Summary

TVU 21 PETE BUTTIGIEG LAS VEGAS NV TOWN HALL ABC UNI 122019 2020 LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Mayor Pete Buttigieg is feeling the pressure of being one of the leading candidates in the Democratic race for president right now. During tonight's town hall with members of Las Vegas' Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) community, Buttigieg said sometimes it feels like he's "getting punched in the face," and acknowledged criticism from his own party. "And now of all times, is the moment that we've got to stay after it, precisely because it's so exhausting, I get it. You go on Twitter, and you go on the news and it feels like getting punched in the face all the time, especially when you actually run, let me tell you, (LAUGHS) I mean, between the absurdity that I feel like we're getting from the other side to the friendly fire that I get from my own competitors where we more or less have the same values, we're just competing. Right? It's tough out there." [221825] During a gaggle with reporters after the event, Buttigieg was asked about that comment and said it will only continue as the race goes on. "Well I think as the race gets more competitive for better or for worse, we can expect more of that, but the most important thing is to continue driving our message about what America is going to need, why I believe I would be the best nominee to defeat Donald Trump, but also critically the best president for the era that's got to come afterwards. And we'll continue to defend our message, our campaign, and my record." [223240] Asked if he thought the exchanges between him and the senators on stage during Thursday night's debate were fair, Buttigieg didn't give a direct answer, just once again bringing up "purity tests." "I certainly think that now's not a time for these kinds of purity tests to distract them from what it is we're all trying to do. And my view, especially on the question of how to gather resources, is that we need everybody that we can in this fight and in this struggle. And at the same time, I get that a debate is a place for us to hash out these differences and a fair game for us to each have to stand and defend what we believe." [223306] As for the town hall - before Buttigieg even sat down, things started off with a laugh when one person shouted out that his outfit was similar to Rep. Jim Jordan. "Thankfully, that is literally the only thing we will ever have in common," Buttigieg said. [213443] The conversation seemed to really focus on a need for all communities in the United States to feel like they're included. "Our country is at its best when it builds a sense of belonging, but right now the message is going out to so many people that you don't belong, people are being told, because of their faith, because of where they come from, because of what language they speak at home, because of their sexuality, whatever it is, in different ways, for different people, people are getting the message that you don't belong," Buttigieg said. "In order for America to succeed, it has to belong to all of us, and that's one of the reasons why it is so important to me to engage the APIA community, as it has been important in the life of our own city, where the contributions of generations of people have come, including so many who came one generation ago, largely from Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as people who came from many, many Asian communities who are part of the life of our academic sector, as well as our workforce, but also our campaign, where I'm proud that leadership roles, from our director of policy to our national finance investment chair are held by Asian women who are doing extraordinary work in our campaign." [214030] Asked if he would repeal President Trump's travel ban, Buttigieg said yes, but noted that it's being upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. "The travel ban, in my opinion is unconstitutional, it goes against American values, and it is clearly discriminatory, and I'm glad you raised it you're right here's something that, because there's a new outrage every day, we forget that the older outrageous haven't gone away, and that includes the Islamophobia in general and the travel ban." [220320] On higher-education, the mayor made sure to include that college tuition will not be free for the wealthiest Americans. "What I've proposed is a federal investment that would fund a state federal partnership to ensure that college is affordable for everyone, and actually can make public college tuition free for most for families, earning $100,000 or less. That's about 80% of Americans we would be able to make public college including community college tuition free." [214242] A woman in the audience said she liked the mayor's stump line of "paying teachers more like doctors and honoring them more like soldiers," to which Buttigieg found a chance to pitch his "education access core" proposal. "The idea would be to create a network of some of the most highly rated existing teacher qualification programs universities and colleges and programs around the country that train teachers and give them degrees to give them a designation of being a gold standard, that if you participate in this program, you'll have a license that's portable, that you can take to any school district in the country." [215403] TVU 21 PETE BUTTIGIEG LAS VEGAS NV TOWN HALL ABC UNI 122019 2020 GAGGLE 223122 Q: So you obviously like to cater to a lot of diverse communities, so how do you think events like this will help you in the polls later on? I mean in small, small events like this. 223132 BUTG>> Well I think it's about relationships. So you know there, there are some things that you can't accomplish in a 1000 person rally or town hall, that I have a more of a sense of back and forth, understanding what's on people's minds, and that's one of the reasons why tonight's discussion with the API community here was so important. We'll be having more conversations tomorrow with African American and Latino Nevadans and looking forward to what we can learn there. 223154 I think you really need to meet people where they are and reach people everywhere from over the air to big events to smaller conversations like this. Q: You talk about fiscal responsibility, and today Trump signed the national defense authorization act for [inaud] space force. Do you think space force is a good way to utilize government resources? 223213 BUTG>> I'm a big fan of space travel, but I'm concerned about the further militarization of space. And more broadly, this budget deal respects the spectacular level of Republican hypocrisy when it comes to their talk about deficits and fiscal responsibility. All the more reason why I believe the time has come for Democrats to probably own this issue. Q: Mayor Buttigieg, you talked during the roundtable about friendly fire from your own party. Did you see a little bit more of that last night and what does that tell you about the state of your campaign right now? 223240 BUTG>> Well I think as the race gets more competitive for better or for worse, we can expect more of that, but the most important thing is to continue driving our message about what America is going to need, why I believe I would be the best nominee to defeat Donald Trump, but also critically the best president for the era that's got to come afterwards. And we'll continue to defend our message, our campaign, and my record. Q: Do you think that criticism and the exchanges you had with some senators last night was fair? 223306 BUTG>> Well, I certainly think that now's not a time for these kinds of purity tests to distract them from what it is we're all trying to do. And my view, especially on the question of how to gather resources, is that we need everybody that we can in this fight and in this struggle. And at the same time, I get that a debate is a place for us to hash out these differences and a fair game for us to each have to stand and defend what we believe. Q: I just wanted to follow up on your coalition building. What are you going to do differently, because, as the Democratic nominee, you would need to build a massive coalition, basically get that Obama coalition back. So what are you going to do differently to drive in your message and build up that coalition? 223345 BUTG>> Well a big part of that is the smaller conversations that we're having. We need to make sure that there's a sense of not just understanding our plans but understanding what motivates them. And it's why these smaller gatherings I think are working well for us. What we've seen is that in places where people know me best, beginning with my own hometown, that's where we have the most diverse support. 223405 My job now is to make sure that we do that nationally and build that coalition. In order to succeed, you have to build a coalition that calls everybody into this struggle. And the good news is that most people are with us on the principles, the values, and the policies that need to happen. That I believe is how we win in the general election. Q: Mayor, your schedule this weekend, you've got a lot of events with the diverse communities of Nevada, do you feel like you're playing catch up to some of the other campaigns here? 223429 BUTG>> I think that the most important thing is for us to continue to have different styles, formats, and audiences, and that's been important to us from day one. One of the first things I did in Nevada was to meet with some of the same API leaders we were with this evening. And so in some ways, it feels like we're coming full circle. What's different of course is that the campaign has grown, the conversation has grown but continues to be the right way I think to engage voters. ### ROUNDTABLE [21:34:41] Attacking Jordan dollar, why you can't compete. Thankfully, that is literally the only thing we will ever have in common. I'm fine. [21:34:51] I thought it might serve to a know. [21:34:59] I think I like. [21:35:02] So everyone, thank you for coming today. It's an honor and pleasure to introduce our guests here. I'm here, too. My name is Ivan Louis, where a lot of hats here. One of our organizations is when API Nevada. Another one of is a former state commissioner, minority affairs. I want to give you the introduction, which many of you already know is you are in the heart of Assembly District 10, which is Assemblywoman Rachelle Wynn's district. [21:35:29] She made history here in the state of Nevada as the first Asian-American Democrat to be appointed to the state legislature, distressingly. And as you know, we're a very fast growing population being the fastest growing population the entire United States. So to have representation or state legislatures are very key things. So without further ado, that's your show. [21:35:55] Hi, everyone, I'm Rochelle Win. I am the assembly woman for this District Assembly District 10, and I am very excited to be here. I'm fortunate enough to bring light to the API community. [21:36:08] And anytime any of the political candidates running for the nomination, reach out to me. [21:36:15] I am happy to be here to shed light on our population, our growing population and some of our unique needs. I'm very excited here to introduce Mayor Pete, the judge. I know this is not his first time. I believe his first kickoff event here in the state of Nevada was actually an API event. So I'm excited that he is back to answer some questions and what we'll be hopefully more of a dialog and a Q and a session here. [21:36:42] Mayor Buda judge spent the last eight years serving as the mayor of the hometown in his hometown in South Bend, Indiana, where he's been fighting for progressive change in the heart of the Midwest. I recently had the opportunity to be a part of an Asian-American delegation of state legislators that went to Japan to kind of talk about manufacturing jobs. Talk about like business and industry and education and climate change with some leaders and our counterparts in Japan. And I was had the opportunity to be with a representative of a Korean American from the state of Indiana. [21:37:16] And he had nothing but good things to say about Merapi. I know that he has some new approaches and some new ideas. And so I'm sure we will be able to ask him plenty of questions about those. And with that, I will turn this over and please help me in welcoming him to Nevada again. [21:37:39] Well, first of all, I want to thank you, Sullivan, for your leadership and and wish you very well in your upcoming election. Thank you. And I am so honored to be with you and Evan as well for everything that you've done by way of leadership and for helping to welcome us here. [21:37:54] I'm thankful to the SEIU for hosting us, too, because it really is an example of the kind of leadership that we are going to need more of in order to make this an economy that works for us. The kinds of organizing that SEIU is doing, both with those they represent and with the not yet organized, is what is going to take for this to actually be a country where one job is enough, which sadly is still not the case for so many. [21:38:21] And I want to thank all of you for for joining us as well. I will be very brief by way of a few introductory remarks, because I want to spend as much of the time as we can in dialog about whatever most interests you. But let me share a little bit about what's motivating this campaign. I would not have guessed when I ran for mayor eight or nine years ago that at the end of my time serving my community, I would be seeking the American presidency. [21:38:49] But of course, so many things are happening right now in our country that we did not see coming a few years ago. I'm running not only to be the nominee who can defeat Donald Trump, but to be the president for the day after. So I always begin by asking voters to visualize the first day that the sun comes up in this country. [21:39:08] And Donald Trump is no longer in the White House, because by definition, this is actually a contest to be the president for that moment, not only to bring that moment about, but to lead the country forward. And what we're going to need then is a president who can unify an American people that will be frighteningly divided and polarized and exhausted. And at the same time, do it in a way that will tackle the big issues that we still face. [21:39:35] Because the problem of racial and economic inequality, the problems of climate change, the problem of gun violence in this country is not taking a vacation during the impeachment process. Those issues will be crying out for action. And at the same time. So will that question of unifying the country. And I believe the most important thing is to lead based on the values that we share that will lead us forward on the policies and can be used to help unify us as an American people. [21:40:05] What I see at the other side of all the fighting is an American experience that is defined not by exclusion but by belonging. Our country is at its best when it builds up a sense of belonging. But right now, the message is going out to so many people that you don't belong. People are being told because of their faith, because of where they come from, because of what language they speak at home, because of their sexuality, whatever it is, in different ways for different people. People are getting the message that you don't belong in order for America to succeed, it has to belong to all of us. [21:40:37] And that's one of the reasons why it is so important to me to engage the AAPI community as it has been important in the life of our own city, where the contributions of generations of people who have come in, including so many who came one generation ago, largely from Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as people from many, many Asian countries who are part of the life of our academic sector as well as our workforce, but also our campaign. [21:41:04] Now, where I'm proud that leadership roles from our director of policy to our national finance and investment share are held by Asian women who are doing extraordinary work in our campaign. So with that, I promised a very short introduction. There are lots of concrete policies I'm eager to discuss, but I want to make sure we do it based on whatever questions are most on your mind and we'll pause there and leave it to the group. [21:41:31] I'm not sure if we have got organized way of having people ask questions, but I'll kind of just get the ball rolling if that's OK. [21:41:41] I know that what's important to probably most Americans or most Nevadans are things like education, immigration, small business promotion, health care. But if we can just kind of focus, I guess, start with education. Where do you stand on and how do you plan on moving forward, making higher education something that's affordable for everyone? Yes. [21:42:06] So I'm the son of two college educators and I married a classroom teacher. So I get an education about education every day. And education, of course, is the way to freedom and prosperity in the United States. And a big part of that is college education. The problem of college affordability is very personal for us. I am, according to Forbes magazine, the least wealthy person running for president. [21:42:34] And that's largely because of the six figure student debt that we have as a household, because I married a teacher and I've seen the effect that that can have on making it more difficult for people to establish themselves and get ahead. And the student debt issue is becoming a crisis. So we have to make college more affordable. What I've proposed is a federal investment that would fund a state federal partnership to ensure that college is affordable for everyone and actually can make public college tuition free for most for families earning one hundred thousand dollars or less. [21:43:09] That's about 80 percent of Americans. We would be able to make public college, including community college tuition free as the income goes above that level. There would be a sliding scale for folks in the top group. We would ask them to pay to pay tuition. But for all of those in that first 80 percent, we can cover the cost. Now, it's not just the cost of tuition, especially for the lowest income students. [21:43:35] That can be an obstacle. It's also the cost of living. And it's why we need to expand Pell Grants that can be used for just the basics of life, food, housing that are so expensive, especially close to some of the best residential public colleges. But really in so many different parts of the country. And we need to focus not just on the ability to pay for college, but making sure that people complete college, because the most vulnerable position to be in is to have a lot of college debt and not to have a degree or not to have a degree that is useful. [21:44:06] And this is why we also need accountability for for profit colleges that took advantage of people often not caring about whether they were going to complete their certification or not giving them a certification that was actually as as likely as advertised to support them in economic opportunity. That's why I would restore the enforcement that the current secretary of education removed with the Obama administration imposed on those schools that did not meet basic standards. [21:44:35] And that's why I believe that when we talk about debt relief, we should begin with the debts accrued at those schools. I also would expand the generosity of the public service loan forgiveness program. This exists right now, but it's almost impossible to actually take advantage of. So we need to revamp the whole program that allows for debt forgiveness for those who have gone into a field of public service. I also have noticed that a lot of people talk to me about the debt burden that makes it harder for them. [21:45:04] To become entrepreneurs, and it's especially true for first generation students and graduates and often students and graduates of color who were expected to be supporting family members as well as going out on their own. And it's one of the reasons why we want to make it easier for these graduates who have an amazing potential to create economic opportunity for others who have been excluded. [21:45:26] With what we call a debt for jobs guarantee that if you're a Pell Grant eligible student and you go on to start a small business and create jobs, then we will have debt forgiveness there, too, to make it easier for you to succeed and build up those minority owned businesses that are creating so much opportunity. Just one last thing on education. [21:45:47] Sorry. [21:45:47] I'm excited about this is and especially the one I might have begun with, which is it also matters who's in charge. And I will appoint a secretary of education who believes in public education and who supports teachers. [21:46:00] Wonderful. This is kind of related and it's a topic that I know that is important. I think just in general is within the API community a lot of times where we're seen as a monolithic group of just Asian-Americans. And I know that there is a movement out there had been a movement during the Obama administration towards quality data and collecting quality data that so the disaggregated data, so you're getting more accurate data so you can target groups that need it and that don't. And I know that that's coming into play with the census. So Nevada counts accounts, make sure everyone is counted in the census this year. But on how do you see incorporating that or do you believe in the disaggregated data collection? [21:46:48] Yes, this is important and is not talked about much. I'm I'm a bit of a data geek. So this is very important to me. [21:46:55] But also because I've seen as a city how our community could be impacted if there is an undercount, for example, because of some of the manipulations that they threatened to do for the census, that has a very real consequence of fewer resources, often going where it's most needed. We need these kind of data, for example, in order to identify some of the problems we have with health equity. [21:47:18] We know, for example, that African-American women are three times as likely to die in childbirth as white women. We know that there are also specific health equity concerns in terms of exposure to cancer mortality from certain diseases, including hepatitis. Environmental justice concerns that might have a very different impact on a Korean American community than it would on a Pakistani American community. [21:47:45] And we need to be able to gather the data that would make it possible for us to understand largely so that we can do a better job of driving resources toward where they can lift folks up whenever we see a disparity, whether the disparities in health or in education or in economic opportunity or in representation. And we can't do it if we don't have the data to begin with. [21:48:08] Kind of shifting to immigration. I know that a lot of times people want to know what your general immigration plan our stance is going to be, but I think I have some more specific questions that people have brought up to me on several occasions. Do you have any ideas on what your policy is regarding like visa limits or higher priority for highly skilled or educated things where we're lacking in this country, whether it be in nursing? I know we have a large Filipino community that participates in SEIU. So where is their union? But how do your how does your immigration plan plan to address those visa limits? Yes. [21:48:51] So our immigration system has not gone through a real overhaul since the 1980s. And a lot of these limits are encoded in law that need to be much more flexible. [21:49:01] The country caps the visa limits, the workforce permits. These should be revised every couple of years. And so in addition to the comprehensive reform that I believe we need to undertake to create a pathway to citizenship, to establish a higher level of admission of refugees, to protect those who are here who are most vulnerable, whether they're on u visas or whether they have temporary protected status to protect dreamers. [21:49:30] We also need to make sure that in the future there's more flexibility in the system because the economy is changing and often the economy very much needs and relies on more immigration. But the system isn't set up to allow it. The country caps have no basis in modern reality. They create enormous backlogs and make it more difficult to reunify families. And so what I would establish is a two year cycle of renewing and resetting the caps and the relationship between workforce needs and immigration levels instead of having it cooked into a law so permanently that you would have to go back to Congress in order to fix it, which as we've learned, is really something you only get to do once in a generation. [21:50:14] And it is also important to me because I'm here because my father immigrated to the United States. He came here for educational opportunity and then became a citizen. I wonder what would have happened if he were coming in the system that exists today instead of the one that existed in the 1970s? [21:50:33] And I don't just want to open it up. Does anyone have any questions in the audience? And if you could state your name and talk loudly and if you're with an organization, feel free to do that as well. [21:50:44] I'm not to come out. Say something. So this is what the comment got in the comments, as I heard you say, that teachers should be paid like percent coming from India. Now teachers are treated like it is very close to my office. The funny story is I need time to decide. [21:51:18] Go through that. [21:51:19] It was heart attack to go from respectable professional meeting to interest. Not in my education. Thank you. So my question to you, going back to your comment. If you were to really start paying teachers like Dr.. How? Yeah. [21:51:43] Yeah. So what we know is that community, countries that really have that level of respect for teaching have better educational and social outcomes. And if we want to compensate teachers more like doctors, that won't happen without federal support. And so this to me is a big part of what federal funding resources like Title 1 are for, especially because we can deal with two different but related issues. [21:52:12] One is that teachers do not get paid enough as a general rule. The other is that many of our most vulnerable students are also getting less funding per student than those who already have the most going for them. You know, in many, if not most countries, if you have an area where students have a greater level of need, you could expect that they would have more resources going there because of the way that most American school districts are funded with such reliance on property taxes. In many places in the US, the opposite is true. [21:52:44] It's actually the students who are already the most in need, who are effectively punished for being low income with the fact that their their schools also have fewer resources. Now this is what Title 1 is for, at least in my view. It's part of what Title 1 can address and part of why I've proposed tripling the federal Title 1 funding that goes to lower income schools is to address these inequities. [21:53:05] There are many ways that we should apply those dollars. But one of them, I think, should be to supplement teacher pay because I've also learned about another dynamic, which is the effect that having a great teacher can have on the future lifetime earnings of a student. Now, one of the members of our economic policy team was part of a group of researchers who pulled a lifetime worth of IRS data and they crunched all the numbers and they connected it to data about teachers. [21:53:32] And what they found was that having one of the best teachers for one year in a kindergarten classroom made a difference of three hundred thousand dollars per classroom per year in how much more those students would go on later in life to earn just because they had that that advantage early in life. And so by doing the right thing for teachers, we're also targeting it where there are the most students in need. We're also doing the right thing for a future generation of students by helping them to get ahead. [21:54:02] And I don't think that we can expect local and state government to do this alone. We need to ask local and state government to do more, but there need to be federal dollars, as well as a federal message about how we honor the profession. One other thing I would mention is an idea that we're proposing that we call an education access corps. [21:54:19] And the idea would be to create a network of some of the most highly rated existing teacher qualification programs, universities and colleges and programs around the country that train teachers and give them degrees to give them a designation of being a gold standard, that if you participate in this program, you'll have a license that's portable that you can take to any school district in the country. [21:54:43] And if you commit to teaching in a Title 1 school for 7 years, then you will also throughout those seven years have your your loans deferred. And at the end of the seven years, have them forgiven. And it's part of both making sure that we're training and recruiting a new generation of teachers, but also setting up the idea of really wanting to honor those who make the commitment to participate in that quality program and do it at that high, high standard. [21:55:11] Thank you. I have another question over here. Hi, I'm Dan teacher here. You are a great teacher, as you know, a young president teaching in a lot of things. I was halfway through 2012 high school. At that time, the nation that I was the school. I said, you know what challenges you? I'm fixing to do something about this. It's not just education. I saw the issue, my schooling, how schooling as I move from teaching physics to education. [21:56:02] And now I am working on my thought. In this country, we push this model of accreditation, almost creating these barriers of reading, job controlling to what and what quality of accreditation they get. I was running with that education for me as someone who is trying to figure out where industry. Education is meeting them and where we can, especially as a society, we truly believe in this country. Have purpose to work? [21:56:49] Yes. How can we better score it so that, for example, things like automation and manufacturing and all these advancements in computer science, technology innovations going like a rocket into the sky. And here we are just trying to leap at it. And I feel like we're doing a lot of money in a lot of time and space for the youth who try out teaching. Then they quit after two, three years because of lack of mentorship or knowledge or extra supports, much less loans. I think purpose is something that guides people in this country. [21:57:19] America is lacking as refugee parents. Throughout the campaign on the story today, you have one other story to their American history. I think with schooling in particular, especially for Asian American immigrants, that is seen as I told them, I feel like that golden. A hijacked plane has been diverted in such a way where there's so many unforeseen, unknown entities that are finding their way into the system. [21:57:48] And the most vulnerable use the title one that I teach. I'm having to reeducate them on their basic foundational knowledge. Teach them the future of automation and computer science, but also fill in this in-between gap of lack of parenting, a lot of stability and family. All these other things that teachers. Not because we're acid, but because we have to do it right. If we truly think and we believe our students can get those high levels we proclaim that is our science. Anyways, my question is how do we we do schooling, how we advance not just the education, the cost of it, but truly as a as a people, as humans, as we advance into the future. [21:58:25] How do we actually start focusing on that and not just thinking on every annual report? The report addressed our report card system or examination and assessment that are wearing down the minds of our youth. We have to answer yes. [21:58:40] I think, you know, you're at the front line of citizenship. You're at the front lines sometimes of family. The front lines of mental health, a lot of times and I talked to a lot of teachers who feel like teaching is actually being automated through the overreliance on standardized testing. [21:59:00] Which kind of slices and dices these experiences, I think into some of the parts of credentialing that you're talking about, the credentialing and the accreditation is important. But we've got to rethink it for the future. One of the things we're piloting in my city, because we're just big enough that we have every problem, but we're small enough that we can try things. We've encouraged foundations to use us as a test bed for new ideas. [21:59:24] And we're partnering with the Drucker Institute to create a lifelong learning platform to try to better align the kinds of skills you get anywhere from 8th grade diploma or CTE certification to a college degree to an apprenticeship or trade certification that you can get at the carpenters facility here in Las Vegas or anything in between to try to create a format for us to capture these kinds of things and to better align them with what employers need and are looking for. And part part of what strikes me about the distinction you're drawing between the education and their narrow sense in schooling is that we're not just creating workers. [22:00:08] Right. We're creating citizens. We're creating parents future future parents and community leaders. And it's part of why all of these issues that intersect at the school that you're facing need to be looked at with a with a broader lens. So it's one of the reasons I strongly believe in the model of community schools where we look at the school as a real hub for the kinds of wraparound that need to happen for a child's development, not all of which should fall on you as a teacher. [22:00:35] Right to handle. Although I'm moved by the way that teachers like you and like Chast and really involve themselves in the bigger picture their students lives. But we've seen everything from some districts where they put laundry machines at schools, not only in order to meet a basic need, but in order to encourage parents to get to know each other, to create the kind of social infrastructure that helps determine whether a kid will succeed all the way through to making sure that we have the right kind of before and after school programing and supports, which is part of where a city and a state can support a school system that shouldn't be asked to carry these things on their own. [22:01:11] At the end of the day, I don't think we're going to figure this out in Washington. But one pattern you'll see across a lot of our policy ideas is that while the answers don't all have to come from Washington more, the funding should. So what we want to do is empower communities to develop plans and share what works in supporting a whole child on everything from aligning the teaching and extracurriculars toward a world of automation to building up the kind of civic education and social and emotional learning that we know is only going to be more important to just the basics of making sure kids are covered with the kind of mental health and nutrition support that they need to succeed. [22:01:50] That as you develop different approaches for that, that we fund those kinds of ideas and we create spaces to circulate what's working best among different buildings, among different districts and among different communities so that it spreads more, more widely. The federal government should be supporting that kind of thing without believing that we can figure it all out and and automate the solutions from Washington. [22:02:16] And I want to congratulate them because he was that teacher of the year. All right. This year. That's what it is. So congratulations. [22:02:28] Plus, straight ahead, I'm going to ask a question formally, what was the role of Nevada's state commissioner of minority affairs here in Nevada? As you may know, we are a majority minority state. One of the assignments was a subcommittee of economic development, which primarily targeted minority entrepreneurs. [22:02:45] And one of the kind of the biggest issues we had is obviously we're talking earlier is access to capital, but also resources in general to teach them how to build business plans, how to do government bidding contracts, even awareness about disadvantaged business or certifications like enemies. But then also when you park to, say, infrastructure projects, the federal contracting, these entrepreneurs not only didn't know how to get engaged with vendor procurement or bidding, but also to get that certification. And also a lot of these contracts were given out to non minority CEOs or general contractors. So looking at a federal level and even the MBA, what can be done under your administration, how we'd be able to help minority entrepreneurs? [22:03:33] Yeah. This is really important. We've worked on these issues in my community as well, where we started with, well, the big promise. We didn't have the data disagree. And it's like you're talking about, but not at all. And so we knew it was likely that the city's procurement with minority owned businesses was low, but we didn't have a good way to prove it. So created the office capable of doing it, gathered the data, commissioned the study. [22:03:53] We're able to prove what we already knew was that it was too low and that under our state law finally made it possible for me to sign into law hard targets. In the meantime, on that path, we did seminars, events. As you know, there's a lot of entities that don't go the route of certification because they first of all, they don't know if it's going to be worth the trouble or they don't even know about it. And then there are other obstacles like licensing and bonding that make it hard for them to ever get the scale that gets them to to where even the well-intentioned and well-designed programs can ever catch up to them. [22:04:23] I believe that the powers of the presidency can unlock a lot of these problems because so often when you hit up against is just a low availability number to begin with and to give a reach. Right. But we have to take responsibility for the best we can. For example, in my city, the availability of African-American businesses was rated at 3 percent. [22:04:41] So we're 25 percent African-American city. So kidding. 3 percent isn't really the point. We've got to do that. But we've got to actually make sure there's more businesses to begin with. And from a broader perspective, we've got to make sure that we are encouraging entrepreneurship from everyone who's historically been excluded. [22:05:02] I believe we should embrace a 25 percent target at the federal level. We have the capacity as a country to do this. And at the federal level, you can reach to an entire nation's worth of people who can then network among themselves in the minority chambers that exist across the country. But we need to back that with co-investment. So I'm proposing a 10 billion dollar fund that would co-invest. [22:05:26] This is done in Maryland and there are models for this to work. Some other countries have done this, too, to try to make more of that capital available. We also know that reforms to the credit system would make more capital available. I'm shocked by how many minority owned small businesses that clearly know what they're doing. I say, how do you get up and running? And they always save cash. They couldn't save up the cash couldn't. So we know that part of this has to do with directing credit and capital to these underresourced or underestimated businesses. [22:05:58] We also know that a lot of these things get unpacked at the community level. But with federal networking can help people deal with what's often kind of an insider game. It's. Informal knowledge that helps people know how to qualify or how to succeed in navigating these bid processes. The processes have to be simplified in order to be easier to navigate. So there are a lot of steps that we have to take, but I see so much potential if we take it seriously. And the other thing that you mentioned that I think is really important is it matters whether you're the general contractor or the sub. [22:06:33] And we want to make sure that these devices are as often as possible in the general sense, rather than just kind of filling out some of the requirements. And we should make sure that our scoring reflects that, too. [22:06:47] One quick thing, LGBT entrepreneurs, I don't know if that falls on the reclassification of BS. Got into it. I'm not sure. [22:06:56] Yeah, it really varies in different areas. I do think that we should we should look anywhere. There's a disparity. [22:07:00] We should be ready to have intention to do something about it. [22:07:05] Great thing. [22:07:09] Ladies first. 1979. Not. [22:07:16] These guys doing so many things going on. John, you're the president. What do you real. [22:07:28] So there's going to be a lot of work to do. There's just gonna be a lot of damage to undo. I think for the new president. But let me mention three areas that I think require a lot of attention. On day one, one of them is climate. We know that that we are close to the point of no return on climate change. And we know that the harms of climate change also disproportionately impact those who are already the most vulnerable. [22:07:53] And it's everywhere from a hot desert, communities that are seeing more extreme heat to river communities like mine that are seeing more flooding to coastal communities, that are seeing sea level rise to a place in California where their wildfires. That's upon us now. It's an emergency. The good news is, as Nevada has shown us, there is a lot of opportunity and job creation to be found if we tackle this issue in the right way, from greater renewable energy to good old fashioned building trades, jobs in retrofitting buildings. So there's a lot of work on climate rejoining Paris climate accord right away. [22:08:29] But then a whole bunch of other activities that need to happen quickly with federal leadership. Another area I think is very important is our democracy itself. We have voter suppression. We have gerrymandering, manipulating districts as long as Citizens United stands. We have. We're gonna have these problems with money and politics. These things require swift attention. [22:08:52] Some of things will take a generation to deliver. I think it will take. It might take a constitutional amendment to fix Citizens United. [22:08:59] So we should start now because we know how long it will take. Other things you could do on day one. Automatic voter registration making election day a holiday. Making sure that you we have a setup for voting rights that that benefits underprivileged voters that we can do right away. [22:09:16] Some things will take longer. So there's democracy. Another is the racial and economic inequality that is tearing our country apart. And again, there's a lot of work that we can do right away with an American majority that agrees with us, by the way, that we need a higher minimum wage and better labor protections and more opportunities to form a union. A lot of higher taxes on those that have been escaping taxes, giant corporations and the wealthy that all of that can can, I believe, get work right away. So all of those things I've committed to move on an immigration bill in the first hundred days. It's gonna be a busy hundred days, but it's gonna be a busy few years. [22:09:55] Can you change? That has been given to do well. Is there any way that you can get it? [22:10:06] Yes, we have to reverse the Trump tax cuts. We just got some new data. A couple of days ago in a study of the largest corporations, many of them are actually effectively paying negative taxes from Chevron to Amazon to Starbucks, zero or negative taxes on billions of dollars in profits. [22:10:26] Meanwhile, we've become a country where actually the very wealthiest pay less as a proportion of their income than than you or I do. And that's got to be switched so we can do it. [22:10:38] And here's the good news again. The American people want this to happen. [22:10:43] And so the question is, are we willing and able to engage that majority to get the job done? But we have to you know, one of the issues I think we should talk about more in my party is fiscal responsibility and the deficit, because we've seen the Republican Party, they always bring up the deficit and we want to invest in something, roads, schools, whatever. There's now a trillion dollar deficit and growing under this president, mostly not because of a lot of spending. They've cut the spending even on areas where we needed it. But because of these tax cuts that are going to the wealthiest into the corporations. We can reverse that and we should because that's how we actually pay for all of the things I'm proposing we do from infrastructure to education. [22:11:30] Anything I hard to see one lawyer and the ladies in town. But more importantly, I'm an active member of the Muslim community here. One of the things that fell under the radar and keeping up with the day to day drama in DC has been what's occurred with respect to Presidential Proclamation 9 6 4 5, which succeeded President Trump's third executive order, widely referred to as the Muslim rock band. If you're elected president, would you commit to repealing that presidential proclamation as well as that executive order, which has had a huge impact on our community? Approximately 20000 thousand Muslims in Las Vegas and three point fourteen million Muslims nationwide. [22:12:12] I know firsthand after the issue we had story after story, it was about family members and others were stopped from reentering the country. Obviously, this is being upheld by the United States Supreme Court. Since that time now you might say that, but it's fallen largely under the radar. Probably keeping up with every other radio happening. [22:12:44] Yes. The travel ban, in my opinion, is unconstitutional. It goes against American values and it is clearly discriminatory. And I'm glad you raised it. You're right. [22:12:55] Here's something that because there have been there's a new outrage every day. We forget that the older outrages haven't gone away. And that includes the Islamophobia in general and the travel ban in particular. The day it went into effect, I participated in a protest at an airport. I was in Houston at the time. [22:13:14] And one of the things that was so inspiring was to see how many people in the community in a place that doesn't have a reputation for progressive politics knew the importance of standing up front for this American values, people of every different background. And we need to send a message again. Part of that culture of belonging is respecting that this is a country that belongs to people of every religion and of no religion equally. [22:13:40] And it should never be used, especially because this has no bearing on safety. I was involved in counterterrorism work when I was in the military. There are lots of systems for making sure that our country is safe from from any terrorist threat, especially when it comes to who is able to visit the US. An incredibly strict set of checks and protocols that is already there. So adding a religious discrimination layer or by country discrimination layer does nothing to make us safe. [22:14:13] And I think it harms our country's safety in the long run by undercutting the values that consist or that compose the moral authority that in our best moments we as a nation have. And I know that the Muslim community, not only the Muslim community, but the Muslim community, feels targeted right now in so many ways. And it was important to me after what happened in New Zealand to to make contact with the Masjid in our own community and make sure that everybody there knew our community's view, that they were not just accepted, but that we were thankful for their presence. And the same is true of all of the diverse communities that make up our our American life. Thank you for raising. [22:14:59] Let me move over here. Yes, I want to thank you again for joining us here. My name is on the line. I work as policy director for a local education nonprofit. I appreciate hearing from you about your education plan. I was going to ask you a question about education, but I want to take a step out of some specific policy areas to talk about what it means to be in public service today and get some of your thoughts as a as a young millennial. [22:15:28] Have you seen a whole range here as a young person in this community? I sometimes have been. And I felt kind of torn. In terms of how much change is one person could make. Given just how vitriolic politics. Can see on the news, look at the newspaper, look on social media, and I just want to get your thoughts. As someone who is living. Public service and thanks for that call. What is your what advice would you have? [22:16:02] What are your reflections for everyone in the room, especially those of us who are more of the younger generation as we're hearing about what's happening, as we're trying to find inspiration through what's happening in politics? What's your advice for us and how to just navigate that tension and continue to answer that call the public service. So many of us want to. [22:16:26] Well, my biggest message is just stay after it because. [22:16:31] I think that there is a lot of there's a lot of effort to kind of get us so exhausted and so beaten down that we feel that kind of helplessness and that's how they went. I've been thinking about it a lot in terms of the impeachment process. On one hand, I'm glad to see the House stand up and draw a line. [22:16:54] But I think because we're watching this process and we expect that it will be a foregone conclusion when it gets to the Senate. Even watching this process may. Deepen our sense of of frustration and that nothing seems to make a difference out there. [22:17:12] And yet I've seen the power, especially at the local level and the state level. Look, in Nevada, you know, look at what you all have been able to do in terms of good policies. [22:17:25] Now, I live in a state where there is a supermajority on the other side, and it's very unlikely that that any meaningful idea, empowering workers, for example, will even see the light of day. I also visit states like New Hampshire where they have a fantastic legislature, but very little good legislation actually gets passed the veto pen day. They did paid family leave. The governor was so proud of his veto that he auctioned off the pen. He used to veto it to raise money for the party. [22:17:56] Here you've got your challenges, of course. But we see what happens right when you get an assembly, a governor and a state that are that are ready to move in the right direction on so many issues. And it's been worse. America has been through worse. [22:18:15] Don't get me wrong, it's really bad right now. But every time it's gone from worse to better, it's been because people stood up and got involved. Whether it's activism, advocacy or just service. And now of all times, is that the moment that we've got to stay after it precisely because it's so exhausting. I get it. You go on Twitter and you go on the news and it feels like getting punched in the face all the time, especially when you actually run. [22:18:41] Let me tell you, I mean, between the absurdity that I feel like we're getting from the other side to the friendly fire that I get from my own competitors, where we more or less have the same values, we're just competing. [22:18:54] Right. It's tough out there. But also, this is the best the best thing we have going for us is that actually we get to decide again, using the impeachment as an example. We can we can watch what happens in the on the floor of the Senate and feel kind of powerless. But 2020 is when we get to decide and we can send a message in in local and state and certainly in the national election about our readiness to make sure things are different. [22:19:23] And it won't be easy and it won't come overnight and winning will just touch off the next area. That's really the hard part comes. But the other thing that I would take heart in is that most people get it right now. Most people want us to do the right thing on wages, on education, on immigration, on guns, areas where I feel like folks on my side have been on defense. Most people are with us, which is exactly why I think they need us to feel helpless, to feel beaten down or to be distracted by whatever crazy nonsense is being put out on Twitter today. And we have to to keep our focus on I believe every election is about this question as a voter. [22:20:06] How is my life going to be different if you're in this office instead of you? And if we have the right answers on that. The rest is noise. We just gotta make sure we cut through the noise. [22:20:16] We want to be very thankful for Merapi, for coming out here and be sensitive at this time, because I know he has a very busy campaign schedule, as always. But we want to say thank to all of you that have really came here, attended here, put out your voices, continue to elevate our voices, Native Americans of our community. And I can pass it on to Assemblywoman Rochelle to kind of close up any remarks and think the mayor. [22:20:40] Always thankful for the conversation and real conversations with about topics that matter to Nevada, matter to all Americans, really. So we appreciate your time and we appreciate you having to answer some of our questions. I know that there are a lot of other questions out there for other people, so I encourage you to stay involved. I think that is important. Thank you. Do. And our team will be happy to follow it. So. [22:21:10] The government.