All Things LGBTQ Interview Show: Kenzie & Maya and Al Turkos

[music] Hi, welcome to the All Things LGBTQ interview show where we interview LGBTQ guests who are making important contributions to our communities. All things LGBTQ is taped at Orca Media in Montpillar, Vermont, which we recognize as being unseated indigenous land. >> Thanks for joining us and enjoy the show. >> It has rapidly become the queer event to attend. So much so that I think they keep getting nominated for 7 days Daisy Award as the best queer event. So to talk Yeah, they're blushing already. So to talk to us about this year's Queer Art Festival is Kenzie and Maya. Welcome. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much for having us. >> Yes, we love your work. We're so happy. >> Oh, we love your work. It's like [laughter] it's just it's just a phenomenal event. Okay, so introduce yourselves, your connection to Vermont, your connection to the Queer Arts Festival. >> Yes. You want to go first? >> Sure. Um, I'm Maya. Um, uh, I, um, I am a lifelong Vermoner. Um, I am a lifelong queer person. Um, >> you're not alone. [laughter] Um and um you know I um I have been um volunteering um with Queer AF for um three years. Uh and and um every year um really finding myself just feeling more and more at home in this space of beautiful queer joy and in celebrating our um very special community that we have here in central Vermont. Um I am somebody who really enjoys being a helpful guy. Um, it's a big part of like my gender validation and and I think that finding my niche here in this space like organizing with such beautiful and wonderful people to bring something together in this way um has been uh just unbelievably beautiful. I um I really can't stop raving about it. Um I hope that answers those questions. Man, oh man, did I [laughter] use it as soon as I, you know, as soon as I started. >> Great. Great. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Um, I'm Kenzie. They them. I've lived in Vermont for going on 10 years. Um, I moved here to go to college and then I largely stayed. Um, I am also an artist, so I vended at the uh summer and winter events. And I also um help I do like community safety work to help community groups and events hold safe events without involving the police. So that was my initial that and being a artist where my initial connections to the craft fair and I was brought on as an organizer a few years ago now. Um, >> so if I wanted to access you as a safety person, would I do that via the Queer Arts Festival or do you have a a separate contact? >> I can send you my separate contact info. I'm happy to talk more. Well, I was going to say because we we will make sure that it gets displayed and and then that would be a very interesting conversation to have on a future interview. >> Oh yeah. >> But >> but right now I I want to hear about So how long has the Queer Arts Festival been going on? How has it evolved? And what are the aspects this year that may be different than what people have experienced in previous years? >> Yeah. You want me to take a crack at it? >> Go for it. >> Yeah. [laughter] >> I like it. >> The I believe this is the fourth summer festival. Um and the event has been going on I believe since 2022. We are not the part of the original set of organizers. Um and you know the summer event is so different than the winter event. You know in my mind they are like completely different entities right. So as you know the summer uh arts festival started in Planefield in the rec field and um was highly impacted by the flooding and just the way that that completely changed our world here. And um you know, one of the ways that it's changed in such a big way is our change in location up to Milstone Hill in Websterville, which is a very different feeling. You know, Planefield is down the the Planefield recreckfield is down by the river. It's, you know, in the lowlands and at Milstone Hill, we're up up on top of this hill with this incredible view of the mountains and um near near the quaries. Mhm. >> And I think in particular this year we're going for two days. One of the reasons is, you know, we work really hard for a long time to put on this event and, >> you know, eight months of work for eight hours. >> Uh felt like we should be doing more than that. Um >> yeah, >> and part of part of it also is some of the feedback we get is like this event is amazing and it's incredibly overwhelming. So trying to stretch things out over two days felt a little bit more like it wouldn't be kind of just this like vortex of activity and all of the people you've ever met in your entire life in one place. Um so stretching it out over two days is a big difference this year that we're super excited about. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I think that is very well put. I I would also add um this isn't so much a change as it is sort of a um an expansion of what already exists. >> Yeah. >> In this form, we really are trying to put money in the pocket of queer artists. >> We're also trying to build longlasting community connections. And I think in our experience as organizers that really happens in these sort of fringe moments around the actual event, you know, when you get to set things up with your friends or you have like a nice chill afternoon and go for a swim after you're done like cleaning up the last little bits and putting away all the signs. That's really the moment where you like forge these close, longlasting connections with people. And our hope in this year and this Sunday is that we really can encourage people to build these vitally important connections, especially in in in you know this moment right now where it's so easy to feel isolated. Um relying on our intelligence as a community, our our empathy, our kindness, our care for each other. Um this is I think what makes the event feel really special. Um that's the sort of stuff that really motivates me to show up again and again and and and we hope that that resonates for others too. >> Okay. So, looking at some of the information that's already gone out, >> Saturday, it's the vendors, it's the music, it's the food, it's, you know, the hikes through the woods. And then on Sunday, there was more of a focus on community building >> and spending time with each other and and hearing each other's stories. Is that fairly accurate? Yeah, I would say Saturday is the festival you know and love. We got craft vendors, um some performances, um other other programming, I think hikes, I think bikes. Um and Sunday is uh some workshops, things like community sings, um a bird walk we discovered last year, 3,000 person event, maybe not the best time for a bird. um [laughter] bird walks and >> the birds are shy. I [laughter] >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Not homophobic, but shy. >> Yes. >> Um >> well, then there's the, you know, the birds of a feather. We We should feel right at home. But >> Exactly. Exactly. >> But go. >> Yeah. Saturday is what you know and love. Sunday is workshops, places to just chill, some other programming. Um, yeah, like I said, like a community sing and and more bike rides. And hopefully, like I'm I'm hoping that people feel welcome to come and hang out. And if they don't want to do any of that, go and lay under a tent, go lay under a tree, make a new friend. There's also going to be some food on Sunday as well. >> Yeah. Very good. Okay. So the sort of flow of both days are available on the queer arts festival site right now. >> Yes, I think. >> Yeah. And more information is going to come out as we continue to really put in place these like official pro like we will have some you know some solid um time chunks like real real linear stuff which tends to happen within the weeks coming up to the event. Um we got to keep you hooked, you know, we got to make sure you're still you're still checking in on that link tree. But yes, we we have um we have some some good information up already. Um, and you know, always encourage folks to keep an eye out on our Instagram as well to look at um, our vendor spotlights. We're I think two a day um, right now. Um, you get to read a little bit about who's going to be there vending on Saturday. >> And that's the easiest place to find the schedule, which will be also on the link. >> Yes. >> I was going to say, okay, come back often. There will be updates. Okay. >> So, so you've mentioned vendors. Okay. My understanding is, you know, from starting out with the I'm not really sure who's going to show up. The first year it was being organized, you had how many vendors apply this year? >> 234. >> And And you have potentially how many spaces for vendors? like between 80 and 90. >> So that that's a little lopsided. >> Yeah. >> So how do you make a decision to whom to give space? >> Totally. So I am one of the vendor people who talks to the vendors and it is like continuing continually very very hard to tell so many people or to wait list so many people but essentially tell so many people no. So, we have a vendor lottery and it's a weighted lottery so we can prioritize um bipok artists um elders and young people especially people who have never vended before um folks with um uh like different accessibility needs and that sort of thing. And also people who have been weight listed a certain amount of times. Um, and we prioritize people who, you know, are more local. We try and not be like Vermont borders because what is that, you know, but, you know, we've had people apply from very, very far away and we're trying to prioritize >> our community here. Um, yeah, it's definitely not random. The lottery dock is us trying our best and it's imperfect and we have changed it uh even just a little bit every year to be like oh we see that we want to prioritize trans women to make sure they vend or we you know really want to make sure these youth vendors you know these queer youth get to come and vend and stuff like this. So, it's a it's a weighted lottery. Um, and it is continually a hard thing to have to turn down so many people. Mhm. >> So, but it sounds as though you're really trying to make a priority for artisans within the queer community who might be left out of other traditional sort of artsy festival environments and and particularly give some exposure to new artisans >> who, you know, they may just be starting out. How does this feel? How is my work going to be received? And if I'm a queer artist, what better venue to sort of, you know, am I showing my community back to my community? >> So, all right. So, you've already set a date for the winter craft festival. Mhm. >> And Kenzie, you had made a a comment before we started that the summer event and the winter event feel different. Can Can you share a little bit about what you meant by that? >> Yes. [laughter] >> Well, thank you. >> Well, one's in the summer, you see. [laughter] >> Thank you, Maya. Um, we already have a date. We're planners at heart, you know. Um, >> love a calendar invite. >> Yeah. >> Well, and I think one of the things so I something I've seen with our events is that structure can inform function in such >> such an incredible way. Totally. Right. So, oh, I am so sorry. >> You're popular. >> Sorry. My wonderful, beautiful partner was calling me. Um, >> I can write you a note if need be. >> Great. Thank you. Thank you. >> All right. >> Um, >> structure. >> Yeah. >> So, one thing that I've seen with our events is structure informing function in such a big way. Right. So, Milstone Hill up on up on top of this hill very very expansive. It's it's so much easier to um you know fill fill into that space because it's outside. It's warm out you know. God was it the winter 2 years ago where I think it was like -7 in the morning or something. >> Yeah. >> Um and the labor hall is incredible and it's a it's just a different space. It's in downtown Berry versus up in out of the city. Um, >> I love both of the events so much and they're and they're so different. Also, in the summer we have performances and now we have space for workshops and bike rides and and um these sort of things. Um, >> yeah. Yeah. >> Do you want anything? Yeah, I think um it's a um it's a very spacious time at our summer festival. That's that's how I've I and and you know we >> we get a lot of feedback at both of these events that sort of has um generally this feeling of oh my god there's so much and um and I think more so in the winter um we find that the the structure of of this space and and the you know nature of wintertime feeling a little bit more um you know directly restrictive. We're all sort of, you know, bundled and >> suit. >> Yes, you are. Yeah, exactly. It's fun to make you cry. Um and and I think that um there is something very potent about our summer event that feels like a celebration of summertime. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. when we have our craft fair in the winter, um it feels to me like, oh, I'm not alone in my winter time anymore. I see my friends. I see people who are, you know, taking the long and dangerous trek from Burlington, Vermont. Um and and they're and they're showing up and um it is a real light in one of the darker times of the year. Um, and I I think um I I I hear often from people that it is a um a a highlight in a season that is often, especially for queer people, kind of fraught because it also brings with it a lot of family gatherings, a lot of really emotionally charged time. And it's an event that we get to say, "Wow, like we're just here together and we're freezing." And it's great. >> And it's great. I I get to spend time with my authentic family, >> the the one with whom I truly have the the emotional connection. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, is there any thought that the winter event will also extend to a two-day with a craft? Oh, yeah. I'm It's like, oh, don't ask me that. Well, I was I no as as an oldtime community organizer, I was so excited to see the Queer Arts Festival do a day devoted to community building and wondered if based upon hopefully a positive summer experience, there might be something similar that would occur with the winter festival. >> Let's check in after this festival. I have that didn't even occur to me. But let maybe >> yeah, >> anything is possible. It's true. >> As one of those lifelong Vermonter elders who who actually grew up in Planefield, so I had wonderful memories of the Wfield that were merely enhanced with when the Queer Arts Festival came and claimed that space. So, as we end this, what are the dates for the summer Queer Arts Festival? >> August 15th and 16th. >> And the date and the dates for the winter is >> currently we are planning one day, but we'll check back in and that day is Saturday, December 12th. >> Yes. >> Alrighty. So, >> and if I could add one thing, um the link to volunteer can be found in our link tree. >> Yes, >> come volunteer. >> Yeah, >> we'll we'll make sure that that gets put up. >> Yeah. >> Thank you for spending this time, >> Keith. Thank you. This was amazing. >> Delightful. >> And I look forward to seeing you. >> Yes, you too. So looking forward to seeing you, especially on Sunday. as a vendor, I feel like I'm going to be able to experience the festival. I'm going to be able to actually talk to you, you know, love vending. And yes, Keith, thank you so much. You rock. >> Thank you. >> All righty. Thank you. This is an election year, as you keep hearing me say. And here is a statement for someone who would really like you to consider giving them your vote. Our state government should work the way Wooki does when we're at our best. People paying attention, stepping up, and making sure no one gets left behind. So, welcoming for a first, but not a last time visit. This is Al Turos. Welcome. >> Thank you so much for having me. So, you are currently a member of the Wooki City Council, correct? >> But you're looking at running for one of the two Chittentton 21 House of Representatives seats. So, if you could share a bit about your connection to Vermont and then we'll talk a bit about your involvement with the Wooki City Council and how that's extending into I want to do more. >> Um, I love that question. Sure. So, I I'm a born and raised Vermonter. I'm a proud Chittman uh county public school kid. So, I was born and raised in Underh Hill, Vermont. Um, and at that point in time, I was born at what was called Fletcher Island, but it's now UVM. And I lived my entire um, life in the same house in Underh Hill. And my dad was an ibmmer. And unlike many of us millennials, my parents worked the same job for 40 years. Um, and they are now blissfully retired. Um, and I went to college in New Hampshire and then I moved to New York City, which is where I did a lot of my community organizing. I had a um a career in politics mainly focusing in helping people access abortion care and family building, gender affirming care, contraception care, things like that. Um, and then in the last few years that shifted to a lot of um, advocacy work and storytelling work in the sexual assault space in the survivor justice space. And I moved back to Vermont in 2021 full-time uh, after I had experienced a pretty significant uh, and horrific sexual assault and kidnapping in New York City. Um, it was just time for me to leave. I needed to sort of break up with that space. Thank thank you for being willing to share that piece of your personal history in a public forum and as another survivor, thank you so much for turning that into advocacy. It's how can I support others who have had a similar experience to help them through this and maybe make the system a little more receptive to supporting them. So, so thank you. >> Yeah, I mean um I'm just going to sort of dive in after that. So, one of my very dear friends, her name is Sabrina Hersy Issa. She wrote a piece and the title of that piece is called Survivorship is Leadership. And I was just talking to Rachel Jolly who is executive director of the uh Chinton County Community Justice Center. And Rachel had never heard of this term before. Um, and it's something that I probably talk about every single day because it is such a pillar of who I am and how I move through the world. And I know before meeting Sabrina and before reading this essay, I and I think so many other survivors and victims, but I'll just speak from from my own experience, oftentimes our survivorship or the trauma and harm that can hap that happens to us um can be deemed, you know, it's like the worst thing. It's our it's the our worst day. It's our worst years. It um you know rips our bodies open. It can leave physical scars and emotional scars. Um but through reading Sabrina's work and then also just through my own like healing and you know therapy and just like time honestly I have learned that my survivorship makes me an incredible leader. And I know we'll talk about this later today, but it's like my survivorship and also in in partnership with my queerness, I think makes me gives me so much more capacity to lead, gives me so much more compassion and empathy. Um I did an event recently with um Chin County States Attorney Sarah George and we were talking about um you know what it looks like what the criminal legal system looks like um in parallel to you know justice and and uh the criminal legal system etc. Um, and one of the things I talked about was that when when someone experiences harm or trauma, no matter the the scale, um, I think they there's sort of like a path that you can take and it's like you can either like choose yourself or you can and it's might not be like a choice, maybe I shouldn't use that language, but it's that like the world can just take over you, right? And it's like there are like vines and poison and like thorns growing over you and it can be really hard, right? Like I struggled with suicidality for years. I struggled with agorophobia for years. Um and I probably will for the rest of my life. Sometimes it's just not as intense. Um but for me like I chose myself. I chose to be accountable to myself. I chose compassion. I chose empathy. Um, and so for me when I was like asked it was my wife who suggested and saw it on front porch forum that there was an open seat on the Wooki city council and she because I'm such a communitydriven person and because I talk so much about community which I think is really where again like my my identity as a queer person really comes into this. It's sort of like the thread and the throughine and everything. Um, my wife Liz was like you should apply for this. Um, and I was like, I have no experience. I've never run for office before. And Liz was like, you really do. I promise you. Um, and so I applied. >> You You had incredible life experience. >> For sure. And you had already developed the capacity to look at an issue from more than one perspective >> and then create a path forward. No, that that's exactly the kind of experience that we want to see in an elected official. But okay, so you were appointed to the Wooki City Council or you ran for public office? No, I was appointed in October of 2025 and then I ran for my same for my same seat in March of this year. I was elected on uh town meeting day of 2026. Um and yeah, I felt really um called to is sort of the word that's coming to me right now, but I I had no idea what I was signing up for. Um and other recent city councilors who have um you know joined city council have sort of said the same thing which I think is really wonderful in the sense of I had worked on federal legislation or statewide legislation. I had helped to pass the adult survivors act bill in New York and I had worked on like um the each act or the abortion justice act um with an amazing organization that I was on the board for. Um, but I had never worked on a municipal like very local level government. But it made me fall in love with my community in a way that I truly did not expect. Um, and in the way and I I sort of make this joke oftent times is that like coming from I don't believe that abortion access is controversial and I don't believe that sexual assault or rape kits are controversial. Many people do. So coming from a space where it was a controversial topic to talking about sidewalks or traffic calming studies or you know like educating people about composting. I don't deem that as controversial by any means. And so I have become so passionate about understanding the way that our city moves. Understanding you know like I did not know before joining city council that stop signs are not to slow down traffic. they are to indicate right of way and that is something that will just forever live in my brain run free and I talk about it all the time um and so it's been really wonderful to learn truly like the wants and needs and desires of my neighbors and of my fellow community members and I sit on the board of I'm our um city council leazison to downtown which is um a board of our uh local businesses and so to learn what's important to them um I've learned so much about parking enforcement and parking and how important that is to both, right? But like I never knew. And so now it's so it has just been so helpful to learn both from residents and from business owners and then visitors also to our city, right? Like what is important to them. Um and to be on city council for all four seasons, right? So to learn about like grass cutting from public works and from the recck department to snowplow. Sorry, you had a question. Go ahead, Keith. No, I I was going to say it. You look at Newkin an entirely different perspective and then consideration of how does it grow? What are the priorities, green spaces, commercial spaces, residential? What is the flow between them? How do you connect communities with each other? How do you create ordinances that I I want to say Wnooki is given credit for being the most ethnic and culturally diverse community in Vermont. So it was like how do I ensure that individual communities and new Americans get supported while not forgetting the Vermont elders for whom this has been their lifong home and they want to stay here. >> Right. So, so looking at your view of Wooki and the kinds of things that you've been working on, what would be your priorities as a representative? >> So, one of the things I love this question um and it sort of piggies back piggybacks off of the statement that you just made, which is Wooki is the most diverse city in the state of Vermont. Um, but I think sometimes we fall through the cracks on being the most inclusive. And I think that's honestly it's not of the fault of anyone. I think it is just incredibly difficult for such a we are also a very small city. People oftentimes compare us to Burlington. It's just like comparing an apple and a bird. It's not the same. Um, and so for me that's something that I like so deeply want us to continue to work towards. not only on a city level but then also on a state level um is the idea of like how do we as the city of Wooki and also as the state of Vermont become more inclusive and I think it's one of those things I don't think I know it's something where it's not just like a lawn sign in front of your yard it's the idea of like how do we move through our city how do we make all of our systems right in Wooki we are really thoughtful regarding lang language access and language justice in terms of translation in terms of you know ensuring when someone goes to vote, right? Like we have translators at um on town meeting day when you walk into city hall, we have a translation service there for you. Um because you know within our school system, we have um uh multilingual, you know, many multi- language learners and uh multilinguage liaison. And so we are really attempting the term that terminology that I would use is like a harm reduction model of meeting our residents where they at where they are at and then ensuring that you know we're always building off of that. So how can we do that on a state level? So right because we have so many folks in Manuski who are accessing state resources but are those state resources actually accessible to them? Um and so many people have asked me like why I want to run. I was canvasing recently at the farmers market and this lovely older gentleman named Sam his first question to me was like Al why do you want to go to more meetings and I was like [laughter] that's a great question and I love the honesty um and I said to him you know something that I think a lot of my like community members and neighbors in Muski are learning about me is they are learning about my past and my history um of like navigating the criminal legal system, navigating the policing system, being a plaintiff in two landmark lawsuits, right? So, like suing the ride share company, Lyft. I was the first named plaintiff in a in a um lawsuit against a ride share company. 14 people prior to me had been Jane Doe's and I was the first person to be named. Um and then filing a landmark lawsuit against the city of New York and the New York City Police Department, which is the largest police force in the world. Um because of how they mishandled my sexual assault and kidnapping case. And so like the incredibly bureaucratic system of being inside of the civil legal system and being inside of the federal criminal system. My case um went to the FBI um in the end and understanding like having to hear from prosecutors, from cops, from lawmakers, and then digesting all of that and then translating it either to myself or my friends and to say like this is what's happening and I now want to take that skill and bring it to the state house. So the only people that I will be accountable to are the residents of Wooki. If they choose to elect me, they are my boss. And so if they have a question or if they want to know what's happening, right? It's not using the like state jargon, legal jargon, policy jargon. It's saying it's asking folks what is important to you and what do you want to know? and understanding right all of the resources that are available, what folks need and then taking that bureaucratic system and translating it in a way that's accessible to them and for them. Is that regarding language access? Is that someone who really needs help, you know, getting on SNAP or three squares? Is that someone who wants to know, you know, like they need their car fixed? Is there a way that they could get financial assistance? Do they know that good good news garage exists? Right? There's like all of those things. Um, and so to me it's one of those it's just being like a true connector. And I think sometimes or I know sometimes we see politicians who will run on this like massive platform and they'll tell you like I'm going to change the world in three weeks and um and as someone who's worked in politics their entire life, I just know that's not possible. And so I'm not going to make all of these false promises. But I know that I'm going to continue to do what I do, which is show up for my community, which is anyone who has a question, I'm going to be there to answer it and to always live and operationalize my values, which are the same I I believe of so many of the constituents in in Manuski. I feel like you have a question, Keith. Well, no it as I'm listening to you describe this it's you want to understand the function of government. What is the or state agencies? What is the service that you're saying you provide? and then looking at who is the intended recipient of those services and then going back to the agency and saying okay what are you doing to ensure that your service actually meets the needs and you've established a protocol or a mechanism by first and foremost somebody knows that your service exists >> and you've come up with a means by which the intended recipients can actually access it and use it. I think yes and sorry helicopter um I think it's also that something that I see happen in the policy world so often and with lawmakers legislators in Vermont and honestly across the country is there is such a focus on the policy right so you will have someone say I'm going to co-sponsor this bill I'm a champion for abortion survivor justice housing etc And so everyone is like rushing to pass a bill because they want to get their name on it, because they want to like be, you know, like Representative Turos who's proclimate. I am, but whatever. But then no one is thinking about the implementation and that is where like I thrive. And so I understand if elected I would be a freshman member. It would be my first year. I, you know, might not get to be in a lot of rooms. I might not get to speak a lot, but I'm a deeply curious question. And this is al again like where my c my queerness really comes in is, you know, like I always and I've said this like throughout my campaign is that my queerness isn't just my sexuality, it's my politic, which like really comes back to this incredible quote from Bel Hooks um when she was on stage at the New School many years ago now. um right where she talks about like how your queerness is, you know, and this goes back to Kimberly Krenshaw as well, like the intersectionality of your life. And to me, it's the idea that like the way that my identity as a queer person, as a non-binary person, as a survivor, my gender assigned at birth was, you know, I formally identified as a cis woman. Um, right, is like both visible and invisible in so many ways. And I'm currently the only queer I'm well I guess forever will be the only queer person and non-binary candidate in my race. And if elected I'd be the only non-binary the first openly non-binary person elected to the state house. And so to me, it's the idea that like when I think about implementation, I think about like how will this piece of legislation, whether you know it's like a first time or we're taking something off the wall because it was discussed last year, like how will it actually impact people's lives? If a person is disabled and we're talking about something regarding transportation, you know, if it's like Green Mountain Transit, you know, like the idea of if what if someone is walking with a cane, if they have a walker, and that also goes to like what if you have a new parent who is, you know, like using a stroller. Um, the idea also of like how are we thinking again, I always go back to harm reduction and the idea that like people who are actively using drugs deserve dignity and respect and to be loved. And so we should not be using stigmatizing language. And so to me it's just like the wraparound care that we should be thinking about. Um right and like when we're thinking I just think like so many things this is also where like my I I used to run an abortion fund and we used to think about the idea of like when someone needs to access an abortion it's not just like cool I'm going to wake up and go to the clinic that day. It's like do they need child care? Does someone need to go with them? Where does the money come from? Um and so I think about that all the time. And so that is the reason why right when we think when when people say like why you why should people choose me? Because I think the implementation of policy so often gets forgotten and we can talk about affordability. We can talk about housing. We can talk about education all day all night. But to me, it's like once something once you are in the room in that committee room, like the I am an advocate to the day I die and the way that I will advocate for our community because I've had to advocate for myself, right? Like throughout this campaign, I've been misgendered. My identity has been questioned. Um, and I'm constantly advocating for myself and my and my community. And and I think when I say my community, I mean like communities that I belong to. So like survivors and queer folks and non-binary folks, but I'm also a member of the community of Wyuski. And so like if elected, I cannot wait to step into that building and to advocate for us and also know that like I'm not a voice for all Wuski residents. I'm not a person of color. I'm not an immigrant. I'm not undocumented. Um, and so but that's where it comes in and I think my advocacy really comes in to say like there's this bill that is being put forth particularly regarding immigration and going to my immigrant neighbors and saying like what do you think about this? What am I missing? You know, your role isn't to educate me and I'm not asking that, but just like what am I what do you think should be said here? Do you want to come and speak? Do you have any written testimony? and really ensuring that they are always there because I'm not a voice for the voiceless. And I think that can happen in elected official spaces where it's like I'm here. These are my people, my constituents. And it's like, nope, these are my neighbors. These are my buddies. They're going to come over to my house for a neighborhood party tomorrow. Um, and I'm like getting really excited, but that's like that's that's where it comes from. Go ahead. what what I'm hearing is, you know, looking at a piece of legis again is going back to, you know, identifying who it impacts. >> And then, you know, I liked it when you started talking about policy because a lot of legislation is said, "Oh, we're going to leave it up to the department or the commissioner or whatever to then create policy." But there's no direction on what that policy should do. >> So if you're talking about, you know, Vermont doing something that has an impact on the the new American immigrant community, you're actually talking with the immigrant community, saying, "What would it take for this to truly have a positive impact on your life here in Vermont?" And and I agree with you that's an aspect of legislation that often gets missed. >> And I think because the people who are we we have a citizen legislature um and so the people who are in the building are oftentimes incredibly privileged. You It's almost impossible to be a Sorry, it's my city council. It's almost it's almost impossible to be a working-class person and to take time off work, right? And and I will name that and like full disclosure, the reason why I am available to do it is because I sued the city of New York and I got a $300,000 settlement from the city of New York. All of which is public record. Um but like that's the reason why, you know, is yes, like I do have like that is where what is allowing me to take time off, right? I'm on a little bit of a personal sabbatical. I worked my butt off. I passed some laws. I changed some lives. And now I'm able to take some time off and to ideally if elected, that's that's where it would come from. >> Well, and you're taking that and saying, okay, this is this is how I was able to benefit. How can I bring the people around me with me? >> You how I have this degree of privilege. H how can I use it? Okay. So with with our remaining time, you know, looking at this upcoming session, what would you say would be your three top issues that you would like to see the legislature focus on? Um the only thing I'll say regarding privilege is also there's an amazing piece by Britney Packet Cunningham who talks about the term the um spend your privilege and like that's one of the things that it reminds me of so often is like how can I spend it? Um and so that's one of the reasons why I really want to run it also. Um okay so three main things that I would really want to work on. I would want to build off of what the state has already done regarding ICE enforcement, unmasking, things like that. Um, >> and I think >> a reintroduction of S208, which defined how law enforcement, regardless of, you know, what type of law enforcement, how you will identify yourself and how you will be identifiable. >> Yes. And I know like for me um having been you know around police quite often um sometimes they'll use their radios to cover up and sometimes it can just even if you're if you've been pulled over, right? It being around cops can just make you nervous. Um and I don't I think it can be helpful to just say like you know I'm officer blank, this is my badge number, etc. Um and so I think also one of the things that um in our sort of like family um after the ICE raid in March 11th um the man who was detained, Christian and his um nephew Jose came and lived with my wife and I for a little bit. And so we're just like seeing how um that impacts, right? Like Christian and Jose's life and Christian and Jose are still very much a part of our family. Um, and so I'm I'm, you know, in communication with them often just to see like what once someone is detained in Vermont, >> what happens? What is the afterare look like? And so, um, yeah, I'm just being incredibly thoughtful around that and wanting to, so when I say sort of like ICE and immigration, um, just being really thoughtful around that and I think also because we have we'll have such a new slate of we'll have a new speaker and all of the like I might not have an exact policy, but I know because that will deeply impact my neighbors and my community, it's something I'm really being thoughtful around. Um, and then the other thing that that is deeply important to Muski is housing and education. Um particularly as we talk about like CE right Seesaw has foundation funding. Um and so I've been in deep conversation with Nicole Mace who's on our school board and has a like incredible history as an education at lawyer and she ran the Vermont Association of School Boards. Um, and so I feel so grateful to know her and to have her as a neighbor and um, between her and some teachers and also um, Wilmer, right? Like I'm not an educ I don't come from an education background, but that doesn't mean that I don't have connections to people who do. And so it's another thing that I think is really important is like I will never pretend to say I know everything about education policy, but I will be upfront and say, guess what? I don't know that, but I know someone who does. And the first thing I'm going to do is pick up my phone and call them because they know the Wooki school district. They know those students. Um, and so that's something that I'm like unafraid to do. I have no shame. And I think sometimes politicians will be like, I feel the need to know everything. I will learn every single day, but I will never pretend to know something because the only people that that hurts is is the people that who live in Muski. Um, so yeah, it would be housing, education, and then um law enforcement. >> All righty. That that sounds incredibly good. I I will be waiting to spend time at the state house with you and following how you do. So, good luck in the primary. >> Ask one question before we end. >> Absolutely. >> One of the questions I always like to ask people is what's bringing you joy or what's making you smile recently? Oh, what's well what actually what's bringing me joy right now is I have a 94 yearear-old mother who is in assisted living and after much negotiating granddaughter and her six-year-old daughter who is named after my mother and her two fouryear-old twins are coming from Texas this weekend to spend an afternoon having an ice cream social being sponsored by the assisted living. And what brings you joy? >> My god, that story. Um, this weekend I spent a lot of time with Jose. We had dinner. We had like dinner on Friday and Saturday night together, which was really nice and just to sort of reconnect. And then um I had a neighborhood party on Sunday in my backyard and I I just literally invited like everyone in Wooki and I got a really beautiful text from someone. I'm actually going to see if and that was just like I am so grateful because I met neighbors that I would have never met. And so it's one of the things that I really try to do is just to like bring people together. Um, I just want to say I'm so grateful to be in your orbit. Yesterday was such a testament to your openness, generosity of spirit and spirit and fearlessness to do the things people are scared of to move from individual to collective. And so I think to me it's like again I keep going back to querness because I', you know, this is the space for it. But like I think queerness is so often rooted in collective and in community. And so I just was like, I've got this big backyard. Let's do something together. And so I just like I like went to Specs and like hand wrote a note for all their staff and was like, "Hey, if anyone's free and doesn't have to work, come over to my house." And so it was just really wonderful to have neighbors who lived on one side of Wooki and another who really would never have crossed paths but like did it in my backyard and that was just that really brought me a lot of joy. >> So I don't have to ask you how you're going to stay in touch with your constituents when you get elected. So thank you for spending this time with us. >> Yeah. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. >> Thank you for joining us. And until next time, remember, resist. >> [music]