 We keep bringing that mantra back over and over again in order to do everything that we need to do for working people in Vermont, for the youth of Vermont. We need more public revenue and the only way we're going to do that is by making our taxation system equitable, which it currently isn't. And we can fund all of the programs that we need for youth, for people at every age who are at the sharp end of the stick of our economy and social inequity. And we need to do it at the state level. We're fighting against a governor, hopefully, who gets unseated tonight. But or at least, you know, like a little bit on his heels, who vetoes everything that I care about time, after time, after time, after time. I'm really interested. I wanted to be one of the most radical legislators in the state house. I saw what it what a difference it made to have people like me there every day as advocates talking with legislators, educating them, organizing within the state house, people who are going to actually the the handful of people in the state who actually get to vote on things that make a difference for our state. And so, yeah, I saw the difference that it made on issues like the minimum wage on our equity in our education curriculum. I saw the difference that having advocates show up and talk to every legislator in the state house made for policing systems. And so, yeah, I want to do that. But as a legislator, so I'll be with my. Oh, yeah. So, OK, see, this is what we're up against. Yeah, that's right. Right. So we have 80 percent of our state. But yeah, we have 80 percent of our results. We have 80 percent of our state. We have 80 percent of our state voting for prop five. Yes, I'm prop five and seventy three percent of our state voting for Bill Scott. So I don't mean no, we've got. Yeah, yeah. So we just need we need like 100 or so of us in the house. But yeah, we just need to keep being louder and louder. That was like we were talking about. Anyway, I'm excited to be serving my first term next year with all of these amazing. And thank you all for your support. I mean, honestly, it's hard being progressive already. And so I just want to say thank you to everyone who volunteered, who donated. There were a lot of competitive races up and down the ticket. And so state rep races and state Senate races are just as important. So thank you. And if you did something on our campaign, thank you, thank you, thank you. And you haven't yet. It's a great time. So you should run for office and you should volunteer the next cycle, which there's city council raises coming right up again. Thank you so much. And yeah, that's it. Some of our core priorities, including passing just no ending, ending non just cause eviction. So rental protections, you know, addressing the climate crisis, addressing pensions and like the rights of workers, raising the wage, paid childcare, all the things that we're going to be looking to fight for come January. Well, that sounds great. Thank you so much for talking to us tonight. Thank you. Appreciate it. I'm just going to ask you some questions. OK, so do you want to start by introducing yourself and just saying a little bit about how you feel to be here tonight on election night? Yeah, my name is Carter Newbezer. I'm the co-chair of the Burlington Progressive Party, incredibly excited that we have some big wins for progressives and getting together with all the volunteers over the last campaign. What does it mean to you to be a part of the Progressive Party? Yeah, I think the Progressive Party is working to expand what's politically possible, both at the municipal level across the state here in Burlington, obviously, in Montpelier as well. It really means trying to create a government that works for the last year. What do you think are some of the most important issues that the Progressive Party is working towards this election? Yeah, so I know that House Caucus has been meeting and preparing for the legislative session. I know that we have really some exciting work ahead for the Burlington City Council as well. But I think, as always, we're trying to put more money in working class people's pockets and make sure that cities like Burlington, different communities across the state, you know, that working class people can actually afford them, not just playgrounds for the rich. So as a member of the Progressive Party, as well as as a member of local government in general, what are some ways that you use community media to connect with Burlington residents and to participate in demolition? Yeah, places like CCTV, others, Channel 17, aren't critical for working class people to hear the issues that affect them on the day to day, prepared and actually talked to other traditional sources of media, corporate news. Just really don't pay enough attention on like bread and butter issues that everyday people actually care about. Instead, sometimes focus on not an important issue, but just some of the the political horse race that's really not productive for everyday people. Well, it was great to meet you. Thank you so much for talking to us. Of course, thank you so much. Thank you. My name is Tavla. If they ever speak to me, of course, I can do that. Yeah, I'm sorry. So do you want to start by just introducing yourself and talking about how you're feeling tonight here at the Portion Night? So I'm the same representative, Emma Mulvaney-Stanik. I represent Channel 17, which is half of the old Earthen and half of the new Northen. I'm here in Burlington. So what does it mean to you to be a part of the Progressive Party? Well, I have a long history of the Progressive Party. I ran for city council back in 2009 and served for two terms on the Burlington City Council as a Progressive from the old Earthen. And then I was the chair for the State Party for another four years, really helping to recruit a lot of candidates all over the state to run as Progressives. And we're really successful in building the party. This is all in days of heresy. I mentioned coming to the United Kingdom for the first time. So it's an exciting moment of hope. And one of the main reasons why I'm a member of the party back then and still today is it really is the alternative to a Democratic party that, while on paper, speaks a lot of the ice that we have in common, but in action, doesn't necessarily move policy that centers working people and centers in anti-racist analysis are the only ones. I'm really also putting the bottom of that. I'm a leader in a lot of these policy areas. We're not in a relationship. It's a relative of the FIRO's regulation and issues of economic justice. And we've lost that sort of leader slot in the country. And that's why I think it's so important to have progressives on the left flank, politically, pulling the conversations forward. So we can really go back to our days of, you know, moving things like marriage equality, and being sort of the first, because that's what our doctors really need. So you've just mentioned plenty of issues that the Progressive Party is working for constantly. Would you say that there's one issue in particular that you find to be really important during this election specifically? Well, there's probably three. But if you want one in particular, I was like, I was a organizer for many years working for teachers and support staff and volunteers. And so economic justice is really such a bread and butter issue, and the income and the quality has continued to grow. It's harder for people to make their basic needs, even before inflation has happened. And so I think we're still recovering economically from the pandemic. So we have a lot to address, and it's frankly get real about how real conversations around issues of pay family, as a mom of two small kids, we have a childcare crisis, not only in what we pay early educators, but having a board of childcare is critically important for families. It's critically important for employers. And it requires a public investment. It's a public good. So we really need to do the needle on that. We'll see this next session of the money there. And other economic justice issues are related to workers' rights in the workplace. Most people work without unions, unfortunately, in places of small employers in Vermont. And Vermont can do a lot more for tech people with just cause employment rights. You can't be fired for any reason. Reliable work schedules for folks who are in the industries like service and retail. So they have a reliable work schedule to need to fall back on, so they get childcare. I mean, it's all independent. And the other two issues, frankly, I don't know any state that can't be, I don't know any state that cannot be having a real conversation around reproductive liberty and reproductive protection beyond constitutional protections, but actually, practically, how can people actually access care? How can they access abortions, contraception? How do they make sure they can take time off of work to actually go to the clinic? But we have access in better ways than many other states. There are still economic barriers that prevent people from accessing care. And the finalist shoulder side to say again, as a mom, is firearms and Vermont's very loose gun laws. It's time for us to be bold there again. I feel like every day that goes by when there's another school shooting somewhere in the country for another, you know, ear-miss with people, and then also in the state, the high number of people who commit suicide like that, it is a crisis. So it's another issue that I think we're beginning to grapple with that a lot there. So as someone who's involved in government, how do you use community media to reach the residents of Burlington and also just to participate in democracy and encourage others to participate in democracy? Well, the public access, and one of the best parts when I was in city council was all of that locally is taken before and even before the pandemic. And I do think that state government has become more accessible because everything we provide is on Zoom and it's been streamed out in a lot of public access kind of ways. But it keeps our democracy accountable to folks. It keeps it accessible to folks to gather information, especially when people are very busy. And due to capitalism having worked two or three jobs, I mean, it's a reality that a lot of people then get disconnected from issues that should correctly impact their lives. So community media and the public access is vital for our democracy. Well, thank you so much for speaking with us tonight. Of course, thank you so much. Come on, let's go. Come on, let's go, let's go. Come on, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. Nice to be able to learn how to move by just getting to practice this December. So if you can get one for free, so do you want one for free? So if you can get one for free, all of you can do it for free. So. She's literally like the biggest fan she's ever had. I'm sorry, she's the first fan she's ever had and we're proud to see how fortunate she is. I can't believe it. Let's see how she's doing. Can you see it? Whoo! Thank you so much for this conversation. Have a great week. Thank you all for coming. I know election day is a lot, it's tactic. I've been up since 6 a.m. working and doing the polls, so that's been really great. Yeah, I mean, like, realistically speaking, I'm ready for the special election, so I really have four months, five months, if I went to bring work. And I think one of the reasons why I ran was, first of all, like, my daddy. Like, I'm a new American. My parents are immigrants. I'm also a woman of color. And I'm really excited since I ran, like, the type of conversations that's happening. I think one of my goals is to, one, like, just bring about, like, long-term change. Like, the new American community in Burlington, ever since I started running, like, they're really passionate about, like, voting. I think that's really great. My goal is to make the party more diverse. I think, you know, it's, we need more new Americans here. A lot of the policies we talk about affect new Americans, like, housing, education, racism. Like, I grew up in the education system here. And, like, I remember at eight years old, like, I was responsible to teach my little brother his ABCs. And the teachers kind of throw that at me, even though it's their responsibility. Like, I remember in high school, like, reduced free lunch. Like, I had to be the one to do that for my siblings at 13 years old because, you know, my parents were giving the tools. So my goal is, one, to really bring them here more, like, let them become more part of the conversation. I work in the courthouse. So my direct involvement in state and town issues from, like, crime to eviction cases, like, I deal with them every single day. So I'm really excited to bring that experience. I think it's refreshing. I think it's great to have someone who is already directly involved. And housing, I'm working with Tom Proctor, just cause eviction. So definitely talk to him about that. It's actually important. I had a long view. Like, the ACLU, we talked about public safety and, like, policies I really want to work on. Yeah, and, like, continue just helping register new Americans to vote. I think that's really, really critical. And also, I really want to bring more for the reality that we can't adjust public safety without interconnected issues. I live in affordable housing. And we see anyone who lives in affordable housing, our environments are always the most sustainable. But a lot of times they don't want to talk about that because they don't lose their affordable home. You know, a neighbor of mine, she's scared to let her kids out to play because of a drug rate that happened. But she doesn't want to talk about it because she's scared. Like, let's make affordable housing sustainable of violence. Let's not just build homes in just any environment. Let's make sure it's sustainable so the kids can play outside. And the parents are able to be home. And education is so, so critical for me. Like, my mom worked two jobs at one point to put me through, my siblings through private school. So that's something I really, really take into consideration. So I'm really excited. I'm really happy that I'm running and that I have the party support and I'll be around. So thank you, everyone. Woo! Dina, did you... Okay, all right. Could you state your name and... What are you running for? Yeah, my name is Dina John. And I'm running for the city council, nomination for East District. Awesome, thank you. So, what does it mean to be in the Progressive Party? Well, for me, it means to be part of a party that doesn't compromise on values that's related to economic justice, racial justice, and, you know, the protections and values of our community. How do you think you can represent the Progressive Party if you're elected? I mean, well, my background, I mean, I'm a new American, black woman. I've come from a middle-class working family. My parents are healthcare workers, so I represent so many identities in a group here, school system. And I think it's just really refreshing when you have a candidate that represents an experience of so much that they know what they're talking about. What do you think is the most pressing issue that the Progressive Party is working towards at the moment? Affordable housing and public safety, but really public safety. What's going on right now? And, you know, I work in the courthouse, so a lot of these cases that we talk about, they end up on my desk. So I'm really excited to bring about that refreshing perspective. Awesome. Is there anything else you want to say? Yeah, I just want to say that currently I'm working to pass a just cause of fiction. I'm working to help new American families get out and vote. And I'm currently working with different organizations to create policies that are going to be really effective. And I'm really excited. Awesome. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you.