November 2, 2022 • 21 mins
The North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble podcast covers democratic politics in North GA, the 9th Congressional District, and across the state of Georgia. The podcast is in Q&A/Interview format with various democratic politicos including county chairs, democratic operatives, politicians, and more. It is our mission to deliver crucial information to our listeners in a timely manner as we fight for community values and principles in the 3rd most Conservative district in the state. Our website is: https://www.fcdpga.com/podcasts
Our guests highlight democratic activities and actions to work toward a Blue Georgia. The 9th Congressional District spans 20 counties across the region and covers a good deal of northern GA including Blue Ridge, Morganton, Fannin, Union, Banks, Athens/Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, and White counties.
Our democratic party podcast also disseminates information and interviews powerful Democrats across the state of GA working to overthrow the suppression tactics of the GOP and ensure democracy and our values, grassroots efforts, and goals remain intact.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Meral Clarke (00:17):
Hello and welcome back to the North Georgia Blue
Podcast produced and distributedby the Fannin County Democratic
Party. I'm your host MeralClarke and we're getting into
some good trouble today with ourguest Ashland Swann, North
Georgia political director forStacey Abrams' One Georgia
Campaign. Welcome to the show,Ashland. We're so happy you're
(00:40):
here.
Ashland Swann (00:41):
Thank you. It's great to be on with you guys.
Meral Clarke (00:42):
Terrific. Well, let's let our listeners know a
little bit about you. AshlandSwann is a seasoned political
operative lobbyist, a mediaspokesperson. She has worked on
and manage several successfulcampaigns from city council to
congressional races, but shemost enjoys work that centers
promoting democratic values inrural areas. For the last three
(01:05):
years, she served as the Georgialegislative and business
engagement director for your CBDstore where she sought to make
hemp products safe andaccessible for all. She has also
been a business consultant forCBD entrepreneurs across the
southeast and in Europe. Ashlandis a graduate of Oglethorpe
(01:25):
University, where she studiedrhetoric and sociology. She
currently serves as the NorthGeorgia political director for
Stacey Abrams' One GeorgiaCampaign where she focuses on
building strategicrelationships, planning
community events and advocatingfor regionally specific issues.
In her spare time, she enjoysbaking, hiking and making
(01:48):
everything from wreaths tojewelry. Wow, you're so
creative. She lives inGainesville with her husband,
their son and cat. So Ashland,the most important question,
what's your cat's name?
Ashland Swann (02:00):
Oh,no, she has many names. And you're right.
That is the most importantquestion. Thank you for knowing
that.
Meral Clarke (02:05):
Of course, for all the cat lovers.
Ashland Swann (02:08):
So we mostly call her Miss Frankie, but her name
is Francesca. She is also Frankor Frank sometimes. She's very
versatile.
Meral Clarke (02:18):
Oh, yes, definitely. Well, let's dive
right in to what you do as theregional political coordinator
for the Abrams campaign. Tell usthe areas that you cover and
what you're doing to get LeaderAbrams elected and most
essentially get the vote out inNorth Georgia. And can you also
explain what her One GeorgiaCampaign is and what the goals
(02:40):
are?
Ashland Swann (02:40):
Yeah, absolutely.
So first of all, I know NorthGeorgia is a little bit abstract
of a term. It is specificallyfor our purposes is 28 counties,
which includes where I live herein Hall County. So if you can
kind of imagine you know,traditional North Georgia
territory, the mountains, maybeeven the northern exurbs, but we
also have Douglas County, CobbCounty, Paulding County,
Gwinnett and, of course, Hallbut we do not have the Athens
(03:02):
area. So it is a very diversearea and encompasses a good
portion of Metro Atlanta, thenorthern parts of the exurbs all
the way up to Yes, our winecountry, our agricultural
country, our agri tourismcountry, our cabin country. So
it's a beautiful place. And Igrew up here in Gainesville. So
I'm very proud to represent thearea. And then as far as One
Georgia, first of all, I justwant to say I love that we get
(03:24):
to say the phrase One Georgia sooften, because I think that One
Georgia is such a beautifulidea. That means something very
different to each of us. So it'ssomething we can all really
identify with. Obviously,there's a lot of really great
specific policy plans that goalong with it that I'm sure
we'll get into more. But ifyou're talking about the
campaign itself, One Georgia isreally all about the idea that
(03:46):
wherever you live in the Stateof Georgia, whoever you are,
whatever race you are, whateveryour gender is, whoever you're
married to, or not married tohowever old you are, whether
you're disabled or not, whatevereducation level you have that
you can live and thrive in anycommunity in our state. And if
you think about it that reallyshouldn't be some kind of
(04:08):
radical different idea but it isespecially as you guys very well
know it often feels like thereis Atlanta and then there is the
rest of Georgia and I love thatleader Abrams has been so direct
and tackling that problem headon and saying no, we can be One
Georgia but it's going to takenot just talking about the you
know all the good feeling stuffabout what when Georgia can mean
(04:28):
to us but it's gonna takepractical application of all
kinds of different things to getus to the point of truly being
One Georgia. So for me, I willsay as a mom specifically, but
in general, I really look at youknow, having communities where
my child can thrive. I've talkedto some of you about this
before, but when I moved back uphere to Gainesville, that was
kind of a surprise for me.
(04:49):
Honestly, I grew up here and Ilove it. There's so many great
things about it. But I oftenwondered what kind of life would
I be able to provide for my son?
Would he have good enoughquality of schools? What he'd be
exposed to diversity and racialtolerance, because that was
often an issue where I wasgrowing up. Would we have a
clean environment? Or would webe subjected to pollution from
factory farms or things of thatnature, there's a lot of
(05:10):
different concerns that youcould potentially have. But the
point of One Georgia is makingGeorgia where we can all feels
safe and thrive no matter wherewe are. And I think that
ultimately, especially asparents, that's the goal we
really need to be striving for.
Meral Clarke (05:24):
Well, that's a tremendous goal. And we
appreciate all the work thatyou've put in. So I'm
particularly interested inhearing from you about how
you're getting the word out, andhow you're working to make this
happen in more red areas, moreheavily Republican areas of the
Ashland Swann (05:42):
I think, first of all, as you all probably know, I
state.
spend a lot of my time on theroad. As of right now, I've
actually visited 26 out of the28 counties, I'm very, very
proud of that. And I plan tovisit all of them before this
thing is over. So for me,obviously, yes, you have to get
out in the community and havevery intentional conversations
about democratic values, butespecially in red areas, there's
a certain way to do that, right.
And I think that we can stand onour democratic values and not
(06:06):
sway from them and notcompromise on them while still
having very practical issuesbased conversations with folks
that we might, yeah, disagreewith on some things. But we also
might agree with on some thingsas well. And for me, finding
those strategic commonalities,finding places where our
interests intersect, and wherewe can move beyond the sort of
Red Team Blue Team mentality isreally huge. And I think that
(06:29):
Leader Abrams is wonderful,because she's given us a lot to
work with. She's got very strongplans for small businesses, or
farmers for a lot of things thatDemocrats are not usually seen
as being so great on. And sheshows that Democrats can
absolutely make a case in redareas to Chambers of Commerce is
to Farm Bureau to whoever
Meral Clarke (06:49):
Give us an example of how that works. Can you pull
from some of your experience totell us exactly how that works?
Ashland Swann (06:57):
That you mean more in terms of like a time
I've seen her have thosedifficult conversations? Yes.
Oh, okay. Sure. Well, one, Ithink in particular, I can
really point to is all of theconversations that I have seen
her have, particularly aroundthe issue of reproductive health
care and choice. As you allknow, this is an issue that is
mobilizing particularly women ofall political persuasions. And
(07:17):
the idea of a complete abortionban is extremely unpopular with
Georgia voters extremely evenRepublicans. So this sort of
extremist tact that Brian Kemphas taken has actually opened up
a lot of wonderful opportunitiesfor conversations. We were at an
event with an OBGYN and it was aface to face conversation
between her and the OBGYN. Andthey talked about a lot of
(07:37):
things in their experience. Theyhad questions from the audience.
But one of the most interestingthings that I saw was with the
OB GYN dug into how these kindsof draconian laws are basically
anti privacy. And you know,Republicans are always about,
you know, personal autonomy,privacy, all this kind of thing.
But this law strikes the veryheart of it to the point where
(07:58):
Leader Abrams was talking tothis woman, and she was
describing how there was amedication that is often used in
abortion procedures, but thatcan also be used for other
reproductive health proceduresthat do not involve abortions
whatsoever. And so the doctorwent to request this from the
pharmacist and the pharmacistflat out denied her and said,
Well, you know, that we havethis ban now. And that's what
the medication is clearly for.
So you can't have it. Andunfortunately, there was no real
(08:21):
workaround other than to go tryand find another pharmacist. So
this is not only an invasion ofthe patient's privacy, but I
mean, this is the governmentgetting directly in the way of
her doing her job.
Meral Clarke (08:36):
It does seem counterintuitive, doesn't it
with Republicans that they'rewilling to take away a woman's
right to privacy, but all otherprivacy issues are important to
them? It makes no sense.
Ashland Swann (08:47):
Absolutely. And I mean, you see that sort of
hypocrisy out of them on avariety of issues as well. So I
think yeah, having thosepractical conversations,
especially with seasonedexperts, doctors, Chamber of
Commerce, presidents, people whoare experts in their field, who
know about business, you knowabout medicine, who know about
these very practical concernsthat people can relate to, and
basically show the Democrats arenot, as the Republicans have
(09:08):
tried to paint us someextremists. In fact, they are
very much the extremists.
Meral Clarke (09:12):
Correct. I agree with you completely on that,
because it's true. So what aresome of the other regionally
based issues that you and leaderAbrams are dealing with as you
traverse the North Georgia area?
Ashland Swann (09:24):
Obviously be agriculture, which is something
that is very near and dear to myheart. We have had several very
productive conversations withfarmers all throughout the
state, but I can reallyhighlight particularly we had a
wonderful event in Rome about amonth ago, and we brought
together farmers, organic andconventional professors from
Barry who are also inagricultural sciences to all
kind of come together and have areally deep policy focused
(09:46):
discussion about what are theneeds of the community or the
needs of small farmers and alsowhat are the needs of the
agricultural educationalinstitutions going forward? And
so seeing her being sointentionally focused on
agricultural policy has been, Imean, it's been beautiful.
Honestly, it's moving trulybecause agriculture is Georgia
number one industry. And yet alot of times Democrats very much
(10:08):
leave it behind. But LeaderAbrams has taken a very serious
charge in getting to knowfarmers listening to them
building policy around theirneeds. And I think that that's
one of the ways that we show wereally understand areas like
North Georgia, and especiallywhen you consider the
agritourism factor as well.
Meral Clarke (10:23):
That's tremendous, especially up here. So it seems
that Republicans are alwayssupporting the big agri farms,
the huge operations that arebacked by a lot of money and big
business. So what is Stacey'splan for the small rural
farmers?
Ashland Swann (10:39):
Thank you so much for asking. So first of all,
let's start with the farmersthemselves. So she actually
through her and million dollarSmall Business Development Fund
that she's going to establish,also plans to have some of that
accessible to farmers as well,because one of the things you'll
hear from farmers all the timeis that getting access to
startup capital, or even capitalto expand your operation is
(11:01):
pretty much darn nearimpossible, unless you're one of
the really, really big guys. Andso that's a huge problem,
because as you know, it's smalllocal farmers who usually feed
their local communities. And soif they're not able to get
established, or if they're notable to scale their operations,
it's very hard for there to belocal food in the communities.
So that's the first start. Theother thing is also to make sure
that when those farmers doexpand, that they have access to
(11:23):
expanding into more sustainablepractices, because that also can
be something that's costintensive, time intensive to
transition your practices. Andso she wants to make that easier
through her green DevelopmentBank. The other thing is, when
you also think ofsustainability, you know,
there's a lot of farmland inGeorgia that can be used for
renewable energy too. And sofinding ways to incentivize
farmers to augment their foodproduction with that, and
(11:44):
especially considering that themajority of farmers in the State
of Georgia make less than$70,000 a year for their entire
farm income. That's actuallypretty important, because a lot
of farmers are really not makingthe income that we expect that
they should. And then finally,you also got to consider the
issues of the farm workersthemselves. A lot of farm
workers are either on HTA visas,or they're undocumented. And so
(12:07):
they are pretty much exclusivelyat the mercy of their employers
and small farmers, a lot of themhave really great relationships
with their HTA visa holders, butsome of the bigger ones do not.
And so she wants to really focusto make sure that we're ending
wage theft in thisclassification, and also
providing a hotline where theycan report abuse without any
threat of being reported to ICE.
Meral Clarke (12:26):
Right, that would be tremendously important. We
spoke with Nikita Hemingway,who's the Democratic nominee for
Agriculture Commissioner, and wespoke about that rather
extensively. So it is soimportant that farmers in small
farming communities are takingcare of the issue that I know is
near and dear to your heart,obviously, is hemp and marijuana
(12:49):
legalization. What are yourthoughts on that? And what is
Stacey doing to ensure thatthese applications are going to
be utilized moving forward?
Ashland Swann (13:00):
Now you mean the applications for the medical
marijuana permits, you meanthose?
Meral Clarke (13:04):
For the medical marijuana permits and not just
medical marijuana, but also the25,000 plus uses that hemp has,
and moving toward hemp inproduction within the state.
What are her thoughts on that?
Ashland Swann (13:18):
So first of all, just to kind of clarify our
medical marijuana production,and those permits are very much
separate from our hemplicensing. And all of that is
primarily through the Departmentof Agriculture, all of the
creation of that, and thelicensing and the inspection and
all that sort of thing. And sobasically, when you apply for
any hemp growers permit or ahemp licensee to process
(13:39):
basically, it's not reallyapplying provided that you meet
the strictures that are givenout, then you may acquire such a
thing provided you could ofcourse pay for it. The problem
is, is that those fees are oftenextremely, extremely high. Right
now we've got exorbitant fees$25,000 a year in fees, just to
be able to process and then thefees for growing are a little
bit more moderate up to Ibelieve $5,000 for up to 5000
(14:03):
acres, I believe is the deal.
But that is still an extremelyhigh barrier to entry. And so
that's one of the reasons thatshe is so focused on things like
the small business fund is sothat way farmers can actually be
able to support the enterprisesthat they're building out
because right now hemp in thestate really is being driven
out, let's be very frank withyou. And so investing in small
farmers, allowing them todiversify their crops, ensuring
that they have proper access tocapital that's going to be
(14:24):
helpful for everything hempincluded. So obviously we're
having some issues with ourmedical marijuana licensure. But
that is all very much within theDepartment of Agriculture. But
that's one of the reasons thathaving a sympathetic governor to
these causes will be so muchmore important because the
reason we're having issues withthe licenses is really because
of the way the laws werewritten. And those laws were
very much desired by Kemp anddriven by a lot of his cronies
(14:48):
and including it within theDepartment of Agriculture. So
it's a very complicated andmulti layered process. But if we
have a governor at the top ofthe ticket, who is really going
to press to benefit smallfarmers to bring new forms of
agriculture into the state shemay have a minute before we can
fully flip the legislature tomake it as amenable to her as
possible, but it's going to do ahuge, huge benefit. And also, of
(15:08):
course, once we have thegovernor's mansion, it'll be
even easier for us to flip thisseat. It's not a one person job.
It's many moving parts at once.
Meral Clarke (15:17):
And of course, she'll have to work with all the
statewide officers in differentpositions, which is why it's so
important to vote on the ballotfrom the top all the way down,
so we can make sure that she hasa strong team around her and I
know your time is short,Ashland. And we so appreciate
your being here. Is thereanything else that you wanted to
convey to our listeners aboutStacey Abrams and her campaign
(15:41):
to unify our state?
Ashland Swann (15:43):
Yeah, I would say that one of my biggest takeaways
from working on this campaign isjust how thorough and far
reaching the vision of OneGeorgia is, obviously, we've got
our big ticket issues. We've goteducation, the economy, the
environment, health care, votingrights, all of these big things.
But I think the thing that isreally amazing is that Democrats
(16:06):
historically have been greatwith policy. But admittedly,
Republicans have been betterwith their big unifying
messaging simple, concise, easyto understand, and broadly
applicable, they have honestlywon that game. But I think that
the message of One Georgia is soamazing, because it is a time
where we have finally fullytranscended that moment, I
(16:27):
believe that One Georgia issomething you can say, and
people already have an inklingof what you're talking about.
And yet their mind also expandsto a million more possibilities.
And that's what's so beautifulabout it. Because we've got to
empower people with ideas. We'vealso got to empower people with
possibilities. And I thinkthere's no one better to do that
than Leader Stacey Abrams.
Meral Clarke (16:44):
Terrific. And I agree, and we can't wait to vote
for her. So finally, if peoplewant to learn more about the One
Georgia Campaign, if they wantto get in touch with you, or
with Leader Abrams, where wouldyou send them?
Ashland Swann (16:57):
First of all, I would highly encourage you to go
to Stacey abrams.com. Andespecially now that we are going
into early voting, definitelyStacey abrams.com/vote. And can
find lots of good informationabout early voting there and how
to get plugged in, I would alsoreally, really encourage people
to keep up with us on socialmedia, we've got a lot of cool
and fun and engaging socialmedia, everything from Facebook,
(17:18):
to Instagram. And then alsofollow us on Twitter. And we
also even have a team Abrams,Twitter, that is tweets from the
folks on the campaign itself,which is pretty cool. And then
also, we're gonna be doing a bustour soon. So keep your eyes
peeled for that. And definitelycome join us
Meral Clarke (17:33):
Plenty of access, which is terrific, because we
definitely want to do that. Andyou know, this is coming. If
you've listened to any of ourpodcasts, and my guests tell me
this is the most difficultquestion to answer. Tell us a
fun fact about yourself andsomething not necessarily
related to your politicalbackground, which is impressive,
(17:53):
or the work that you're doingfor Stacey, which we thank you
for but tell us something reallyinteresting just about you.
Ashland Swann (18:00):
Okay, yes, I know what I will tell you. And it
does looping a little bit to thework. But I think it also gives
us a nice note to end on. Sosome of you may know that I am
actually an Iranian Americandual citizen. They don't let you
be a dual citizen very often,but because my dad is from Iran,
and I've been going back thereevery year since I was seventh,
getting our citizenship for anumber of reasons, just made a
(18:21):
lot more sense. And so rightnow, in Iran, there are actually
women who are protesting avariety of things, but mostly
the compulsory use of the hijab,which is a wonderful, sacred
garment, but should absolutelybe a woman's choice to either
wear or not wear. And so theyare literally in the midst of
protests and women just like megetting killed in the streets of
(18:41):
Iran fighting for their rights.
And honestly, that's maybe not ahappy fact. But it's one that I
carry with me every day. And Isay this all to say that
something I was literally justsaying to my husband right
before this, we are so blessedthat this is the way that we get
to fight for our freedoms. Weare so blessed, I am so blessed
to sit on this call and have todo this podcast with you. I am
(19:02):
so blessed to be sitting in myhome which is safe, I am so
blessed to go to fun events tomarch in the Pride Parade, while
other people in other countriesand possibly one day even here
fight for their rights in a waythat is very hard for us to
imagine, but can also happenhere. And that's why I think it
is so important to fightextremism, both abroad and at
home. And that's why it's soimportant. Like I said, bring it
(19:24):
back around to elect StaceyAbrams as the next Governor of
Georgia because we are lucky tobe able to fight for her and she
is going to take us in adirection where we don't have to
worry about this extremistagenda of Brian Kemp affecting
us any longer.
Meral Clarke (19:38):
Beautifully stated and I'm so glad that you brought
that up because I am in awe ofthese women in the streets of
Iran who are fighting so hard tomaintain some semblance of their
privacy, dignity and theirrights. So kudos we hold them
all in our hearts and we wishthem all the best. I wish there
(19:59):
was more we could do for thembut they are incredibly
courageous and I have no wordsto describe how proud I am of
these women and how proud I amof women fighting here for our
rights as well. Well thank youAshland, for joining us today
and sharing more about yourcritical work to advance
democratic goals and policy. I'mMeral Clarke and on behalf of
(20:22):
our team, I'd like to thankeveryone for listening to the
North Georgia Blue Podcast. Joinus next time when we chat with
the leaders of the Georgiachapter of Braver Angels. To
learn more about us and the workthat we're doing, visit us
online at Fannin County, Georgiademocrats.com. Share the North
Georgia Blue Podcast with yourfriends and family. Be sure to
(20:44):
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(21:04):
more good trouble.
Hello and welcome back to the North Georgia Blue
Podcast produced and distributedby the Fannin County Democratic
Party. I'm your host MeralClarke and we're getting into
some good trouble today with ourguest Ashland Swann, North
Georgia political director forStacey Abrams' One Georgia
Campaign. Welcome to the show,Ashland. We're so happy you're
(00:40):
here.
Ashland Swann (00:41):
Thank you. It's great to be on with you guys.
Meral Clarke (00:42):
Terrific. Well, let's let our listeners know a
little bit about you. AshlandSwann is a seasoned political
operative lobbyist, a mediaspokesperson. She has worked on
and manage several successfulcampaigns from city council to
congressional races, but shemost enjoys work that centers
promoting democratic values inrural areas. For the last three
(01:05):
years, she served as the Georgialegislative and business
engagement director for your CBDstore where she sought to make
hemp products safe andaccessible for all. She has also
been a business consultant forCBD entrepreneurs across the
southeast and in Europe. Ashlandis a graduate of Oglethorpe
(01:25):
University, where she studiedrhetoric and sociology. She
currently serves as the NorthGeorgia political director for
Stacey Abrams' One GeorgiaCampaign where she focuses on
building strategicrelationships, planning
community events and advocatingfor regionally specific issues.
In her spare time, she enjoysbaking, hiking and making
(01:48):
everything from wreaths tojewelry. Wow, you're so
creative. She lives inGainesville with her husband,
their son and cat. So Ashland,the most important question,
what's your cat's name?
Ashland Swann (02:00):
Oh,no, she has many names. And you're right.
That is the most importantquestion. Thank you for knowing
that.
Meral Clarke (02:05):
Of course, for all the cat lovers.
Ashland Swann (02:08):
So we mostly call her Miss Frankie, but her name
is Francesca. She is also Frankor Frank sometimes. She's very
versatile.
Meral Clarke (02:18):
Oh, yes, definitely. Well, let's dive
right in to what you do as theregional political coordinator
for the Abrams campaign. Tell usthe areas that you cover and
what you're doing to get LeaderAbrams elected and most
essentially get the vote out inNorth Georgia. And can you also
explain what her One GeorgiaCampaign is and what the goals
(02:40):
are?
Ashland Swann (02:40):
Yeah, absolutely.
So first of all, I know NorthGeorgia is a little bit abstract
of a term. It is specificallyfor our purposes is 28 counties,
which includes where I live herein Hall County. So if you can
kind of imagine you know,traditional North Georgia
territory, the mountains, maybeeven the northern exurbs, but we
also have Douglas County, CobbCounty, Paulding County,
Gwinnett and, of course, Hallbut we do not have the Athens
(03:02):
area. So it is a very diversearea and encompasses a good
portion of Metro Atlanta, thenorthern parts of the exurbs all
the way up to Yes, our winecountry, our agricultural
country, our agri tourismcountry, our cabin country. So
it's a beautiful place. And Igrew up here in Gainesville. So
I'm very proud to represent thearea. And then as far as One
Georgia, first of all, I justwant to say I love that we get
(03:24):
to say the phrase One Georgia sooften, because I think that One
Georgia is such a beautifulidea. That means something very
different to each of us. So it'ssomething we can all really
identify with. Obviously,there's a lot of really great
specific policy plans that goalong with it that I'm sure
we'll get into more. But ifyou're talking about the
campaign itself, One Georgia isreally all about the idea that
(03:46):
wherever you live in the Stateof Georgia, whoever you are,
whatever race you are, whateveryour gender is, whoever you're
married to, or not married tohowever old you are, whether
you're disabled or not, whatevereducation level you have that
you can live and thrive in anycommunity in our state. And if
you think about it that reallyshouldn't be some kind of
(04:08):
radical different idea but it isespecially as you guys very well
know it often feels like thereis Atlanta and then there is the
rest of Georgia and I love thatleader Abrams has been so direct
and tackling that problem headon and saying no, we can be One
Georgia but it's going to takenot just talking about the you
know all the good feeling stuffabout what when Georgia can mean
(04:28):
to us but it's gonna takepractical application of all
kinds of different things to getus to the point of truly being
One Georgia. So for me, I willsay as a mom specifically, but
in general, I really look at youknow, having communities where
my child can thrive. I've talkedto some of you about this
before, but when I moved back uphere to Gainesville, that was
kind of a surprise for me.
(04:49):
Honestly, I grew up here and Ilove it. There's so many great
things about it. But I oftenwondered what kind of life would
I be able to provide for my son?
Would he have good enoughquality of schools? What he'd be
exposed to diversity and racialtolerance, because that was
often an issue where I wasgrowing up. Would we have a
clean environment? Or would webe subjected to pollution from
factory farms or things of thatnature, there's a lot of
(05:10):
different concerns that youcould potentially have. But the
point of One Georgia is makingGeorgia where we can all feels
safe and thrive no matter wherewe are. And I think that
ultimately, especially asparents, that's the goal we
really need to be striving for.
Meral Clarke (05:24):
Well, that's a tremendous goal. And we
appreciate all the work thatyou've put in. So I'm
particularly interested inhearing from you about how
you're getting the word out, andhow you're working to make this
happen in more red areas, moreheavily Republican areas of the
Ashland Swann (05:42):
I think, first of all, as you all probably know, I
state.
spend a lot of my time on theroad. As of right now, I've
actually visited 26 out of the28 counties, I'm very, very
proud of that. And I plan tovisit all of them before this
thing is over. So for me,obviously, yes, you have to get
out in the community and havevery intentional conversations
about democratic values, butespecially in red areas, there's
a certain way to do that, right.
And I think that we can stand onour democratic values and not
(06:06):
sway from them and notcompromise on them while still
having very practical issuesbased conversations with folks
that we might, yeah, disagreewith on some things. But we also
might agree with on some thingsas well. And for me, finding
those strategic commonalities,finding places where our
interests intersect, and wherewe can move beyond the sort of
Red Team Blue Team mentality isreally huge. And I think that
(06:29):
Leader Abrams is wonderful,because she's given us a lot to
work with. She's got very strongplans for small businesses, or
farmers for a lot of things thatDemocrats are not usually seen
as being so great on. And sheshows that Democrats can
absolutely make a case in redareas to Chambers of Commerce is
to Farm Bureau to whoever
Meral Clarke (06:49):
Give us an example of how that works. Can you pull
from some of your experience totell us exactly how that works?
Ashland Swann (06:57):
That you mean more in terms of like a time
I've seen her have thosedifficult conversations? Yes.
Oh, okay. Sure. Well, one, Ithink in particular, I can
really point to is all of theconversations that I have seen
her have, particularly aroundthe issue of reproductive health
care and choice. As you allknow, this is an issue that is
mobilizing particularly women ofall political persuasions. And
(07:17):
the idea of a complete abortionban is extremely unpopular with
Georgia voters extremely evenRepublicans. So this sort of
extremist tact that Brian Kemphas taken has actually opened up
a lot of wonderful opportunitiesfor conversations. We were at an
event with an OBGYN and it was aface to face conversation
between her and the OBGYN. Andthey talked about a lot of
(07:37):
things in their experience. Theyhad questions from the audience.
But one of the most interestingthings that I saw was with the
OB GYN dug into how these kindsof draconian laws are basically
anti privacy. And you know,Republicans are always about,
you know, personal autonomy,privacy, all this kind of thing.
But this law strikes the veryheart of it to the point where
(07:58):
Leader Abrams was talking tothis woman, and she was
describing how there was amedication that is often used in
abortion procedures, but thatcan also be used for other
reproductive health proceduresthat do not involve abortions
whatsoever. And so the doctorwent to request this from the
pharmacist and the pharmacistflat out denied her and said,
Well, you know, that we havethis ban now. And that's what
the medication is clearly for.
So you can't have it. Andunfortunately, there was no real
(08:21):
workaround other than to go tryand find another pharmacist. So
this is not only an invasion ofthe patient's privacy, but I
mean, this is the governmentgetting directly in the way of
her doing her job.
Meral Clarke (08:36):
It does seem counterintuitive, doesn't it
with Republicans that they'rewilling to take away a woman's
right to privacy, but all otherprivacy issues are important to
them? It makes no sense.
Ashland Swann (08:47):
Absolutely. And I mean, you see that sort of
hypocrisy out of them on avariety of issues as well. So I
think yeah, having thosepractical conversations,
especially with seasonedexperts, doctors, Chamber of
Commerce, presidents, people whoare experts in their field, who
know about business, you knowabout medicine, who know about
these very practical concernsthat people can relate to, and
basically show the Democrats arenot, as the Republicans have
(09:08):
tried to paint us someextremists. In fact, they are
very much the extremists.
Meral Clarke (09:12):
Correct. I agree with you completely on that,
because it's true. So what aresome of the other regionally
based issues that you and leaderAbrams are dealing with as you
traverse the North Georgia area?
Ashland Swann (09:24):
Obviously be agriculture, which is something
that is very near and dear to myheart. We have had several very
productive conversations withfarmers all throughout the
state, but I can reallyhighlight particularly we had a
wonderful event in Rome about amonth ago, and we brought
together farmers, organic andconventional professors from
Barry who are also inagricultural sciences to all
kind of come together and have areally deep policy focused
(09:46):
discussion about what are theneeds of the community or the
needs of small farmers and alsowhat are the needs of the
agricultural educationalinstitutions going forward? And
so seeing her being sointentionally focused on
agricultural policy has been, Imean, it's been beautiful.
Honestly, it's moving trulybecause agriculture is Georgia
number one industry. And yet alot of times Democrats very much
(10:08):
leave it behind. But LeaderAbrams has taken a very serious
charge in getting to knowfarmers listening to them
building policy around theirneeds. And I think that that's
one of the ways that we show wereally understand areas like
North Georgia, and especiallywhen you consider the
agritourism factor as well.
Meral Clarke (10:23):
That's tremendous, especially up here. So it seems
that Republicans are alwayssupporting the big agri farms,
the huge operations that arebacked by a lot of money and big
business. So what is Stacey'splan for the small rural
farmers?
Ashland Swann (10:39):
Thank you so much for asking. So first of all,
let's start with the farmersthemselves. So she actually
through her and million dollarSmall Business Development Fund
that she's going to establish,also plans to have some of that
accessible to farmers as well,because one of the things you'll
hear from farmers all the timeis that getting access to
startup capital, or even capitalto expand your operation is
(11:01):
pretty much darn nearimpossible, unless you're one of
the really, really big guys. Andso that's a huge problem,
because as you know, it's smalllocal farmers who usually feed
their local communities. And soif they're not able to get
established, or if they're notable to scale their operations,
it's very hard for there to belocal food in the communities.
So that's the first start. Theother thing is also to make sure
that when those farmers doexpand, that they have access to
(11:23):
expanding into more sustainablepractices, because that also can
be something that's costintensive, time intensive to
transition your practices. Andso she wants to make that easier
through her green DevelopmentBank. The other thing is, when
you also think ofsustainability, you know,
there's a lot of farmland inGeorgia that can be used for
renewable energy too. And sofinding ways to incentivize
farmers to augment their foodproduction with that, and
(11:44):
especially considering that themajority of farmers in the State
of Georgia make less than$70,000 a year for their entire
farm income. That's actuallypretty important, because a lot
of farmers are really not makingthe income that we expect that
they should. And then finally,you also got to consider the
issues of the farm workersthemselves. A lot of farm
workers are either on HTA visas,or they're undocumented. And so
(12:07):
they are pretty much exclusivelyat the mercy of their employers
and small farmers, a lot of themhave really great relationships
with their HTA visa holders, butsome of the bigger ones do not.
And so she wants to really focusto make sure that we're ending
wage theft in thisclassification, and also
providing a hotline where theycan report abuse without any
threat of being reported to ICE.
Meral Clarke (12:26):
Right, that would be tremendously important. We
spoke with Nikita Hemingway,who's the Democratic nominee for
Agriculture Commissioner, and wespoke about that rather
extensively. So it is soimportant that farmers in small
farming communities are takingcare of the issue that I know is
near and dear to your heart,obviously, is hemp and marijuana
(12:49):
legalization. What are yourthoughts on that? And what is
Stacey doing to ensure thatthese applications are going to
be utilized moving forward?
Ashland Swann (13:00):
Now you mean the applications for the medical
marijuana permits, you meanthose?
Meral Clarke (13:04):
For the medical marijuana permits and not just
medical marijuana, but also the25,000 plus uses that hemp has,
and moving toward hemp inproduction within the state.
What are her thoughts on that?
Ashland Swann (13:18):
So first of all, just to kind of clarify our
medical marijuana production,and those permits are very much
separate from our hemplicensing. And all of that is
primarily through the Departmentof Agriculture, all of the
creation of that, and thelicensing and the inspection and
all that sort of thing. And sobasically, when you apply for
any hemp growers permit or ahemp licensee to process
(13:39):
basically, it's not reallyapplying provided that you meet
the strictures that are givenout, then you may acquire such a
thing provided you could ofcourse pay for it. The problem
is, is that those fees are oftenextremely, extremely high. Right
now we've got exorbitant fees$25,000 a year in fees, just to
be able to process and then thefees for growing are a little
bit more moderate up to Ibelieve $5,000 for up to 5000
(14:03):
acres, I believe is the deal.
But that is still an extremelyhigh barrier to entry. And so
that's one of the reasons thatshe is so focused on things like
the small business fund is sothat way farmers can actually be
able to support the enterprisesthat they're building out
because right now hemp in thestate really is being driven
out, let's be very frank withyou. And so investing in small
farmers, allowing them todiversify their crops, ensuring
that they have proper access tocapital that's going to be
(14:24):
helpful for everything hempincluded. So obviously we're
having some issues with ourmedical marijuana licensure. But
that is all very much within theDepartment of Agriculture. But
that's one of the reasons thathaving a sympathetic governor to
these causes will be so muchmore important because the
reason we're having issues withthe licenses is really because
of the way the laws werewritten. And those laws were
very much desired by Kemp anddriven by a lot of his cronies
(14:48):
and including it within theDepartment of Agriculture. So
it's a very complicated andmulti layered process. But if we
have a governor at the top ofthe ticket, who is really going
to press to benefit smallfarmers to bring new forms of
agriculture into the state shemay have a minute before we can
fully flip the legislature tomake it as amenable to her as
possible, but it's going to do ahuge, huge benefit. And also, of
(15:08):
course, once we have thegovernor's mansion, it'll be
even easier for us to flip thisseat. It's not a one person job.
It's many moving parts at once.
Meral Clarke (15:17):
And of course, she'll have to work with all the
statewide officers in differentpositions, which is why it's so
important to vote on the ballotfrom the top all the way down,
so we can make sure that she hasa strong team around her and I
know your time is short,Ashland. And we so appreciate
your being here. Is thereanything else that you wanted to
convey to our listeners aboutStacey Abrams and her campaign
(15:41):
to unify our state?
Ashland Swann (15:43):
Yeah, I would say that one of my biggest takeaways
from working on this campaign isjust how thorough and far
reaching the vision of OneGeorgia is, obviously, we've got
our big ticket issues. We've goteducation, the economy, the
environment, health care, votingrights, all of these big things.
But I think the thing that isreally amazing is that Democrats
(16:06):
historically have been greatwith policy. But admittedly,
Republicans have been betterwith their big unifying
messaging simple, concise, easyto understand, and broadly
applicable, they have honestlywon that game. But I think that
the message of One Georgia is soamazing, because it is a time
where we have finally fullytranscended that moment, I
(16:27):
believe that One Georgia issomething you can say, and
people already have an inklingof what you're talking about.
And yet their mind also expandsto a million more possibilities.
And that's what's so beautifulabout it. Because we've got to
empower people with ideas. We'vealso got to empower people with
possibilities. And I thinkthere's no one better to do that
than Leader Stacey Abrams.
Meral Clarke (16:44):
Terrific. And I agree, and we can't wait to vote
for her. So finally, if peoplewant to learn more about the One
Georgia Campaign, if they wantto get in touch with you, or
with Leader Abrams, where wouldyou send them?
Ashland Swann (16:57):
First of all, I would highly encourage you to go
to Stacey abrams.com. Andespecially now that we are going
into early voting, definitelyStacey abrams.com/vote. And can
find lots of good informationabout early voting there and how
to get plugged in, I would alsoreally, really encourage people
to keep up with us on socialmedia, we've got a lot of cool
and fun and engaging socialmedia, everything from Facebook,
(17:18):
to Instagram. And then alsofollow us on Twitter. And we
also even have a team Abrams,Twitter, that is tweets from the
folks on the campaign itself,which is pretty cool. And then
also, we're gonna be doing a bustour soon. So keep your eyes
peeled for that. And definitelycome join us
Meral Clarke (17:33):
Plenty of access, which is terrific, because we
definitely want to do that. Andyou know, this is coming. If
you've listened to any of ourpodcasts, and my guests tell me
this is the most difficultquestion to answer. Tell us a
fun fact about yourself andsomething not necessarily
related to your politicalbackground, which is impressive,
(17:53):
or the work that you're doingfor Stacey, which we thank you
for but tell us something reallyinteresting just about you.
Ashland Swann (18:00):
Okay, yes, I know what I will tell you. And it
does looping a little bit to thework. But I think it also gives
us a nice note to end on. Sosome of you may know that I am
actually an Iranian Americandual citizen. They don't let you
be a dual citizen very often,but because my dad is from Iran,
and I've been going back thereevery year since I was seventh,
getting our citizenship for anumber of reasons, just made a
(18:21):
lot more sense. And so rightnow, in Iran, there are actually
women who are protesting avariety of things, but mostly
the compulsory use of the hijab,which is a wonderful, sacred
garment, but should absolutelybe a woman's choice to either
wear or not wear. And so theyare literally in the midst of
protests and women just like megetting killed in the streets of
(18:41):
Iran fighting for their rights.
And honestly, that's maybe not ahappy fact. But it's one that I
carry with me every day. And Isay this all to say that
something I was literally justsaying to my husband right
before this, we are so blessedthat this is the way that we get
to fight for our freedoms. Weare so blessed, I am so blessed
to sit on this call and have todo this podcast with you. I am
(19:02):
so blessed to be sitting in myhome which is safe, I am so
blessed to go to fun events tomarch in the Pride Parade, while
other people in other countriesand possibly one day even here
fight for their rights in a waythat is very hard for us to
imagine, but can also happenhere. And that's why I think it
is so important to fightextremism, both abroad and at
home. And that's why it's soimportant. Like I said, bring it
(19:24):
back around to elect StaceyAbrams as the next Governor of
Georgia because we are lucky tobe able to fight for her and she
is going to take us in adirection where we don't have to
worry about this extremistagenda of Brian Kemp affecting
us any longer.
Meral Clarke (19:38):
Beautifully stated and I'm so glad that you brought
that up because I am in awe ofthese women in the streets of
Iran who are fighting so hard tomaintain some semblance of their
privacy, dignity and theirrights. So kudos we hold them
all in our hearts and we wishthem all the best. I wish there
(19:59):
was more we could do for thembut they are incredibly
courageous and I have no wordsto describe how proud I am of
these women and how proud I amof women fighting here for our
rights as well. Well thank youAshland, for joining us today
and sharing more about yourcritical work to advance
democratic goals and policy. I'mMeral Clarke and on behalf of
(20:22):
our team, I'd like to thankeveryone for listening to the
North Georgia Blue Podcast. Joinus next time when we chat with
the leaders of the Georgiachapter of Braver Angels. To
learn more about us and the workthat we're doing, visit us
online at Fannin County, Georgiademocrats.com. Share the North
Georgia Blue Podcast with yourfriends and family. Be sure to
(20:44):
subscribe and follow and if youenjoy our podcast you founding
patron and friend of the show atNorth Georgia blue
podcast.com/patron with threedifferent giving levels to
choose from offering cool swagrecognition on the show and
website and valuable gift cardsto help us continue getting into
(21:04):
more good trouble.
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