Analyzing The 2024 Elections. Steve and Jessica Williamson welcome our favorite political prognosticator, Dan Singal, back to the show. Singal is Emeritus Professor of History and Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.
Singal has a history of accurately predicting the outcome of elections. And he has some surprising views, not only about the presidential race, but about Senate and gubernatorial races around the country. For instance, he believes there are nine battleground states this year instead of the usual seven.
Small Steps Can Have A Big Impact On Climate Change. Steve Williamson welcomes Frances “Frankie” Reimer, PhD and Peggy Chaikin to discuss the climate crisis. They begin by offering details about a new tool-sharing program through the library in Sedona intended to help residents and conserve resources. It’s one of many small and simple ways that communities like Sedona can build sustainability by reducing waste and our carbon footprint.
The Ongoing Destruction Of Palestine. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Daniel Nerenberg, Education and Communication Specialist for Just Vision, back to the show to discuss the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank. During the lengthy conflict more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. Do the Israeli actions qualify as genocide? Many believe they do.
A Two-Person School Board Youth Movement. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Markus Ceniceros and Mikah Dyer, both of whom decided to run for school boards just after turning 18. Markus is running for a second term on the Littleton Governing Board in Avondale, AZ. And Mikah is running for the Peoria Unified District school board. Both are also going to college full-time.
Asked why he chose to run Ceniceros says, “The big reason why I decided to run for office is because I felt a void in my community, particularly we were going through the pandemic and I was personally struggling with my mental health and my sexuality and I really figured that, you know, leaders in education were not talking about these issues that young people really cared about, and I wanted to run to provide a new generation of leadership – not just for my school district, but for my area as a whole.”
Asked the same question, Dyer responds that, when he attended a school board meeting in support of a teacher who was facing some backlash and verbal attacks from board members because she was teaching about the Black Lives Matter movement in context of other social movements. As he continued to attend board meetings, he observed, “A lot of the time, the adults in the room were not acting like it.”
Commenting on the ideology that recently led his school board to reject federal funding for social workers in schools, Dyer notes, “For a number of years, and I think since Covid, we’ve seen this kind of targeted attack on public education.” As for parents’ fears of indoctrinating students, he says, “Teachers don’t have the time in the day to indoctrinate your students.”
Ceniceros adds, “Especially here in Arizona, we’ve been ground zero for this big movement to dismantle and destroy public education.” Citing a quote from a workshop he attended, Ceniceros continues, “The way I see it, public education is the last line for a community’s democracy.”
Slate Of Sanity. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome three highly qualified candidates for the Mingus Union High School Board in Arizona’s Verde Valley: Joe Wegwert, James Ariola, and incumbent Carol Anne Teague.
Wegwert is a professor in the department of education at Northern Arizona University who also has more than 20 years of experience teaching Middle School and High School social studies. Ariola is a restaurant owner and former civil engineer who directed an office of 300 people. Teague has been on the school board for six years. In addition to her duties as a current member, Teague is a real estate agent in Sedona and the Verde Valley.
The three candidates have chosen to call themselves the “Slate of Sanity” because of the agenda of some board members and candidates who seem more concerned about bathrooms and book bans than about the students’ education.
“I sit there at this moment behind the table…We have a five-person school board, and I am completely outvoted and outnumbered. We have political activists on our school board. We have religious activists on our school board. And they seem determined to not promote, or nurture, or encourage anyone who is not white, Christian, and straight,” says Teague.”
While Ariola, Teague and Wegwert are focused on improving education, their opponents represent more of the hateful political and religious agenda that has spread nationwide.
“It’s a clear choice,” says Teague. “We have the three of us who want to nurture all of the kids no matter what color, what religion, what gender, or what sexual orientation they are. Or we have people who want to turn Mingus into a church school.”
Bringing Hope And Moderation To The Arizona Legislature. Steve Williamson and Gary LaMaster welcome Arizona State Senate candidate, Mike Fogel, to the show. Fogel is a former public-school teacher, coach, and administrator who is running against election-denier Mark Finchem, one of the most extreme, anti-government politicians in the nation.
Fogel says, “My campaign in 2022 and now is essentially to create opportunity for everyday working folk. And that begins with strong public schools.” Among the other issues his campaign is focusing on are water and affordable housing.
Governor Tim Walz: The Joyful Warrior. In an age of anger, distrust and hateful politics, the positive energy of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her pick for vice-president offer a happy and welcome respite.
We provide an in-depth profile of Walz and the Minnesota political system that helped shape him. Of course, not everyone is happy with Kamala’s choice, especially her degenerate and colossally unfit opponent. So, he and his MAGA movement have already begun to attack Walz with misinformation, distortions, and outright lies. But given Governor Walz’s honorable public service, charming demeanor, and his support for highly popular issues, the attacks are unlikely to stick.
Taking The Reins Of The Yavapai County School System. Karen McClelland welcomes Steve King, candidate for Yavapai County School Superintendent. Though it may seem unusual for a show named Democratic Perspective to host a candidate who bills himself as a conservative Republican, there is no Democrat running for the office and King won the Republican primary. So, it’s inevitable that he will win the general election to replace Tim Carter who has held the office for more than 20 years.
Given that, we believe it’s important to understand King’s plans for the office.
A New Race. Biden’s withdrawal from the race has scrambled the presidential election making Trump the only geriatric candidate in cognitive decline. We discuss how the decision to endorse Kamala Harris has brought new energy and hope to Democrats. And the increased likelihood that Trump, his MAGA supporters and Project 2025 will be defeated this Fall.
Justice For The Homeless. Steve and Karen welcome former co-host Hava Derby to discuss the recent DOJ report about the violent treatment of homeless by the Phoenix Police Department and the ensuing repressive ruling by the conservative majority of the United States Supreme Court.
