 Hello, everyone. I am here with Paige Christman who is running to represent Oregon's 42nd district for Their house mine actually unfortunately, she's not running in my district But she is here to talk about her campaign because she is a Democratic socialist and her campaign is absolutely phenomenal So Paige, thank you so much for coming on the program Thanks so much for having me. Yeah, we're very excited about our race We're running a hundred percent people-powered campaign with no court corporate money accepted. We're challenging a centrist corporate Cratt who's funded by the fossil fuel industry the landlord industry Amazon And we're gonna be in a really close race here to bring the progressive people-powered values that I know Oregonian share Down to Salem with us. Yeah, I love that and it's so exciting to see people in my home state Step up and like run for Congress because Oregon is a very very deep blue state So there's no reason why we have like this milk toast neoliberal Democratic establishment type of people representing us like we need true progressives Democratic socialists such as yourself and Like I'm I'm just ready for change and to see everyone across the country in different states, you know step up It honestly makes me feel really happy So tell us a little bit about yourself and your campaign and if you could talk about the dynamic Curly in this race. Is this like a two-way race? Are you the only progressive that's currently running? Give us a little bit of details on the situation Yeah, sure So I currently serve as the electoral and legislative chair for the Portland Democratic Socialists of America Which basically means I run our lobbying department, but we don't have any money. So we're not very good lobbyist but we try to leverage our people power to influence politics down in Salem and That that role that I served in this last session Had me down in Salem our state Capitol working at the legislature almost every day And I became progressively more and more frustrated with our Democrat supermajority because we have a Democrat supermajority in both chambers of our Legislature and a Democrat governor that constantly time and time again came up with compromises and half measures and sellouts to a Republican Minority instead of fighting for the interests of their working-class constituents And that's really why I'm running now I also am a board member for Portland tenants united, which is our largest tenants union here in the city of Portland I'm a disabled veteran I was the first woman to serve as an indirect fire infantryman in the u.s. Army Which is a combat job that was previously open only to men Until I was forced out of the military by the trump administration's trans military ban And now I'm the first trans woman to run for the state legislature in Oregon's history And that's really important because there is over 7,300 state legislators in the country And there's only four trans state legislators So we are very voiceless in this country and our political system and the consequences of that are very significant for trans people For example, just here in Oregon Which is a very blue state with the Democrat supermajority Trans and gay panic defense is still legal and here in Oregon trans women are housed in men's jails in prisons so there's a lot of A lot of damage that are that are marginalization and our and our democracy has caused to the trans community So it's really important that we continue to fight for the representation that trans Oregonians deserve Now we are challenging an incumbent democrat. His name is rob nos. He is um Been in the state legislature since 2014 and he is the house majority whip so he's the fourth ranking democrat in the house and What really pushed me to run was the last session. He voted to cut public employee pensions Now this is a democrat supermajority voting to cut the pensions of teachers and nurses and firefighters some of the most valuable civil servants in our state I find that unacceptable That's what republicans typically do in other states, but who needs republicans when you have democrats like this So we're gonna make sure he doesn't get away with it And we're gonna make sure we replace him with someone who fights for the progressive values that I know our community shares And this race really is important. Like it's difficult for me to try to convince people in other states to care about You know internal organ politics, but this is really important Like what I want to point out is the impact that someone like um, you know Lee carter has in virginia being you know a democratic socialist elected and with you taking out a leader In the organ democratic party and being one of just a handful of trans women elected I mean this would be huge and you would be able to showcase Why it's so important that we have democratic socialists in congress because your policy is in comparison with average democrats I mean the difference is night and day Um, so I wanted to ask you about something that I heard from aoc as a late representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who don't know she said something that really struck a chord with me because it's so true And she said it just beautifully basically She says that we don't have a left party the democratic party is not a left party They are a center center right party. So I want you to kind of um respond to that and also Appeal to people in organ because even though we're very blue like I personally and I I'm sure it's the same for you Know a lot of people who are just very loyal to the democratic party, but explain to them why we need real representation for the left Um, especially in states like organ where I mean theoretically we should have So many different progressive policies passed with a super majority We're not getting that so explain why it's so important that we make this distinction between democrats and the progressive left and socialists Absolutely, and I agree with aoc the democratic party is not a progressive left party It is a center or center right party and here in oregon That's especially the case because we are so dominated by corporate money So oregon is one of the only five states that allows unlimited corporate campaign contributions And as a result we have the most corporate spending in our elections per capita of any state in the country And that's going to democrats. Um, there is no sitting state legislator that doesn't take corporate money in oregon And as a result we see corporate policies getting shoved through the state legislature with ease Meanwhile teachers and nurses and firefighters have to go down and fight for their pensions for months just to lose Now we saw just as an example, um, oregon business and industries is the largest lobbying group in the state They were openly bragging Last session that they were able to get a list of seven concessions into a student funding package That they negotiated openly with the house The house speaker and the senate president. Um, and this is being flaunted openly so Here in oregon the consequence of not having a true left flank party and or not having a true left flank of the democrat party Is that our party is dominated by corporations? Um, and I think that's unacceptable I think that the only way to to change that is to start electing people that don't take corporate money To start electing people the right way by knocking every door by building a movement and advocating for the policies That working class oregonians need to improve the material lives that we live And being unapologetically bold and progressive in doing so and that's exactly what we're gonna do Yeah, and that's great And i'm so glad that people like you as well as like amanda sebe and albert lee all from oregon You know running for congress or the house Um, it's so important because I feel like with the democratic party since they feel so safe in oregon because it is a Safe blue state they kind of just can get away with not really representing their constituents. They can basically do Uh center right types of policies on not really represent constituents and just feel safe because nobody's going to challenge them But now finally we're all drawing a line in the sand and we're saying This is not good enough and it's time that you actually do the bidding of people Not your corporate donors and it's so frustrating So I wanted to ask you so um in terms of what could be accomplished. Let's say you beat um rob I think that this would be huge like I think this would make national headlines because anytime a socialist takes out You know a member of leadership. It's just it's phenomenal and it scares the establishment But i'm curious. What do you think you would be able to accomplish or what would you push for within that first year in office? I think we can accomplish quite a lot um because it would be such a big Big victory for for the left. It would have regional significance and it would be a national news story And then we can leverage the people power that um that win creates that moment in in time where there's so much energy behind that To push our agenda moving forward in the legislature Once once we send that message that nobody is safe that um, no democrat is safe No matter how much money you have because our opponent has unlimited corporate money He's raised $130,000 already for a state house race. Um, which is like u.s. House numbers in a lot of other states insane Um, that will send a message that nobody's safe and that um, if you don't fight for the principles that your constituents hold dear Then we're going to come for you and we're going to take your seat and we're going to replace you with someone who will Um, and that's the people power we're going to leverage once we're elected We're going to turn out people and in working with the coalition of of grass trees organizations that have endorsed us Uh, we're going to turn out people to testify at hearings and uh to protest at the capital and to go to town halls And other legislators districts and we're going to organize the constituents of other legislators to put pressure on them to to stop this uh this ever um This ever-increasing fall and capitulation to the right because here in oregon the republican party should be insignificant But they keep winning concessions from our democrats And that's unacceptable from a party that uh has a super minority that that um is Irrelevant in our state politics Yeah, you know the way that it should be in oregon is that we should have like centrist republicans more so than centrist democrats Because if you can't really win Um, then they should be the ones making concessions, but yet time and again And this isn't just true for oregon. It's true across the country and state legislatures Um, we see democrats making concessions and meeting republicans halfway, which is just it's mind boggling to me Um, this should not be the case and I think that people across the country are so frustrated to where They are willing to you know Shun the establishment and vote for someone who isn't necessarily an incumbent who they don't know So i'm curious because you're working with a lot of progressive organizations. Um, what is based on like your your personal experience What are some of the issues that voters are raising because i'm personally not familiar with this area? I'm not sure is this like around void center area. Um It's just south of void center. Okay. Yeah, it's um curms and inner northeast portland Okay, and then most of inner southeast portland. Oh, I see so i mean i'm sure that the same issues like because I grew up around In st. John's and the same issues i'm sure Plague that community that area of portland like gentrification income inequality homelessness and whatnot So what are some of the concerns that constituents are telling you? Right, so housing like you mentioned is is really right at the top of the list We have a huge housing crisis here in oregon and houselessness is increasing um, and uh, it's been addressed by our centrist democrats or attempted to be addressed By throwing more money, um into Developments and throwing more money into brand new housing and trying to Open up the zoning to allow um more dense housing, but that's been uh, that's led to uh on Surge in high-rise luxury apartments and housing that may be dense but still economically out of reach for most oregonians Um, so for example, I just moved because my rent is was too high So I just moved three days ago and I moved into an apartment In inter northeast portland That is a brand new construction luxury apartment building And i'm the first tenant in my unit and it's a 300 square foot luxury studio apartment that cost $1,100 a month Now I don't want to live in a 300 square foot luxury studio apartment But that is the cheapest housing that was available on the market in my district at the time that I moved I had to stay in district, of course So that's what i'm really angry about is that there's no real affordable housing in my district anymore And this can be traced to the policies of the city and of the county and of the state That have treated this housing crisis Not as a crisis of human rights of housing being a human right that's not being met But as an opportunity for developers and as an opportunity for the development and landlord and realtor lobby That all the state legislators take money from including our opponent. Um, so we aim to address the housing crisis by investing in dense green publicly owned and democratically controlled public housing And guaranteeing housing as a human right because there are 4,000 houses people here in moltenoma county and there are 16,000 vacant rental units So this is not a supply issue. This is an inequality issue Yeah, I totally agree. You know, it's devastating to drive through and you see so much homelessness I mean, this has certainly been an issue for us in portland those of us who grew up here But I mean, it's increased exponentially and it's it's just devastating It's sad and to see it not get addressed year after year when we have a democratic supermajority It's just it's unacceptable at this point So I wanted to shift gears a little bit. You are running as a democratic socialist proudly So you got the endorsement of the dsa in portland So I don't think this is going to necessarily be an issue where we live in this in this state But if you had to describe in your own terms to someone in portland Who's a little bit apprehensive about that socialist label if they've been a lifelong democrat or even a republican What would be the pitch that you make because this is something that i'm currently trying to wrestle with myself Because I also identify as a democratic socialist. I'm a card-carrying member to the national dsa So I mean like how do we win those people over who are so afraid about that socialist label in your view All right, I think it just comes from having conversations about what we believe in that We believe in that every head should have a roof that every child should have a teacher that every family should have a doctor And that every human being should be treated with dignity and respect and have value outside of their economic value Under the capitalist mode of production and what they can produce And it's through that messaging. I think instead of through Uh Types of theory discussions about Marxism that we're going to reach the type of people who have this visceral reaction to labels like democratic socialism But also we shouldn't be apologetic because What we're advocating for is is bold transformative change and some people aren't gonna Like that it's going to make some people uncomfortable because of their privilege and because of Their vested interest in the status quo And I think it's important to recognize that we don't always have to change their minds. Sometimes we just have to Defeat the the people who are Uncomfortable with what we're offering because what we're offering is human dignity and a world that treats human beings Uh and places human beings above profit and places the planet above corporate profit Um and if if that makes someone uncomfortable, then it's time for us to move on without them I think Yeah, yeah, and the reason why this question is so like important to me is because just like lately Someone in my family had like this visceral reaction to me Um because they saw an episode of the podcast and then asked me michael. Are you a socialist? I'm like Yeah And the reaction was just like shock and this person is not necessarily very politically savvy doesn't really follow politics Um, I won't say who it is in case they're watching But like, you know, it just that may be thinking like how do we win these people over? Like do I just focus on you know the policies and not that label and really I think it is important that we educate people because Like I saw a tagline about socialism from Benjamin Dixon shout out to him where it's just sharing and caring And it's funny because we learned that in like kindergarten But yet we grew up in this ruthless capitalist system where people are sleeping on the streets, you know So, um, yeah, I think that anyone in this district if they know about you and they get out to vote I think you win easily because the case that you were making is so simple That I don't know how you can go on with the status quo and organ with the way that it's going I don't know how anyone is satisfied with the democrats that we have in the organ Legislature, so I want you to make your case to voters And also if you can kind of speak to people who don't live in organ and think that you know Organ internal politics aren't necessarily important to them You know, can you talk about just why people in this district should vote for you and why nationally this really is important Yeah, so this is a hugely critical race because of what's at stake. This is um A time right now here in 2020 when Oregon is building a new pipeline in a new fracked gas export terminal We're expanding freeways outside of portland here And we're moving forward with a neoliberal Motor production that has brought us to the brink of a climate Crisis and on the brink of a climate apocalypse And that's where we're at right now and we only have a few years to fix this And like I mentioned, there's over 7,000 state legislators in the us and Most of them are funded by the fossil fuel industry and are funded by corporations that have a vested interest That is directly contradictory to working class people And it's up to us to fight back And we have to do that not just by running for congress and having Everyone who wants to be the next AOC running impossible races against incumbents that they can't defeat But also from the ground up running for school board running for city council running for your state legislature Because every single arena that we're not fighting in our landlords are and our bosses are and the fossil fuel industry is So we need to be fighting on all fronts and right here in oregon. This is an incredibly Winnable race. We're winning 65 of the voters that we talked to in our canvassing operation But our opponent has near unlimited money. So we've raised a little over $25,000 our opponents raised $130,000 So we're going to get outspent by a large large margin So it would be greatly appreciated if any of your listeners could go to page 2020.com and throw us a couple bucks Because it'll go a long way We're powered just by regular everyday working class people because that's who my only constituent is is the working class people of this state Yeah, and that's fantastic. We lost your image. It's just frozen, but we heard Everything you had to say. So I will have all the information up on the screen page. Thank you so much for coming on the program It's been a pleasure Yeah, thank you so much for having me. Yeah, and for what it's worth You have my endorsement even though unfortunately i'm not living in the area where I can vote for you But i'm gonna be rooting for you and i'm sure that my viewers are too Thanks so much