 Hello everyone, I am here with a candidate running to represent Arizona's first congressional district Her name is Eva Putzova and she's here to tell us about her campaign. Eva. Thank you so much for coming on the program Thank you for having me. I am really excited to see that you're running for Congress because I looked a little bit at your record When you served in city council for the Flagstaff and before we even get started I have to go over some of the things that you accomplished because this this is really remarkable So first of all, you were instrumental in increasing Flagstaff's minimum wage to 1550 You initiated the city's first climate action plan. You led the charge to pass an indigenous people's day You passed the resolution encouraging Congress to act when it comes to dreamers and immigration reform So you were incredibly effective and now you want to take what you've learned in Flagstaff to Congress So tell us what made you decide to make the jump to national politics Well, we face urgent challenges, healthcare, climate change, immigration, inequality, racism And we can no longer accept timid, hesitant leadership that prioritizes corporate interests We must put people first and this is really why I'm running. I'm not afraid I think that we need a very different Congress. We need people in Congress who cannot be bought by corporate interests and we need those who are ready to fight and work for the people of this country And it's really great to see everyone just kind of standing up and running And what I'm seeing is just ordinary people who are choosing to run for Congress You know truck drivers people who just are working every day nine to fives and that's really great And I love your story and I kind of wanted you to talk about this because you became a citizen in 2007 You're from Slovakia. Tell us a little bit about yourself and you know What it's like to fight from the perspective Of being you know an immigrant who moved here and seeing all the vitriol that are being You know speed that's being spewed by the president and republicans Disproportionately towards latin-american immigrants. How does that like how do you process that as an immigrant yourself? Yeah, so uh, you know as you mentioned, I became a u.s citizen in 2007 and the journey to become a u.s citizen took about seven years and So I understand What do you have to go through when the case is straightforward and there are no complications How much paperwork? How much money? One needs to Stay in the process until they become naturalized What I also realized during this process is that we all have privileges, but they're relative So when I was waiting in line to be seen by immigration officer There were many other people in phoenix standing in line with me Many of them people of color many of them with Maybe their english wasn't as perfect and I saw the different treatment that Was applied on different people and certainly Color of the skin Is a factor You know, I'm a I'm a white woman. So as a white person, I have certain privilege I'm a woman. So maybe my privilege in that respect is a little bit less But then when I open my mouth, everybody can tell that I'm an immigrant. I will never lose my accent. So please don't ask me And and and so then my privilege Is diminished And there are many many people who are in much worse Relative position who face discrimination because who Who they are where they were born? and I think it's wrong, you know, I grew up in a In slovakia former eastern bloc country We knocked down the walls and gathered of the borders because You know as people we felt we belong to europe we belong with everybody else And I think that's the direction I would like to see this country and to go not the opposite direction You know creating barriers Between people Everything you say, you know seeing that firsthand it really makes sense as to why Your entire platform is basically centered around like human compassion You're a huge advocate for indigenous people's rights and you're fighting for single payer medicare for all So there's a lot of things that I believe you are going to advocate for and I trust that you will do such a great job Because you have this experience But this is one thing that I always ask the people who are running for congress There's so many things that need fixing currently in our country And I don't know where I would begin personally if I were you know elected to congress So just within that first year, let's say you're elected You will obviously join the squad with aoc and ilhan omar because you're definitely one of those types of progressives What do you think you personally would try to fight for the most just within that first year because you can't pick everything and it's tough But what's most important to you? So I do believe that we can do multiple things at the same time But I do know that everything takes energy and resources I do think that Climate change is something that we cannot postpone I think the reason why we are where we are with climate change is because We had a bipartisan Inaction for decades and that has to stop. I also think that Because I'm an immigrant. I'm very invested in Complete immigration overhaul and that's also something that I feel cannot wait People are hurting and then of course You know aca did not really address the cost that We pay for healthcare and that can be addressed if we move forward with a single payer type of system like Medicare for all and There's no reason why these are big pieces of legislation all three of them But we absolutely need invest in retooling our economy to be a green economy So we can actually enjoy the healthcare and that we can Take care of all people in a compassionate way including Immigrants and that's fantastic. I like that, you know, you stressed we can do multiple things at once But yeah, these are absolutely things that I agree with and other issues That you care about based on the pledges that you've signed. So you've signed the no fossil fuels pledge You've signed the pledge to um codify the 28th amendment which basically gets money out of politics And whenever when you look at a website, it's apparent that she's not like mincing words She's not saying we need to get the dark money out of politics. There's no caveat She wants to get money out of politics and that really sets her apart from other people Namely her opponent because I want to talk about him. His name is tom. Oh, halloween He nationally speaking isn't very well known, but he doesn't really stand for much Like I checked out his website just before jumping on to talk with um eva here And the policies are incredibly vague. There's no plan to reform healthcare. Just this vague, you know assertion that I'm going to defend medicare and social security We need to invest in education and I don't know what any of this means But when you look at his donors, it becomes a little bit more clear. He takes super PAC money He took 4,000 from AT&T. He's getting money from steny heuer and nancy pelosi So I want to ask you this eva because you're not taking corporate PAC money. You are clearly principled But one thing that's always interesting to me about these races is it's like david versus goliath You are putting yourself at a disadvantage, but it's important because you're demonstrating to people in az1 that um You're principled and you're going to stand up for them So talk a little bit about the struggles of running a non corrupted if you will campaign Um, and how it's a little bit more difficult to do that and what you think You need to do to win because you're not taking that corporate money Well, uh, you you were right, you know, we are not taking Any money from corporate interests or from lobbies? completely people powered pain If the viewers feel inspired, I hope they will visit eva for congress.com and Help us with our campaign. Um, that puts people first And of course, you know, it is a different way to organize your campaign and the operation We depend on people who Volunteer with our campaign We have to organize in a way and be very smart about Where and how we spend money Ultimately, I do believe that Organized people outperform Organize money. You cannot buy enthusiasm you cannot buy the kind of support that you get from volunteers who are Calling voters who are knocking on the doors that cannot be bought and uh, um, I feel that we need to do these kind of campaigns because until we can Legislate or change the constitution through an amendment. I can be until we can legislate Getting money out of politics. We have to have a whole bunch of representatives in congress who Understand how important it is and they Uh, run their campaigns with a high level of integrity and they don't allow themselves to be bought by corporate interests It makes such a big difference Like you can see in the way that they govern like when you just compare like alexandra Ocasio-Critiz and ilhan omar to other democrats It's clear that there's nothing holding them back like if they say they support a policy position It's not necessarily because there's these lobbyists or you know, their donors in their ear saying this is what we want you to support It's just based on them believing what they need to do to help people And that's why I think that these types of campaigns are getting a lot more popular we're seeing more and more people like you run for congress who's not taking corporate money and You know, it's evident that other democrats who are funded by large multinational corporations They're getting nervous and they don't like this because this makes them look really bad You know, if you have someone who's challenging you Um, and they don't take corporate money Then they're going to have to find a way to convince people that they actually are with them and not with their donors And that's tough to do in this political climate when most people see that money has too big of an influence You know, um in society and in politics So can you talk a little bit about your opponent tom? Oh, halloween because what I like to do with people who aren't challenging like the big names Um is have you make the case as to why you're better because I think that it's evident when you just look at your website And compare yours to his that you actually stand for something But you know for someone who doesn't have a really big name opponent It is a little bit more difficult to get your name out there because everybody wants to see steny hoyer and ancy polosi defeated But we do have a lot of other democrats who are just basically keeping the seat warm who aren't doing anything that needs to go So talk about tom. Oh halloween because he seems like he's someone who I mean Isn't doing much if anything at all. Why does he need to be challenged in your opinion? Right, uh, that that's a big question for uh, the voters and I know, you know, who has time to follow any particular Representative or you know elected off official in another office closely to keep track of their votes, right? And so, you know, sometimes we learn more about people when they have an opponent in the primary because they're, um They're voting records, uh, is up for scrutiny. So, you know, in addition to the fact that, um I don't take money from corporate interests and my opponent takes money from health insurance industry and arms industry and private prison industry and essentially every single industry including sugar lobby Um, in addition to that, uh, I would not cast certain votes that he has Cast for example, I would not vote to deregulate banks and We can the dot frank act I wouldn't uh criminalize immigrants by voting for uh, kate's law uh, I wouldn't We can just recently the raise the wage act by introducing amendment that allows future Congress to delay Wage increases or pause the wage increases I think there are many other things that we can Look at his voting record and I'm happy to talk about that But it's not it's also not what he does what he what but what he doesn't do and that is to me at the You know core of My primary challenge I'm running because I really think that we can no longer uh be Uh inactive when it comes to climate change. I really think that uh, we have to pursue large-scale Investments in retooling the economy and do so in an equitable way Uh, very much in line how the Green New Deal proposes that we do it um, you know, I don't think that uh, just giving um Or including hearing aids in Medicare is sufficient to reform our healthcare system We really don't have a healthcare system. I don't know, uh, how about uh, you know your viewers, but I get sick on memorial day weekend It was on monday that in a city of 72 000 people There was not a single facility where you can go And get care for your health issue There was an emergency room Available that was it. There wasn't a single urgent care Office open right a lot of times people talk about all we want to keep our primary doctors blah blah blah, right? What most people don't have primary doctors um You know when I did go to urgent care my call pay was 75 dollars 75 dollars to be seen, you know for something that Maybe I should just stay at home for but I don't know. I'm not a you know professional and it's my help um And so these are the things that um our current representative is not addressing Is not addressing the fact that we don't have actually most people do not have access to uh quality healthcare. We don't have specialists that are available um near Where people live and the cost of healthcare is um So high that some people actually choose to take uber to hospital when they should be calling an ambulance because they're um, you know They need actually that kind of care and they're risking Um, they're held by going to the hospital by uber so That's what what it is. It's I think we need a real leadership in congress And I'm so glad that you brought up the uber example because that is one of the many reasons why Or that I kind of used to demonstrate how dysfunctional our healthcare system is and I always talk about how like How many people do you know that had to do a go fund me to pay for medical bills? Even if they had insurance, you know, it's just it's crazy to me and what you Said about people not having primary care doctors Is so on point because like I always make the point when people say well, you know Oh, well, we don't want to get rid of private insurance because people want to keep their insurance And I always say no people actually don't care about their private insurance. They care about their doctors But I mean a lot of people don't have primary care doctors I don't think I've had a primary care doctor since I've been a kid. So these are issues that aren't being talked about and it really takes someone who Has to deal with it who doesn't have the money and the privilege that someone in washington has To know what's actually going on like tom ohalvin He has healthcare that i'm sure is really solid So he doesn't deal with all these issues that normal people have to deal with So it's just it's nice to see so many people who are not robots who are regular people running for congress It's really refreshing. So I don't think that you have to do much more to convince my viewers I think that they're fully on board if you're in az one Tell people on the date of the primaries. It's in august 2020, correct Yes, it's on august four and uh, you know, we have uh about one year to go um, but For people who don't know, uh, arizona's first congressional district is the 11th largest district In a country geographically it's actually three times as big as the country where I was born and uh, so this is You know, very rural district The largest city is flagstaff where I am and that's about, you know, 72 000 people Um, and so there's a lot of ground to cover a lot of doors to knock on and all the calls to make and so Uh, again, if people go to eva for congress.com Uh, regardless where they are in a country, they can help us Of course if they have uh extra five dollars, they can help us financially but You know, there's a lot of work and we have been already At this campaign for the last six months But I want to go back to just point out something about healthcare, you know, we oftentimes talk about, you know, the cost of health care and um, you know, how for the individual How it is important that we have medicare for all But I think from small business perspective, we should realize that today small businesses are probably not competitive when it comes to Their talents their labor with large corporations who that can afford to provide health insurance To their employees and if we had medicare for all or, you know, single payer type of system And their employees would be covered by this system and some of these proposals that are on a table actually exclude the first two million dollars of um payroll from uh medicare taxes This would hugely benefit small businesses and so It's not just the individual, you know individuals that should really be interested in in a um fighting for this What I think is a human right? um, but also from a business perspective, uh, people will not have to make decisions whether they can See jobs with small businesses And that's such a really important way to sell medicare for all because you know, we've heard this mentioned before But I don't think people say that enough. It really is a great selling point for small businesses So the website is eva for congress.com and I'm going to do my usual spiel for eva that I do for every candidate This is not just about cd1 in arizona. This is a national movement Whatever we'll be doing is not just fighting for her constituents, but you as well And my favorite example because I have a lot of student loan debt is how ilhan omar She's not my representative, but she just sponsored legislation that would cancel all student loan debt That affects me personally and she's across the country So this is a national movement and if you can't donate a lot Try to donate your time if you can't donate your time maybe a dollar or two dollars It really does go a long way. Um, and it's important that we elect people like eva And this is not going to be the last that you hear from her. Um, because she's running a great campaign She's blowing up. So eva. Thank you so much for coming on the program. Is there anything that you wanted to say before we go Well, thank you for having me and I'm so excited that you know, we have so many great candidates around the country running these campaigns and not being afraid to run with high level of integrity without the corporate money and By being powered by people and so it's exciting to be part of Uh, because what we're doing really they're not just trying to change The policy directions of this country. We are really trying to change the rules of politics That's such an important point to make and i'm glad that you brought up all the people running because I I said this last year in uh, or the year before um You know in 2016 there was like a number of progressives running that maybe I could count on one hand two hands In 2018 it got a lot more difficult to keep track of every run that was running who is progressive You know grassroots and now you know for the 2020 cycle There are so many candidates that I I I don't even know half of them So it's just it's so exciting We really see this movement materializing and even if it's easy to be cynical When you look at the bigger picture and see what's happening and all the people like you who are running Um and rising up it really it gives me hope So thank you for running and giving me hope and other people hope and we will be watching closely because um I'm looking forward to your election. I think you can beat tom because um, I don't know what there is to like there I know I know Awesome. We'll take care again. It's ebb for congress.com. Please pitch in and help her get elected