October 25, 2024 • 49 mins
As we approach Election Day 2024, we talk with Amy Taylor North, candidate for House District 74 in the North Carolina House of Representatives. We discuss why she chose to run for office, the decidedly non-political strategies she is employing in her campaign, and what is at stake for women today. Hear how Amy plans to make a difference and represent all people when she is elected.
Have a question or comment? Email us at ungovernablewomen@gmail.com.
Find voter information at www.vote411.org, www.vote.org, and www.866ourvote.org.
Portia Mount on LinkedIn
Tiffany Waddell Tate on LinkedIn
Amy Taylor North Website
Amy Taylor North on Instagram
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Portia Mount, creator and host of
Ungovernable Women, formerly theManifesta Podcast, the
lifestyle and career podcast foraspiring women.
Our new name reflects ourmission to reach even more
listeners with stories of womenwho are breaking boundaries and
redefining success.
I have a favor to ask you, ifyou haven't done so already,
please rate and subscribe to thepod.
(00:21):
Wherever you listen to yourpodcasts, it boosts our rankings
and helps more people discoverus.
Thanks for tuning in.
Welcome to Season 5 ofUngovernable Women, the career
and lifestyle podcast foraspiring women ready to break
barriers.
I'm Portia Mouw and I'mthrilled to be back with my
co-host, tiffany Waddell-Tate,ceo of Career Maven Consulting.
(00:43):
We've got a new name, but ourmission remains stronger than
ever helping women find theirpurpose, lead high-impact
careers and meaningful lives.
This season will bring you thestories of women who forged
their own paths to success.
It's our time to shine.
Let's dive in.
We are recording this less thana month before the 2024
(01:08):
presidential election and we'vebeen hearing nonstop about the
race, but in many ways, it's thedown-ballot races that have an
even bigger impact on our lives.
So down-ballot races includegovernor senatorial races,
congressional seats, schoolboards, even town councils.
These seats are the ones thatreally impact our day-to-day
(01:28):
lives, and North Carolina is oneof the most hotly contested
states in this election cycle.
So we are so thrilled towelcome Amy Taylor North.
She's a North Carolina native.
She's a mom to two teen boys, asmall business owner.
She's a North Carolina native.
She's a mom to two teen boys, asmall business owner.
She's a lifelong communityadvocate and volunteer, and for
(01:49):
the last 22 years she's been aconnector and an advocate in
Winston-Salem-Forsyth County, asan entrepreneur, as an arts
innovator she calls herself ahistory nerd.
I've got to learn more aboutthat.
I got to learn more about thatand, most importantly,
especially in this time, afierce advocate for women and
women-owned small businesses.
(02:09):
And now she's running for statehouse seat in District 74 for
West Forsyth County.
Amy, welcome to the pod.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Thank you, it's great to be here.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Amy, I'm really excited to have this
conversation with you.
It's great to be here, Amy.
I'm really excited to have thisconversation with you, and I
know many of our listeners areprobably wondering what
motivated you to run for office,especially during a highly
contested year, Like.
Was there a moment in your lifethat sparked that decision or
compelled you to say I'm goingto go and do this?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So I never planned to do this.
I had a moment when Hillary wonthe popular vote but not the
election, when, I like to say, Iwas elegantly dressed in rage
and I said everything else hasto stop right now, everything.
(03:02):
And I said everything else hasto stop right now, everything.
I have to go figure out how Ican help women win races, like
how can I learn, how can Ivolunteer, what can I do?
And so I was working as aneditor at an all-woman magazine
with a good friend and they kindof covered for me and I found
(03:25):
Dee Dee Adams who was running atthe time.
She was mayor pro tem ofWinston-Salem on the city
council and I just connectedwith her really deeply and ended
up being her campaign managerand kind of did what I call a
year of my American serviceservice to my country.
(03:49):
I was never obviously going tobe in the military, but it was
time for me to do more as acitizen and as a community
member to help my local area.
And I went through a toughdivorce and looking back, I look
(04:10):
back now at my whole life anddidn't know that I'd been in
anything.
Now, after dealing with a toughloss that you only can count on
.
You know yourself and that Ihad a lot more to offer than I
(04:35):
thought.
Of course, as a mom of two kids, I've given everything to them
and to my ex-husband and hiscareer, and this is a time that
I finally you know, years agofound my voice and I decided
that this was a great place touse it and we just we need
change.
So I have fewer rights as anAmerican woman now than the day
(04:57):
I was born, and that can't.
It can't be that way.
So I've worked on severalcampaigns, learned a lot,
volunteered in every way througha campaign and thought, well,
things are worse now than ever.
So I got to do more than ever,and so I sat my boys down and
said this is going to be so hardand really ugly, mean things
(05:18):
are probably going to be, saidand mailed to us and they have.
But my boys are incredible.
They are incredible, verymature for their age, super
intelligent and my oldestespecially, super compassionate
and they have really it's been agreat thing for our family.
(05:38):
It's the best thing that's everhappened to our family.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Amy, when you think about the future of North
Carolina, what are some of thespecific policies or initiatives
that you aim to drive forwardfor our state?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
So I am not sure, because in order to drive
anything, you have to be elected.
And two, we have to break thesupermajority.
So I don't hate on anypolitical party, but extremes on
both sides do not help us moveforward.
So, first and foremost, I haveto win, because winning this
(06:16):
race will break thesupermajority.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Amy, can you explain what a supermajority is for some
of our listeners who may notknow like what that is and why
it's so significant?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Sure.
So I did a little campaign campwith all my young volunteers at
the beginning of the summer andwe started.
You know that we have towns andcities, and then we have
counties, and then we have housedistricts and then, bigger than
that, are our Senate districtsand then our statewide offices.
(06:48):
So we have 120 representativesin the North Carolina State
House and in that House of 120,the majority are Republican in
both the House and the Senate.
So you know every campaign hasa strategy and the state party
(07:10):
has a strategy and sometimes thestate party is not in alignment
with what's going on insomeone's particular district.
Often they are, and they'vebeen supportive.
But that's been a veryinteresting thing I've learned
is you know you can be aDemocrat and be active and be
(07:34):
effective without quote unquotebeing part of the party, because
the party does have its ownagenda.
It's picked people who theythink can win and they back them
.
The thing is in my race I knowwhy I'm going to win and I know
(07:55):
where I come from and you knowit's hard to communicate that up
to the state level.
But winning my race and thefour or five races that are
targeted races for theDemocratic Party, who they are
funding and helping.
I am not one of those, but whenI win we will have 60 on both
(08:19):
sides of the aisle People whoaren't in politics so much.
I mean, wow, people who aren'tin politics so much.
I mean I'm sure they know thattwo parties right now, and you
know it doesn't matter to meright now, and this is another
reason I wanted to run.
I did not print Democrat onanything.
It's not on my website.
(08:43):
When I win, I'm representingeverybody and I was with my
partner for 30 years who was aRepublican.
I don't hate Republicans.
Again, it's the extremes onboth sides that are not helping.
And the guy I'm running against,you know, is an extremist
(09:06):
incumbent and none of his kidswent to public schools.
Yet he, you know he voted totake almost $5 million out of
our public school system.
He doesn't care about thepublic schools and eight out of
10 kids go to public schools.
So I'm a mom.
That's unacceptable.
I'm also a woman and he wants afull abortion ban in the state
of North Carolina and has beenendorsed by Mark Robinson.
(09:27):
So they're birds of a featherright.
And I know that I'm the Davidin the David and Goliath story
here.
I know that it's my first timeto run ever, but they are so
concerned about me winningbecause obviously they have a
lot riding on this race.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
That they took me to court, you know, over my
residency, to try to take timeaway from our campaign and they
hauled me into the hearing whereI was, you know, on there for
five hours and they supposedlyhad all this evidence.
Anyway, unanimously I won, youknow, that hearing.
(10:08):
But it was a real distractionand now I have legal bills that
I will have to fund myselfbecause I'm not taking that out
of campaign money.
So, you know, one of the hardawful realities that I have
learned is, you know, there's areason the majority of people
(10:29):
making the laws are older whitemen.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Oh yeah, say more, say more, say more, say more.
Let's dig into that?
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yes, exactly, this is important.
No-transcript.
This is important.
This is important to understand.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
And listen.
Another reason I got into thisis because I have met incredible
men and women of every age whoare doing amazing services for
their state, and so I know thatthere are people doing it for
the right reason and that itworks, and I want to be one of
(11:05):
those servants.
But you have to have the timeto run for office and I'll just
be straight up, real, like thefunding, or able to find the
funding, Absolutely, Absolutelyfor his mailers.
(11:49):
And so you know, talking aboutthe down ballot point, a lot of
people want to host fundraisersor get on board with bigger
candidates, right Statewidecandidates who are a little more
glamorous, and you know it's amore sexy race.
Statehouse starts to be, youknow, lower on the priority list
for a lot of people who dosupport candidates with their
(12:09):
funding and their finances, anda lot of people and I was one of
them never gave to politics.
You know just, that's kind ofthe thing everybody hates, right
, Money and politics and howthat all worked.
That's kind of the thingeverybody hates right, Money and
politics and how that allworked.
And so I told myself I'mnaturally curious and a risk
taker and I just said I won'tknow until I do this what the
(12:35):
real truth is, and so, ifnothing else, I need to learn
more, find out more.
And a friend and I were having aconversation in my backyard and
we started talking about canyou really affect systemic
change if you're not part of thesystem?
And she said, of course.
(12:55):
And I said I don't think so.
And I said why don't we bothrun for public office and see
what happens?
She decided not to.
Oh, wow, she decided not to.
But I know because I decided torun.
Other women decided to run,other women decided to run.
And it hasn't been a mystery.
It has been a lot of hard work.
(13:18):
But in person, any career isgoing to be working night and
day, especially if you're anentrepreneur.
You're never done.
You're never off the clock.
It's seven days a week, ever.
Always on, always on.
Yeah, no days off, no days off.
It's like that a little bit onsteroids, because you're doing
it in a public way and youreally don't know who's coming
(13:41):
after you and a lot of new folkswant to be friends with you and
you're not sure what thatmotivation is.
So there's a lot of navigating,a lot of different situations,
but this has been the best yearof my life.
I have met so many amazingpeople.
I have learned so much.
I mean I've let me share twothings.
One interesting thing is first Iwent to.
(14:03):
I've gone to churches everysingle Sunday, sometimes two,
and I'm not there to talk aboutmyself, I don't introduce myself
, I am listening.
I've done a one-year listeningtour in my district and I went
to church one Sunday and thegentleman who was next to me is
in his 80s.
He asked if I wanted to borrowa pencil to take notes and I
(14:24):
first said no and then I saidyes.
Anyway, he ended up being oneof my best volunteers and he
went with me to church everySunday throughout the primary
and I had met this man about,you know, two seconds before.
He started being by my side andbeing an amazing supporter and
he's Republican and I foundafter I met and talked with
(14:47):
people and circled back, theythought I was a Republican.
Someone even said I don't knowwhat this means that I looked
like.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Interesting it might be the hair.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I don't know, maybe it's the hair, I don't know.
That's weird, that's weird,that's weird and random.
But okay.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
So I took my team out for pizza after we attended
this protest for education.
So I took my team out for pizzaafter we attended this protest
for education asking the countycommissioners to fund.
You know there are two waysschools are funded Through the
state, which we have plenty ofextra money in North Carolina.
But the older white men whodon't send their kids to school,
(15:29):
don't drive their kids toschool, don't go to
teacher-parent conferences,they're not so big on funding
public schools, they'd rather doother things with our money.
And so I have to get in thereand stand in the gap for sure
for that, and really we needmore women to do that.
But anyway, we were at a pizzaplace.
(15:50):
We're all wearing our campaignt-shirts which just say do more
good.
Again, no party.
And a woman is leaving with herlittle kid and she puts her
head down as she walks out ofthe restaurant and she said are
you the candidate?
I said yes, and she said well,I was reading your website while
(16:12):
I was waiting for my pizza.
And she said I am so glad tofinally find a Republican who
cares about women.
Oh my.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Oh wow, oh wow To that.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Amy, I just thanked her for reading my website.
She was kind of, had her kid inone arm and her pizza in the
other.
Nice pivot, nice pivot and shewas just, you know, walking on,
so she was not stopped.
You know she was justwhispering and off she went.
But I just said thank you somuch for reading my site.
And that goes to the secondthing, which are the yard signs.
(16:45):
We started to talk about thisearlier, but everything I have
done in this campaign has beenintentional.
Everything I have done in thiscampaign has been intentional.
I typically don't do anythingthat's not, you know, not
intentional.
(17:07):
It was really important to me tohave yard signs that were
different, because I'm different.
It was really important thatthe yard signs not be visibly
for one side or the other,because when I win, I'm
representing everyone.
Also, my yard signs are mostlyred and they have a blue thin
line around them.
I wanted people to go find outabout me and not make
(17:33):
assumptions about me, becausethis is my campaign, I'm doing
things differently.
And a round sign to me alsosignifies inclusion and
connectedness.
And I don't mean to be superPollyanna, but in my heart of
(17:53):
hearts and I was raised this way, you know, in the church, you
know, my parents would say we'renot on this planet to be
entertained, we're here to serve.
Just look out for each other.
(18:19):
That all of this politicalhullabaloo wouldn't infect us so
much.
I mean, if someone falls in themiddle of the street, you're
not asking them what party doyou vote for before you decide
to help them.
Right, if we could just be moreconnected to each other and
what's going on around us, Ireally think a lot of this
national division would not beso extreme.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Amy, I definitely agree with you on.
We are all called to supportone another.
I also kind of want to dig in alittle bit for our listeners,
who may come from a variety ofbackgrounds and lived
experiences, and ask you like,let's imagine ourselves on the
other side of a win and you'rerepresenting all people across
(18:57):
our state.
What do all people across ourstate really need?
I've heard you mention publicschool access and equity.
I've heard you mention someother things, but I don't want
to assume that our listenersreally understand what you mean
when you drop those nuggets inthe chat.
So what are some of the thingsthat you envision for our future
where everyone feels includedand everyone is kind of served
(19:20):
right, like?
There are some things thatwould be really specific.
You know, and I know you, but Iwant to make sure that everyone
doesn't miss that point.
Can you share some of thosethoughts with us?
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Sure.
Well, my top few thingsdefinitely are breaking the
supermajority so that we do haveequity in the House, so that we
can vote and everybody's votematters in the House.
I mean people don't think theirvote at the ballot box matters,
it matters.
I mean Rachel Hunt won herfirst race for Senate by 46
(19:51):
votes.
Yeah, every vote matters, everyvote.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Say that again, Amy, for the vote counts.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Every vote counts.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
To win by 46 votes is literally like several street
blocks right, like that is a bigbig deal.
So such an important point.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
And so to get back to kind of policy fully funding
our schools.
So there was a court casethat's been going on for over 30
years called Leandro.
There's a lot of money setaside for public schools.
There's also just moneybudgeted for public schools, but
that keeps getting smallerbecause we are outnumbered and
(20:35):
the votes to put money to ourpublic schools aren't there.
We get outvoted anytime itcomes to public school funding.
Our teachers are now third fromthe bottom nationally for their
wages.
We have to have competitivewages to keep good people in our
(20:56):
public schools, because eightout of 10 kids go there.
And what people don't realize isthat everything's connected.
Again back to the yard signs.
When your schools are not fullyfunded and the teachers and the
students don't have theresources they need, there will
be a decline and that declinewill affect our economy.
So the three things education,equity and the economy If our
(21:23):
schools aren't good, businessesare not going to move here.
They're not going to bring jobshere.
They want good public schoolsfor their kids.
While that lowers, then badschools keep people from
bringing jobs here, work here,but also it drives down your
property value.
If your schools aren't good,people don't want to live there,
(21:46):
help throughout North Carolina,especially in Forsyth County.
But if we don't have enoughpeople in office to make those
investments, to make decisionsand vote yes for those things
universal pre-K, affordablehousing, I mean, I could go on
(22:07):
and on.
The reality is I am a first-timecandidate.
I don't know everything and Ihave some ideas, but my job is
to represent.
It's in the job title.
You are a representative foryour district and my district is
all of West Forsyth, so alittle bit of Winston and then
(22:32):
all of West Forsyth, a littlebit of Winston and then all of
West Forsyth.
And so, yes, what I want to dois important and what I value is
important.
But I've been doing a listeningtour for a full year now so that
I can hear what people want,and I've gone to all different
kinds of spaces, not justchurches.
But I'm hearing veryinteresting things.
(22:52):
Like, the guy I'm runningagainst voted to expand these
public school vouchers and Idon't even know that.
Most people know who they are.
If you're connected toeducation or you're a teacher,
you probably know, but I don'tknow that everybody knows get
these vouchers and they are nowbetween $6,000 and $7,000 a year
(23:14):
to go to private schools.
So that takes public schoolmoney $6,000 to $7,000 per kid
away from the school's budgetand gives it to these private
schools.
Some are religious schools,some are private schools.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Amy, I was going to say a lot and a lot.
Many, many are really to, sothat kids can go to a private
Christian school too, right?
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Exactly.
And that's where it all kind ofcomes to that, how everything
is connected and these olderwhite men have agendas right.
They don't like anybody elsetaking their power away.
They don't like talking aboutthings that don't benefit them,
and I'm not a man hater, I'mjust saying the majority of
(24:10):
people voting on things don'trepresent the majority of the
people who live here in so manyways.
I mean the average age.
I didn't know this before I ranfor office.
The average age in our districtis 34.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So, amy, I want to, you know, maybe jump in here and
ask you a question here,because I think one of the
things that you're sort ofalluding to but which is very
relevant for our state is NorthCarolina.
The demographics of the stateoverall have changed
significantly.
Right, north Carolina islargely a rural state, but we
have pockets Charlotte area,piedmont area, that we're in the
(24:39):
triangle which, raleigh-durham,which, for those of our
listeners who don't live in thestate so, and we're seeing many,
many more people and youngerpeople move into the state.
I think I saw a stat that saidsomething like 100,000 people a
year are moving here.
But what I'm also hearing yousay is the demographic of our
(25:02):
representation has not changedat the rate of the population
itself.
So you really have thismismatch between who's in
elected office and who they'rerepresenting.
And so your statement aboutbreaking the supermajority right
, which is to be able to havemore diverse sort of break the
(25:25):
fever, if you will, to have morediverse voices that can
represent us, is very powerful.
I want to ask you aboutreproductive freedom, because
it's on the ballot.
Literally every state, I thinkcorrect me if I'm wrong, I think
we have 47 states have sometype of restriction in place or
(25:47):
a complete ban, and we're seeingthose complete bans,
particularly here in the South,and I'm just wondering your
perspective on what you know fora woman who's listening and is
like I don't care aboutsupermajority, I don't have kids
, so I'm not really inparticularly concerned about.
You know, education right nowalthough we all should be as
(26:08):
well as libraries as well, I'dthrow in there but you know
what's at stake for women fromyour perspective in terms of
reproductive freedom, becausethis is something I think we
have to continue to really drilldown on.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Right.
I mean, it is a huge topicnationally and, as most people
know, North Carolina is a swingstate and there's a lot of
attention right now on MarkRobinson and his views.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
He's the lieutenant governor who's currently running
for governor.
I would say running forgovernor, but he is the
Republican candidate forgovernor in the state of North
Carolina and the state of NorthCarolina.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Correct and he's you know again, labels and R's and
D's don't mean as much anymore.
But he is another example of anextremist right.
So what women have to lose isbasically everything.
If he wins, we are losing ourhealthcare choices, our
(27:13):
reproductive choices, ourfreedom.
I mean freedom is 100% on theballot this year and you know it
used to be Republicans, didn't?
They wanted government to stayout of their business and now
they're creeping, you know, intoour bedrooms and our bodies and
know, in my opinion, thegovernment has no business
(27:36):
making decisions about a human'sbody and what happens to it.
That's a health care decisionand it's just no politician to
be telling anyone what to do.
So we have to break the supermajority and we need more women
to to be advocates and stand inthe gap between people who are
(27:58):
trying to take away our freedomand people who are trying to
defend it.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
We know from history, you take one thing away and a
slippery slope begins.
You start with one thing andthen other things, and so we
have to hold off this attempt todestroy democracy.
(28:26):
I mean it's that.
It is that heavy 100%.
It is that heavy it is thatimportant 100%.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
What I'm hearing is everyone should vote, women
should turn up in droves andvote in our interests.
But I want to ask a questionthat I think, for those of us
that are civically engaged andit's sort of part of our friends
and families, vibe like we'reall going to vote.
Many of our listeners, I pray,will show up and vote, but there
are also a lot of people reallyturned off from engaging in
(28:56):
politics, especially in 2024.
So can you talk a little bitabout what you would say to
someone who's feelingdiscouraged or not feeling very
hopeful about the electionseason?
What would you say to thatperson if you were chatting with
them in a coffee shop today?
Speaker 2 (29:13):
I mean literally.
It is that every vote matters.
People have died for your rightto vote, so we need to be
exercising that because it doesmake a difference.
Every vote makes a difference.
Back to the.
You know the ballot and thedown ballot races.
I don't know that peoplerealize that the state house
(29:36):
races and down, like you said,all the way to school board.
Those representatives, thoseelected officials, make 90% of
the decisions about how you live, where you live, how your
schools are run, how yourcommunity functions.
(29:59):
I mean, the guy I'm runningagainst also sponsored the bill
where now every election youhave to declare your
partisanship before you run, andthat only fosters division.
If you're going to be on theschool board or on the city
(30:20):
council, you're there to takecare of your community or your
kids or your schools, and I justI don't think quote unquote
politics, you know, have a placethere.
We should all be looking forthe best interest of everybody,
which is kind of the underlyingtheme of my campaign, right?
(30:40):
So I just don't feel like hisviews represent the majority of
people who live here.
So it's just don't forget thaton the ballot there are two
sides.
Flip your ballot over and vote.
There are so many sites that youcan go to.
There's a great organization inthis community called Women of
(31:02):
Action.
They started in 2016 as anonpartisan group to educate,
woman to woman, friend to friend, coworker to coworker, about
what roles and responsibilitiesgo with each role of each
campaign, each office, and theyhave made a kind of voting guide
(31:26):
that is distributable via text,and so these people have turned
into the go-to person, the 411,for elections in this area,
because they know when the datesare, you know to early vote,
they know all the rules, theyknow keep up with the
(31:47):
registration, they are aware ofthe candidates and they can help
provide that information.
They do not say who to vote for, they just make everything
accessible and easy, and I thinkwhen things are easy, more
people are willing to do it.
And also, if you're talking toa friend you already trust, you
already know, and they happen tobring up some of these topics.
(32:07):
That's kind of how we geteverybody to the idea that
politics is personal.
It affects your life, you maysay, oh, I don't care about
politics, I don't want to talkabout politics, or you know,
politics are are bad straight uppolitics determine how you live
your, how, how you can liveyour life, and so it is personal
(32:31):
, and so your vote is importantand you need to be voting for
what matters most to you andknow you know, obviously, so
know who you're voting to.
My son got to vote for me inthe primary which is the coolest
thing ever to be on thecandidate, but he was like mom
Mary which is the coolest thingever to be on the candidate but
he was like Mom.
(32:51):
I didn't know some of the otherpeople right on the ballot.
We should have an app whereeverybody can find out you know
who the other people are and itmakes it easy.
So I view this kind of voterguide as that kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
I think one of the things that you're pointing out
too and we have many listenershere in North Carolina, but many
who are other places in theUnited States or actually even
the world so I think one ispretty much every community has
its own version of Women ofAction, right?
It's some kind of nonpartisangroup designed to just help
(33:29):
voters make more informeddecisions.
In the show notes we're goingto post some links to some
national organizations that willhelp, you know, can help people
find who their localorganizations are, tends to have
a voter guide.
But you're also pointing outsomething really important,
which is, you know, I've been avoter for a long time.
(33:50):
Tiffany, I don't know if you'venoticed you know you talked
about how your son looked at theballot and was like, oh my God,
there's all of these peopleI've never heard of, and I think
that it's more.
You know, it's more importantthan ever that people educate.
What I'm hearing you say iseducate themselves as to who's
running to represent you,because those where it's a
(34:12):
health commission or who'srunning your libraries, like
those, like that impacts whatbooks you might be getting right
now.
And so I want to ask youbecause, as I'm listening to you
, I'm like this is a woman likeyour passion and your mission is
so clear.
And I'm also wondering, like,and you talked about it's been
(34:36):
the best year of your life, andyou've also talked about how
really challenging it is.
And it's not that I want you tolike, I don't want us to
necessarily sort of get groundedin the negativity, but I'm just
wondering, like, if you could,we talked about what's at stake.
You've talked about thedifficulties of just the
challenges of running, raisingmoney, but what has been?
(34:59):
You know, as you kind of lookback over this last year of
campaigning, what's been mostrewarding and then what's been
most challenging.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
I think most rewarding is meeting so many
people, listening to so manypeople.
I've always done that,naturally.
So again, I think in retrospect, I've kind of been practicing
to do this role for a long time.
I just genuinely love peopleand hearing their stories.
People and hearing theirstories and the surprise when
(35:30):
you have made an assumption andthen listen and what you thought
is not true and we're remindedof that.
People are people.
They all want to be heard, theywant to be taken care of well
you by their community.
These are not way out thereneeds.
(35:50):
I mean.
These are doable things.
So the listening tour, I think,has been one of the best and
seeing the best.
People who barely know meidentify with what I'm saying as
far as unity, community workingtogether, and that has brought
people together.
And there are people I'vetalked with forever and they
(36:11):
never once asked me what partyI'm running for.
They just like what I'm sayingand they find the positivity,
the enthusiasm, I think,refreshing.
And you know I'm not apolitician, so I think that, and
you know I'm not a politician,so I think that that that's
important.
And I think the mostchallenging is lots of people
(36:36):
have lots of opinions on howthings should be done and a lot
of people who love you, you know, think that they know what's
best you know for you or yourcampaign.
And it's just been veryimportant to me to be true to
myself, follow my gut.
(37:00):
A lot of people, again, in a lotof different places, have
thoughts about how you should dosomething.
Oh my God, you're definitelygoing to lose your.
Your yard signs are red.
Oh my gosh, you need to wearthis.
Why aren't you wearing red?
I never see, I mean blue.
I never see you in blue.
I always see you in red.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
I'm like I look good.
You look amazing in red, by theway, you look amazing in red.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Yeah, red is definitely your color.
We just have to changeeverything.
We need to change the way wethink about politics.
We need to get out.
You know, this is 2024.
We need to be doing politicsdifferently.
I worked at the fair last yearat the voting booth and someone
(37:45):
said, oh, so we should talk toRepublicans too.
And I said I had to take a walkright Because the mindset most
of the people who have the timeto do the research and help the
(38:09):
we do things.
It has to change.
Doing the same thing, expectingdifferent results right, we all
know what that is thedefinition for.
And so we have to do thingsdifferently, we have to think
differently, and that's achallenge that both parties are
going to have to wrestle with.
And it sounds kind of Pollyanna, but I swear.
(38:32):
Doing the right thing, doinggood in your community, feels
good to people and I thinkthat's an attraction.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
It's not Pollyanna, amy.
I think people want more ofthat.
I think people want moreconnection and collaboration and
cooperation, and so and itneeds critical mass of people
like you running for office.
You know, I think we're seeingit, certainly at the level of
(39:05):
the presidential campaign, oftalking about how do we bridge
divides, and so I, I hope peoplewho are listening to you and
hearing just how truly sincereyou are about I mean, it's a
pretty powerful statement to say, look, I don't put my political
affiliation, political party,on any of my campaign materials,
(39:27):
because I'm serving everybody.
That is a statement.
Imagine if the next group ofpeople who run for office do the
same thing, which is, look, Imean, I have to check a box,
maybe for the purpose of thestate, but I'm here to represent
everybody.
And so I just, I hope people sofew of us know people running
for office and we.
That's why we wanted to hearyour, we wanted to bring your
(39:49):
voice to this, because we arereally hardened and we
collectively, as a nation, arevery hardened in our opinions.
And I think if, when you hearsomeone who truly is like, look,
I'm learning, I'm listening,I'm going to listen to what my
community is telling me that'sreally powerful.
(40:09):
It's really powerful, so welike to do.
Oh, you look like you want tosay something, amy.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
The best things that have come from this.
You know, yes, I intend to win.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
I love and I love that Claim, that statement,
claim it.
We believe very much in likespeaking things into existence.
So speak it into existence.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
The first thing I do is envision Speak it into yes.
Right, exactly.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Speak it into existence.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
And.
But I have taken young peoplewith me on this journey, again
very intentionally, becauseyounger folks don't typically
vote, but when they hear it fromother young people they are
more likely to be engaged.
Also, no one on my campaign hadever worked on a campaign
(40:56):
before.
So you know, in May we didcampaign camp, we put up the map
, we talked about things,concepts, ideas, why we do this,
why we don't do that.
They have to learn what I'velearned over the past several
years from other people and I dosay I stand on the shoulders of
(41:18):
other women and other people,men and women, who have done
this work before me, becauseit's a no-joke job and nobody
knows to be really in it.
Yeah, so I'm really proud thatour team has learned so much.
It's also really hard for me tolet go of things and so to give
(41:40):
my social media over to a 23year old, to let a 23 year old I
would give my social media overto a 23 year old.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
I'm just saying, I'm going to put it out.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
I'm joking.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Yeah, yeah, I know, you see all those memes like oh
God, yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
You kind of have to go with it because you know if
you have um older my kids havegotten their, their brains
obviously just work differentlyand they absorb things and know
things that I won't everunderstand.
So, trusting them to use allthose weapons for good and
connect everybody and go withwhat they're hearing and what
(42:25):
sounds authentic I mean we sataround one day just talking
about what text would you sendout to young people in Forsyth
County about me, and we wentaround, oh, say this, oh, say
that it was a huge, greatlearning gathering for us and
that brings me a lot of joy.
And also Kamala Harris.
(42:48):
You can tell her when you meether.
We do need to spread the joy.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
We'll let her know when we're at the inauguration
in January.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
We do need to spread this joy.
We do need to come together.
What you see on the news isentertainment.
It is not news.
You know, the more divided andthe more angry they can keep
people, the more ads they sell.
And so we see and we read andwe take in all of this on both
sides.
Turn off your everything forthe next three weeks and knock
(43:25):
some doors or make some phonecalls yeah, go Canvas.
Speaker 1 (43:30):
Yeah, phone bank.
Yeah, do something.
Don't rage tweet.
No rage tweeting, though.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
Yeah, right, I mean, the biggest lesson I've learned
this from 2016 and on, is showup.
You cannot do anything if youdo not show up.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
We need everybody's show up.
Speaker 3 (43:47):
Yeah, amy, so I'm going to pivot us really quickly
to the final segment of ourshow.
We love for our listeners toget to know the people behind
the roles and the positions.
We've learned so much from youtoday about what it takes to
step into the courageous spaceof running for office, what
brought you there, what you careabout.
(44:07):
But we want to make sure peopleknow a little bit more about
Amy just in the world.
So we're going to ask you acouple of questions.
This is kind of a lightninground.
Don't overthink it.
Just tell us the first thingthat comes to your mind.
Okay, all right.
First question you areaccepting a huge award, or maybe
(44:27):
it's the day after the win.
We don't know.
What is your walk on song?
Oh well, can I have two?
Sure, break the rules, amy.
Break the rules.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
She's ungovernable, tiffany, she's ungovernable.
Really good at that.
He's uncomfortable.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Really good at that.
Unstoppable is one of them, andthe Beyonce song.
Speaker 3 (44:54):
Oh, Beyonce Freedom.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Yeah Well, kamala's claimed it, kamala's claimed it.
Speaker 3 (45:00):
But yeah, we love Beyonce on this podcast Portia
you're next.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
We really do and we say this almost every episode
that Tiffany and Beyonce areboth Virgos.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
And we have the same birthday.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
And they have the same birthday.
Yes, yes, I was going to get tothat too, tiffany.
Yes, because she doesn't everlet me forget that she and
Beyonce share a birthday.
It makes them like, basically,sisters, basically, basically
sisters, yes, yes.
So, amy, what's one book youfind yourself recommending or
(45:34):
gifting repeatedly?
Speaker 2 (45:36):
So it's a book that I read in high school.
It has nothing to do withpolitics A Room with a View
Because it's a coming age storyof a young woman who's been told
how to think her entire lifeand she's waking up to the fact
uh virginia wolf, she needs tomake uh ian forster actually, oh
ian forster, ian forster, I waslike okay, ian forster, yeah
(45:58):
you know, make her mind up aboutwhat she believes is important
and kind of finding her way inthe world and it is romantic and
, yeah, just really powerfulabout oh, it's a movie many,
many, many, many years agofinding her way in the world and
it is romantic and, yeah, justreally powerful about it.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Oh, it was a movie many, many, many, many years ago
.
Right, yeah, okay, yep, okay.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
What is the best purchase under $150 you've ever
made?
Speaker 2 (46:22):
Oh gosh, boots, boots , boots.
I bought some boots, they maybe not Brand brand.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
We must know more Details.
Speaker 2 (46:37):
I have worn them for over 10 years now.
Yeah, big, Not big, but tall Tothe knees tall boots.
Speaker 3 (46:46):
Knee high boots.
We like a knee high boot.
We like a knee high boot, notbig but tall to the knees.
Tall boots, ooh.
Knee-high boots, ooh Ooh.
Speaker 1 (46:49):
Right on.
Ooh, we like a knee-high boot.
We like a knee-high boot.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
Amy, what is a hobby that you have that will surprise
everybody.
You know, I am a scuba diver.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Oh, and I love it.
Wow, being under the water sofar below just reminds you how
small you are in the big schemeof things, and it's so quiet and
peaceful.
I mean, there's literally awhole other world down there and
I think we walk through ourregular day without knowing that
or having found that, and it'sjust a great space to be.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
That's beautiful.
And, amy, last question for youhow would you define the word
ungovernable?
We recently rebranded the podto be called Ungovernable Women.
What does ungovernable mean toyou?
Speaker 2 (47:37):
Freedom.
You know you can't be governedby other people's opinion.
You need to be true to yourselfand have the freedom to do what
you know you need to do foryourself.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
It's a perfect way to close this out.
Amy Taylor North, thank you somuch for joining us today and we
look forward to celebratingyour victory on November 5th or
maybe the day after the election.
Just thank you for the gift ofyour time, your passion for
community and your dedication towomen and families.
(48:17):
We appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (48:18):
Thank you.
Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Thanks for listening to Ungovernable Women.
Our producer and editor isMegan King.
Our social media manager isDestiny Eicher.
Be sure to rate, review andsubscribe to our show on Apple
Podcasts, spotify or whereveryou listen to your pods.
Your ratings help otherlisteners find us.
You can follow and DM us onInstagram at ungovernablexwomen,
(48:42):
and TikTok atungovernablexwomen.
See you next time.
Hi, I'm Portia Mount, creator and host of
Ungovernable Women, formerly theManifesta Podcast, the
lifestyle and career podcast foraspiring women.
Our new name reflects ourmission to reach even more
listeners with stories of womenwho are breaking boundaries and
redefining success.
I have a favor to ask you, ifyou haven't done so already,
please rate and subscribe to thepod.
(00:21):
Wherever you listen to yourpodcasts, it boosts our rankings
and helps more people discoverus.
Thanks for tuning in.
Welcome to Season 5 ofUngovernable Women, the career
and lifestyle podcast foraspiring women ready to break
barriers.
I'm Portia Mouw and I'mthrilled to be back with my
co-host, tiffany Waddell-Tate,ceo of Career Maven Consulting.
(00:43):
We've got a new name, but ourmission remains stronger than
ever helping women find theirpurpose, lead high-impact
careers and meaningful lives.
This season will bring you thestories of women who forged
their own paths to success.
It's our time to shine.
Let's dive in.
We are recording this less thana month before the 2024
(01:08):
presidential election and we'vebeen hearing nonstop about the
race, but in many ways, it's thedown-ballot races that have an
even bigger impact on our lives.
So down-ballot races includegovernor senatorial races,
congressional seats, schoolboards, even town councils.
These seats are the ones thatreally impact our day-to-day
(01:28):
lives, and North Carolina is oneof the most hotly contested
states in this election cycle.
So we are so thrilled towelcome Amy Taylor North.
She's a North Carolina native.
She's a mom to two teen boys, asmall business owner.
She's a North Carolina native.
She's a mom to two teen boys, asmall business owner.
She's a lifelong communityadvocate and volunteer, and for
(01:49):
the last 22 years she's been aconnector and an advocate in
Winston-Salem-Forsyth County, asan entrepreneur, as an arts
innovator she calls herself ahistory nerd.
I've got to learn more aboutthat.
I got to learn more about thatand, most importantly,
especially in this time, afierce advocate for women and
women-owned small businesses.
(02:09):
And now she's running for statehouse seat in District 74 for
West Forsyth County.
Amy, welcome to the pod.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Thank you, it's great to be here.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Amy, I'm really excited to have this
conversation with you.
It's great to be here, Amy.
I'm really excited to have thisconversation with you, and I
know many of our listeners areprobably wondering what
motivated you to run for office,especially during a highly
contested year, Like.
Was there a moment in your lifethat sparked that decision or
compelled you to say I'm goingto go and do this?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So I never planned to do this.
I had a moment when Hillary wonthe popular vote but not the
election, when, I like to say, Iwas elegantly dressed in rage
and I said everything else hasto stop right now, everything.
(03:02):
And I said everything else hasto stop right now, everything.
I have to go figure out how Ican help women win races, like
how can I learn, how can Ivolunteer, what can I do?
And so I was working as aneditor at an all-woman magazine
with a good friend and they kindof covered for me and I found
(03:25):
Dee Dee Adams who was running atthe time.
She was mayor pro tem ofWinston-Salem on the city
council and I just connectedwith her really deeply and ended
up being her campaign managerand kind of did what I call a
year of my American serviceservice to my country.
(03:49):
I was never obviously going tobe in the military, but it was
time for me to do more as acitizen and as a community
member to help my local area.
And I went through a toughdivorce and looking back, I look
(04:10):
back now at my whole life anddidn't know that I'd been in
anything.
Now, after dealing with a toughloss that you only can count on
.
You know yourself and that Ihad a lot more to offer than I
(04:35):
thought.
Of course, as a mom of two kids, I've given everything to them
and to my ex-husband and hiscareer, and this is a time that
I finally you know, years agofound my voice and I decided
that this was a great place touse it and we just we need
change.
So I have fewer rights as anAmerican woman now than the day
(04:57):
I was born, and that can't.
It can't be that way.
So I've worked on severalcampaigns, learned a lot,
volunteered in every way througha campaign and thought, well,
things are worse now than ever.
So I got to do more than ever,and so I sat my boys down and
said this is going to be so hardand really ugly, mean things
(05:18):
are probably going to be, saidand mailed to us and they have.
But my boys are incredible.
They are incredible, verymature for their age, super
intelligent and my oldestespecially, super compassionate
and they have really it's been agreat thing for our family.
(05:38):
It's the best thing that's everhappened to our family.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Amy, when you think about the future of North
Carolina, what are some of thespecific policies or initiatives
that you aim to drive forwardfor our state?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
So I am not sure, because in order to drive
anything, you have to be elected.
And two, we have to break thesupermajority.
So I don't hate on anypolitical party, but extremes on
both sides do not help us moveforward.
So, first and foremost, I haveto win, because winning this
(06:16):
race will break thesupermajority.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Amy, can you explain what a supermajority is for some
of our listeners who may notknow like what that is and why
it's so significant?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Sure.
So I did a little campaign campwith all my young volunteers at
the beginning of the summer andwe started.
You know that we have towns andcities, and then we have
counties, and then we have housedistricts and then, bigger than
that, are our Senate districtsand then our statewide offices.
(06:48):
So we have 120 representativesin the North Carolina State
House and in that House of 120,the majority are Republican in
both the House and the Senate.
So you know every campaign hasa strategy and the state party
(07:10):
has a strategy and sometimes thestate party is not in alignment
with what's going on insomeone's particular district.
Often they are, and they'vebeen supportive.
But that's been a veryinteresting thing I've learned
is you know you can be aDemocrat and be active and be
(07:34):
effective without quote unquotebeing part of the party, because
the party does have its ownagenda.
It's picked people who theythink can win and they back them
.
The thing is in my race I knowwhy I'm going to win and I know
(07:55):
where I come from and you knowit's hard to communicate that up
to the state level.
But winning my race and thefour or five races that are
targeted races for theDemocratic Party, who they are
funding and helping.
I am not one of those, but whenI win we will have 60 on both
(08:19):
sides of the aisle People whoaren't in politics so much.
I mean, wow, people who aren'tin politics so much.
I mean I'm sure they know thattwo parties right now, and you
know it doesn't matter to meright now, and this is another
reason I wanted to run.
I did not print Democrat onanything.
It's not on my website.
(08:43):
When I win, I'm representingeverybody and I was with my
partner for 30 years who was aRepublican.
I don't hate Republicans.
Again, it's the extremes onboth sides that are not helping.
And the guy I'm running against,you know, is an extremist
(09:06):
incumbent and none of his kidswent to public schools.
Yet he, you know he voted totake almost $5 million out of
our public school system.
He doesn't care about thepublic schools and eight out of
10 kids go to public schools.
So I'm a mom.
That's unacceptable.
I'm also a woman and he wants afull abortion ban in the state
of North Carolina and has beenendorsed by Mark Robinson.
(09:27):
So they're birds of a featherright.
And I know that I'm the Davidin the David and Goliath story
here.
I know that it's my first timeto run ever, but they are so
concerned about me winningbecause obviously they have a
lot riding on this race.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
That they took me to court, you know, over my
residency, to try to take timeaway from our campaign and they
hauled me into the hearing whereI was, you know, on there for
five hours and they supposedlyhad all this evidence.
Anyway, unanimously I won, youknow, that hearing.
(10:08):
But it was a real distractionand now I have legal bills that
I will have to fund myselfbecause I'm not taking that out
of campaign money.
So, you know, one of the hardawful realities that I have
learned is, you know, there's areason the majority of people
(10:29):
making the laws are older whitemen.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Oh yeah, say more, say more, say more, say more.
Let's dig into that?
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yes, exactly, this is important.
No-transcript.
This is important.
This is important to understand.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
And listen.
Another reason I got into thisis because I have met incredible
men and women of every age whoare doing amazing services for
their state, and so I know thatthere are people doing it for
the right reason and that itworks, and I want to be one of
(11:05):
those servants.
But you have to have the timeto run for office and I'll just
be straight up, real, like thefunding, or able to find the
funding, Absolutely, Absolutelyfor his mailers.
(11:49):
And so you know, talking aboutthe down ballot point, a lot of
people want to host fundraisersor get on board with bigger
candidates, right Statewidecandidates who are a little more
glamorous, and you know it's amore sexy race.
Statehouse starts to be, youknow, lower on the priority list
for a lot of people who dosupport candidates with their
(12:09):
funding and their finances, anda lot of people and I was one of
them never gave to politics.
You know just, that's kind ofthe thing everybody hates, right
, Money and politics and howthat all worked.
That's kind of the thingeverybody hates right, Money and
politics and how that allworked.
And so I told myself I'mnaturally curious and a risk
taker and I just said I won'tknow until I do this what the
(12:35):
real truth is, and so, ifnothing else, I need to learn
more, find out more.
And a friend and I were having aconversation in my backyard and
we started talking about canyou really affect systemic
change if you're not part of thesystem?
And she said, of course.
(12:55):
And I said I don't think so.
And I said why don't we bothrun for public office and see
what happens?
She decided not to.
Oh, wow, she decided not to.
But I know because I decided torun.
Other women decided to run,other women decided to run.
And it hasn't been a mystery.
It has been a lot of hard work.
(13:18):
But in person, any career isgoing to be working night and
day, especially if you're anentrepreneur.
You're never done.
You're never off the clock.
It's seven days a week, ever.
Always on, always on.
Yeah, no days off, no days off.
It's like that a little bit onsteroids, because you're doing
it in a public way and youreally don't know who's coming
(13:41):
after you and a lot of new folkswant to be friends with you and
you're not sure what thatmotivation is.
So there's a lot of navigating,a lot of different situations,
but this has been the best yearof my life.
I have met so many amazingpeople.
I have learned so much.
I mean I've let me share twothings.
One interesting thing is first Iwent to.
(14:03):
I've gone to churches everysingle Sunday, sometimes two,
and I'm not there to talk aboutmyself, I don't introduce myself
, I am listening.
I've done a one-year listeningtour in my district and I went
to church one Sunday and thegentleman who was next to me is
in his 80s.
He asked if I wanted to borrowa pencil to take notes and I
(14:24):
first said no and then I saidyes.
Anyway, he ended up being oneof my best volunteers and he
went with me to church everySunday throughout the primary
and I had met this man about,you know, two seconds before.
He started being by my side andbeing an amazing supporter and
he's Republican and I foundafter I met and talked with
(14:47):
people and circled back, theythought I was a Republican.
Someone even said I don't knowwhat this means that I looked
like.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Interesting it might be the hair.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I don't know, maybe it's the hair, I don't know.
That's weird, that's weird,that's weird and random.
But okay.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
So I took my team out for pizza after we attended
this protest for education.
So I took my team out for pizzaafter we attended this protest
for education asking the countycommissioners to fund.
You know there are two waysschools are funded Through the
state, which we have plenty ofextra money in North Carolina.
But the older white men whodon't send their kids to school,
(15:29):
don't drive their kids toschool, don't go to
teacher-parent conferences,they're not so big on funding
public schools, they'd rather doother things with our money.
And so I have to get in thereand stand in the gap for sure
for that, and really we needmore women to do that.
But anyway, we were at a pizzaplace.
(15:50):
We're all wearing our campaignt-shirts which just say do more
good.
Again, no party.
And a woman is leaving with herlittle kid and she puts her
head down as she walks out ofthe restaurant and she said are
you the candidate?
I said yes, and she said well,I was reading your website while
(16:12):
I was waiting for my pizza.
And she said I am so glad tofinally find a Republican who
cares about women.
Oh my.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Oh wow, oh wow To that.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Amy, I just thanked her for reading my website.
She was kind of, had her kid inone arm and her pizza in the
other.
Nice pivot, nice pivot and shewas just, you know, walking on,
so she was not stopped.
You know she was justwhispering and off she went.
But I just said thank you somuch for reading my site.
And that goes to the secondthing, which are the yard signs.
(16:45):
We started to talk about thisearlier, but everything I have
done in this campaign has beenintentional.
Everything I have done in thiscampaign has been intentional.
I typically don't do anythingthat's not, you know, not
intentional.
(17:07):
It was really important to me tohave yard signs that were
different, because I'm different.
It was really important thatthe yard signs not be visibly
for one side or the other,because when I win, I'm
representing everyone.
Also, my yard signs are mostlyred and they have a blue thin
line around them.
I wanted people to go find outabout me and not make
(17:33):
assumptions about me, becausethis is my campaign, I'm doing
things differently.
And a round sign to me alsosignifies inclusion and
connectedness.
And I don't mean to be superPollyanna, but in my heart of
(17:53):
hearts and I was raised this way, you know, in the church, you
know, my parents would say we'renot on this planet to be
entertained, we're here to serve.
Just look out for each other.
(18:19):
That all of this politicalhullabaloo wouldn't infect us so
much.
I mean, if someone falls in themiddle of the street, you're
not asking them what party doyou vote for before you decide
to help them.
Right, if we could just be moreconnected to each other and
what's going on around us, Ireally think a lot of this
national division would not beso extreme.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Amy, I definitely agree with you on.
We are all called to supportone another.
I also kind of want to dig in alittle bit for our listeners,
who may come from a variety ofbackgrounds and lived
experiences, and ask you like,let's imagine ourselves on the
other side of a win and you'rerepresenting all people across
(18:57):
our state.
What do all people across ourstate really need?
I've heard you mention publicschool access and equity.
I've heard you mention someother things, but I don't want
to assume that our listenersreally understand what you mean
when you drop those nuggets inthe chat.
So what are some of the thingsthat you envision for our future
where everyone feels includedand everyone is kind of served
(19:20):
right, like?
There are some things thatwould be really specific.
You know, and I know you, but Iwant to make sure that everyone
doesn't miss that point.
Can you share some of thosethoughts with us?
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Sure.
Well, my top few thingsdefinitely are breaking the
supermajority so that we do haveequity in the House, so that we
can vote and everybody's votematters in the House.
I mean people don't think theirvote at the ballot box matters,
it matters.
I mean Rachel Hunt won herfirst race for Senate by 46
(19:51):
votes.
Yeah, every vote matters, everyvote.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Say that again, Amy, for the vote counts.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Every vote counts.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
To win by 46 votes is literally like several street
blocks right, like that is a bigbig deal.
So such an important point.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
And so to get back to kind of policy fully funding
our schools.
So there was a court casethat's been going on for over 30
years called Leandro.
There's a lot of money setaside for public schools.
There's also just moneybudgeted for public schools, but
that keeps getting smallerbecause we are outnumbered and
(20:35):
the votes to put money to ourpublic schools aren't there.
We get outvoted anytime itcomes to public school funding.
Our teachers are now third fromthe bottom nationally for their
wages.
We have to have competitivewages to keep good people in our
(20:56):
public schools, because eightout of 10 kids go there.
And what people don't realize isthat everything's connected.
Again back to the yard signs.
When your schools are not fullyfunded and the teachers and the
students don't have theresources they need, there will
be a decline and that declinewill affect our economy.
So the three things education,equity and the economy If our
(21:23):
schools aren't good, businessesare not going to move here.
They're not going to bring jobshere.
They want good public schoolsfor their kids.
While that lowers, then badschools keep people from
bringing jobs here, work here,but also it drives down your
property value.
If your schools aren't good,people don't want to live there,
(21:46):
help throughout North Carolina,especially in Forsyth County.
But if we don't have enoughpeople in office to make those
investments, to make decisionsand vote yes for those things
universal pre-K, affordablehousing, I mean, I could go on
(22:07):
and on.
The reality is I am a first-timecandidate.
I don't know everything and Ihave some ideas, but my job is
to represent.
It's in the job title.
You are a representative foryour district and my district is
all of West Forsyth, so alittle bit of Winston and then
(22:32):
all of West Forsyth, a littlebit of Winston and then all of
West Forsyth.
And so, yes, what I want to dois important and what I value is
important.
But I've been doing a listeningtour for a full year now so that
I can hear what people want,and I've gone to all different
kinds of spaces, not justchurches.
But I'm hearing veryinteresting things.
(22:52):
Like, the guy I'm runningagainst voted to expand these
public school vouchers and Idon't even know that.
Most people know who they are.
If you're connected toeducation or you're a teacher,
you probably know, but I don'tknow that everybody knows get
these vouchers and they are nowbetween $6,000 and $7,000 a year
(23:14):
to go to private schools.
So that takes public schoolmoney $6,000 to $7,000 per kid
away from the school's budgetand gives it to these private
schools.
Some are religious schools,some are private schools.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Amy, I was going to say a lot and a lot.
Many, many are really to, sothat kids can go to a private
Christian school too, right?
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Exactly.
And that's where it all kind ofcomes to that, how everything
is connected and these olderwhite men have agendas right.
They don't like anybody elsetaking their power away.
They don't like talking aboutthings that don't benefit them,
and I'm not a man hater, I'mjust saying the majority of
(24:10):
people voting on things don'trepresent the majority of the
people who live here in so manyways.
I mean the average age.
I didn't know this before I ranfor office.
The average age in our districtis 34.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So, amy, I want to, you know, maybe jump in here and
ask you a question here,because I think one of the
things that you're sort ofalluding to but which is very
relevant for our state is NorthCarolina.
The demographics of the stateoverall have changed
significantly.
Right, north Carolina islargely a rural state, but we
have pockets Charlotte area,piedmont area, that we're in the
(24:39):
triangle which, raleigh-durham,which, for those of our
listeners who don't live in thestate so, and we're seeing many,
many more people and youngerpeople move into the state.
I think I saw a stat that saidsomething like 100,000 people a
year are moving here.
But what I'm also hearing yousay is the demographic of our
(25:02):
representation has not changedat the rate of the population
itself.
So you really have thismismatch between who's in
elected office and who they'rerepresenting.
And so your statement aboutbreaking the supermajority right
, which is to be able to havemore diverse sort of break the
(25:25):
fever, if you will, to have morediverse voices that can
represent us, is very powerful.
I want to ask you aboutreproductive freedom, because
it's on the ballot.
Literally every state, I thinkcorrect me if I'm wrong, I think
we have 47 states have sometype of restriction in place or
(25:47):
a complete ban, and we're seeingthose complete bans,
particularly here in the South,and I'm just wondering your
perspective on what you know fora woman who's listening and is
like I don't care aboutsupermajority, I don't have kids
, so I'm not really inparticularly concerned about.
You know, education right nowalthough we all should be as
(26:08):
well as libraries as well, I'dthrow in there but you know
what's at stake for women fromyour perspective in terms of
reproductive freedom, becausethis is something I think we
have to continue to really drilldown on.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Right.
I mean, it is a huge topicnationally and, as most people
know, North Carolina is a swingstate and there's a lot of
attention right now on MarkRobinson and his views.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
He's the lieutenant governor who's currently running
for governor.
I would say running forgovernor, but he is the
Republican candidate forgovernor in the state of North
Carolina and the state of NorthCarolina.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Correct and he's you know again, labels and R's and
D's don't mean as much anymore.
But he is another example of anextremist right.
So what women have to lose isbasically everything.
If he wins, we are losing ourhealthcare choices, our
(27:13):
reproductive choices, ourfreedom.
I mean freedom is 100% on theballot this year and you know it
used to be Republicans, didn't?
They wanted government to stayout of their business and now
they're creeping, you know, intoour bedrooms and our bodies and
know, in my opinion, thegovernment has no business
(27:36):
making decisions about a human'sbody and what happens to it.
That's a health care decisionand it's just no politician to
be telling anyone what to do.
So we have to break the supermajority and we need more women
to to be advocates and stand inthe gap between people who are
(27:58):
trying to take away our freedomand people who are trying to
defend it.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
We know from history, you take one thing away and a
slippery slope begins.
You start with one thing andthen other things, and so we
have to hold off this attempt todestroy democracy.
(28:26):
I mean it's that.
It is that heavy 100%.
It is that heavy it is thatimportant 100%.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
What I'm hearing is everyone should vote, women
should turn up in droves andvote in our interests.
But I want to ask a questionthat I think, for those of us
that are civically engaged andit's sort of part of our friends
and families, vibe like we'reall going to vote.
Many of our listeners, I pray,will show up and vote, but there
are also a lot of people reallyturned off from engaging in
(28:56):
politics, especially in 2024.
So can you talk a little bitabout what you would say to
someone who's feelingdiscouraged or not feeling very
hopeful about the electionseason?
What would you say to thatperson if you were chatting with
them in a coffee shop today?
Speaker 2 (29:13):
I mean literally.
It is that every vote matters.
People have died for your rightto vote, so we need to be
exercising that because it doesmake a difference.
Every vote makes a difference.
Back to the.
You know the ballot and thedown ballot races.
I don't know that peoplerealize that the state house
(29:36):
races and down, like you said,all the way to school board.
Those representatives, thoseelected officials, make 90% of
the decisions about how you live, where you live, how your
schools are run, how yourcommunity functions.
(29:59):
I mean, the guy I'm runningagainst also sponsored the bill
where now every election youhave to declare your
partisanship before you run, andthat only fosters division.
If you're going to be on theschool board or on the city
(30:20):
council, you're there to takecare of your community or your
kids or your schools, and I justI don't think quote unquote
politics, you know, have a placethere.
We should all be looking forthe best interest of everybody,
which is kind of the underlyingtheme of my campaign, right?
(30:40):
So I just don't feel like hisviews represent the majority of
people who live here.
So it's just don't forget thaton the ballot there are two
sides.
Flip your ballot over and vote.
There are so many sites that youcan go to.
There's a great organization inthis community called Women of
(31:02):
Action.
They started in 2016 as anonpartisan group to educate,
woman to woman, friend to friend, coworker to coworker, about
what roles and responsibilitiesgo with each role of each
campaign, each office, and theyhave made a kind of voting guide
(31:26):
that is distributable via text,and so these people have turned
into the go-to person, the 411,for elections in this area,
because they know when the datesare, you know to early vote,
they know all the rules, theyknow keep up with the
(31:47):
registration, they are aware ofthe candidates and they can help
provide that information.
They do not say who to vote for, they just make everything
accessible and easy, and I thinkwhen things are easy, more
people are willing to do it.
And also, if you're talking toa friend you already trust, you
already know, and they happen tobring up some of these topics.
(32:07):
That's kind of how we geteverybody to the idea that
politics is personal.
It affects your life, you maysay, oh, I don't care about
politics, I don't want to talkabout politics, or you know,
politics are are bad straight uppolitics determine how you live
your, how, how you can liveyour life, and so it is personal
(32:31):
, and so your vote is importantand you need to be voting for
what matters most to you andknow you know, obviously, so
know who you're voting to.
My son got to vote for me inthe primary which is the coolest
thing ever to be on thecandidate, but he was like mom
Mary which is the coolest thingever to be on the candidate but
he was like Mom.
(32:51):
I didn't know some of the otherpeople right on the ballot.
We should have an app whereeverybody can find out you know
who the other people are and itmakes it easy.
So I view this kind of voterguide as that kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
I think one of the things that you're pointing out
too and we have many listenershere in North Carolina, but many
who are other places in theUnited States or actually even
the world so I think one ispretty much every community has
its own version of Women ofAction, right?
It's some kind of nonpartisangroup designed to just help
(33:29):
voters make more informeddecisions.
In the show notes we're goingto post some links to some
national organizations that willhelp, you know, can help people
find who their localorganizations are, tends to have
a voter guide.
But you're also pointing outsomething really important,
which is, you know, I've been avoter for a long time.
(33:50):
Tiffany, I don't know if you'venoticed you know you talked
about how your son looked at theballot and was like, oh my God,
there's all of these peopleI've never heard of, and I think
that it's more.
You know, it's more importantthan ever that people educate.
What I'm hearing you say iseducate themselves as to who's
running to represent you,because those where it's a
(34:12):
health commission or who'srunning your libraries, like
those, like that impacts whatbooks you might be getting right
now.
And so I want to ask youbecause, as I'm listening to you
, I'm like this is a woman likeyour passion and your mission is
so clear.
And I'm also wondering, like,and you talked about it's been
(34:36):
the best year of your life, andyou've also talked about how
really challenging it is.
And it's not that I want you tolike, I don't want us to
necessarily sort of get groundedin the negativity, but I'm just
wondering, like, if you could,we talked about what's at stake.
You've talked about thedifficulties of just the
challenges of running, raisingmoney, but what has been?
(34:59):
You know, as you kind of lookback over this last year of
campaigning, what's been mostrewarding and then what's been
most challenging.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
I think most rewarding is meeting so many
people, listening to so manypeople.
I've always done that,naturally.
So again, I think in retrospect, I've kind of been practicing
to do this role for a long time.
I just genuinely love peopleand hearing their stories.
People and hearing theirstories and the surprise when
(35:30):
you have made an assumption andthen listen and what you thought
is not true and we're remindedof that.
People are people.
They all want to be heard, theywant to be taken care of well
you by their community.
These are not way out thereneeds.
(35:50):
I mean.
These are doable things.
So the listening tour, I think,has been one of the best and
seeing the best.
People who barely know meidentify with what I'm saying as
far as unity, community workingtogether, and that has brought
people together.
And there are people I'vetalked with forever and they
(36:11):
never once asked me what partyI'm running for.
They just like what I'm sayingand they find the positivity,
the enthusiasm, I think,refreshing.
And you know I'm not apolitician, so I think that, and
you know I'm not a politician,so I think that that that's
important.
And I think the mostchallenging is lots of people
(36:36):
have lots of opinions on howthings should be done and a lot
of people who love you, you know, think that they know what's
best you know for you or yourcampaign.
And it's just been veryimportant to me to be true to
myself, follow my gut.
(37:00):
A lot of people, again, in a lotof different places, have
thoughts about how you should dosomething.
Oh my God, you're definitelygoing to lose your.
Your yard signs are red.
Oh my gosh, you need to wearthis.
Why aren't you wearing red?
I never see, I mean blue.
I never see you in blue.
I always see you in red.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
I'm like I look good.
You look amazing in red, by theway, you look amazing in red.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Yeah, red is definitely your color.
We just have to changeeverything.
We need to change the way wethink about politics.
We need to get out.
You know, this is 2024.
We need to be doing politicsdifferently.
I worked at the fair last yearat the voting booth and someone
(37:45):
said, oh, so we should talk toRepublicans too.
And I said I had to take a walkright Because the mindset most
of the people who have the timeto do the research and help the
(38:09):
we do things.
It has to change.
Doing the same thing, expectingdifferent results right, we all
know what that is thedefinition for.
And so we have to do thingsdifferently, we have to think
differently, and that's achallenge that both parties are
going to have to wrestle with.
And it sounds kind of Pollyanna, but I swear.
(38:32):
Doing the right thing, doinggood in your community, feels
good to people and I thinkthat's an attraction.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
It's not Pollyanna, amy.
I think people want more ofthat.
I think people want moreconnection and collaboration and
cooperation, and so and itneeds critical mass of people
like you running for office.
You know, I think we're seeingit, certainly at the level of
(39:05):
the presidential campaign, oftalking about how do we bridge
divides, and so I, I hope peoplewho are listening to you and
hearing just how truly sincereyou are about I mean, it's a
pretty powerful statement to say, look, I don't put my political
affiliation, political party,on any of my campaign materials,
(39:27):
because I'm serving everybody.
That is a statement.
Imagine if the next group ofpeople who run for office do the
same thing, which is, look, Imean, I have to check a box,
maybe for the purpose of thestate, but I'm here to represent
everybody.
And so I just, I hope people sofew of us know people running
for office and we.
That's why we wanted to hearyour, we wanted to bring your
(39:49):
voice to this, because we arereally hardened and we
collectively, as a nation, arevery hardened in our opinions.
And I think if, when you hearsomeone who truly is like, look,
I'm learning, I'm listening,I'm going to listen to what my
community is telling me that'sreally powerful.
(40:09):
It's really powerful, so welike to do.
Oh, you look like you want tosay something, amy.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
The best things that have come from this.
You know, yes, I intend to win.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
I love and I love that Claim, that statement,
claim it.
We believe very much in likespeaking things into existence.
So speak it into existence.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
The first thing I do is envision Speak it into yes.
Right, exactly.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Speak it into existence.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
And.
But I have taken young peoplewith me on this journey, again
very intentionally, becauseyounger folks don't typically
vote, but when they hear it fromother young people they are
more likely to be engaged.
Also, no one on my campaign hadever worked on a campaign
(40:56):
before.
So you know, in May we didcampaign camp, we put up the map
, we talked about things,concepts, ideas, why we do this,
why we don't do that.
They have to learn what I'velearned over the past several
years from other people and I dosay I stand on the shoulders of
(41:18):
other women and other people,men and women, who have done
this work before me, becauseit's a no-joke job and nobody
knows to be really in it.
Yeah, so I'm really proud thatour team has learned so much.
It's also really hard for me tolet go of things and so to give
(41:40):
my social media over to a 23year old, to let a 23 year old I
would give my social media overto a 23 year old.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
I'm just saying, I'm going to put it out.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
I'm joking.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Yeah, yeah, I know, you see all those memes like oh
God, yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
You kind of have to go with it because you know if
you have um older my kids havegotten their, their brains
obviously just work differentlyand they absorb things and know
things that I won't everunderstand.
So, trusting them to use allthose weapons for good and
connect everybody and go withwhat they're hearing and what
(42:25):
sounds authentic I mean we sataround one day just talking
about what text would you sendout to young people in Forsyth
County about me, and we wentaround, oh, say this, oh, say
that it was a huge, greatlearning gathering for us and
that brings me a lot of joy.
And also Kamala Harris.
(42:48):
You can tell her when you meether.
We do need to spread the joy.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
We'll let her know when we're at the inauguration
in January.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
We do need to spread this joy.
We do need to come together.
What you see on the news isentertainment.
It is not news.
You know, the more divided andthe more angry they can keep
people, the more ads they sell.
And so we see and we read andwe take in all of this on both
sides.
Turn off your everything forthe next three weeks and knock
(43:25):
some doors or make some phonecalls yeah, go Canvas.
Speaker 1 (43:30):
Yeah, phone bank.
Yeah, do something.
Don't rage tweet.
No rage tweeting, though.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
Yeah, right, I mean, the biggest lesson I've learned
this from 2016 and on, is showup.
You cannot do anything if youdo not show up.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
We need everybody's show up.
Speaker 3 (43:47):
Yeah, amy, so I'm going to pivot us really quickly
to the final segment of ourshow.
We love for our listeners toget to know the people behind
the roles and the positions.
We've learned so much from youtoday about what it takes to
step into the courageous spaceof running for office, what
brought you there, what you careabout.
(44:07):
But we want to make sure peopleknow a little bit more about
Amy just in the world.
So we're going to ask you acouple of questions.
This is kind of a lightninground.
Don't overthink it.
Just tell us the first thingthat comes to your mind.
Okay, all right.
First question you areaccepting a huge award, or maybe
(44:27):
it's the day after the win.
We don't know.
What is your walk on song?
Oh well, can I have two?
Sure, break the rules, amy.
Break the rules.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
She's ungovernable, tiffany, she's ungovernable.
Really good at that.
He's uncomfortable.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Really good at that.
Unstoppable is one of them, andthe Beyonce song.
Speaker 3 (44:54):
Oh, Beyonce Freedom.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Yeah Well, kamala's claimed it, kamala's claimed it.
Speaker 3 (45:00):
But yeah, we love Beyonce on this podcast Portia
you're next.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
We really do and we say this almost every episode
that Tiffany and Beyonce areboth Virgos.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
And we have the same birthday.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
And they have the same birthday.
Yes, yes, I was going to get tothat too, tiffany.
Yes, because she doesn't everlet me forget that she and
Beyonce share a birthday.
It makes them like, basically,sisters, basically, basically
sisters, yes, yes.
So, amy, what's one book youfind yourself recommending or
(45:34):
gifting repeatedly?
Speaker 2 (45:36):
So it's a book that I read in high school.
It has nothing to do withpolitics A Room with a View
Because it's a coming age storyof a young woman who's been told
how to think her entire lifeand she's waking up to the fact
uh virginia wolf, she needs tomake uh ian forster actually, oh
ian forster, ian forster, I waslike okay, ian forster, yeah
(45:58):
you know, make her mind up aboutwhat she believes is important
and kind of finding her way inthe world and it is romantic and
, yeah, just really powerfulabout oh, it's a movie many,
many, many, many years agofinding her way in the world and
it is romantic and, yeah, justreally powerful about it.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Oh, it was a movie many, many, many, many years ago
.
Right, yeah, okay, yep, okay.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
What is the best purchase under $150 you've ever
made?
Speaker 2 (46:22):
Oh gosh, boots, boots , boots.
I bought some boots, they maybe not Brand brand.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
We must know more Details.
Speaker 2 (46:37):
I have worn them for over 10 years now.
Yeah, big, Not big, but tall Tothe knees tall boots.
Speaker 3 (46:46):
Knee high boots.
We like a knee high boot.
We like a knee high boot, notbig but tall to the knees.
Tall boots, ooh.
Knee-high boots, ooh Ooh.
Speaker 1 (46:49):
Right on.
Ooh, we like a knee-high boot.
We like a knee-high boot.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
Amy, what is a hobby that you have that will surprise
everybody.
You know, I am a scuba diver.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Oh, and I love it.
Wow, being under the water sofar below just reminds you how
small you are in the big schemeof things, and it's so quiet and
peaceful.
I mean, there's literally awhole other world down there and
I think we walk through ourregular day without knowing that
or having found that, and it'sjust a great space to be.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
That's beautiful.
And, amy, last question for youhow would you define the word
ungovernable?
We recently rebranded the podto be called Ungovernable Women.
What does ungovernable mean toyou?
Speaker 2 (47:37):
Freedom.
You know you can't be governedby other people's opinion.
You need to be true to yourselfand have the freedom to do what
you know you need to do foryourself.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
It's a perfect way to close this out.
Amy Taylor North, thank you somuch for joining us today and we
look forward to celebratingyour victory on November 5th or
maybe the day after the election.
Just thank you for the gift ofyour time, your passion for
community and your dedication towomen and families.
(48:17):
We appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (48:18):
Thank you.
Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Thanks for listening to Ungovernable Women.
Our producer and editor isMegan King.
Our social media manager isDestiny Eicher.
Be sure to rate, review andsubscribe to our show on Apple
Podcasts, spotify or whereveryou listen to your pods.
Your ratings help otherlisteners find us.
You can follow and DM us onInstagram at ungovernablexwomen,
(48:42):
and TikTok atungovernablexwomen.
See you next time.
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