DEBORAH GLICK

INTERVIEW BY OLIVIA HOM

Photographed by Michelle V. Agins for The New York Times

DEBORAH GLICK, NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMEMBER - DISTRICT 66

“I learned to swim in the ocean, some people learn to swim in a pool or a lake. But learning to swim in the ocean is a little more challenging and so to some extent maybe that is a reflection of having more challenges to begin with.”

— Deborah Glick

On Her First Political Act: You know, in terms of what was your first political act, when I was a kid, my father was involved in civic association, which was a neighborhood association, and he printed the newsletter and I delivered it. So in some ways that might’ve been my very first involvement. But I guess personally active was probably work that I did in college on fighting against the Vietnam War, fighting for abortion rights, and obviously that has influenced me because I have spent my entire adult life fighting for the right of women to control their own destiny.

On Her College Activism: Yes. I organized. I went to Queens College in New York City, and it was about printing leaflets, handing out leaflets, organizing rallies, speaking at those rallies. On abortion rights, there was a really terrific woman who came to campus when I was a few years into my college career, her name was Flo Kennedy. She was a lawyer, a radical lawyer, an African American woman who was probably one of the first to get out of Columbia Law School, and she was trying to start the feminist party, and she was organizing on campuses. And I was used to going to anti war demonstrations which were quite large. She was organizing with other people for a march for abortion rights in D.C. and I don’t know what I expected, I guess I expected tens of thousands of people. There weren’t. And we arrived, and it was like, well where is everybody? And there were hundreds, maybe there were a few thousand, but I had envisioned much larger. And so it became clear that we had a lot of work to do. 

Her Advice for Women and People From the LGBTQ+ Community That Are Hoping to Get Into Politics: Well for any young person who’s interested in politics, you have to decide if you want to be on the front line or behind the scenes. Because there’s a million ways of working in politics where you are either a campaign manager or you’re active in an organization, and become an organizational leader. So you have to figure out what it is you want to do, and so I would say from the time you’re in college, volunteering on campaigns, and the campaign could be a political campaign or it could be a sierra club, or something else. And frankly, LGBT people need to be in every type of organization. Environmental organizations. They need to be in labor organizations. So whatever it is, whatever your interest is, you should pursue that from the time you’re in college. So volunteering, and getting over and making phone calls is really important. But that’s where it starts, if you are a Democrat. If you’re LGBT and you’re a Republican, I don’t understand you. If you’re a woman and you’re a Republican, I really don’t understand you. But that being said, working on campaigns of someone you can believe in, or joining a Democratic club, or even if it’s non partisan but it’s politically engaged, sort of a good government group where you’re encouraging people to vote, and you’re registering people to vote. That kind of activity is what I would suggest to everyone, especially LGBT people.  

SARAH MCBRIDE

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MACKLIN FISHMAN

SARAH MCBRIDE, DELAWARE STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 1

THE AP GOVERNMENT CLASSROOM AT CAB CALLOWAY SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, WITH HER AP GOVERNMENT TEACHER, BRIAN WINNINGTON, AND HER FRIENDS AND FORMER CLASSMATES, LIZ RICHARDS AND MAT MARSHALL

“You can be the person who transforms what seems so impossible that it’s incomprehensible into a reality. Nothing is truly impossible. Indeed, the only things that are impossible are the things we don’t try.”

— Sarah McBride

On her place of special meaning: We are here at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, which was my middle school and high school. Sort of the place where so much of my interest and involvement in politics and government began. This is a really special school and, even though I wasn't yet out as trans, it introduced me to a community that was accepting, embracing, that celebrated our differences, and—more than anything else—introduced me to people who continue to be my closest friends to this day. People who are creating change in our community. It’s really interesting because this is an arts school, but in many ways, it was also a school of politics. Because so many young people here when I was a student were involved in the community, were involved in change-making, were involved in campaigns and politics and government. And this was the place that not only showed me that people can be authentic and celebrated, but also that young people can have a say and a role in our government and our democracy.

On Telling Her Story: It was, I think, a constant balancing act of wanting to do justice by the trans community, but also wanting to be seen in the full complexity of my humanity. And, you know, never wanting to suggest to anyone that I was not proud of being trans, right, I am proud to be trans. But I’m proud of so many other experiences and perspectives that I bring to the table. And wanting to be seen, yes in my transness, but in all that I bring to the table was certainly a constant struggle. It was a constant reality to navigate … Telling my story, in my own words, all of my story, was important for me. One, because that story informs my politics, it informs my priorities. But in reclaiming my own narrative, if I don’t tell my story, then others will. And if others do, it will be so focused on my trans identity that it won’t capture all that I bring to the table and all of my life experience.

On her advice to people with marginalized identities who want to run for office, but are nervous or scared that they will experience a real threat or backlash: A lot of times in politics when we’re talking to candidates, particularly candidates who win their races, we don’t focus on the fact that those candidates had the exact same fears as everyone else. Running for office, people don’t do that because they’re fearless. It’s because they have the courage to run in spite of their fear … It’s certainly true that it’s hard to be what you can’t see, but it’s not impossible. You can be that change. You can be the person who transforms what seems so impossible that it’s incomprehensible into a reality. Nothing is truly impossible. Indeed, the only things that are impossible are the things we don’t try.

CAROLYN COMITTA

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY HEIDI SUH

Senator Comitta photographed in Everhart Park, West Chester, PA.

CAROLYN COMITTA, PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATOR – DISTRICT 19

On her place of special meaning: Everhart Park is right across from our house where we have lived for over 30 years, our children grew up here, and I would bring them to the park – to this gazebo – of course this is a really fun place to run around. And playing on the swings, and the playground and so on. Then they came here for summer park program, concerts, and festivals. A lot of our family time revolved around this park. And as I mentioned I also have presided at several weddings in this park, in this gazebo. So this is– this is sort of the heart of Everhart Park, this gazebo. 

On Post-Trumpism: Well when President Trump was elected in my family there were a lot of tears, everybody was really down. My kids were really down. End of the world as we know it. And I said, well, we shall see how this plays out. But I said I predict that President Trump will be great for civic engagement. And this is true, right? Now, because you know, he did and still is inspiring people to become more engaged, you know, depending on our opinion, for better or for worse, right. But what we saw was record numbers of women running, and winning. So not running and hiding. Not saying, “End of the world, I’m gonna go crawl under the covers and hide.” No. Saying “Okay, something needs to be done here,” and then looking around and saying, “Who’s going to do it?” Well, maybe it’s gonna be me. So we now have in the Pennsylvania legislature, a record number of women in the House and in the Senate. When I was elected in 2016, the percentage of women was 18%. And we are now at 26%. Now that’s only four years ago. So, that’s significant. And the research –maybe you’ve done research on this. Research has been done to show how many women you need in a leadership organization, a decision making organization in order for there to be a shift. To actually make a real significant difference. 50% would be– that’s where we want to be. Or, as this young group of– this group of young girls from Pittsburgh came into the Capitol, we were talking about this and I said, you know, [it’d] be good to have 50% and they were like, “How about 100%?” And I said well, actually, I like the way you think! The men had 100% for about 200 years. See how they did– let’s give us 200 years and see how we do. But let’s say parity, 50%. The research shows that when you reach about 30% women on a board of directors, elected, legislature, leadership group. You reach about 30%, the culture begins to shift to one of a collaborative, solution finding culture, which is what we need.

“So from a very young age, a very significant role model for me was Henry Kissinger. And I pictured being a Secretary of State. A diplomat. And a Girl Scout asked me once, did I always want to be mayor? And I said no, I never thought about being a mayor. I said I really I guess I imagined myself being a Secretary of State. And then I said, wait a minute, I think I got what I wanted! Because the mayor is like this Secretary of State of the borough. So I said you know what, I got what I wanted.”

— Carolyn Comitta

Words of Advice: If you have an opportunity presented that terrifies you, or you present the opportunity to yourself and it terrifies you, two things: one, you need more information. Talk with people who are doing what you are thinking about doing. Before I ran for borough council I talked with everybody on borough council, I talked with people in other towns on town councils. I talked with my family, do you think I’d be good, do you think I would like it… you know, all of that. Do you think I could make a difference? 

And then secondly, I would say look around, realistically, at people in the field, you know – let’s say in politics. And at the time, I looked at– George Bush was the president when I was being recruited for borough council – and I said, well you know what, this president has made a lot of mistakes and a lot of choices that have hurt a lot of people. I think even if I make some mistakes I can do at least as well as that. Okay? So get kind of a perspective, and it’s often surprising and you go like, well, I don’t know I could at least do as well as that. And I will learn, and I will grow, and I will make mistakes. But I think that by doing that you help face your fear. 

And I would say a third thing, when I was running and I thought oh my gosh what if I lose, you know, and so on – I would remind myself of who I am, what my intention is, and who cares about me in my closest orbit. And that if I lose, if I make a mistake, who’s there for me, regardless. And even if you have one person, and sometimes it’s just yourself, “Oh, yea, I’ll be okay.” Then it’s easier to face your fear. And to say– and also to frame it, you know, can I lead with my gift? Am I choosing something I love? And can I use this position to leave the world a little bit better? I’m not gonna save the world, what does that mean anyway, it’s always evolving and changing. But can I make things a little bit better here or here? And sometimes the answer is no. And then you say well, I gave that a good thought and I’m gonna go do something different. But doing a little homework and getting grounded and having a realistic look at things because everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, everybody makes positive impacts and mistakes, messes things up. Try and fix it the best you can and move on and keep doing the best work you can. 

JUNIE JOSEPH

INTERVIEW BY JULIA BOCCABELLA

Junie Joseph stands in front of Wolf Law Building at the University of Colorado - Boulder Law School.

Photographed by Julia Boccabella

JUNIE JOSEPH, MAYOR PRO TEMPORE OF BOULDER, COLORADO

“I believed in what I was saying. I believe in everything I was saying wholeheartedly. And I said the same thing everywhere I go. I think that was the power of my campaign.”

— Junie Joseph

On her place of special meaning, the Wolf Law Building: Part of the reason why I chose here is because I feel like this is what brought me to Colorado. I moved to Colorado about three years ago. I was working as a human rights officer in the Central African Republic, and I was thinking I wanted to come back and go to law school so that I can better learn the law. And then I got into CU. So that's how I ended up here. And then it kind of became that story or that journey where I came to law school here, and I was struggling with housing. And I thought - this is an issue that I'm passionate about.

“It’s not one person on council that really gets the work done. It’s all 9 of us together. It’s very collaborative work.”

— Junie Joseph

On her service in the Central African Republic and her start in Boulder: I think why I ran for Council is that I just wanted to serve. I wanted to participate. I left Central African Republic, an extremely difficult country. I lived there for about 11 months to a year. There were a lot of shootings, a lot of killings. And I do believe my life was in danger because of these different situations that I found myself in, working as what they call a peacekeeper or human rights officer with the UN. And I wanted to come back to law school so that I could better educate myself. When I was leaving there, I prayed - I'm a deeply spiritual person, I go to church and everything. I remember when I was there, I had a contract. And I said, “God, please take me out of here alive, and I will not give up this thing that I promise that I will do, which is serving other people - I will still do it. Just not in this context. Just take me out of here alive and I will still serve you.”

“There are days I wake up and I think, oh my goodness, I’m not sure I can deal with this today. I am not sure I can even do this today. But I still wake up and still do it anyway. Because it’s not really about how I feel. It’s what I stand for.”

— Junie Joseph

On learning on her feet: Men think they can walk into any situation and figure it out. But we women can't? What is this limitation? I think it's an imposed limitation that has nothing to do with our intellect. It's more to do with this person's perception, their own prejudice, their own ageism, or their own sexism that makes them believe that a woman can't walk in and figure it out. Yet a man with absolutely no knowledge or understanding of the issue can walk into the issue and figure it out. And I think for me - I think part of it is because I came to this country, I didn't speak English, and I had to learn it. And so I'm someone who learned quickly on my feet. […] And I thought for me on counsel, of course, there were a lot of things I didn't know about this community. But I was open. I was open to learning. I was open to having coffee with people. I was one of those council members or people who were running who met with so many people just to learn. I would just sit there and learn. If I didn't know something, I said I didn't know. “Teach me.” So I was willing to learn from anyone, everyone.

Connect with Junie Joseph on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @Junie4Boulder!

NANCY PINKIN

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH HERMAN

Nancy Pinkin, Middlesex County Clerk, New Jersey

At the East Brunswick Recycling Center

Special place of meaning: Well when I was on town council we had a budget crisis and one of the big expenses was the cost of garbage pickup and the cost of recycling. So one way we could really reduce our expenses was by changing the garbage pickup from twice a week to once a week. And that not only saved us $600,000 in the annual contract fee, but it also reduced the wear and tear on the roads that have cost about $1,000,000 to repair one section of road in a residential area, and the pollution from the trucks, which are coming through all the time. Then we want to encourage people to invest more in recycling, rather than throwing everything into the garbage and that really worked out. One of the ways we did that, we said let’s try to make it as palatable as possible for the residents, so I thought well, we had a small recycling center if we made that a drop off station. If people had garbage and they didn’t want to keep it because residents were saying well it will be sitting around for too long, and it will be smelling and will get vermin and things like that, we don’t want to do that, well we said okay, well you can drop it off, and that will be one way that it won’t be so bad. And in the summer, we made it twice a week, so that with the heat and everything, it wouldn’t be a concern.

“There’s so many things that we can recycle and… what I want to show people is that you know you can start small and work your way up to bigger and bigger”

— Nancy Pinkin

How she became involved/interested in politics as a woman: They say that women frequently… will step back and think that they're not qualified where men will always just jump right in so there are programs. We have a program here at Rutgers University that is called “Ready to Run” that helps people, helps women to train to both either be involved in a political campaign or to run themselves. And I was able to take advantage of that program and it is something that helps women to advance. 

“People told me I can never get it done, but I did”

— Nancy Pinkin

ALICIA WEINTRAUB

INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARYANA KHALILZADEH & RACHEL KING

ALICIA WEINTRAUB, CITY OF CALABASAS COUNCILMEMBER

AT FREEDOM PARK, CALABASAS, CA

Place of special meaning: I chose this place, it’s a community park, because it just shows our community’s commitment to the environment and open space. Especially during the last year during the pandemic it was really important that people had a place to go outside of their homes that was safe, and this just really signifies that.

Advice for the younger generation of girls hoping to run for office: I say go for it! You know, it’s so great being able to make a difference in your community, and especially in local government you’re able to be involved in regional issues, so working with people from other cities. So it’s not just what’s happening in your own little bubble, but being able to look at regional issues, which is something great about local government.

How she believes being a woman and a mom influences her political views: I don’t know if it necessarily influences my political views, but it helps me bring a new perspective to the table, so I think that’s really important that I’m able to look at it like how are things going to impact our next generation and how will it impact different members of our community?

MARTA LOACHAMIN

INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSIE MORGAN

MARTA LOACHAMIN, BOULDER COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 2

UNKNOWN MURAL IN LONGMONT, COLORADO

On her Journey to Politics: Being a student activist, being on the campus when the ethnic studies department was formed that was the beginning for me of formally understanding the importance of community voice. The importance of people of color, as a Latina, to help other people, white people, in this country, understand our contributions, the work that we put in, the history that we have in the United States and understanding as a student there was so much pushback about an ethnic studies department and so that was the beginning of my understanding of how a system can try to deny the realities of people of color in this country.

Her Take on Accessible Housing: I don’t believe we can just keep building... There's so much regulation around build and growth in Boulder and Boulder County and the housing inventory is the issue that’s why prices have gone up… so I’ve been talking to folks about a couple different ways… 45% of our county rents. So we have a need for landlords and those relationships but if we could open up, even a pocket, like, even 5% of those homes to the market, those are entry-level homes, those are accessible prices, those aren’t the $2.1 million homes or average prices in Boulder, right, but those are like condo, townhome, small single-family homes. That’s what we need access to, the inventory that actually exists.

On Male Oppression and Encouraging Women of Color to Participate: It’s not just women’s work. Even in our leadership teams: “Well how many people do you think is appropriate?” And it’s like RBG said: like, “We have 9 seats. When we have 9 women on the bench, then we’ll have enough”. Nobody questions the fact that we have a board room full of men. No one questions the fact that the majority of our companies, CEOs, etc. are men. And so even our men as counterparts need to get involved in the conversation and do the work because in most cases, in a lot of cases, they’re the ones who have the ability to make those shifts.

MONICA MONTGOMERY STEPPE

INTERVIEW BY JULIA PRICE

Photographed by Kris Saradpon

MONICA MONTGOMERY STEPPE, SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCILMEMBER, DISTRICT 2

On her place of special meaning – There are quite a few reasons why I chose [San Diego Encanto Trolley Station]. We have the backdrop of a beautiful mural of community artists. We also have a reminder of what a lot of our constituents, how they commute, how they get around every single day. And I chose this spot partly because I had an encounter here myself, where a staff member and I were going to get on the trolley and go to a Padres game, and we walked right into an encounter between security and two community members. And so we found ourselves in a situation where we had to de-escalate, where there was a young man who was being handcuffed because he had an open container on the platform, which I thought was not a reasonable thing to handcuff someone for. And [we were] able to get the handcuffs off of him and have him sit there and take the ticket. But it was unreasonable. And it took away some of his dignity. And that was that experience for me. It's not my first experience, but we walked right into it. And being in a position where I am in those boardrooms, doing the work to make the change on the ground, it was just a reminder to me that my work is never done–that people are being treated like this every single day, and that every single person deserves dignity and respect in our region and on this trolley line.

On her first political act – I always wanted everything to be fair; that was my thing. If you are going to give Person A a benefit, then you have to give Person B that benefit. That was always something that was at the core of me, growing up. In high school, my high school administrators had instituted a ban on bandanas. But they didn't institute a ban on some of the other types of clothing that maybe weren't worn by black students that maybe could be offensive to people. And so I met with my vice principal and I demanded that if they were going to ban certain types of apparel, then they should be fair across the board, you know, about that ban. And so that was one of the first things that I did, and it just really goes to like the broader what we're dealing with, with the broader perspective of equity, of fairness. And so it was a small act. But I remember being very, very passionate about that. That I didn't want people's voices to be silenced, if that was the way they expressed themselves, by wearing bandanas. Because other types of apparel, other types of expressions were not banned.

“There was something inside of me that said that I can do this.”

— Monica Montgomery Steppe

In 2016, former District 4 councilmember Myrtle Cole made comments defending police racial profiling of black residents. Monica Montgomery Steppe, then a staffer for Myrtle Cole, resigned the following day.

On her core values – There are many things that staffers sacrifice. But core values shouldn't be one of those things. I always knew that I wanted to work for someone that I may not agree on every single issue, but that we were rowing in the right direction, in the same direction. And when that time came that I made that decision, I knew that I had to leave the office because I couldn't...I couldn't defend that. And it goes back to what I experienced right here, where we're sitting. A situation that I had to de-escalate, knowing that this is the treatment that people of color, and black people in particular, receive from law enforcement. I couldn't stay. And there are parts of me that wanted to stay. But I knew that I couldn't. And I had, I think, just bought a condo and I had bills to pay. It was a very, very tough decision. But I did feel that relief when I made the decision, and I walked out. And I'm also a woman of faith. And so I knew that if I prayed about it, and did the right thing, that I would be okay, that God would take care of me. And so that's really what prompted me leaving.

In 2018, Monica Montgomery Steppe ran against Myrtle Cole for the District 4 council seat, and won.

JESSICA GONZÁLEZ-ROJAS

INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN RODRIGUEZ

JESSICA GONZÁLEZ-ROJAS, NY ASSEMBLYMEMBER DISTRICT 34

PICTURED IN FRONT OF THE UNISPHERE AT FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK

On her place of special meaning - I feel like… like the personal is political, right? It sounds very cliché but… like you commented on my necklace that says I am a daughter of an immigrant. I think being a daughter of an immigrant father was very political and also my mom is Puerto Rican, [which is a] very political identity. Then, as someone who has always fought for gender justice and reproductive rights… and anti-violence against women… that’s very political and very personal. It’s less about a particular place and more about identities that I feel connected to from an early age.

JESSICA GONZÁLEZ-ROJAS WITH HER NECKLACE AND ASSEMBLYMEMBER PIN

“I always see the personal as political.”

— JESSICA GONZÁLEZ-ROJAS ON HER PLACE OF SPECIAL MEANING

On the organization NICE - Oh, NICE! New Immigrant Community Empowerment. It’s an organization that I was on the founding board of back in ‘99. It emerged out of some of the really hateful anti-immigrant sentiment that was out there and we were formed as a coalition of people in the community that cared about immigration. It’s beautiful because we were like this scrappy little group in ‘99 and now it’s a huge entity with members — they just went to D.C. to fight for immigration.. I mean we are still fighting the same fight, right? But, it’s become a really strong base of amazing organizers and activists and mostly day laborers and domestic workers. It’s so amazing to see how much they’ve grown in the last 22 years.

On what she hopes to see in upcoming years - I always go back to values. My three guiding values are equity, dignity, and justice… and I feel like dignity is the thing that is so grounding. So what I’m hoping to do is to make sure that anything we do allows for people to live a more dignified life. Whatever your identity or circumstances — whether you’re poor, whether you’re Latina or an immigrant, or Transgender, or homeless, or incarcerated — that you can live with dignity, that the systems around us are set up to provide support and not punish people. Unfortunately we live in a society that’s often looking at punishment versus rehabilitation and restoration… and I think those are the things that are rooted in my work. That’s why for me it’s also important to build with other women of color because I can’t do it alone. And I think that women of color are actually more effective legislators… well women are more effective legislators, statistically. I think making investments different legislative bodies where we are seeing more women in office and seeing the way in which they lead is really important to me. So, building that power and creating an environment in which we can pass policies that are humane… like really rooted in humanity.

“Most of the rest of the elected officials [surrounding my district] are Latino — well Latina actually. From Astoria to Corona... my friend calls it the Latina Beltway. ”

— JESSICA GONZÁLEZ-ROJAS

On what’s next on the agenda - For me, I want to make sure I’m balancing the Legislative work with the community work. A lot of my job is taking care of the constituents in the district, and we have a great team that does that, making sure that I’m very present in the community… it’s the place that my son goes to school, where I eat, where I shop, and where I raise my family. I want to always be connected to the grassroots while also fighting for the big systemic change that I want. Sometimes it’s about that pothole or that garbage pickup … and I’m thinking I want to totally, radically transform the healthcare system. * chuckles * It’s just striking that balance between making sure people feel served and making sure that we’re working towards a world where everyone can live with equity, dignity, and justice. That’s what i’m trying to balance. Career wise I don’t have a next goal, per se, just because i’m so new and I really just want to do a good job. I think eventually I want to teach, I was an adjunct at CUNY, at NYU, I love it. I could actually teach and do this but… not right now because i’m so new. I just love engaging the next generation.

“We want to make sure that we are electing people that look like the district, speak like the district... ”

— JESSICA GONZÁLEZ-ROJAS

KIM FOXX

KIM FOXX, COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY

IN HER OFFICE, HOLDING A BRICK FROM CABRINI GREEN, CHICAGO IL

Place of special meaning: The place that most resonates with me is where I grew up. It was a public housing complex called Cabrini Green. It's no longer there. Where I used to live at Division and Larrabee is now a Target, and then there's just a big swath of open field. I think of that place, often, particularly in the work that I do, because it was, at the time, symbolic of all of these failures of government that were being pushed as failures of people. My whole mission in life, particularly in the work that I do here, is recognizing that in those neighborhoods that have been devastated by failed policies, there is brilliance and talent and purpose that requires me to see them with a vision that other people can't.

Running for office and engaging with her community: What is it like to run an office like this, that disproportionately impacts communities of color, disproportionately impacts neighborhoods like the one that I grew up in? And to get in the office and say, I'm one of you. I'm actually not vanilla...And so that's why I ran, because it's an office that impacts disproportionately communities like the one I grew up in. The people who elect those positions, generally live the furthest away from the problems...For so long, we gave the power to people who had the distance and not power to the people who were proximate. I want to be a proximate, powerful leader.

Expressing vulnerability in public office: I know the trope. I've seen the trope, the angry black woman. I've had to hold my face and hold myself together. But it's a trope that is designed to stifle, right? The whole point of it is to get you to shut up. Again, the weaponry is different. It's more sophisticated now. It is used to silence. I care about these people and sometimes it's emotional. In fact, the headline today was “Kim Foxx chokes up,” as though it’s somehow soft of me to cry… But to that, I say f*** ‘em.

STEPHANIE CHANG

INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIERSTEN HOFF, AUDIO RECORDING & EDITING BY RAELYNN SNODGRASS

Photographed by Kiersten Hoff

STEPHANIE CHANG, MICHIGAN STATE SENATOR for DISTRICT 1

On her place of special meaning, Lafayette Park… I actually think that even though I had lived here for a while before I had my first daughter, I feel like I actually really started to enjoy the park even more once I had her and so I remember a few weeks after I gave birth, taking her out for a ride in the stroller and being so nervous about taking her outside of the house and like not knowing what was going to happen and then it also rained and everything, so that was annoying. But I just remember going for a little stroll with a couple of friends -- one was still pregnant and the other one had had her daughter the month before, and just feeling this sense of like okay, we’re a bunch of moms, we’re figuring this out, it’s going to be okay. But like, amongst this beautiful park with all these amazing trees. Since then, [we’ve spent] a lot of time…here. It’s a great park, a lot of fond memories of the earliest days of being a mom as I was like figuring out what the heck I was doing as a mom, so, yeah!

“My mother took me to the polls every time she voted...it really [did] start with my parents when I was a baby!””

— Sen. Stephanie Chang on her first political act

On her decision to run for office… So I ran in 2014. Like I mentioned, I hadn’t really thought about running, but Rashida Tlaib– she was my predecessor in the state house, she is among the first that really kind of encouraged me to run. And I had been working as an organizer, doing all this various stuff around social justice issues and, you know, I basically realized this is a way to make an impact in a bigger way on a different level. And so ran to basically just try to make a difference and I’m really glad that I ran and now it’s been over six years– actually wait, has it been six years? Yeah, it’s been six years, wow! So I feel very much that I’ve done the things I said I would do, there’s still so much more to do. I’m really glad– It took me a long time to decide to run actually, it took a good six months– but having encouragement from Rashida and from my good friend Dessa and just others that were really making me think about, “okay if I’m not going to do this what else would I be doing and would I be able to make an impact in the same way?” And I’m really glad that I did it!

Advice for women who want to run for office in the face of current barriers…  I guess the first thing is just to really go for it. Two, I think the mentorship piece, find a really good mentor. I also think it’s really powerful to shadow someone. I actually, when was still in the middle of six months of trying to figure out if I should run or not, I did shadow Rashida at the state capital. It was really helpful for me to be able to just physically see, visualize myself there and also to ask random questions throughout the day and just see if I could picture myself doing that work because I’m a very visual person. So I definitely encourage people to shadow, no matter what it is that you’re thinking about running for whether it’s school board or city council or whatever, anything, is to actually shadow and see what it’s like.

BEVERLY KIOHAWITON COOK

INTERVIEW BY RIYA BALACHANDRAN

Photographed by Riya Balachandran

BEVERLY KIOHAWITON COOK, ST. REGIS MOHAWK TRIBAL COUNCIL CHIEF

IN HER OFFICE, SURROUNDED BY PHOTOS OF FAMILY AND CULTURAL ITEMS

“[when seeing a patient] Maybe sometimes you’re going to go deeper than just their high blood pressure, and giving them medication. You may want to talk about how things are going at home.”

On why she transitioned from family nurse practitioner to Tribal Chief: As a family nurse practitioner, I felt that I was trying to make changes within the institution of our health services… It was a bigger job than I anticipated, to have people really understand what I was talking about. And this doesn't apply just in the health field, it applies in a corporate setting as well; how you relate, how you speak to one another, how you treat your employees, how you treat your staff, your co workers and so on. I felt that maybe if I can get into this type of a leadership position, that I could affect policy in some way. That I could talk about these things on a different level that didn't corral it just to health. To help people understand that health is everything. Health is your mind, health is the way you think, it's the way you vocalize, it's the way you make another person feel- is it healthy or not. So one of the things that I've been able to put an emphasis on is women and children and families, I've been able to plant seeds.

Her advice for young girls and non-binary youth looking to go into politics: You have to love the people. You have to love the community, because they come in all shapes and sizes and all kinds of states of wellness. And you have to understand where their anger comes from, where their resentment comes from, all of it. I mean of course you have to have your boundaries, but you have to be understanding of it. And if you're not, if you don't care about them (you have to love them to care about them I think), then don't do it. You can't. It's not for the faint of heart. It's not for the faint of heart.

What we should know about the Mohawk Nation: There's a term called the Mohawk mind, the way we think about things and it's connected to our attachment to this land. Whether it's traditional hunting grounds, or whatever… our territory, way back in time, was 9 million acres. A little bit in Canada, down into a little bit of Pennsylvania, over into a little bit of Vermont. And then there were the other nations to the west of us. But this is all we have left. And that is traumatic in itself. What our people went through, the concessions that were made in order to save this little postage stamp piece of land. And so some of the resolve that our people have about their rights to this land, and their rights on this land is because of that. Because it's ours, but it's also all that we have left. And in our mind, we feel that we still have a forever claim to those 9 million acres because of the way that history happened. I know they’re very, very strong people, very proud people. And we hurt just like everybody else. We're still human but [I’m] very, very proud of us. All in all, with all of our issues that we still struggle with, we’re really something.

“All in all, with all of our issues that we still struggle with, we’re really something.”

ANN WILLIAMS

Interview and Photographs by Caroline Carr

Photographed in Welles Park, Chicago

ANN WILLIAMS, STATE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE 11TH DISTRICT ON CHICAGO’S NORTH SIDE

On her place of special meaning and why she chose to be photographed at it: I chose to be photographed at the Welles Park which is one of the jewels of the district. It is a large park area that is used year round for a variety of things. For me, especially since Covid hit it really has come to symbolize a gathering space for our community and it really has come to symbolize what our community is really about.

On what set her on the political path: I was assigned to the Iowa House democratic caucus and it was a place where I felt really at home. The issues they worked at at the time were issues I found interesting. Some issues that I was completely unfamiliar with including issues of riverboats and gaming but I enjoyed the people, watching the interpersonal dynamics develop, I watched how women especially made a difference and have a really powerful and relevant role in the legislative process.

On making sure everyone in her district’s needs are met: One of the topics that comes up almost every time is we are one district and our communities may vary a lot in terms of resources but it’s one school district and if something is not good enough for the kids in Roscoe Village, it’s not good enough for the kids in all parts of the city.

EMMA COLLUM

Interview and Photography by Kate Murray

Co-founder of the National Women’s March on Washington, Elected member of the Broward County Soil and Water Conservation District, Previous State Representative Candidate for FL Dist. 93

IN HER HOME IN FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

On her first political act: My first political act was an internship my junior year of college with Francine Delmonte who was a New York State assembly woman in Buffalo, New York… I worked for her when- and it was paid, and I really appreciated that- I worked for her in her Albany office, so the legislative office, and it was when plan B was not legal. And they had us do a mock legislative day, and I got up representing her, and I don’t know that she’d ever forgive me, and I said I don’t feel that my body should be legislated by old white men making decisions on what I can do across the counter. I ended up getting another job offer from another representative that day, but I’m sure Francine was fine, I’m sure she got over it.

On the Women’s March and the Feminist Movement: If your feminism isn’t intersectional, then it isn’t feminism that I want. And I think- and I believe- that what really came out of Women’s March and what- I believe this is what the fourth generation- fourth iteration of feminism at this point- I think is a conversation of those who have been left behind, whether we’re talking about the community with disabilities, whether we’re talking about the LGBTQ, specifically the trans community, whether we’re especially talking about the indigenous community- these communities that have been left behind, historically.

““If your feminism isn’t intersectional, then it isn’t feminism that I want.””

— Emma Collum

An Impactful Moment in her Campaign for State Representative: Of course along the way, Marjorie Stoneman Douglass happened, and it happened while I was running and that was a really big issue because the gentleman who I was running against, who was as the time the only Republican commissioner, walked on a vote that would allow counties and cities to say we need to do gun free zones. So he walked. I called him out. He called me out in a debate for calling him a coward, and I said I will call you far worse, it was a cowardly act. He did end up winning, and when it came for a vote on the state floor, he voted in support of gun- he was one of the only Republicans who supported the Democrats in voting for gun regulation. Whether it was through a change of heart, or was it because he knew in his experience somebody was going to call him out, I think that’s important. I think it's important that even when you are not individually successful, to me that was a win.

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My family is one with a lot of environmental activism in upstate New York, so this is something that was really important to me continuing working on the anti-fracking legislation while I was with the New York State Legislature. You know, it continues to be one- it may be the most important issue of our time, you know, this impacts everything from gender equity to racial equity, to- you know, capitalist systems. It is the most important issue of our time.

ALEXANDRIA WOJCIK

INTERVIEW BY PILAR DUVIVIER

Photographed by Pilar Duvivier

ALEXANDRIA WOJCIK (she/they), DEPUTY MAYOR OF THE VILLAGE OF NEW PALTZ, NEW YORK

On a Woman She Admires… I have a hard time finding other queer leaders in elected office who are openly queer. I have yet to send an email and get a reply back from another elected official or person in a position of power of any kind, or an activist group or anything where there’s she/they pronouns in their signature. I know I’m not alone, but it feels pretty lonely, I must say. And that’s why I turn to, she doesn’t identify as queer, but one of my best friends on Earth is my biggest inspiration. Amanda Sistenstein, the woman behind Food Not Bombs for so many years, and the Pocket Gardens and New Paltz De Facto Community Projects. I admire her so much and I continue to turn to her for council all the time. [And] She’s just so good at holding space for my queerness and being my fellow femme in another leadership role. She’s like the leader of the anarchists in some ways, and I’m in this other leadership position and we get to work together still, and I think that’s really cool. I just admire her work so much; her work ethic and always thinking about the basics and how to get the basics to the people. Because that’s the foundation, like how do we make sure no one goes hungry today? How do we make sure no one is without a roof over their heads today? Let’s get that stuff covered, and then we can have a discussion about how to solve the affordable housing crisis. I just admire that so much.

“The foundation of climate justice is continuing to be stewards of the Earth”

— Alexandria Wojcik

On Climate Justice… Who’s on the front lines of the destruction of climate change? People who rent and don’t have the ability to sell their home and move to higher ground. Who’s basements are flooding and the mold is growing in and houses are literally slipping away? It’s renters, it’s not homeowners with resources who are being subjected to this. And workers, of course. We’re seeing more and more a hundred and something degree days in June in New York in the mountains. Who is going to be most adversely affected by that? The workers in our community, like the people who work in the Department of Public Works. You can’t just be like “Oh, a water main broke, we’ll just save it for a nicer day”. No! They have to go out there and fix it, even if it’s a hundred and ten degrees. And first responders also! It’s a hundred billion degrees out and there’s an accident on the road, you still have to be out there in the blistering heat. That’s not what humans are supposed to be dealing with. And then on the other end of things, more floods, more storms, in the winter more ice, just more unpredictable weather. It’s so scary for first responders and for our workers who keep our community going.

JENNIFER McCLELLAN

INTERVIEW BY GABRIELLE MASHKOURI

Photographed by Gabrielle Mashkouri

JENNIFER McCLELLAN, VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR DISTRICT 9

On her place of special meaning - [I chose the Black History Museum in Richmond because] when I think back of how I got interested in government and politics, it really was listening to my parents’ stories of what it was like for them. They grew up in the segregated South during Jim Crow, and where we are specifically right now, is the old Woolworth counter in a couple of booths from one of the Woolworth’s where the Civil Rights’ protests were, one of the sit-ins, so that reminds me of a couple of things: my grandfather was a lawyer for some of the students that did sit-ins in Nashville, my dad was active in the Civil Rights’ Movement, so it kind of reminds me of where I came from. But it also reminds me that I got interested in government because my love of history taught me that at its best, it’s a force for good and positive change, and helping people; but at its worst, it’s a force of oppression, and so I always ground myself in our history.

“If you just jump in and think you have all the answers, but you’re not listening to everyone who will be affected by the solution you’re trying to put in place, then you’re not really solving the problem.”

— Senator Jennifer McClellan

On learning to tell her story - I think by nature I’m a storyteller and I get that from my dad. Often when we were in church, he would weave a family story into his sermon and I watched him do that. But I had to become incredibly comfortable with who I am and because I can see how personal stories and the impact that policy has on individual people, it’s more powerful than statistics or intellectual debate and I can see those connections. Whether it’s my life or somebody else’s life, I just had to get comfortable enough with “this story’s important and this story has a point bigger than just entertaining somebody.” So I think part of it came naturally, but part of it was just “my story is relevant to somebody other than me.”

“Every issue is a women’s issue, because every issue affects women.”

— Senator Jennifer McClellan

On navigating negative comments - I stay focused on why I’m doing it. It really struck me in 2020, in particular. I mean, I always kind of intellectually knew it, but I really felt that I am fighting the same fights that my parents, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents fought and I don’t want to leave those fights to my children. So everything that I do is so my children, or your children, or everybody’s children live a better life than we did. But at the same time, you know, my kids aren’t impressed by my title or how many bills I’ve passed and so they keep me grounded and keep me from taking myself and my work too seriously because there’s a lot of problems and I could very easily get overwhelmed by how big the work is, but they keep me from getting too lost in myself.

SAFIYA WAZIR

INTERVIEW BY OLIVIA WISBEY

Holding her prized Dari-English dictionary, Representative Wazir stands in front of a building at Concord High School.

Photographed by Olivia Wisbey

SAFIYA WAZIR, NEW HAMPSHIRE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 17

On her place of special meaning - I was born in Afghanistan, and when I came to the United States from Uzbekistan, it took us a long time, about 11 years wait period that we had before settling in New Hampshire - Concord, New Hampshire, which is now my home. Immediately, I was able to come to Concord and pursue my education. It has a lot of meaning to me that I got my education here; I participated in yearbook, clubs, I ran track here, I had a little bit of athlete in me here, and the first time I ran for office back in 2018, I came back here to do my political candidate form. So it's a small world that we are coming to as a full circle, coming back here. And also, I'm very inspired by this place, because it has taught me so much and I'm connected with a lot of my teachers, just to name a few: my biology teacher, my math teacher, my ESL teachers, and some of my English teachers…This connection that I have with Concord High School, it's so important to me, and I carry it with me.

“I have education very close to my heart because without education, I don’t know what I would be. ”

— Safiya Wazir

On her first political act - My first act as a political person was becoming a US citizen. Becoming a US citizen is special to a person who becomes a US citizen through naturalization. You are taught about all the activism and all the responsibilities, but I took it deeper. I took it deeper by participating in democracy, being a voter, by searching issues that were relevant to me, and helping out organizations. Those didn’t just happen right after I became a citizen, it took some time, but it was just magical: I was eight months pregnant and became a US citizen. I knew immediately what I had to do with my certificate...now here I am, the New Hampshire House of Representatives, based on friends and families encouraging me to run, and when I did the research of who was representing me and how the dynamics worked and saw that, I immediately signed up.

“I wanted to set a tone that regardless of me being pregnant [and] mom of two, I can represent my constituents, I can multitask. And I proved that.”

— Safiya Wazir

On creating opportunities to get younger people into politics - For younger moms, we luckily passed legislation that would allow campaign funds towards childcare. That's a big success for younger moms and dads who want to pursue political careers. And I encourage a lot of young people, I have conversations with many, many young adults or moms or dads that can do this. Because if we don't hear from them, and if there's no voice of young moms or young dads in the statehouse, things will not be changing. The average age at the moment in the state house is 66. We need to change that dynamic. We need to have more young people representing. If more people represent the younger generation, we'll have more sustainability, we will have more laws that affect us day to day, rather than having older generations representing. And I know that this job is voluntary and it does take a lot of time out of us, but we are doing something good. We are passing legislation and helping the hard working families of New Hampshire.

“I’m proud of the organizations that are helping teach our younger generation about diversity and about the multicultural events that happen throughout the state.”

— Safiya Wazir

RUTH ANN GAINES

INTERVIEW BY SOPHIA WALKER

Photographed by Sophia Walker

RUTH ANN GAINES, IOWA HOUSE REPRESENATIVE DISTRICT 32

On her place of special meaning - For one thing, it is a natural setting that is really close to my house where I can immediately get to without a lot of struggle. I can regain my strength and my empowerment, and when I have lost it, it gives me comfort, solace, a place to reflect on who I have been, who I am, and who I want to be. It’s a great place.

“This is your house.”

— Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines

On younger people in the movement - That’s a big one. I always believe in starting out educating people as young as possible. So, I try to bring grade school, middle school, high school kids to the capital to teach them that they have a place here. This is your house, and you need to be informed. You need to listen to people whom you don't agree with whom you don't like so that your mind will always have the information that you need to be who you are and to vote the way you want to vote. You don't have to follow my politics just be informed and be open-minded, and I think the younger that would start like that the more open-minded kids are. I guess let me tell you this story. I first became acquainted with politics and how important politics are in our lives when I was 13. In 1960, when Jack Kennedy ran for president, and I was educated in parochial schools, and so he was the first Catholic candidate. The nuns made us watch the debates. Made us. So, I saw every single solitary debate between Nixon and Kennedy. That kind of opened me to I better pay attention to this someday because I am going to be a voting citizen. I am going to want to know what issues are important to people like me and what candidates are going to support those issues that are important to people like me. And so, I tried to do that with younger people you know sometimes quietly like with the sisters for success I don't say a lot to them, but I bring a group up every session and have many legislators on both sides talk to them and have them watch a session. Just realize that it's an important part of your life even though it may have been overshadowed by other things in your educational path. Politics is extremely important, and you have a place here.

“If you have embattled discriminatorily remarks, slander whatever because of the color of your skin this is no different but with this time you are going to endure it for a cause.”

— Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines

JOYCE CRAIG

INTERVIEW BY GILLIAN CAMPBELL

Photographed by Gillian Campbell

MAYOR JOYCE CRAIG OF MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

On her place of special meaning– I was born and raised in the city. In fact, I'm fourth-generation here, so the community means the world to me. We were photographed at Webster Elementary School because I have three children, currently, they are 24, 22, and 17. When my two oldest were young, they went to school at Webster Elementary School. At the time, I was volunteering a lot in the classroom and for activities. I was on the PTO and realized there were some issues facing our schools. There are a lot of kids per teacher in the classroom, the books that the teachers used with the kids were dated and sometimes falling apart. So, we raised money on the PTO to help; but it wasn't enough. What I decided to do was run for school board, and it's really as a result of the in-person interaction I had with students and with teachers at Webster that really pushed me to do it. It's not anything I ever would have thought I would have done. In fact, I wasn't involved in politics at all growing up or even at the time that I ran, and so that's why we were photographed there, and I really feel that it's a meaningful place because it got me started in my career of Public Service.

“For me as Mayor, I appreciate all of the work that goes into running the city, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work and collaborate with not only the community but also the city departments here.
”

— Mayor Joyce Craig

On the impact of Title Nine and athletics for women in leadership- I do think there is a correlation [between success at the ballot box and success in sports]. While I have not been running lately, I used to run marathons. I set a goal for myself to run ten consecutive Boston Marathons and did. I think I ran 13 total marathons and ten consecutive Boston's. We were talking about this during Girls and Boys State, in order to run Boston, you have to qualify, and so you have to run a certain time, and so you have to train, you to have to be ready for it. I followed the schedule and woke up early and ran what I needed to run. You can, you just have to keep that schedule and be disciplined. I think it's the same thing when you're running for office or when you hold an office– that discipline is really important. There are a lot of things that are going to come your way that you don't expect or that you don't agree with, but you've got to be disciplined and work through it and always keep the end goal in mind.

This is another thing though, if I can do it, anybody can. Seriously, because I wasn't an athlete. I tried to be an athlete in high school, and I was not, and I didn't start running until probably my mid-30s, to late 30s. I ran with girlfriends and in the community. Then I started by deciding I will run a 5k, I will run a 10K, half marathon, and I'm going to try to run a marathon, and we did it… Again if you set your sights on it and you believe you can, then you will.

“I believe a strong community has strong public schools. In order to be a strong community, we need strong public schools.”

— Mayor Joyce Craig

KARINA VILLA

INTERVIEW BY PHOENIX MINTUS

Photographed by Phoenix Mintus

KARINA VILLA, ILLINOIS STATE SENATOR DISTRICT 25

On her place of special meaning - I chose Turner Elementary School as my place of special meaning for a few different reasons. First, I went through the elementary school system right here in West Chicago. I was a proud graduate of the school system in West Chicago. When I became a school social worker, this was one of the schools that I was able to work in. I absolutely loved Turner. I was on the Board of Education as well.

““Everyone brings unique skill sets to the table.””

— Karina Villa

Her advice to women who want to run for office - Come as you are, run as you are. If you have a voice and you have a message that you sincerely believe in, find a group of people who will stand by you and take the journey with you. It's important to bring your family onboard. That doesn't always happen right away. I had a group of 20 of my closest friends over and asked them to come join me to talk about the fact that I wanted to run for state representative. And out of that group, there were maybe two who stood by my side the entire time and helped me and worked with me, long, hard, difficult hours to win a campaign. Make sure you have one or two people who are there and they're all in and believe in you, and that they're going to help you through. That's it. If you have the passion to do it and you have the work ethic to get it done, then do it. Because even if you aren't successful, it is a journey of bringing folks to the table and helping them feel like they at least have a candidate that they can vote for, because a lot of folks feel like they don't have a candidate that they can vote for. Even if you lose, it still is making a big impact in showing others that you can run for office.