[Speaker 1] (0:00 - 0:04) Good evening, and thanks for being here, or for watching. [Speaker 1] (0:05 - 0:10) Everyone in the auditorium, please silent anything you have with you that might make noise. [Speaker 1] (0:11 - 0:13) And that goes for the candidates as well. [Speaker 1] (0:15 - 0:19) Welcome to tonight's forum sponsored by the Democratic town committees of Marblehead, [Speaker 1] (0:20 - 0:21) Nahant, and Swampscott. [Speaker 1] (0:22 - 0:27) This year we have a rare open seat for Congress in the sixth district, [Speaker 1] (0:27 - 0:32) and we want to make sure we choose the best Democrat to represent us in Washington. [Speaker 1] (0:33 - 0:34) I'm Jim Peterson, [Speaker 1] (0:34 - 0:36) co-vice chair of the Swanska Democratic Town Committee, [Speaker 1] (0:37 - 0:38) and I'll be the moderator tonight. [Speaker 1] (0:39 - 0:40) I know you want to hear from the candidates, [Speaker 1] (0:41 - 0:44) but first I need to acknowledge all the people that put this together, [Speaker 1] (0:45 - 0:49) and I'll do that now rather than taking away from the grand finale, [Speaker 1] (0:49 - 0:50) which will be the candidates' [Speaker 1] (0:50 - 0:51) final statements. [Speaker 1] (0:52 - 0:54) We've been planning this since last fall. [Speaker 1] (0:54 - 1:05) The planning committee is Marblehead Democratic Committee chair Ann Gugino Kerrigan, Nahant Democratic Committee chair Jim Walsh, Bob Baker, [Speaker 1] (1:06 - 1:07) Steve Hunt, [Speaker 1] (1:07 - 1:09) Steve Iannuccone and myself. [Speaker 1] (1:09 - 1:12) Any of you who are here right now, please stand up. [Speaker 1] (1:20 - 1:33) We're also grateful to Swampscott High School principal Emily Zotto and administrative assistant Mary Ellen Maloney for the use of this great facility and we have participation from three local media organizations, [Speaker 1] (1:33 - 1:35) the Lynn Daily Item, [Speaker 1] (1:36 - 1:38) Marblehead Current and Swampscott Tides. [Speaker 1] (1:39 - 1:40) In the room tonight, [Speaker 1] (1:41 - 1:45) we're extremely fortunate to have technical support from Joe Dullet, [Speaker 1] (1:45 - 1:46) the cable TV coordinator, [Speaker 1] (1:47 - 1:48) and Ethan Runstadler, [Speaker 1] (1:49 - 1:53) assistant coordinator for the town of Swampscott, and the Swampscott High School student crew, [Speaker 1] (1:53 - 1:57) David and Steve. [Speaker 1] (1:57 - 2:02) And of course we have all six Democratic candidates with us tonight. [Speaker 1] (2:05 - 2:09) Thanks to everyone in the audience for being here and for being educated voters. [Speaker 1] (2:09 - 2:13) We're trying to give the candidates as much time as we can squeeze in tonight's program, [Speaker 1] (2:13 - 2:20) so I ask you all to stay quiet so we don't take time away from the candidates. With two exceptions, [Speaker 1] (2:20 - 2:24) there will be two chances to express your appreciation through applause. [Speaker 1] (2:24 - 2:26) Here's your first chance. [Speaker 1] (2:27 - 2:35) Please give a warm Triton Democratic welcome to your next congressperson who is seated at the table to my left. [Speaker 1] (2:49 - 2:50) Candidates, [Speaker 1] (2:50 - 2:52) thanks for coming to the southeastern corner of the district, [Speaker 1] (2:52 - 2:57) and welcome to the right claw of the genuine original gerrymander. [Speaker 1] (2:58 - 3:02) And I have to say that way for the people from Marblehead, [Speaker 1] (3:02 - 3:03) we know it's not a gerrymander. [Speaker 1] (3:04 - 3:05) Now we'll begin. [Speaker 1] (3:06 - 3:08) Candidates, tell us about yourselves, [Speaker 1] (3:08 - 3:10) beginning with Mariah Lancaster of Salem. [Speaker 2] (3:14 - 3:16) Thank you so much for having me. Oh, should I start over? [Speaker 2] (3:16 - 3:16) No. [Speaker 2] (3:17 - 3:20) Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much for being here. [Speaker 2] (3:20 - 3:22) I was not on mic. [Speaker 2] (3:22 - 3:22) So hi, [Speaker 2] (3:22 - 3:22) I'm Dr. [Speaker 2] (3:22 - 3:23) Mariah Lancaster. [Speaker 2] (3:23 - 3:26) I am a veterinarian, a public servant and a proud Massachusetts native. [Speaker 2] (3:27 - 3:31) I'm running for Congress because in order to represent working people, [Speaker 2] (3:31 - 3:33) we have to send working people to Washington. [Speaker 2] (3:33 - 3:37) I spent the pandemic as an essential employee working in veterinary hospitals, [Speaker 2] (3:37 - 3:39) helping families in times of crisis. [Speaker 2] (3:39 - 3:43) And what I saw in the clinic and what I know from personal experience managing. [Speaker 2] (3:43 - 3:49) managing my own chronic health conditions is that our health care system is fundamentally broken for our pets and for us. [Speaker 2] (3:50 - 3:53) I started working in policy to combat these corrupt systems, [Speaker 2] (3:53 - 3:59) to take on the inflating costs and to protect both essential workers and our patients. [Speaker 2] (3:59 - 4:01) I spent two years working at the state department, [Speaker 2] (4:01 - 4:03) combating corruption and organized crime around the globe, [Speaker 2] (4:04 - 4:07) the same kind of crime that we are now seeing occupy our White House. [Speaker 2] (4:07 - 4:19) And to fight corruption closer to home, I started working in Congress as a science policy advisor and as legislative staff for two Democratic congresswomen in the U.S. House of Representatives. The stark reality is that in this moment of crisis, [Speaker 2] (4:19 - 4:21) This Congress is failing us, [Speaker 2] (4:21 - 4:30) whether through intention or pure incompetence. They are not doing the work, and it is up to us as Democrats and as Americans to take action. [Speaker 2] (4:30 - 4:36) The future of the Democratic Party is going to be determined by races just like this one. [Speaker 2] (4:36 - 4:41) We can reshape the party and elect working Americans to local, [Speaker 2] (4:41 - 4:41) state, [Speaker 2] (4:41 - 4:42) and federal office. [Speaker 2] (4:42 - 4:45) We can reform the Supreme Court, overturn Citizens United. [Speaker 2] (4:45 - 4:47) and kick dark money out of our politics. [Speaker 2] (4:48 - 4:52) By doing so, we will actually have a chance to enact true progressive change, [Speaker 2] (4:52 - 4:53) universal health care, [Speaker 2] (4:53 - 4:56) equitable access to child care and education, [Speaker 2] (4:56 - 4:58) an energy revolution that is cleaner, [Speaker 2] (4:58 - 4:59) cheaper, [Speaker 2] (4:59 - 5:00) doesn't fuel conflict overseas, [Speaker 2] (5:00 - 5:03) and protects our environment for generations to come. [Speaker 2] (5:03 - 5:06) We have the power to change our political systems, [Speaker 2] (5:06 - 5:11) but to do so, we must all take immediate concrete action together. [Speaker 2] (5:11 - 5:16) To beat back this wave of fascism and remind the country that Massachusetts knows how to revolutionize a nation. [Speaker 2] (5:17 - 5:18) So thank you so much for having me. [Speaker 2] (5:18 - 5:20) I'm so excited to answer all of your questions. [Speaker 2] (5:20 - 5:23) And if there's a question that you don't get answered, [Speaker 2] (5:23 - 5:24) come up and talk to me after. I'd love to answer it. [Speaker 1] (5:25 - 5:26) Thank you, Mariah. [Speaker 1] (5:26 - 5:27) Next, [Speaker 1] (5:27 - 5:29) Tram Nguyen of Andover. [Speaker 3] (5:29 - 5:30) Hi everyone. [Speaker 3] (5:30 - 5:36) I'm Tram Nguyen. I'm just so excited to be here. Thank you so much for bringing us all together for this opportunity. [Speaker 3] (5:36 - 5:42) I'm running for Congress because I believe that government should be working for people, everyday people and not just a powerful few. [Speaker 3] (5:43 - 5:46) And I know you all feel that same way and that's why you're here this evening. [Speaker 3] (5:47 - 5:49) And I've lived both sides of government. [Speaker 3] (5:49 - 5:52) I've seen what it's like when government has failed us, [Speaker 3] (5:52 - 5:57) but also what's possible when it actually delivers for us. And that's because my story didn't begin here. [Speaker 3] (5:57 - 5:59) It began under an authoritarian regime. [Speaker 3] (5:59 - 6:07) My family had come here from Vietnam as political refugees. My dad had served with Americans during the Vietnam War and was a political prisoner for eight years. [Speaker 3] (6:08 - 6:12) We came right here to Massachusetts to Lawrence with literally a hundred dollars to our name. [Speaker 3] (6:13 - 6:16) I saw how much they struggled to provide for us, to pay rent, [Speaker 3] (6:16 - 6:19) we stood in line for the food pantry line when they ran out of money. [Speaker 3] (6:19 - 6:22) But it's because of investments from communities, [Speaker 3] (6:22 - 6:42) from people like yourselves that got me to where I am today and that's why I believe that government should be for the people and this is why I prioritize economic justice and how can we work together to make sure that every single person has the opportunity to thrive and that includes fighting for workers, making sure that we are lowering the [Speaker 3] (6:41 - 6:42) lowering the cost of housing, [Speaker 3] (6:43 - 6:43) healthcare, [Speaker 3] (6:43 - 6:44) child care, [Speaker 3] (6:44 - 6:44) utilities, [Speaker 3] (6:44 - 6:47) and making sure that we're making the right investments in our schools, [Speaker 3] (6:48 - 6:49) in our infrastructure, [Speaker 3] (6:49 - 6:50) and of course climate change. [Speaker 3] (6:51 - 6:52) And all of these things are, [Speaker 3] (6:52 - 7:08) as you can see, very personal to me because I have spent my entire career in public service making sure that we are uplifting the most vulnerable among us. And that is so necessary right now when we're seeing such attacks on every single person out there from the LGBTQ community. [Speaker 3] (7:08 - 7:09) to immigration. [Speaker 3] (7:10 - 7:16) This is outrageous that we're seeing people getting grabbed off the streets by the rogue agency ICE. [Speaker 3] (7:16 - 7:19) We need to reimagine an entire new system. [Speaker 3] (7:19 - 7:20) But also, [Speaker 3] (7:20 - 7:23) none of this would matter if we don't have our democracy. [Speaker 3] (7:23 - 7:28) And as someone who came from the other side of the world to this country for democracy and freedom, [Speaker 3] (7:28 - 7:34) you can bet that I will fight with everything that I have to preserve that here so that we can keep free. [Speaker 3] (7:34 - 7:35) free and fair election. [Speaker 1] (7:35 - 7:36) Thank you, Trump. [Speaker 1] (7:37 - 7:37) Next, [Speaker 1] (7:37 - 7:40) Bethany Andrews-Beck of Middleton. [Speaker 4] (7:40 - 7:41) Thank you very much. [Speaker 4] (7:41 - 7:43) My name is Bethany Andres Beck, [Speaker 4] (7:43 - 7:45) and I think AI should work for all of us. [Speaker 4] (7:45 - 7:46) I'm a software engineer. [Speaker 4] (7:47 - 7:50) I've spent 20 years building software that works for ordinary people, [Speaker 4] (7:50 - 7:52) and I would love to do the same for the government. [Speaker 4] (7:53 - 7:57) We can have good things. We can have Medicare for all. [Speaker 4] (7:57 - 7:59) We can have homes people can afford. [Speaker 4] (7:59 - 8:03) We can have a foreign policy that builds peace instead of war and genocide. [Speaker 4] (8:03 - 8:06) But there's an issue making all of those worse, and it's AI. [Speaker 4] (8:07 - 8:10) Insurance providers use it to deny our care. [Speaker 4] (8:10 - 8:19) Property managers use it to raise our rents. The government is using it to spy on all of us, and it doesn't have to be this way. [Speaker 4] (8:19 - 8:21) If Congress acts, [Speaker 4] (8:21 - 8:23) we can have cheap green energy. [Speaker 4] (8:24 - 8:31) We can protect consumers. We can build these technologies so that they work for all of us. [Speaker 4] (8:31 - 8:35) and fund priorities like social security and Medicare for years to come. [Speaker 4] (8:35 - 8:38) But politics as usual is not going to get us there. [Speaker 4] (8:39 - 8:44) And we are not going to get out of this mess by doing the same thing that got us into it. [Speaker 4] (8:45 - 8:45) Well, [Speaker 4] (8:45 - 8:48) the politicians are treating this like entertainment, [Speaker 4] (8:49 - 8:51) yelling at each other on cable news shows. [Speaker 4] (8:51 - 8:54) The billionaires are gutting our economy. [Speaker 4] (8:54 - 8:58) We need to stand up. And that's why I stepped up. [Speaker 4] (8:58 - 9:03) I'm the only person up here who got into the race before Seth Moulton dropped out. [Speaker 4] (9:03 - 9:08) I'm the only person who's going to go read Doge's code and be able to find out what they did with our data. [Speaker 4] (9:09 - 9:17) I am fed up with politics as usual and I know that we can do better if we insist. [Speaker 4] (9:18 - 9:22) That if we do more than just say that we're going to fight, [Speaker 4] (9:22 - 9:26) we can't just talk about these problems, [Speaker 4] (9:26 - 9:27) we have to organize, [Speaker 4] (9:27 - 9:29) we have to work together, [Speaker 4] (9:29 - 9:33) we have to stand up and together we're going to reboot our democracy. [Speaker 1] (9:35 - 9:36) Thank you, Beth. [Speaker 1] (9:37 - 9:37) Next, [Speaker 1] (9:37 - 9:39) John Boettcher of Linfield. [Speaker 5] (9:39 - 9:41) Thank you. Thank you for the invitation. [Speaker 5] (9:41 - 9:46) I am John Becha. I'm one of the few people on this stage who's never been in office, [Speaker 5] (9:46 - 9:48) run for office or work for somebody in office. [Speaker 5] (9:48 - 9:51) But to me, I'm running because the government is broken. [Speaker 5] (9:51 - 9:55) And clearly the Trump administration is a disaster. [Speaker 5] (9:55 - 9:57) We need to fight for our democracy. [Speaker 5] (9:57 - 9:59) But our politicians have failed us. [Speaker 1] (9:59 - 10:02) They're so disconnected from everyday people and what's going on. [Speaker 1] (10:03 - 10:06) And we're seeing what I'm seeing is there's no opportunity out there. [Speaker 1] (10:06 - 10:09) People feel like they can't get ahead and there's so much inequality. [Speaker 1] (10:10 - 10:12) This role is about public service. [Speaker 1] (10:12 - 10:13) It's not about me. [Speaker 1] (10:14 - 10:16) It's about all of you in this community. [Speaker 1] (10:16 - 10:17) So how am I different? [Speaker 1] (10:18 - 10:21) I'm someone who's worked in the private sector and gotten things done. [Speaker 1] (10:22 - 10:24) I am a product of the American dream. [Speaker 1] (10:24 - 10:25) My grandparents came from Italy. [Speaker 1] (10:26 - 10:28) I grew up in a working class home, [Speaker 1] (10:28 - 10:31) put myself through law school and built a career in financial services regulation. [Speaker 1] (10:32 - 10:34) I worked for banks, fintechs, and yes, crypto. [Speaker 1] (10:35 - 10:37) What was I doing in these industries? [Speaker 1] (10:37 - 10:39) Making sure there was regulation and compliance. [Speaker 1] (10:40 - 10:43) Making sure there was no fraud, money laundering. [Speaker 1] (10:43 - 10:46) or shenanigans going on in the financial system. [Speaker 1] (10:46 - 10:48) I worked with the government with working groups. [Speaker 1] (10:48 - 10:51) I worked with, testified to Congress on regulation, [Speaker 1] (10:51 - 10:54) and I teach at BU Law on financial services regulation. [Speaker 1] (10:55 - 10:58) I'm also someone who's built their own business from the ground up, scaled it to 60 people, [Speaker 1] (10:58 - 10:59) a consulting firm. [Speaker 1] (11:00 - 11:01) Every year I was CEO, [Speaker 1] (11:02 - 11:08) we created jobs and we grew the business because I was able to work with people, get things done and find common ground. [Speaker 1] (11:08 - 11:10) We don't see that in government today. [Speaker 1] (11:10 - 11:12) today. There's too much polarization and we need to change that. [Speaker 1] (11:13 - 11:14) And I'm also someone who's in this community. [Speaker 1] (11:15 - 11:16) I've lived in Linfield over 20 years. [Speaker 1] (11:17 - 11:18) It's about this community. [Speaker 1] (11:18 - 11:19) It's about listening and learning. [Speaker 1] (11:20 - 11:23) And whoever's elected to this office has to serve this community, [Speaker 1] (11:23 - 11:25) has to focus on things that matter most to people. [Speaker 1] (11:26 - 11:27) It's the education, [Speaker 1] (11:27 - 11:27) it's the economy, [Speaker 1] (11:27 - 11:28) it's healthcare. [Speaker 1] (11:28 - 11:32) So I look forward to talking about those things tonight and having a robust discussion. Thank you. [Speaker 2] (11:33 - 11:34) Thank you, John. [Speaker 2] (11:34 - 11:35) Next, [Speaker 2] (11:35 - 11:36) Dan Coe of Andover. [Speaker 3] (11:37 - 11:40) Hi everybody, my name is Dan Coe and I believe that we have a choice. [Speaker 3] (11:40 - 11:47) We can sit back and roll over while this president literally destroys our democracy and tramples our constitution, [Speaker 3] (11:47 - 11:52) or we can fight back for the country that we know and love. [Speaker 3] (11:52 - 11:56) I have two German-Irish-Italian-Lebanese-Korean-American kids. [Speaker 3] (11:57 - 12:00) They're going to be a little confused growing up, but the food's going to be really good. [Speaker 3] (12:01 - 12:04) And I want them to grow up in a country that I know so many of you do too. [Speaker 3] (12:05 - 12:06) a country that's proud of its diversity, [Speaker 3] (12:07 - 12:08) that takes care of our neighbors, [Speaker 3] (12:09 - 12:10) that as long as you are a good person, [Speaker 3] (12:10 - 12:15) that you have a good shot at living a life like the American dream promised you. [Speaker 3] (12:16 - 12:23) And I believe that because my family comes from that story. One side of my family comes from a little village south of Beirut, Lebanon. I still have family right there. [Speaker 3] (12:24 - 12:34) Another side of my family, my grandmother was a North Korean refugee and my grandfather was ambassador to the U.S. from Korea until the government was overthrown by a dictator. And because of a thoughtful immigration policy, [Speaker 3] (12:35 - 12:37) he was exiled here and started over again. [Speaker 3] (12:38 - 12:40) And you know what Donald Trump likes to say? [Speaker 3] (12:40 - 12:41) The government can't work for people. [Speaker 3] (12:42 - 12:45) Well, tell that to the senior with type 1 diabetes, [Speaker 3] (12:45 - 12:47) where before the Biden White House where I worked, [Speaker 3] (12:47 - 12:50) was paying $300 a month for insulin is now paying just $30. [Speaker 3] (12:51 - 12:53) I'm also honored that President Biden, [Speaker 3] (12:53 - 12:54) Vice President Harris, [Speaker 3] (12:54 - 12:57) and Secretary Buttigieg have all endorsed our campaign. [Speaker 3] (12:58 - 13:06) Tell that to people in Boston where I was chief of staff to Mayor Walsh because we brought unions to the table with business because when unions do well, so do businesses. [Speaker 3] (13:06 - 13:15) And tell that to the people of Andover, Massachusetts. Hopefully one day my grandkids will see a town on a healthy financial path because of the work that we did on the select board. [Speaker 3] (13:15 - 13:17) So if you believe what I believe, [Speaker 3] (13:17 - 13:20) that every single person deserves universal health care, [Speaker 3] (13:20 - 13:21) Medicare for all, [Speaker 3] (13:21 - 13:23) that we need to get to the bottom of Donald Trump's corruption, [Speaker 3] (13:23 - 13:26) fight him tooth and nail and make sure that it never happens again, [Speaker 3] (13:27 - 13:30) then join our campaign and I will make sure that that American dream story, [Speaker 3] (13:31 - 13:33) the one that we are fighting so hard for, [Speaker 3] (13:33 - 13:35) will be around for generations to come. [Speaker 3] (13:35 - 13:36) So thank you and let's go. [Speaker 2] (13:37 - 13:37) Thank you, Dan. [Speaker 2] (13:38 - 13:38) Next, [Speaker 2] (13:38 - 13:39) Jamie Balsito of Topsfield. [Speaker 4] (13:39 - 13:42) Thank you so much. My name is Jamie Balsito, [Speaker 4] (13:42 - 13:48) and I am running to be your next congresswoman because I believe that elected leaders in Washington have forgot those who they are supposed to represent. [Speaker 4] (13:49 - 13:50) I'm an elected town moderator, [Speaker 4] (13:51 - 14:00) former state rep, and the only Arab woman ever elected to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Legislature. I'm a working mother of two and a proud product of this district. [Speaker 4] (14:00 - 14:03) I believe that government can take care of people, [Speaker 4] (14:03 - 14:04) and that became very... [Speaker 4] (14:04 - 14:06) Very personal to me after the birth of my first daughter. [Speaker 4] (14:07 - 14:12) I almost lost my life to severe postpartum depression and I could not find the help that I needed. [Speaker 4] (14:13 - 14:17) Once I got better, I got to work and I founded the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance in Washington, [Speaker 4] (14:18 - 14:18) D.C. [Speaker 4] (14:18 - 14:26) I've helped to secure over $120 million in federal funding for families across the United States, both military and civilian. [Speaker 4] (14:26 - 14:34) I have been able to help over 100,000 people access 24-7 care through a health care line that we founded. [Speaker 4] (14:34 - 14:38) I'm not even in Congress yet, but I'm already making a difference to people's lives, [Speaker 4] (14:38 - 14:40) both here in Massachusetts and across the country. [Speaker 4] (14:40 - 14:47) I come from a working class union in military family. I'm a first gen college graduate from Salem State. [Speaker 4] (14:48 - 14:48) Go Vikings. [Speaker 4] (14:48 - 14:53) I've lost my job. I've lost my health care and I've almost lost my house. [Speaker 4] (14:53 - 14:57) I know what it's like to struggle and what it takes to fight back for change. [Speaker 4] (14:57 - 15:05) I flipped a seat in the statehouse that hadn't been held by a Democrat since 1858 and I've openly supported the audit of the state legislature. [Speaker 4] (15:05 - 15:08) State Auditor Diana DiZoglio has endorsed my campaign. [Speaker 4] (15:08 - 15:09) pain. [Speaker 4] (15:09 - 15:14) I've been consistent with my calling out of the U.S.-funded genocide in Gaza, [Speaker 4] (15:14 - 15:16) and I oppose this illegal war with Iran. [Speaker 4] (15:16 - 15:18) Democrats need leadership. [Speaker 4] (15:18 - 15:21) We need voting rights. We need Medicare for all. [Speaker 4] (15:21 - 15:22) We need to take care of our communities. [Speaker 4] (15:23 - 15:30) I'm a congresswoman who will focus on this district here because the Washington establishment has not delivered for us. [Speaker 4] (15:30 - 15:34) I'm exactly who I am on this stage, and I will be exactly the same person in D.C. [Speaker 4] (15:35 - 15:39) My name is Jamie Zalaway-Belsito, and I can't wait to be your next congresswoman. Thank you. [Speaker 2] (15:40 - 15:41) Thank you, Jamie. [Speaker 2] (15:41 - 15:43) We'll now move on to the questions. [Speaker 2] (15:43 - 15:49) Each candidate will be asked the same questions and each candidate will have two minutes to respond. [Speaker 2] (15:50 - 15:54) Three of the questions will come from outlets from our local news outlets. [Speaker 2] (15:54 - 15:59) The other three or maybe four will be based on questions that were submitted, [Speaker 2] (16:00 - 16:04) that were solicited from the audience, [Speaker 2] (16:04 - 16:06) not the audience here, [Speaker 2] (16:06 - 16:07) before the debate. [Speaker 2] (16:08 - 16:14) So, our first question will come from Lee Blander, editor of the Marblehead Current. [Speaker 5] (16:16 - 16:17) Good evening all. [Speaker 5] (16:18 - 16:21) Voters in this, I love that we have the prompter up here. [Speaker 5] (16:21 - 16:21) This is great. [Speaker 5] (16:21 - 16:23) Voters in this district know Seth Moulton well. [Speaker 5] (16:23 - 16:26) He's been in Congress for 12 years. [Speaker 5] (16:26 - 16:31) What do you think Moulton could have done better and what do you think that he did right that you would emulate? [Speaker 2] (16:32 - 16:33) Trump. [Speaker 6] (16:33 - 16:35) Thank you so much for the question. [Speaker 6] (16:35 - 16:43) I have been the state representative for the last eight years and have had the pleasure of working with Congressman Moulton in his capacity as my congressperson. [Speaker 6] (16:44 - 16:51) And I have to say that we have leaned on him for many issues that we cannot work on at the state level, [Speaker 6] (16:51 - 16:54) including many immigration issues that we've been able to refer over to his office. [Speaker 6] (16:54 - 16:59) And I have to commend the people on his staff who have just been very responsive. [Speaker 6] (16:59 - 17:02) and been able to help us with our constituents. [Speaker 6] (17:03 - 17:08) What I would like to do differently is to be very visible in the community. [Speaker 6] (17:08 - 17:09) I've lived here, [Speaker 6] (17:09 - 17:09) I've worked here, [Speaker 6] (17:09 - 17:26) I've continued to be here and what you would hear from the people in my community in my current district is that I'm everywhere and I think it's very important for people to see their elected official getting to know them, meeting them where they're at and really reaching out beyond their election year and to be very present and [Speaker 6] (17:26 - 17:53) and communicative because it's important for people to not only understand what government is how government could work for them but also how government works so that they could go in and really make a difference and one of the key things is to communicate with local electeds to make sure that they understand what grants are available what programs are available there what projects do we have in the local communities that a congressperson can help and support that's why I've been so successful as a [Speaker 6] (17:53 - 18:19) as a state legislator bring back over 500 million dollars to the four communities that I represent because we have that open communication so that I understand where the needs are and how to work with the local communities and people to address those needs in a way that is not only effective but also in a collaborative way and I think I look forward to getting to know these communities getting to know local electives and also supporting [Speaker 6] (18:19 - 18:23) your own priorities and making you feel like government can work for you. [Speaker 6] (18:23 - 18:23) Thank you. [Speaker 2] (18:24 - 18:25) Thank you, Trump. [Speaker 2] (18:25 - 18:26) John. [Speaker 1] (18:27 - 18:30) So I have a lot of respect for Congressman Moulton and I think he's done a lot of things well. [Speaker 1] (18:31 - 18:38) Certainly him being a veteran and his work with veterans is really meaningful and I would want to continue that as a congressman. [Speaker 1] (18:39 - 18:42) He's also his fight against Trump in this administration, [Speaker 1] (18:43 - 18:48) very vocal about that. And I think it's something we need to be doing on a daily basis fighting for this democracy. [Speaker 1] (18:49 - 18:53) Obviously, we're facing senseless wars. We're facing ice. [Speaker 1] (18:53 - 19:18) ice running around as a rogue agency and we're facing an economy that just never gets better but I'm also running because I'm an outsider you know I'm a father I'm a business person I think we need to rethink government we need to reform government everything from our campaign finances our term limits our insider training that needs to be banned and we also need people with the current courage and conviction to do what's right [Speaker 1] (19:18 - 19:20) To not always vote with party leadership, [Speaker 1] (19:20 - 19:23) to be able to do what's best for this community, [Speaker 1] (19:23 - 19:24) not just for themselves. [Speaker 1] (19:25 - 19:28) And so we need new leadership in DC. [Speaker 1] (19:28 - 19:33) We need people who are going to focus on the things that matter most to everybody when they wake up in the morning. [Speaker 1] (19:33 - 19:34) And it's the economy, [Speaker 1] (19:34 - 19:35) it's education, [Speaker 1] (19:35 - 19:36) it's health care. [Speaker 1] (19:36 - 19:44) I am listening. I'm out there meeting in the community and what the way I would govern is right now I'm doing a bunch of policy roundtables around issues. [Speaker 1] (19:45 - 19:46) issues around climate, [Speaker 1] (19:46 - 19:47) small business, [Speaker 1] (19:47 - 19:48) food insecurity, [Speaker 1] (19:49 - 19:52) and what I would like to do is form task force, [Speaker 1] (19:52 - 19:54) form a line of communication with our leaders. [Speaker 1] (19:54 - 19:56) not just our elected officials, [Speaker 1] (19:56 - 19:57) certainly work with them, [Speaker 1] (19:57 - 20:05) but also with the people on the ground, the nonprofits that are doing amazing work that we're not helping that need the funding from the federal government. [Speaker 1] (20:05 - 20:11) And so part of this job is going to be two things. One is pushing back on the funding that's been cut already, [Speaker 1] (20:11 - 20:13) especially to a blue state, [Speaker 1] (20:13 - 20:15) and then refocusing on. [Speaker 1] (20:15 - 20:20) These areas that matter most, prioritizing people here on the ground in the district. [Speaker 2] (20:21 - 20:22) Thank you, John. [Speaker 2] (20:23 - 20:24) Mariah. [Speaker 3] (20:26 - 20:43) Whoo. This question is always tough because I know that there are people in the room that may not be huge Seth fans and I know that there are people in the room that might be the biggest Seth fan in the world and so it's it's always that piece of you got to walk the line a little bit be diplomatic as a former state department official but what I will say is that [Speaker 3] (20:43 - 20:52) What I hear first and foremost out of everybody's mouth when you ask what did you like most about Seth Moulton as your representative is, as Trump said, [Speaker 3] (20:52 - 20:53) constituent services. [Speaker 3] (20:54 - 21:05) What I also know is that a lot of that credit actually goes to our former compatriot and my friend Rick Jakus for his role as district director and then later chief of staff. [Speaker 3] (21:05 - 21:09) And so I think part of what I think Moulton did very well was staffing. [Speaker 3] (21:09 - 21:10) incredibly well. [Speaker 3] (21:10 - 21:15) I think he chose his people very wisely and really put a team around him that could do good work. [Speaker 3] (21:17 - 21:19) In terms of what I think he could have done better, [Speaker 3] (21:19 - 21:20) what I would do differently, [Speaker 3] (21:20 - 21:26) I think I am very focused on the U.S. House of Representatives and nowhere else. [Speaker 3] (21:26 - 21:30) I really am in love with it as a body, [Speaker 3] (21:30 - 21:32) especially being a former House staffer. [Speaker 3] (21:33 - 21:43) I actually had the choice when I got my fellowship in Congress to choose to work in the Senate versus the House. And I chose the House partially because my background is in emergency medicine. I like a fast. [Speaker 3] (21:43 - 21:43) fast-paced. [Speaker 3] (21:43 - 21:52) The Senate is slow and deliberative and it's deep dives on one issue and the House is scrappy. It is fast moving and you got to be light on your feet. [Speaker 3] (21:52 - 21:55) You got to be reactive and so it is a natural fit for me, [Speaker 3] (21:55 - 22:08) but also quite fundamentally I think it is the closest that the people get to their government and I think one place that one thing that is very important when you think about who you choose to be your next representative, [Speaker 3] (22:08 - 22:09) you want somebody who [Speaker 3] (22:09 - 22:26) who both loves to work that way but also is going to be available to you is not just going to show up in places but it's going to welcome you into their office it's going to make sure that they are hearing you every single day and being a strong vigilant advocate for you to Congress because it is that's the job [Speaker 2] (22:26 - 22:27) Thank you, Maria. [Speaker 2] (22:28 - 22:28) Jamie. [Speaker 4] (22:30 - 22:30) Thank you. [Speaker 4] (22:30 - 22:33) I ran against Seth Moulton in 2020, [Speaker 4] (22:33 - 22:37) so I think that speaks a lot to my problems with him at that point, [Speaker 4] (22:37 - 22:47) and that was, you know, we had a representative who was not, had not even lived here and then opened up a P.O. box and then ran for office, [Speaker 4] (22:47 - 22:50) and I found that something myself being from here, [Speaker 4] (22:50 - 22:56) that that wasn't the representation I was looking for. I also was concerned that he was running for president. [Speaker 4] (22:56 - 23:02) and was not in the district because he was out raising money for his PAC, [Speaker 4] (23:02 - 23:08) of which I will say has been able to elect Democratic leaders to our party. [Speaker 4] (23:08 - 23:13) I also had a problem with the billionaire AIPAC super PAC money that he was taking. [Speaker 4] (23:13 - 23:18) It was not a grassroots operative and it was not representative of the people that I'm looking to represent. [Speaker 4] (23:18 - 23:21) I will also say though that he is a Marine. [Speaker 4] (23:21 - 23:24) My grandfather was in the fourth Marine division in Iwo Jima. [Speaker 4] (23:24 - 23:26) And my father is a Vietnam vet. [Speaker 4] (23:26 - 23:29) My brother is a military police officer from the Army. [Speaker 4] (23:29 - 23:34) And that is one thing I will commit publicly that as a member of a military family, [Speaker 4] (23:34 - 23:37) as a member of a Gold Star family as well, [Speaker 4] (23:37 - 23:42) this is something I'm dedicating and have dedicated to do work on in the statehouse. [Speaker 4] (23:42 - 23:50) My national nonprofit actually put together a mental health program for those who serve and spouses of that are pregnant and then are deployed. [Speaker 4] (23:50 - 23:57) or have to move because incidences of suicide for new moms in the military is at 38% right now. [Speaker 4] (23:58 - 24:00) We are not taking care of mothers. [Speaker 4] (24:01 - 24:11) And I have also have put together with my nonprofit an annual military roundtable at the Women's Veterans Memorial in D.C., pardon me, in Arlington, [Speaker 4] (24:12 - 24:16) and we'll be having our third one to figure out how do we best take care of military families, [Speaker 4] (24:16 - 24:20) especially with an administration that continues to take away their benefits. [Speaker 4] (24:20 - 24:20) Thank you. [Speaker 2] (24:21 - 24:22) Thank you, Jamie. [Speaker 2] (24:22 - 24:23) Bethany. [Speaker 5] (24:25 - 24:31) Yeah, like many people, I admire his staff and constituent services and his support of service members. [Speaker 5] (24:31 - 24:33) I've managed support specialist groups, [Speaker 5] (24:33 - 24:38) and I know how important it is to get those things right when people rely on you. [Speaker 5] (24:39 - 24:41) But there were reasons I was challenging him. [Speaker 5] (24:42 - 24:45) I don't think Seth Moulton ran for office to fight fascism. [Speaker 5] (24:46 - 24:50) I don't think he ran for office before Trump ran the first time, [Speaker 5] (24:50 - 24:53) and I don't think he... [Speaker 5] (24:54 - 25:00) rose to meet the moment. He often looked, it seemed to be following polls rather than standing for something. [Speaker 5] (25:01 - 25:04) And I want to, I've put my positions out there, [Speaker 5] (25:04 - 25:05) you can read them on my website, [Speaker 5] (25:05 - 25:08) you can ask me questions about them, you know where I stand. [Speaker 5] (25:09 - 25:14) He also was very remote, he was focused entirely fairly on foreign policy, [Speaker 5] (25:14 - 25:17) but that meant that he wasn't focused on what was going on in the district. [Speaker 5] (25:17 - 25:29) When we were facing MAGA candidates in Middleton and reached out, he wasn't interested in helping build movements and organize movements. [Speaker 5] (25:29 - 25:30) across the North Shore. [Speaker 5] (25:30 - 25:34) It was about his political career as a politician, [Speaker 5] (25:34 - 25:38) not about how do we all accomplish better outcomes together. [Speaker 5] (25:39 - 25:41) And so I want to be standing up [Speaker 5] (25:42 - 25:44) Not just for one campaign, [Speaker 5] (25:44 - 25:46) but building a progressive movement across the North Shore. [Speaker 5] (25:46 - 25:48) I've endorsed Connor Murray, [Speaker 5] (25:48 - 25:53) who is running in North Andover area. [Speaker 5] (25:53 - 26:03) I am out supporting local candidates and supporting what needs to happen here for all of us together to build a better future. [Speaker 2] (26:05 - 26:06) Thank you, Bethany. [Speaker 2] (26:06 - 26:07) Next, Dan. [Speaker 2] (26:08 - 26:13) I think this time calls for somebody who understands the gravity of our moment. [Speaker 2] (26:13 - 26:20) We have a president who may not even allow midterms to happen if we don't have a plan to fight back against him, [Speaker 2] (26:20 - 26:22) let alone us winning back the House. [Speaker 2] (26:22 - 26:35) We need someone right now with the experience at all levels of government to, on day one, be able to fight this president at every turn and talk about what we are going to deliver for the Democratic Party. [Speaker 6] (26:35 - 26:37) In terms of child care, [Speaker 6] (26:37 - 26:38) health care, [Speaker 6] (26:39 - 26:39) housing, [Speaker 6] (26:39 - 26:41) gas prices, [Speaker 6] (26:42 - 26:43) ending illegal wars, [Speaker 6] (26:43 - 26:47) and we'll never ever let this president off the hook. [Speaker 6] (26:47 - 26:53) We can do all of these things while standing up for the principles of the Democratic Party. [Speaker 6] (26:53 - 26:58) I think the number one principle is taking care of and protecting our most vulnerable. [Speaker 6] (26:59 - 27:00) So I will tell anyone here. [Speaker 6] (27:01 - 27:04) If you're scared about what this administration is doing, [Speaker 6] (27:05 - 27:10) if you're worried about if our next representative is going to protect the most vulnerable communities, [Speaker 6] (27:10 - 27:12) to the LGBT community, [Speaker 6] (27:12 - 27:14) to trans kids out there, [Speaker 6] (27:14 - 27:17) I will be a fighter for you. [Speaker 6] (27:18 - 27:19) I will protect you. [Speaker 6] (27:20 - 27:24) And for all of those people who say kitchen table issues shouldn't be about that, [Speaker 6] (27:25 - 27:28) Well, for people here who love people, [Speaker 6] (27:28 - 27:29) trans kids, [Speaker 6] (27:29 - 27:32) or people who are feeling racism or oppression under this president, [Speaker 6] (27:32 - 27:35) that is the biggest kitchen table issue for you. [Speaker 6] (27:36 - 27:41) And so all these people saying that we should abandon social issues, that we shouldn't protect our most vulnerable, [Speaker 6] (27:41 - 27:45) that's not the kind of member of Congress I believe we need. [Speaker 6] (27:45 - 27:48) We need to be fighting back at this president at every single turn. [Speaker 6] (27:49 - 27:52) I have the experience and the passion to do it. [Speaker 6] (27:53 - 27:55) And I humbly ask for your support in that endeavor. [Speaker 6] (27:55 - 27:56) Thank you. [Speaker 2] (27:56 - 27:57) Thank you, Dan, [Speaker 2] (27:57 - 27:58) and thank you, Lee, [Speaker 2] (27:58 - 27:59) from the Marblehead Current. [Speaker 3] (27:59 - 27:59) Thank you. [Speaker 2] (28:03 - 28:04) Next question. [Speaker 2] (28:05 - 28:08) One candidate has already dropped out of this race, [Speaker 2] (28:09 - 28:10) citing difficulty raising money. [Speaker 2] (28:12 - 28:13) Locally and across the country, [Speaker 2] (28:14 - 28:19) some candidates are refusing donations from particular organizations or interest groups. [Speaker 2] (28:20 - 28:25) Will your campaign refuse donations from any specific interests, [Speaker 2] (28:25 - 28:26) organizations, [Speaker 2] (28:27 - 28:27) or groups, [Speaker 2] (28:29 - 28:33) and will you release copies of your personal income tax returns, [Speaker 2] (28:33 - 28:35) even if you're under audit? [Speaker 2] (28:40 - 28:40) Jamie, [Speaker 4] (28:40 - 28:44) Jim, I am so sorry. Can you say the very last part? [Speaker 2] (28:44 - 28:51) will you release copies of your personal income tax returns even if you are under audit? [Speaker 4] (28:52 - 28:53) Oh my God, now I get the joke. [Speaker 4] (28:53 - 28:55) Yeah, yeah, totally, [Speaker 4] (28:55 - 28:56) totally. [Speaker 4] (28:56 - 28:57) And I've been on record, [Speaker 4] (28:57 - 28:58) as I said, supporting that. [Speaker 4] (28:58 - 29:02) So here's the thing. I'll show you my tax returns and you'll cry because I'm broke. [Speaker 4] (29:04 - 29:05) But that's all right, [Speaker 4] (29:05 - 29:08) because my kids don't know that we're broke, and so I must be doing a good job. [Speaker 4] (29:08 - 29:11) I mean, I am the one who did the People's Pledge, right? [Speaker 4] (29:11 - 29:15) I mean, you've got candidates up here that have taken money from Anthropoc, Palantir, [Speaker 4] (29:16 - 29:18) you know, Epstein people, [Speaker 4] (29:18 - 29:21) you name it. And it is what it is. It is what it is, [Speaker 4] (29:21 - 29:22) because here's the thing. [Speaker 4] (29:23 - 29:26) Our seats are for sale. I'm not taking that money. [Speaker 4] (29:26 - 29:29) I'm not doing super PACs. I'm not doing the, [Speaker 4] (29:29 - 29:30) you know, everyone's making calls. [Speaker 4] (29:30 - 29:35) falls down to Lockheed Martin and everything and they're getting that money, [Speaker 4] (29:35 - 29:38) I'm not doing APAC. I want to represent you. [Speaker 4] (29:38 - 29:40) And so grassroots, [Speaker 4] (29:40 - 29:41) here's the thing that's happened. [Speaker 4] (29:41 - 29:42) When I ran six years ago, [Speaker 4] (29:42 - 29:44) it's because it was broken. [Speaker 4] (29:44 - 29:49) It's more broken now to the point that I can receive a $7,000 campaign. [Speaker 1] (29:50 - 29:55) It used to be, I think it was five when I ran six years ago. [Speaker 1] (29:55 - 30:04) It's going to get to the point with AI money and big tech money and anthropic money and you know that thing that we don't see that's videotaping all of us in the back up there, I'm joking, [Speaker 1] (30:04 - 30:13) I don't know if it is, but it probably is. It's to the point where there's so much money involved that it has made Congress enough to do their job because [Speaker 1] (30:13 - 30:17) because each part, each side is being paid to do nothing by the same people. [Speaker 1] (30:18 - 30:20) Think about that. [Speaker 1] (30:20 - 30:22) The same people that are taking donations, [Speaker 1] (30:23 - 30:27) Donald Trump and the GOP, are the same people taking donations in the Democratic Party. [Speaker 1] (30:28 - 30:29) It is establishment, [Speaker 1] (30:29 - 30:29) friends. [Speaker 1] (30:29 - 30:33) We don't have time for establishment. If we weren't Bernie Sanders, [Speaker 1] (30:33 - 30:35) we wouldn't be dealing with this right now, my personal thoughts. [Speaker 1] (30:36 - 30:39) I am the one who has said I'm not taking APAC money. [Speaker 1] (30:39 - 30:47) I'm not taking this outside influence because this district is not going to be bought and paid for from outside influences. [Speaker 1] (30:47 - 30:48) I am from here. [Speaker 1] (30:48 - 30:51) I am fiercely going to fight for our district and [Speaker 2] (30:51 - 30:51) Thank [Speaker 1] (30:51 - 30:52) I know you how to do that. [Speaker 2] (30:52 - 30:52) Jamie [Speaker 1] (30:52 - 30:53) Thank you. [Speaker 3] (30:53 - 30:54) Trump. [Speaker 4] (30:55 - 30:58) I just want to be clear that we need to take money out of politics. [Speaker 4] (30:58 - 31:00) If we really want to truly represent the people, [Speaker 4] (31:00 - 31:02) the people need to have a say in this, [Speaker 4] (31:02 - 31:12) which is exactly why we're running into this problem now where we have so many elected officials going into public service not for the public service but to enrich themselves, [Speaker 4] (31:12 - 31:12) right? [Speaker 4] (31:12 - 31:14) So a couple of things. [Speaker 4] (31:15 - 31:20) People have asked me what are some of the main things that I want to do when I get into Congress. [Speaker 4] (31:20 - 31:21) I want to end. [Speaker 4] (31:21 - 31:49) and stock trading in Congress because at the end of the day you should not be going to public service to make money you should be serving the people which is why I'm so proud that over 83% of my donations come from within Massachusetts and almost 30% from within this district because I want to be responsive to the people I don't want to be response to have to answer special interest because they're pouring millions and millions of dollars into this race [Speaker 4] (31:49 - 31:50) raise. [Speaker 4] (31:50 - 31:54) Why do people outside the district care so much about what's going on here at the Massachusetts 6? [Speaker 4] (31:54 - 32:01) It should be answered by the people here who are sitting active people like yourselves should be here, should have a say in this election. [Speaker 4] (32:02 - 32:08) And so for me it's it's very clear no corporate PAC money that's why we need to end Citizens United. [Speaker 4] (32:08 - 32:16) We have to make sure that we are being not only responsive to the people but accountable to the people as a sitting elected official. [Speaker 4] (32:16 - 32:19) My income tax is public to you all. [Speaker 4] (32:19 - 32:25) You can request it. We do it every single year and I'll continue to do that, especially as someone who's done legal aid work. [Speaker 4] (32:25 - 32:28) I can tell you if I'm in this for the money, [Speaker 4] (32:28 - 32:35) I wouldn't have taken a $42,000 job right out of law school to serve the people and then going into work as a state representative. [Speaker 4] (32:35 - 32:42) And so I think it's important for us to be able to have these conversations and talk about how do we uplift individuals. [Speaker 4] (32:42 - 32:49) and reject money from very problematic organizations that are doing very bad things to our communities, [Speaker 4] (32:50 - 32:51) and that's where I'm going to end. [Speaker 4] (32:51 - 32:51) Thank you. [Speaker 5] (32:52 - 32:53) Thank you, Trump. [Speaker 5] (32:53 - 32:54) Mariah. [Speaker 6] (32:55 - 32:57) Yeah, I'm not sure I even need the full two minutes on this. [Speaker 6] (32:57 - 32:58) Yes, [Speaker 6] (32:58 - 32:59) happy to release my income tax returns. [Speaker 6] (33:00 - 33:05) Like Jamie's, they will be severely depressing for you all to see, but I'm happy to release them. [Speaker 6] (33:05 - 33:08) In terms of refusing any specific interest groups, absolutely. [Speaker 6] (33:09 - 33:10) When I, [Speaker 6] (33:10 - 33:14) so part of this is like a peek behind the curtain. When you are running for office, [Speaker 6] (33:14 - 33:19) you get lists from folks of like, call all these people and ask them for donations and you can kind of see where these people have donated before. [Speaker 6] (33:20 - 33:21) And every time I do see. [Speaker 6] (33:21 - 33:44) an APAC donation I go you know what they're not gonna like me I not only do I not want their money but I'm also not the right candidate for them so it's very easy to to quite simply say no we don't we want that money we don't need that money corporate pack money no pack money in general every single one of the donations to my campaign has come from an individual every single one [Speaker 6] (33:45 - 33:46) And I think it's really, [Speaker 6] (33:46 - 33:50) really important that people be at the center of campaigns. [Speaker 6] (33:50 - 33:52) This should not be, [Speaker 6] (33:52 - 33:52) Citizens United, [Speaker 6] (33:52 - 33:57) the decision was giving companies the rights of personhood, [Speaker 6] (33:57 - 34:03) which, by the way, is not limited to campaign finance, where it is a truly corrosive, horrific influence. [Speaker 6] (34:03 - 34:05) It is throughout all of our laws. [Speaker 6] (34:05 - 34:12) Allowing companies to have the protections of personhood is not just dangerous in campaign finance, [Speaker 6] (34:12 - 34:13) it's dangerous in general. [Speaker 6] (34:13 - 34:37) rule and so that is a huge priority for me as a policy nerd and as hopefully your next legislator is we need to eliminate corporate personhood but from a campaign finance perspective there is no higher priority to restore our democracy than to have aggressive campaign finance reform and this race is a perfect example of why [Speaker 6] (34:37 - 34:42) So as you consider who to vote for on September 1st, there are a number of people on this stage. [Speaker 6] (34:42 - 34:51) Please consider supporting your favorite because there's a lot of people on the stage that need it to fund their campaigns because we are reliant on individual contributions. [Speaker 6] (34:53 - 34:54) Thank you. [Speaker 5] (34:54 - 34:55) Thank you, Mariah. [Speaker 5] (34:56 - 34:56) Dan. [Speaker 1] (34:57 - 34:59) Thank you. I think we need to go beyond this. [Speaker 1] (35:00 - 35:01) I was very proud. [Speaker 7] (35:02 - 35:05) to announce that I would not be taking any corporate PAC money, [Speaker 7] (35:05 - 35:08) not only for this race, because to be honest with you, [Speaker 7] (35:08 - 35:12) corporate PAC money starts to have the biggest influence, [Speaker 7] (35:12 - 35:14) not just during races, but once you are in Congress. [Speaker 7] (35:15 - 35:19) So I have taken a pledge not to take corporate money in the primary, [Speaker 7] (35:19 - 35:31) in the general, and if I am fortunate enough to be elected to Congress. That is where this system continues to be worsened, because the corporate influencers will go to members of Congress. [Speaker 7] (35:31 - 35:54) of Congress and exchange for influence will give them money directly not from an individual but from a company that is wrong it should never be allowed and until that system is fixed by law I will not do it as a matter of principle we also need to go beyond that we need to ban stock trading with individuals when I worked in the White House I sold all of my stocks [Speaker 7] (35:55 - 35:58) I did that before I came there. I went to the Department of Labor. [Speaker 7] (35:58 - 36:04) I didn't have to do it, but I thought it was the right thing to do to sell all of my stocks and put them in mutual funds. [Speaker 7] (36:05 - 36:14) And I also think that we need publicly financed elections because I think publicly financed elections would help remove a lot of the influence of money in politics that we're seeing right now. [Speaker 7] (36:14 - 36:17) And finally, to empower people even more, [Speaker 7] (36:17 - 36:18) we need to have rank choice voting. [Speaker 7] (36:18 - 36:22) We had a ballot measure a few years ago in Massachusetts that unfortunately failed, [Speaker 7] (36:22 - 36:30) but we need to do everything we can to allow as much people influence in our politics and choosing our elected officials and not special interests. [Speaker 5] (36:32 - 36:33) Will you release your tax returns? [Speaker 7] (36:34 - 36:34) Yes. [Speaker 5] (36:37 - 36:37) Okay. [Speaker 5] (36:38 - 36:38) Thank you, Dan. [Speaker 5] (36:38 - 36:39) John. [Speaker 8] (36:40 - 36:43) So I agree we need aggressive campaign finance reform, [Speaker 8] (36:43 - 36:44) and the system is broken. [Speaker 8] (36:44 - 36:46) We need to overturn Citizens United. [Speaker 8] (36:47 - 36:50) I am not taking PAC money, [Speaker 8] (36:50 - 36:52) and it's very public. [Speaker 8] (36:52 - 36:54) I'm putting in a lot of my own funds in this campaign. [Speaker 8] (36:54 - 36:57) I'm betting on myself that I can do good and help people. [Speaker 8] (36:58 - 37:00) But money doesn't buy you an election. [Speaker 8] (37:01 - 37:02) It gets you access. [Speaker 8] (37:02 - 37:03) It delivers a message. [Speaker 8] (37:03 - 37:05) We have six good candidates at this table, [Speaker 8] (37:05 - 37:08) and the voters will ultimately decide who's the best candidate. [Speaker 8] (37:08 - 37:11) The problem with the money in this campaign, [Speaker 8] (37:11 - 37:16) and there's a lot of money, is those accepting money from third parties and Washington insiders today, [Speaker 8] (37:17 - 37:18) they answer to these donors. [Speaker 8] (37:19 - 37:22) And we need people who have not been in government, [Speaker 8] (37:22 - 37:25) people are going to go there and have the courage and conviction to do what's right. [Speaker 8] (37:25 - 37:29) We need more transparency in government and we need accountability. [Speaker 8] (37:30 - 37:32) Of course I would release my tax returns. [Speaker 8] (37:32 - 37:35) I'm very proud of my work and business. [Speaker 8] (37:35 - 37:35) I have nothing, [Speaker 8] (37:35 - 37:37) you know, transparency is important, [Speaker 8] (37:37 - 37:42) especially if you're putting yourself out there to do this work, to be in public office. [Speaker 8] (37:42 - 37:47) And so I think it's really important that we address this issue, [Speaker 8] (37:47 - 37:52) we look at reforming our finance system more broadly, [Speaker 8] (37:52 - 37:55) I agree that we have to look at accountability, [Speaker 8] (37:55 - 37:58) people in office shouldn't be incentivized to stay there forever, [Speaker 8] (37:58 - 38:03) shouldn't be incentivized to profit from it personally with insider trading and things like that, [Speaker 8] (38:03 - 38:04) and again, [Speaker 8] (38:04 - 38:06) the reason why I'm running is our system is broken. [Speaker 8] (38:07 - 38:10) And good people, we have six people here, [Speaker 8] (38:10 - 38:12) but there's a lot of people that maybe want to run. [Speaker 8] (38:12 - 38:14) I mentioned people at these nonprofits, [Speaker 8] (38:14 - 38:16) people from other walks of life, [Speaker 8] (38:16 - 38:22) and the reason why so many people don't run for office is because the system is, [Speaker 8] (38:22 - 38:23) for lack of a better word, [Speaker 8] (38:23 - 38:26) rigged, and it favors the insiders. [Speaker 8] (38:26 - 38:28) So we need to move forward, [Speaker 8] (38:28 - 38:31) and this would be one of my first priorities in office. [Speaker 5] (38:32 - 38:33) Thank you, John. [Speaker 5] (38:33 - 38:34) Bethany. [Speaker 1] (38:34 - 38:36) Yeah, I'm not taking a PAC money. [Speaker 1] (38:36 - 38:43) I'm not taking any money from Republican PACs. I've taken the political integrity pledge, [Speaker 1] (38:43 - 38:47) which is not only what money I'm accepting, [Speaker 1] (38:47 - 38:48) but structural reforms, [Speaker 1] (38:48 - 38:50) all the stuff we've talked about, [Speaker 1] (38:50 - 38:51) you know, no stock trading, [Speaker 1] (38:51 - 38:52) all of that good stuff. [Speaker 1] (38:53 - 38:56) I am also running a scrappy campaign. [Speaker 1] (38:57 - 38:58) I have experience in startups. [Speaker 1] (38:58 - 39:01) I was engineer number three at the long... [Speaker 1] (39:00 - 39:01) long-term stock exchange. [Speaker 1] (39:02 - 39:08) I'm making do because I know that every dollar comes from a person who worked hard for that, [Speaker 1] (39:09 - 39:15) or it comes from a rich person who is expecting something in exchange. [Speaker 1] (39:15 - 39:23) I know I'm frustrated by the way our political funding treats all of us like pinatas. [Speaker 1] (39:24 - 39:26) looking to fund these campaigns. [Speaker 1] (39:26 - 39:35) If you want to opt out of getting those text messages, reach out to me and I will send you the links because they are coming from data brokers. [Speaker 1] (39:35 - 39:43) People running for office go and buy your phone number from a data broker so they can send you a text message or call you on the phone and ask you for money. [Speaker 1] (39:44 - 40:02) These organizations should be regulated the same way our credit bureaus are and they were going to be by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and then Trump killed it and we can bring it back if we send people to Washington who are going to put your [Speaker 1] (40:03 - 40:06) privacy over their ability to fundraise. [Speaker 1] (40:06 - 40:12) So I want to make sure that not only are we running this race clean, [Speaker 1] (40:12 - 40:29) but we're fixing this and we're building campaigns that aren't about showing up and trying to buy your vote every two years, that are about having a movement that is consistently pushing year in and year out for better results for people. [Speaker 2] (40:30 - 40:32) Thank you, Bethany. Will you release your tax returns? [Speaker 1] (40:32 - 40:33) Sure, I did them myself, [Speaker 1] (40:34 - 40:37) so good luck, but yeah. [Speaker 2] (40:39 - 40:41) Our next question is from Monica Sager, [Speaker 2] (40:41 - 40:43) managing editor of the Swampscott Times. [Speaker 3] (40:47 - 40:47) Hi everybody, [Speaker 3] (40:48 - 40:48) thank you. [Speaker 3] (40:48 - 40:50) Many of the priorities discussed, [Speaker 3] (40:51 - 40:52) public health, housing, [Speaker 3] (40:52 - 40:55) infrastructure depend on local implementation. [Speaker 3] (40:55 - 41:12) Towns like Swampscott and Nahant currently lack key staff including public health nurses and in some cases full-time assessors. What will you do at the federal level to ensure smaller communities have the capacity to carry out these policies and aren't left behind? [Speaker 2] (41:15 - 41:15) Fascinating. [Speaker 1] (41:16 - 41:17) Thank you very much. [Speaker 1] (41:17 - 41:20) So Middleton doesn't have sewer. [Speaker 1] (41:20 - 41:23) A bunch of Middleton doesn't have water. [Speaker 1] (41:23 - 41:26) We have roads that we cannot afford to pave. [Speaker 1] (41:29 - 41:33) Those priorities are, it's trickling down, [Speaker 1] (41:33 - 41:33) right? [Speaker 1] (41:33 - 41:42) The federal government sets big things. It's a lot easier to apply for big federal programs if you're a big city and you have the staff to do the grant applications, [Speaker 1] (41:42 - 41:44) even for state funding. [Speaker 1] (41:45 - 41:53) Making sure that small communities can access these grants requires having the administrators of the grants. [Speaker 1] (41:54 - 42:12) thinking about who it is who these audiences are and it's one of the ways I think that software can help government if we build software that works well for all of us is we can build things that make it as easy to apply for these programs as it is to apply for a credit card that [Speaker 1] (42:12 - 42:39) make help people find which programs are accessible for their towns that provide the money directly right now of course towns are having to sue the Trump have the resources to sue the Trump administration if they are going to get the funds they've been promised we need a government that is reliable that is trustworthy and that is accessible and that requires having a government that can build stuff [Speaker 1] (42:39 - 42:39) software. [Speaker 1] (42:39 - 42:57) So I want to restore the US digital services that builds software inside of the government incrementally instead of with giant contracts set up front and we can make these programs accessible to everybody in America. [Speaker 2] (42:58 - 42:59) Thank you, Bethany. [Speaker 2] (43:00 - 43:00) Jamie. [Speaker 1] (43:01 - 43:07) Thank you. I really appreciate this question as I am the outgoing town moderator of Topsfield, [Speaker 1] (43:07 - 43:09) a teeny town, [Speaker 1] (43:09 - 43:14) and we have a lot of work that we have to do around PFAS in our water supply, [Speaker 1] (43:14 - 43:16) and we've had to do this twice now, [Speaker 1] (43:16 - 43:18) and we do not have a commercial base. [Speaker 1] (43:18 - 43:26) So I was thinking back to programs that we saw be released during COVID, during a global public health crisis, right, [Speaker 1] (43:26 - 43:27) where everyone needed money. [Speaker 1] (43:27 - 43:51) money and the government actually stepped up to the plate and funded public health and now they've pulled it all back the bipartisan infrastructure law was great and the president you know scrapped a lot of that money back so we need to advocate to put those monies back in the infrared the IRA was also another great one that they pulled money back that was going to the states right so it's going fed [Speaker 1] (43:52 - 43:56) I'll pick up pick up your question. It's going far to the state to the to the local, [Speaker 1] (43:57 - 43:57) right? [Speaker 1] (43:57 - 44:08) So we did a prop two and a half override the other night for drumroll please our schools and another drumroll health insurance coverage for our town employees because it went up forty six percent. Okay? [Speaker 1] (44:08 - 44:18) What what we need to be doing is health care reform at the federal government. We need to be putting money into our education system so that talents like swamps get in tops field out. [Speaker 4] (44:18 - 44:46) ground pain for these things on the property tax owner okay because it's the government's job to be taking care of these programs we need to have a partnership with our state partners as well like when I see that there's something going on at the fed that's going to affect us I immediately call up my state partners and I would get the same calls from the congressman's office and the senator's office when I was in the state house right it's this local state fed fed state local and so really being able to bring community [Speaker 4] (44:46 - 44:55) unity and have those voices to then go and say we need this you need a very strong advocate that understands those relationships and i'm here for that and i thank you for raising the question [Speaker 2] (44:56 - 44:57) Thank you, Jamie. [Speaker 2] (44:57 - 44:58) Mariah. [Speaker 5] (44:59 - 45:04) Who as the public health professional in this race [Speaker 5] (45:04 - 45:07) Public health especially is near and dear to me, [Speaker 5] (45:07 - 45:11) but it is just one piece of the many pieces of infrastructure, [Speaker 5] (45:11 - 45:13) whether we're talking about local, [Speaker 5] (45:13 - 45:30) state that needs deeper investments. And Jamie's got it exactly right that this is a federal mandate and it is something that I saw both as a federal worker in the executive branch and also saw from within Congress the level of unfunded federal mandates. [Speaker 5] (45:30 - 45:33) mandates that exist and the way that communities are left behind. [Speaker 5] (45:35 - 45:38) There's a couple different approaches to this that all need to work together. [Speaker 5] (45:38 - 45:41) One obviously is the actual funding for programs, [Speaker 5] (45:42 - 45:45) and typically that's done, at least in the U.S. House, [Speaker 5] (45:45 - 45:47) that's done through the appropriations process. [Speaker 5] (45:47 - 45:49) What people say like earmarks are dead, [Speaker 5] (45:50 - 45:50) it's not true. [Speaker 5] (45:50 - 45:52) They're just called something different now. It's a whole thing. [Speaker 5] (45:53 - 45:54) But within all of that, [Speaker 5] (45:54 - 46:04) I have seen firsthand how that process works and how essentially you are most successful when you work with like districts. So if I walk in there on day one as a... [Speaker 5] (46:04 - 46:05) and as a freshman representative and say, [Speaker 5] (46:05 - 46:07) give me everything for my community. [Speaker 5] (46:08 - 46:08) That's great. [Speaker 5] (46:08 - 46:10) You're not gonna get it. [Speaker 5] (46:10 - 46:16) But what you need to do is you need to network with other members of the House and you need to all start advocating for each other's projects as well. [Speaker 5] (46:16 - 46:25) And so collaboration and community building amongst the representatives is a really big way to actually bring the priorities that you need for your district home. [Speaker 5] (46:25 - 46:30) And so being a good team player and playing nice in the sandbox for lack of a better term. [Speaker 5] (46:30 - 46:35) is the way that you get successful funding for those programs. [Speaker 5] (46:35 - 46:37) The other piece that I think is really important, [Speaker 5] (46:37 - 46:38) you specifically mentioned nurses. [Speaker 5] (46:39 - 46:42) The Trump's big ugly bill, whatever we want to call it, [Speaker 5] (46:42 - 46:44) garbage bill from last year, [Speaker 5] (46:44 - 46:47) made nurses not be viewed as professionals. [Speaker 5] (46:47 - 46:52) And so undoing a lot of the restrictions on our workforce pipeline that were placed, [Speaker 5] (46:52 - 46:54) that were put into place in this administration, [Speaker 5] (46:55 - 46:58) all of that needs to be stripped back. We need to be investing in the education of our workforce. [Speaker 5] (46:58 - 46:59) a workforce. [Speaker 5] (46:59 - 47:01) So it's not just a matter of funding those positions, [Speaker 5] (47:01 - 47:01) it's a matter of [Speaker 2] (47:01 - 47:01) Thank [Speaker 5] (47:01 - 47:01) filling those [Speaker 2] (47:01 - 47:02) you, [Speaker 5] (47:02 - 47:02) positions. [Speaker 2] (47:02 - 47:02) Mariah. [Speaker 2] (47:04 - 47:04) Dan. [Speaker 5] (47:05 - 47:15) I believe we need a member of Congress who understands intimately how to deliver for this district and understand how Trump's policies can and will continue to hurt all of us and how to reverse them. [Speaker 5] (47:16 - 47:24) My two roles in the White House were first working with the cabinets to get the most out of the cabinets to deliver for constituents like the bipartisan infrastructure law. [Speaker 5] (47:24 - 47:25) And second, [Speaker 5] (47:25 - 47:32) to work with mayors and governors and city counselors and select board members like I was all across this country to deliver every single day. [Speaker 5] (47:33 - 47:39) And I think we need to realize just how severe Donald Trump's proposals are that are hurting our communities. [Speaker 5] (47:39 - 47:51) He's proposing cutting affordable housing budgets that fund things like vouchers, that fund things like public parks by 40%. He's proposing cutting, [Speaker 5] (47:51 - 47:58) and he already has, excuse me, eliminated ACA subsidies that are driving up prices for 18 million people across this country, [Speaker 5] (47:58 - 48:00) not to mention people on private insurance. [Speaker 5] (48:01 - 48:10) We all know that he gave the biggest tax cut in the history of the United States to folks like Elon Musk while he wasn't helping people in this room. [Speaker 5] (48:10 - 48:21) We know the cuts to SNAP and we all know people on the stage and all of you have seen food pantries all across this district struggling to keep up with demand because of what Donald Trump is doing. [Speaker 5] (48:22 - 48:26) I think it takes somebody who understands exactly what's happening in every single agency, [Speaker 5] (48:26 - 48:29) how to fight back and how to reverse them. [Speaker 6] (48:29 - 48:30) And I say this just factually. [Speaker 6] (48:31 - 48:36) I don't know just the department to go to to fight back against these cuts and deliver for this district. [Speaker 6] (48:36 - 48:40) I know the names of the people who administer those grants and bring those resources to bear. [Speaker 6] (48:41 - 48:42) Finally, [Speaker 6] (48:42 - 48:57) we need another version of the American Rescue Plan that will bring more flexible dollars to the district so that amazing select board members and city councilors and mayors all across this district will have the flexible resources they need to make sure that we are delivering for all of you. [Speaker 6] (48:57 - 48:57) Thank you. [Speaker 2] (48:58 - 48:59) Thank you, Dan. [Speaker 2] (48:59 - 49:00) Trump. [Speaker 1] (49:01 - 49:06) We have never seen this level of disinvestment ever from our federal government. [Speaker 1] (49:06 - 49:11) And as someone who's been in as a state representative for the last eight years, [Speaker 1] (49:11 - 49:16) this was the most brutal budget that I've ever faced. [Speaker 1] (49:16 - 49:28) And the House, many of you probably know we just passed the House budget last week and we're looking to lose billions of dollars, most of them, into our health care system. In fact, we already saw the effects. [Speaker 1] (49:28 - 49:28) effects of that. [Speaker 1] (49:29 - 49:30) Personally speaking, [Speaker 1] (49:30 - 49:36) my mother's health insurance went from $4 to $235 this past January. [Speaker 1] (49:36 - 49:38) And luckily for her, [Speaker 1] (49:38 - 49:39) I'm able to pay that for her. [Speaker 1] (49:39 - 49:42) But what about the thousands and thousands of people out there? [Speaker 1] (49:42 - 49:46) That's an effect of these harmful disinvestment from the federal government. [Speaker 1] (49:46 - 49:47) But it's not only that. [Speaker 1] (49:48 - 49:49) For me as a state representative, [Speaker 1] (49:49 - 50:00) I understand how important it is for us to work with the local level to make sure we understand the needs and be responsive to them. I alluded to that in my earlier answer about the importance of collaboration. [Speaker 1] (50:01 - 50:28) at all different levels of government to understand the needs of the actual communities and having a congressperson who knows where when the grants are available communicate to that to the communities and actually work with them especially for smaller communities that don't have the staff to understand the intricacies of many of these applications and how do we streamline that to be able to actually deliver for the communities and that's what I've been able [Speaker 1] (50:28 - 50:54) unable to do as a state representative having that communication very frequent meetings with local elected officials to make sure that we're delivering for folks and this goes across the board we're seeing no matter what we do at the local level and state level whether that's housing or climate action or education we need to have a strong partner at the federal level and that's why someone who has been in this position who has the most legislative experience out of [Speaker 1] (50:54 - 50:56) everyone at this table, [Speaker 1] (50:56 - 51:00) I understand intimately what it means to be a legislator and representing these smaller communities. [Speaker 2] (51:01 - 51:02) Thank you, Trump. [Speaker 2] (51:02 - 51:03) John. [Speaker 3] (51:04 - 51:06) Again, we have a system that's broken. [Speaker 3] (51:07 - 51:10) The federal government doesn't need to balance their budget, but state and locals do. [Speaker 3] (51:11 - 51:17) I mean, the federal government right now, we have a deficit that's out of control. We're paying $88 billion a month in interest payments. [Speaker 3] (51:17 - 51:19) Think of all the good we could do with that money. [Speaker 3] (51:19 - 51:20) Meanwhile, [Speaker 3] (51:20 - 51:21) at the state and local level, [Speaker 3] (51:21 - 51:23) people having to make tough choices. [Speaker 3] (51:23 - 51:29) Our governor and our state legislature is, I call the budget whack-a-mole, trying to fill these gaps. [Speaker 3] (51:29 - 51:31) And at the local level, it's the most damaging. [Speaker 3] (51:31 - 51:31) imaging. [Speaker 3] (51:31 - 51:33) So many Prop 2.5 overrides, [Speaker 3] (51:33 - 51:37) difficult decisions around schools and health care, [Speaker 3] (51:37 - 51:40) and these are things that need to be prioritized. [Speaker 3] (51:40 - 51:42) The big part of this role, [Speaker 3] (51:42 - 51:43) as I mentioned earlier, [Speaker 3] (51:43 - 51:44) is protecting these funds. [Speaker 3] (51:44 - 51:53) You look at what happened with the big bad bill in terms of the impact on mass health and SNAP. It's just, it's unbelievable. [Speaker 3] (51:53 - 51:53) It's ridiculous. [Speaker 3] (51:54 - 51:57) I mean, SNAP, the fact that the president gets up the state of the union and [Speaker 3] (51:57 - 52:00) and it brags that he took people off SNAP, that's because he cut the program. [Speaker 3] (52:01 - 52:05) We have 40% of people in this state who suffer from food insecurity. It's unacceptable. [Speaker 3] (52:05 - 52:11) And we need people in Congress to start talking about this to prioritize it and to make sure that these communities are protected. [Speaker 3] (52:12 - 52:13) So again, [Speaker 3] (52:13 - 52:15) it's about doing the right thing. [Speaker 3] (52:15 - 52:23) It's about having that courage of conviction to get there and to look at what the budget is and how it works. And we need reform across the board. [Speaker 3] (52:23 - 52:24) Things like tax reform, [Speaker 3] (52:24 - 52:25) which is very important. [Speaker 3] (52:25 - 52:28) You know, the government has to be funded somewhere. [Speaker 3] (52:28 - 52:31) We have to look at making sure the rich and corporations are paying their fair share. [Speaker 3] (52:32 - 52:41) It's not about just tax increases. It's all about also about reducing the loopholes. And we're making sure that people aren't going offshore or falling through the cracks. [Speaker 3] (52:41 - 52:42) But again, [Speaker 3] (52:42 - 52:50) it's about being understanding how the system works to breaking it down and protecting the areas that the people that need it most. Again, [Speaker 3] (52:51 - 52:52) there's so many people suffering and we're [Speaker 3] (52:52 - 52:54) And we're not focused on these issues that matter most to people. [Speaker 2] (52:55 - 52:56) Thank you, John, [Speaker 2] (52:56 - 52:58) and thank you, Monica and the Swampscottites. [Speaker 2] (53:02 - 53:03) Next, [Speaker 2] (53:03 - 53:07) if you were elected to Congress, [Speaker 2] (53:07 - 53:13) what in your personal background and experience will allow you to hit the ground running? [Speaker 3] (53:16 - 53:17) Yeah, a couple of things. [Speaker 3] (53:17 - 53:19) I think we talked a lot about having a business background, [Speaker 3] (53:19 - 53:21) but I think it does apply here. [Speaker 3] (53:21 - 53:25) I think it's private sector experience and working with others to get things done. [Speaker 3] (53:25 - 53:27) Politics right now is so polarizing, right? [Speaker 3] (53:28 - 53:29) It's everything is us versus them. [Speaker 3] (53:30 - 53:30) Yes, [Speaker 3] (53:30 - 53:33) we need to fight Trump, but we need to also work together, [Speaker 3] (53:33 - 53:36) find common ground to focus on things that matter most. [Speaker 3] (53:37 - 53:45) And so those things that I've done in the private sector applies here. Also having people like myself who believe in public service, who believe [Speaker 3] (53:45 - 53:47) We believe in serving the community matters most. [Speaker 3] (53:47 - 53:48) Again, [Speaker 3] (53:48 - 53:50) it's not about personal ambition, [Speaker 3] (53:50 - 53:51) it's about doing what's right. [Speaker 3] (53:51 - 53:54) And it's about listening and being out in the community. [Speaker 3] (53:54 - 53:57) And so the way I built my business, [Speaker 3] (53:57 - 53:58) the way I've operated, [Speaker 3] (53:58 - 54:05) the values that I have growing up, you know, I was taught to respect others, common decency. These are things we need to get back to. [Speaker 3] (54:05 - 54:09) The government is not working for the people. We need to put people over politics. [Speaker 3] (54:10 - 54:12) That's the most important thing here to remember. [Speaker 3] (54:12 - 54:14) And so I've worked with the government. [Speaker 3] (54:14 - 54:18) I know how the sausage is made. I've done work on financial services issues, [Speaker 3] (54:18 - 54:20) legislation and regulation. [Speaker 3] (54:20 - 54:23) I've worked to regulate new industries. [Speaker 3] (54:24 - 54:30) I got the first bit license in New York around an emerging industry in cryptocurrency. [Speaker 3] (54:31 - 54:35) And, you know, this is you want these things. You want to make sure that there's protections. [Speaker 3] (54:35 - 54:37) It's going to be the same with AI. [Speaker 3] (54:37 - 54:39) When we look at the benefits are there, [Speaker 3] (54:39 - 54:41) but there's a lot of risks and we need people who can. [Speaker 3] (54:41 - 54:42) who can understand it, [Speaker 3] (54:42 - 54:51) number one, and understand how to regulate it. Because if we don't, there's going to be a lot of unintended consequences. So we need people who are mature, [Speaker 3] (54:52 - 54:53) who have that sense of understanding, [Speaker 3] (54:53 - 54:54) who have done it before, [Speaker 3] (54:55 - 55:02) and have worked with all different types of people from all different sides of the aisle to get things done. And that's what it's about. It's about doing, [Speaker 3] (55:02 - 55:02) not talking. [Speaker 2] (55:03 - 55:04) Thank you, John. [Speaker 2] (55:05 - 55:05) Jamie. [Speaker 4] (55:05 - 55:06) Sure. [Speaker 5] (55:06 - 55:08) Thank you for the question. [Speaker 5] (55:08 - 55:14) I'm remiss to say this because I'm going to age myself out, but I'm bringing almost 30 years of experience to this job. [Speaker 5] (55:15 - 55:21) And I started as an immigration intern in Congressman Joe Moakley's office in the late 90s. [Speaker 5] (55:22 - 55:39) And from there, and there's a guy that taught me, you can take care of your constituents and help Mrs. Sullivan get the beehive off her front porch, as well as make sure that we're not funneling money into the hands of El Salvador and allow them to take guns and murder their own people. [Speaker 5] (55:39 - 55:41) I don't know whose time is going off, [Speaker 5] (55:41 - 55:43) but it is definitely distracting me. [Speaker 5] (55:45 - 55:50) I've been a commissioner at the state level. I've been a trustee at Salem State advocating for public higher ed. [Speaker 5] (55:50 - 56:08) I have been a state representative and I've worked with Congress now for almost 30 years on and off between doing immigration policy of which I wrote one of the last comprehensive immigration policies with former state senator, pardon me, former federal senator, Ted Kennedy. [Speaker 5] (56:09 - 56:35) all the way up to I'm currently working on appropriations right now through my non-profit because again this administration wants to defund anything and everything that has to do with women babies children mental health education health care you name it so I'm down there now I wear sneakers I don't wear heels anymore friends okay it's not good for your feet to haggle with them because we get a 1.5 trillion dollar DOD [Speaker 5] (56:35 - 57:00) OD budget going in and where are they going to look for money they're going to look for money out of what they like to call you know dispensable funds so again I'm already working with Congress I've helped pass appropriated money for the past five Congresses since 2015 I know people down there but here's the best thing they know me and I'm already making laws and I've already I have the proven track where I got three federal laws written into [Speaker 5] (57:00 - 57:10) into bills and I have the appropriations in the backing of that so this is what I'm offering to this district and I can start tomorrow thank you [Speaker 2] (57:10 - 57:11) Thank you, Jamie. [Speaker 2] (57:12 - 57:12) Mariah. [Speaker 6] (57:14 - 57:28) Whoo, I will say and again shout out to Rick Jacobs I am now the only person on this stage that has actually worked in recent years as a staffer in the US House of Representatives and in a normal year [Speaker 6] (57:29 - 57:34) Any one of us would be an excellent exemplary candidate to be your next congressperson. [Speaker 6] (57:34 - 57:40) But in a moment like this, where we need somebody who can start the job on day one against this administration, [Speaker 6] (57:40 - 57:42) that kind of experience matters. [Speaker 6] (57:42 - 57:44) Having those relationships, [Speaker 6] (57:44 - 57:46) understanding the mechanisms of the U.S. House, [Speaker 6] (57:46 - 57:55) it is a big, complicated machine and being able to know how to move around in it and who to go to with various issues. [Speaker 6] (57:55 - 57:57) This is an absolute asset. [Speaker 6] (57:57 - 58:03) I will also say my experience in the civil service also is an incredible asset. [Speaker 6] (58:03 - 58:10) And, you know, while some folks were political appointees and their friends were political appointees who guess what aren't there anymore, [Speaker 6] (58:10 - 58:14) my friends in the civil service, the people that I know at the State Department, [Speaker 6] (58:14 - 58:16) you know, Department of Interior, [Speaker 6] (58:17 - 58:19) even some folks in DHS, [Speaker 6] (58:20 - 58:21) goodness knows. [Speaker 6] (58:21 - 58:28) Are a lot of them still there unless they were doge or my friends at USAID who lost all of their jobs, all 10,000 of them. [Speaker 6] (58:29 - 58:36) So there are incredible relationships that I would be able to bring to this role and be able to leverage on behalf of this district. [Speaker 6] (58:36 - 58:43) But within all of that, I think actually the most important thing that I have done in my personal background is work a normal job. [Speaker 6] (58:43 - 58:46) As a veterinarian, especially in the emergency room, [Speaker 6] (58:47 - 58:49) I worked with families day in, day out. [Speaker 6] (58:49 - 58:52) I understand the bottom lines of their economic realities. [Speaker 6] (58:52 - 58:53) I have worked not just, [Speaker 6] (58:54 - 58:58) I've actually working government was my first Monday through Friday, nine to five. [Speaker 6] (58:58 - 59:01) Before that, I'd only worked 12 to 18-hour shifts, [Speaker 6] (59:01 - 59:07) and it's really important to have somebody in a job like this who understands the working realities of American families. [Speaker 2] (59:09 - 59:10) Thank you, Maria. [Speaker 2] (59:10 - 59:11) Dan. [Speaker 7] (59:12 - 59:21) I think now is not the time for patty cake with MAGA, and to play nice with the other side that is complicit in destroying our democracy. [Speaker 7] (59:22 - 59:24) Every single day. [Speaker 7] (59:24 - 59:27) This president does something worse than the day before. [Speaker 7] (59:28 - 59:32) We wake up not conceiving that it could get any worse, and it does. [Speaker 7] (59:33 - 59:34) Anyone realize now that we're going to... [Speaker 1] (59:39 - 59:40) It keeps getting worse. [Speaker 1] (59:40 - 59:45) We're spending money overseas and sending loved ones over there for an illegal war. [Speaker 1] (59:46 - 59:55) And we have nobody right now who is standing up to this president and fighting hard enough in Congress to realize and acknowledge the gravity of this situation. [Speaker 1] (59:56 - 1:00:00) So, in my opinion, this is not a time to send someone in Congress to learn on the job. [Speaker 1] (1:00:01 - 1:00:06) I've been very, very fortunate to have had the experience at the most local level as a select board member, [Speaker 1] (1:00:06 - 1:00:10) as chief of staff to a major city in Boston, [Speaker 1] (1:00:10 - 1:00:12) and at the Department of Labor, [Speaker 1] (1:00:12 - 1:00:14) and at the White House. [Speaker 1] (1:00:15 - 1:00:21) And so if you want someone who understands intimately what this president is doing to our government to destroy it... [Speaker 1] (1:00:21 - 1:00:32) understands how to fight back on it, push back on it and make sure that we are defending our democracy and making sure that this kind of corruption never happens again then I respectfully believe that I'm your candidate. [Speaker 1] (1:00:32 - 1:00:34) These are not normal times. [Speaker 1] (1:00:35 - 1:00:45) In normal times maybe it would be a time to reach out to MAGA and figure out common ground but these are not honest actors and we need to make sure that we are fighting for democratic values now more than ever. [Speaker 2] (1:00:47 - 1:00:48) Thank you, Dan. [Speaker 3] (1:00:49 - 1:00:49) Trump. [Speaker 4] (1:00:50 - 1:00:52) Our government is in crisis right now, [Speaker 4] (1:00:52 - 1:00:54) and I completely agree. [Speaker 4] (1:00:54 - 1:00:54) I think everyone, [Speaker 4] (1:00:55 - 1:00:57) every single person here at this table, we hate Trump. [Speaker 4] (1:00:58 - 1:01:00) Every single person in this room, we hate Trump. [Speaker 4] (1:01:00 - 1:01:05) We hate everything that's happening. We hate waking up to the news and hearing the horror after horror. [Speaker 4] (1:01:05 - 1:01:14) But fighting Trump is not enough for Democrats and for us to be able to get back to where we need to be. We have to actually deliver for the people. [Speaker 4] (1:01:14 - 1:01:24) And that's why my personal experience and my professional experience put me in a unique position to be in that role where I could actually [Speaker 4] (1:01:24 - 1:01:31) show you that the issues that you all care about are not something that I'm just taking on now because I'm running for Congress. [Speaker 4] (1:01:31 - 1:01:35) I've spent my entire career working on lowering costs for people, [Speaker 4] (1:01:36 - 1:01:40) making sure that we defend our democracy and uplifting working families like mine. [Speaker 4] (1:01:41 - 1:01:45) And so of course I understand Congress is very different from the legislature. [Speaker 4] (1:01:45 - 1:01:47) Of course I understand that's a much bigger scale, [Speaker 4] (1:01:47 - 1:01:50) but the skill sets are essentially the same. [Speaker 4] (1:01:50 - 1:01:53) As a legislator, I've been able to pass 13 bills. [Speaker 4] (1:01:54 - 1:01:55) With bipartisan support, [Speaker 4] (1:01:56 - 1:01:58) I came into the legislature not knowing a single person, [Speaker 4] (1:01:58 - 1:02:01) but because of my ability to build relationships, [Speaker 4] (1:02:01 - 1:02:06) I've been able to push these things through to actually get results for the people who needed it most. [Speaker 4] (1:02:06 - 1:02:07) For instance, [Speaker 4] (1:02:07 - 1:02:11) I came in right before the COVID pandemic in 2019. That was when I took office. [Speaker 4] (1:02:11 - 1:02:12) COVID happened in 2020. [Speaker 4] (1:02:12 - 1:02:14) In my first term in office, [Speaker 4] (1:02:15 - 1:02:17) I was able to pass three bills to expand unemployment, [Speaker 4] (1:02:17 - 1:02:20) to make sure that working families get the support that they need. [Speaker 4] (1:02:20 - 1:02:24) That's the type of leadership that's needed right now as people are struggling to put food on the table. [Speaker 4] (1:02:25 - 1:02:27) I've also been able to bring back money to the district, [Speaker 4] (1:02:28 - 1:02:28) as I mentioned earlier, [Speaker 4] (1:02:28 - 1:02:34) but more importantly, being able to help thousands and thousands of constituents through these years, [Speaker 4] (1:02:34 - 1:02:39) especially during this moment in time where people are struggling with food insecurity, [Speaker 4] (1:02:39 - 1:02:39) housing, [Speaker 4] (1:02:40 - 1:02:40) etc. [Speaker 4] (1:02:40 - 1:02:43) And so with all of this experience, [Speaker 4] (1:02:43 - 1:02:47) I've been able to do the work, I have the experience, and I want to bring that commitment to the federal level. [Speaker 5] (1:02:49 - 1:02:50) Thank you, Trump. [Speaker 5] (1:02:51 - 1:02:51) Bethany. [Speaker 4] (1:02:52 - 1:02:59) Yeah, so I know not everybody knows what my job involves. [Speaker 4] (1:02:59 - 1:03:03) I am a principal software engineer, [Speaker 4] (1:03:03 - 1:03:04) an engineering leader, [Speaker 4] (1:03:04 - 1:03:18) and nobody ever called me up and said, we want to hire you because our system works great and our code is beautiful and everybody gets along and we're really happy with the way things are going. [Speaker 4] (1:03:19 - 1:03:24) I am very used to going into very messed up situations where people hate each other, [Speaker 4] (1:03:24 - 1:03:30) where the system is broken and complicated and just an absolute mess. [Speaker 4] (1:03:30 - 1:03:38) And part of the job is taking responsibility for things that might not be directly our fault, [Speaker 4] (1:03:38 - 1:03:40) but we have agency over. [Speaker 4] (1:03:40 - 1:03:43) It means not blaming other people. [Speaker 4] (1:03:44 - 1:03:48) Blame does that we do blameless postmortems, we call them. [Speaker 4] (1:03:49 - 1:03:54) We genuinely believe everybody did the best they could with the tools they had at the time. [Speaker 4] (1:03:55 - 1:03:58) And you think, but what about the bad, [Speaker 4] (1:03:58 - 1:03:58) yeah, [Speaker 4] (1:03:59 - 1:04:00) that yeah, [Speaker 4] (1:04:00 - 1:04:01) even them, [Speaker 4] (1:04:01 - 1:04:04) their tools suck. [Speaker 4] (1:04:05 - 1:04:08) But when we start from that position, [Speaker 4] (1:04:09 - 1:04:11) we can hold to account absolutely anybody. [Speaker 4] (1:04:12 - 1:04:27) I have brought executives from the top of company in to explain to all of us why they broke the software that people depend on and what they're going to do differently next time. [Speaker 4] (1:04:28 - 1:04:33) And I'm good at this job not because that's what I've done my entire life. [Speaker 4] (1:04:33 - 1:04:35) I started with a theater degree from Smith College. [Speaker 4] (1:04:37 - 1:04:41) And I waited tables, and I got food stamps and free care, [Speaker 4] (1:04:41 - 1:04:43) and I worked my way into this profession, [Speaker 4] (1:04:43 - 1:04:46) and it's what made me good at that job, [Speaker 4] (1:04:46 - 1:04:49) and it is what will let me do more in Washington. [Speaker 4] (1:04:49 - 1:04:50) Thank you. [Speaker 5] (1:04:51 - 1:04:52) Thank you, Bethany. [Speaker 5] (1:04:53 - 1:04:56) Our next question is from Sophia Harris, [Speaker 5] (1:04:56 - 1:04:59) Editorial Director of Essex Media Group, [Speaker 5] (1:04:59 - 1:05:02) representing the Lynn Daily Item and the Marblehead, [Speaker 5] (1:05:02 - 1:05:03) Lynnfield, [Speaker 5] (1:05:03 - 1:05:05) and Peabody Weekly newspapers. [Speaker 6] (1:05:09 - 1:05:10) Good evening. [Speaker 6] (1:05:10 - 1:05:14) Many are concerned that Congress's impact is shrinking. [Speaker 6] (1:05:15 - 1:05:22) What will you do to make your voice, as well as the voices of your constituents, heard in Washington? [Speaker 5] (1:05:23 - 1:05:23) Dan? [Speaker 1] (1:05:24 - 1:05:25) I think that [Speaker 1] (1:05:26 - 1:05:30) The legislature needs to do its job, its constitutional job, [Speaker 1] (1:05:30 - 1:05:41) to be the co-equal branch of government that will check this president for two years and hopefully only two years because I believe he will run for re-election again and we need to make sure that doesn't happen. [Speaker 1] (1:05:42 - 1:05:46) So first, we need to make sure that when we win back the House. [Speaker 1] (1:05:47 - 1:05:50) We are holding every single person accountable who has bent the knee to this president. [Speaker 1] (1:05:51 - 1:05:53) We will have subpoena power to do that. [Speaker 1] (1:05:53 - 1:05:56) That just doesn't mean just cabinet members. [Speaker 1] (1:05:56 - 1:06:04) It means every single CEO who has promised something to this president funded his vanity tours and making sure that we are holding it to account. [Speaker 1] (1:06:04 - 1:06:08) It means having an aggressive plan to vote for as Democrats, [Speaker 1] (1:06:09 - 1:06:11) a plan for affordable health care. [Speaker 1] (1:06:11 - 1:06:12) I believe that to be Medicare for all. [Speaker 1] (1:06:13 - 1:06:18) I also believe that we need to make sure that we are reversing the cuts that are harming our most vulnerable, [Speaker 1] (1:06:18 - 1:06:21) like when it comes to Medicaid and Medicare, [Speaker 1] (1:06:21 - 1:06:23) like when it comes to housing, [Speaker 1] (1:06:23 - 1:06:28) like when it comes to all of the other things like the tax cuts that we're seeing that's a giveaway to the rich. [Speaker 1] (1:06:29 - 1:06:31) We have to be aggressive in what we stand for. [Speaker 1] (1:06:32 - 1:06:35) We need to fight fire with fire with this president. [Speaker 1] (1:06:35 - 1:06:41) The last thing I would say is that people like to ask, what would you do as a freshman member of Congress that would make you more effective than others? [Speaker 1] (1:06:42 - 1:06:45) I think there's a really interesting model and that's what AOC did. [Speaker 1] (1:06:46 - 1:06:53) She skirted the traditional power structures of Washington to build a platform where she could take her issues of the district directly to people. [Speaker 1] (1:06:54 - 1:06:57) I was very fortunate to work for Ariana Huffington at the Huffington Post. [Speaker 1] (1:06:57 - 1:07:02) And I've learned afterwards to build a platform after the administration called the People's Cabinet. [Speaker 1] (1:07:02 - 1:07:07) We have seven million listeners where I build leverage to talk about the issues that Donald Trump is doing to our democracy. [Speaker 1] (1:07:08 - 1:07:10) I will use that platform for this district. [Speaker 1] (1:07:10 - 1:07:13) It will create leverage for the district that wouldn't otherwise exist, [Speaker 1] (1:07:13 - 1:07:16) and we will be able to deliver far more effectively for everybody. [Speaker 5] (1:07:17 - 1:07:18) Thank you, Dan. [Speaker 5] (1:07:18 - 1:07:19) Mariah. [Speaker 7] (1:07:20 - 1:07:24) I'm glad to hear Dan mention AOC because I agree she's done extraordinary things. [Speaker 7] (1:07:24 - 1:07:32) But the other day I was in a fundraiser for her and Ayanna Pressley here in Boston just fangirling in the crowd. [Speaker 7] (1:07:32 - 1:07:41) And what I will say that really struck me that they spoke about was the fact that the way they did that, the way they delivered for their constituents, [Speaker 7] (1:07:41 - 1:07:46) the two of them entering the house together back in 2018 was by having each other's backs. [Speaker 7] (1:07:47 - 1:07:48) Absolutely. [Speaker 7] (1:07:48 - 1:07:50) It confused leadership. [Speaker 7] (1:07:50 - 1:07:55) They didn't understand what their priorities were. They couldn't control them because they advocated for one another. [Speaker 7] (1:07:55 - 1:07:56) And so again, [Speaker 7] (1:07:57 - 1:07:58) we come to coalition building. [Speaker 7] (1:07:59 - 1:08:05) If you go in thinking that you as a freshman member are going to turn the whole world upside down on your own, [Speaker 7] (1:08:06 - 1:08:08) you are wrong. [Speaker 7] (1:08:09 - 1:08:11) The only way you do this is through partnerships. [Speaker 7] (1:08:11 - 1:08:14) So that is just a huge piece of what I think is really important. [Speaker 7] (1:08:15 - 1:08:18) But I also want to kind of undermine the premise of this question. [Speaker 7] (1:08:18 - 1:08:20) I don't think Congress's impact is shrinking. [Speaker 7] (1:08:21 - 1:08:25) I think Congress has abdicated its responsibility for a very long time, [Speaker 7] (1:08:25 - 1:08:27) but its impact is profound. [Speaker 7] (1:08:28 - 1:08:36) The impact of that abdication, the impact of the GOP just rolling over to whatever the executive branch says right now. [Speaker 7] (1:08:37 - 1:08:40) Congress has the power of the purse. [Speaker 7] (1:08:40 - 1:08:47) Every dollar administered by this administration is supposed to be authorized and given permission by Congress to be spent. [Speaker 7] (1:08:47 - 1:08:53) And Congress is responsible for holding the executive to account and they are not doing it. [Speaker 7] (1:08:54 - 1:08:56) That is not shrinking impact. [Speaker 7] (1:08:56 - 1:09:01) That is profound constitution shredding impact. [Speaker 7] (1:09:02 - 1:09:07) So the way that we combat that is by reclaiming the power of Congress. [Speaker 7] (1:09:07 - 1:09:09) And we talk a lot about flipping the House. [Speaker 7] (1:09:09 - 1:09:12) I'm really focused on not just how we flip the House, [Speaker 7] (1:09:12 - 1:09:13) but how we hold the House, [Speaker 7] (1:09:13 - 1:09:18) how we make sure that we don't end up in this space again in six or eight years. [Speaker 7] (1:09:19 - 1:09:25) And that means being really aggressive and working really closely with all sorts of Democrats to [Speaker 5] (1:09:25 - 1:09:25) Thank [Speaker 7] (1:09:25 - 1:09:25) maintain [Speaker 5] (1:09:25 - 1:09:26) you, Maria. [Speaker 7] (1:09:26 - 1:09:26) a majority. [Speaker 5] (1:09:27 - 1:09:27) Trump [Speaker 4] (1:09:29 - 1:09:29) So [Speaker 3] (1:09:29 - 1:09:33) So again our government is in crisis and we can't be playing by the old playbook. [Speaker 3] (1:09:33 - 1:09:35) So a couple of things I want to know. [Speaker 3] (1:09:35 - 1:09:43) Number one we do need to hold Trump accountable and we do need to hold Republicans accountable but we also have to hold Democrats accountable as well. [Speaker 3] (1:09:43 - 1:09:45) Not all Democrats are the same. [Speaker 3] (1:09:45 - 1:09:49) So when we have certain votes and you see Democrats voting with the Republicans. [Speaker 3] (1:09:50 - 1:09:53) I say flipping the seats and flipping many of these seats is not enough, [Speaker 3] (1:09:53 - 1:09:53) right? [Speaker 3] (1:09:54 - 1:09:58) So we need leaders to go in there to lead with moral clarity, [Speaker 3] (1:09:58 - 1:10:01) to actually get better outcomes for people. [Speaker 3] (1:10:01 - 1:10:04) People don't want better messaging. [Speaker 3] (1:10:04 - 1:10:09) They want results. They want to feel like government is working for them again. [Speaker 3] (1:10:09 - 1:10:13) And that's how I want to bring the people's voices to Congress. [Speaker 3] (1:10:13 - 1:10:16) And to the federal government overall. [Speaker 3] (1:10:16 - 1:10:18) Because I do agree with Dr. [Speaker 3] (1:10:18 - 1:10:22) Lancaster that Congress is abdicating their responsibilities. [Speaker 3] (1:10:22 - 1:10:25) We can withhold funds for Trump's priorities. [Speaker 3] (1:10:25 - 1:10:28) We can investigate the corruption. [Speaker 3] (1:10:28 - 1:10:30) We can impeach him and his lackeys. [Speaker 3] (1:10:30 - 1:10:36) And we should be using every single tool in the toolbox to hold him and his posse accountable. [Speaker 3] (1:10:37 - 1:10:39) But that's not happening right now because we don't have... [Speaker 3] (1:10:39 - 1:10:41) the courage. [Speaker 3] (1:10:41 - 1:10:44) There are certain people in there who are not. [Speaker 3] (1:10:44 - 1:11:13) following who are essentially following the same old same old expecting a different result that's why when going across the district we're hearing that people want public service champions of the people people who are willing to put themselves out there and even going against DC insiders because I think that's what got us here so how do we do that how do we not only build a durable majority but also talk about the things that would actually matter to people on the ground [Speaker 3] (1:11:13 - 1:11:17) Focusing on affordability, defending our democracy without apology, [Speaker 3] (1:11:17 - 1:11:20) and actually working with the people so that they feel empowered, [Speaker 3] (1:11:21 - 1:11:22) so that we can have long-lasting change. [Speaker 4] (1:11:24 - 1:11:25) Thank you, Tram. [Speaker 4] (1:11:26 - 1:11:27) Bethany. [Speaker 3] (1:11:28 - 1:11:31) So the Supreme Court just restored Jim Crow, [Speaker 3] (1:11:32 - 1:11:33) and [Speaker 3] (1:11:34 - 1:11:36) Congress has done nothing. [Speaker 3] (1:11:38 - 1:11:42) And we had an opportunity to do something and stop this before it started, [Speaker 3] (1:11:42 - 1:11:45) and we wrote a book report, [Speaker 3] (1:11:45 - 1:11:47) and that was it. [Speaker 3] (1:11:47 - 1:11:56) We need to be creative. We can't just do the same thing we did and expect different results. [Speaker 3] (1:11:56 - 1:11:59) So for the Supreme Court, [Speaker 3] (1:11:59 - 1:12:03) this bad boy can fit so many justices in it. It's going to be great. [Speaker 3] (1:12:03 - 1:12:07) But we also need to limit its jurisdiction. [Speaker 3] (1:12:07 - 1:12:11) This is power that the Congress has in the Constitution, [Speaker 3] (1:12:11 - 1:12:19) and we can say we are passing campaign finance laws, [Speaker 3] (1:12:19 - 1:12:22) and they're constitutional. [Speaker 3] (1:12:22 - 1:12:23) Boom. [Speaker 3] (1:12:23 - 1:12:27) We haven't used the tools of power that we have. [Speaker 3] (1:12:28 - 1:12:39) And then there are people who don't want to. There are people who actively support all of what is going on. And we will organize against them with the movement that isn't just in this district. [Speaker 3] (1:12:40 - 1:12:51) We had 18 no-kings protests in this district, along with the entire rest of the country standing up together and expecting better, [Speaker 3] (1:12:51 - 1:12:53) demanding better. [Speaker 5] (1:12:54 - 1:13:18) enforcing the rules because as we've all seen the rules only exist when we enforce them so it's not just one person it's that all of our voices together are louder are unavoidable they cannot ignore us and we can restore the rule of law to America [Speaker 4] (1:13:20 - 1:13:21) Thank you, Bethany. [Speaker 4] (1:13:21 - 1:13:22) Jamie. [Speaker 6] (1:13:24 - 1:13:28) I'm going to kind of go back to the grassroots part of this question here, [Speaker 6] (1:13:28 - 1:13:28) okay? [Speaker 6] (1:13:29 - 1:13:30) And I do agree. [Speaker 6] (1:13:30 - 1:13:43) I actually will have to say I don't believe the Congress's impact is shrinking. I actually think that it's just done such a job on the everyday person that's actually permeating all of our lives because they aren't doing their job. [Speaker 6] (1:13:43 - 1:13:46) We are here for a democratic forum. [Speaker 6] (1:13:46 - 1:13:50) So I'm going to speak to the Democratic Party first and foremost and then get back to the grassroots. [Speaker 6] (1:13:50 - 1:13:57) We need new democratic leadership and we need to all be toeing a line of change. And then. [Speaker 6] (1:13:57 - 1:14:01) Stop talking about it. Stop patting each other on each other's backs. [Speaker 6] (1:14:01 - 1:14:06) Stop raising the same money from the same bazillionaires and actually do something. [Speaker 6] (1:14:06 - 1:14:06) I want a plan. [Speaker 6] (1:14:07 - 1:14:10) I want a three to five point plan that leadership's going to do. [Speaker 6] (1:14:10 - 1:14:20) Like we're actually going to codify Roe. We're going to take care of campaign finance. People and impeach and do all of the things, [Speaker 6] (1:14:20 - 1:14:21) do all the hard things. [Speaker 6] (1:14:22 - 1:14:24) The GOP's fallen in line behind their leadership. [Speaker 6] (1:14:24 - 1:14:27) ship, we need to actually have a vision and a plan. [Speaker 6] (1:14:27 - 1:14:31) Now, for my own self, how do you make your voice? You stay in the district. [Speaker 6] (1:14:31 - 1:14:33) You live in the district. [Speaker 6] (1:14:33 - 1:14:34) You are part of the district. [Speaker 6] (1:14:35 - 1:14:39) You bring your community members from the district into your office. You hire the community members. [Speaker 6] (1:14:39 - 1:14:41) You don't hire D.C. outsiders. [Speaker 6] (1:14:41 - 1:14:49) You make sure your district is part of the entire plan so that you hear your voice from all the different quadrants of this district, [Speaker 6] (1:14:49 - 1:14:52) from Tuxbury to Newburyport, from Lynn to Reading, [Speaker 6] (1:14:53 - 1:14:57) whatever that looks like. And you're making sure that you're having people be involved. [Speaker 6] (1:14:57 - 1:14:58) There are nine congressional. [Speaker 6] (1:14:58 - 1:15:19) members and then there's two senators I am friends with the outgoing my connections with these people are very very strong and so you use the power of the congressional delegation to get your voice heard and use those people to support you and again that's something I'm bringing to this race and I can bring and start tomorrow thank you [Speaker 4] (1:15:20 - 1:15:21) Thank you, Jamie. [Speaker 4] (1:15:21 - 1:15:22) John. [Speaker 7] (1:15:23 - 1:15:24) Well, [Speaker 7] (1:15:24 - 1:15:30) certainly our forefathers never thought of Donald Trump and what he could do and the damage he could do to democracy. [Speaker 7] (1:15:31 - 1:15:35) And we need to protect against that. We need to reform this government. [Speaker 7] (1:15:35 - 1:15:36) The government is broken. [Speaker 7] (1:15:36 - 1:15:38) Congress is not doing its job. [Speaker 7] (1:15:38 - 1:15:43) And so we need to look at how we can reform our government to make it work again for the people. [Speaker 7] (1:15:43 - 1:15:48) And I talked about some of it earlier in terms of the reform of campaign finance, [Speaker 7] (1:15:48 - 1:15:49) term limits, [Speaker 7] (1:15:50 - 1:15:51) holding Congress accountable. [Speaker 7] (1:15:52 - 1:16:05) Well, we also need to look at ways to make sure, you know, we're three branches of government, but we can't have courts that are politicized. We need to look at our Supreme Court and balance that out and perhaps have term limits and other requirements. [Speaker 7] (1:16:05 - 1:16:14) We need to also make sure that we're protecting the most vulnerable people in this country and their rights, which is not happening under this administration. [Speaker 7] (1:16:14 - 1:16:17) And it takes people to step up and to fight for that. [Speaker 7] (1:16:18 - 1:16:23) Obviously, we're seeing what we're seeing with ICE and immigrants is unconsionable. [Speaker 7] (1:16:23 - 1:16:26) What we're seeing, the attacks on LGBTQ community, [Speaker 7] (1:16:26 - 1:16:27) women's rights. [Speaker 7] (1:16:28 - 1:16:30) We're not protecting those people who need it most. [Speaker 7] (1:16:30 - 1:16:35) And it's incumbent upon whoever's elected here to be the fighter. [Speaker 7] (1:16:35 - 1:16:36) As Democrats, [Speaker 7] (1:16:36 - 1:16:38) we always have been the party of the people. [Speaker 7] (1:16:38 - 1:16:41) And we need to make sure that we're, again, [Speaker 7] (1:16:41 - 1:16:42) we're going to win this election. [Speaker 7] (1:16:42 - 1:16:47) And that will be a start in terms of giving Congress the authority that it needs once again. [Speaker 7] (1:16:47 - 1:16:48) But once we do, [Speaker 7] (1:16:48 - 1:16:55) we need to refocus and we need to go back and look at what happened here and look at how we can reform our government and make it better. [Speaker 7] (1:16:56 - 1:17:02) And also the other way that you can provide voices to the people is listening to the people and actually being on the ground. [Speaker 7] (1:17:02 - 1:17:04) And Congress, [Speaker 7] (1:17:04 - 1:17:04) again, [Speaker 7] (1:17:04 - 1:17:07) people go to D.C., they're so disconnected from what's going on. [Speaker 7] (1:17:08 - 1:17:09) And so it's important. [Speaker 7] (1:17:09 - 1:17:11) I will be here talking to people, [Speaker 7] (1:17:11 - 1:17:12) listening, [Speaker 7] (1:17:12 - 1:17:14) having policy roundtables, [Speaker 7] (1:17:14 - 1:17:15) town halls. [Speaker 7] (1:17:15 - 1:17:17) That's the way you do it. That's the way you govern. [Speaker 7] (1:17:18 - 1:17:18) Understand, [Speaker 7] (1:17:18 - 1:17:18) listen, [Speaker 7] (1:17:18 - 1:17:21) and then bring that to D.C. and fight like heck for it. [Speaker 4] (1:17:22 - 1:17:23) Thank you, John, [Speaker 4] (1:17:23 - 1:17:24) and thank you, Sophia, [Speaker 4] (1:17:24 - 1:17:26) and the Essex Media Group. [Speaker 8] (1:17:26 - 1:17:26) Thank you [Speaker 4] (1:17:30 - 1:17:31) Next question. [Speaker 4] (1:17:33 - 1:17:37) After the brutal attack by Hamas in October 2023, [Speaker 4] (1:17:38 - 1:17:47) a difficult issue for many Democrats is balancing support for Israel with support for the later actions taken by the Netanyahu government. [Speaker 4] (1:17:49 - 1:17:54) Do you believe the U.S. should continue that support of the Netanyahu government at the current level, [Speaker 4] (1:17:54 - 1:17:56) or what should change? [Speaker 7] (1:17:58 - 1:17:59) I guess me, right? [Speaker 4] (1:17:59 - 1:18:00) John. [Speaker 7] (1:18:00 - 1:18:00) Yeah. [Speaker 7] (1:18:01 - 1:18:02) Yeah. [Speaker 7] (1:18:02 - 1:18:07) So I think obviously our foreign policy is totally warped under this president, [Speaker 7] (1:18:07 - 1:18:08) number one. [Speaker 7] (1:18:08 - 1:18:11) You know, we've gone away from any type of diplomacy. [Speaker 7] (1:18:11 - 1:18:18) We've gone away, we've alienated our allies and we act without congressional action and all those things need to be refixed immediately. [Speaker 7] (1:18:18 - 1:18:22) When you look at the Middle East, you look at what's happening with Netanyahu. [Speaker 7] (1:18:22 - 1:18:27) It's important that we support our allies. [Speaker 7] (1:18:27 - 1:18:30) They certainly have a right to defend themselves, [Speaker 7] (1:18:30 - 1:18:34) but when you look at that part of the Middle East, [Speaker 7] (1:18:34 - 1:18:34) it's really, [Speaker 7] (1:18:34 - 1:18:36) it should be a two-state solution, [Speaker 7] (1:18:36 - 1:18:39) and we really need to look at the facts and circumstances very carefully. [Speaker 7] (1:18:40 - 1:18:43) Certainly any time there are humanitarian issues and concerns, [Speaker 7] (1:18:44 - 1:18:47) we need to act accordingly as a leader in this world. [Speaker 7] (1:18:48 - 1:19:00) And, you know, I think it's important on someone who is in office and has the ability to have these discussions to be fighting and to be protecting people's rights, protecting democracy in general. [Speaker 7] (1:19:00 - 1:19:06) And so whether it is Israel, whether it's any other country in the Middle East, whether it's the Ukraine, [Speaker 7] (1:19:07 - 1:19:14) we need to protect democracy. We need to be working and be leaders again on the global stage. And we're not doing this under this administration. It's very, [Speaker 7] (1:19:14 - 1:19:15) very concerning. [Speaker 7] (1:19:16 - 1:19:24) I think it's important for us to once again work together and to really take every situation is different. [Speaker 1] (1:19:48 - 1:19:52) I'm more complex. I mean, Trump's ended so many wars, according to him. [Speaker 1] (1:19:52 - 1:19:56) So we have to be very much up to speed and ahead on these issues. [Speaker 2] (1:19:57 - 1:19:58) Thank you, John. [Speaker 2] (1:19:58 - 1:19:59) Bethany. [Speaker 3] (1:19:59 - 1:20:01) Yeah, if your friend is drunk, [Speaker 3] (1:20:01 - 1:20:02) you don't buy them a Ferrari. [Speaker 3] (1:20:02 - 1:20:04) You take away their keys. [Speaker 3] (1:20:06 - 1:20:08) There is no excuse for genocide. [Speaker 3] (1:20:09 - 1:20:12) And Bethlehem has said genocidal acts have taken place in Gaza. [Speaker 3] (1:20:13 - 1:20:20) We have to acknowledge what has actually happened and the role that our technology has played in that. [Speaker 3] (1:20:21 - 1:20:25) AI has been target picking targets out of a hat, [Speaker 3] (1:20:25 - 1:20:30) at which point drones carry bombs into apartment buildings and explode. [Speaker 3] (1:20:32 - 1:20:35) We are seeing now the devastation in Lebanon. [Speaker 3] (1:20:36 - 1:20:37) The war in Iran? [Speaker 3] (1:20:38 - 1:20:43) I protested the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan back when George W. [Speaker 3] (1:20:43 - 1:20:45) Bush was the one starting these wars. [Speaker 3] (1:20:45 - 1:20:46) This isn't a Trump problem. [Speaker 3] (1:20:46 - 1:20:48) This is an America problem. [Speaker 3] (1:20:48 - 1:20:51) We need foreign policy that creates peace, [Speaker 3] (1:20:51 - 1:20:55) that invests in peace and justice. [Speaker 3] (1:20:55 - 1:20:58) Democracy is democracy for everybody. [Speaker 3] (1:20:58 - 1:21:01) It's democracy when everybody gets a vote. [Speaker 3] (1:21:01 - 1:21:05) And that is what America should expect of our allies, [Speaker 3] (1:21:06 - 1:21:18) is that they don't drag us into wars that we cannot win that are going to cost us $1.5 trillion to drive our gas prices up. [Speaker 3] (1:21:18 - 1:21:22) We need to have all aid to every country, [Speaker 3] (1:21:22 - 1:21:24) not just Israel, [Speaker 3] (1:21:24 - 1:21:27) every country's aid should be conditional. [Speaker 3] (1:21:28 - 1:21:31) on whether it serves America's interests, [Speaker 3] (1:21:31 - 1:21:33) whether it supports our values. [Speaker 3] (1:21:34 - 1:21:36) And I do not believe, [Speaker 3] (1:21:36 - 1:21:38) despite some of our history, [Speaker 3] (1:21:39 - 1:21:41) I do not believe that America's values are genocide. [Speaker 3] (1:21:41 - 1:21:46) I do not believe that America's values are conquest. [Speaker 3] (1:21:47 - 1:21:50) I believe that we can invest in peace. [Speaker 2] (1:21:52 - 1:21:53) Thank you, Bethany. [Speaker 2] (1:21:54 - 1:21:54) Mariah. [Speaker 3] (1:21:55 - 1:21:56) This is not hypothetical. [Speaker 3] (1:21:57 - 1:22:02) This is not about whether American foreign aid should be conditioned. [Speaker 3] (1:22:03 - 1:22:19) There are federal laws on the books that I abided by as a grant officer representative at the State Department that require that every dollar of American foreign aid be [Speaker 3] (1:22:19 - 1:22:20) double, [Speaker 3] (1:22:20 - 1:22:26) triple checked by the embassy that it is not going to anyone that has violated human rights. [Speaker 3] (1:22:27 - 1:22:28) We literally, [Speaker 3] (1:22:28 - 1:22:43) I was administering law enforcement trainings to combat environmental crime and I managed $20 million a year and we were running people's names through the embassy making sure that no one had a history of violating human rights. [Speaker 3] (1:22:44 - 1:22:45) And now? [Speaker 3] (1:22:46 - 1:22:51) We are bankrolling a supposed ally in [Speaker 3] (1:22:54 - 1:22:57) a completely unjustified genocide. [Speaker 3] (1:22:58 - 1:23:10) We have seen a horrible attack that occurred on October 7th, just like we saw a horrible attack occur here on our soil on 9-11. [Speaker 3] (1:23:10 - 1:23:15) That would never have justified the United States committing genocide. [Speaker 3] (1:23:17 - 1:23:21) And it does not justify the violence that we're seeing in the Middle East now. [Speaker 3] (1:23:22 - 1:23:39) I also fundamentally believe that we need to evaluate how we're spending our foreign aid when an ally is picking fights with their neighbors and providing free education and free health care to their citizens that we don't have for ourselves here. [Speaker 3] (1:23:40 - 1:23:44) So all of these tax dollars that came from our paychecks, [Speaker 3] (1:23:44 - 1:23:46) need to be invested in the American people, [Speaker 3] (1:23:46 - 1:23:50) not spent picking unjustified fights abroad. [Speaker 2] (1:23:53 - 1:23:54) Thank you, Mariah. [Speaker 2] (1:23:55 - 1:23:55) Dan. [Speaker 1] (1:23:56 - 1:24:07) This is very personal for me as an Arab American and a Lebanese American who I was recently talking to some of my family over there who wake up every day wondering if it's their last day. [Speaker 1] (1:24:07 - 1:24:10) And I know Jamie is also Syrian-American. [Speaker 1] (1:24:10 - 1:24:14) We both have family still over there. So it's horrifying every day, [Speaker 1] (1:24:14 - 1:24:18) the severity of the loss of innocent life in Gaza, [Speaker 1] (1:24:18 - 1:24:26) the fear that people feel about the uncertainty of what's happening there. [Speaker 1] (1:24:27 - 1:24:28) And let me be very clear, [Speaker 1] (1:24:28 - 1:24:34) it will be a very happy day in the Middle East when Bibi Netanyahu is no longer in power. [Speaker 1] (1:24:37 - 1:24:41) Straight up, it is horrifying what is happening over there. [Speaker 1] (1:24:42 - 1:24:56) And so we need to do everything we can to make sure that we are providing aid to the people of Gaza unencumbered, that we are upholding our laws and enforcing our laws. [Speaker 1] (1:24:58 - 1:25:03) And I just keep thinking about the people I talk to who I love. [Speaker 1] (1:25:04 - 1:25:06) who don't know what the next day will bring. [Speaker 1] (1:25:07 - 1:25:09) I also think it's important to point out one other thing. [Speaker 1] (1:25:12 - 1:25:19) None of Bibi Netanyahu's actions are an excuse for anti-Semitism that we are seeing that grows in this country every single day. [Speaker 1] (1:25:20 - 1:25:30) And I talk to people all across this district who are literally afraid to go out their door because of the threats that they are receiving. And when I worked in the White House, I worked on these issues. [Speaker 1] (1:25:31 - 1:25:34) I worked on issues of Arab anti-Arab sentiment. I worked on issues of anti-Semitism. [Speaker 1] (1:25:35 - 1:25:38) We need to stand with our Jewish American neighbors. [Speaker 1] (1:25:39 - 1:25:45) We need to stand with our Arab American neighbors. And we need to make sure that we are holding people accountable. [Speaker 2] (1:25:47 - 1:25:48) Thank you, Dan. [Speaker 2] (1:25:48 - 1:25:49) Jamie. [Speaker 4] (1:25:52 - 1:25:57) I will echo what my colleague from Andover has just said. [Speaker 4] (1:25:57 - 1:26:01) As I do speak to my family that is still in Syria, [Speaker 4] (1:26:01 - 1:26:10) who this country did not allow them to enter under the Obama administration because we did not allow Syrians to seek refuge here in this country. [Speaker 4] (1:26:12 - 1:26:15) Christians are being persecuted every single day. [Speaker 4] (1:26:15 - 1:26:20) We are bankrolling $38 million a day to Israel, [Speaker 4] (1:26:20 - 1:26:24) and it has nothing to do, in my estimation, about religion. [Speaker 4] (1:26:25 - 1:26:35) This is a colonialism situation that both Dan's family and my family had to leave the area and seek a new life here in the United States. [Speaker 4] (1:26:37 - 1:26:51) The only difference now, the only difference between the early 1900s or 1947 or 1948 is that we are able to see it broadcast live on TV and it's the exact reason why. [Speaker 4] (1:26:52 - 1:26:56) The Democratic Party lost the election in 2024. [Speaker 4] (1:26:58 - 1:27:02) And I don't know, you gave some other preamble to the question, [Speaker 4] (1:27:02 - 1:27:03) which I don't see on here, [Speaker 4] (1:27:03 - 1:27:12) but I think we're conflating religion with a rogue guy who's as bad as Putin. [Speaker 4] (1:27:15 - 1:27:18) And I don't want my GD tax money. [Speaker 4] (1:27:19 - 1:27:30) going to a government that's not mine where I'm spending almost $40,000 a year out of pocket so that I can pray my premium on my health insurance. [Speaker 4] (1:27:30 - 1:27:32) I want people to have housing. [Speaker 4] (1:27:32 - 1:27:34) I want that money to go to education. [Speaker 4] (1:27:34 - 1:27:36) I want that money to go to seniors. [Speaker 4] (1:27:36 - 1:27:38) I want it to be taking care of my communities. [Speaker 4] (1:27:39 - 1:27:42) So I could have just said no. [Speaker 2] (1:27:45 - 1:27:46) Thank you, Jamie. [Speaker 2] (1:27:46 - 1:27:46) Trump. [Speaker 5] (1:27:48 - 1:27:49) So I come from a war-torn country, [Speaker 5] (1:27:50 - 1:27:54) so I know the destruction and the trauma that comes from wars, right? [Speaker 5] (1:27:54 - 1:27:58) And we need leaders right now who are honest about the scale of suffering. [Speaker 5] (1:27:59 - 1:28:02) When we're seeing thousands and thousands of people, [Speaker 5] (1:28:02 - 1:28:04) mostly civilians and children, [Speaker 5] (1:28:04 - 1:28:05) starving, [Speaker 5] (1:28:05 - 1:28:06) dead, [Speaker 5] (1:28:06 - 1:28:09) that's morally unacceptable. And... [Speaker 5] (1:28:11 - 1:28:15) For me, I think that the focus should really be on finding solutions. [Speaker 5] (1:28:15 - 1:28:17) And I believe in accountability. [Speaker 5] (1:28:17 - 1:28:26) That's why I believe that we should never, ever send a blank check to anyone, even our own allies, because allies have to tell hard truths. [Speaker 5] (1:28:26 - 1:28:28) And in this instance, [Speaker 5] (1:28:28 - 1:28:34) I believe that Netanyahu should be tried as a war criminal for the things that he's done. [Speaker 5] (1:28:35 - 1:28:38) And of course we have to separate that out from the religion. [Speaker 5] (1:28:38 - 1:28:39) I completely agree with that, [Speaker 5] (1:28:39 - 1:28:47) which is why I've been the lead sponsor of the anti-hate bill in our state, partnering with our current, with our former Attorney General, [Speaker 5] (1:28:47 - 1:28:47) now our governor, [Speaker 5] (1:28:47 - 1:28:49) now currently with our AG, [Speaker 5] (1:28:49 - 1:28:52) to make sure that we fight anti-Semitism, [Speaker 5] (1:28:53 - 1:28:59) that we fight against any sort of discrimination for Muslim people, [Speaker 5] (1:28:59 - 1:29:02) for any religion for that matter, because it's important for us to... [Speaker 5] (1:29:03 - 1:29:11) Think about this in two very different ways is that we want to make sure that we are advocating for human rights, [Speaker 5] (1:29:11 - 1:29:14) civil rights and the safety of everyone. [Speaker 5] (1:29:14 - 1:29:18) And so conflating those issues could be very harmful and problematic, [Speaker 5] (1:29:18 - 1:29:19) which is why it's so important for. [Speaker 2] (1:29:34 - 1:29:35) Thank you, Tram. [Speaker 2] (1:29:36 - 1:29:39) We will have a question with one minute to answer. [Speaker 2] (1:29:40 - 1:29:42) So Joe, we will do question seven, [Speaker 2] (1:29:43 - 1:29:46) and rich one-minute timing on this. [Speaker 2] (1:29:47 - 1:29:48) Name a leader, [Speaker 2] (1:29:48 - 1:29:49) past or present, [Speaker 2] (1:29:49 - 1:29:55) whom you admire and explain what about their leadership you would most like to emulate. [Speaker 2] (1:29:55 - 1:29:56) Dan. [Speaker 3] (1:29:57 - 1:30:03) So I talk about the first politician I ever worked for in my life in his mailroom, and that was Ted Kennedy. [Speaker 3] (1:30:04 - 1:30:04) Ted Kennedy, [Speaker 3] (1:30:05 - 1:30:09) I think a lot of people in this room still have a saved note handwritten from Ted Kennedy. [Speaker 3] (1:30:10 - 1:30:12) We'll remember seeing him at a local, there you go. [Speaker 3] (1:30:12 - 1:30:13) You know what I'm talking about. [Speaker 3] (1:30:14 - 1:30:19) No one ever doubted how hard he fought for Democrats, [Speaker 3] (1:30:19 - 1:30:20) for the most vulnerable, [Speaker 3] (1:30:20 - 1:30:25) how many resources he brought to the district, as all of you know, [Speaker 3] (1:30:25 - 1:30:31) but he never forgot the local part of this, to be present, [Speaker 3] (1:30:31 - 1:30:32) to listen to people, [Speaker 3] (1:30:32 - 1:30:34) to help our most vulnerable. [Speaker 3] (1:30:35 - 1:30:37) I was so fortunate to learn from him, [Speaker 3] (1:30:37 - 1:30:39) the mayor Menino after that, [Speaker 3] (1:30:39 - 1:30:42) to Marty Walsh, to President Biden, [Speaker 3] (1:30:42 - 1:30:48) and I hope to emulate that kind of public service if I'm fortunate enough to get elected. [Speaker 2] (1:30:48 - 1:30:49) Thank you, Dan. [Speaker 2] (1:30:50 - 1:30:50) Bethany. [Speaker 1] (1:30:52 - 1:31:01) So Teddy Roosevelt had the clarity of purpose to stand up to his own party when he discovered how corrupt it was. [Speaker 1] (1:31:02 - 1:31:11) He was able to change America and reform a government that most people thought was too far gone. [Speaker 1] (1:31:11 - 1:31:13) And he didn't do it by himself. [Speaker 1] (1:31:14 - 1:31:24) He stood up to the rail barons and he organized with farmers across America to restore the promise of American democracy. [Speaker 1] (1:31:24 - 1:31:25) And we can do it again. [Speaker 2] (1:31:28 - 1:31:29) Thank you, Bethany. [Speaker 2] (1:31:29 - 1:31:29) Trump. [Speaker 1] (1:31:30 - 1:31:33) I like to say that a leader doesn't have to have a title. [Speaker 1] (1:31:34 - 1:31:37) We're all leaders in our own rights and we have to remember that, [Speaker 1] (1:31:37 - 1:31:41) which is why for me, the leader that I admire the most is my father, [Speaker 1] (1:31:41 - 1:31:42) who sacrificed... [Speaker 1] (1:31:43 - 1:32:11) his entire life essentially eight years as political prisoner fighting for democracy and freedom and then continuing to fight to give his daughters the opportunity to be here and now continuing to be very much engaged in so much of politics and giving back to the community that's what I want to emulate someone who's dedicated to the people who's dedicated to his family and who's willing to make huge sacrifices for the future [Speaker 1] (1:32:12 - 1:32:15) And that's what I continue to inspire me every single day. [Speaker 2] (1:32:15 - 1:32:16) Thank you, Trump. [Speaker 2] (1:32:16 - 1:32:17) Mariah. [Speaker 4] (1:32:18 - 1:32:20) I did not have an answer to this on the tip of my tongue, [Speaker 4] (1:32:20 - 1:32:22) so I've been thinking frantically. [Speaker 4] (1:32:23 - 1:32:24) But fundamentally, [Speaker 4] (1:32:24 - 1:32:25) FDR, [Speaker 4] (1:32:25 - 1:32:29) he took an economy that was very much like this one, [Speaker 4] (1:32:29 - 1:32:32) deeply rigged, deeply structured to benefit. [Speaker 4] (1:32:33 - 1:32:34) as we would say, the 1 percent, [Speaker 4] (1:32:34 - 1:32:37) and completely turn it on its head. [Speaker 4] (1:32:37 - 1:32:47) He invented structures of social safety nets that have supported people for generations. And we are watching them be imperiled now, [Speaker 4] (1:32:47 - 1:32:53) but we are also watching a generation of folks that are not career politicians, [Speaker 4] (1:32:53 - 1:33:00) but are normal everyday working people who understand the value of the policies that FDR put in place a century ago. [Speaker 4] (1:33:00 - 1:33:14) and are ready to take a bite at the apple to try to restore the integrity of the America that he imagined and I also shout out Eleanor Roosevelt too because goodness knows he didn't do it alone [Speaker 2] (1:33:15 - 1:33:16) Thank you, Mariah. [Speaker 2] (1:33:17 - 1:33:17) John. [Speaker 3] (1:33:18 - 1:33:20) Sorry, I'm going to break the rule and say two. [Speaker 3] (1:33:20 - 1:33:20) One, [Speaker 3] (1:33:20 - 1:33:23) growing up, I had two things on my wall, [Speaker 3] (1:33:23 - 1:33:25) a cross and a picture of John F. [Speaker 3] (1:33:25 - 1:33:25) Kennedy. [Speaker 5] (1:33:26 - 1:33:29) And JFK, again, [Speaker 5] (1:33:29 - 1:33:36) was my first big politician and someone who just the message of public service and protecting everyone's rights. [Speaker 5] (1:33:36 - 1:33:38) The second is my father. [Speaker 5] (1:33:38 - 1:33:43) He was a local selectman, but probably the most selfless person I've ever known. [Speaker 5] (1:33:43 - 1:33:46) And he showed me the value of respecting others, [Speaker 5] (1:33:46 - 1:33:51) common decency, and what you could do if you put people first and you're active in your community. [Speaker 5] (1:33:51 - 1:33:54) And those values are what we need to get back to as a country. [Speaker 5] (1:33:54 - 1:33:57) I know there's a lot of us versus them, [Speaker 5] (1:33:57 - 1:34:00) but we need to get back to those values to getting things done. [Speaker 2] (1:34:03 - 1:34:03) Thank you, John. [Speaker 2] (1:34:04 - 1:34:04) Jamie. [Speaker 6] (1:34:05 - 1:34:12) I made mention of Joe Mokley, and so that is something I generally rely upon, [Speaker 6] (1:34:12 - 1:34:14) but I will go to my great aunt, [Speaker 6] (1:34:15 - 1:34:19) Alice Fitzgibbon Del Rossi. She ran for... [Speaker 6] (1:34:20 - 1:34:25) You're the open seat, John, that you're not going to run for in the state house, [Speaker 6] (1:34:25 - 1:34:34) and it was for Stoneham and Redding and Melrose, and it was 1965, and she was a mother of four. [Speaker 6] (1:34:35 - 1:34:37) She had worked with Ted Kennedy. [Speaker 6] (1:34:37 - 1:34:42) My grandmother's brother was the first casualty in the Vietnam War. [Speaker 6] (1:34:42 - 1:34:44) And she ended up running, [Speaker 6] (1:34:44 - 1:34:47) and she beat six guys in a primary. [Speaker 6] (1:34:47 - 1:34:52) And here's the kicker, because they did this to me. They redistricted the district while she was running. [Speaker 6] (1:34:55 - 1:34:56) And she ended up losing, [Speaker 6] (1:34:56 - 1:35:00) but she ended up becoming the first female select board chair of Stoneham. [Speaker 6] (1:35:00 - 1:35:07) And there is a portrait of her going up on the wall in honor of the first female leader of that board. [Speaker 6] (1:35:07 - 1:35:10) And I get a little bit of that feist in me here, [Speaker 6] (1:35:10 - 1:35:11) so thank you. [Speaker 2] (1:35:12 - 1:35:13) Thank you, Jamie. [Speaker 2] (1:35:13 - 1:35:15) And now it's time to close. [Speaker 2] (1:35:15 - 1:35:18) We obviously have six great candidates to choose from. [Speaker 2] (1:35:18 - 1:35:23) You each have three minutes to give your final remarks, [Speaker 2] (1:35:23 - 1:35:24) starting with Tram. [Speaker 1] (1:35:25 - 1:35:29) First of all, thank you so much to the organizers and for all of you for being here. [Speaker 1] (1:35:29 - 1:35:39) I'm so grateful for this opportunity to share my story and my vision for how we can work together to advance our shared values. And that's the most important thing. [Speaker 1] (1:35:41 - 1:35:45) So for me, I've spent my entire career fighting for working families, [Speaker 1] (1:35:46 - 1:35:48) lowering costs and defending our democracy, [Speaker 1] (1:35:48 - 1:35:53) because all of these issues are very personal to me. They're not theoretical. [Speaker 1] (1:35:54 - 1:36:00) I understand what it means to not be able to have a secured housing. [Speaker 1] (1:36:00 - 1:36:02) I know what it means to be food insecure. [Speaker 1] (1:36:03 - 1:36:09) I grew up in an immigrant working class family where I saw my dad delivering pizza and Chinese food, [Speaker 1] (1:36:09 - 1:36:10) not making minimum wage, [Speaker 1] (1:36:10 - 1:36:14) not understanding their rights, and for sure did not have health insurance. [Speaker 1] (1:36:15 - 1:36:20) But I saw how they stretched a dollar every single day and because of good government, [Speaker 1] (1:36:20 - 1:36:21) because of good policies, [Speaker 1] (1:36:22 - 1:36:26) I'm able to be here today as a proud product of the public school system, [Speaker 1] (1:36:26 - 1:36:30) as someone who's benefited so much from investments in me. [Speaker 1] (1:36:30 - 1:36:40) That a five-year-old girl who came to this country not knowing a word of English became the first person in her to go to college and then to law school. [Speaker 1] (1:36:40 - 1:36:42) And rather than going to a big law firm, [Speaker 1] (1:36:42 - 1:36:54) I chose to give back to be a legal aid attorney to help the most vulnerable among us because I believe in that investment in people. I'm the living proof that the American dream. [Speaker 1] (1:36:55 - 1:36:56) is what it should be. [Speaker 1] (1:36:57 - 1:37:04) But that dream is so far away for so many people now that this is why I'm running for the federal level to keep that dream alive. [Speaker 1] (1:37:06 - 1:37:07) But in addition to my lived experience, [Speaker 1] (1:37:08 - 1:37:31) I've also worked as both a legal aid attorney and a union member who has championed issues that we're hearing across the board, affordability, and lowering costs for working families and making sure that we are working with communities to get you the things that you need to live, work and play and thrive in your own communities. [Speaker 1] (1:37:31 - 1:37:34) And that's what I've been doing my entire career. [Speaker 1] (1:37:34 - 1:37:36) And I want to be able to continue to do that. [Speaker 1] (1:37:36 - 1:37:42) I didn't dream of being in politics. I tell everyone this. I'm an accidental politician. [Speaker 1] (1:37:42 - 1:37:44) I ran in 2018 because [Speaker 1] (1:37:45 - 1:37:49) There was a MAGA Republican who was in this seat and I challenged him. [Speaker 1] (1:37:49 - 1:37:54) In fact, he filed a bill that would have allowed police officers to stop anyone who looks illegal. [Speaker 1] (1:37:54 - 1:37:56) Does that sound familiar to all of us? [Speaker 1] (1:37:56 - 1:38:07) That's what's happening in our communities. There are people like that out there and that's why I am running for Congress to make a change, to make a difference, to bring a fresh voice and new perspective, [Speaker 1] (1:38:07 - 1:38:11) but also to bring that very real grounded experience. [Speaker 1] (1:38:11 - 1:38:28) against two congress because how can you make good laws if you actually don't know how it actually impacts people on the ground and that's why I hope to be able to earn your support your vote and your consideration in this race and I look forward to answering more questions and staying engaged with you all for the rest of the campaign thank you so much [Speaker 2] (1:38:29 - 1:38:30) Thank you, Trump. [Speaker 2] (1:38:30 - 1:38:31) John. [Speaker 5] (1:38:32 - 1:38:35) So this is probably the most important election of our lifetime, [Speaker 5] (1:38:36 - 1:38:39) and we need to think very... [Speaker 5] (1:38:39 - 1:38:42) carefully about who we elect and who we send to Washington. [Speaker 5] (1:38:43 - 1:38:46) I think this is a time we need real change. [Speaker 5] (1:38:46 - 1:38:50) We need people, we can't just keep electing Washington insiders. [Speaker 5] (1:38:50 - 1:38:55) We can't elect people who are going to go DC and not serve people in this community. [Speaker 5] (1:38:56 - 1:39:00) It's time to end the political games and we got to really start putting people first. [Speaker 5] (1:39:01 - 1:39:07) And to me, you know, part of this campaign and what I've been focused on most is meeting people where they're at. [Speaker 5] (1:39:08 - 1:39:11) I have my car. You'll see the signs of my car outside. [Speaker 5] (1:39:11 - 1:39:14) You might remember John McCain's Straight Talk Express. I have the you betcha. [Speaker 1] (1:39:13 - 1:39:16) I have the you betcha express running through towns, [Speaker 1] (1:39:16 - 1:39:18) 39 cities and towns, listening to people, [Speaker 1] (1:39:18 - 1:39:21) understanding what their needs are. [Speaker 1] (1:39:22 - 1:39:23) And people are suffering. [Speaker 1] (1:39:23 - 1:39:26) There's so much inequality and we're not creating opportunity. [Speaker 1] (1:39:27 - 1:39:35) You know, you see the food pantries are overrun. You see people, immigrants in the cities are afraid to walk their kids to school. [Speaker 1] (1:39:35 - 1:39:38) Young people are leaving the state because of the costs. [Speaker 1] (1:39:38 - 1:39:43) This is not the state and the country that we want. I'm a father of two. [Speaker 1] (1:39:43 - 1:39:45) I worry about my kids' future. [Speaker 1] (1:39:46 - 1:39:54) And I think now is the time where we need to step up to protect democracy. That's why I'm in this race as someone who's never run for office before. [Speaker 1] (1:39:55 - 1:40:01) But this is the type of leadership and the change that we need. We need new ideas and we need people who believe in public service. [Speaker 1] (1:40:03 - 1:40:05) So I think my agenda is simple. [Speaker 1] (1:40:06 - 1:40:09) It's to help people to create opportunity and to help people, [Speaker 1] (1:40:10 - 1:40:13) to give them the tools to achieve the American dream. [Speaker 1] (1:40:13 - 1:40:15) And it starts with the economy. [Speaker 1] (1:40:15 - 1:40:17) We've got to lower costs and create jobs. [Speaker 1] (1:40:17 - 1:40:22) One of the first things I would work on is a Main Street revitalization bill, [Speaker 1] (1:40:22 - 1:40:24) which would be increasing jobs, [Speaker 1] (1:40:24 - 1:40:25) helping small business, [Speaker 1] (1:40:25 - 1:40:27) giving them incentives and the support that they need, [Speaker 1] (1:40:28 - 1:40:29) increasing workers' [Speaker 1] (1:40:29 - 1:40:29) rights, [Speaker 1] (1:40:29 - 1:40:31) raising the minimum wage. [Speaker 1] (1:40:31 - 1:40:34) helping bring in new industries into the state. [Speaker 1] (1:40:35 - 1:40:39) I think we also need to look at our tax reform, as I mentioned earlier. [Speaker 1] (1:40:39 - 1:40:43) We need to look at removing the cap on Social Security tax, [Speaker 1] (1:40:43 - 1:40:46) and we need to take common sense approaches to things. [Speaker 1] (1:40:46 - 1:40:52) There's no reason why we should have food insecurity in a state like Massachusetts or in a country in the United States of America. [Speaker 1] (1:40:52 - 1:40:53) Second, [Speaker 1] (1:40:53 - 1:40:55) we need to look at education from the ground up. [Speaker 1] (1:40:55 - 1:40:59) We need to help people in terms of universal pre-K. [Speaker 1] (1:41:00 - 1:41:03) The biggest cost for working families is that child care. [Speaker 1] (1:41:03 - 1:41:03) here. [Speaker 1] (1:41:03 - 1:41:08) We need to look at expanding vocational schools. And then finally, we need to look at health care. [Speaker 1] (1:41:08 - 1:41:09) It's a fundamental right. [Speaker 1] (1:41:09 - 1:41:13) These are the things we need to focus on. We need to put people over politics. [Speaker 1] (1:41:13 - 1:41:19) So if you want someone who, again, who's going to prioritize the right things, who has a track record of getting things done, who's worked with the government, [Speaker 1] (1:41:19 - 1:41:24) I ask for your support and I look forward to talking to each and every one of you during the course of this campaign. [Speaker 2] (1:41:25 - 1:41:26) Thank you, John. [Speaker 2] (1:41:26 - 1:41:27) Mariah. [Speaker 3] (1:41:29 - 1:41:32) Thank you guys all so much for being here tonight. [Speaker 3] (1:41:33 - 1:41:35) We could have, we honestly, [Speaker 3] (1:41:35 - 1:41:39) we were all joking that we may end up talking to an empty room tonight. So it really makes a huge difference that you're here. [Speaker 3] (1:41:40 - 1:41:47) It also is the only way that we're going to find our way together through this enormous mess that we're in. [Speaker 3] (1:41:48 - 1:41:51) This seat hasn't been open like this in about 30 years. [Speaker 3] (1:41:52 - 1:41:54) So this really is a generational race, [Speaker 3] (1:41:54 - 1:41:55) what you're seeing in front of you. [Speaker 3] (1:41:55 - 1:42:00) And there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that, not just as candidates, but as voters. [Speaker 3] (1:42:01 - 1:42:11) And part of, I think, what we don't talk enough about right now is that the Democratic Party must also be accountable for our own failures. [Speaker 3] (1:42:12 - 1:42:15) I was living and working in D.C. [Speaker 3] (1:42:16 - 1:42:26) As we were approaching the 2024 election, and I heard Democratic insiders working on the Hill saying things like, ah, don't worry about it. The Democrats will fall in line. [Speaker 3] (1:42:27 - 1:42:37) And that's when I knew we were going to lose because the complacency and the complicity of the people within our own party led us here. [Speaker 3] (1:42:40 - 1:42:43) We have a choice this year to redefine the Democratic Party. [Speaker 3] (1:42:44 - 1:42:51) The Democrats that lost us the 2024 election may still have a lot of the money and they may still have a lot of the microphones, [Speaker 3] (1:42:51 - 1:42:53) but we have the power. [Speaker 3] (1:42:53 - 1:42:59) The people in this room have the power to decide what kind of Democrat you want to send. [Speaker 3] (1:43:02 - 1:43:05) We are in a time of existential crisis. [Speaker 3] (1:43:05 - 1:43:13) We are battling an authoritarian in the executive branch and even the Speaker of the House is trying to usher in a theocracy. [Speaker 3] (1:43:15 - 1:43:16) And it is overwhelming. [Speaker 3] (1:43:16 - 1:43:19) It is demoralizing. It is frightening. [Speaker 3] (1:43:20 - 1:43:23) And I suspect that if it wasn't so overwhelming, [Speaker 3] (1:43:23 - 1:43:29) this room would actually be a lot fuller. A lot of folks are turning away from politics this year, [Speaker 3] (1:43:29 - 1:43:32) even though it's so important because they're exhausted. [Speaker 3] (1:43:33 - 1:43:35) They're feeling hopeless. [Speaker 3] (1:43:38 - 1:43:38) So. [Speaker 3] (1:43:40 - 1:43:43) What is our job as candidates? [Speaker 3] (1:43:43 - 1:43:49) What is my job as somebody who is auditioning asking you to vote for me to be your next representative? [Speaker 3] (1:43:49 - 1:43:52) It is not just to be able to diagnose the issues. [Speaker 3] (1:43:52 - 1:43:55) We all can look around and see the problems that are going on. [Speaker 3] (1:43:56 - 1:44:02) It's also to be able to remind us that there is another world beyond this moment. [Speaker 3] (1:44:02 - 1:44:06) We have to retain our hope because it's not too late. [Speaker 3] (1:44:07 - 1:44:09) America is not beyond saving. [Speaker 3] (1:44:10 - 1:44:12) The game is over when we stop trying. [Speaker 3] (1:44:13 - 1:44:15) We lose when we disengage. [Speaker 3] (1:44:17 - 1:44:20) I've told this to a couple of people. I know I'm running out of time, [Speaker 3] (1:44:20 - 1:44:24) but I felt like my options were to burn it all down, [Speaker 3] (1:44:24 - 1:44:26) flee the country, or run for office. [Speaker 3] (1:44:27 - 1:44:29) So I chose the one that felt most productive. [Speaker 3] (1:44:31 - 1:44:33) So if you like what you've heard from me tonight, [Speaker 3] (1:44:33 - 1:44:34) what [Speaker 2] (1:44:34 - 1:44:34) Thank [Speaker 3] (1:44:34 - 1:44:34) I will [Speaker 2] (1:44:34 - 1:44:34) you, [Speaker 3] (1:44:34 - 1:44:36) tell you, yeah, on my website, [Speaker 3] (1:44:36 - 1:44:37) marylancaster.com. [Speaker 2] (1:44:37 - 1:44:38) Dan. [Speaker 4] (1:44:39 - 1:44:42) So when President Biden called me last week to endorse the campaign, [Speaker 4] (1:44:42 - 1:44:44) he said he signed off by saying, [Speaker 4] (1:44:44 - 1:44:45) keep the faith, pal. [Speaker 4] (1:44:45 - 1:44:46) We've got a lot of work to do. [Speaker 4] (1:44:48 - 1:44:52) And it's a reminder that despite so many scary things we've talked about today, [Speaker 4] (1:44:52 - 1:44:55) so many reasons to feel down, [Speaker 4] (1:44:55 - 1:44:59) check out, and not engage, [Speaker 4] (1:44:59 - 1:45:05) that I think what's inspiring about every candidate on this stage is that there's such reason for hope. [Speaker 4] (1:45:06 - 1:45:12) Hope that America believes in itself to stand up against this president. [Speaker 4] (1:45:13 - 1:45:21) To stand up against illegal wars where we're spending billions of dollars a day that could go to help so many people in this room. [Speaker 4] (1:45:23 - 1:45:40) Hope that we can stop these ridiculous and un-American ice raids all across our country while we watch American citizens get killed in cold blood and members of the House of Representatives try to cover it up or make light of it. [Speaker 4] (1:45:40 - 1:45:43) When body cam footage still exists that isn't released illegally, [Speaker 4] (1:45:44 - 1:45:51) that there's still hope that we can restore a government that people can believe in, [Speaker 4] (1:45:51 - 1:45:54) that when people check out and don't vote, [Speaker 4] (1:45:54 - 1:45:58) that they've given up, but we give them a reason to not give up and get back involved. [Speaker 4] (1:46:00 - 1:46:05) So we need to not just stand up to Trump's corruption and have a fighter who will fight every day. [Speaker 4] (1:46:06 - 1:46:16) But someone who understands how government works, not just at the federal level, but at the local level, so that it's helping every single person in this room make your lives easier. [Speaker 4] (1:46:17 - 1:46:19) Not giving tax cuts to people like Elon Musk, [Speaker 4] (1:46:20 - 1:46:23) but giving tax cuts to the middle class. [Speaker 4] (1:46:23 - 1:46:31) Making sure that the select board members and city councillors and mayors in this room have the local aid that's flexible and quick. [Speaker 4] (1:46:31 - 1:46:34) So that you can take care of the priorities that you need. [Speaker 4] (1:46:36 - 1:46:42) It's understanding that these ridiculous policies the president is just making life more expensive for everyone. [Speaker 4] (1:46:42 - 1:46:47) It's causing a severe whiplash that are making our dollar weaker. [Speaker 4] (1:46:47 - 1:46:51) Our dollar is now 10% weaker in the last month or so it just came out. [Speaker 4] (1:46:51 - 1:46:55) That all of these rising prices are just making it harder for all of us to live. [Speaker 4] (1:46:56 - 1:46:59) And so instead of cowering in fear. [Speaker 4] (1:46:59 - 1:47:04) That we need to double down and fight back for the country that we know and love. [Speaker 4] (1:47:05 - 1:47:08) I've been fortunate to have the experience to be able to know how to do that. [Speaker 4] (1:47:09 - 1:47:12) And I think it's time we brought some hope back to our government, [Speaker 4] (1:47:12 - 1:47:14) give people something to vote for, [Speaker 4] (1:47:14 - 1:47:19) and make sure that this corruption of Donald Trump goes away and that we never, [Speaker 4] (1:47:19 - 1:47:20) ever have it again. [Speaker 4] (1:47:20 - 1:47:22) So I humbly ask for your support and vote. [Speaker 4] (1:47:22 - 1:47:25) Please go to coveforcongress.com. Thank you. [Speaker 2] (1:47:26 - 1:47:26) Thank you, Dan. [Speaker 2] (1:47:27 - 1:47:27) Jamie. [Speaker 5] (1:47:29 - 1:47:29) Thank you. [Speaker 5] (1:47:32 - 1:47:36) I'm very settled in my life. I married the kid that I fell in love with when I was 15. [Speaker 5] (1:47:36 - 1:47:38) I have two beautiful daughters. [Speaker 5] (1:47:38 - 1:47:39) I have my own nonprofit in D.C. [Speaker 5] (1:47:40 - 1:47:41) I've already been an elected official. [Speaker 5] (1:47:41 - 1:47:42) I'm a current elected official. [Speaker 5] (1:47:43 - 1:47:44) I'm from Reading. [Speaker 5] (1:47:44 - 1:47:45) I live in Topsfield. [Speaker 5] (1:47:46 - 1:47:46) Life is great. [Speaker 5] (1:47:47 - 1:47:51) But it would be egregious for me not to take the background. [Speaker 5] (1:47:51 - 1:48:03) In the passion that I've had since I was eight years old and stood in front of the select board and said, don't build houses behind my house with my handwritten note, or the experience I had in student government at Redding High, [Speaker 5] (1:48:03 - 1:48:07) or when I was a delegate in student government at Salem State, [Speaker 5] (1:48:08 - 1:48:12) or when I ran for office six years ago for the same reasons and now they're worse, [Speaker 5] (1:48:12 - 1:48:13) okay, [Speaker 5] (1:48:14 - 1:48:16) I'm offering experience. [Speaker 5] (1:48:17 - 1:48:18) in a fighter. [Speaker 5] (1:48:18 - 1:48:20) Yes, I know I'm going to a burning building. [Speaker 5] (1:48:20 - 1:48:24) Thank you, Richie Neal, for telling me that. I was very well aware of it. [Speaker 5] (1:48:24 - 1:48:26) When I ran for Congress in 2020, [Speaker 5] (1:48:26 - 1:48:29) 20,000 people put their faith in me against an incumbent candidate. [Speaker 5] (1:48:30 - 1:48:34) And that means I received more votes from people in this district than any candidate in this race. [Speaker 5] (1:48:35 - 1:48:37) When I ran for state rep in 2021, [Speaker 5] (1:48:37 - 1:48:42) I said before I flipped a seat blue that had been red for over 160 years. [Speaker 5] (1:48:42 - 1:48:45) I'm used to taking on tough fights, challenging the status quo. [Speaker 5] (1:48:45 - 1:49:09) status quo in winning and I'll do that again with your help politics is usual simply not good enough we had the house the senate and the white house and we did nothing we could have codified Roe we could have passed comprehensive gun reform we could have passed medicare for all we could have taken care of immigration we could have got money out of politics but instead we bankrolled a genocide overseas and lost Michigan because they vote [Speaker 1] (1:49:11 - 1:49:15) This is because Democratic leadership answers to the same interests as the Republicans. [Speaker 1] (1:49:15 - 1:49:18) Defense contractors, corporate PACs, money, [Speaker 1] (1:49:19 - 1:49:19) APAC, TikTok, [Speaker 1] (1:49:20 - 1:49:20) IG, [Speaker 1] (1:49:20 - 1:49:24) you name it. Get off the IG and put the camera away. [Speaker 1] (1:49:24 - 1:49:27) Start working for the people that sent you there. [Speaker 1] (1:49:27 - 1:49:32) They are not looking for you to be online because they're too busy figuring out how they're going to pay their bills. [Speaker 1] (1:49:33 - 1:49:37) I will answer to the voters of this district where I was born and raised. [Speaker 1] (1:49:37 - 1:49:39) I'm a product of this place and I'm proud. [Speaker 1] (1:49:39 - 1:49:43) I'm able to sit here tonight because I went through the Reading Public Schools, [Speaker 1] (1:49:43 - 1:49:46) because I graduated from Salem State College, [Speaker 1] (1:49:46 - 1:49:53) because I had enough money from working my butt off since I was 15 to put a down payment on a house that's not even possible right now. [Speaker 1] (1:49:54 - 1:49:58) As a constituent, I will never support candidates who take dark money, [Speaker 1] (1:49:58 - 1:50:00) A.I., Palantir, [Speaker 1] (1:50:00 - 1:50:01) the Epstein class. [Speaker 1] (1:50:01 - 1:50:03) I don't support the establishment. [Speaker 1] (1:50:03 - 1:50:05) I don't support what we've been doing. [Speaker 1] (1:50:05 - 1:50:09) I don't support the same people who stay silent on sexual predators, [Speaker 1] (1:50:09 - 1:50:12) pedophiles, give a nod to the Epstein class and say, [Speaker 1] (1:50:12 - 1:50:13) hey, you know what? [Speaker 1] (1:50:13 - 1:50:14) He was a nice guy. [Speaker 1] (1:50:14 - 1:50:16) They just happened to get themselves in a bad situation. [Speaker 1] (1:50:17 - 1:50:20) I'm going to say something, and I mean this with all my heart. [Speaker 1] (1:50:20 - 1:50:21) Listen to women, [Speaker 1] (1:50:21 - 1:50:22) trust women, [Speaker 1] (1:50:22 - 1:50:26) and put women into politics, and this world's going to be a much better place. [Speaker 2] (1:50:27 - 1:50:28) Thank you, Jamie. [Speaker 1] (1:50:28 - 1:50:28) Thank [Speaker 2] (1:50:28 - 1:50:29) Please [Speaker 1] (1:50:29 - 1:50:29) you. [Speaker 2] (1:50:29 - 1:50:30) hold the applause. [Speaker 2] (1:50:30 - 1:50:31) Bethany. [Speaker 1] (1:50:33 - 1:50:36) So I first got involved in Middleton politics, [Speaker 1] (1:50:36 - 1:50:40) holding a sign outside a municipal election that said, [Speaker 1] (1:50:40 - 1:50:41) support all students. [Speaker 1] (1:50:42 - 1:50:43) Vote for Roger. [Speaker 1] (1:50:44 - 1:50:54) And this was remarkably controversial in Middleton because there was a candidate running for school board on the platform of he didn't like trans people like me. [Speaker 1] (1:50:56 - 1:51:02) And I was the first non-binary person a bunch of people in Middleton ever worked with. [Speaker 1] (1:51:03 - 1:51:10) And years later, they are used to me because we're normal people. Some of us really care about affordable housing. [Speaker 1] (1:51:11 - 1:51:12) Right, we want to fill the potholes. [Speaker 1] (1:51:13 - 1:51:13) We, [Speaker 1] (1:51:13 - 1:51:17) visibility is a double-edged sword. [Speaker 1] (1:51:17 - 1:51:18) It brings attention, [Speaker 1] (1:51:19 - 1:51:22) it brings anger and hatred, [Speaker 1] (1:51:22 - 1:51:24) and it brings community. [Speaker 1] (1:51:24 - 1:51:29) Because that day I made friends with Roger and Kyle and Carolyn, [Speaker 1] (1:51:29 - 1:51:38) and Roger and Kyle and I rebooted the Democratic Town Committee and we organized against the MAGA candidates that were trying to tear down our local government. [Speaker 1] (1:51:40 - 1:51:43) that just want to watch the world burn because they are mad. [Speaker 1] (1:51:44 - 1:51:48) And I understand that people are frustrated. It's a frustrating time to live in. [Speaker 1] (1:51:49 - 1:51:55) If any of you've had AI introduced at your work, do you get to go home early because you're doing more work now? [Speaker 1] (1:51:56 - 1:52:03) Or does your company expect you to do more work for them for no extra pay? [Speaker 1] (1:52:04 - 1:52:14) Indeed they can fire a bunch of your co-workers and now they can drive your pay down because you're working harder and that is what we are going to face as AI. [Speaker 1] (1:52:16 - 1:52:22) takes over every part of our lives. And I know that software touches every part of our lives because I've worked, [Speaker 1] (1:52:22 - 1:52:24) I've built software for primary care doctors, [Speaker 1] (1:52:24 - 1:52:34) I built software for stock exchanges, I wrote software for the 2016 presidential campaign that tried to stop Donald Trump the first time. [Speaker 1] (1:52:35 - 1:52:38) And that was the most impactful election of our lives. [Speaker 1] (1:52:38 - 1:52:51) And then 2020 was the most impactful. Every election right now is the most impactful election of our times because our system is so broken that one step out of line can spell doom. [Speaker 1] (1:52:52 - 1:52:59) That hatred for people like me can turn people out to vote to light their own jobs on fire. [Speaker 1] (1:53:01 - 1:53:03) But we don't have to be overwhelmed. [Speaker 1] (1:53:04 - 1:53:05) We can stand with our sign, [Speaker 1] (1:53:05 - 1:53:06) we can make friends, [Speaker 1] (1:53:06 - 1:53:10) we can regulate these new technologies, [Speaker 1] (1:53:10 - 1:53:15) and I'm not starting by needing to have somebody write me a book report. [Speaker 1] (1:53:16 - 1:53:18) I already understand the technologies, [Speaker 1] (1:53:18 - 1:53:25) I understand how we can make them work for us, and please go to BethForDemocracy.com, join us, chip in five, [Speaker 1] (1:53:25 - 1:53:32) ten bucks to help us address these technologies before they do us all. Thank you. [Speaker 2] (1:53:33 - 1:53:34) Thank you, Bethany. [Speaker 2] (1:53:34 - 1:53:38) Before we wrap up, I have a literal housekeeping matter. [Speaker 2] (1:53:39 - 1:53:43) When you leave the auditorium, which we'll need to leave as soon as we wrap up, [Speaker 2] (1:53:43 - 1:53:45) please don't leave anything behind. [Speaker 2] (1:53:45 - 1:53:47) We have to let the staff come in and clean up. [Speaker 2] (1:53:48 - 1:53:51) So if you picked up some campaign literature on your way in, [Speaker 2] (1:53:51 - 1:53:53) bring it home and study it, [Speaker 2] (1:53:53 - 1:53:55) or at least recycle it, [Speaker 2] (1:53:55 - 1:53:56) or [Speaker 2] (1:53:58 - 1:54:01) give it back, yes, so they don't have to print more. [Speaker 2] (1:54:03 - 1:54:07) On behalf of the Democratic Town Committees in Marblehead, [Speaker 2] (1:54:07 - 1:54:08) Nahant and Swampscott, [Speaker 2] (1:54:08 - 1:54:13) thanks for coming and let's give a big hand to all six candidates.