Making Changes in Montgomery, Alabama

 

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Transcription

David Martin: This is the good government show.

Steven Reed: We’re trying to make sure that technology, is infused in, every form of government, every facet to help us be more efficient and effective in responding to the needs of our, residents.

How do we make sure that our systems, aren’t compromised? We’ve seen that happen to cities, and we try to do everything we can to stay ahead of that.

We don’t have to agree on, you know, some political issues. But I think we all want to see, our cities and our residents. Most importantly, maximize their well-being.

You know, Montgomery is a great city, founded in 1819, it is known as the, birthplace of the civil rights movement. It is a place with tremendous history.

David Martin: I met Mayor Steven Reed when he was leading a panel discussion called Innovative Cities. Naturally, when the good government show here is innovation. We want to hear more. So on this episode, we’re going to talk innovation in Montgomery, Alabama. Welcome to the Good Government show. I’m your host, Dave Martin. First, help us share the message of good government by liking us and sharing us where we are on Facebook, Instagram and Blue Sky.

Please share a show with your friends and don’t forget your reviews. Let’s get everyone excited about good government. So one of the first topics we talked about was trash. Trash pickup I mean trash, right? But hey, when the trash is and collected, everyone notices. So Mayor Reed explains how innovative technology help with trash collection and many other city services.

We discussed how innovations by the mayor and staff resulted in creating new offices, including a new grants office and that resulted in millions of dollars coming into the city. Montgomery has an interesting history. It’s both the birthplace of the Confederacy, but it’s also the birthplace of the civil rights movement. Back in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott and kickstarting a national movement.

As Mayor Reed will tell you that history in many ways continues to drive his term as mayor and the city of Montgomery. So coming up, Mayor Steven Reed of Montgomery, Alabama.

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Welcome to the Good Government Show. We’re very happy to have Mayor Steve Reed of Montgomery, Alabama. I was a native of Alabama, so it’s nice to meet a fellow Alabamian.

Steven Reed: All right. All is good to meet you as well.

David Martin: Yes. Thank you. I wanted to talk to you because you were, part of a panel discussion about Innovative Cities. Yeah. So tell me, what’s some of the things that you’re doing in your city that are quite innovative, that, got you up on the stage here at the Conference of Mayors?

Steven Reed: Well, the thing for a lot of us, and certainly Montgomery is no different. We’re trying to use data to help us drive better decision making. We’re trying to make sure that technology, is infusing, every form of government, every facet to help us be more efficient and effective in responding to the needs of our, residents.

And for us, that’s everything from trash pickup to public safety.

David Martin: I was counting up. Helped.

Steven Reed: Well, you know, trash pickup is helped. You know, for us, because it’s allowing us to see kind of where our roots should be, how to be more efficient. There. And really, whether or not we still need to be on to some of the rules that that we have been on just because the city has grown, the city has expanded.

What you have now in some parts of our area, not as much of a dense population as you do others. Okay. So we’re trying to utilize.

David Martin: So the city shifted in change, correct? Yeah.

Steven Reed: Yes. So we’re trying to utilize to see can we continue to cover the city with our, fleet. Do we need to do a public, private, initiative there, privatized part of that? And will that help us be more effective or maybe even cut back, you know, some of the services from, what we have been doing to maybe now what people are utilizing in our city as it relates to and people people are expecting as it relates to garbage and trash pickup.

David Martin: What else are you doing? What? You mentioned that was one of the. That’s where I stopped. You know.

Steven Reed: I could, I could go on and on, you know.

David Martin: I have all the time, but it’s like.

Steven Reed: I think for us, you know, certainly we want to make sure that, our, infrastructure, is protected from ransomware attacks. Okay. From cybersecurity, is a priority for us again, in terms of using technology, how do we make sure that our systems, aren’t compromised? We’ve seen that happen to cities, and we try to do, everything we can to stay ahead of that.

And then I think, you know, probably the last big thing that that I would, you know, say in terms of technology wise, is how do we make sure that people have access to it throughout our city? How do we make sure that people have access to high speed, internet? We have places in our city that, you know, low to moderate income residents don’t have it.

That’s an issue for us. Sure. In terms of education is the issue for us in terms of, what I would say is the overall cause.

David Martin: And for some kids, if you don’t have internet access, you can’t do your homework.

Steven Reed: That’s great. So, it impacts our city tremendously. And we we have to lead that effort to make sure we have fiber. That’s connecting our residents to this. I say opportunity. We’re really it’s more of a necessity, these days. It may more so now than ever before.

David Martin: Have you done anything to alter, you know, your library services to accommodate people who maybe don’t have internet at home?

Steven Reed: Well, in terms of our library services, we have, great. You know, mobile Wi-Fi spaces. Okay. And we try to make sure that our Wi-Fi signal, even if you’re outside or if you’re inside our library of you in your car, you don’t want to come in. It’s accessible for you, to utilize, whether it’s on your phone or on a laptop.

But certainly we’ve expanded our lab, computer labs so that there’s just more access for people, to get high speed internet so they can do those things. But it’s still not a job application, whether it’s, you know, telemedicine, telehealth initiatives, all those things they can do because not everyone, again, has access to it. Like I thought, at least prior to Covid.

And so we’re still, learning from that experience and try to make sure government is responsive in that way.

David Martin: You lead the city of Montgomery, the capital. Yeah. The state doesn’t always cooperate with the things that you’re trying to do in your city. How do you manage that?

Steven Reed: You know, you have to try to show the state leadership was in their best interest, was in the best interests of the region and to, take local.

David Martin: That’s a hard job. That’s quite a.

Steven Reed: It is very hard. It’s why they pay mayors of big bucks, I guess. Right.

David Martin: Oh, getting the big bucks out.

Steven Reed: Yeah. Yeah, it’s kind of like these corporate CEOs, right? I think my my mind is several zeros, seven. But, you know, from, from our standpoint, it’s a matter of finding that middle ground with our state leaders and making sure that, you know, we can show them what the impact is going to be for residents that they serve as well.

We don’t have to agree on, you know, some political issues. But I think we all want to see, our cities and our residents most importantly, maximize their well-being.

David Martin: So this is a good government show. Tell me about some of the good government projects you’ve initiated.

Steven Reed: Well, one is the performance audit. The city had never done a performance audit. And we did that. No, and that’s something that we’ll start doing that every 5 to 7 years. And it was a deep dive into our operation and processes and those that were, you know, susceptible, to, waste, those that were susceptible to mismanagement.

And we brought in a great accounting firm. Did, McConnell Jones out of Houston to help us do that, along with, Jim White and others, in our city to really identify ways that we needed to shore up our government practices to save the taxpayers money. And we’ll be doing that to the tune of $2 million moving forward based off of recommendations that they have and those things that we’re starting to implement now.

So that’s something that took quite, a quite a while, took about a year and a half for us to do. But it has been well worth it. From our standpoint. The second thing is, you know, we looked at realigning, restructuring our city again to be a more effective local government. We had not had a reorganization in the city in well over a decade.

So we added positions, we added departments, eliminated others that were more reflective of where our city is now and where the city needs to be. So we created Office of Violence Prevention. We created an Office of Inspections, Permitting and Planning. We created, Office of Inspector General. So these are things that we did, and we, we eliminated some of the offices, such as, Department of General Services and some that we didn’t think really needed to be their own, agency, if you will, under the city government.

And then we brought along Grant’s department. Believe it or not, I had never had a full time Grant’s department until I got elected in 2019. How do you operate a city without a grant’s department? I have no idea what our Grant’s department has brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, in my first term alone. And that’s been significant, you know, for us to do.

David Martin: Tell the folks a little bit about Montgomery. Tell me about your city.

Steven Reed: You know, Montgomery is a great city, founded in 1819. It is known as the, birthplace of the civil rights movement. It is a place with tremendous history. It is a state government capital. Our largest, you know, in private employers would be Hyundai Motor Manufacturing. And we are the home to the only North American plant, in Montgomery.

We have a large Air Force presence because of Maxwell going to Air Force Base and a great tradition, with our United States military. But we are probably no more that for being a government town, being the home of the state capital, down in automotive manufacturing. But what we want to do is to diversify that economy, certainly keeping the manufacturing base strong but diversified to be able to bring in some foreign talented people, in the knowledge based economy, utilizing our five colleges and universities that we have, including, Alabama State University, which is the oldest, historically black college university in the state of Alabama, very significant for us, to

utilize a young talent and utilize, you know, the opportunities for higher ed to bring in federal dollars and for us to work with them. Along those lines.

David Martin: Tell folks about your civil rights history.

Steven Reed: You know, the civil rights history, predates, Doctor Martin Luther King Jr, who led the 381 day bus boycott. Right? After Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, on Montgomery’s, segregated bus lines. It led to the modern civil rights movement that culminated in the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which are under threat right now.

And so, you know, we we are very sensitive to the winds nationally, because of our history and how that’s played. Locally. But, you know, for us, we have a, you know, interesting, observance of the pain of this nation because Montgomery is also the birthplace of the Confederate States of America, led by Jefferson Davis. And then the progress of America, led by the men and women and children, the civil rights movement who marched for freedom, without any protection from the state or the local government, and who really only had to rely on the federal government, to assist them as they saw full equality and full citizenship in this country.

David Martin: Does that tradition sort of weigh on you a little bit?

Steven Reed: Oh, Allison, it fortifies everything I do. It’s the backbone of what I do. But we can’t be a city, known for that and not practice. And I think there are too many still who, prefer the, moniker over, you know, really, digging into the the mantra of it and, and that’s that’s important. We have to be a more compassionate city.

We have to be a city that leads, from the standpoint of what is equal and what is equitable. We have to make sure that we’re a city that is looking policy wise, to carry that towards, you know, to carry the lantern forward of light through the rest of this nation, because that’s what we have been. That’s why I’m the first black mayor in the 200 year history of the city.

I was born and raised there. So many of the luminaries.

David Martin: Black mayor of the history of Montgomery.

Steven Reed: That’s correct.

David Martin: That’s history making.

Steven Reed: Well, it is, it is what?

David Martin: What made you decide to run for mayor?

Steven Reed: The city wasn’t changing fast enough or really much at all.

David Martin: But your your guide. You said I could do this.

Steven Reed: Yeah, we said we could do it, and I should have done it sooner.

David Martin: But probably, you.

Steven Reed: Know, but we we did it, got six, 7% of the vote and, we’ve been rolling ever since, and we were bringing about a new city and a new vibe, to.

David Martin: To tell you you’re never going to win because no black man has ever won the race for mayor.

Steven Reed: Well, they they told me that when I ran my first race in 2012 for, for countywide judge. And so that that that was a three term incumbent that I be who was a Republican at the time. And that’s when I was told I wouldn’t win. And, by the time I got to 2019, seven years later, I think they knew, if I was going to run, I was going to win.

So I didn’t hear that quite as much.

David Martin: I said, okay, what inspired you to run for mayor? I mean, you said you wasn’t making changes fast enough. You were trying to. Do.

Steven Reed: You know what I think the, I came, you know, very likely out of the school of watching President Obama win and make history office in 2008. That was a major inspiration for me to run in, 2012 and, you know, running for mayor. I just wanted to be able to put my finger on the scale more than I could on the bench.

Okay. So, you know, when you’re when, judge, you’re kind of a referee, you’re not really an active player. As a mayor, you’re the quarterback, you know, you’re the pitcher, you’re the point guard or whatever sports analogy you you’re the general, whatever analogy you want to use.

David Martin: Quarterback.

Steven Reed: That’s right. You get a chance to dictate and to set the temperature of your city.

David Martin: And is it working out?

Steven Reed: It’s working out. It is. And we’re growing. We’ve had the best economic development. Years in our city’s history. We continue to, to build our public relations. Oh, those grants are big, but that’s more so. The public private partnerships are the the the the big piece on the economic development has been letting national international companies know that we’re open for business and that this is not just say, you know, keep it small, keep it all, you know, mindset, right, that the good old boys days are over and that we really want to bring in the best and the brightest and those who can help our residents.

We aren’t just satisfied with being mediocre. Montgomery. We want to maximize Montgomery. And that’s what we have focused on, since we’ve been in 2019 and continue to now in the second term.

David Martin: All right. We’re going to take a break, and we’re going to come back and we’re going to get your philosophy on government.

Steven Reed: All right.

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David Martin: Okay, so this is called the Good Government Questionnaire. And we’re going to find out your true thoughts on government. All right. You’ve been mayor for, three and a half years. Four and a half years. Yeah. Define good government.

Steven Reed: Good government is one that helps, people improve their lives.

David Martin: That’s simple.

Steven Reed: That’s simple.

David Martin: Can you expand on that?

Steven Reed: Yeah. I think a government is one that that listens and understands the needs of our neighbors and residents and uses, the system that’s been created to do good. I mean, it’s really just that simple, you know, are you putting in policies in place, that improve the lives of your residents? And are you improving the environment around and help them achieve the American dream?

That, to me, is what government should be able to do. It is not to be the end all, be all, but it should play a role in that.

David Martin: How do you judge your success? How do you know if you’re doing a good job?

Steven Reed: Ultimately know about whether or not that the people won’t want you back so.

David Martin: That the elections are every four years in between, like, you know, week to week. Did it. Well. Well, listen, no.

Steven Reed: I think when we set our goals and objectives, when we take a look at where we are, we look at the metrics that we want to see, improve. And in some areas we’re doing great. You know, the areas we may think we’re not doing so well. And so we try to find out, you know, how we improve our station, I as a city.

But I’ll also tell you this, you know, talking to other mayors around the country, we don’t look at it by party. We don’t look at it by geography. We talk to mayors around this country about what they’re doing on certain issues and initiatives. And we say, okay, are we doing as well as we can? We know about that partnership.

Do we know about this collaboration? Can we do things to make our community more, environmentally friendly? Can we do things to bring about more clean air, more sustainability to our residents in our cities? Can we do things to make our streets safer, to take more guns off the streets? Can we do things to help our small businesses, and those entrepreneurs that are the backbone of our economy, you have to start looking at those basic things.

And then, of course, you get to the roads and the trash pickup. I mean, that goes without saying, okay, but those are the things that we try to look at to make sure, that we’re doing well. And then finally, I think you look at the, index of your residents to see how they feel about the city.

David Martin: You were on a panel with, Lily Wu, the mayor of Wichita, Kansas. What did you learn from her?

Steven Reed: You know, as new mayor, she’s got some great ideas. For Wichita. Very excited about, her leadership. And I think it’s, you know, having smart people like that running our cities, that gives me a lot of motivation to do a little bit more. And from their standpoint, it’s about really reaching, from neighbor to neighbor and making sure that as a community, they’re unified in their approach to be a better city, to bring better services, to their residents.

And also, you know, just to make sure that, from a transparency and trust standpoint, she has that with her residents. And that’s something that’s very important.

David Martin: Did you swap numbers? You’re going to check in with her later?

Steven Reed: Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, I thought I wanted to get out to, Wichita. And that. She ever been to Alabama? She said no. So I said, you got to come to her football season and I’ll check out some good SEC football.

David Martin: I’m more of an SEC guy. Florida State. Sorry.

Steven Reed: All right. Well, well, I think Florida saved me. Maybe SEC man here pretty soon.

David Martin: So, We’ll see. I don’t know how this is going to go. So if people don’t feel like that, you’re delivering the government that you say you’re going to. Yeah. What should they do?

Steven Reed: I think if people don’t feel like we’re delivering, the government, we say, we’re going to deliver, wanted to let us know. And we normally get that whether it’s, at a town hall and they will have a meeting or even be, email and social media these days, certainly, city council meetings, but also, you know, they have to ask, okay, what are you expecting?

All right. Because sometimes the expectations aren’t at the local level at the state and federal level. So is it something that local government can do, and if so, then how can we play a better role and how can we amplify, that need. And I think, you know, for us listening is key. Making sure that, we listen to our residents and their needs, you know, starts there and then for us, we have to see how we can act on how we can move in a way that brings about the difference that they want to see ultimately in their lives.

David Martin: You’ve been mayor, for three years now.

Steven Reed: Four and a half. You.

David Martin: I’m sorry. Four and a half years.

Steven Reed: Second term. No, don’t take away that. There we.

David Martin: Go. I would say, what would you like people to know about government as a sort of now, as a government insider?

Steven Reed: Government move slow. Okay.

David Martin: You move fast, I do.

Steven Reed: It doesn’t move as fast for most mayors as we would like.

David Martin: Okay.

Steven Reed: I think government was set up that way, intentionally. Deliberately so that you know, any city could not be turned on a on a dime. Right? So it’s not the private sector. Never will be. I think the other thing is that a lot of mayors that are here, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and others are looking for ways to make it more efficient.

We look for ways to make it, more relatable to where communities are right now, not where they were ten, 20, 30 years ago. And we have to also project forward. Right? We have to also project where do we need to go as a government? How do we allocate these dollars, that the taxpayers, allow us to, you know, it’s been on their behalf.

And then how do we measure the impact? Those are things that we have to continue to do.

David Martin: What’s the best part of being mayor that made you want to do it again?

Steven Reed: I think that for me, there was, unfinished business. There’s still work to be done. And it is that drive to really see the difference and make an impact. That drove me to say, let’s figure out how we address some of these issues. That may have been a little slow. In our response or maybe from another party’s response, but certainly slow to implement.

Let’s continue to do the work to make people’s lives better.

David Martin: What’s the hardest part of being mayor?

Steven Reed: Time away from your family.

David Martin: Okay. All right, so you make news, but where do you get your news?

Steven Reed: I get my news everywhere. From social media to traditional news to, social media. As a radio.

David Martin: That part thanks to the podcast. Like, yeah, social media is kind of a two edged sword, though, isn’t it?

Steven Reed: Oh, it definitely is. It certainly is. Yeah. It’s one of those things that, you know, for us, you have to use it for what it is. But you have to understand there’s limitations, but also strengths.

David Martin: Okay. Who’s your political hero? Who inspires you?

Steven Reed: Monster King jr okay.

David Martin: Yeah. Anyone else?

Steven Reed: My father. Joey.

David Martin: What’s your father? Was he in politics?

Steven Reed: Yeah, he was one of the first black city councilman. The group in 1975.

David Martin: Okay,

Steven Reed: To come on the Montgomery City Council, he’s also the chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference, the oldest black caucus, in Alabama, founded in 1965, the same year, the Voting Rights Act and, he’s someone that that has inspired me for a long time. And then certainly, as I mentioned earlier, President Barack Obama.

David Martin: Does your father, criticize and critique your work?

Steven Reed: Oh, yeah, absolutely. He’s encouraging. But, you know, he’s like, any dad, he has his thoughts and opinions about.

David Martin: Things, but he’s not shy about telling.

Steven Reed: You nice at.

David Martin: All. Is that good?

Steven Reed: It depends on the topic.

David Martin: You know, you said you were inspired by Martin Luther King. This is something you always thought of doing is going into public service, no less. It offers.

Steven Reed: No, I did not.

David Martin: You were present. You were class president.

Steven Reed: No, I I ran away from it. I was a hell no.

David Martin: Okay.

Steven Reed: Oh. When people would ask me, you know, about running. And again, I tell people, you know, when you’re growing up, this son of a P.K. and I talk about in my book, first best, lesson in leadership from the civil rights movement. You know, you’re either a preacher’s kid. You either want to be in the in the church or you don’t.

And when you’re politicians, kid, you either want to be in it or you don’t. And I didn’t want to be in it.

David Martin: But yet here you are.

Steven Reed: But yet here I am. My. It’s just one of those things where you you learn that day. God has plans that we cannot foresee, and, we have to follow that. And that’s what I do. And that’s why we continue to do our work.

David Martin: I have been to Alabama a few times. Not Montgomery.

Steven Reed: You got to come to Montgomery. Hey. The New York Times named as one of the 24 places to visit in 2024. You only got 52 weeks. Okay? Down about half the years. You got. You still got a few.

David Martin: I still got time. All right, well, maybe. Maybe we’ll see how things go to the fall. Yeah. I think FSU plays Auburn. All right.

Steven Reed: That’s that’s close.

David Martin: Enough. All right, let’s go out where we where what do we have? What’s the what’s the cuisine of of Montgomery. What’s what do we have it at all?

Steven Reed: Oh, man. Oh. This is oh, well, look, if you come to Montgomery, we got to give you some real, you know, soul food and some good southern cooking. I mean, we’re we’re going to do some grits. We’re going to do some bacon, some Connecticut sausage.

David Martin: Okay.

Steven Reed: Some toast and jelly. Some, you know, scrambled eggs. I got 3 or 4 places I can take you for there. We’ll do some, salmon, croquettes. We’ll do a little, pork chop and, you know, macaroni and cheese. Okay. Candy and some, green beans, some collard greens. We have a good time.

David Martin: You got a rich place. What’s that? You got a barbecued ribs?

Steven Reed: Oh, we got some barbecue grills. Yeah, yeah.

David Martin: What are your favorites?

Steven Reed: Oh, man. You go give me a shot.

David Martin: What’s your order? What’s your, Anyone. What’s yours?

Steven Reed: Allison. All right. For barbecue? Yeah. Because you know what? Because we’re here in Kansas City. And I really have to take a little umbrage here about. I can’t stand to be in the barbecue capital of the world. You know, Memphis is a. It was a barbecue.

David Martin: Party last night. Did you attend? I did, I did. Would you say.

Steven Reed: I thought that I could bring my folks in Montgomery out here, and, I think we can compete. Okay. Bigger and always better.

David Martin: Okay. All right, so.

Steven Reed: That’s what are the.

David Martin: What’s your what’s your order at a barbecue joint?

Steven Reed: Oh, my order is going to be brisket. Oh yeah. It’s going to be brisket.

David Martin: All right. Can’t go wrong with that. Yeah. You’re you’re you you’re one full term and you’re, you’re in your second term as mayor. It’s the good government show. We always want to bring it back to good government. Give me an example of a good government project you’re excited about.

Steven Reed: Well, we decided right now. How about partner with Bloomberg Philanthropies, and our City Data Alliance to really look at, how to bring more innovation to government, to all of our practices, from our financials. To our public works department, how to make sure that we’re using innovation and technology again to help save taxpayers dollars, but to increase the impact that government can have.

So we’ve been relying on a lot of old practices, a lot of archaic, processes and procedures. And what we’re able to do right now, is we’re able to cut out some steps in our business permitting process. We’re able to look at areas and our parks and recreation department, that allows identify.

David Martin: And change is not always well received. How are you doing with that?

Steven Reed: You know, that’s a good question. It’s not always well received. I guess it takes that trust factor.

David Martin: Especially with some young guy comes in and says, I’m going to fix this.

Steven Reed: Oh, absolutely. Well, you know, you have to overcommunicate it. You have to make sure that, you know, you’re sharing with, your residents why it’s going to improve things and to be patient. And so we talk about, you know, how we have evolved and how we watch TV, how we get our news and information, how we call and communicate with people, even how we drive.

And we go to the doctor. All that came through innovation. So often, what you have to say is that government is much the same way. It cannot stay the way it was and we can expect modern results and impact. That’s why we bring those things in and we have to, you know, continue to listen to their feedback, but also give them a little bit of a vision for why we’re doing the things that we’re doing.

David Martin: Mayor Steven Reed of Montgomery, Alabama, it was a pleasure talking with you is a pleasure to meet you. And, you know, good luck with the SCC in the fall.

Steven Reed: Hey, thank you so much. I look forward to see you, Montgomery, sometime soon.

David Martin: I sure hope so. Thank you. All right.

Steven Reed: Yes, sir.

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Meeting Steven Reed I can tell you he does move fast. I like this line what is equal and what is equitable. He ran for mayor because, in his words, the city wasn’t changing fast enough. So he got involved. He ran and he won. And now that he’s mayor, he’s still running. Running to make changes, to innovate and improve.

And that’s good government at a little southern soul food. And you’ve got a city worth paying attention to. Well, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us and share this with your friends and review us right here where you’re listening, and check out our website. Good Government show.com for extras. Help us keep telling stories of good government in action everywhere.

Join us again for another episode of Right Here. I’m Dave Martin and this is the Good Government show.

The Good Government show is a Valley Park production. Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder are the executive producers. Our show is edited and produced by Jason Stershic. Please subscribe then share and like us and reviews. That’s the best way to make sure we’re able to keep telling these stories of our government working for all of us.

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**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.