October 12, 2024 • 28 mins
Mario J Novoa takes us on a captivating journey through his experience as a delegate at the Democratic Convention. Inspired by the need for greater Latino representation in Adelanto, California, Mario and his husband embarked on a path of political advocacy. Their dedication to the High Desert Progressive Democrats paved the way to earning delegate positions with the endorsement of Governor Newsom. In this episode, the Radio QGLLU team, along with hosts Rita Gonzalez and Eduardo Archuleta, unpack the unique challenges and responsibilities Mario faced while representing the LGBTQ and Latino communities on a state level. As political dynamics shift leading up to the November election, Mario shares insights into the evolving landscape and the impact of their advocacy efforts.
The pulse of the Democratic Convention is brought to life through Mario's vivid recounting of engaging encounters and inspiring speeches. Join us as we relive his networking opportunities with influential figures such as Nancy Pelosi, Pete Buttigieg, and Hillary Clinton. One unforgettable highlight was meeting iconic activist Dolores Huerta. These experiences underscore the importance of community engagement and the transformative power of recognition. Tune in to experience the exhilarating energy of the convention and discover how Mario's commitment to political involvement serves as an inspiring narrative for all who wish to make a difference.
Welcome to the RADIO QGLLU podcast, the show that TAKES A DEEP DIVE INTO WHAT THE QUEER, GAY, AND LESBIAN LATINE COMMUNITY IS TALKING ABOUT.
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Episode Transcript
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Rita Gonzales (00:05):
Welcome to the Outagenda, which is coming to
you on archive kpfk.
org.
Well, summer break is over forRadio Q Glue and we have another
segment coming to you right now.
Welcome to podcast, a segmentof the Out Agenda, the show that
(00:31):
takes a deep dive into what thequeer, gay and lesbian Latine
community is talking about.
I'm Rita Gonzales.
I'm Eduardo Archuleta.
Mario J. Novoa (00:42):
I'm Mario J.
Novoa.
Rita Gonzales (00:43):
We have a lot to talk to Mario about, and he was
a delegate at the DemocraticConvention.
It was just last month, andEduardo has so many questions
for you, so just to let you know, mario is a part of the regular
team and we were talking offair and I found it fascinating
(01:08):
what he did and what he did.
So I'd like to ask him somequestions and then we'll just go
from there.
Just wanted to start by askingMario how did you become a
delegate, what was the processand how did that come to be so?
Mario J. Novoa (01:23):
I'm glad to be contributing some political
information in regards to howour political system works.
We've talked about this beforein terms of how it affects our
community and how we wereencouraging people to go out to
vote for the primary.
So if you listen to any of theold episodes, we did mention
that back in March of 2024.
(01:45):
And so now we're heading intothe fall election on November
5th, and I got involved in thevoting process because my
husband and I live in a smalltown.
We live in Adelanto, california, which is in the High Desert
community of the Victor Valley.
(02:06):
So if anybody has ever drivenfrom LA to Las Vegas, you
probably have eaten or gone tothe bathroom in Victorville.
Rita Gonzales (02:13):
I have.
There's a roadhouse restaurantthat I go to.
Mario J. Novoa (02:20):
Yes, there's plenty of eateries here.
They're good eateries.
But you know the High Desert isgoing through a big transition.
My family moved here in 1990,and there was little
representation in terms ofLatinos involved in community
(02:40):
efforts and or politicallyengaged in city councils,
regional elected positions, sothe place has been primarily
conservative on so many levels,and you know I favor the
Democratic Party.
I love to listen to both sidesof what conservatives and
(03:03):
liberals have to say andindependents, so open-minded
very to having discussions.
But I do think that with theHigh Desert, with it having a
primary, primarily have aconservative base of very
religious people.
I think the community has beenbuilt around that, has been
(03:28):
built around that.
However, while everybody wholives here, like in anywhere of
our country, gets taxed right,so we get taxed for various
reasons to support the community, but not all of that is
diversified in the right way,and so there are many holes in
the high desert in terms of whatit provides the community,
whether it's a robustinfrastructure for sewage and
(03:52):
water and streets to communitycenters, to schools, to
hospitals.
All the infrastructure is kindof still lacking, especially
with the post-pandemic growththat we've had in the high
desert.
So my husband and I were whinersand complainers, and we were
whiners and complainers when wemoved up here in 2019.
And we were like, okay, how dowe get involved?
(04:15):
What do we do?
And we met one person her nameis Seta Gazarian who runs the
democratic club here called theHigh Desert Progressive
Democrats.
She was the president at thattime.
She got us kind of into theclub and then asked us to be
part of the leadership, and sowe did that.
That entailed phone banking,canvassing, talking to
(04:40):
constituents, talking abouttheir issues.
There was another person we met.
His name is Derek Marshall.
He's running for Congress, forCalifornia 23.
And he got us sort of even moreactivated, where he's like okay
, you represent the LGBTQcommunity and Latino community,
why aren't you guys doing more,or what can you do more?
(05:00):
Have you thought about doingthis?
Have you thought about doingthat?
And so I think, once we were inthe mix and we were
participating and doing allthese things that were being
asked of, then we took it upupon ourselves to like really be
engaged.
And a friend of mine who's beenon the show, Roland Palencia,
(05:22):
challenged me with taking mycommitment or taking my
complaining to a commitment.
So my husband and I have beenin the commitment space in
regards to how we uplift thepueblo, the community, and so we
have.
We ran for delegates for thestate party for Assembly
(05:45):
District 39, and we both won.
So we represent our region onthe state level came up for
(06:06):
anybody that wanted to run andso I threw my name in the hat,
my husband threw the name in thehat, several other people I
know threw their name in the hatto be considered as a delegate,
as a voting delegate, arepresentative for the state of
California to attend the DNC.
And, unbeknownst to me, thisemail goes out by Governor
Newsom endorsing my candidacyand two other people.
And that held a lot of powerbecause we won.
(06:30):
So we won, thank you, thank you.
It was very cool and I wassmiling ear to ear that day just
to get the endorsement and thenwinning.
And then came the big sigh oflike okay, we did this.
Now what?
Well, delegates are tasked tobe involved either in meetings
(06:54):
and to find out, preparing forthe convention, and so that
preparation.
It took some time, it took alot of information and then to
share that with people.
So it's not just about me, it'sabout sharing it with the
community.
So we were sharing it withpeople about what this meant.
At that time Joe Biden wasrunning, so to have a
conversation with people aboutJoe Biden was very difficult
(07:17):
because they just did not feelenthusiastic about him.
Enthusiastic about him and um,once he made you know, trump got
it, was attempted assassinationagainst trump, and all this
stuff was happening politically.
When joe biden decided toendorse kamala harris and he
(07:38):
decided to step down, then theenergy level just went through
the roof and it was all of asudden.
Being a delegate was superimportant, because then we're
getting bombarded.
So this is even before the DNCdecision.
But they were saying are yougoing to vote for Kamala, are
(07:59):
you supporting Kamala?
And we were getting phone callsand emails and people that we
knew were asking us.
And so I am like I don't know,I have to do my research.
I said I know what she's donefor our state as an attorney
general and then also working inthe Bay area as district
attorney, and I kind of stood inline with her policies.
(08:20):
But I just needed to do alittle bit more research.
But I just needed to do alittle bit more research and
after I made the commitment tosupport her.
Then we, as delegates, theneverything kind of coalesced
together within the party andNancy Pelosi and the California
Democratic Party called us to ameeting and before the
convention which is unusual wehad to cast our vote.
(08:44):
So our decision was made beforethe convention.
Usually that happens atconvention but because of some
state restrictions, with umcandidates being on the ballot
as I think it was, a state inthe state of ohio was having
that issue um, we had to vote.
So we all primarily the themajority voted for Kamala Harris
(09:06):
.
So there was such enthusiasmand such like excitement around
that.
So you know, it was really Ifelt like I was a part of
history and very proud to beLatino and queer, to be
representing us.
Rita Gonzales (09:22):
When you did this vote, was it in person?
It was virtual, oh virtual.
So it was a virtual meeting,okay, yes, so it was a large
virtual meeting.
It was a very large virtualmeeting, but Nancy Pelosi was on
my screen and I met her inperson, so oh, one of the when
we were talking, one of thethings that came up, because I
(09:44):
always thought that everythingwas paid for by the party or by
the state, but when we weretalking I found out differently.
Can you share a little bitabout that?
Mario J. Novoa (09:57):
Yeah, having already attended two state
conventions, one in Los Angelesand one in Sacramento, we
already knew that as a delegatewe had to pay our own way.
So just even participating onthe state level, we had to pay
for lodging, travel, food, allthat that goes with that and
plus member fees for the stateparty and then other convention
(10:20):
fees, plus member fees for thestate party and then other
convention fees.
So I knew there was going to bea cost to this.
And the designated conventioncity was Chicago and I had been
to Chicago.
I had been to Chicago once andI knew it could be costly.
So my thought was this is goingto be expensive.
My thought was this is going tobe expensive.
(10:40):
So once everybody was gettingorganized around after Kamala
and getting organized for theconvention, we started to
receive information weekly andthat kind of was stressful
because we're like okay, whatare we doing?
What's the itinerary?
Like where are we supposed tobe?
So you know, we got informationon when we should arrive and
(11:02):
check into the hotel.
So at one meeting they gave usa breakdown of what the
potential cost could be and soit was kind of hovering around
$4,000.
So I really wasn't prepared tokind of fund the whole trip.
I knew that we'd have to makesome sacrifices to do that, but
I think it goes with theterritory right.
I think sometimes you mentallyprepare for that but then you
(11:26):
get the official word that theparty does not cover those costs
.
It's out of your pocket.
I think there might be somestipends for people somewhere.
I didn't ask, but I think we'retrying to represent people from
different socioeconomicbackgrounds and we know that
(11:47):
minorities have a hard timefulfilling those financial
obligations, so I'm sure thatthere are sponsors out there
willing to assist.
Or if the party is connected tomaybe some foundation, I don't
know too much.
I did fundraise for my cost, soI was able to raise maybe just
(12:09):
about a quarter of what I neededto spend.
So that was super helpful andI'm very, very thankful for the
people that did contribute.
And my husband was kind of likein charge of that because I
worked long hours during the day, so he was able to do that for
us and I was able to go on thejourney without having too many
hangups about it.
Rita Gonzales (12:30):
Did your husband go with you Because he was also
a delegate?
Mario J. Novoa (12:34):
He was a delegate for the state party,
but he wasn't a delegate for theconvention.
Rita Gonzales (12:38):
He ran wasn't a delegate for the convention.
He ran but he did not getelected.
I was curious as to kind ofwhat you did there.
Who did you meet?
What was kind of the process,the fun and maybe the not so fun
of this convention?
Mario J. Novoa (12:56):
Yeah, so you know there's about 400 plus
delegates and 278, between 270and 278 are elected, so I was
part of that pool.
The other portion of that thatmakes up the 400 are elected
officials, so they're kind ofautomatic delegates.
Rita Gonzales (13:17):
So kind of what did you do?
Who did you meet?
What kind of were some of theevents that took place?
Mario J. Novoa (13:34):
Part of the day-to-day we had for the
California Democratic Party.
We had a breakfast and thatbreakfast was sort of
informational in nature and alsoan opportunity to network with
other delegates from our state.
We were all housed well.
We had a block of rooms that wecould choose at a certain hotel
and we would have breakfastthere at like one of the meeting
(13:57):
rooms and it was like aballroom size meeting room and
it gave us a chance to againnetwork with people.
But we had speakers come in.
So we had speakers like NancyPelosi.
We did have speakers like PeteButtigieg, the transportation
secretary.
We had other dignitaries comein and talk to us every morning.
(14:17):
So all of this was livestreamed as well, so people that
were watching could watch onsocial media and it was fun.
It was really informative toget kind of like the schedule of
the day and then also gettingthe speakers in to help us
motivate.
Get motivated because asdelegates we're not just voters
(14:37):
for our candidates but we'realso going back home to send and
bring some messages.
Right, we're taking messageswith us to carry on.
So I think that's what ourstate breakfast were mainly
about was just to get usenthused about going home and
making sure that we'reencouraging people to do phone
banking, encouraging people,encouraging people to knock on
(15:00):
doors and put up signs and talkto the community.
So you know, again, eventhrough this question that you
just asked me, I encourage ourlisteners to do the same go out
and do something.
Because and I'll share this indepth a little bit more because
it goes deeper I think it wasone of the most impactful
(15:22):
speeches I heard and it was fromHillary Clinton and I think
ultimately, the subtext of herspeech was like don't get
complacent, because look at whathappened during my election.
Everybody has she had shared ininterviews that people have
told her I didn't go out to votebecause we thought you had
(15:45):
already won and clearly there isno taking back your non-vote or
voting in that you can't goback in time.
So a lot of that is sort oflike ingrained to the delegates
that we are part of the largercommunity in terms of leadership
(16:05):
and that we can have impact.
So I'm glad that we're talkingabout this because I think I
want to, ultimately for ourlisteners, I want to encourage
people to participate, like youdon't have to run for office,
but there are other ways thatyou can be supportive of
leadership or be a leaderyourself within your local clubs
, whether that's a conservativeone or a liberal one, just
(16:28):
participate, be involved.
But you know, outside of that,you asked me who I met.
Oh man, I met so many greatpeople.
I met a governor, formerGovernor, Gray Davis I had a
chance to talk to him GloriaAllred, who's an attorney, who's
representative of a lot ofcases all over, but she's a
(16:52):
feminist attorney and has helpeda lot of women with their cases
on the justice issues.
I think the most memorableencounter I had was with Dolores
Huerta.
Dolores had I had already metthrough one of our screenings
(17:15):
that we had at for Unidad, whichis the film about the gay and
lesbian Latinos Unidos, and Ihad run into her before at
another convention, and so she'slike 90 plus and she remembers
who I am.
Wow, I'm like you know so overthe moon about that.
That's incredible.
And she, you know, I went up toher and I said you know this is
(17:39):
who I am.
She said I know who you are andshe's introducing me to
somebody and she knows this isMario.
He's the producer of this film,is on PBS.
You guys should talk.
And so she asked me are yougoing to that?
There was a luncheon that day.
She's are you going to theLatino leaders luncheon?
I said, yes, I am.
(18:00):
There was a luncheon that day.
She's like are you going to theLatino Leaders Luncheon?
I said, yes, I am.
She's like we're going together.
And she grabbed me by the armand she's like we're going to go
.
So we had to go from one hotelto another venue about six miles
away and we got there.
And you know, dolores is such abig person in our communities.
(18:20):
She's made a really big impactnationally, probably
internationally too, but herwork is known for having worked
with Cesar Chavez for the UnitedFarm Workers Union and she's
just a really great publicspeaker.
And so when we got out of thecar to go to this venue like the
(18:43):
seas part here comes Doloresand she's holding Montemario and
we're walking through thecrowds and people are like can
we take a photo with you or doyou remember me from this or
that?
And she remembers people, sheremembers where she was at and
like people from Texas andpeople from Arizona and people
(19:04):
from another part of the country, and and she's having these
wonderful conversations.
And then, you know, for thisparticular event there was a VIP
area and so we were escorted Iby default, holding onto her,
and I'm actually recording thewhole time because I took my
camera, so I'm recording all ofthis and they take us to the VIP
(19:28):
room and everybody wants totalk to Dolores.
They're taking pictures withher and with everybody.
She's like this is Marioproducer, meet him, mario, give
him your card.
So she made me feel so special.
She made me feel bigger thananyone in the whole convention
(19:51):
that for that week, maybe notbigger than Kamala how memorable
that is that is yeah, I mean,how can you you can't ask for
more to be recognized and to beseen, right, that's what we all
want as human beings.
And she did the most simplesthuman thing you could do and
that's recognize somebody, andthat was great.
(20:14):
So I'll never forget that.
That was the highlight for meof the, of the campaign, of the
whole experience sorry andleading into the convention,
which is the reason why we werethere.
That was huge.
I don't think I'll ever haveanother chance to hear Bill and
Hillary Clinton, barack Obamaand Michelle Obama and Oprah
(20:39):
Winfrey and Kamala Harris andPresident Joe Biden and so many
speakers that were on stage.
I don't think I'll ever be in aroom like that again ever.
Rita Gonzales (20:52):
I'm just soaking it all in for this moment in
time, this moment in time, Ihave experience, but that will
always be the most specialmoment.
It certainly will.
Mario J. Novoa (21:02):
One of the most special yeah, it certainly will
and unforgettable.
And I think for those of youthat watch the convention at
home or any part of a speech, Ithink you can probably get the
energy of the speaker right, youcan.
It transfers over on theairwaves or the streaming lines.
(21:25):
You know, you really do getpeople's's passion.
But it's nothing like beingthere I've seen these
conventions my whole life and tobe in a room where everybody is
like from energy level from oneto ten right, we say pain level
one to ten, but energy levelone to ten, and ten being the
(21:46):
highest ten.
Every everyone was at 10, eventhe reporters, even all the
press that were like packed,jam-packed in all the aisles.
Um, there was just really goodenergy there.
I think people felt the promiseof a better tomorrow and an
opportunity to have newleadership, to have a new voice.
So all all the conventioneers Idon't know what the word is,
(22:11):
but all the people fromdifferent states, all the
delegates and everybody whoparticipated, it was just like a
big family.
And so you do feel that fromthe rally and then obviously,
when the speakers come up andyou cheer for them, it's just a
great feeling.
And just to point out the twoother moments.
So there were, you know, threemoments for me of the whole week
(22:34):
.
One was Dolores Huerta, which Ijust talked about, and the
other one was Hillary Clinton.
And not only did she talk aboutlosing and passing, you know,
the baton over to Kamala, butseeing the opportunity for
people to actually, you know,move baton over to Kamala, but
seeing the opportunity forpeople to actually, you know,
move the needle forward.
So sometimes leadership, maybethere's no succession, but maybe
(22:58):
there's like inspiring the nextgroup of people to take up that
baton and lead, and lead withagency and voice.
And I think that's what Hillarykind of transferred to me that
day.
There was a lot that wassubtext in her speech.
There was a lot aboutinspiration also.
But that leads me to thepromise of tomorrow.
(23:21):
As a delegate, obviously I haveendorsed someone and I know that
we're part of the show is notto endorse but just to see
somebody's history and so whythey've been put on the platform
.
So I want to just put that intocontext, because the convention
(23:41):
is about endorsing a particularperson and everyone has to do
their homework, even aslisteners.
We have to find out if thatcandidate fits for us, because I
know other Democrats and I knowother liberals that are not
voting for her.
So people have to really notonly look at the presidential
(24:04):
platform.
They have to look at downballot.
So how is it affecting yourstate?
How is it affecting your localelected officials?
What measures, whatpropositions are on the table
for you Increases in your taxes,or how community programs are
(24:25):
rolled out?
I think it's up to theelectorate to figure that out,
and you have to have adiscussion with people.
You have to do your research.
The internet has given you alot of abilities to do research
that we didn't have 30 years ago.
You'd have to be lookingthrough books, do your research,
listen to YouTube, listen tothe speeches, listen to the
(24:45):
position.
So, whether you're liberal orconservative, do your homework.
Be part of your right as avoter and exercise that right.
Rita Gonzales (24:57):
And I would agree with Mario on that that it's
important that and that's kindof the point of this is that
there are things that you can do, whatever your background is,
whatever your politicalaffiliation is, there are things
you can do to hopefully betteryour community and want to
better your community andencourage you to get out there,
(25:21):
learn what's available, learnhow certain measures, certain
people, certain candidates,propositions all impact you and
the people around you and thepeople you care about.
That's incredibly important todo and that's why I think we've
all stressed the importance ofone registration, which you need
(25:45):
to do before I believe it'sOctober 21st what I read and
then following that up andgetting out to vote, because I
think what it was very telling,because I saw Hillary's speech
and was very moved by it as well.
I thought it was one of thebest speeches I've ever heard
when she talked about that howwe can't become complacent.
(26:08):
If there's something that youbelieve in, again, whatever your
affiliation, you need to getout there and you need to make a
point and hopefully contributesomething positive to your
community.
Any last thoughts, other thanI'm always pushing people to
register and vote.
I feel like Taylor Swiftactually.
Mario J. Novoa (26:28):
Well, I did want to say that we have more, as a
people, things in common than wehave things that separate us,
and we have to find thatconsensus and that commonality,
whether you're in on the left,the right or the middle.
We have to as a community.
That is part of democracy isthat we have to work together to
(26:52):
move our pueblo, our community,forward, and I don't have any
issues with anyone that'sconservative, let's just work
together, and I have to convinceyou that my perspective is the
best one, and then you have todo the same and then maybe find
(27:12):
some compromise there.
Rita Gonzales (27:14):
There's a thing on Facebook where they show
someone will say a topic andsaid change my mind as they sit
there, and that's exactly whatwe all have to do.
Well, this has been greattalking about all this, Looking
forward to the future actually,and just to add before we close,
is that you do need to registerby October 21st if you want to
(27:37):
participate in the upcomingpresidential election and, like
Mario said, there's a lot ofother than president.
There are a lot of other thingsthat you need to consider,
other than president.
There are a lot of other thingsthat you need to consider Again
local leaders, local andstatewide amendments.
So please do your homework,please read up, and we all
(28:04):
encourage you to get out there,register and vote.
Mario J. Novoa (28:08):
And Eduardo, just to read my fortune cookie
that's taped on my computer.
Be your strongest advocate, andI'm going to add be your
strongest advocate and vote.
Rita Gonzales (28:21):
Absolutely Great.
Thank you for listening to us.
I'm Rita Gonzalez.
I'm Eduardo Archuleta.
I'm Mario G Novoa.
Like us on our Facebook page oremail us at the out agenda@
gmail.
com and have a wonderful week,and remember that being out is
the first step to being equal.
(28:42):
Now stay tuned for this Way Out.
Welcome to the Outagenda, which is coming to
you on archive kpfk.
org.
Well, summer break is over forRadio Q Glue and we have another
segment coming to you right now.
Welcome to podcast, a segmentof the Out Agenda, the show that
(00:31):
takes a deep dive into what thequeer, gay and lesbian Latine
community is talking about.
I'm Rita Gonzales.
I'm Eduardo Archuleta.
Mario J. Novoa (00:42):
I'm Mario J.
Novoa.
Rita Gonzales (00:43):
We have a lot to talk to Mario about, and he was
a delegate at the DemocraticConvention.
It was just last month, andEduardo has so many questions
for you, so just to let you know, mario is a part of the regular
team and we were talking offair and I found it fascinating
(01:08):
what he did and what he did.
So I'd like to ask him somequestions and then we'll just go
from there.
Just wanted to start by askingMario how did you become a
delegate, what was the processand how did that come to be so?
Mario J. Novoa (01:23):
I'm glad to be contributing some political
information in regards to howour political system works.
We've talked about this beforein terms of how it affects our
community and how we wereencouraging people to go out to
vote for the primary.
So if you listen to any of theold episodes, we did mention
that back in March of 2024.
(01:45):
And so now we're heading intothe fall election on November
5th, and I got involved in thevoting process because my
husband and I live in a smalltown.
We live in Adelanto, california, which is in the High Desert
community of the Victor Valley.
(02:06):
So if anybody has ever drivenfrom LA to Las Vegas, you
probably have eaten or gone tothe bathroom in Victorville.
Rita Gonzales (02:13):
I have.
There's a roadhouse restaurantthat I go to.
Mario J. Novoa (02:20):
Yes, there's plenty of eateries here.
They're good eateries.
But you know the High Desert isgoing through a big transition.
My family moved here in 1990,and there was little
representation in terms ofLatinos involved in community
(02:40):
efforts and or politicallyengaged in city councils,
regional elected positions, sothe place has been primarily
conservative on so many levels,and you know I favor the
Democratic Party.
I love to listen to both sidesof what conservatives and
(03:03):
liberals have to say andindependents, so open-minded
very to having discussions.
But I do think that with theHigh Desert, with it having a
primary, primarily have aconservative base of very
religious people.
I think the community has beenbuilt around that, has been
(03:28):
built around that.
However, while everybody wholives here, like in anywhere of
our country, gets taxed right,so we get taxed for various
reasons to support the community, but not all of that is
diversified in the right way,and so there are many holes in
the high desert in terms of whatit provides the community,
whether it's a robustinfrastructure for sewage and
(03:52):
water and streets to communitycenters, to schools, to
hospitals.
All the infrastructure is kindof still lacking, especially
with the post-pandemic growththat we've had in the high
desert.
So my husband and I were whinersand complainers, and we were
whiners and complainers when wemoved up here in 2019.
And we were like, okay, how dowe get involved?
(04:15):
What do we do?
And we met one person her nameis Seta Gazarian who runs the
democratic club here called theHigh Desert Progressive
Democrats.
She was the president at thattime.
She got us kind of into theclub and then asked us to be
part of the leadership, and sowe did that.
That entailed phone banking,canvassing, talking to
(04:40):
constituents, talking abouttheir issues.
There was another person we met.
His name is Derek Marshall.
He's running for Congress, forCalifornia 23.
And he got us sort of even moreactivated, where he's like okay
, you represent the LGBTQcommunity and Latino community,
why aren't you guys doing more,or what can you do more?
(05:00):
Have you thought about doingthis?
Have you thought about doingthat?
And so I think, once we were inthe mix and we were
participating and doing allthese things that were being
asked of, then we took it upupon ourselves to like really be
engaged.
And a friend of mine who's beenon the show, Roland Palencia,
(05:22):
challenged me with taking mycommitment or taking my
complaining to a commitment.
So my husband and I have beenin the commitment space in
regards to how we uplift thepueblo, the community, and so we
have.
We ran for delegates for thestate party for Assembly
(05:45):
District 39, and we both won.
So we represent our region onthe state level came up for
(06:06):
anybody that wanted to run andso I threw my name in the hat,
my husband threw the name in thehat, several other people I
know threw their name in the hatto be considered as a delegate,
as a voting delegate, arepresentative for the state of
California to attend the DNC.
And, unbeknownst to me, thisemail goes out by Governor
Newsom endorsing my candidacyand two other people.
And that held a lot of powerbecause we won.
(06:30):
So we won, thank you, thank you.
It was very cool and I wassmiling ear to ear that day just
to get the endorsement and thenwinning.
And then came the big sigh oflike okay, we did this.
Now what?
Well, delegates are tasked tobe involved either in meetings
(06:54):
and to find out, preparing forthe convention, and so that
preparation.
It took some time, it took alot of information and then to
share that with people.
So it's not just about me, it'sabout sharing it with the
community.
So we were sharing it withpeople about what this meant.
At that time Joe Biden wasrunning, so to have a
conversation with people aboutJoe Biden was very difficult
(07:17):
because they just did not feelenthusiastic about him.
Enthusiastic about him and um,once he made you know, trump got
it, was attempted assassinationagainst trump, and all this
stuff was happening politically.
When joe biden decided toendorse kamala harris and he
(07:38):
decided to step down, then theenergy level just went through
the roof and it was all of asudden.
Being a delegate was superimportant, because then we're
getting bombarded.
So this is even before the DNCdecision.
But they were saying are yougoing to vote for Kamala, are
(07:59):
you supporting Kamala?
And we were getting phone callsand emails and people that we
knew were asking us.
And so I am like I don't know,I have to do my research.
I said I know what she's donefor our state as an attorney
general and then also working inthe Bay area as district
attorney, and I kind of stood inline with her policies.
(08:20):
But I just needed to do alittle bit more research.
But I just needed to do alittle bit more research and
after I made the commitment tosupport her.
Then we, as delegates, theneverything kind of coalesced
together within the party andNancy Pelosi and the California
Democratic Party called us to ameeting and before the
convention which is unusual wehad to cast our vote.
(08:44):
So our decision was made beforethe convention.
Usually that happens atconvention but because of some
state restrictions, with umcandidates being on the ballot
as I think it was, a state inthe state of ohio was having
that issue um, we had to vote.
So we all primarily the themajority voted for Kamala Harris
(09:06):
.
So there was such enthusiasmand such like excitement around
that.
So you know, it was really Ifelt like I was a part of
history and very proud to beLatino and queer, to be
representing us.
Rita Gonzales (09:22):
When you did this vote, was it in person?
It was virtual, oh virtual.
So it was a virtual meeting,okay, yes, so it was a large
virtual meeting.
It was a very large virtualmeeting, but Nancy Pelosi was on
my screen and I met her inperson, so oh, one of the when
we were talking, one of thethings that came up, because I
(09:44):
always thought that everythingwas paid for by the party or by
the state, but when we weretalking I found out differently.
Can you share a little bitabout that?
Mario J. Novoa (09:57):
Yeah, having already attended two state
conventions, one in Los Angelesand one in Sacramento, we
already knew that as a delegatewe had to pay our own way.
So just even participating onthe state level, we had to pay
for lodging, travel, food, allthat that goes with that and
plus member fees for the stateparty and then other convention
(10:20):
fees, plus member fees for thestate party and then other
convention fees.
So I knew there was going to bea cost to this.
And the designated conventioncity was Chicago and I had been
to Chicago.
I had been to Chicago once andI knew it could be costly.
So my thought was this is goingto be expensive.
My thought was this is going tobe expensive.
(10:40):
So once everybody was gettingorganized around after Kamala
and getting organized for theconvention, we started to
receive information weekly andthat kind of was stressful
because we're like okay, whatare we doing?
What's the itinerary?
Like where are we supposed tobe?
So you know, we got informationon when we should arrive and
(11:02):
check into the hotel.
So at one meeting they gave usa breakdown of what the
potential cost could be and soit was kind of hovering around
$4,000.
So I really wasn't prepared tokind of fund the whole trip.
I knew that we'd have to makesome sacrifices to do that, but
I think it goes with theterritory right.
I think sometimes you mentallyprepare for that but then you
(11:26):
get the official word that theparty does not cover those costs
.
It's out of your pocket.
I think there might be somestipends for people somewhere.
I didn't ask, but I think we'retrying to represent people from
different socioeconomicbackgrounds and we know that
(11:47):
minorities have a hard timefulfilling those financial
obligations, so I'm sure thatthere are sponsors out there
willing to assist.
Or if the party is connected tomaybe some foundation, I don't
know too much.
I did fundraise for my cost, soI was able to raise maybe just
(12:09):
about a quarter of what I neededto spend.
So that was super helpful andI'm very, very thankful for the
people that did contribute.
And my husband was kind of likein charge of that because I
worked long hours during the day, so he was able to do that for
us and I was able to go on thejourney without having too many
hangups about it.
Rita Gonzales (12:30):
Did your husband go with you Because he was also
a delegate?
Mario J. Novoa (12:34):
He was a delegate for the state party,
but he wasn't a delegate for theconvention.
Rita Gonzales (12:38):
He ran wasn't a delegate for the convention.
He ran but he did not getelected.
I was curious as to kind ofwhat you did there.
Who did you meet?
What was kind of the process,the fun and maybe the not so fun
of this convention?
Mario J. Novoa (12:56):
Yeah, so you know there's about 400 plus
delegates and 278, between 270and 278 are elected, so I was
part of that pool.
The other portion of that thatmakes up the 400 are elected
officials, so they're kind ofautomatic delegates.
Rita Gonzales (13:17):
So kind of what did you do?
Who did you meet?
What kind of were some of theevents that took place?
Mario J. Novoa (13:34):
Part of the day-to-day we had for the
California Democratic Party.
We had a breakfast and thatbreakfast was sort of
informational in nature and alsoan opportunity to network with
other delegates from our state.
We were all housed well.
We had a block of rooms that wecould choose at a certain hotel
and we would have breakfastthere at like one of the meeting
(13:57):
rooms and it was like aballroom size meeting room and
it gave us a chance to againnetwork with people.
But we had speakers come in.
So we had speakers like NancyPelosi.
We did have speakers like PeteButtigieg, the transportation
secretary.
We had other dignitaries comein and talk to us every morning.
(14:17):
So all of this was livestreamed as well, so people that
were watching could watch onsocial media and it was fun.
It was really informative toget kind of like the schedule of
the day and then also gettingthe speakers in to help us
motivate.
Get motivated because asdelegates we're not just voters
(14:37):
for our candidates but we'realso going back home to send and
bring some messages.
Right, we're taking messageswith us to carry on.
So I think that's what ourstate breakfast were mainly
about was just to get usenthused about going home and
making sure that we'reencouraging people to do phone
banking, encouraging people,encouraging people to knock on
(15:00):
doors and put up signs and talkto the community.
So you know, again, eventhrough this question that you
just asked me, I encourage ourlisteners to do the same go out
and do something.
Because and I'll share this indepth a little bit more because
it goes deeper I think it wasone of the most impactful
(15:22):
speeches I heard and it was fromHillary Clinton and I think
ultimately, the subtext of herspeech was like don't get
complacent, because look at whathappened during my election.
Everybody has she had shared ininterviews that people have
told her I didn't go out to votebecause we thought you had
(15:45):
already won and clearly there isno taking back your non-vote or
voting in that you can't goback in time.
So a lot of that is sort oflike ingrained to the delegates
that we are part of the largercommunity in terms of leadership
(16:05):
and that we can have impact.
So I'm glad that we're talkingabout this because I think I
want to, ultimately for ourlisteners, I want to encourage
people to participate, like youdon't have to run for office,
but there are other ways thatyou can be supportive of
leadership or be a leaderyourself within your local clubs
, whether that's a conservativeone or a liberal one, just
(16:28):
participate, be involved.
But you know, outside of that,you asked me who I met.
Oh man, I met so many greatpeople.
I met a governor, formerGovernor, Gray Davis I had a
chance to talk to him GloriaAllred, who's an attorney, who's
representative of a lot ofcases all over, but she's a
(16:52):
feminist attorney and has helpeda lot of women with their cases
on the justice issues.
I think the most memorableencounter I had was with Dolores
Huerta.
Dolores had I had already metthrough one of our screenings
(17:15):
that we had at for Unidad, whichis the film about the gay and
lesbian Latinos Unidos, and Ihad run into her before at
another convention, and so she'slike 90 plus and she remembers
who I am.
Wow, I'm like you know so overthe moon about that.
That's incredible.
And she, you know, I went up toher and I said you know this is
(17:39):
who I am.
She said I know who you are andshe's introducing me to
somebody and she knows this isMario.
He's the producer of this film,is on PBS.
You guys should talk.
And so she asked me are yougoing to that?
There was a luncheon that day.
She's are you going to theLatino leaders luncheon?
I said, yes, I am.
(18:00):
There was a luncheon that day.
She's like are you going to theLatino Leaders Luncheon?
I said, yes, I am.
She's like we're going together.
And she grabbed me by the armand she's like we're going to go
.
So we had to go from one hotelto another venue about six miles
away and we got there.
And you know, dolores is such abig person in our communities.
(18:20):
She's made a really big impactnationally, probably
internationally too, but herwork is known for having worked
with Cesar Chavez for the UnitedFarm Workers Union and she's
just a really great publicspeaker.
And so when we got out of thecar to go to this venue like the
(18:43):
seas part here comes Doloresand she's holding Montemario and
we're walking through thecrowds and people are like can
we take a photo with you or doyou remember me from this or
that?
And she remembers people, sheremembers where she was at and
like people from Texas andpeople from Arizona and people
(19:04):
from another part of the country, and and she's having these
wonderful conversations.
And then, you know, for thisparticular event there was a VIP
area and so we were escorted Iby default, holding onto her,
and I'm actually recording thewhole time because I took my
camera, so I'm recording all ofthis and they take us to the VIP
(19:28):
room and everybody wants totalk to Dolores.
They're taking pictures withher and with everybody.
She's like this is Marioproducer, meet him, mario, give
him your card.
So she made me feel so special.
She made me feel bigger thananyone in the whole convention
(19:51):
that for that week, maybe notbigger than Kamala how memorable
that is that is yeah, I mean,how can you you can't ask for
more to be recognized and to beseen, right, that's what we all
want as human beings.
And she did the most simplesthuman thing you could do and
that's recognize somebody, andthat was great.
(20:14):
So I'll never forget that.
That was the highlight for meof the, of the campaign, of the
whole experience sorry andleading into the convention,
which is the reason why we werethere.
That was huge.
I don't think I'll ever haveanother chance to hear Bill and
Hillary Clinton, barack Obamaand Michelle Obama and Oprah
(20:39):
Winfrey and Kamala Harris andPresident Joe Biden and so many
speakers that were on stage.
I don't think I'll ever be in aroom like that again ever.
Rita Gonzales (20:52):
I'm just soaking it all in for this moment in
time, this moment in time, Ihave experience, but that will
always be the most specialmoment.
It certainly will.
Mario J. Novoa (21:02):
One of the most special yeah, it certainly will
and unforgettable.
And I think for those of youthat watch the convention at
home or any part of a speech, Ithink you can probably get the
energy of the speaker right, youcan.
It transfers over on theairwaves or the streaming lines.
(21:25):
You know, you really do getpeople's's passion.
But it's nothing like beingthere I've seen these
conventions my whole life and tobe in a room where everybody is
like from energy level from oneto ten right, we say pain level
one to ten, but energy levelone to ten, and ten being the
(21:46):
highest ten.
Every everyone was at 10, eventhe reporters, even all the
press that were like packed,jam-packed in all the aisles.
Um, there was just really goodenergy there.
I think people felt the promiseof a better tomorrow and an
opportunity to have newleadership, to have a new voice.
So all all the conventioneers Idon't know what the word is,
(22:11):
but all the people fromdifferent states, all the
delegates and everybody whoparticipated, it was just like a
big family.
And so you do feel that fromthe rally and then obviously,
when the speakers come up andyou cheer for them, it's just a
great feeling.
And just to point out the twoother moments.
So there were, you know, threemoments for me of the whole week
(22:34):
.
One was Dolores Huerta, which Ijust talked about, and the
other one was Hillary Clinton.
And not only did she talk aboutlosing and passing, you know,
the baton over to Kamala, butseeing the opportunity for
people to actually, you know,move baton over to Kamala, but
seeing the opportunity forpeople to actually, you know,
move the needle forward.
So sometimes leadership, maybethere's no succession, but maybe
(22:58):
there's like inspiring the nextgroup of people to take up that
baton and lead, and lead withagency and voice.
And I think that's what Hillarykind of transferred to me that
day.
There was a lot that wassubtext in her speech.
There was a lot aboutinspiration also.
But that leads me to thepromise of tomorrow.
(23:21):
As a delegate, obviously I haveendorsed someone and I know that
we're part of the show is notto endorse but just to see
somebody's history and so whythey've been put on the platform
.
So I want to just put that intocontext, because the convention
(23:41):
is about endorsing a particularperson and everyone has to do
their homework, even aslisteners.
We have to find out if thatcandidate fits for us, because I
know other Democrats and I knowother liberals that are not
voting for her.
So people have to really notonly look at the presidential
(24:04):
platform.
They have to look at downballot.
So how is it affecting yourstate?
How is it affecting your localelected officials?
What measures, whatpropositions are on the table
for you Increases in your taxes,or how community programs are
(24:25):
rolled out?
I think it's up to theelectorate to figure that out,
and you have to have adiscussion with people.
You have to do your research.
The internet has given you alot of abilities to do research
that we didn't have 30 years ago.
You'd have to be lookingthrough books, do your research,
listen to YouTube, listen tothe speeches, listen to the
(24:45):
position.
So, whether you're liberal orconservative, do your homework.
Be part of your right as avoter and exercise that right.
Rita Gonzales (24:57):
And I would agree with Mario on that that it's
important that and that's kindof the point of this is that
there are things that you can do, whatever your background is,
whatever your politicalaffiliation is, there are things
you can do to hopefully betteryour community and want to
better your community andencourage you to get out there,
(25:21):
learn what's available, learnhow certain measures, certain
people, certain candidates,propositions all impact you and
the people around you and thepeople you care about.
That's incredibly important todo and that's why I think we've
all stressed the importance ofone registration, which you need
(25:45):
to do before I believe it'sOctober 21st what I read and
then following that up andgetting out to vote, because I
think what it was very telling,because I saw Hillary's speech
and was very moved by it as well.
I thought it was one of thebest speeches I've ever heard
when she talked about that howwe can't become complacent.
(26:08):
If there's something that youbelieve in, again, whatever your
affiliation, you need to getout there and you need to make a
point and hopefully contributesomething positive to your
community.
Any last thoughts, other thanI'm always pushing people to
register and vote.
I feel like Taylor Swiftactually.
Mario J. Novoa (26:28):
Well, I did want to say that we have more, as a
people, things in common than wehave things that separate us,
and we have to find thatconsensus and that commonality,
whether you're in on the left,the right or the middle.
We have to as a community.
That is part of democracy isthat we have to work together to
(26:52):
move our pueblo, our community,forward, and I don't have any
issues with anyone that'sconservative, let's just work
together, and I have to convinceyou that my perspective is the
best one, and then you have todo the same and then maybe find
(27:12):
some compromise there.
Rita Gonzales (27:14):
There's a thing on Facebook where they show
someone will say a topic andsaid change my mind as they sit
there, and that's exactly whatwe all have to do.
Well, this has been greattalking about all this, Looking
forward to the future actually,and just to add before we close,
is that you do need to registerby October 21st if you want to
(27:37):
participate in the upcomingpresidential election and, like
Mario said, there's a lot ofother than president.
There are a lot of other thingsthat you need to consider,
other than president.
There are a lot of other thingsthat you need to consider Again
local leaders, local andstatewide amendments.
So please do your homework,please read up, and we all
(28:04):
encourage you to get out there,register and vote.
Mario J. Novoa (28:08):
And Eduardo, just to read my fortune cookie
that's taped on my computer.
Be your strongest advocate, andI'm going to add be your
strongest advocate and vote.
Rita Gonzales (28:21):
Absolutely Great.
Thank you for listening to us.
I'm Rita Gonzalez.
I'm Eduardo Archuleta.
I'm Mario G Novoa.
Like us on our Facebook page oremail us at the out agenda@
gmail.
com and have a wonderful week,and remember that being out is
the first step to being equal.
(28:42):
Now stay tuned for this Way Out.
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