October 12, 2024 • 22 mins
In part 2 of this special episode, the mayor of Tempe, AZ stopped by to discuss what a Harris-Walz presidency would look like, the impacts on life in Black America, and the importance of voting down-ballot!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Keep on riding with us as we continue to broadcast
the balance and defend the discourse from the.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hip Hop Weekly Studios.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Here on Civic Cyper, I'm your host, rams As Jow,
joined by Qward and the Mayor of timp Arizona, Corey Wood.
We are having a conversation regarding the black future of
a potential Harris administration. We thought that was very important
because black men are particularly vulnerable this time around, not
(00:27):
only to misinformation and disinformation, but disillusionment and fatigue and
the voting process, and so again we felt that this
conversation was necessary. So for today's episode, beforegoing a lot
of the segments that we would normally throw to in
favor of trying to get as much of this information
to you as possible. Of course, if you want the
(00:48):
full unredacted conversation, you can visit civicsipher dot com. And now,
without further ado, myself, rams Is joh Qward and the
mayor of tympe Arizona, Corey Woods. I want to add
one more thing right here, because we were talking about
it before we started recording. Jasmine Crockett is in another
video doing her clap back, and she pointed out and
(01:14):
I didn't even know this, but she pointed out that
Donald Trump's name is mentioned over three hundred times in
Project twenty twenty five. And so, you know, to your
point about him distancing himself and folks throwing a flag
on a play, you know, for folks who you know,
let's say that you do consume. You know, a lot
of our listeners here are conservative. This is something we know.
(01:35):
It's well established. We appreciate you listening to us because
I am not that. But it shows me that you
are open minded, those of you who identify as conservative,
and it shows me that you are critical thinkers. And
that's all that we ask of each other. I'm sure,
So you know, in thinking critically about kind of what
(01:58):
the situation at hand is and how it could impact
your life. I just feel it's important to say that
because if you're consuming content from let's say Newsmax. Not
sure if that's you, but let's just say you are,
you might hear Donald Trump repeatedly say that he doesn't
(02:18):
know anything about Project twenty twenty five. And I think
that this conversation that we're having with you, Corey Woods
is important in establishing that, no, that is not accurate.
His name is in there, and we know he loves
his own name, so his name's in there over three
hundred times. He knows what's in there. He might not
know the intricate details, as you mentioned, but you know
(02:40):
this was cultivated so that he could have a term
that would ensure a conservative some conservative momentum in perpetuity.
And I think that's my base level understanding. Well.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
And two, I'm glad you brought that point up about
having listeners who are Republicans and who identify as conservatives,
because I'm in a non partisan job where I represent
both Democrats and Republicans, as well as independents, Green Party members, libertarians,
whoever you happen to be in Tempee.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I'm the mayor for all of you.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
But what I think about what Donald Trump is attempting
to do, I don't think of it as him being
a Republican or being a conservative, because a lot of
the people that I know who are lifelong conservatives don't
recognize a lot of the stuff that he's actually talking about.
I view Project twenty twenty five and the agenda that
he's running on is frankly just maga extremism. I have
(03:33):
a lot of friends who are identify as Republicans or
registered Republicans, identify as conservatives and basically say, I don't
recognize this version of the Republican Party anymore. This is
not the same party that I join. And when I
look and see, you know, when I think about the
late John McCain from his race back in two thousand
(03:53):
and eight, or I think about when Mitt Romney was
running for president in twenty twelve, the brand of politics
that Donald Trumps is nowhere near what those two gentlemen
actually espoused. It's a when John McCain and Mitt Romney
ran for president, even though both times I voted for,
you know, for obviously President Obama, I could go to
(04:14):
bed at night thinking, if I wake up tomorrow morning
and one of these other gentleman wins, it might not
be exactly what I would have liked. And I think
they'll pursue a very different policy agenda than what I
would have personally want to do adhere to. But at
the same time, I wouldn't have been downright afraid. And
the difference with you know, with Donald Trump, is that
(04:35):
the things that he's talking about, the agenda that he's
actually pushing and Project twenty twenty five downright frightens me,
and I think it worries a lot of Americans because
and I think what people have to be also very
clear about two. When I think about former President Trump
and a lot of what he does, he has a
way of saying so much stuff and like flooding the
(04:56):
zone sometimes that people many times don't take him serious.
And that's what a lot of his you know, supporters
of the people who do pr for him will always say,
it's like, well, you know, he's he's just talking. You
know how he is. He's a showman. You know, he
was on The Apprentice and you know, you're fired and
all that stuff. But I think we have to look
at his track record. I mean, he was the one
who made these Supreme Court appointments that led to Roe
(05:19):
versus Wade being overturned, and for the first time in decades,
women in this country have fewer rights than they had
back in the nineteen seventies. So I think that people
can't afford to not take him seriously and say, oh, well,
he's just joking or he's just playing to the camera
and he didn't really mean what he just said. I
think he's proven many times over again that he means
(05:40):
exactly what he's saying. And I think that's once again,
while we have to make sure that Vice President Harris
gets elected.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I want to add something right here that might be
even additionally I should say relevant to our listeners, is that,
you know, the same Supreme Court has weakened what we
historically understood to be a protection of ours, affirmative action.
And so these are the outcomes that are shaped, maybe
(06:07):
not in perpetuity, but certainly for the next generation. And
we're kind of stuck behind the echo of Donald Trump's
presidency in a lot of ways because of that Supreme Court.
So this election is more critical than many folks know.
And Q makes this point quite a bit that you know,
(06:29):
every election we always say this is the most important
election of our lifetime. But in this instance, A, it's true,
and B we have the proof simply by as you mentioned,
looking at the Supreme Court and how it's affected women,
of course and black people. And so I think that
your point is well made. I just didn't want us
(06:52):
to get get away from that because that affirmative action
one is something we did.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Discuss absolutely, and you know, and I really do. I'm
kind of old school in a lot of ways. I
really do appreciate the concept of having two strong political
parties that can actually debate concepts and ideas. I think
it's actually really is important to the country. But what
I've seen former President Trump do is is take the
(07:19):
Republican Party in a direction that a lot of us
are not comfortable with. And I think that's why you're
also seeing a record number of people who worked for
him at one point in time, people who at some
point worked for previous Republican administrations or Republican candidates, and
a lot of folks here locally in Arizona go over
and say, look, I'm publicly endorsing Vice President Harris. I
(07:41):
would have never thought in my lifetime that I would
have seen Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney endorsing Kamala Harris.
But the reality is, I think what they see in
this situation is someone who really is a threat to democracy.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
And it's not just I.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Think their perspective is, hey, look, we can work out
some of this other stuff later. We can't let someone
back in office who's also just not going to agree
to a peaceful transition of power, who's going to try
to undermine democratic norms. As I started this whole thing
off with saying I lost my first election for public office.
I didn't try to stage a coup. I simply said
(08:18):
I lost. I didn't apparently win enough votes to get
a seat on the city Council. But I didn't try
to encourage an insurrection on Tempee City Hall, nor would
I ever so from my perspective, what occurred back on
January sixth of twenty twenty one is disqualifying behavior to
ever hold the office of president ever.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Again.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
I mean, there were people killed, There were police officers
who were killed during that point in time. And the
fact of the matter is that there are some basic
things that we would expect when it comes to upholding
our constitutional norms of this country and upholding the principles
of democracy that we all believe in. And one of
those fundamental things that I never thought I would have
to say out loud as a forty five year old
(08:59):
grown man, is you have to accept the outcome of
the election. I mean, but that is unfortunately the point
that we are at where we actually have to say that.
And so and he's already beginning to do this of
talking about, well, you know, if people don't cheat, there's
no way that I won't win. I mean, he's already
sort of sowing the seeds and laying the groundwork to
(09:22):
contest the election if he doesn't actually prevail. And so
I think that's I think that's incredibly dangerous behavior. That's
not about Republican or Democrat or progressive versus conservative. That's
about people who believe in democracy and people who just don't.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought up January sixth and so
many other examples that we would have all thought were
disqualifying but never had to be pen never had to
be put to paper to lay out that, you know,
a thirty four time convicted felon or someone who incites
a riot on our capitol would be disqualified because our
political norms would never have allowed a person like him
(09:58):
to become the president of the United State. Dates, so
as we think about you know, you talked about being
old school and having two strong parties. When I was
a child, you know, my mother's best friend was a Republican,
and the day after the election, we still ate lunch
together and we were still family because they didn't want
bad outcomes for us, you know, their family had a
different list of things they wanted out of a candidate,
(10:20):
and they voted accordingly, but they didn't consider us the enemy.
We have a former president now who points to us
and anybody who doesn't agree with everything he says as
somehow the enemy of him, therefore an enemy of the country.
So it's a very different, you know, political divide now
than when we were younger. When I was a college student,
I volunteered at the RNC with people who did not
(10:43):
vote the same way as me, but that were kind
to me and who wanted good outcomes for Americans. Again,
they had a different idea of what that meant, but
they didn't want life to be harder and more difficult
for me, even though they knew that I didn't vote
and support the same candidate that they did. As we
get towards this election, and we are now in the
(11:03):
fourth quarter, you know, we are now in crunch time
in the red zone, can you speak to us about
the importance of not just you know, who we're going
to vote for as president, but down ballot in Arizona
and nationally when we're casting our votes, how important it
is to vote Democrat.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
All the way down the ticket.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
What I tell people many times is how important local
elections are to your everyday life, because many times people
in frustration will say things like I'm going to reach
out to my congressman or I'm going to call my senator.
And I'm not saying those people aren't important. They're absolutely
critically important. But when I think about just even the
things that go on at a city level, whether or
(11:46):
not you feel safe in your community, what's the condition
of your parks, do you have enough police offices and
firefighters and human services workers in your city? I mean,
those are decisions that are made by your local city council,
and so I sometimes when you get to a four
page ballot, it's a lot of bubbling names and initiatives
(12:07):
and judges and things of that nature. The judges of
what always stumps people. That's where even I get stumped.
I'm I'm a political junkie and I'm around people and
politics all the time. But usually the judges arrive to
call some friends of mine in the legal worlds, I
need some help with this, But frankly, I know how
critically important those issues are as well where those people
are because they're determining what the judiciary looks like in
(12:28):
our state. So I tell people all the time it
really is critically important to start at the top of
your ballot, but make it all the way down to
the bottom. Whether it comes to who's running for president
or US senator, Congress, or state legislature, school board, city council, judges,
ballot initiatives, all of those things are critically important.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
To vote on.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
But I think that when I think about right now,
even let's say the state legislature, when you talk about,
you know, myself being a Democrat, I really do think
there are a lot of things that I have been
that I would like to see even in our state government,
that we've been trying to get for years. And we've
had one party control over the House of the Senate
(13:11):
locally here for decades, and I would like to see
us not be fiftieth or fifty first when it comes
to a public funding and educ for education or educated
for public education funding. And I do believe with a
Democratic House and Senate down at the state Capitol, I
think a lot of that would begin to turn around
very quickly. I know the emphasis that my friends on
(13:34):
that side of the fence very much place on public
education and making sure that not only our students, but
our teachers and administrators have the resources they need. So
I would like for us to get out of those
out of that sort of basement when it comes to
what we actually contribute to public education at our state.
The fact of the matter is too. I talk to
people in the business community on a regular basis as well,
(13:56):
who talk about how difficult did this for them to
recruit fortune five hundred employers and people to this state
when they recognize what's going on with our education system.
They're talking about relocating families with children here, and if
they look at the education system where they look at
the funding and say, a lot of folks apparently at
(14:16):
the capitol do not care about this. They may say, oh,
the taxes are lower in Arizona, but frankly, I'm not
going to My employees will not follow us to this
new location if we don't see something turn around pretty quickly.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
So they're just they're a number.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
I mean, I could probably go on and on, but
I think that if you are unhappy with the direction
of education funding in the state, as an example, it
really is critically important that you make sure to vote
in your state legislative races, and I do think the
Democratic Party has the more forward thinking, proactive view when
it comes to how we fund public education in the state.
(14:54):
And so that's why, you know, I'm out many times
knocking on doors, making phone calls, and supporting a lot
of my friends to make sure that the Democratic Party does,
you know, for once in quite some time, regains control
of the State House or the state Senator.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Frankly, from my perspective both.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Now let's shift back national before we let you go,
because I think it's important for us to make sure
that regardless of if people have, you know, kids that
attend school, regardless of people visit parks, you know, whatever,
everyone that will listen to our conversation today is a
(15:32):
citizen of this country, and by virtue of the fact
that this is capitalism, they participate in an economy. And so,
you know, we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we
didn't at least bring it up. Vice President Harris has
used the term opportunity economy, and I think that at
(15:59):
least from there I sit, it sounds special, It sounds
like something worth peeling back some of the layers. And
I know that if anyone can do that for the
benefit of our listeners. It's you, so talk to us
a bit about an opportunity economy, what she means by that,
and how it might benefit our listeners.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
So there are a few very specific things. I think
one when we talk about we talked about housing a
little bit earlier, but that obviously is a critical thing
when it comes to adding three million additional homes in
this country is really critically important when you talk about
an opportunity economy, giving everyone a chance to obtain home
ownership if that's really what they'd like to do, but
(16:36):
just providing more options in general when it comes to
housing for people of all different incomes and occupations. Her
perspective is, if you are working in honest day's work,
you should have the ability to live in this country
in a comfortable fashion and not have to worry about
where your next meal is going to come from. It's
talking about trying to find ways to ensure that there
(16:57):
isn't price gouging when you think about prescription drug costs.
I mean, there are people who desperately need some medical
I mean things as simple as I mean I take
blood pressure medication every day. I'm sort of genetically predisposed
to having from family issues to having issues with blood pressure,
So I take blood pressure medication on a daily basis.
But you know, sometimes, as we've seen that there are
(17:19):
prescription drug companies that have artificially inflated the prices of
prescription drugs that are life saving medications to people all
throughout this country. And she's really talked about a plan
to cut down on that kind of price gougeing, which
I think really is critically important. It's trying to find
a way to make sure that there are twenty five
million new small business applications during her term. There are
(17:40):
so many people, especially African Americans that I talk to
on a regular basis, who are entrepreneurial and want to
you know, they may some people want to work for
a company, and that's fine, but a lot of people
really want to strike out and do their own thing.
And I know she's really trying to find ways to
ensure that small business people get additional tax credits and
additional assistance for the federal government to make sure that
(18:01):
their dream of owning a small business or really innovating
can become a reality. And I just think generally, when
I think about her plans. She's talked a lot about
trying to find ways, like we talked about with housing,
but really to cut red tape for people who want
to open up small businesses and have an opportunity to
participate in today's economy, because sometimes, I mean sometimes, I
(18:24):
mean I see this at city Hall. If you have
a large business or a large project that you have
going on, many times you have the ability to hire,
you know, an attorney that you'll pay one thousand dollars
an hour or two who can come down to the
city council and work with city staff and they understand
what the process is and they can basically do a
lot of the work for you, provided you can actually
cut that check. But many times it's the person who's
(18:46):
the small business person who's just simply trying to get
a storefront open, who doesn't have access to those kinds
of resources, of that kind of startup capital, that really struggles.
And it's not because they're doing anything wrong, they just
don't have the ability to pay someone at a thousand
or even five hundred dollars an hour to go down
to city Hall and advocate and help them kind.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Of work through all those different processes.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
So when I think about an opportunity economy, I know
what she's really talking about is trying to find a
way to level the playing field, to make sure that
all people have the ability to not only take part
of the economy, but to achieve health and wealth, and
not just simply people who might have been either born
with money or have been handed a tremendous amount of
money down to them. But it's really making sure that
(19:28):
people from all different income levels, and all different educational levels,
and all different backgrounds really have the opportunity to achieve
if they choose to work hard, really and really put
in that time.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
And I know that's what she wants.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
It's really about a country and an America that's fairer
for all people and really making sure to level the
playing field to make sure that we all have a
fair equal chance to compete.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I'm so glad that we asked that question. You just
are a gifted orator and the way you break things down,
And obviously we've had a chance to hear you speak
several times. We had some time on the ground in DC,
and then we're from here, so we see you, you know,
from time to time, just kind of popping up at
all the events where there's an audience and they hand
(20:11):
you the microphone and you do your thing.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
So sometimes they don't even tell me. Actually that makes it. See,
at least you both told me. I knew where I
was coming to it. Sometimes I go to a place.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
One thing I've I've learned just as a as a
funny aside as Mayor is, I'll walk in places and
I'll before I get somewhere, you know, my chief of
staff or someone will ask me, you know, are.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
You do you have any speaking points? Mayor. I'm like, no,
I'm not expecting to talk at this event.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
They just said, we'll just ask them to show up,
and I'll show up somewhere, and then I'm kind of
standing off of the bat, you know, watching Its almost like, hey, Mayor,
can you come up and say if your words here?
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I'm like, I don't have anything prepared.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
So you have to learn very quickly how to have
you know, just a few things in your mind at
all times, or just sort of to constantly be aware
of your surroundings because you know, at any point in time,
someone's gonna pull you out of the crowd and say, hey,
you know, we want you to talk about our small
business that we're cutting the ribbon for. We want you
to talk about all the people that we're feeding through
meals on wheels at our community center. And you have
(21:08):
to have the ability to have enough things in your
head at all different points in time, so if someone
taps you on the shoulder or grabs you by the arm,
you have the ability to get up there and speak
confidently and obviously competently as well about all of those
different issues. So I appreciate the fact that we set
this up that I didn't just get pulled. I don't know,
because I might talk a lot, but as honestly as
(21:29):
hard if I don't know the subject matter.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
You knowled it in the immortal words of Nate Dog,
Nobody nobody does it better man, So do us a favor.
Let's let's leave everyone with you know, your social media,
just so that they can tap in and get some
more of that good game from you. Websites, all that
sort of stuff, so that we have to connect with absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
I am on Facebook, I'm on X I'm on Instagram
on Facebook. Could just find me obviously at Corey Woods
on my personal since we're talking more politics here, my
personal social media is at Corey Woods Tempee on x
and at c D Woods seven on Instagram, So I
would encourage everyone to follow me there if you want
to hear more about what I've got going on on
(22:11):
the political side, but also just to get a little
bit more insight into who I am as a human being,
because one of the things I really like to do
on my personal pages is show people more who I
am as a human but I also want people to
know where I like to go eat and frankly the
kind of music I have playing in my car when
I drive home.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
And that's going to do it for us today here
on Civic Cipher, I have been your host Rams's ja
big shout out to Qword and to Corey Woods, the
mayor of timp Arizona, for stopping through having a fantastic
conversation with us. If you want the full conversation, of course,
to yourself a favor, hit the website civiccipher dot com.
Be sure to follow us on all social media at
Civic Cipher. You can follow me at Rams's ja Q
(22:50):
and I am Qward and Corey Woods at c D
Woods seven and until next week, y'all peace,
Keep on riding with us as we continue to broadcast
the balance and defend the discourse from the.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hip Hop Weekly Studios.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Here on Civic Cyper, I'm your host, rams As Jow,
joined by Qward and the Mayor of timp Arizona, Corey Wood.
We are having a conversation regarding the black future of
a potential Harris administration. We thought that was very important
because black men are particularly vulnerable this time around, not
(00:27):
only to misinformation and disinformation, but disillusionment and fatigue and
the voting process, and so again we felt that this
conversation was necessary. So for today's episode, beforegoing a lot
of the segments that we would normally throw to in
favor of trying to get as much of this information
to you as possible. Of course, if you want the
(00:48):
full unredacted conversation, you can visit civicsipher dot com. And now,
without further ado, myself, rams Is joh Qward and the
mayor of tympe Arizona, Corey Woods. I want to add
one more thing right here, because we were talking about
it before we started recording. Jasmine Crockett is in another
video doing her clap back, and she pointed out and
(01:14):
I didn't even know this, but she pointed out that
Donald Trump's name is mentioned over three hundred times in
Project twenty twenty five. And so, you know, to your
point about him distancing himself and folks throwing a flag
on a play, you know, for folks who you know,
let's say that you do consume. You know, a lot
of our listeners here are conservative. This is something we know.
(01:35):
It's well established. We appreciate you listening to us because
I am not that. But it shows me that you
are open minded, those of you who identify as conservative,
and it shows me that you are critical thinkers. And
that's all that we ask of each other. I'm sure,
So you know, in thinking critically about kind of what
(01:58):
the situation at hand is and how it could impact
your life. I just feel it's important to say that
because if you're consuming content from let's say Newsmax. Not
sure if that's you, but let's just say you are,
you might hear Donald Trump repeatedly say that he doesn't
(02:18):
know anything about Project twenty twenty five. And I think
that this conversation that we're having with you, Corey Woods
is important in establishing that, no, that is not accurate.
His name is in there, and we know he loves
his own name, so his name's in there over three
hundred times. He knows what's in there. He might not
know the intricate details, as you mentioned, but you know
(02:40):
this was cultivated so that he could have a term
that would ensure a conservative some conservative momentum in perpetuity.
And I think that's my base level understanding. Well.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
And two, I'm glad you brought that point up about
having listeners who are Republicans and who identify as conservatives,
because I'm in a non partisan job where I represent
both Democrats and Republicans, as well as independents, Green Party members, libertarians,
whoever you happen to be in Tempee.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I'm the mayor for all of you.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
But what I think about what Donald Trump is attempting
to do, I don't think of it as him being
a Republican or being a conservative, because a lot of
the people that I know who are lifelong conservatives don't
recognize a lot of the stuff that he's actually talking about.
I view Project twenty twenty five and the agenda that
he's running on is frankly just maga extremism. I have
(03:33):
a lot of friends who are identify as Republicans or
registered Republicans, identify as conservatives and basically say, I don't
recognize this version of the Republican Party anymore. This is
not the same party that I join. And when I
look and see, you know, when I think about the
late John McCain from his race back in two thousand
(03:53):
and eight, or I think about when Mitt Romney was
running for president in twenty twelve, the brand of politics
that Donald Trumps is nowhere near what those two gentlemen
actually espoused. It's a when John McCain and Mitt Romney
ran for president, even though both times I voted for,
you know, for obviously President Obama, I could go to
(04:14):
bed at night thinking, if I wake up tomorrow morning
and one of these other gentleman wins, it might not
be exactly what I would have liked. And I think
they'll pursue a very different policy agenda than what I
would have personally want to do adhere to. But at
the same time, I wouldn't have been downright afraid. And
the difference with you know, with Donald Trump, is that
(04:35):
the things that he's talking about, the agenda that he's
actually pushing and Project twenty twenty five downright frightens me,
and I think it worries a lot of Americans because
and I think what people have to be also very
clear about two. When I think about former President Trump
and a lot of what he does, he has a
way of saying so much stuff and like flooding the
(04:56):
zone sometimes that people many times don't take him serious.
And that's what a lot of his you know, supporters
of the people who do pr for him will always say,
it's like, well, you know, he's he's just talking. You
know how he is. He's a showman. You know, he
was on The Apprentice and you know, you're fired and
all that stuff. But I think we have to look
at his track record. I mean, he was the one
who made these Supreme Court appointments that led to Roe
(05:19):
versus Wade being overturned, and for the first time in decades,
women in this country have fewer rights than they had
back in the nineteen seventies. So I think that people
can't afford to not take him seriously and say, oh, well,
he's just joking or he's just playing to the camera
and he didn't really mean what he just said. I
think he's proven many times over again that he means
(05:40):
exactly what he's saying. And I think that's once again,
while we have to make sure that Vice President Harris
gets elected.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I want to add something right here that might be
even additionally I should say relevant to our listeners, is that,
you know, the same Supreme Court has weakened what we
historically understood to be a protection of ours, affirmative action.
And so these are the outcomes that are shaped, maybe
(06:07):
not in perpetuity, but certainly for the next generation. And
we're kind of stuck behind the echo of Donald Trump's
presidency in a lot of ways because of that Supreme Court.
So this election is more critical than many folks know.
And Q makes this point quite a bit that you know,
(06:29):
every election we always say this is the most important
election of our lifetime. But in this instance, A, it's true,
and B we have the proof simply by as you mentioned,
looking at the Supreme Court and how it's affected women,
of course and black people. And so I think that
your point is well made. I just didn't want us
(06:52):
to get get away from that because that affirmative action
one is something we did.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Discuss absolutely, and you know, and I really do. I'm
kind of old school in a lot of ways. I
really do appreciate the concept of having two strong political
parties that can actually debate concepts and ideas. I think
it's actually really is important to the country. But what
I've seen former President Trump do is is take the
(07:19):
Republican Party in a direction that a lot of us
are not comfortable with. And I think that's why you're
also seeing a record number of people who worked for
him at one point in time, people who at some
point worked for previous Republican administrations or Republican candidates, and
a lot of folks here locally in Arizona go over
and say, look, I'm publicly endorsing Vice President Harris. I
(07:41):
would have never thought in my lifetime that I would
have seen Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney endorsing Kamala Harris.
But the reality is, I think what they see in
this situation is someone who really is a threat to democracy.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
And it's not just I.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Think their perspective is, hey, look, we can work out
some of this other stuff later. We can't let someone
back in office who's also just not going to agree
to a peaceful transition of power, who's going to try
to undermine democratic norms. As I started this whole thing
off with saying I lost my first election for public office.
I didn't try to stage a coup. I simply said
(08:18):
I lost. I didn't apparently win enough votes to get
a seat on the city Council. But I didn't try
to encourage an insurrection on Tempee City Hall, nor would
I ever so from my perspective, what occurred back on
January sixth of twenty twenty one is disqualifying behavior to
ever hold the office of president ever.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Again.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
I mean, there were people killed, There were police officers
who were killed during that point in time. And the
fact of the matter is that there are some basic
things that we would expect when it comes to upholding
our constitutional norms of this country and upholding the principles
of democracy that we all believe in. And one of
those fundamental things that I never thought I would have
to say out loud as a forty five year old
(08:59):
grown man, is you have to accept the outcome of
the election. I mean, but that is unfortunately the point
that we are at where we actually have to say that.
And so and he's already beginning to do this of
talking about, well, you know, if people don't cheat, there's
no way that I won't win. I mean, he's already
sort of sowing the seeds and laying the groundwork to
(09:22):
contest the election if he doesn't actually prevail. And so
I think that's I think that's incredibly dangerous behavior. That's
not about Republican or Democrat or progressive versus conservative. That's
about people who believe in democracy and people who just don't.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought up January sixth and so
many other examples that we would have all thought were
disqualifying but never had to be pen never had to
be put to paper to lay out that, you know,
a thirty four time convicted felon or someone who incites
a riot on our capitol would be disqualified because our
political norms would never have allowed a person like him
(09:58):
to become the president of the United State. Dates, so
as we think about you know, you talked about being
old school and having two strong parties. When I was
a child, you know, my mother's best friend was a Republican,
and the day after the election, we still ate lunch
together and we were still family because they didn't want
bad outcomes for us, you know, their family had a
different list of things they wanted out of a candidate,
(10:20):
and they voted accordingly, but they didn't consider us the enemy.
We have a former president now who points to us
and anybody who doesn't agree with everything he says as
somehow the enemy of him, therefore an enemy of the country.
So it's a very different, you know, political divide now
than when we were younger. When I was a college student,
I volunteered at the RNC with people who did not
(10:43):
vote the same way as me, but that were kind
to me and who wanted good outcomes for Americans. Again,
they had a different idea of what that meant, but
they didn't want life to be harder and more difficult
for me, even though they knew that I didn't vote
and support the same candidate that they did. As we
get towards this election, and we are now in the
(11:03):
fourth quarter, you know, we are now in crunch time
in the red zone, can you speak to us about
the importance of not just you know, who we're going
to vote for as president, but down ballot in Arizona
and nationally when we're casting our votes, how important it
is to vote Democrat.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
All the way down the ticket.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
What I tell people many times is how important local
elections are to your everyday life, because many times people
in frustration will say things like I'm going to reach
out to my congressman or I'm going to call my senator.
And I'm not saying those people aren't important. They're absolutely
critically important. But when I think about just even the
things that go on at a city level, whether or
(11:46):
not you feel safe in your community, what's the condition
of your parks, do you have enough police offices and
firefighters and human services workers in your city? I mean,
those are decisions that are made by your local city council,
and so I sometimes when you get to a four
page ballot, it's a lot of bubbling names and initiatives
(12:07):
and judges and things of that nature. The judges of
what always stumps people. That's where even I get stumped.
I'm I'm a political junkie and I'm around people and
politics all the time. But usually the judges arrive to
call some friends of mine in the legal worlds, I
need some help with this, But frankly, I know how
critically important those issues are as well where those people
are because they're determining what the judiciary looks like in
(12:28):
our state. So I tell people all the time it
really is critically important to start at the top of
your ballot, but make it all the way down to
the bottom. Whether it comes to who's running for president
or US senator, Congress, or state legislature, school board, city council, judges,
ballot initiatives, all of those things are critically important.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
To vote on.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
But I think that when I think about right now,
even let's say the state legislature, when you talk about,
you know, myself being a Democrat, I really do think
there are a lot of things that I have been
that I would like to see even in our state government,
that we've been trying to get for years. And we've
had one party control over the House of the Senate
(13:11):
locally here for decades, and I would like to see
us not be fiftieth or fifty first when it comes
to a public funding and educ for education or educated
for public education funding. And I do believe with a
Democratic House and Senate down at the state Capitol, I
think a lot of that would begin to turn around
very quickly. I know the emphasis that my friends on
(13:34):
that side of the fence very much place on public
education and making sure that not only our students, but
our teachers and administrators have the resources they need. So
I would like for us to get out of those
out of that sort of basement when it comes to
what we actually contribute to public education at our state.
The fact of the matter is too. I talk to
people in the business community on a regular basis as well,
(13:56):
who talk about how difficult did this for them to
recruit fortune five hundred employers and people to this state
when they recognize what's going on with our education system.
They're talking about relocating families with children here, and if
they look at the education system where they look at
the funding and say, a lot of folks apparently at
(14:16):
the capitol do not care about this. They may say, oh,
the taxes are lower in Arizona, but frankly, I'm not
going to My employees will not follow us to this
new location if we don't see something turn around pretty quickly.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
So they're just they're a number.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
I mean, I could probably go on and on, but
I think that if you are unhappy with the direction
of education funding in the state, as an example, it
really is critically important that you make sure to vote
in your state legislative races, and I do think the
Democratic Party has the more forward thinking, proactive view when
it comes to how we fund public education in the state.
(14:54):
And so that's why, you know, I'm out many times
knocking on doors, making phone calls, and supporting a lot
of my friends to make sure that the Democratic Party does,
you know, for once in quite some time, regains control
of the State House or the state Senator.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Frankly, from my perspective both.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Now let's shift back national before we let you go,
because I think it's important for us to make sure
that regardless of if people have, you know, kids that
attend school, regardless of people visit parks, you know, whatever,
everyone that will listen to our conversation today is a
(15:32):
citizen of this country, and by virtue of the fact
that this is capitalism, they participate in an economy. And so,
you know, we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we
didn't at least bring it up. Vice President Harris has
used the term opportunity economy, and I think that at
(15:59):
least from there I sit, it sounds special, It sounds
like something worth peeling back some of the layers. And
I know that if anyone can do that for the
benefit of our listeners. It's you, so talk to us
a bit about an opportunity economy, what she means by that,
and how it might benefit our listeners.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
So there are a few very specific things. I think
one when we talk about we talked about housing a
little bit earlier, but that obviously is a critical thing
when it comes to adding three million additional homes in
this country is really critically important when you talk about
an opportunity economy, giving everyone a chance to obtain home
ownership if that's really what they'd like to do, but
(16:36):
just providing more options in general when it comes to
housing for people of all different incomes and occupations. Her
perspective is, if you are working in honest day's work,
you should have the ability to live in this country
in a comfortable fashion and not have to worry about
where your next meal is going to come from. It's
talking about trying to find ways to ensure that there
(16:57):
isn't price gouging when you think about prescription drug costs.
I mean, there are people who desperately need some medical
I mean things as simple as I mean I take
blood pressure medication every day. I'm sort of genetically predisposed
to having from family issues to having issues with blood pressure,
So I take blood pressure medication on a daily basis.
But you know, sometimes, as we've seen that there are
(17:19):
prescription drug companies that have artificially inflated the prices of
prescription drugs that are life saving medications to people all
throughout this country. And she's really talked about a plan
to cut down on that kind of price gougeing, which
I think really is critically important. It's trying to find
a way to make sure that there are twenty five
million new small business applications during her term. There are
(17:40):
so many people, especially African Americans that I talk to
on a regular basis, who are entrepreneurial and want to
you know, they may some people want to work for
a company, and that's fine, but a lot of people
really want to strike out and do their own thing.
And I know she's really trying to find ways to
ensure that small business people get additional tax credits and
additional assistance for the federal government to make sure that
(18:01):
their dream of owning a small business or really innovating
can become a reality. And I just think generally, when
I think about her plans. She's talked a lot about
trying to find ways, like we talked about with housing,
but really to cut red tape for people who want
to open up small businesses and have an opportunity to
participate in today's economy, because sometimes, I mean sometimes, I
(18:24):
mean I see this at city Hall. If you have
a large business or a large project that you have
going on, many times you have the ability to hire,
you know, an attorney that you'll pay one thousand dollars
an hour or two who can come down to the
city council and work with city staff and they understand
what the process is and they can basically do a
lot of the work for you, provided you can actually
cut that check. But many times it's the person who's
(18:46):
the small business person who's just simply trying to get
a storefront open, who doesn't have access to those kinds
of resources, of that kind of startup capital, that really struggles.
And it's not because they're doing anything wrong, they just
don't have the ability to pay someone at a thousand
or even five hundred dollars an hour to go down
to city Hall and advocate and help them kind.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Of work through all those different processes.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
So when I think about an opportunity economy, I know
what she's really talking about is trying to find a
way to level the playing field, to make sure that
all people have the ability to not only take part
of the economy, but to achieve health and wealth, and
not just simply people who might have been either born
with money or have been handed a tremendous amount of
money down to them. But it's really making sure that
(19:28):
people from all different income levels, and all different educational levels,
and all different backgrounds really have the opportunity to achieve
if they choose to work hard, really and really put
in that time.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
And I know that's what she wants.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
It's really about a country and an America that's fairer
for all people and really making sure to level the
playing field to make sure that we all have a
fair equal chance to compete.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I'm so glad that we asked that question. You just
are a gifted orator and the way you break things down,
And obviously we've had a chance to hear you speak
several times. We had some time on the ground in DC,
and then we're from here, so we see you, you know,
from time to time, just kind of popping up at
all the events where there's an audience and they hand
(20:11):
you the microphone and you do your thing.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
So sometimes they don't even tell me. Actually that makes it. See,
at least you both told me. I knew where I
was coming to it. Sometimes I go to a place.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
One thing I've I've learned just as a as a
funny aside as Mayor is, I'll walk in places and
I'll before I get somewhere, you know, my chief of
staff or someone will ask me, you know, are.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
You do you have any speaking points? Mayor. I'm like, no,
I'm not expecting to talk at this event.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
They just said, we'll just ask them to show up,
and I'll show up somewhere, and then I'm kind of
standing off of the bat, you know, watching Its almost like, hey, Mayor,
can you come up and say if your words here?
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I'm like, I don't have anything prepared.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
So you have to learn very quickly how to have
you know, just a few things in your mind at
all times, or just sort of to constantly be aware
of your surroundings because you know, at any point in time,
someone's gonna pull you out of the crowd and say, hey,
you know, we want you to talk about our small
business that we're cutting the ribbon for. We want you
to talk about all the people that we're feeding through
meals on wheels at our community center. And you have
(21:08):
to have the ability to have enough things in your
head at all different points in time, so if someone
taps you on the shoulder or grabs you by the arm,
you have the ability to get up there and speak
confidently and obviously competently as well about all of those
different issues. So I appreciate the fact that we set
this up that I didn't just get pulled. I don't know,
because I might talk a lot, but as honestly as
(21:29):
hard if I don't know the subject matter.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
You knowled it in the immortal words of Nate Dog,
Nobody nobody does it better man, So do us a favor.
Let's let's leave everyone with you know, your social media,
just so that they can tap in and get some
more of that good game from you. Websites, all that
sort of stuff, so that we have to connect with absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
I am on Facebook, I'm on X I'm on Instagram
on Facebook. Could just find me obviously at Corey Woods
on my personal since we're talking more politics here, my
personal social media is at Corey Woods Tempee on x
and at c D Woods seven on Instagram, So I
would encourage everyone to follow me there if you want
to hear more about what I've got going on on
(22:11):
the political side, but also just to get a little
bit more insight into who I am as a human being,
because one of the things I really like to do
on my personal pages is show people more who I
am as a human but I also want people to
know where I like to go eat and frankly the
kind of music I have playing in my car when
I drive home.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
And that's going to do it for us today here
on Civic Cipher, I have been your host Rams's ja
big shout out to Qword and to Corey Woods, the
mayor of timp Arizona, for stopping through having a fantastic
conversation with us. If you want the full conversation, of course,
to yourself a favor, hit the website civiccipher dot com.
Be sure to follow us on all social media at
Civic Cipher. You can follow me at Rams's ja Q
(22:50):
and I am Qward and Corey Woods at c D
Woods seven and until next week, y'all peace,
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