 Hello everyone. I am here with Samilis Lopez who's running in New York's 15th Congressional District And she is here to talk about her campaign. Samilis. Thank you so much for coming on the program Hi, thank you so much for having me. So if you can't tell she is in the heart of Bronx currently tell us where you are I'm in the heart of the top Bronx right now. I'm by 3rd Avenue and 149th, which is the hub in the Bronx That's awesome You can like you can hear the drums in the background it like you you really get a sense of like the spirit in the city And it's so exciting. Now one thing that's interesting is that you are Yeah, yeah, I'm talking to a lot of people from the Bronx I've interviewed candidates from the Bronx one of which is AOC You are running in her neighboring district and you basically just recently got one of the biggest endorsements If not the biggest endorsement that you can get in politics AOC so tell us about that How did you get the endorsement of AOC? Well, you know AOC is courage to change pack endorse our campaign as of last Friday And they've been reaching out to us and they wanted to find out how we were organizing our volunteer network Because that's really what people like AOC care about. They don't care about how much money you have in the bank They don't care You know how much money you have it for her it's a matter of building a political movement Figuring out how many volunteers you have the excitement that you have in the ground And I think that she went with us because of that because she saw how we were fundraising our money Over 80% of our donations are small dollar contributions from the Bronx and from New York City as a whole Unlike any other candidate and campaign that's running in the 15th congressional district I think that our fundraising reflects our values in the community right now The community is going through a gentrification and a displacement crisis in the community So we cannot afford to send people to Washington or any level of government that is taking real estate developer money corporate pack contributions pharmaceutical money basically taking Donations from systems of oppression that are bringing us down in the community So I think that they saw that in our campaign and you know They went on board to support our effort so that we can grow so that they can help amplify what we're doing on the ground With resources so that we can develop the kind of infrastructure that we need to win this race Yeah, that's really exciting And I hope that she makes more endorsements because I think that she really does have a lot of influence And it's nice to see that she's not like getting to Congress and closing the door behind her She's trying to bring more people in I will say I'm a little bit bitter that she didn't endorse my girl Summer Hernandez in Texas But with that being said she has a lot of great people and I would encourage you all to check it out If you haven't seen it So you mentioned the real estate developers and anyone who's a progressive from New York They always talk about that because this is the key to a lot of the issues there And what's interesting about you is that you were actually a congressional aid for your current opponent So tell us who your opponent is and why you know as someone with a little bit of inside information You think that you'd be a better representative for that district Well, actually I'm not running against the person that I was a congressional aid for this is an open seat So congress and jose is the rhino is retiring because he was diagnosed with Parkinson's So he's stepping down from June 23rd 2020 There's going to be an open seat here in the south Bronx to determine who the next congressional candidate Is going to be that's going to represent the neighborhood So he's actually really beloved in the congressional district. He's been here for like 30 years He's actually really progressive on many issues So he's going to be stepping down So he gave me my first opportunity of public service as a congressional aid Doing housing casework and immigration casework And I saw the way that he was able to Lead in the community and how he's able to bring many different people together because even though this is a Predominantly latino community. It's not just latino. It's west african. It's african american. It's yemeni. It's muslim It's you know a slice of every piece of the world is in this community So the representative that deserves to win this area and represent it is somebody who's not going to play identity politics Is somebody who's going to basically bring people together so that we can realize what we have in common Which is fighting against things like white supremacy fighting against things like worker exploitation immigration injustice and being a champion for the homes guaranteed platform, which is uh Platform that's beautiful that was basically created by directly impacted people facing homelessness And lack of repairs in their homes and and mold living in nicah and things like that And they all came together to say this is not how we want to live And we want to reclaim the housing stock and we want to bring this platform together and be a champion of it So that people in the community can live with pride and dignity Um, so that's kind of like what the issues are in this congressional district The number one issue that we hear at the doors is homelessness It's the rents skyrocketing So we need a working class champion that's going to reject that kind of money Real estate developer money to finance their campaign and put the people first unapologetically and that's what our campaign is about That's actually really encouraging. Um, because I see a lot of situations that are basically David versus goliath across the country. So to know that you're not like taking on a political machine I mean, you still are in a sense the establishment But you're not going up against an incumbent that actually really is encouraging So I kind of want to ask you about the dynamics of the race because I wasn't aware that he was retiring Um, what has it been like? Like are you basically receiving the blessing of him? And the establishment in new york city like the local establishment or is this basically really competitive race? I don't know how he's even though he gave me my first startup public service This was years ago when I graduated college So I don't know where he's standing or he's supporting. He hasn't been vocal on that But you know, I'm not waiting for anybody's blessing Uh, I basically I'm doing this with the blessing of the community and people that I have been organizing with for a very long time I believe that when you know, you have a calling to do something like this You have to basically rely on the community and you have to create that change And it starts from the ground up really so I don't think that We need to ask anybody for permission and you know, the last people that I would ask permission to do anything like this Is the Bronx democratic political establishment? So we're moving forward. We're organizing. We're knocking on doors We're raising money in a clean way that centers the needs of directly impacted people in the district that I love And that's basically who's inspiring us to keep going when things get hard Um, and we're basically leading with love and compassion, which is revolutionary in and of itself And really using politics as a way of building community and bringing different people together and Being humble in terms of how we approach people so that we can listen to their needs and let their needs as directly Impact the people living in this community shape our platform so we've been Taking people's opinions and perspectives So that we can build out what we're fighting for because I have a background in urban planning And I believe strongly that we need to center those experiences because a lot of people talk about very Fancy terms and policy and sometimes policy is done from an ivory tower But I'm against that. I think that it's directly impacted people that need to shape policy and the narrative and you know, we need people in all levels of government That reflect those direct experiences and that's basically the perspective that we're taking in our campaign Yeah, and I love that so much. I love that so many candidates yourself included Like you're not waiting your turn for lack of a better word where you know, you have to go through Hello, can you hear me? Can you hear me? Yes. Sorry. You kind of like Did I cut out for a second? Okay. Can you hear me? Yeah a little bit? Okay, perfect. You're back now Yeah, so okay. What I was saying was I really like that candidate such as yourself You're not uh waiting your term uh for lack of a better word because it's like you don't You're not going through all of these proper channels Like you're just standing up because you have experience with the community and just browsing through your twitter feed Like I just thought to myself. She's phenomenal. I love you. You were talking about how it Only rich people can attend the debate You were tweeting about that with the ticket cost of 1700 dollars in South Carolina And it's it's so infuriating because it really feels like normal working people Have just been shut out of our entire political process and so to see candidates like you rise up It really is inspirational even though that sounds corny like it is true So can you talk through your platform a little bit because you have a very uh human centered approach to politics? What's your platform? Right. Uh the platform that we're fighting for is definitely um everything that we've been talking about We want to have people have a sense of true ownership over the local political process Will be for announced by participation in this race. We've been organizing people on the ground in terms of educating them about The infrastructure of the local political party and getting them enrolled in local party positions like county committee district leaders state committee Um, basically what bernie sanders was inspiring us to do back in 2016 He said that we should be running in all levels of politics and government so that we can transform our government and make sure that We've been organizing for a very long time in the community Uh democratizing political information and identifying activists that have been doing this work on the ground And taking guidance and inspiration from frontline communities here in the Bronx like the environmental justice community that has bearing the broad of environmental injustice So we need to center that narrative and inject it in everything that we do and use our platform in congress to fight for those ideals and Center that these experiences and that platform so that we can take the advocacy to the next level And create the right political conditions for the community activism and the movements on the ground that are really the ones That are have a huge role in making transformative change in the community Um, we need to create the right political conditions for that activism on the ground to take root And what happened in 2018 with the independent democratic conference I don't know if you follow that conversation in new york state, but it was uh me like a uh rogue democrats that were empowering republicans in albany to stay in power And then everybody in the progressive space the authentic grassroots real You know progressive space here in new york city and in the Bronx We all got together to defeat that arrangement and because of that We were able to see one of the most progressive tenant rent reform Measures that have ever been passed in albany and all of new york state new york state's history and it's because The new people that we stood behind the grassroots politicians that we ended up putting in albany through our grassroots community effort We're able to amplify the housing justice movement on the ground that directly impacted people have been clamoring for for decades And because of those political conditions that were created that was able to to take root And give us tenant rent protections here in new york state So the same thing has to happen nationally. We need to you know, look at what's happening in new york state with the tenant rent reform Laws with the efforts around the homes guarantee Seeing that energy and the housing activists that got together to make this happen We need to be amplifying that at the federal level as well Yeah, your platform is very robust So I would encourage everyone to look um at her platform. We'll have a link on the screen I wanted to ask you because um a day after the debate in south carolina There was an open letter from people of color in new york who basically called on the people of south carolina and individuals voting on super Tuesday not to support 2020 presidential candidate mike bloomberg and since you're from new york I wanted to get your take on mike bloomberg and the way he's trying to basically buy this election Oh my god, we need to stand against any efforts to buy our democracy One of the biggest things that i'm fighting for is the importance of taking away big money and politics because like we've Be talking about the whole time That you know affects everything that we're fighting for in the community And it's a direct assault on our democratic values So it's actually really corrupt what's happening with this election, but i'm not scared of mike bloomberg because in the door knocking that i've been doing in the bronx people overwhelmingly love bernie sanders and they understand that he's the working class champion that the people need And they love his message And people love his message around Worker solidarity around the union movement. Uh, he came out with a great platform the other day on universal child care You know that people really need at least in my community because a lot of people leave their kids home When they go to work because they can't afford child care So people understand who the true working class champion is and the importance of making sure that working class people that are making under 40 000 a year 20 000 a year Have a champion and organizer in chief that's going to fight for their values and their needs and you know What they're about so that we can rise together as a community and respect the revolutionary legacy that places like the bronx You know can you know show to the world because this is who we are I'm standing on the shoulders of a movement and people like michael bloomberg don't represent that But people like bernie sanders and aoc in an omar and the rest of the members of the squad Represent that transformative change. So this race in particular for me I keep saying this on the camp trade on the campaign trail It's about leaving behind the transactional politics of a broken political system and embracing the politics of transformation That's being waged in washington dc right now by people like bernie sanders aoc illan omar rashira talib And others that are engaging in the fight for transformative justice In the country in our communities and that's the kind of transformative That we need to see that we need to fight for Because this is really about reclaiming the soul of the democratic party and reclaiming our working class Roots in this party that have been co-opted by the corporate democrats that are not corporate even corporate democrats They're republican life. So we need to reclaim our working class roots in this party and take it over And that means getting more numbers getting more people like aoc and illan omar into congress So that we can build that infrastructure and make sure that this party works for the 99% not the 1% Absolutely, and i'm so glad that you used the term organizer in chief because to beat money That's the only way that we're going to even have a chance and you really see the power In grassroots organizing. I mean all across the country from the bronx to uh, seattle with socialist shama sawan Organizing and beating amazon like this really is a national movement and it's so nice to see so many people rise up So i know that you've got limited time before you go. Tell us what we can do to help you get elected Well, i'm so grateful for this platform that you all have given up given us I think raising awareness donating is also a very important piece of that You can go to lopezforthepeople.com because since we've rejected dirty money to finance our campaign We're just relying on regular grassroots contributions from the community to keep us afloat to feed our volunteers to distribute our literature So that's an important piece. Uh, you know share us on social media And connect with us too if there's an idea that you have if there's something on the platform that you feel could be expanded Sign up at lopezforthepeople.com if you have a talent in video making definitely is sign up and connect us to people You know, we're always looking to to learn and build in our own community because we always want to center The frontline experiences of people in in the bronx because that's one of the things The brass keeps getting described as the poorest congressional district in the entire country And that's something that I want to get across tonight before I hop off It's not just the poorest congressional district in the country. We have a lot of economic challenges But it's the most resilient borough in the entire country because we've you know seen In the 70s and the 80s how the landlords burned the buildings here for profit Um, and then we saw the incredible rebirth of the south bronx and you know, what that meant So I definitely am standing on top of a I'm a woman that has always been here in the bronx I'm standing on our revolutionary spirit our resiliency And I think that there's a lot of local solutions here in the south bronx is congressional district that can be implemented Nationally and globally So I feel that with this race one of the things that I want to do along with others collectively in this community Is transform the way that the bronx is perceived in the world. We're not dawn trodden We're a place of rebirth. We're the birthplace of hip hop. We you know are The birthplace of salsa, you know, we have a lot of creativity and energy And people need to be looking to the south bronx as a global and a national policy thought leader You know where the solutions that the frontline communities here have developed can be implemented Internationally and nationally That's perfect. Thank you so much Come to the bronx help us knock on doors help us, you know volunteer and uh Thank you so much. Yes before we go best place to eat in south bronx Well, I'm near one of my favorite places. It's la pela. It's a mexican restaurant That's by 149th and moors avenue. They have really good chicken quesadillas and I get them with extra cilantro and onions and Cheese on top and it's really good. No, I'm hungry. Thank you Well, there you have it. Thank you so much for coming on the program. It's been an absolute pleasure We will be following your campaign very closely and good luck Thank you so much and remember visit us at love us for the people.com