August 27, 2024 • 20 mins
In this special episode, Liz sits down with Texas State Representative Julie Johnson, who is now running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Dallas, Texas. Rather than delving into politics and policy, this conversation focuses on Julie's heart, humanity, and the personal stories that shaped her.
Julie shares her background as the first openly LGBTQ member of the Texas Congress, her love for her family's farm, and the special memories that ground her. The discussion highlights the unique culture of Texas, the importance of living one's truth, and the value of perseverance. Julie also talks about her journey through different states, her supportive family, and the mentors who influenced her path.
Join us for an engaging and heartfelt conversation that reveals the person behind the politician. Don't miss out on getting to know the real Julie Johnson and the inspiring journey that brought her to where she is today.
Remember to subscribe for more exclusive content and updates on new episodes. Let's connect over coffee every Tuesday!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:11):
I'm Liz Hirschnoff-Tolley, and welcome to the Capital Coffee Connection podcast.
And I am really excited today. I have a very special guest, Texas State Rep.
Julie Johnson, and she is now running for the U.S. House of Representatives
in the area of Dallas, Texas.
And we're not going to discuss politics and policy. We are going to talk about
her heart, her humanity, the home she comes from, and the hope she has.
(00:35):
And this podcast is pretty much for us to really get to know the people who
are our elected leaders, and to know them for who they are as characters and as people.
So many times we think of people as just politicians, but if you get to know
them, you can understand who
they are behind the actual job that they do and why they do their jobs.
Julie is the first openly LGBTQ member of the Texas Congress.
(00:59):
And I always like to say it's good to be the first, but should never be the last.
I just want to say welcome and thank you for joining me. Thank you so much for
having me. I know a little bit about you, but we're going to learn more.
And I know that you're your happy place is your farm and riding around in a tractor.
And I know you're laughing, but you know, my childhood was my father had a tractor
(01:21):
and we had a small ranch and my father would drive around the tractor all weekend.
He'd work really hard all week. And on the weekends, his happy place was the
ranch and driving around this big yellow tractor.
And back then we didn't have like these rules, but he would put the kids,
little kids and little scooper in the front.
And he he would lift us up and he would drive around.
(01:42):
I mean, you couldn't do that today, but it was one of my happy,
my happy memories was seeing him there and having that opportunity.
So I just wanted to say, you know, if you'd like to talk about your tractor
at all or what you do in your ranch.
Well, yeah. So my, my grandfather, you know, a big cattle man and farmer in
Kansas, and we inherited a bunch of land from him.
(02:04):
And my mother was actually born on this land.
So it's a good fortune to be able to finally build kind of a family house there for us all to go to.
So we've been spending some time there of late and it's super fun to kind of get back to the open sky.
You know, I go there and it has a 50 mile vista with not a single piece of concrete.
(02:27):
Amazing. You know, and so you can see forever just the biggest sky,
the biggest sunset, the biggest sunrise and clean air.
And it's just a way and a place to...
To clear out and to think and to kind of regroup and get grounded.
Yeah. And that's a little bit about Texas, which is you have the big cities,
but you have so much open area and farming.
(02:50):
And can you talk a little bit about the people of Texas, what makes them special
and what makes Texas unique?
Texas is an amazing place. You know, it's this interesting mix of attitude,
bravado, pride about being a Texan. And it's just a very interesting mindset that we have.
(03:11):
You know, if you're a Texan, you do believe that Texas is the best place.
We have the best steaks, the best barbecue, the best culture,
best boots, best beer, best lots of things.
And it's a great place and a great constituency and a great people.
Yeah. And you grew up exactly where in Texas?
(03:31):
Well, actually, I was born in Kansas City. My parents are both from Kansas.
And my father was a university professor.
And so we moved around. And my first move lived in Texas when I moved there when I was seven.
And he taught at the University of Houston. We lived in Houston.
And then he went to Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. I graduated from high school there.
(03:53):
And then I came back to Texas for college. I went to UT.
And I've been in Texas ever since. Went to law school and I've been living in
Dallas for 33 years practicing law.
Wow. You really grew up a lot in a lot of places.
Yeah. Yeah. And do you think that added to who you are in terms of being able
to be flexible and move around?
Well, absolutely. I mean, the culture in the deep South in Alabama,
(04:16):
for example, is very different than the culture in Kansas City. And I've
We also did a little stint in Michigan. And so I've been kind of all over.
And yes, I think it makes you realize that we are very different people. We can be.
There's a big difference from a New Yorker, from somebody from a Texan, for example.
(04:36):
But we also have so much in common. And so you appreciate the differences and
embrace the commonality.
I think that should be a theme throughout our country, which is to accept people
for being different, but then find commonality and appreciate people for their differences.
For sure. Yeah. So I understand that when you won your election on election
night, your parents and your family came and their comment was they wanted to
(05:00):
watch you, Julie, make history.
How did that make you feel? I was so proud. You know, I think every child wants
to make their parents proud, right?
That's a common thing for children across the world. And so it was,
I'm very blessed that my parents are still with us and that they were able to
see that and be part of that.
And, you know, they campaign, they work the polls. They're fierce.
(05:22):
There's nothing like my, you know, 83 and 85 year old parents work in those
polls. They shall not be denied. Oh, no.
And the pride in which they take when they sell, you know, they talk about their daughter.
Absolutely. You know, they're like, will you vote for my daughter?
And, you know, everybody's always nice to them. I wonder if people,
you know, think, Are you really their parent?
Are you just calling or are you really their mom?
(05:44):
Are you really the mom? Yeah, just to be clear. Yeah. They own it and they're just thrilled.
And, you know, like any parent, you know, I have two sons. And any parent,
you want to see your children succeed in the dreams that they pursue.
And my parents are no different. Yeah.
First, about being, you know, your two sons and your wife, Sue,
and how does she balance with everything and the kids and you because your job, it takes a lot of time.
(06:11):
And once you go to DC, you're also traveling a lot.
And how does that work for you and for her? Because you have to obviously figure
out the dynamics. Right.
Well, I'm fortunate in that my kids were older when I got into politics.
So when I first ran for office in 2018, my oldest son was a freshman in college
and my youngest son was a sophomore in high school and could drive himself.
(06:34):
And that was part of the calculus of me not running earlier when my kids were younger.
And so they're now 21 and 24. And now they just think it's cool and that their
mother is going to go to Congress.
They think that's pretty exciting. and my wife is just
amazing and she is a physician
a gastroenterologist and she just retired a
(06:54):
couple months ago and so her schedule is free to support
and travel with me and be on this journey with me which which makes it a lot
more fun and a lot less stressful because that's one of the hardest things especially
with people with young families trying to balance that work-life balance that
is so hard for people and in my situation a lot of those pressures are lifted
(07:15):
which is really nice yeah Yeah.
So let me go back a little bit about the school and different schools that you went to.
Did you have a teacher or a specific person in your young life outside of your
family that was a mentor or gave you something special that is still you carry
with you, obviously, you know, through your career, but now as a leader?
Absolutely. You know, my high school government teacher, Elaine Rutledge, she was very impactful.
(07:41):
You know, she took me through the young students that go to the Capitol and play legislator.
I did that in the state of Alabama and made an advance to do that.
And it was my first taste into what it's like in politics.
And I've never forgotten that moment when I was very first selected to.
To realize, I cannot believe all those years ago, I got to go play politics
(08:03):
for my high school week, you know, and here I am actually elected with my own
office and my own opportunity to contribute.
It's not been lost on me that it's been a long arc of interest.
And I think that people have those stories where you do something in high school
and then it ends up being maybe who you are or what you use later on.
So I think it's beautiful. It's a testament to the value of a great education.
(08:25):
And you never know what's going to spark.
And you never know when you as an influencer are going to spark that in some young person.
And that's the power of education and what a great thing it is.
Yeah. And inspirational teachers, which is really special.
Okay. What was your first job?
I think a lot of leaders have these first jobs that aren't that,
(08:46):
they're sort of like, oh God, that was my first job, but it led to who I am
as well today. Well, I kind of had two in some respects.
My mother, both my parents were music teachers.
And so when I was in high school, I was your backup music teacher.
I taught piano lessons one day a week to about to six-year-olds. I was half price.
(09:06):
So I did that.
But my first job that I actually had to go and apply for and fill out an application
and do the things was I worked for a summer at Wendy's in Auburn, Alabama. that one.
And that taught you a lot.
Oh yeah. I'd get up at 6am and go in there and open up and yeah, I worked hard.
(09:27):
What is the worst advice you ever received and the best advice you ever received?
I don't know the worst advice. I think the best advice has always been find
your truth and stay to it.
I guess probably the worst advice is to that I probably should not come out
as gay is a lesbian and I needed to hide that in order to be successful in business.
(09:49):
That's very bad advice. The best advice is the exact opposite of that.
When you live your truth and you're in your honest place, the best of you comes out.
Yeah. I like that. And also I was thinking, like when I was preparing,
I was thinking about these, like who you are and that you have shown through
your life that you just keep pushing. You don't want to have a regret.
(10:10):
You don't want want to look back and go, oh, I didn't try something.
And I found this quote and I grew up and I'm sure you did watching I Love Lucy.
Okay. And so there's a Lucille Ball quote, which I thought was great.
And I'd love your thoughts on it. She said, I'd rather regret the things I've
done than regret the things I haven't done. Oh, yeah.
(10:31):
I think that's right. Because so many people don't have the self-confidence
to push and to try and to be vulnerable to.
Be out there. When you run for public office, it is one of the hardest, most exposing things.
All of your self-protection mechanisms go away and you are out there.
(10:52):
And with social media now, people are so hateful and they say the most terrible
things and you have to be able to shut that out and risk people not voting for you and losing.
And what does that feel like? Like, and all the emotional things that put you through there.
But I think that you have to always be willing to try and willing to push yourself
(11:14):
forward and great things will come and you learn from them.
Yeah. And it's been a great experience for me.
Yeah. And I hope that people who are listening, whether they're children or
young people, especially listen and hear like your journey, it wasn't easy and
you had to make tough choices and you had to follow your passion and your heart and who you are.
Oh, sure. And I think that, like you said, people are so intimidated,
(11:37):
one, to put themselves out there, but there's a lot of cruelty in social media and in society.
And part of the reason why I love this podcast is because we get to have these
authentic conversations and there's no gotcha moments.
And it's really to show the best of someone's true self. So thank you for sharing.
Well, you know, I always have been interested in politics and it's been involved in a variety of ways.
(11:59):
But I never thought that as a lesbian in Dallas, Texas, that I could ever win.
I never thought they're never going to vote for me.
And it held me back. My own hesitations held me back.
And then finally, in 2018, I made that decision to run for the state legislature.
(12:19):
And I was very anxious about it. Can I win? Can I do this?
And I know this isn't really about politics, but I'm the first Democrat to hold
my seat in 40 years. I didn't know if I could win. Wow.
That's interesting. And especially as an out gay person in Dallas, Texas.
And not only did I win, but I crushed it. And so it was so satisfying.
(12:40):
It was such a statement for other people that don't be your own limiting factor.
Don't put all these barriers of, oh, I can never do it. Don't make all those assumptions.
Because if you work hard and you're authentic and people can see that you care,
they're going to support you. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that.
(13:01):
Okay. So now people are going to get to know more about who you really are.
I have some rapid I put questions and love to just hear what your answers are
and one word or a few sentences, however you choose.
Start easy. What is your favorite color? Blue. What is your favorite sound?
I love easy. What is your favorite smell?
Flowers. And who is your biggest cheerleader? My mother.
(13:22):
So if you were stuck on a deserted island and you could have one meal,
what meal would you wish for? Tacos.
What kind? Just regular tacos? I love tacos. Okay. Who doesn't love tacos?
I love tacos, but I'm vegan. So I, my taco is different than your taco.
You know, tell me a little bit about like, what would be, if you could choose
like your favorite ice cream?
Oh, my favorite ice cream is Jenny's brown butter almond brittle.
(13:45):
Jenny's is this woman who started this ice cream. She actually got the James
beard for ice cream. It's amazing.
Oh, wow. Her brown almond butter brittle ice cream is insane. Okay.
Mound with brown almond. Brown almond butter brittle.
Can you say that 10 times fast? Well, we've just done a plug for her.
(14:07):
Ice cream. It's so good. Favorite drink?
Macallan on the rocks. Do you find that it's something that you can,
you know, have a drink with your colleagues on both sides? Sure.
To have that like conversation with people. And again, it's not politics,
but it's just connectivity with everybody you work with, especially in Texas.
And just having a time to spend a moment, having a cocktail.
(14:31):
It just creates a more relaxed environment to have conversations to break through frequency barriers.
You said earlier your sound is music. What kind of music do you listen to?
I listen to all different genres of music. You know, both my parents were musicians.
I sang with the Dallas Symphony Chorus for many years. I'm on the board of the
Dallas Symphony right now. So I love classical music. I love jazz. I love pop.
(14:53):
But, you know, I'm an 80s kid. So I'm an 80s. I'll do Name That Tune on 80s
music all day long. And you probably are good at it.
Well, yeah, that's my time. Yeah, exactly.
What would you say is your favorite household chore?
Working in my garden. What do you have in your garden these days?
I do jalapenos. I have some tomatoes I just harvested a bunch of.
(15:16):
Lots of herbs. I have some potatoes and some onions in there right now.
And I love to garden. I love to vegetable garden. It's so satisfying to plant
a plant, grow something, harvest it, and then cook it.
Yeah. And so healthy. Yeah. Yeah. What is your superpower? What is Julie's superpower?
I always joke with my sisters that we have a very strong suck it up and coke gene.
(15:40):
And that it just means that you can persevere and file through.
Yeah. You know, life is really hard sometimes.
And it's very easy to wah, wah, wah, and lay in bed and pull the covers over
your head and just not want to face life.
You have to have the ability to push through and do the things you don't want
(16:04):
to do and keep going and try to just keep all the balls in the air. Yeah.
And just management of time. You know, it's really hard to do,
but I think I do a pretty good job.
That's a power. I mean, it's not easy.
Where in the world have you dreamed to travel and you haven't been yet?
Australia, New Zealand. And I understand that you travel with your parents each
(16:25):
year and you take them somewhere. So where have you been and where are you going?
Well, we're going to go to Alaska here in August.
My father, it's his 85th birthday. He's always wanted to go.
And so my sons are going we're going fishing and wow
take them halibut and salmon fishing yeah my my
parents love to travel you know i i
am what i am because my parents sacrificed so much for
(16:49):
us my sisters and i to get an education and so i'm very blessed in my life i've
worked really hard and so one of the ways i kind of pay that back is to i take
them on a nice trip every year and we just look forward to it it's why i'm convinced
it's why my mother's still alive because she's never going to miss that next trip.
Exactly. It's FOMO. I am not not going to be there.
(17:11):
I'm done. Yeah. So it was like, as long as I have that on the books for her
to look forward to, because your anticipation.
Is almost more important than the thing itself. I agree. I agree.
And the excitement of knowing you're going. That's right.
And there's just a lot about that anticipation of something to create that.
That's something to be excited about, to talk about, and to look forward to.
(17:33):
And so, you know, I get my sometimes daily call or email, hey,
what about this? Have you seen this?
And just with my folks being so excited about whatever is on the books next.
And it's a lot of fun to be able to provide that.
And just to be proud of like that, what you've accomplished,
I think probably is also something that gives them a reason to want to keep
(17:55):
being here to see what you're going to do next. Oh, maybe.
Yeah. So I'd love to end on this question, which is, and I've asked this question
quite to everybody, which is what does joy mean to you? What brings you joy?
And how do you share your joy with others? I love to cook.
Food is my love language. I love to cook. I love to have, you know,
(18:18):
people over for dinner and have a wonderful meal with great conversation,
lots of laughs, table time, table talk where you sit around and talk for a long time and just...
Share community and love it with my family and with my close friends.
And so I love to do that. I love to go harvest something out of my garden,
(18:41):
figure out what I'm going to cook or go to the market and see what's in season
and figure something out and prepare.
I love the act of preparing a wonderful meal and then sharing that with people
I care about. Yeah. Well, it's beautiful.
And I think, again, we sometimes forget that that is really what is the most important thing,
which is taking time to be with people we love yeah we're so
(19:03):
busy fighting and running and and making sure that you
know we we get everything off our to-do list and sometimes
it's just going outside and picking the stuff
from our own garden that we've cultivated and given love
to right and then it's immediate gratification it's a one day yeah it's not
something i have to commit to forever but i you know i also love nature i love
(19:25):
i love the beach i love i can stare at the ocean forever and beautiful places
just to sit and be thoughtful,
express my gratitude for all the blessings I have.
Well, on that, we're going to end because I think that is a beautiful way to
end and expressing our gratitude and being appreciative of what we have.
(19:46):
And I am very appreciative to have this time to be with you in person and for
us to have some coffee together.
And I thank you. I look forward to watching your journey.
I'll let your parents watch up close. I'm going to watch from afar.
Far, but thank you for sharing and thank you for telling your stories.
And I really believe that by sharing our stories that we actually can bring people together.
(20:07):
Absolutely. Thanks for the opportunity. You know, I think this is what a powerful
expression for people to realize we're all just people trying to do the best
we can and to have this format to do that. It's great.
Music.
So
Hi, it's Liz. Please join me every Tuesday for coffee to talk about heart and
(20:29):
humanity with our elected leaders.
Remember to hit subscribe to get an alert when a new episode is live and for
exclusive content. Ciao.
Music.
(00:11):
I'm Liz Hirschnoff-Tolley, and welcome to the Capital Coffee Connection podcast.
And I am really excited today. I have a very special guest, Texas State Rep.
Julie Johnson, and she is now running for the U.S. House of Representatives
in the area of Dallas, Texas.
And we're not going to discuss politics and policy. We are going to talk about
her heart, her humanity, the home she comes from, and the hope she has.
(00:35):
And this podcast is pretty much for us to really get to know the people who
are our elected leaders, and to know them for who they are as characters and as people.
So many times we think of people as just politicians, but if you get to know
them, you can understand who
they are behind the actual job that they do and why they do their jobs.
Julie is the first openly LGBTQ member of the Texas Congress.
(00:59):
And I always like to say it's good to be the first, but should never be the last.
I just want to say welcome and thank you for joining me. Thank you so much for
having me. I know a little bit about you, but we're going to learn more.
And I know that you're your happy place is your farm and riding around in a tractor.
And I know you're laughing, but you know, my childhood was my father had a tractor
(01:21):
and we had a small ranch and my father would drive around the tractor all weekend.
He'd work really hard all week. And on the weekends, his happy place was the
ranch and driving around this big yellow tractor.
And back then we didn't have like these rules, but he would put the kids,
little kids and little scooper in the front.
And he he would lift us up and he would drive around.
(01:42):
I mean, you couldn't do that today, but it was one of my happy,
my happy memories was seeing him there and having that opportunity.
So I just wanted to say, you know, if you'd like to talk about your tractor
at all or what you do in your ranch.
Well, yeah. So my, my grandfather, you know, a big cattle man and farmer in
Kansas, and we inherited a bunch of land from him.
(02:04):
And my mother was actually born on this land.
So it's a good fortune to be able to finally build kind of a family house there for us all to go to.
So we've been spending some time there of late and it's super fun to kind of get back to the open sky.
You know, I go there and it has a 50 mile vista with not a single piece of concrete.
(02:27):
Amazing. You know, and so you can see forever just the biggest sky,
the biggest sunset, the biggest sunrise and clean air.
And it's just a way and a place to...
To clear out and to think and to kind of regroup and get grounded.
Yeah. And that's a little bit about Texas, which is you have the big cities,
but you have so much open area and farming.
(02:50):
And can you talk a little bit about the people of Texas, what makes them special
and what makes Texas unique?
Texas is an amazing place. You know, it's this interesting mix of attitude,
bravado, pride about being a Texan. And it's just a very interesting mindset that we have.
(03:11):
You know, if you're a Texan, you do believe that Texas is the best place.
We have the best steaks, the best barbecue, the best culture,
best boots, best beer, best lots of things.
And it's a great place and a great constituency and a great people.
Yeah. And you grew up exactly where in Texas?
(03:31):
Well, actually, I was born in Kansas City. My parents are both from Kansas.
And my father was a university professor.
And so we moved around. And my first move lived in Texas when I moved there when I was seven.
And he taught at the University of Houston. We lived in Houston.
And then he went to Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. I graduated from high school there.
(03:53):
And then I came back to Texas for college. I went to UT.
And I've been in Texas ever since. Went to law school and I've been living in
Dallas for 33 years practicing law.
Wow. You really grew up a lot in a lot of places.
Yeah. Yeah. And do you think that added to who you are in terms of being able
to be flexible and move around?
Well, absolutely. I mean, the culture in the deep South in Alabama,
(04:16):
for example, is very different than the culture in Kansas City. And I've
We also did a little stint in Michigan. And so I've been kind of all over.
And yes, I think it makes you realize that we are very different people. We can be.
There's a big difference from a New Yorker, from somebody from a Texan, for example.
(04:36):
But we also have so much in common. And so you appreciate the differences and
embrace the commonality.
I think that should be a theme throughout our country, which is to accept people
for being different, but then find commonality and appreciate people for their differences.
For sure. Yeah. So I understand that when you won your election on election
night, your parents and your family came and their comment was they wanted to
(05:00):
watch you, Julie, make history.
How did that make you feel? I was so proud. You know, I think every child wants
to make their parents proud, right?
That's a common thing for children across the world. And so it was,
I'm very blessed that my parents are still with us and that they were able to
see that and be part of that.
And, you know, they campaign, they work the polls. They're fierce.
(05:22):
There's nothing like my, you know, 83 and 85 year old parents work in those
polls. They shall not be denied. Oh, no.
And the pride in which they take when they sell, you know, they talk about their daughter.
Absolutely. You know, they're like, will you vote for my daughter?
And, you know, everybody's always nice to them. I wonder if people,
you know, think, Are you really their parent?
Are you just calling or are you really their mom?
(05:44):
Are you really the mom? Yeah, just to be clear. Yeah. They own it and they're just thrilled.
And, you know, like any parent, you know, I have two sons. And any parent,
you want to see your children succeed in the dreams that they pursue.
And my parents are no different. Yeah.
First, about being, you know, your two sons and your wife, Sue,
and how does she balance with everything and the kids and you because your job, it takes a lot of time.
(06:11):
And once you go to DC, you're also traveling a lot.
And how does that work for you and for her? Because you have to obviously figure
out the dynamics. Right.
Well, I'm fortunate in that my kids were older when I got into politics.
So when I first ran for office in 2018, my oldest son was a freshman in college
and my youngest son was a sophomore in high school and could drive himself.
(06:34):
And that was part of the calculus of me not running earlier when my kids were younger.
And so they're now 21 and 24. And now they just think it's cool and that their
mother is going to go to Congress.
They think that's pretty exciting. and my wife is just
amazing and she is a physician
a gastroenterologist and she just retired a
(06:54):
couple months ago and so her schedule is free to support
and travel with me and be on this journey with me which which makes it a lot
more fun and a lot less stressful because that's one of the hardest things especially
with people with young families trying to balance that work-life balance that
is so hard for people and in my situation a lot of those pressures are lifted
(07:15):
which is really nice yeah Yeah.
So let me go back a little bit about the school and different schools that you went to.
Did you have a teacher or a specific person in your young life outside of your
family that was a mentor or gave you something special that is still you carry
with you, obviously, you know, through your career, but now as a leader?
Absolutely. You know, my high school government teacher, Elaine Rutledge, she was very impactful.
(07:41):
You know, she took me through the young students that go to the Capitol and play legislator.
I did that in the state of Alabama and made an advance to do that.
And it was my first taste into what it's like in politics.
And I've never forgotten that moment when I was very first selected to.
To realize, I cannot believe all those years ago, I got to go play politics
(08:03):
for my high school week, you know, and here I am actually elected with my own
office and my own opportunity to contribute.
It's not been lost on me that it's been a long arc of interest.
And I think that people have those stories where you do something in high school
and then it ends up being maybe who you are or what you use later on.
So I think it's beautiful. It's a testament to the value of a great education.
(08:25):
And you never know what's going to spark.
And you never know when you as an influencer are going to spark that in some young person.
And that's the power of education and what a great thing it is.
Yeah. And inspirational teachers, which is really special.
Okay. What was your first job?
I think a lot of leaders have these first jobs that aren't that,
(08:46):
they're sort of like, oh God, that was my first job, but it led to who I am
as well today. Well, I kind of had two in some respects.
My mother, both my parents were music teachers.
And so when I was in high school, I was your backup music teacher.
I taught piano lessons one day a week to about to six-year-olds. I was half price.
(09:06):
So I did that.
But my first job that I actually had to go and apply for and fill out an application
and do the things was I worked for a summer at Wendy's in Auburn, Alabama. that one.
And that taught you a lot.
Oh yeah. I'd get up at 6am and go in there and open up and yeah, I worked hard.
(09:27):
What is the worst advice you ever received and the best advice you ever received?
I don't know the worst advice. I think the best advice has always been find
your truth and stay to it.
I guess probably the worst advice is to that I probably should not come out
as gay is a lesbian and I needed to hide that in order to be successful in business.
(09:49):
That's very bad advice. The best advice is the exact opposite of that.
When you live your truth and you're in your honest place, the best of you comes out.
Yeah. I like that. And also I was thinking, like when I was preparing,
I was thinking about these, like who you are and that you have shown through
your life that you just keep pushing. You don't want to have a regret.
(10:10):
You don't want want to look back and go, oh, I didn't try something.
And I found this quote and I grew up and I'm sure you did watching I Love Lucy.
Okay. And so there's a Lucille Ball quote, which I thought was great.
And I'd love your thoughts on it. She said, I'd rather regret the things I've
done than regret the things I haven't done. Oh, yeah.
(10:31):
I think that's right. Because so many people don't have the self-confidence
to push and to try and to be vulnerable to.
Be out there. When you run for public office, it is one of the hardest, most exposing things.
All of your self-protection mechanisms go away and you are out there.
(10:52):
And with social media now, people are so hateful and they say the most terrible
things and you have to be able to shut that out and risk people not voting for you and losing.
And what does that feel like? Like, and all the emotional things that put you through there.
But I think that you have to always be willing to try and willing to push yourself
(11:14):
forward and great things will come and you learn from them.
Yeah. And it's been a great experience for me.
Yeah. And I hope that people who are listening, whether they're children or
young people, especially listen and hear like your journey, it wasn't easy and
you had to make tough choices and you had to follow your passion and your heart and who you are.
Oh, sure. And I think that, like you said, people are so intimidated,
(11:37):
one, to put themselves out there, but there's a lot of cruelty in social media and in society.
And part of the reason why I love this podcast is because we get to have these
authentic conversations and there's no gotcha moments.
And it's really to show the best of someone's true self. So thank you for sharing.
Well, you know, I always have been interested in politics and it's been involved in a variety of ways.
(11:59):
But I never thought that as a lesbian in Dallas, Texas, that I could ever win.
I never thought they're never going to vote for me.
And it held me back. My own hesitations held me back.
And then finally, in 2018, I made that decision to run for the state legislature.
(12:19):
And I was very anxious about it. Can I win? Can I do this?
And I know this isn't really about politics, but I'm the first Democrat to hold
my seat in 40 years. I didn't know if I could win. Wow.
That's interesting. And especially as an out gay person in Dallas, Texas.
And not only did I win, but I crushed it. And so it was so satisfying.
(12:40):
It was such a statement for other people that don't be your own limiting factor.
Don't put all these barriers of, oh, I can never do it. Don't make all those assumptions.
Because if you work hard and you're authentic and people can see that you care,
they're going to support you. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that.
(13:01):
Okay. So now people are going to get to know more about who you really are.
I have some rapid I put questions and love to just hear what your answers are
and one word or a few sentences, however you choose.
Start easy. What is your favorite color? Blue. What is your favorite sound?
I love easy. What is your favorite smell?
Flowers. And who is your biggest cheerleader? My mother.
(13:22):
So if you were stuck on a deserted island and you could have one meal,
what meal would you wish for? Tacos.
What kind? Just regular tacos? I love tacos. Okay. Who doesn't love tacos?
I love tacos, but I'm vegan. So I, my taco is different than your taco.
You know, tell me a little bit about like, what would be, if you could choose
like your favorite ice cream?
Oh, my favorite ice cream is Jenny's brown butter almond brittle.
(13:45):
Jenny's is this woman who started this ice cream. She actually got the James
beard for ice cream. It's amazing.
Oh, wow. Her brown almond butter brittle ice cream is insane. Okay.
Mound with brown almond. Brown almond butter brittle.
Can you say that 10 times fast? Well, we've just done a plug for her.
(14:07):
Ice cream. It's so good. Favorite drink?
Macallan on the rocks. Do you find that it's something that you can,
you know, have a drink with your colleagues on both sides? Sure.
To have that like conversation with people. And again, it's not politics,
but it's just connectivity with everybody you work with, especially in Texas.
And just having a time to spend a moment, having a cocktail.
(14:31):
It just creates a more relaxed environment to have conversations to break through frequency barriers.
You said earlier your sound is music. What kind of music do you listen to?
I listen to all different genres of music. You know, both my parents were musicians.
I sang with the Dallas Symphony Chorus for many years. I'm on the board of the
Dallas Symphony right now. So I love classical music. I love jazz. I love pop.
(14:53):
But, you know, I'm an 80s kid. So I'm an 80s. I'll do Name That Tune on 80s
music all day long. And you probably are good at it.
Well, yeah, that's my time. Yeah, exactly.
What would you say is your favorite household chore?
Working in my garden. What do you have in your garden these days?
I do jalapenos. I have some tomatoes I just harvested a bunch of.
(15:16):
Lots of herbs. I have some potatoes and some onions in there right now.
And I love to garden. I love to vegetable garden. It's so satisfying to plant
a plant, grow something, harvest it, and then cook it.
Yeah. And so healthy. Yeah. Yeah. What is your superpower? What is Julie's superpower?
I always joke with my sisters that we have a very strong suck it up and coke gene.
(15:40):
And that it just means that you can persevere and file through.
Yeah. You know, life is really hard sometimes.
And it's very easy to wah, wah, wah, and lay in bed and pull the covers over
your head and just not want to face life.
You have to have the ability to push through and do the things you don't want
(16:04):
to do and keep going and try to just keep all the balls in the air. Yeah.
And just management of time. You know, it's really hard to do,
but I think I do a pretty good job.
That's a power. I mean, it's not easy.
Where in the world have you dreamed to travel and you haven't been yet?
Australia, New Zealand. And I understand that you travel with your parents each
(16:25):
year and you take them somewhere. So where have you been and where are you going?
Well, we're going to go to Alaska here in August.
My father, it's his 85th birthday. He's always wanted to go.
And so my sons are going we're going fishing and wow
take them halibut and salmon fishing yeah my my
parents love to travel you know i i
am what i am because my parents sacrificed so much for
(16:49):
us my sisters and i to get an education and so i'm very blessed in my life i've
worked really hard and so one of the ways i kind of pay that back is to i take
them on a nice trip every year and we just look forward to it it's why i'm convinced
it's why my mother's still alive because she's never going to miss that next trip.
Exactly. It's FOMO. I am not not going to be there.
(17:11):
I'm done. Yeah. So it was like, as long as I have that on the books for her
to look forward to, because your anticipation.
Is almost more important than the thing itself. I agree. I agree.
And the excitement of knowing you're going. That's right.
And there's just a lot about that anticipation of something to create that.
That's something to be excited about, to talk about, and to look forward to.
(17:33):
And so, you know, I get my sometimes daily call or email, hey,
what about this? Have you seen this?
And just with my folks being so excited about whatever is on the books next.
And it's a lot of fun to be able to provide that.
And just to be proud of like that, what you've accomplished,
I think probably is also something that gives them a reason to want to keep
(17:55):
being here to see what you're going to do next. Oh, maybe.
Yeah. So I'd love to end on this question, which is, and I've asked this question
quite to everybody, which is what does joy mean to you? What brings you joy?
And how do you share your joy with others? I love to cook.
Food is my love language. I love to cook. I love to have, you know,
(18:18):
people over for dinner and have a wonderful meal with great conversation,
lots of laughs, table time, table talk where you sit around and talk for a long time and just...
Share community and love it with my family and with my close friends.
And so I love to do that. I love to go harvest something out of my garden,
(18:41):
figure out what I'm going to cook or go to the market and see what's in season
and figure something out and prepare.
I love the act of preparing a wonderful meal and then sharing that with people
I care about. Yeah. Well, it's beautiful.
And I think, again, we sometimes forget that that is really what is the most important thing,
which is taking time to be with people we love yeah we're so
(19:03):
busy fighting and running and and making sure that you
know we we get everything off our to-do list and sometimes
it's just going outside and picking the stuff
from our own garden that we've cultivated and given love
to right and then it's immediate gratification it's a one day yeah it's not
something i have to commit to forever but i you know i also love nature i love
(19:25):
i love the beach i love i can stare at the ocean forever and beautiful places
just to sit and be thoughtful,
express my gratitude for all the blessings I have.
Well, on that, we're going to end because I think that is a beautiful way to
end and expressing our gratitude and being appreciative of what we have.
(19:46):
And I am very appreciative to have this time to be with you in person and for
us to have some coffee together.
And I thank you. I look forward to watching your journey.
I'll let your parents watch up close. I'm going to watch from afar.
Far, but thank you for sharing and thank you for telling your stories.
And I really believe that by sharing our stories that we actually can bring people together.
(20:07):
Absolutely. Thanks for the opportunity. You know, I think this is what a powerful
expression for people to realize we're all just people trying to do the best
we can and to have this format to do that. It's great.
Music.
So
Hi, it's Liz. Please join me every Tuesday for coffee to talk about heart and
(20:29):
humanity with our elected leaders.
Remember to hit subscribe to get an alert when a new episode is live and for
exclusive content. Ciao.
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