November 22, 2023 • 21 mins
JBMV Discussion w/ Shelley Berkley, Candidate for Mayor of Las Vegas, NV.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:11):
Welcome to the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
I am Joseph Simmons,
the host and also author of the new book,
Just Buy My Vote,
African American voting rights in the Chicago condition.
Well,
I'm honored to have with me today Ms. Shelley Berkley.
She served as a member of Congress representing Nevada for seven terms,
recognized as a Trailblazer for women in politics and currently candidate for Mayor of Las Vegas,
(00:39):
Shelley Berkley.
Welcome to the Just Buy My Vote Podcast.
Joseph.
Thank you very much for having me.
I appreciate it.
Absolutely.
It's my pleasure.
There are several things we could talk about in the time we have.
However,
I'd like to start by asking you to address the JBMV Avatar and I'll explain what I mean in my writing of the book Just Buy My Vote.
(01:02):
I found myself continually asking what are the best sources of American history.
So please address the JBMV Avatar if you will,
he or she is a 20 to 30 year old male or female and interested in history.
But for whatever reason was not a history major in school or maybe didn't attend college. He or
(01:23):
She is wondering where do I start?
Shelley Berkley.
What have you found to be your favorite or best sources?
Well,
thank you,
Joseph.
And Hello,
Avatars.
Um I was a history slash political science major when I was in college.
So history has always been fascinating to me.
(01:44):
I believe that if you don't learn about history,
you are condemned to repeat it.
And there's a lot of history that we don't wish to repeat quite the contrary.
So I would start by saying,
but my favorite sources are autobiographies or historical biographies of famous people.
(02:07):
I'm particularly interested in the revolution and how that group of men and it was men in those days,
came together in one place at one time in history.
And crafted a concept that ultimately led to a constitution that endures today.
(02:28):
Although there are some people and some um past and potential leaders in our country that don't really pay much attention to our constitution.
But I think that's what sets us apart from all other countries on the planet is we have a constitution.
We are a country that is governed by laws and the rule of law.
(02:51):
And even though as a nation,
we haven't always lived up to our ideals,
the fact of the matter is we can and there's a blueprint for us to follow and if we did follow it,
I think we would be far better off than we have been in the past.
(03:12):
Absolutely.
I agree with that.
Joseph, tiktok is not where you should be getting your news.
Gi give me a couple of places that you like to,
to refer to.
Well,
II,
I don't know whether I should admit this.
I love watching TV.
And I am a busy woman but I get my news from CNN MSNBC.
(03:36):
Every now and then when I want to see a counter,
a counter point of view,
I turn on Fox.
Um,
because I think it's very important to,
uh,
to absorb all points of view.
Um,
and then,
uh,
make the decision for yourself,
what's right or wrong right now.
When I was a kid,
there were only a few news outlets,
(03:58):
there was Walter Cronkite,
there was Huntley Brinkley.
And at,
when you sat down to the dinner table,
you had the news on.
So all of America was hearing the same news now,
we may interpret it differently,
but we were hearing the same set of facts.
Nowadays,
you tend,
people tend to watch the news outlet that best,
(04:22):
um,
validates what their point of view is.
And I don't think that's very healthy.
You have to hear all points of view and make up your own mind as to what is,
uh,
what works for you,
what are the facts,
uh,
what is the news,
um,
and listen to other points of view as well?
Sure.
Sure.
(04:42):
I'm gonna press you if I could.
Sure.
Will you have a favorite author or a favorite uh reference in terms of history from your background.
Heavens to Betsy.
Um Yeah,
I was,
I've been fascinated over the years by,
as I mentioned,
the revolution and what led colonial America and what led to the revolution.
(05:05):
Um More than George Washington chopping down the cherry tree.
I mean,
that's a lot of myth.
I'm talking about what actually happened that led up to that revolution and how remarkable it was that 13 colony uh colonies across an ocean were able to defeat a great,
the greatest power at the time.
(05:26):
Um uh uh Great Britain.
But I'm also fascinated by the civil war and what led up to the Civil War and what we are still experiencing because of the aftermath of,
of slavery.
And I don't think this nation has yet come to grips with our past.
(05:47):
Um And,
and I think until we do,
we're gonna be challenged and,
and having the same challenges that we keep facing,
I think there's racism and it needs to be addressed.
And I think that is a product of slavery and that from the earliest colonial times.
So there's,
(06:08):
you know,
there's a timeline that goes from one to another to more modern times.
And I think if you as a citizen learn about our history,
I think we'll all be far better for having that knowledge and we don't always do that.
Absolutely.
So let me try it a different way.
(06:29):
What's the most recent uh book that you read that you really enjoyed,
uh that was related to history.
I just finished the book.
It's not the greatest book in the world,
but Anderson Cooper wrote it.
It's about the Astor's and at one time,
the Astor family was the wealthiest family in America.
(06:50):
They made,
uh they acquired their wealth by um uh the fur trade back in the late 18 18,
well,
17 hundreds and 18 hundreds where there was nothing west of the Mississippi,
but a whole lot of fur traders.
Um and um that's how the Astor's acquired their money.
(07:13):
And they ultimately started buying um huge amounts of property in New York City and built these horrible tenements which for those that uh younger viewers,
these tenements are where immigrants poured into New York,
uh the potato famine.
So the Irish came and the Germans came and the Jews came in order to uh get out of Europe.
(07:39):
Um So there were waves and waves of immigrants that came almost penniless.
This is a story of my family.
My grandparents couldn't speak English and they were in these horrible tenement slums that were built by the Astor family from uh the money they acquired in the fur trade.
And this is known as the gilded age where they lived in incredible opulence while their tenants lived in absolute squalor,
(08:09):
many families in,
in,
in a one bedroom apartment.
And I could relate to that very well because that's where I was born in my grandparents' apartment on the lower east side of New York and I knew none of this history growing up.
But,
um,
that,
uh,
that's fact and that's,
(08:30):
uh,
that's reality.
And there were a group of very wealthy industrialists,
uh,
the Astor's,
the Vanderbilt's,
the Carnegie's who helped build America.
There's no doubt that they made a positive impact on the other hand,
they made that impact,
that positive impact on,
(08:50):
on the blood and sweat of others.
Absolutely.
I appreciate that of other,
by the way.
Right.
Right.
Ok,
great.
Well,
we appreciate that.
Let's shift gears just a bit.
I hear there's an election for mayor coming up.
Yes,
about 11 months from now.
Uh Shelley Berkley,
what are the top issues facing Las Vegas?
(09:13):
Well,
I'm glad you asked and I'll tell you what the issues are that people talk to me about and they have to be addressed and we need to move on because I believe that the next 10 years in Las Vegas and arguably all of southern Nevada are going to be the most explosive in a very positive way.
(09:36):
When I first moved to town,
I was 12 years old,
1963 there were 80,000 people in the entire Las Vegas Valley.
There's now 2.5 million people in the same area.
Quite extraordinary growth.
And we've done remarkably well.
Las Vegas is a world class city no matter where you go on the globe.
(09:58):
You tell them you're from Las Vegas,
everybody wants to talk about it.
Um However,
it's time that we as a city go to the next level.
These are the issues that people talk to me about and having been a 60 year resident of Las Vegas,
I'm well aware of homelessness before it gets completely out of control.
(10:22):
We need to confront this and deal with it.
It's more than just putting somebody in an apartment or in a motel to get them away from the uh the elements.
It's mental health issues.
It is um opioid issues or alcohol issues.
It is job training and then getting people adequate housing.
(10:46):
Uh So that's number one and they're all interrelated.
Number two,
affordable housing,
the very first home that my parents ever bought was near Eastern Avenue.
Um I went to Valley High School,
so I walked to school.
It was a little uh they were uh the Pardee homes,
the Pardee cinderblock homes.
(11:06):
My parents paid $33,000 for that house.
Now that may not seem like much,
but it made a difference in our lives.
We owned something we belonged here.
We,
we had property and that's why I believe that everybody that wants to have a home should be able to have a home.
(11:30):
Some people prefer apartment living,
but it has to be affordable.
And now uh there was a time when you moved into an apartment like my family did when we first moved to Vegas cause you couldn't afford a home.
Now people can't afford apartment rent.
And so we have to do everything we can to ensure that our fellow citizens have affordable housing.
(11:52):
Crime is always an issue.
Although a serious crime is down in Las Vegas,
the um auto jackings car jackings are up.
And when I was talking to the sheriff about this phenomenon,
he said to me,
Shelley,
if you own a Kia or a Hyundai,
chances are it's already been stolen while we're talking.
(12:13):
So this is a big issue right now.
Major crime down crimes like car jackings way,
way up and a lot of petty theft.
Um,
that's,
uh,
that's an issue also.
And how do you deal with that?
Um,
and then for me,
we need to do economic growth and development.
(12:34):
I was in the gaming business for nine years.
I love gaming.
It's incredible.
It's the Economic engine that drives this wild,
wildly successful train.
But I also am a proponent of economic diversification,
bring in other businesses with good paying jobs so that we are not so dependent on the gaming industry much as I love it.
(12:59):
And so for the last 10 years,
I was a board member of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.
Their mission is to bring in good paying jobs,
bring in businesses that pay good wages because we don't want more people living on the streets or having two or three jobs because that,
(13:20):
uh,
with no health care benefits because that is not,
uh,
that does not create a strong society.
Good paying jobs with good benefits do.
And I'll tell you this,
my dad was a waiter all the years.
I was growing up on a waiter salary.
He put a roof over our head,
food on the table,
clothes on our back.
(13:40):
And two daughters through college and me through law school,
not bad on a waiter to salary.
I think it's part of my job to make sure those coming up behind me had the same opportunity and benefits that II I had as a kid,
didn't realize it at the time,
but now I'm very appreciative and that's,
uh,
you know,
probably why I'm a strong union supporter because,
(14:04):
uh,
you know,
those union jobs,
uh they pay good wages,
pay good benefits and it was a tremendous benefit to my family.
Absolutely.
Well,
this has given us a good sense of who you are.
I'm,
I'm gonna take you back just a little bit and ask you what got you interested in public service originally?
Well,
(14:24):
um,
I hope this doesn't sound too Pollyannish,
but I am the granddaughter of immigrants that came to this country in order to escape the holocaust,
they couldn't speak English.
They had no money,
they had limited skills.
The one thing they had when they came to America was a dream and that dream was that their Children and their children's Children would have a better life here in the United States than they had back home also for my family.
(14:51):
It was a matter of survival.
Um,
and I'll give you a,
a quick factoid.
Um,
my mother's side of the family is from Greece.
They,
uh,
lived in Salonica which is a port city in Greece.
Um,
prior to World War two,
half of the population of Salonika was Jewish,
(15:11):
about 80,000 people.
By the time the Nazis finished,
there were only 1000 Jews left in Salonika.
I mean the commute,
it was wiped out.
They were all shipped to Auschwitz.
My father's side of the family from the Russia Poland border where they are fighting now in the Ukraine was where my father's family came from.
(15:32):
Luckily,
both sides of my family were already in America.
So for me,
America,
not only gave my family the chance to survive,
which we surely I would have never been born.
Cause my uh my both sides would have been exterminated in the Holocaust,
but it's given us an opportunity to thrive.
(15:53):
And for me,
if I Joseph,
if I was a great singer,
I would be,
I'd be singing uh uh in order to earn my keep in this world.
If I was a great painter,
I'd be creating,
I'm none of those things.
But what I am is a good public servant.
So I devoted my life to public service to help other people,
(16:17):
help my fellow citizens and hopefully improve their lives a little bit,
give them the opportunity.
And again,
we're not talking about a handout.
We talking about a hand up.
Everybody wants to be productive and feel as that as if they have worth.
And as I became older,
I became very cognizant of that,
(16:39):
that you have to value people and give them a reason for being.
And if you do that,
they will respond in kind.
So I've,
I've lived my life not always,
I think this is evolutionary.
Um,
but I think as I got older,
I became more sensitive to other people and what their needs are.
(17:00):
Concerns are.
And I find no matter what walk of life,
uh,
what color you are,
what uh what country your family comes from in the end,
we all want the same thing.
We want a good life,
we want to take care of our family and we want our Children to succeed.
That's it.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I'm gonna try another one for you with the time that we have left.
(17:22):
What's one piece of advice you'd offer to your 20 year old self?
Um,
actually,
I,
I was a smart cookie at 20.
I can believe that there's a couple of things.
First of all,
stay in school,
you get that.
Neither one of my parents graduated high school,
(17:45):
neither one in my family.
It didn't matter if you were pretty or popular.
It mattered that you got good grades.
So you could make something of yourself.
And if you've got that education,
that's something no one can take away from you.
And,
and I,
I believe that to this day.
So you stay in school,
(18:06):
you get a good education and if you believe in yourself,
go for it.
So,
what if you fail?
I mean,
I've,
I've run,
I've been in office,
I was in office for 30 years.
I'm just about,
um,
embarking on another campaign and the fact of the matter is I didn't win all those elections.
(18:26):
Um,
but if I hadn't tried it,
if I hadn't done it,
I would have regretted it my entire life.
So you fall down,
you fail,
you pick yourself up,
you wipe yourself off and you move forward and that's the name of the game.
We're all here for such a short amount of time.
If,
if,
if you're lucky,
if you're lucky you could almost get to a century.
(18:50):
But,
uh,
uh,
that's a blink of an eye.
We all look up at the same moon.
We're all warmed by the same sun.
What,
uh,
my advice also is,
get,
get away from this hate stuff.
It is killing this country.
There is no need for it.
We're here.
You do your job,
you do the best you can and you lead a good life.
(19:13):
Don't hate.
It's not,
it takes away from you.
It poisons your insides,
not the people you're hating.
I love that.
Well,
certainly appreciate that.
Let me ask you,
Shelley Berkeley.
Are there any websites or anything where someone can find you in order to support your campaign?
Oh,
I have a great website and actually it's got a lot of speeches that I've given and a lot,
(19:37):
uh,
so people should take some time and look at it.
Um,
uh,
it's Berkley
the number four mayor.com.
Excellent.
And it's a good,
uh,
it's a good website and,
and if you're so inclined and have the disposable income,
if you want to make a contribution,
then that would be lovely too.
(19:58):
But more than that,
read it.
Look at it,
look at me and I hope I'll have your vote in uh next November or June is the primary.
So you have to vote in June and then the top two vote getters go into the pri uh the general election next November.
Fantastic.
Well,
I certainly appreciate the time that you've spent with me.
(20:19):
This has been a real pleasure,
Shelley Berkeley.
Thank you so much and thank you for sharing with our listeners today,
Joseph.
Thank you for having me and I thought it was a,
a wonderful interview.
Most people don't ask those questions.
Well,
well,
we hope you enjoyed that episode of the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
(20:40):
We're looking forward to the next episodes.
You can find the book at Just Buy My Vote.com and feel free to follow us at Just Buy My Vote podcast.com for notification on upcoming podcasts and events.
We thank you for the privilege of your time and until next time Just Buy My Vote.
Welcome to the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
I am Joseph Simmons,
the host and also author of the new book,
Just Buy My Vote,
African American voting rights in the Chicago condition.
Well,
I'm honored to have with me today Ms. Shelley Berkley.
She served as a member of Congress representing Nevada for seven terms,
recognized as a Trailblazer for women in politics and currently candidate for Mayor of Las Vegas,
(00:39):
Shelley Berkley.
Welcome to the Just Buy My Vote Podcast.
Joseph.
Thank you very much for having me.
I appreciate it.
Absolutely.
It's my pleasure.
There are several things we could talk about in the time we have.
However,
I'd like to start by asking you to address the JBMV Avatar and I'll explain what I mean in my writing of the book Just Buy My Vote.
(01:02):
I found myself continually asking what are the best sources of American history.
So please address the JBMV Avatar if you will,
he or she is a 20 to 30 year old male or female and interested in history.
But for whatever reason was not a history major in school or maybe didn't attend college. He or
(01:23):
She is wondering where do I start?
Shelley Berkley.
What have you found to be your favorite or best sources?
Well,
thank you,
Joseph.
And Hello,
Avatars.
Um I was a history slash political science major when I was in college.
So history has always been fascinating to me.
(01:44):
I believe that if you don't learn about history,
you are condemned to repeat it.
And there's a lot of history that we don't wish to repeat quite the contrary.
So I would start by saying,
but my favorite sources are autobiographies or historical biographies of famous people.
(02:07):
I'm particularly interested in the revolution and how that group of men and it was men in those days,
came together in one place at one time in history.
And crafted a concept that ultimately led to a constitution that endures today.
(02:28):
Although there are some people and some um past and potential leaders in our country that don't really pay much attention to our constitution.
But I think that's what sets us apart from all other countries on the planet is we have a constitution.
We are a country that is governed by laws and the rule of law.
(02:51):
And even though as a nation,
we haven't always lived up to our ideals,
the fact of the matter is we can and there's a blueprint for us to follow and if we did follow it,
I think we would be far better off than we have been in the past.
(03:12):
Absolutely.
I agree with that.
Joseph, tiktok is not where you should be getting your news.
Gi give me a couple of places that you like to,
to refer to.
Well,
II,
I don't know whether I should admit this.
I love watching TV.
And I am a busy woman but I get my news from CNN MSNBC.
(03:36):
Every now and then when I want to see a counter,
a counter point of view,
I turn on Fox.
Um,
because I think it's very important to,
uh,
to absorb all points of view.
Um,
and then,
uh,
make the decision for yourself,
what's right or wrong right now.
When I was a kid,
there were only a few news outlets,
(03:58):
there was Walter Cronkite,
there was Huntley Brinkley.
And at,
when you sat down to the dinner table,
you had the news on.
So all of America was hearing the same news now,
we may interpret it differently,
but we were hearing the same set of facts.
Nowadays,
you tend,
people tend to watch the news outlet that best,
(04:22):
um,
validates what their point of view is.
And I don't think that's very healthy.
You have to hear all points of view and make up your own mind as to what is,
uh,
what works for you,
what are the facts,
uh,
what is the news,
um,
and listen to other points of view as well?
Sure.
Sure.
(04:42):
I'm gonna press you if I could.
Sure.
Will you have a favorite author or a favorite uh reference in terms of history from your background.
Heavens to Betsy.
Um Yeah,
I was,
I've been fascinated over the years by,
as I mentioned,
the revolution and what led colonial America and what led to the revolution.
(05:05):
Um More than George Washington chopping down the cherry tree.
I mean,
that's a lot of myth.
I'm talking about what actually happened that led up to that revolution and how remarkable it was that 13 colony uh colonies across an ocean were able to defeat a great,
the greatest power at the time.
(05:26):
Um uh uh Great Britain.
But I'm also fascinated by the civil war and what led up to the Civil War and what we are still experiencing because of the aftermath of,
of slavery.
And I don't think this nation has yet come to grips with our past.
(05:47):
Um And,
and I think until we do,
we're gonna be challenged and,
and having the same challenges that we keep facing,
I think there's racism and it needs to be addressed.
And I think that is a product of slavery and that from the earliest colonial times.
So there's,
(06:08):
you know,
there's a timeline that goes from one to another to more modern times.
And I think if you as a citizen learn about our history,
I think we'll all be far better for having that knowledge and we don't always do that.
Absolutely.
So let me try it a different way.
(06:29):
What's the most recent uh book that you read that you really enjoyed,
uh that was related to history.
I just finished the book.
It's not the greatest book in the world,
but Anderson Cooper wrote it.
It's about the Astor's and at one time,
the Astor family was the wealthiest family in America.
(06:50):
They made,
uh they acquired their wealth by um uh the fur trade back in the late 18 18,
well,
17 hundreds and 18 hundreds where there was nothing west of the Mississippi,
but a whole lot of fur traders.
Um and um that's how the Astor's acquired their money.
(07:13):
And they ultimately started buying um huge amounts of property in New York City and built these horrible tenements which for those that uh younger viewers,
these tenements are where immigrants poured into New York,
uh the potato famine.
So the Irish came and the Germans came and the Jews came in order to uh get out of Europe.
(07:39):
Um So there were waves and waves of immigrants that came almost penniless.
This is a story of my family.
My grandparents couldn't speak English and they were in these horrible tenement slums that were built by the Astor family from uh the money they acquired in the fur trade.
And this is known as the gilded age where they lived in incredible opulence while their tenants lived in absolute squalor,
(08:09):
many families in,
in,
in a one bedroom apartment.
And I could relate to that very well because that's where I was born in my grandparents' apartment on the lower east side of New York and I knew none of this history growing up.
But,
um,
that,
uh,
that's fact and that's,
(08:30):
uh,
that's reality.
And there were a group of very wealthy industrialists,
uh,
the Astor's,
the Vanderbilt's,
the Carnegie's who helped build America.
There's no doubt that they made a positive impact on the other hand,
they made that impact,
that positive impact on,
(08:50):
on the blood and sweat of others.
Absolutely.
I appreciate that of other,
by the way.
Right.
Right.
Ok,
great.
Well,
we appreciate that.
Let's shift gears just a bit.
I hear there's an election for mayor coming up.
Yes,
about 11 months from now.
Uh Shelley Berkley,
what are the top issues facing Las Vegas?
(09:13):
Well,
I'm glad you asked and I'll tell you what the issues are that people talk to me about and they have to be addressed and we need to move on because I believe that the next 10 years in Las Vegas and arguably all of southern Nevada are going to be the most explosive in a very positive way.
(09:36):
When I first moved to town,
I was 12 years old,
1963 there were 80,000 people in the entire Las Vegas Valley.
There's now 2.5 million people in the same area.
Quite extraordinary growth.
And we've done remarkably well.
Las Vegas is a world class city no matter where you go on the globe.
(09:58):
You tell them you're from Las Vegas,
everybody wants to talk about it.
Um However,
it's time that we as a city go to the next level.
These are the issues that people talk to me about and having been a 60 year resident of Las Vegas,
I'm well aware of homelessness before it gets completely out of control.
(10:22):
We need to confront this and deal with it.
It's more than just putting somebody in an apartment or in a motel to get them away from the uh the elements.
It's mental health issues.
It is um opioid issues or alcohol issues.
It is job training and then getting people adequate housing.
(10:46):
Uh So that's number one and they're all interrelated.
Number two,
affordable housing,
the very first home that my parents ever bought was near Eastern Avenue.
Um I went to Valley High School,
so I walked to school.
It was a little uh they were uh the Pardee homes,
the Pardee cinderblock homes.
(11:06):
My parents paid $33,000 for that house.
Now that may not seem like much,
but it made a difference in our lives.
We owned something we belonged here.
We,
we had property and that's why I believe that everybody that wants to have a home should be able to have a home.
(11:30):
Some people prefer apartment living,
but it has to be affordable.
And now uh there was a time when you moved into an apartment like my family did when we first moved to Vegas cause you couldn't afford a home.
Now people can't afford apartment rent.
And so we have to do everything we can to ensure that our fellow citizens have affordable housing.
(11:52):
Crime is always an issue.
Although a serious crime is down in Las Vegas,
the um auto jackings car jackings are up.
And when I was talking to the sheriff about this phenomenon,
he said to me,
Shelley,
if you own a Kia or a Hyundai,
chances are it's already been stolen while we're talking.
(12:13):
So this is a big issue right now.
Major crime down crimes like car jackings way,
way up and a lot of petty theft.
Um,
that's,
uh,
that's an issue also.
And how do you deal with that?
Um,
and then for me,
we need to do economic growth and development.
(12:34):
I was in the gaming business for nine years.
I love gaming.
It's incredible.
It's the Economic engine that drives this wild,
wildly successful train.
But I also am a proponent of economic diversification,
bring in other businesses with good paying jobs so that we are not so dependent on the gaming industry much as I love it.
(12:59):
And so for the last 10 years,
I was a board member of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.
Their mission is to bring in good paying jobs,
bring in businesses that pay good wages because we don't want more people living on the streets or having two or three jobs because that,
(13:20):
uh,
with no health care benefits because that is not,
uh,
that does not create a strong society.
Good paying jobs with good benefits do.
And I'll tell you this,
my dad was a waiter all the years.
I was growing up on a waiter salary.
He put a roof over our head,
food on the table,
clothes on our back.
(13:40):
And two daughters through college and me through law school,
not bad on a waiter to salary.
I think it's part of my job to make sure those coming up behind me had the same opportunity and benefits that II I had as a kid,
didn't realize it at the time,
but now I'm very appreciative and that's,
uh,
you know,
probably why I'm a strong union supporter because,
(14:04):
uh,
you know,
those union jobs,
uh they pay good wages,
pay good benefits and it was a tremendous benefit to my family.
Absolutely.
Well,
this has given us a good sense of who you are.
I'm,
I'm gonna take you back just a little bit and ask you what got you interested in public service originally?
Well,
(14:24):
um,
I hope this doesn't sound too Pollyannish,
but I am the granddaughter of immigrants that came to this country in order to escape the holocaust,
they couldn't speak English.
They had no money,
they had limited skills.
The one thing they had when they came to America was a dream and that dream was that their Children and their children's Children would have a better life here in the United States than they had back home also for my family.
(14:51):
It was a matter of survival.
Um,
and I'll give you a,
a quick factoid.
Um,
my mother's side of the family is from Greece.
They,
uh,
lived in Salonica which is a port city in Greece.
Um,
prior to World War two,
half of the population of Salonika was Jewish,
(15:11):
about 80,000 people.
By the time the Nazis finished,
there were only 1000 Jews left in Salonika.
I mean the commute,
it was wiped out.
They were all shipped to Auschwitz.
My father's side of the family from the Russia Poland border where they are fighting now in the Ukraine was where my father's family came from.
(15:32):
Luckily,
both sides of my family were already in America.
So for me,
America,
not only gave my family the chance to survive,
which we surely I would have never been born.
Cause my uh my both sides would have been exterminated in the Holocaust,
but it's given us an opportunity to thrive.
(15:53):
And for me,
if I Joseph,
if I was a great singer,
I would be,
I'd be singing uh uh in order to earn my keep in this world.
If I was a great painter,
I'd be creating,
I'm none of those things.
But what I am is a good public servant.
So I devoted my life to public service to help other people,
(16:17):
help my fellow citizens and hopefully improve their lives a little bit,
give them the opportunity.
And again,
we're not talking about a handout.
We talking about a hand up.
Everybody wants to be productive and feel as that as if they have worth.
And as I became older,
I became very cognizant of that,
(16:39):
that you have to value people and give them a reason for being.
And if you do that,
they will respond in kind.
So I've,
I've lived my life not always,
I think this is evolutionary.
Um,
but I think as I got older,
I became more sensitive to other people and what their needs are.
(17:00):
Concerns are.
And I find no matter what walk of life,
uh,
what color you are,
what uh what country your family comes from in the end,
we all want the same thing.
We want a good life,
we want to take care of our family and we want our Children to succeed.
That's it.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I'm gonna try another one for you with the time that we have left.
(17:22):
What's one piece of advice you'd offer to your 20 year old self?
Um,
actually,
I,
I was a smart cookie at 20.
I can believe that there's a couple of things.
First of all,
stay in school,
you get that.
Neither one of my parents graduated high school,
(17:45):
neither one in my family.
It didn't matter if you were pretty or popular.
It mattered that you got good grades.
So you could make something of yourself.
And if you've got that education,
that's something no one can take away from you.
And,
and I,
I believe that to this day.
So you stay in school,
(18:06):
you get a good education and if you believe in yourself,
go for it.
So,
what if you fail?
I mean,
I've,
I've run,
I've been in office,
I was in office for 30 years.
I'm just about,
um,
embarking on another campaign and the fact of the matter is I didn't win all those elections.
(18:26):
Um,
but if I hadn't tried it,
if I hadn't done it,
I would have regretted it my entire life.
So you fall down,
you fail,
you pick yourself up,
you wipe yourself off and you move forward and that's the name of the game.
We're all here for such a short amount of time.
If,
if,
if you're lucky,
if you're lucky you could almost get to a century.
(18:50):
But,
uh,
uh,
that's a blink of an eye.
We all look up at the same moon.
We're all warmed by the same sun.
What,
uh,
my advice also is,
get,
get away from this hate stuff.
It is killing this country.
There is no need for it.
We're here.
You do your job,
you do the best you can and you lead a good life.
(19:13):
Don't hate.
It's not,
it takes away from you.
It poisons your insides,
not the people you're hating.
I love that.
Well,
certainly appreciate that.
Let me ask you,
Shelley Berkeley.
Are there any websites or anything where someone can find you in order to support your campaign?
Oh,
I have a great website and actually it's got a lot of speeches that I've given and a lot,
(19:37):
uh,
so people should take some time and look at it.
Um,
uh,
it's Berkley
the number four mayor.com.
Excellent.
And it's a good,
uh,
it's a good website and,
and if you're so inclined and have the disposable income,
if you want to make a contribution,
then that would be lovely too.
(19:58):
But more than that,
read it.
Look at it,
look at me and I hope I'll have your vote in uh next November or June is the primary.
So you have to vote in June and then the top two vote getters go into the pri uh the general election next November.
Fantastic.
Well,
I certainly appreciate the time that you've spent with me.
(20:19):
This has been a real pleasure,
Shelley Berkeley.
Thank you so much and thank you for sharing with our listeners today,
Joseph.
Thank you for having me and I thought it was a,
a wonderful interview.
Most people don't ask those questions.
Well,
well,
we hope you enjoyed that episode of the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
(20:40):
We're looking forward to the next episodes.
You can find the book at Just Buy My Vote.com and feel free to follow us at Just Buy My Vote podcast.com for notification on upcoming podcasts and events.
We thank you for the privilege of your time and until next time Just Buy My Vote.
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