedded in housing policy, or or health care policy or something like that, maybe you can sometimes even become a little detached from how that actually affects people until there's a major event and and I was going to ask you if the surprise was in people's attitude or in the issues and it sounds like you were saying one thing led to the other because I was wondering if you were kind of surprised by it. It sounds like a lack of compassion, more than you know, a lack of addressing certain issues, but it sounds like maybe you are saying that the the attitude is what prevented certain issues from being taken up?

Jasmine Crockett: 5:10

Absolutely. I think that there was a lack of empathy on that floor. And it was, it really shook me to my core. Because, you know, we are public servants, or at least I thought we were. And to be in a state that has 13 million citizens that continually has faced just ridiculous numbers have what I consider to be preventable deaths, because of our energy crisis. And because of the pandemic overall. I was, I was really shocked, like, It shocked my conscience, that there seemingly was a lack of conscience. And what I found, one of the sayings that I began to develop was that there is no logic in the ledge. So here it is, you may be making a very logical argument, which is what I'm used to doing as an attorney is just make your case make it logical, and logical people will follow. But there is no logic.

Caitlin Smith: 6:20

How, because it sounds like that's really frustrating for you that the no logic part, how do you think you can combat that?

Jasmine Crockett: 6:27

You know, I think the best way to combat a lot of what we saw this session is just education. Yeah, I think for so long. what goes on in Austin kind of stays in Austin, no one really pays attention. Unless you're an insider. I think that things went so far off the rails, or as I've been saying, off the grid, you know, that we ended up in a circumstance where every day, you know, or every other week became newsworthy. And so people were a lot more informed, but giving them the dirty details and being honest about it, you know, there's a level of quote unquote decorum that we're supposed to have, which means that, you know, we just shut up about the bad stuff. And I just don't agree with that. I think that Texans deserve more, I think that they deserve an open, transparent and honest government. You know, a lot of the distractors is what I'll call them a lot of the quote unquote, red meat, which are nothing but distractors, or to distract from the the bread and butter issues, right, like the basic foundational issues that we all care about, no matter what party you subscribe to, we all care about heating and cooling. I mean, that's just, this is bottom line kind of basics, right. And I think it's going to be really important that no matter who you are, who whomever party you subscribe to, that you don't lose focus of what really matters, because you can have 50 guns and carry them all down the street at the same time, if that's what you want to do. But, you know, at the end of the day, if you don't have air, you may die with your 50 guns. I'm just saying. So what I mean, like, we just kind of got to focus on the basics and not allow the distractions to continue.

Caitlin Smith: 8:36

Alright, I do want to get into your background. I have a question that I thought would be interesting. I think we know and you've articulated sort of your your main issues that are kind of your agenda and and what you like to work on. Was there any issue that kind of surprised you that you really enjoyed because, you know, as a legislator, you cover every topic under the sun, basically, was there something that you hadn't really had any expertise or familiarity with? Before that they you thought, Hey, this is really cool and learned a lot about and liked it?

Jasmine Crockett: 9:43

While I was on business and industry, there was some housing things that I just wasn't aware of. That I thought, ridiculous, um, that I dug into just a little bit as it relates to evictions and eviction records. I don't work in that space. There's not many lawyers that really do eviction defense type work, because, you know, how do you get paid? You know, so. So I wasn't aware of that, you know, just filing any eviction, that that was something that could stay on someone's record, and prevent them from obtaining housing later, even if the eviction suit was dismissed, right. So kind of like I got sued, but I won, or I was dismissed, yet, the fact that I got sued is enough to show up as an eviction on my record. And it stays on there for something crazy, like seven years, and many landlords won't take people if anyone's just filed any eviction suit on them. And so, you know, as we were debating this issue, my frame of reference was criminal law. And I'm like, do you guys realize that someone could be charged with murder, be acquitted, and get that off their record? But like, if someone just sues warrant eviction, they can't get that off? Like, does that make logical sense? Um, you know, so, you know, that was, that was a pretty interesting area. And it was an area that really is relevant to my district, because we have a really high renter rate. So I was I was pretty concerned to learn about that. And there was definitely legislation that I ended up joining authoring with Representative Wally, to provide for some exceptions, like, hey, if somebody wins, you'll businesses. We had to fight and get that bill to the point that it would only apply here for those that experienced it. In the midst of the pandemic. I was like, you guys still think that that's anyway? You know, I was like, fine. Well, we'll take something right. We need something around this. But I don't think that bill ever made

Caitlin Smith: 12:01

So how did you get into politics to this start it through the Senate. with something you you studied in college or when you were younger? or How did you how'd you first get involved?

Jasmine Crockett: 12:19

Yeah. And I've been adamantly against politics for a while. I think I still am. But no, actually, I first became engaged like so many, when Barack Obama initially ran for president. And I was at the time working in Texarkana. I'm a Texas Arkansas lawyer. And so everyone really has to be on the Texas Arkansas border. So I had to go to bars back to back. And I got involved with, with the brock obama campaign there. And it was just really exciting. Even though he wasn't necessarily there. To see people excited about a candidate, it was just something new, there was just something about that Oh, eight experience. And so I did a lot of work to just educate people on their rights and who could vote and getting, you know, people that have been convicted of felonies, getting them registered, because they didn't realize and all this time, that they could vote if they completed their full sentence, and that their rights have been restored. So I worked really hard on getting people registered and educating them. And it was just, it was just a great feeling. And I didn't know you know if this would be short lived or not, I had no idea at that time, whether or not he really had a chance. But I knew that he sparked something different and positive and hopeful. that had not been sparked in my lifetime. And so once he won, he really I think emboldened a new generation of political activists, so to speak, is what I call them, because I don't know that they really were that big into politics, but they definitely believed in people. And so in 2010, I actually ran for district attorney in Texarkana. That was my first race by many accounts, I thought it was going to be my last, um, it was, it was pretty intense. But I did win the early vote, I was only able to raise $8,000. At that time, the state of Texas had not elected a black woman da In fact, they had only elected one black male, and that was Craig Watkins. And so, you know, but I thought, you know, Obama still had me on a high that I could transcend all of the barriers that existed in East Texas. This town, right. And so we won that early vote we lost on election day, a former republican said, you need to go check this out, because this doesn't happen. And I was like, I'm not going to court, I'm not doing anything, I don't have money for that, you know, it was enough that we, we did what we did. And it wasn't God's plan. And so ultimately, I kept saying, I knew that God was leading me to run, that didn't necessarily mean that I was supposed to win. And so I was, I was accepting of the fact that I didn't when I then became the chair of the Democratic Party, and served in that capacity for about three times. And by the time I got to Dallas, I was helping judges, mostly judges, I helped other candidates as well behind the scenes just kind of using things that I learned as a chair and things that I learned in my own first campaign. And it was just all volunteers. So there's no paper trail of anything. I mean I've ever touched. Because I personally believe in the value of volunteers, I know how hard it is to get really good, dedicated volunteers. But I believe that, you know, if you really believe in somebody, you should be willing to give up your time. And so that's what I did. And I truly believe it came back a hundredfold literally, in my campaign, because we have more volunteers than any state house raise, at least in my near vicinity, we had consistently approximately about 100 volunteers that were willing, and ready and able at any point in time. And so the fact that I was outstanding, five to one made no difference, because we had people power. And so to get people excited about a state house seat, you know, before all of the craziness of the 87th. A home I think was was something I didn't even anticipate or see, I think so many more state reps will be able to really energize and get people involved. Because I think people are upset. They just want common sense. They don't want all of the extra comes from the extremes. I think that they really want common sense, every day legislation that will be helpful to the majority.

Caitlin Smith: 17:27

You do think that that everybody wants, or people really want to get back to common sense, because I think about how angry a lot of people are on both sides. And I just feel like, it seems like they need an outlet for that anger. And that's how we get to the divisiveness.

Jasmine Crockett: 17:45

I honestly think when we talk about the majority, the majority wants common sense. And back to basics. I don't think that. So so I had this philosophy, like one of the big issues with the walkout was I kept saying, Listen, guys sitting there and hitting the no button and saying, Oh, they steamrolled us that doesn't excite anybody that doesn't make anybody want to go vote for you. Like people want to know we're fighting. They want to see a fight. Right. And so we needed to inject some energy into our party into our base, make them believe that we're worth voting for. Right. But I think that the the, the noise that you hear is from kind of the extreme, right, because they're yelling and screaming. So it seems like that must be the majority. But it's not. It's it's the middle, that that really is just kind of sitting there and watching and paying attention and saying this is craziness. I really believe that the majority of people don't fall into one extreme or the other. I believe that the majority of people just want common sense. And so you know that the idea is that we're going to get new lines with the new lines. The party that's in control will draw their lines to be more red than they are now. Right? So sure them up. Well, now you're looking at a primary. And so it's about who can get that fringe right to come out. That's that's what it's about. It's about them in their in sewing primaries, but the reality is that if we read just the basic letter of the law, we shouldn't be drawn lines anyway. So that's another reason I don't think we should go back. The plain language reading of the Constitution says the next regular session, not the next regular or called special, but the next regular session. After we receive the census numbers, we receive the census numbers. They're guessing in September. So the next regular session would be the eighth eighth. Not the special session that gets called by the governor. So if for some reason we could be stuck with our same lines, I do believe we could flip the house. I didn't believe we could flip the house last time. And we didn't. I do believe we could now. There were only 12,000 Total votes that kept us from flipping the house. 12,000 total votes.

Caitlin Smith: 20:25

That's interesting. You didn't you didn't believe they could you could flip the house. No last time, but I, you know, I'd like to think you believed you could win, right?

Jasmine Crockett: 20:36

I believe I could win, but I didn't think that. But But I was winning in a safe democratic seat. Yep. Yeah. So mine was a primary. Yeah, you didn't? Yep. Yeah. No, but I didn't think that they could, as I watched what they were doing. I didn't think that there was any way they could flip it. I was like, You can't flip a seat. And you're not going to the people I get they were in a pandemic, but you figure it out. We went out in the pandemic. Thank God, no one got sick. we polled read it in the pandemic, no one got sick. we adjusted we we figured out how do you pivot? You know, because there was no one I could call and say, Hey, the last time there was a pandemic, what did you do? right? Exactly, exactly. So we had to pivot and think on our feet. But what I saw was money pouring in and pouring in and pouring in. And democrats doing something that we don't ever do, we decided we're gonna run TV ads every day all day, that doesn't make somebody want to vote for you running a TV ad does nothing more than get you name ID. But if you're still focusing on TV ads, and it was like, the day of you've got a problem, like you've got a serious problem, you've got to get to the people, you've got to make it to where they are invested that they're saying, I've got to go vote for that person. I tell people all the time that you walk into a black house and including mine, right? In my house, there's a picture of Obama, as if Obama is a part of the thing, right? Like, that's, that's what happens, like he was able to transcend and connect. And so it's about that connectivity. And I didn't see that happening. I saw a lot of mail, and I saw a lot of TV that doesn't connect with a person. And so I didn't think we were gonna do it. And we didn't. But it was only 12,000 votes statewide. And so you keep these lines how they are, you know, Morgan Meyer and Angie Chen Button, that on some of the more controversial votes, they did some things a little different than the rest of the party, because they know, even when new lines, they're in a limited space. I mean, in Dallas County, we are blue, they are the last two republicans in our county and Angie Cheng Button won by 200 something votes and Morgan Meyer one by a little over 1000 votes. So, you know, I would prefer that we allow a court to interpret the law, which is clear. It doesn't, it says the next regular session. Um, and and I hope that we keep these lines, and I think we can't flip the house, we wouldn't do anything in the Senate. But I think we can flip the house if we keep our lines. And so that's, that's what I'm looking forward to. I don't want new lines. It doesn't. And the thing is, it doesn't affect me the same way it affects others, right. Other people that are in flip seats, they're in a different dynamic than I am. My seat is has been historically protected seat. It has only been helped by an African American. We voted at about 80% for Biden. And honestly, it's kind of hard to carve very many ways to go to mess up my seat. Morgan Meyer is one of my neighbors. So if they start throwing republicans into my district, and honestly, we're Morgan and I border, those boxes of democratic boxes, his Republican boxes are nowhere

Caitlin Smith: 24:01

Yeah, I have a question. Well, first, I like near. the picture of of Obama in your house. I, you know, I could feel some voter voting apathy in my life. My mom is actually Japanese, and she wasn't a citizen for a long time. And that was the first election that she was a citizen. And she was extremely excited to vote for Obama. And my dad, and I were kind of like, what's happening here, but she, you know, I think he engaged with her and it was her first time to be able to vote and she was really excited about that. And she still talks about it. So I you know, I think that's really special to her. And I like that. You talk to a couple of things. In that first race you ran, you said there'd never been a female black DA in Texas and only one black male da and then when we talked about the seat you currently have. You said, that's a traditionally black held seat. So I'm wondering, you know, I'm sure you're interested or in engaging more black females to run. So how do you think we can do that? Because it seems like you've run for seats kind of on opposite ends of the spectrum? And do you think there's a strategy to getting more and more people to run? Or what do you think we can do to help that?

Jasmine Crockett: 25:29

Honestly, it's, it's the training. And I feel like, especially on the Democratic side, they're like, oh, somebody signed up great. And they just like, well, that's our candidate, because they signed up. And I think that we really need to do more, to educate and to support them, so that they understand what it is that they really signed up for. And make sure that they have just kind of the overall resources. So typically, what would happen is, if a candidate comes to me and says, Hey, I want to run for office, and this was, this was happening before I got this seat. And now I get emails all the time, which I'm really excited about that too. Because a lot of people for whatever reason, decide, we should reach out to her and asked her about running for office. But I tell people all the time, you need to go and volunteer on another campaign. Number one. And that's not because I think that Oh, there's this hierarchy, you got to kiss the ring, any of that kind of jazz. It's because I want you to really experience it. Right? It looks one thing, when you're looking from the outside, it's completely different when you're looking from the inside. So I want them to really experience what it is to be in a campaign and really get their mind fixed on. Okay, do I really believe I can do this? Do I really want it this much? Right. And so I've done that with a number of candidates. And to date, I can't think of any that have lost. I think my race was probably one of the hardest ones. But you know, I tell them, go go do this. And one of the most recent candidates, he flipped a republican held comfortable seat to a democratic seat, and he's a black man. So it was, it was a great win for him. But think letting people really understand what it is to run for office is really kind of the first step and then stop kind of filling their heads with money is the end all be all money is great money is necessary. But resources is really the end all be all right? So we had very untraditional resources, whether it was celebrity star power, because there were just various celebrities that are just no. So we were able to use their platforms, they were willing to put me out on their platforms, which was to a different demographic, right? The people that normally vote Well, they're gonna always vote, right. But usually, when you're trying to win an election, you got to go grab some people that normally aren't engaged, right. And I think that that's just another failure that we have within the party sometimes is we just engage those always come and we give up on the others. So therefore, they never get engaged. And it's almost like the chicken in the egg, right. So I think it's really important, really, just to kind of get involved. And that's what I tell everyone get involved in, make sure you can get like a core support base. So long as you've got a core support base, you don't want to walk out there and say, Hey, I'm running for office, and you're by yourself. When we announced that I was running, I had a party that had almost 300 people in attendance. And we had just had a crazy storm the day before. And I didn't even know if I was gonna have lights in my venue, because of this crazy storm that have come through Dallas. But I launched with this core base of support. In this level of excitement when you launch by yourself, you kind of already started behind the eight ball, right? Because other people have to see that other people believe in you. Kind of the club effect, as I like to say, right? Like you want to go into the club as a long line outside instead of the club that doesn't have a line at all. But I would encourage, you know, anyone, whether they're a black woman, whether they're a man, whomever they are, if you have a heart to serve the people, I think the time is now because there's a lack of service to people in politics right now.

Caitlin Smith: 29:45

Yeah. So it's, you're very focused on how to win and and you know, your purpose is to serve the people, which is great. And maybe this is why I haven't run for office. But I just think about how hard it would be on me. And this is something we've talked about on this podcast before. And that's what I was wondering, especially like, as a woman or as a black woman, were there things you needed to kind of decide? That would be hard for you that were worth sacrificing? It sounds like maybe those are things you think you would learn from, or people would learn from campaigns as well.

Jasmine Crockett: 30:24

So yeah, it absolutely is. And I'd say get mentors, as well.

Caitlin Smith: 30:32

Good. We wanted to know who your mentor was, and what advice you get and who you call when you need advice.

Jasmine Crockett: 30:39

So yeah, so at this point in time, there's, there's two black women that most most maybe would have guessed, would have been supportive of me, but really have no idea how, how big of a role they play my wife. And that's Mrs. T, and Yvonne Davis. You know, when I was doing things that others may have thought, you can't do that. No, don't do that. I mean, even those in my party said, Hey, don't do that stop. Those two women encouraged me to fight for everything that I believed, not worry about the noise, not be deterred, even if someone also was another Democrat. And so, you know, they tell me stories of the quote, unquote, olden days, right, of how things used to be in the lege, and how much they used to do. And so it's, it's very powerful to have literally like, the senior, most Democrat, senior, most woman, senior, most black person in the house that I can always call on, and I know that she is not going to sugarcoat and that she will always come from a place of empowerment for me. So in the house, those two women are the two that kind of encouraged the drama that is known as me, a home. And I would say in in where I sit. Ron Reynolds is right next to me. And Ron Reynolds, is former NAACP president and he comes from more of an activism background. And so he's always encouraging as well. But I think it's important to have some glimpse of what it would be like to serve. And I think you can only get that glimpse by speaking to those that are currently in service. And so I think it is important to find a mentor that, you know, is similar to you, just so you can find out what are the struggles and make a decision as to whether or not it's a sacrifice that you want to take and, and be okay with saying I don't want to sacrifice you be okay with being selfish about, you know, you your time, your space, and and your family. I think that that's okay. I think sometimes people feel guilty. But I don't think that they should, because it's just like everything, the campaign takes everything out of you. I never slept. Because we didn't have money. I did lots of research on how I could find like, the least expensive this or that. So that we wouldn't look like we didn't have money, right? We had the best visibility of any camp out there, even though we were way outspent because I just figured, okay, let me find the least expensive way to get this. And so we were able to accomplish pretty much anything that we wanted to accomplish. I can't say that there was anything that we want it for. Now in service. It has been an ongoing sacrifice on so many different levels. But I still look at it. And for me, what keeps me grounded is that I know that it's a privilege for me to be here. I am only the 22nd black woman ever elected to the Texas House. That numbers crazy low, in my opinion, especially considering the fact that Texas as more African Americans than any other state. So not only be the 22nd, there still had to be people to pave the way, not only for me to be elected, but for me to even have access to the voting booth for me to be able to become an attorney. And so the sacrifices that those that came before me endured many times, ultimately costing them their lives. I think that I just don't really have room to complain, and that every generation should build upon whatever the previous provided for them. So there was a door that was open for me. My job is to kick it open and make sure that it stays open. And open a few more for those coming behind me. So I don't, I don't stress about the sacrifice. It gets tiring. But when I look back, and I think about, I'm doing this for, you know, I think our districts were cut 10 years ago for 160 something 1000 people, they're going to go up to maybe 190,000 people, but ultimately, we're doing stuff for Texans in this entire state, which is 30 million. And I, I think that there always has to be a generation of people that are willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. And inside just don't really have room to complain.

Caitlin Smith: 35:43

Wow, yeah, no, I agree with that. I'm not in public office, but I work in energy. And there's not many women, and I do a lot of speaking engagements and things like that. And I don't love to do them. But I feel like the more women doing them, the more women will continue to do those. And so it's not as a sacrifice. But I think you know, whatever you can do to kind of encourage more women or more black women, or more diversity going forward is really good.

Jasmine Crockett: 36:16

Yeah.

Caitlin Smith: 36:18

So you mentioned your mentors, is there a specific piece of best advice you've received?

Jasmine Crockett: 36:26

Um, honestly, it's really simple. And they have encouraged me just to be authentic to who I am. Yeah. You know, it's funny, because I'm a civil rights girl, I'm a criminal defense girl, like, that's the space that I like, I work within, that's the space that drove me to even have a desire to be here. And so Yvonne is always like, that's not my space. Like, I know my link, right? And so we can't all be champions for everything. Not if we're really going to champion something, right. And so the fact that they encourage me to stay true to me, and not back down, you know, there were there were a lot of politics that were going on. Um, you know, they would sit there and say, Hey, do you realize this may happen? As a result? I'm like, yep. Like, all right, long as you've thought about it, like, Go forth and be happy, right. But the idea that, um, you know, one of the things that I feel like is problematic, not just within politics, but in this country is this idea of assimilation, and that you've got to be this or that in order to be successful, regardless of your qualifications. You know, that you've got to be some cookie cutter. Yeah. And so, you know, one of the things that I kept saying when I was running for office is that there is no one like me down in the lege. And, and this is what we need. Exactly. That's a good thing. Right?

Caitlin Smith: 38:02

And so could be a good thing for you. That's something I wanted to ask about, too. And excuse me for interrupting. But I think that's a it can be a very good thing. I think what you're saying there, there's a great article in the Texas Tribune about you, and it kind of said exactly what you're saying, you know, it's, I'm unafraid to do this, even if this happens next. And and I'm not gonna sit here quietly, even though it's my first year. And I think, you know, there's more scrutiny, as we were just talking about if you're the only woman or the only black woman, but I think sometimes you have a bigger platform right off the bat, if you are different. And if you're not afraid to use that, I think that can be a very good thing for you and your constituents.

Jasmine Crockett: 38:49

Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's absolutely true. I think that no one expected me. Um, but you know, once, once a power move is made on you, and they realize that the power has got played out. And that it did not deter. They had to figure something else out, right. But I appreciated that they at least said, Hey, do the analysis, whatever you decide, you know, it wasn't there were other members that are like, Well, you can't do this, or you can't do that because this will happen. And that's not what those two women did. They said, You're a big girl, evaluate it, and go forth with whatever you can live with. And I think that, like I literally have no regrets. I have zero regrets. I personally, was not so caught up on a title that I was like, Oh, well, if I do this, that I won't get reelected. I don't think about the next election when I'm working. When I'm working, I'm working right. And so, you know, there are those that everything that they do isn't thinking about the next election. And to me, that's not my job, when I'm in the house, my job is to do what's right, based on what I see in front of me, for the people. And so while I've not spent very much time back at home, thus far, when I've gone home, it's been insane. Because I used to complain when I'm not doors, I would ask them, tell me the names of state representatives in Austin. And no one could tell me. But then I'd say, Tell me the names of us representatives in DC, and they can name off people. I'm like, does that make sense to you that you can't name those that are right down the highway, but you can name those that are in DC. And they will look at me and say man. And so, you know, I was covered in print, and just kind of on some news stations with just different work that I did. And so to go back, and my constituents be so proud, and so happy, just because they felt like there was a voice because that's what we're supposed to be as representatives is we're supposed to be a voice of our constituency, not a voice for whatever fringe persons may vote in the next election, but a voice for our constituents. And I can respect anyone who really feels like they're being a voice for their constituency, where I start to lose respect, is where it's nothing but games. Because I think that when you've got people's lives in your hands, it's not the time to play Russian Roulette, it's the time to get down to the work of taking care of people. And so, you know, being me, I said, ultimately, if my district doesn't like who I am as a rep, that's okay, that's what elections are for. And it's okay. Like, I wouldn't be like, Oh, you know, like, I would have, I would feel like idea what I was supposed to do. And if it's not when my constituency once, that's when you vote people out, but I can be worried about the next election, I do feel confident that my constituency is happy with the service. But I'm nothing like my predecessor, nothing like Eric Johnson. So I had no idea of how I would be received. But, you know, they saw that I was a true blue fighter that was willing to go out in March willing to help protesters, they knew kind of the essence of who I was, and that that wasn't going to change. And it didn't, it didn't change on the House floor, regardless of how many of my colleagues talking noises about me. How many of my colleagues didn't listen, how many of my colleagues decided they would kill all my bills? I was never there to serve at their pleasure. I was there to serve at the pleasure of the people. And I think I've done that.

Caitlin Smith: 43:09

That's kind of like a general life rule. Right? People talking about you, you should ignore stuff.

Jasmine Crockett: 43:15

Yeah.

Caitlin Smith: 43:17

What's the most rewarding part of your job?

Jasmine Crockett: 43:20

Honestly, the most rewarding is is my constituency. Yeah. They really are. I mean, it's, it is an overwhelming feeling to just, I wish everybody could have Hd 100 constituents, I don't really know what to say, because they really are just that awesome. They'll send me emails, just to say thank you. Um, you know, whether it's because, you know, we're younger office. So when it came down to the vaccine being disseminated it was, you know, there's this learning curve of information, right. It's a very slow curve. This is why it's hard to just run for office, right? You can announce today, but it may take months before you know the word really gets out that you're running. And so when it came down to the vaccines being distributed, it was very difficult to get the information out like of where you should go and how you can get it done. So we sent text messages, which house admin wouldn't approve, so we had to pay for it ourselves. But it was worth it. Right? Because I'm here for the people. So we sent text messages out and so to have seniors saying thank you so much, because they didn't know how they were going to get the vaccine. We did robo calls. We did phone banks to make sure that they had accidents during the winter storm. I was able to call on I don't have that many corporate kind of citizens in the district. It's one of those things that kind of happens in what districts But hopefully, I'll get a fix for that when we do redistrict and get some more corporate citizens but one of my really good corporate citizens. I called him and his Andrews distributing beer distributing. Oh, and I said Hey, do you guys have any water? And they were like, well, representative, we distribute beer. I was like, I know, do you have water? And they were like, you know what? We'll go look for you. And they found two pallets of water. And I had a dh a property was seniors in it. Dallas Housing Authority property say that seniors in it, they're their ceilings were caved in with plumbing, that it burst, or all kinds of stuff. They had to turn off the water, they didn't have water. I had a senior home in West Allis as well, that didn't have water. And so being able to call on that corporate citizen and say, Hey, I need help. And they come to my rescue. And they said, we've got some pallets, and we're taking them wherever you want us to take them. Those are the things that you don't get when somebody is just elected because they want a title. Those are the things that you get when somebody really cares about the people. And so as I'm frustrated with the process, and I'm like talking to them, I'm like, hey, how do I get the water out of the warehouses? Who do I talk to? They're like, Oh, we're talking to you know, your county in your city. I'm like, Man, this is too slow. This is why people think government doesn't work, right. But there's so many things that we did, just because to me, it was the right thing to do. And so, you know, the fact is, my constituency, knows that I really do care and love them, and they care and love me back. So the hardest part is being away from them. And having the beat out here and fight?

Caitlin Smith: 46:39

Well, and it is some of that is a little bit, you know, thinking on your feet to like you said, there's no one really to call and be like, well, what did you do in the last pandemic? or What did you do the last time we didn't have power for days? and and you know, I think similarly, when the pandemic started, some of those distilleries and places that make beer started making hand sanitizer and things like that. So I think I think that's you being in touch with your constituents and having a little bit of that, forward thinking. The the last question I wanted to ask you was, you know, we talked about how you're kind of fearless, fearless, and you get advice. And they'll tell you what's gonna happen next, and you still do it? Do you think you're setting that example? Hopefully, maybe for for future legislators to kind of do do the same thing? maybe be a little bit less playing the game a little more outspoken? Do you think that's something that hopefully we'll see more of in the future?

Jasmine Crockett: 47:38

I do. Absolutely do based on the communications that consistently are, are coming via DMS on social media or emails about, you know, I think, I think for the, for the longest, they didn't really see that they could be that type of person and be successful. And whatever the definition of success is for them, right? And to see it play out, they're like, man, okay, real people can come in and can say, what's on their mind. We're headed there. So. So I do believe that we're going to see a shift. I really do. I don't know when. But I would imagine, at least within the next six years, then we will see like a demonstrable shift in how some of our legislators work.

Caitlin Smith: 48:26

That's great. Thank you so much for your time, Representative Crockett. And I really enjoyed the conversation. Is there anything you want to add or just leave our listeners with?

Jasmine Crockett: 48:38

No, just a follow us, support us. Help us. It's gonna be crazy.