 Hello everyone, I'm here with Amanda CB running to represent Oregon's first congressional district and she is here to talk about her campaign Amanda, thank you so much for coming on the program Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. This is amazing. I really appreciate it I'm so excited to have you because unlike all the other candidates You're unique in the sense that I can vote for you. You're in my district And I'm incredibly enthusiastic about your campaign And of course unequivocally I endorse you Where basically this is the only I think race where it makes sense for me to endorse I already tacitly endorse pretty much everyone who I talked to but I feel like in this district it matters because I can vote for you and Anyone who I know will know who Amanda CB is So tell us why you decided to run for Congress. Of course, you're running against Suzanne Bonamici She's not the worst Democrat I would say but I feel like she hasn't been adequately representing us But I kind of want to know what made you decide to run Well, she's definitely not the worst Democrat, but she's definitely not the best either and that's part of the problem is that we settle for mediocre candidates so often because we don't have any other option What really got me to run? I really I grew up wanting to run for office, but I never saw it as a possibility You know, I was raised in a family where women weren't supposed to run for office. We were supposed to be the politician's wife So when Hillary Clinton ran for the Senate in New York, it was like a big time for me I was so excited, but it turned into well She can run because she has the name and she has the money but when I said Alexandria, Ocasio-Cortez ran and one it Opened up that entire possibility. I chose to run against Bonamici because she has been Systematically bad when it comes to disability rights Disability rights are something that's very very big for me. I am an injured worker. I have became disabled after on the job fall my employers didn't give me the Sufficient time off to recover and my modified duty turned into okay, abandon your crutches and do your regular work And it led to a full-body nerve disorder and I lost everything and so When we don't have anybody in Congress that really understands that and is willing to To represent that and people to run and who will fight for those things and who will represent those stories because There's so many more Out there than we we see and we understand Every story in this country matters and everyone is important and we forget that you know I mean one in five voters is disabled across the country one in four here in Oregon and Yet the only time we talk about disability rights It's in regards to disabled vets and the elderly and all those are both very very important Incredibly valuable members of our community. It's so much bigger and more diverse than that And so it's time that those people have representation to Absolutely, and I'm so glad that you are elevating this issue What I've tended to realize is that like each candidate they kind of bring something unique to the table like we all kind of Check the boxes so to speak when it comes to progressive policy issues Medicare for all free college and whatnot But each person kind of has that unique insight that I think is so crucial and important You know some will focus on housing for all Albert Lee who's running in our neighboring district Focuses a lot on a housing which is great and you're focusing on disability rights Incredibly crucial like my dad is in a wheelchair full-time. He's unable to walk and this is an issue I can tell you that does not get enough attention and it's so important and even though we've made a lot of progress You know the American with Disabilities Act was passed it doesn't go far enough and there needs to be more resources and wheelchair accessibility That's one of many issues that needs to be talked about because we've again We've made progress but not nearly enough so we need someone with that perspective who knows firsthand What needs to be done now? I looked over your platform and your platform is incredibly robust and just by looking at that really quickly I can already tell you're someone who is eager to get in and represent the people and I want to talk a little bit about Suzanne Bonamici because She is someone who I kind of always just felt Ambivalent towards she never really elicited a strong reaction to me because like we both, you know concede She's not the worst but you know, she doesn't do I think a good enough job at representing the people She rarely does town halls. I showed up to the town hall that she did a year ago and You know, I thanked her for co-sponsoring Medicare for all but at the back of my mind I don't believe that she would actually fight for it in the event It came up for a vote on top of that. I asked her about a piece of legislation that was 3057 It's called the Fair Representation Act and this is something that would end gerrymandering It would move us to a proportional representation system and on top of that I think most importantly it would institute nationwide ranked choice voting and I asked her about this and gave her the number You know the bill and whatnot and I asked if she would co-sponsored and she said she'd look into it It's been you know more than a year. I haven't heard anything back So I just feel like she's not responsive to her constituents and it's just kind of you know I'll put in the bare minimum effort to make sure I pass and they're sufficiently satisfied But I want someone who's going to go further than that, right? So let me ask you because you're gonna be my representative. Will you co-sponsor that piece of legislation now? It's HR 4,000. Oh, see and you don't have to look into it. You just know I know what that legislation is. I know about ranked choice voting. I know that we need to get rid of gerrymandering I know that the people need to be picking their representatives not the representatives picking the people and we need to go back to the Brutes of what our government was founded on and the ideals, you know We need to make sure that the people's voices is heard and gerrymandering does not do that Yeah, absolutely. And see this is what really by you just answering so quickly and Candidates like you like it shows you guys are coming to Congress with ideas that other people don't have like you shouldn't have to look Into whether or not you support ranked choice voting or ending gerrymandering. It should just be like of course It's not even a question and I think that's why it's so important that we have younger a new generation Just get out and run for congress because you all have ideas that would benefit working class people Certainly in Oregon's first congressional district So you have a huge platform and there's no way we can touch on everything But can you go over a little bit about what you represent because I was so excited to see, you know single payer medicare for all student loan debt cancellation um Imagine like the the thought of you being my representative would be so exciting because I know That we would be adequately represented in this district for the first time in our lifetimes So talk a little bit about your platform. I mean for me. I do and everything I say I back I live on seven hundred and thirty five dollars a month I have made that a priority to pay that extra little bit so that I can I make sure that I am Putting my name out there and fighting for immigration rights, you know, these things are really important to me the woman I call a mom is a She was an undocumented immigrant. She now has her green card These people are parts of our community and so it's really important to me But for me a social justice platform And government reform are the two biggest areas We need to make sure that everybody is taken care of that nobody is being left behind That includes our incarcerated population You know, we need to make sure that the we end the mass incarceration that has so many people Systematically oppressed across this country that we aren't breaking up families by sticking somebody In jail that shouldn't be there, you know, we have So many issues Let's see we have You know, we mentioned the Green New Deal. We mentioned Medicare for all we mentioned Uh education education is a big one. We need to change the way our schools. I mean I do a lot of tutoring and mentoring of our local kids here in my neighborhood and I have a 16 year old that can't read And he's still getting a's and b's and passing classes because they hired an aide To read everything for him rather than teaching him how to read and we need to Really put the focus back on what we're teaching our kids and how we're teaching them and there are so many Issues that we can solve if we just if we stop making excuses if we stop putting the priorities of Companies and everything first we need to stop Putting the product the priority on profits. We need to take profits out of a lot of things because that's what's ruining things I mean, if you look at the workers compensation system, which is completely unbelievably broken, but nobody's ever talking about it I mean the same private insurance companies that messed up our healthcare insurance They also messed up our workers compensation system. So we have Injured workers that should be getting full care treatment, you know back to work and if they can't get back to work They should be able to survive, but these workers are living on starvation Wages, I mean our elderly are living on starvation wages We need to make social security supplemental social income and social security disability into a living wage because that alone Would cut our homelessness rate by over half of our 554,000 homeless across this country 40% of them are disabled and 30% of them are over 65. So just by making those three programs a living wage We'd be able to cut those that number in over half I mean, we need to start really implementing real change that will affect real lives We can't make excuses and we can't brush off legislation that people bring up to us by saying Oh, I need to look into that and I need to get more informed. We should already be informed We know the issues that people are facing and if they don't understand those issues and they shouldn't be in congress Yeah, yeah, and this district. What's interesting is that I mean, this is a heavy democratic district So there's no reason why You know, we don't have a representative who isn't one of the loudest members of congress Pushing the envelope on all of these ideas. There's no reason why we don't have our own member of the squad in this district Because we're going to have a democrat every single time. So there's nothing There's no fear of losing to a republican if you run too far to the left. There's that's nonsensical So it's really frustrating to know that we're getting someone who's just putting in the bare minimum effort Who doesn't really seem to be focused on a lot of these issues? but I am curious though because Suzanne Bonamici She's an incumbent who has been in there for quite some time and she is heavily bankrolled by the industry and You are someone who You're not going to have the backing of the state democratic party or the establishment And this is a grassroots campaign. So my question to you is how do you Win successfully against someone who is a political behemoth like Suzanne Bonamici Who is going to be protected by those institutional and you know incumbency advantages What do you think needs to be done because I know that knocking on doors and raising money is crucial But do you think that in this district in particular that's enough to win? And what is your kind of strategy individually to basically um, make sure we take this district for progressives? I mean you forget that knocking on doors is incredibly hard for me because right 90 percent of houses have stairs leading up to them So that's not something I can do. I mean, so that's another challenge that we don't even Really realize so for me, it's going out where the people are. I ride public transportation I don't have a car for a reason. So I depend on public transportation And I make sure that we turn like every max ride and every bus ride into the mini town halls to get the word out You know I mean the more time that I spend talking to people the more we can get the platform out and the more that we can get Name recognition and get the word out The more people start to talk and the more people start to To listen. I mean the biggest obstacle I'm going to have is name recognition and once people learn who I am like you said a majority of our Our district is very progressive and they want progressive representation But it's just that name recognition and that's where I come into so many problems It's because to get that stuff you need money. I refuse to take the money from the big businesses I refuse to take the lobbyist money. I refuse to take super PAC money from corporations I'm not going to do it. I refuse to sell my soul to A company to earn this pot. I know I can do it other ways So I mean I'm I'm going to do everything I can I'm used to I mean I live on $735 a month. I know how to stretch a dime Trust me I mean I'm going to do everything I can to get that name recognition out because that's the only way we're going to win And that's why I need the help because it's so much more challenging when you're in a wheelchair trying to get around And people are less likely to talk to you when you're out and about without a wheelchair or with a wheelchair Yeah, that's just that's sad reality. Yeah, that's that's really sad. Um, and you know When I think about a robust democracy, I think that anyone ideally should be able to run for congress But the fact that you have that limitation It really kind of puts it in the perspective that we're not as equal as we thought we were I mean, certainly we all have different privileges and whatnot You know, we have subjective experiences, but it really crystallizes it and you know, it's frustrating because If somebody has the right ideas and they shouldn't be limited for reasons that they're not able to control immutable characteristics So the fact that you have a wheelchair shouldn't be a barrier, you know and theoretically you could overcome that challenge But you'd have to sell out and take a lot of money, you know what I mean to get the name out there And that's why publicly funded elections are so important You know because the only thing that should really separate our candidates is their policies You know, I mean it shouldn't be who raises the most money I mean, Bonamici right now has a million dollars in our campaign fund And you definitely don't have that Definitely don't I mean the disabled community is one of the poorest communities In the country and it is not an option. And so we need as much help as we can get I mean We need representatives who are willing to step up and and represent average people I mean Bonamici's worth six million dollars I don't know the last time she's been able to make an end meet on 736, which is the minimum social security disability payment That's really astounding. I don't think I've ever met anyone who's worth six million dollars except for her actually when she came to the town hall Yeah, it's easy to see why she's become so Out of touch and complacent because when you have that much money and you're comfortable And you're not really engaging with your constituents as frequently as you should be Of course, you're going to grow out of touch. You're in that dc bubble now You know, you're part of the establishment who you're you're occupying the seat But are you fighting? No, and I think you made such a phenomenal point about name recognition because the way that I feel Is in all of these elections like all of these candidates who I talked to Yourself included without question if enough people knew who you were you'd win nine times out of 10 But the real struggle here is making sure that people in that district know who you are And I know in the first district of Oregon if people knew about you They would absolutely vote for you because this is a very progressive district Like I am so surprised people who stereotypically don't seem democrats Or liberal or left-leaning in this district They are actually, you know, they're concerned with the rights that you you've raised And that's really encouraging and what it tells to me is that look we can do so much better Like I appreciate Suzanne Bonamici's service. She played her part for, you know, a number of years But it's time we get someone in there who genuinely cares about all of these issues And it's clear to me that she she doesn't care about these issues Now I want to talk about your endorsement. You've been endorsed by The Oregon chapter of justice democrats, which I think is incredibly exciting Um, has there been any interest for your campaign? And can you also talk a little bit about the dynamics of this primary race? Because I believe there's only one other primary challenger besides you in this race But it seems like you're the go-to Progressive was actually running on a bold platform. So talk through the dynamics of this race And if there's any local organizations dsa chapters who have taken interest in your campaign Yeah, I mean, I'm working on my organ progressive party endorsement I've been working On um, getting a couple other local endorsements. The dsa is one that I'm I'm hoping on I am a card carrying member of the dsa and have been since 2016 So I'm hoping to get their endorsements hoping to earn their endorsement helping to earn the afl cio and the seiu um, because Unions are so important. I mean, I know if I would have had the backing of a union when I was injured that There's no way I would be in this wheelchair right now We need to realize that we need to recognize that Um, so the union support is incredibly important to me, which is why I've been out And I was out on the front lines marching with the burger village burkirk union when they were out striking for a fair wage fair rights, um So yeah, I mean I'm trying to get out to as many As many groups as I can to get my name out because I really believe that there is more that unites us than divides us I mean we let little things like policy one little policy to divide us when There are so many bigger issues like everybody needs health insurance You know the things that we cannot avoid in life are Death taxes and disability It doesn't care and these are things that of every social economic standing in every Class every race every religion and we need to realize that If we just come together and find the solutions that our country and our world can be so much better We need to stop coming up with all the reasons we can't start looking for the ways to unite us and the reasons why we can A hundred percent agree with that Yeah, I think that these endorsements that you're seeking are so crucial in terms of like getting your name out there Because that really is the struggle that I see with all candidates You know, they talk about a lack of news coverage because of course, you know, it's difficult enough To see mainstream media cover top tier candidates like Bernie Sanders You know, they don't want to cover the people who pose an interest to them financially Um and your story is so like if people knew about your story I think it would resonate because the really the sad aspect and why I think your story in particular is so important Is because your injury was totally preventable had we had Laws in place to protect workers like you it would have been preventable So can you tell us a little bit more about that because I find it's so Just angering that you're in this situation because Workers are not respected in this country and we don't have rights I mean I spur the recovery six weeks of just, you know modified duty But because they were like, oh, no, we really need you to do this and oh, no If you if you take that time off you'll get fat and then you'll be useless to us Things like that. I mean the pressures that workers face I mean I lost my housing and had to move my husband and I in Out of california up into my parents house Because we lost our housing because I was a sole provider for our family You know, I mean we have to realize that what workers face Only become disabled is unbelievably undignified and humiliating Nobody wants to live off of food boxes Nobody wants to live off of meals on meals and have other people decide what you're What foods you're going to eat when having to go in for Energy assistance. It is the most humiliating thing. I've had to pick up skills. I never thought I would I make the majority of my own bread now because I can't afford bread So things like that. I mean those are the struggles that Every family faces at some point in time or other I mean we're all a lost job an injury A sickness away from debt Bankruptcy homelessness and those are the real issues that need to be covered and I mean while panamichi says that she supports things like medicare for all like you said She has three hundred thousand dollars invested in our current healthcare system I mean when it comes down to it Is she gonna be willing to take that big personal hit to make sure that the rest of us have care when she's not already You know really fighting for it You know, I mean we need representatives that are willing to stand up and lead by example and Can really address these issues and that's why I support people like Bernie Sanders, you know, and that's why I'm running Yeah, your experience. I think is so important and these types of Experiences of candidates like yourself who are running It sets you apart so much from people in dc because people in dc oftentimes You know, they come from ivy league schools. They're very wealthy And they they've never had to struggle like the situation Like the story that you share resonates with me so much because my dad He had his own business and was basically like starting the american dream And then he got injured and then lost everything and then we were living off of food banks, you know And you know in portland when we were living in portland at the time Thankfully there was a lot of options for like, you know food banks and clothing banks Which I had to go to you know for clothes for myself and one not growing up But um, it shouldn't be a situation where You know something happens to you that's completely out of your control and you lose everything you worked so hard to build like Why why are we paying taxes if we're getting nothing in return if we can lose everything, you know I was working as a restaurant manager when I was injured I was saving up to do my paramedic program so I could go back to being I was a volunteer firefighter in an emt and that's what I really wanted to do And so while saving up for that program. I got injured and lost my entire Future in a lot of ways. I lost my family. I lost, you know Uh divorce is incredibly common when you're disabled um, there's so many other issues that never get addressed or talked about and I mean these are issues that so many people face and We've completely ignored them as a society. I mean if you look at Movies and television all the disabled roles and everything are played by able-bodied actors We don't ever see disability And part of the reason we don't see disability is because nothing around town is accessible I took candidates down there this last week and put them all in wheelchairs. We took Let's see. Albert Lee Jason call And a couple other Portland candidates around had to give up and come back They just they had no idea and a lot of people just don't until They have to face it and the fact that we don't have anybody in congress right now that really has to face it The fact that most people that are health and care in our health insurance system are patients And yet there's no real patience In congress to represent that voice As we go through this national health care debate is insane to me You know, we do so much better imagine how much better our health care system would be if patients actually had a voice I mean Yeah, everything you're saying it's just I totally agree the the worst part is that all of these horrible things are happening When they don't have to be like we are the richest country on the planet and These things don't have to happen. Um, and I like I'm tired of like if you if you shared your story with Suzanne Bonham Michi, I'm sure that she would you know say oh, thank you so much You're so so brave and pat you on the shoulder But would she actually fight and the answer is no we need people who are actually going to fight So, I mean you've already convinced me you've won my endorsement, of course So tell people what they can do to support you and even if they don't live in this district What they can do to basically spread the word about your campaign and help you because I am all on board and We want you to win Thank you so much for that. That means a ton to me. Um Any help we get is appreciated if you live in district. We need help getting the word out We need help getting to doors and door knocking because I can't It can go out and knock on doors that are willing to help step up in that way Um finances, like I said, I live on nothing. We have a very poor community So anybody that is willing to donate even Five dollars goes a long way if we can get 10 000 people to donate five dollars and we have 50 000 I can make magic out of them The big thing is recurring donations people that can give five dollars a month That makes a huge difference for candidates like me. Um Being able to count on that monthly donation is Amazingly huge We can do a lot with that. So Anyway, you want to get involved. There's ways for you to help a lot of online warriors are always welcome Anything we can do to get the name out. So there's a place for everybody and everybody's help is appreciated Yeah, and really getting the name out is super important because I didn't learn about you until I you know, um I looked for you. I believe I found you on ballad pedia because I was curious like is there anyone in my district Who's challenging susan bonimichi? Who is awesome who's like progressive and I found you and I think that if people knew about you That would really like we talked about the name recognition It would go a long way because people just they want to be represented They just need to know that they have other options So really sharing those recurring donations and really volunteering since amanda can't knock on doors again That would be incredibly important because getting the name out Getting her name out and having conversations with people It's less scary than you think it is and I know a lot of people who talk to me and they say, you know phone banking And doing canvassing. It was really intimidating at first But once they started to do it it became second nature because what you end up finding out is that you have a lot More in common with people than you initially think and even though politics is incredibly polarizing and divisive It's not as bad, especially in these types of districts where we are incredibly incredibly left leaning in blue Of course, that's not to say that we don't have our own republicans here But you're going to find people who will agree with you more often than not And if they know that amanda's cb is challenging susanne bond and michi and you tell her about these tell people about these policies We win. It's as simple as that. So before we go tell us the website It's www.cb2020.com sie Well, man, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure. I am incredibly excited to vote for you I will be setting up recurring donations since you are in my district. Um, just for full disclosure But I mean, I think it's obvious that I support the people who I bring on so Either way, thank you so much amanda Thank you. I appreciate it