Don’t let the subject matter fool you because this conversation was lively! Democracy Vouchers passed in Seattle helping to make elections fairer, and now the movement is growing across the West Coast. Thank you Mary Le Nguyen from Washington Community Action Network (@mary_washingtoncan) for joining us and dropping knowledge. Want to learn more about how we’re bringing Democracy Dollars to Oakland? Follow fairelectionsoakland.org.
“When people that are tasked with taking care of you are the ones that are abusing you, it really takes a hit on your worth and value as a person. I very much feel connected to when our government or landlords are who are tasked with providing housing or government meant to create safety nets and help communities thrive – when they are the ones keeping you out of that system it can take a hit on your worth as well. For us to get people to say ‘actually my participation is going to make a difference’ – that is what is really exciting about this opportunity is that people now have another pathway to participate in a system that has previously locked us out and continues to create laws to keep us out. We see this happening across the country. Let us remember what it is like to be in our dignified bodies and take up the space that we’ve been locked out of.”