WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:05.380
As I transitioned, I connected with
other trans folks and really leaned into

2
00:00:05.380 --> 00:00:11.040
being my own person, not just the
person I'm told I'm supposed to become.

3
00:00:12.100 --> 00:00:15.740
I was good at connecting with people and
making others feel seen and understood.

4
00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:20.460
And that's when I started
community organizing with a

5
00:00:20.460 --> 00:00:25.280
local peer-led support network
for trans femmes and on an

6
00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:27.500
informal level in some of the
spaces that I belonged to.

7
00:00:27.620 --> 00:00:32.180
In undergrad, we learned
that this lifetime is about

8
00:00:32.180 --> 00:00:35.160
being a lifelong learner,
and I took that to heart.

9
00:00:35.820 --> 00:00:37.940
So I've been listening to
people's lived experience.

10
00:00:38.080 --> 00:00:42.140
It matters to me to understand
ways people in positions of power

11
00:00:42.140 --> 00:00:46.800
cause harm to regular folks based
on things that they can't control,

12
00:00:46.940 --> 00:00:50.240
like their skin color or how
much money they were born into.

13
00:00:51.180 --> 00:00:53.400
I've been unpacking these
systems, and I don't

14
00:00:53.400 --> 00:00:55.820
think I'll ever be done
unpacking these systems.

15
00:00:56.620 --> 00:00:57.560
For example, I get confused.

16
00:00:57.580 --> 00:00:59.860
I'm cautious about people
who think that they fully

17
00:00:59.860 --> 00:01:02.700
understand lived experience
they haven't lived.

18
00:01:02.940 --> 00:01:06.760
I think there is always more work
to be done to understand the lives

19
00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:10.760
of our community members that
have been harmed by stereotypes,

20
00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:15.300
disenfranchisement, when people
are racist or sexist, for example.

21
00:01:15.620 --> 00:01:17.940
And it can be hard to
unlearn those topics,

22
00:01:18.020 --> 00:01:22.220
and I don't think one
ever fully unlearns them.

23
00:01:22.860 --> 00:01:27.560
Something that has never wavered for
me is my commitment to the value of...

24
00:01:27.580 --> 00:01:30.360
community, freedom of
choice, and the belief that

25
00:01:30.360 --> 00:01:32.570
we should have access to
financial opportunities.

26
00:01:33.740 --> 00:01:36.180
What has changed is the
belief in what mechanisms

27
00:01:36.180 --> 00:01:38.620
our state could and
should use to help people.

28
00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.540
During Operation Metro Surge,
I was out protesting, giving

29
00:01:43.540 --> 00:01:46.340
to mutual aid networks, and
being vigilant for ICE officers.

30
00:01:46.800 --> 00:01:50.260
I joined this race because
the urgency called for it.

31
00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.360
Our communities imminently need help.

32
00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:57.200
We've learned that no one
is coming to save us but us.

33
00:01:57.720 --> 00:02:00.340
So now is not the time
to be silent about ICE.

34
00:02:00.860 --> 00:02:04.080
Now is not the time to find
middle ground between upholding

35
00:02:04.080 --> 00:02:07.160
civil liberties and allowing
ICE to kidnap our neighbors.

36
00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:12.740
Operation Metro Surge is
unequivocally un-American, and I feel

37
00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:16.480
it is my duty to our Minnesota
communities to run for this office

38
00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:19.760
when no other candidates will
take a firm stance against ICE.

39
00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.980
I joined this race because I
refuse to believe the political

40
00:02:23.980 --> 00:02:27.560
establishments are willing to
deliver on what our communities need.

41
00:02:27.580 --> 00:02:31.340
I have been listening to
folks with an open mind to new

42
00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:35.080
ways of thinking, organizing,
and serving our communities.

43
00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:38.380
I believe in the power of people and our

44
00:02:38.380 --> 00:02:41.100
communities to know
what we need to thrive.

45
00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:48.340
How we get from where we are now to a
system that serves everyday people is taking

46
00:02:48.340 --> 00:02:52.620
on corporate greed and tilting
the scales back towards
serving everyday Minnesotans.

47
00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:57.560
I know I will have succeeded in this
office if we can give everything we have.

48
00:02:57.640 --> 00:03:00.320
I believe in every community
tools and opportunities to

49
00:03:00.320 --> 00:03:03.540
build thriving and resilient
communities across the state.

50
00:03:04.540 --> 00:03:08.400
And I honestly don't care who
gets credit for the policy change.

51
00:03:08.580 --> 00:03:11.100
What matters is that the policies change.

52
00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:15.660
And I'm aware that I used to
vote with the Republicans.

53
00:03:16.160 --> 00:03:19.120
I'm aware that I used to turn
the wheel of Republican politics.

54
00:03:19.440 --> 00:03:22.080
I feel ashamed about the
way the Republican Party

55
00:03:22.100 --> 00:03:25.040
changed from a focus on local
community responsibility

56
00:03:26.180 --> 00:03:27.560
to a party that took a moment of silence,

57
00:03:27.580 --> 00:03:30.980
for Derek Chauvin, the police
officer who killed George Floyd,

58
00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:33.480
has a president that
mocks disabled people,

59
00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:36.780
has sexually assaulted women and
called wounded veterans weak.

60
00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:41.340
As I reflected on myself, I realized
that the party has become something

61
00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:45.520
that is not representative of who I
am and the world that I want to build.

62
00:03:46.260 --> 00:03:49.240
This video, this campaign,
isn't me expecting forgiveness.

63
00:03:50.420 --> 00:03:53.320
This campaign is not me saying
that I'm the most educated

64
00:03:53.380 --> 00:03:56.780
on all the ways people in
positions of power can cause harm

65
00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:59.860
to regular folks based on
things that they can't control.

66
00:04:00.040 --> 00:04:02.900
But I am someone in this race
that will acknowledge them

67
00:04:03.440 --> 00:04:06.240
and will listen to the very
real ways that they impact you.

68
00:04:07.320 --> 00:04:09.460
What I do know is that if I didn't run,

69
00:04:09.950 --> 00:04:13.140
no one in this governor's race
was going to talk about race,

70
00:04:13.200 --> 00:04:16.200
talk about poverty and the
material needs of our communities.

71
00:04:17.320 --> 00:04:20.700
This governor's race isn't
about the left versus the right.

72
00:04:20.960 --> 00:04:23.020
It's about the power
that billionaires and

73
00:04:23.020 --> 00:04:25.620
corporations have over
us and our government,

74
00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:27.200
that ordinary people don't.

75
00:04:27.380 --> 00:04:30.340
To transform our politics and our lives,

76
00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:32.980
our path forward is in
working class solidarity.

77
00:04:34.080 --> 00:04:37.700
This campaign is me asking if
we can work together to make

78
00:04:37.700 --> 00:04:40.560
sure our government works for
the benefit of the people,

79
00:04:40.880 --> 00:04:45.240
not just those who have wealth
and political connections.

80
00:04:46.200 --> 00:04:48.380
If you're tired of the divisiveness,

81
00:04:48.520 --> 00:04:51.080
the unresponsiveness of our government,

82
00:04:51.200 --> 00:04:54.320
and if you resonate with the
policies that I'm fighting for,

83
00:04:54.630 --> 00:04:56.680
then maybe this campaign is for you.