Direct Democracy Diaries Episode 7: Beyond the Ballot: Building Movements Through Ballot Measures with Maurice Mitchell

11/19/2025

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In the season finale of Direct Democracy Diaries, hosts Chris Melody Fields Figueredo and Caroline Sanchez- Avakian sit down with Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party. Maurice shares how his Caribbean immigrant upbringing and lifelong organizing work shape his political vision. Together, they explore the role of ballot measures in building movements, the 2025 election outcomes, and the critical need to fight not only against fascism but for dignity, affordability, and power for working people. This episode offers a call to action to build authentic, connected, and community-rooted political power.

If you’re interested in the work that Maurice Mitchell and the Working Families Party is doing – you can learn more at workingfamilies.org

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Highlights from the episode with Maurice Mitchell: 

  • “Whatever you have, you give.”

  • “What is the fundamental crisis that’s facing working people? It’s affordability. That’s problem one, two, and three. Some people call that the economy — I think it’s a crisis of dignity. Working a job and doing the hard work of that job and at the end of the week not having enough to feed your babies, that’s a crisis of dignity. Living in a community for years and doing your best, doing everything you could do, and still struggling every single time at the end of the month with rent and wondering if you could stay in this community that you love, that is a crisis of dignity, of belonging, that most people are feeling.”

  • “On candidate campaigns and on propositions and on all these things, we should be thinking from the very beginning: how does this build a movement? How does this build connection? How does this build community? How is there something that is durable, that wasn’t there before, that is there now? Were you able to surface new leaders after the election?”

  • “I’m a big “leave no voter behind” type of person. I don’t believe in red counties and blue counties or red states and blue states. It’s just, the right wing has just gotten to our neighbor before we could. That’s the only thing that happened. And so we need to be obsessed with getting to that neighbor before the right wing does.”

  • “If we’re interested in defeating fascism and building majorities or super majorities, we can’t do that narrowly only from the prism of the Democratic Party and its brand — it’s just not going to work. We need people who don’t like the Democratic Party and couldn’t imagine voting for a Democrat to be in our movement. We need people who don’t see things politically or see things ideologically to be in our movement. And one of the things that we’ve proven is that the Working Families Party as a brand is able to reach people that otherwise the Democratic Party and people attached to the Democratic Party would not be able to reach. And that is what we bring to the table of the broader, united front against fascism.”

  • “There’s countless communities that we could be building relationships with because they’re already organized. They’re not waiting for us. We need to go where they’re at to be in conversation with them. That’s what a party should be.”

  • “A lot of our work is ultimately trying to figure out how people could feel more connected to something bigger than them and feel like they could be part of a calling.”

LISTEN NOW 

Episode Shownotes:

  • [00:00:00] Chris and Caroline reflect on season one and introduce Maurice Mitchell.
  • [00:05:44] Maurice Mitchell’s background, family roots, and organizing journey.
  • [00:19:38] Reflections on the 2023 election and what it reveals about U.S. politics.
  • [00:27:41] How Working Families Party engages with ballot measures like Prop 50.
  • [00:33:18] The difference between transactional campaigns and movement-building.
  • [00:35:08] How WFP offers a political home outside the two-party system.
  • [00:40:44] 2026 ballot issues that can unite multiracial working-class voters.
  • [00:46:15] Building political communities through fandoms and cultural organizing.
  • [00:54:30] Key lessons from 2023 and preparing resilient movements for 2026.
  • [01:01:34] Advice for emerging and experienced leaders in advocacy.
  • [01:03:27] Maurice on organizing as a love letter to his people.
  • [01:06:04] Hosts reflect on season one and look ahead to season two

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (0:04 – 0:15)

Welcome to the Direct Democracy Diaries, the podcast where we explore the power of ballot measures and the people behind them. I’m Caroline Sánchez Avakian.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (0:16 – 0:49)

And I’m Chris Melody Fields Figueredo. Join us as we dive deep into the stories, strategies, and successes that are shaping the future of our democracy, one diary entry at a time. Hey, y’all, we have made it.

 

We have gotten to the final episode of the Direct Democracy Diaries. I am saying these words out loud, and I cannot believe it, Caroline. Can you believe we are at the end of our first season of this podcast?

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (0:50 – 1:40)

I cannot. I feel like we were just getting started, but here we are. And it’s probably a good thing that we feel like we’re just getting started because we are, Chris.

 

We are headed into season two of Direct Democracy Diaries in 2026. That’s right. As we begin planning, we want to hear from all of you out there listening to us.

 

What are your questions? What do you want to learn more about? What’s the vibe?

 

What is it? What do you want from season two? Let us know.

 

Send us an email. Drop a comment on the podcast. Let us know.

 

And we have a lot to be excited about. Right, Chris? But before we move on, I want you to tell me what has been your favorite moment or moments from the season?

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (1:42 – 4:25)

Hmmmm…How dare you ask me that question? They’re all my favorites. No, I’m kidding.

 

I mean, yes, I’ve enjoyed every single episode. We’ve had such wonderful, phenomenal guests, and they’ve really shared, yes, like really key information about running campaigns, but so many stories, not only their stories, but stories about people they’ve worked with or people that have, you know, they’ve been leaders in the campaign. They’ve shared so many beautiful and inspiring stories that it really is hard to choose one.

 

So, I’m going to cheat a little bit and share some themes that I’ve noticed. I first have really appreciated that throughout the episodes, our guests really organically have shared these stories about how ballot measures have been demonstrations of love. Even before I asked that final questions, how is your work or how has your ballot measure work been a love letter to your people?

 

It just really, in every single conversations, people have just showed and demonstrated love and care. And I’ve just found that so beautiful. You know, and another thing that I’ve really noticed that’s been a theme throughout the episodes, especially I remember with episode two with Sarah and Lauren, you know, when they were talking about like how they would go to bat, they would block anybody if they tried to harm somebody on that executive committee, right?

 

And Hutch, you know, talked about the relationships that they made on the marriage equality race in Maine. Just really the relationships that you create on those ballot measures, they last beyond those campaigns. And just in this last episode, Richard, he showed love by giving flowers in real time to his comrades in Missouri and from not just his organization, but from all different organizations in the state who have really been able to come together and do great things.

 

And I know from my own personal experience, you know, I’ve worked on a few campaigns in my life. You know, those bonds that you create when you’re in the trenches, when you are in battle with folks, man, that is how we grow and we strengthen our ecosystem. At BISC, we know, I talk about it all the time with our team, our relationships that we have with our partners, with the leaders that we train, that’s our currency.

 

And that is true for any movement work that you do. This is how we come together to not just build, but wield power.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (4:25 – 5:43)

I love that, Chris. It’s such a it’s such an important message. If I look back, I think one of my favorite moments from the show was episode one when Desmond Meade was on the show and shared his take on reaching voters of all stripes and bringing them into the big tent.

 

And I love that. It’s such a powerful image when you think about bringing people into this huge tent together and seeing them as people first. He told us how for Amendment 4, the rights restoration measure in Florida, how he deliberately chose not to lead with the politics.

 

He led with the people, regardless of party affiliation and how we need to really see each other’s humanity before anything else. And it’s such such a clear blueprint, Chris, for how to run a campaign with humanity and love. And for me, I just feel it was such a touching moment.

 

It gave me chills. And it’s such a message, an important one that we need to hear and feel now more than ever. Yeah, it was it was just a great moment.

 

Chris, so why don’t you tell us a little bit about our very special guest who’s coming today?

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (5:44 – 7:58)

Oh, I would love to. We have a treat for you all today. I am so excited that my comrade, my friend, Maurice Mitchell, the national director of the Working Families Party, is joining us for our final episode.

 

Maurice is a nationally recognized political strategist and leader in the movement for Black Lives. He was raised by his Caribbean working class parents and Mo, that’s what I call him. That’s what his friends call him.

 

He began organizing as a teenager and he has never stopped. After working at several different advocacy organizations, Mo directed the New York State Civic Engagement Table, which is part of the State Voices Network. And that’s actually where I first met Mo.

 

And I remember when he was working there and we were both at different organizations and how we were both motivated and moved, unfortunately, by the murder, the police murder of Mike Brown. And he felt so activated by that injustice that he relocated to Ferguson and he helped build the movement for Black Lives. And he was a key organizer for the M4BL convention in Cleveland in 2015, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

 

There is something special in Cleveland and I am so thrilled that our conference, the Road Ahead Conference in 2026, we’re going to be in Cleveland and in Ohio, a state that has a rich history for social justice. In 2018, Maurice took the helm of the Working Families Party just one week before I became executive director of BISC. So, we have been in a different type of trenches together, learning how to be EDs, how to be leaders of organizations together and turning to each other.

 

He has taught me about the importance of radical generosity, especially as leaders. So Mo is really applying his passion and his experience to make Working Families Party, WFB, the political home for a multiracial working class movement.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (7:59 – 8:02)

Incredible. Let’s get the show started, Chris.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (8:03 – 8:07)

Mo, welcome to the show. I am so excited to have you.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (8:08 – 8:09)

I am so excited to be here.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (8:10 – 8:32)

Thank you. It’s been a big week, but before we get to the heart of this episode, which is about how ballot measures can help build movements, Mo, share for our listeners a little bit more about you. What led you to this work?

 

What drives you? And as you know, Ella Baker would ask us, who are your people?

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (8:32 – 8:43)

It’s hard for me to take apart what drives me. And what led me to this work from the family I was born into.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (8:43 – 8:44)

Absolutely. Yeah.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (8:46 – 9:00)

And my grandmother, she came here as an immigrant. She was born in a island nation that actually is in the news right now. It’s right off the coast of Venezuela, Trinidad.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (9:00 – 9:08)

I know. I mean, my neighbor is Trinidadian. I’m like, listen, we ain’t got beef here.

 

Somebody is trying to create beef.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (9:08 – 9:14)

Yeah. Somebody is trying to create beef between our people. We got to, you know, this call is like healing the ripped right here.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (9:14 – 9:15)

That’s right. That’s right.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (9:18 – 11:23)

So, and she grew up in a pretty poor rural part of Trinidad and she had a lot of kids and they were, she was always hustling to make a better life for her family. And that hustle drove her to come to the United States and work as a domestic worker. And she worked in New York and she worked in people’s homes on Long Island.

 

And she would spend Monday through Friday residentially in people’s homes. And on the weekends, she didn’t have a place to stay. And it was through the generosity of another person, an African-American woman, a church elder who noticed her on a park bench that she was able to find some safety and a soft place and home.

 

And eventually with her domestic worker salary, she was able to save up, get an apartment, eventually get my grandfather to come and eventually one of my aunties to come over. And they all lived in this one apartment and they all were working. And eventually they were able to put down on a home.

 

And then she was able to get everybody to come from Trinidad. It took a while. She had a lot of kids to come over from Trinidad.

 

And they all lived, they all lived in that house together. And and then eventually my parents came over and they had me. And so I was born in this this very deeply connected immigrant community of aunties and uncles and cousins.

 

And the lessons that I learned in that environment are the lessons that my grandmother lived. She was an organizer, very much so, because when she got a foothold here, she was like the way station for anybody who came from the Caribbean. It needed a place to stay, needed work.

 

She would connect new arrivals to work so she knew all the employers. And so this idea of whatever you have, you give.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (11:24 – 11:24)

That’s right.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (11:25 – 16:19)

And then also this idea that like family is, of course, the people who are blood relatives, but also the people that you choose. Right. And that just made a lot of sense to me growing up.

 

And those values are still the values that animate me. And I think it’s the reason why I’m an organizer, is the reason why I want to change society, is the reason why I believe in the bigger we. I’ve already seen how the bigger we makes sense and works for everyday working people and allows us to solve hard problems and how you feel more connected when you’re part of a collective, when you feel more powerful when you’re doing things together.

 

And that just brought me that wanting to be in that feeling, I think, and also having parents that have a different perspective or have an outsider perspective as people who are immigrants, but also have the shared experience of being Black that African Americans as well as immigrants like my parents experience. So, I also have this identity that is both I was born in this country, but my parents are immigrants. So I’m both of this country, I’m both of the Black experience of this country, and I feel a debt of gratitude to the rich history of the Black struggle in this country.

 

And I have a perspective that also is from outside. I kind of use that as a strategist to be both inside and outside at the same time. I live that being inside and outside at the same time.

 

Right. And understanding the value of being inside and outside, that’s actually a strength. It’s you know, it could feel awkward because like I go back like my parents have always taken me to Trinidad where my mom’s from and Grenada where my dad’s from.

 

And when I’m there, there’s ways that I feel more at home because it’s like, oh, people are doing things that only I thought only happened in my household. It’s like my household, the entire country. There’s a country that’s based on the things that I thought were only real in my household.

 

Right. And so there’s ways that I just feel more comfortable. But then I’m also very aware when I’m in Trinidad or Grenada that I’m a Yankee.

 

Right. And then and then like when I’m here in the United States, there’s ways that I feel deeply at home because this is the country that I grew up in. But then there’s also ways that I could I could feel a little othered, you know, and like that could feel awkward, but that could also be a superpower.

 

Right. And I think through like one of the things that strategy is about is about looking at things a little bit differently, maybe just like three degrees differently in order to find the solution. And like I’ve just grown up always kind of being a little bit a little bit different.

 

I could I could kind of like code switch. I could code switch into like the dominant culture, the main culture, and then our particular little like like Caribbean immigrant, like growing up in the suburbs of New York culture. Right.

 

And you mix all that up and it’s like, oh, well, when you’re strategizing, you want to be able to see things on multiple levels in order to understand the hack. And then the other thing is like growing up in a multiracial suburb, I had to learn how to interact with a lot of different type of working class people like the place that I grew up in was was was up until recently pretty solidly blue. And it was working class.

 

And there were a lot of just different people. There were a lot of black folks. There were a lot of white folks, white, white, working class sort of ethnic people.

 

They were like they were immigrants that were like Asian immigrants from South Asia. There were like there were there were there were a diversity of white people. There were like, you know, there were Jewish folks.

 

There were Irish folks. There were Italian folks. Right.

 

And there was like this kind of working class, like Democratic Party sort of ethos. A lot of those people have swung to be kind of Trumpy now. Right.

 

But that’s that’s been very helpful for the work that I do, because, man, I grew up with a lot of different folks. And we all felt like we were part of the same community, even though we would fight each other over our differences and like if we’re going to build a country that feels like a country that includes the multitudes, we need to figure out how to feel be OK with our differences and not try to like paper over them, but understand like, all right, we’re part of the same we’re part of the same crew and we have a common interest. And so that’s also what organizing is. So, that is my my my long explanation of of like who I am and how I show up and why I show up the way I show up.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (16:19 – 16:34)

Well, I appreciate you sharing that. And I don’t know if you saw both Caroline and I cheesing because, you know, we all kind of have Caribbean roots in some way. Right.

 

I mean, like, you know, I’m from Venezuela. And so the Caribbean is right there.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (16:34 – 16:35)

That’s the Caribbean.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (16:36 – 16:41)

Caroline is, you know, her her her ancestry is from Cuba. So, like we we all swim in the same water. Literally!

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (16:42 – 16:48)

We all swim in the same water and we all basically eat the same foods. Just remixed.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (16:48 – 16:54)

Yes. One hundred percent. A hundred percent.

 

Like rice and beans.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (16:54 – 16:58)

Yes, yes, yes, that’s right.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (16:58 – 17:01)

All different. We all say ours is the best.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (17:02 – 17:08)

Yeah. Like everybody has like a way of making plantain, but we all got planted. You know what I’m saying?

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (17:08 – 17:09)

One hundred percent.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (17:10 – 17:11)

Absolutely. Absolutely.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (17:12 – 17:18)

You may not know Caroline’s a Queens girl, so she she she’s particularly cheesing this week.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (17:18 – 17:25)

One hundred percent. Were you when you were talking about growing up in New York City suburb? I was like, hmm, I’m from Elmhurst.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (17:25 – 17:59)

OK, so, you know, growing up at Elmhurst, like every country is there and and like it’s normal, like in Queens for everybody to be like, yeah, we’re from Queens. Right. While having all of those differences and those differences being real, like everybody’s on top of one another, like like sometimes when I’m I’m doing I’m organizing.

 

And I’m I’m like, man, I don’t know if we could this America thing is going to work. But then when I go to Queens, I’m like, oh, we figured out basically how to do this. Everybody’s here. Like…

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (18:00 – 18:06)

We’re all together. We’re living together in such close proximity and we’re all kind of taking care of each other.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (18:06 – 18:07)

Yeah.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (18:07 – 18:10)

Even though we all speak different languages at home, it’s a beautiful thing.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (18:10 – 18:10)

Yeah.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (18:11 – 18:12)

There’s a lot to be learned from Queens.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (18:12 – 18:26)

Oh, yeah. And it’s like what I love about it is like it’s not like Pollyanna-ish, it’s not, you know, it’s not this kind of like, you know, I don’t know.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (18:26 – 18:34)

I think it’s what you just said, like it is our differences that we work through and it’s, you know, we yeah.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (18:35 – 18:37)

There’s there’s some messiness attached to it.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (18:37 – 18:38)

Messiness is OK.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (18:39 – 19:37)

It’s OK. It’s actually like what’s the point of life without messiness? There’s like a messiness attached to it.

 

Like coming from coming from Trinidad, Trinidad is a very multiracial country. Right. And it’s like there is a lot of Trinidadian pride and there’s a lot of messiness around it.

 

If you’re like an Indo-Trinidadian or Afro-Trinidadian or like if you have, you know, there’s folks who have Chinese roots in Trinidad or Syrian roots in Trinidad. And like we’re all Trinidadian. We all rock with each other and we all fight with each other.

 

And we kind and we we like have that tension. There’s like one one main party that’s kind of the black party, even though there’s Indian people and there’s another main party that’s kind of the Indian party, even though there’s black people. And like but like, don’t you disrespect Trinidad in front of, you know, say in front of any one of us because we get a, you know, it’s so, you know, that the messiness of that is is is something that we practice.

 

We actually practice it.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (19:38 – 20:08)

Speaking of maybe, you know, a different kind of messiness, you know, we’re purposely recording this episode after the November elections. And I really would, you know, that election’s always messy in some way, but I would really love to hear your perspective of like what the results of Tuesday revealed to us, not only about our efforts to fight back against fascism. Right.

 

But also how we fight forward towards.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (20:09 – 20:35)

Yeah. OK, absolutely. So, I think there were two things that were operating like underneath everything that was happening on Tuesday and Tuesday.

 

So I think like, number one, this is like a year after twenty twenty four. And if you’re not like a Trump loyalist, you’re tired of this at this point. If you’re like those people are Trump loyalists who are just like, keep it going.

 

We want to die.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (20:36 – 20:38)

Always. We ain’t getting those people back.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (20:38 – 24:26)

No, they’re like 13 percent of the population and they’re part of a political cult. But everybody else is just like exhausted by the chaos, confusion, the the cruelty that is just done. Right.

 

And there was a group of people who weren’t Trump loyalists who were like, well, let me wait and see. You know, like, you know, my groceries are are expensive. Like, you know, inflation is is way too high.

 

Like, all right, maybe maybe this guy is going to throw a wrecking ball through the through the establishment and like maybe some good things might break out for me. I think at this point people are like, no, this shit is crazy. Right.

 

And the other thing is the thing that we’ve been saying at the Working Families Party for years, the thing that every time we’re in the field, every time I knock on somebody’s door, every time we do a poll, every time other people do a poll, including like the like establishment inside of the Democratic Party, what is the fundamental crisis that’s spacing working people? It’s affordability. Right.

 

That’s problem one, two and three. You know, some people say some people call that the economy. I think it’s a crisis of dignity.

 

If you think about it right. Like, you know, most people, I think, you know, recently they said that the bottom 60 percent, which just means most people are struggling to make ends meet in this country. And so working a job and doing the hard work of that job and at the end of the week, not having enough to feed your babies, that’s a crisis of dignity.

 

Right. Like living in a community for years and like doing your level best, doing everything you could do and and struggling every single time at the end of the month with rent and wondering if you could stay in this community that you love. That is a crisis of dignity, of belonging that most people are feeling.

 

And so you have that crisis of dignity, of belonging, of affordability. And you have this rebuke of Trump operating. And in the midst of that, you have these two parties.

 

Right. Which is kind of like the WP analysis. One party that is, yes, the party of Trump and it’s bad and it’s wicked and it’s horrible.

 

But then this other party that it’s hard for everyday people to kind of define. And when they do define it, the words that they use just aren’t like aren’t great words like weak and and, you know, confused or status quo. And then in June, you have Zohran Mamdani.

 

Right. When Zohran Mamdani ran this improbable race and he ran on, you know, as an endorsed Working Families Party person, and we’re really proud of him because he is a member of the WFP and he defeated Governor Cuomo in the Democratic Party primary. That was a political like hurricane.

 

When that happened. I think most of the Democratic Party sort of like consultants ripped up their playbook and they understood, all right, like. The only way we can win is through running on affordability.

 

Right. So, if you notice. There were moderates like Mikey Sherrill, who’s no like, you know, who’s no DSA comrade.

 

Right. Or whatever. Right.

 

Who had a good night. And Abigail Spanberger, who had a good night. And Zohran Mamdani, who had an amazing, amazing night.

 

But in different ways, they all ran on affordability.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (24:27 – 24:37)

And you’ve heard that word so much post-election, too. I literally every day in the news and everybody, Republicans included, are starting to talk about that.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (24:37 – 24:38)

That’s the Zohran effect.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (24:39 – 24:39)

Right. Absolutely.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (24:39 – 26:37)

So don’t get it twisted. When you see when you see Democratic elected officials that aren’t from the WFP coalition, right, running on affordability, know that if. If Zohran had not won that race, then folks still would have been talking about like we need to moderate whatever that means, right, like that doesn’t really help me, I’m unsure what that means concretely.

 

We need to moderate or we need to demonstrate our moderation by making all these declarations against trans people or against immigrants or like that’s how we win. Right. I don’t hear those people anymore.

 

Right. And so that’s why the Working Families Party exists, because we’re part of like this awkward united front with all these people, some of which we disagree with against fascists. And the thing, the United Front, we agree we need to defeat fascists, but we disagree on how we defeat fascists.

 

And so the WFP, we famously get involved in a lot of primaries and we recruit people in Democratic Party primaries because of our disagreement in how we do it. And rather than like write breathless op-eds in The New York Times or Washington Post about it, the way that we’re able to engage that disagreement is by defeating people who have a different philosophy in the primaries. And when we win, then our perspective becomes the perspective, which is what we’re seeing now.

 

Right. Everybody’s talking about affordability. And like it’s interesting because those same people, they say vote blue no matter who.

 

Right. But when the victory is done on our terms. Then all of a sudden vote blue no matter who except what.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (26:38 – 26:38)

Right.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (26:38 – 27:40)

Right. And so so this this election, I think it is a great election for democracy. It’s an even better election for the Working Families Party and the politics of the Working Families Party.

 

That we’ve been that we’ve been arguing for for more than 20 years, right, it’s like sometimes like I say this with leaders, sometimes, you know, leaders are made not just on their own. A leader meets a certain time, place and condition, and then they either rise to the occasion or not, like Zohran rose to the occasion. And I also think that’s true for ideas and institutions.

 

And I think, you know, this is a moment for the idea that Working Families Party has been arguing for and the institution that is the Working Families Party. And we’ve met the time, place and condition for this institution to truly, truly mature into the third space in American politics that it’s been decided to be.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (27:41 – 27:54)

Mo, talking about the issues like affordability that people really care about. Right. How does a political party like the Working Families Party that works at the state and the local level engage with ballot measures?

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (27:55 – 30:20)

Yeah, I mean, I think a good example is just recently. Right. So, we we were involved very deeply with Prop 50.

 

Right. And it’s interesting because Prop 50 on its face isn’t about affordability, but it totally is about affordability. Right.

 

And people got that. People understood what it was about. That’s why we won.

 

Right. Because we didn’t we didn’t like run on the procedural nature of what it was about. We won on the fact that this is a way for you to push back against Trumpism and for you to to have a potential at being free in this country and protecting your family and having an affordable and having an affordable country and community that you could live in.

 

That’s actually what this is about. And so all of our Prop 50 work was really an opportunity for us to tell the story about the politics that we want, not about like, you know, getting into the particularities about gerrymandering and whatever, like all those things are like a part of the story. But the actual story is like the people power.

 

So, we could push back against what’s happening to us. Right. Because over the past year.

 

Most people are like, oh, things are more expensive. The job market is worse. Things are harder for us.

 

All of the chaos of the federal government is making things worse. What can I do if I’m a voter in California productively to push back against that? Oh, I could vote for this proposition.

 

I’m turning out. Right. And so we got an opportunity to run a really exciting campaign.

 

We were in every region of California. We did phone banking, we did in-person events, we did virtual events, we did text, we did we did we did canvassing. And it was an opportunity to movement build.

 

Right. Like for me. All of these things, like these these electoral campaigns, whether they’re candidate campaigns or ballot measures are opportunities to movement build.

 

Right. It can’t it can be or or it cannot be. And, you know, our…

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (30:20 – 30:22)

Depends on how we do it.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (30:23 – 33:18)

It depends on how we do it. And for me, I don’t understand a reason like I can’t find the reason to get a candidate elected or get a proposition. Past that simply for that discreet thing, because I’ve already seen what happens when you just focus on discreet wins, right, you could win these discreet.

 

He’s a legislation you could win candidate campaigns, you can win propositions. Meanwhile, the right wing could build a movement that could pull the rug from under us. Right.

 

And so. I actually think. If we’re going to do these things, if we’re going to spend millions of dollars.

 

On candidate campaigns and on propositions and on all these things. Then we should be thinking from the very beginning, how does this build a movement, how does this build connection, how does this build community, how is there something that is durable, that wasn’t there before, that is there now? Right.

 

With Zohran’s race, I’m going to say something that sounds crazy. One hundred and four thousand individual volunteers. They were able to surface one hundred and four thousand individual volunteers.

 

So, that race was expensive, like the billionaires spent like more than 20 million dollars in independent money on Zohran. But, you know, that race, a lot of money was spent and a lot of that money was spent on things that today there’s no use for them. Right.

 

Like lit, you know, like, you know, lit and door knockers and, you know, paid field, like people that you pay to knock on doors or paid phones. Right. Like once that conversation is had, it’s done.

 

It’s gone. Right. But were you able to surface new leaders who after the election, they went from, hey, I’m just a person who’s concerned, who feels like an individual to now they’re part of a movement.

 

Right. That is durable. Were you able to like help build an organization, right, that decided to get involved in that issue or in that candidate campaign or in that.

 

Right. And like build the credibility of an organization that will be there for many, many years. Were you able to bring people together who didn’t know each other, but now they have community.

 

Right. Those things matter. And there’s ways that you could just kind of run campaigns in a transactional way, money in, money out.

 

And there’s ways that you could see it as an occasion to build movement. And so, you know, I’m very partial to the other way of doing things because, you know, that’s we’re able to do that with profit. It was a great opportunity to build a working families party.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (33:18 – 35:08)

Yeah. No, it’s….I appreciate that because it’s the same philosophy we have at BISC. It’s not just if we win, it’s how we win that builds power.

 

And we define power by the people we invest in, the leaders, right. The coalitions that we leave behind after after that campaign. So, you know, it’s no surprise, like early in both of our leadership.

 

So we like kind of we clicked. And I remember a distinct conversation and we’ve had this conversation multiple times. But back when BISC had an office and you came over and we sat on the couch and, you know, I was talking about like, you know, really one of the things that I feel like is such a good opportunity through ballot measures is to build a new progressive base.

 

Right. Because people are so connected on these issues that we’re able to win on, regardless of party affiliation. And we’ve seen already seen multiracial working class people get excited and motivated and take action through these ballot measures.

 

But one of the challenges that we face is we have a two party system, right, a predominant two party system. I mean, we’ve talked about that before, right, is like how you know, what is the working and I would love to hear you say, you know, you talk a little bit more about like what is the Working Families Party doing that’s different, especially finding people like we we see right through these ballot measures, find a political home and what should BISC and our partners be thinking about, especially for these voters, right, that may vote yes to raise the minimum wage, but maybe identify as a Republican or maybe don’t see a political home yet. But they agree with us on this agenda, this working class agenda to improve the material conditions for people’s lives.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (35:08 – 39:37)

Yeah, absolutely. So, I’m a big “leave no voter behind” type of person. Right.

 

You know, I don’t believe in red counties and blue counties or red states and blue states. It’s just like, look, like. The right wing has just gotten to our neighbor before we could.

 

I guess the only thing that happened. Right. And so we need to we need to be obsessed with getting to that neighbor before the right wing does.

 

Like, that’s all we’re really talking about. And we know that because, like in 2008, like Barack Obama won a 60 state filibuster proof majority in the Senate and totally molly whopped the Republicans in the House and won all of these districts, all these counties, including like, you know, places that we call Trump country and one Indiana. And all right.

 

Like some of those people voted for Barack Obama and now they are considered, you know, in Trump counties. Right. So that’s one of the reasons why we we build the Working Families Party, because, you know, we know that there are people who identify with politics and identify primarily politically.

 

There are people like that. And there are people whose identities are I’m a Democrat or I’m a Republican. But that is not everybody.

 

Right. And then there’s people who have like deep, deep loyalty to that brand. And there’s people who who just are like, you know, I grew up in a household where that’s what we did.

 

And, you know, and then there’s a lot of folks who in and this surprises people, you know, especially people who nerd out on politics like we do. But there’s people who just live lives that are like not in any of this. Right.

 

Or not part of all this. Like where like you’re knocking on doors during G.O. TV and they’re like, oh, there’s an election going on. Who’s running?

 

Right. Like, yeah, that’s a whole group of people who live complicated lives and like are not focusing on politics the way we are. And I say that to say.

 

When the Democratic Party’s brand is like 18 percent or 20 percent, which basically means that like most people have rejected it at this point, including people who identify as Democrats, that’s what those numbers suggest. And if we’re interested in defeating fascism and building majorities or super majorities, we can’t do that narrowly. Sort of only from the prism of the Democratic Party and its brand, like it’s just not going to work, we need people who.

 

Who don’t like the Democratic Party and couldn’t imagine voting for a Democrat to be in our movement, we need people who don’t see things politically or see things ideologically to be in our movement. And. One of the things that we’ve proven is that the Working Families Party as a brand is able to reach people that otherwise the Democratic Party and people attached to the Democratic Party would not be able to reach.

 

And that is what we bring to the table of the broader, the broader united front against fascism. Right. We.

 

We have the credibility and a brand outside of the two parties. That allows us to reach some of the 90 million people that have dropped out of politics, right, because they’re just like, look, I’m fed up with all this, I don’t like and for a good reason. Right.

 

And so I don’t have to because I’m I, I come from the Working Families Party. I don’t have to deal with all of the really hard brand damage of explaining why I’m not one of those Democrats or I’m not. It’s like, look, you had me at hello when you said you rejected the two party system.

 

Now let’s talk about how we could work together to protect your family and to put more money in your pocket and to make things more affordable. Right. I could have that conversation with with somebody at their door immediately.

 

And when you think about all the people that vote on our values, but don’t like the Democratic Party. Identify as conservative, whatever, vote on our values, we should be in a conversation with them and we should believe that we could win them over. And the Democratic Party brand makes it a lot harder to win that person over.

 

And so we need to be more expansive about the different parties and different brands and different like and this would be a normal conversation in most countries.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (39:37 – 40:17)

Complex people. One of the things I said after the twenty twenty four election, when people were like, how did all these people vote for, you know, abortion or minimum wage and then vote for Trump or Josh Hawley or you name it. Right.

 

And I was like, why are you approaching these people with condemnation? Could you. We need to be approaching these folks with curiosity versus trying to put them in a box.

 

They’re with us somewhere. Right. They’re with us on values.

 

So, I appreciate that that that mode’s it’s it’s how we build movements. It’s how we build power. And ultimately, I think what we’re all trying to do right is is to wield that power for our for our people in our communities.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (40:18 – 40:44)

Mo, staying on this topic that we’re that we’re talking about right now and knowing that ballot measures bring people to the table in ways that candidates often don’t or can’t. What issues is the Working Families Party seeing bubble up right now that you think resonates or can resonate with people that could be brought to the ballot and placed before voters in twenty twenty six or beyond?

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (40:44 – 44:34)

So, one of the things that we think is absent. That we think is going to be critical in twenty twenty six and beyond, and we’ve seen in some ways in in the success of Zoran’s race, right, like people are like I said before, people are tired of the right wing and there’s a big coalition that’s building around all the things that we we are able to build solidarity around because we all agree we don’t like them like Trump’s tactics. But people also need something to fight for and to vote for.

 

Right. And so the Working Families Party has been working diligently on on launching a set of principles or a platform or a set of ideas that we think could really like weave together all the different parts of our movement and all of our candidates to articulate what we’re willing to fight for. And like, you know, basic ideas like we should be guaranteed time with our family.

 

Right. Like in the richest country in the history of countries, we should be guaranteed health care and housing that we could afford. Like like this is by far the what there’s like going to be trillionaires in the next few years.

 

That’s crazy as that sounds. Right. There’s just some basic things that we should be fighting for for every working people.

 

People want want to work and they want dignified jobs and they want jobs that actually provide them a wage where they could support their families. We should we should ensure that that could happen. And those sets of values and ideas actually are really popular.

 

They’re popular with a whole set of people. Most people, one of the major things that they can’t afford is housing, whether or not they’re renting or they’re trying to buy. And there’s all all sorts of things that we could do to make it easier and more affordable for them.

 

They should demand that of elected officials and of their government. And it’s a way of bringing together people who identify as independent, identify as being progressive, identify maybe being conservative on a set of values that are deeper than the partisan. Are you on the blue team or on the red team?

 

Because what we need to do is to build this like supermajority of everyday people that are like, OK, like like, for example, most people hate corruption. And when they look at the two parties and they see like, “oh, well, these politicians are taking money from AIPAC and AI and crypto and the pharmaceutical lobby and the real estate lobby and the fraternal order of police.” And like, wait, like Republicans are taking money from them and Democrats are taking money from them.

 

And like so like most people agree, like, yeah, let’s get big money out of politics. Let’s get it out. Like we we should be working together as regular people to get the money of oligarchs out of our politics.

 

And again, most people think, yeah, in order to afford health care, in order to afford the things that we all agree we should have, in order to afford. Basic standards of like child care, for example, right, which is something that Zohran ran on, we should tax the wealthy, we should tax them. That’s not a radical idea like this.

 

It’s anytime you pull it, it’s like majorities of people are like, yeah, yeah, they could take a little bit of a haircut. They’ve done really well. They could they could take a little bit of a haircut, the corporations and the uber wealthy, in order to fund all the things in society that make all of our lives better.

 

And so we’re going to be we’re going to be like launching some some more things to get that into and popularize those ideas because we want people to actually run for something.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (44:35 – 46:15)

Well, and I listen, I think, though, all those things are I mean, we’ve already seen them when in many ways at the ballot and people are hungry for that. I mean, just in Colorado, they voted to tax millionaires so kids could have healthy meals at their schools. Right.

 

And in any of that excess money will be used to fill the void of the federal government not delivering SNAP benefits. So I’m excited about that. And, you know, I think that’s a blueprint for us, for Bisk and our partners of like these are issues that maybe we can show momentum.

 

Right. If we actually put them before voters. So I can’t wait.

 

Stay tuned, everyone. So, you know, all three of us come from communities that have been intentionally excluded from our democracy, not just historically, intentionally and from a lot of decision making, tables and politics. And we are often the ones who are relied on in moments like these to, you know, talking about that messiness, right.

 

Pull us out of this mess that we weren’t a part of. And I know you and I both believe this status quo is never, never has and never will serve us. So, I mean, you’ve talked about this a little bit, but I’d love to explore more like how else can we engage with an electorate in different types of ways?

 

Right. Not the traditional ways, but maybe there’s new ways that actually is going to move us forward to that dignity, to that thriving future that you’ve talked about.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (46:15 – 48:53)

Another thing that kind of has created the cynicism that people feel is like when they experience the two major parties, the two major parties, the Republicans or Democrats, what they tend to experience are breathless text messages, right, asking for money, a random person they don’t know knocking on their door, calling them or texting them a few weeks before Election Day. And that’s basically what people experience if they experience anything at all. And so what happens is people actually don’t feel like they’re part of something.

 

They don’t feel this sense of connection. And one of the things that we’re trying to solve at the Working Families Party is how to give people that party experience that actually feels connected, you know. And so we’re organizers.

 

And so we think of this idea all the time of meeting working people where they’re at and facing working people. And that means a lot of different things, but we’re constantly like experimenting with that mandate. And it looks like things that are digital but novel, right, where, for example, one of the leaders that works at Working Families Party and a colleague of mine, Nalini Stamp.

 

Her groundbreaking work in the culture, right, because, you know, people are often where they’re at. They’re often consuming culture, not necessarily consuming politics. And so, you know, the fandom of the Real Housewives fandom is a huge, huge fan.

 

Like my mom and my sister are watching multiple Housewives shows. And it turns out it’s one of the most popular shows with working class women. Right.

 

And so if you’re interested in actually communicating with working class people, it’s actually not that weird to be engaging on the terrain of the Real Housewives. Right. So we have a whole program that’s just designed to do that.

 

And then from that work, we’ve developed programs with different fandoms that Nalini and her team have been experimenting with, with like romanticy fandoms and, you know, on and on and on. Right. And WNBA.

 

Right. And so there’s countless communities that we could be building relationships with because they’re already organized.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (48:54 – 48:54)

Yeah.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (48:54 – 52:41)

They’re not waiting for us. We need to go where they’re at to be in conversation with them. Right.

 

So that’s some work that we do. And that work happens online and offline. Right.

 

Like, you know, during WNBA season, like the WNBA organizers at WFP are actually organizing game night parties and all these other things and mixing it with text banking and like mixing it with conversations around making sure that that WNBA players actually as workers get compensated well, which is a struggle that they’re facing. Right. So there’s that work.

 

There’s the work that we do just communicating. Right. So we do a lot of because like so many people, where are they at?

 

They’re on their phones engaging with social media. Right. They’re not listening to traditional media.

 

And so we’ve been working with people whose main sort of like contribution is through creating online. Right. And so that we could have those conversations.

 

And like, I’ve been doing more of that work. That’s been more of my work, just simply, you know, creating online as a way of building like real relationships with people, but these parasocial relationships online, which are real. And then there’s then there’s the work that happens in between Election Day, which is really important on issues, on legislation and bringing people together in communities in real life because people are hungry to actually have in real life connection.

 

So, in the run up to the campaign in New York, I was weekly holding events in in Flatbush Brooklyn. Right. And just bringing people together and and having conversations about like critical issues and talking about the black political agenda and how it how it overlaps with the the mayoral election and like and like just breaking bread and like hanging out and and talking about our families and talking about politics.

 

That is that also is the working fan party. Right. That’s what a party should be.

 

It should be a place that allows you to, like, feel connected to the bigger we. And so a lot of our work, of course, we’re trying to get people elected and stuff like that. But a lot of our work is ultimately trying to figure out how people could feel more connected to something bigger than them and feel like they could be part of a calling.

 

Like, that’s really what we’re trying to do. And then elections allow us to do that. Right.

 

But like elections are kind of like a tactic that allows us to help people feel that that calling. And and we try to be really nimble and constantly experiment with different ways of making that happen and understand that, like, you know, it’s not just about like, you know, like organizations when they talk about their victories. You know, they name things like, yeah, we knocked on these amount of doors and we did and all those things are like.

 

Like they’re, you know, things that you could count, right, but what you can’t count as easily are people whose lives are transformed because. In between elections, they they felt like they could be part of something bigger and it’s harder to count the connections that are made so that people are not part of community and they care for one another and they show up for one another and and they feel responsible to one another and therefore they fight for one another and they they vote together. Right.

 

That is essential if we’re going to be able to defeat fascism.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (52:42 – 52:43)

One hundred percent.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (52:44 – 53:41)

Just real quickly, you should tell Nalini reels how swives of politics means are often shared at the best slack. And I just want to just comment real quickly about like I think because it’s really resonating with me. It’s not just about creating digital content.

 

It’s really how you engage with people. So, you know, I like was like Nate saying about TikTok for so long. But now, you know, because of Bad Bunny and Benito and the concert, I was on it a lot and I have built relationships with folks who went to the concert and like we’re talking and continue.

 

So I think there is something there of like it’s not just posting something. It’s truly how you are building community and connection and create this sense of belonging that I think is is something we have to think differently about, especially when we talk about digital strategy. It’s ultimately another placing.

 

It’s an it’s the barbershop in a different way. Right.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (53:42 – 54:29)

Totally. And those fandoms that you’re creating and tapping into those cultural moments is is such a lesson to like meeting people where they are and engaging with them in the in the ways that they’re already engaged with instead of creating a whole other new thing for folks that don’t have the time to do that. And like you said, aren’t engaged in politics in the way we are or consume it every day in the way we do.

 

Mo, what what do you think are some lessons from this year in particular that if we don’t learn from now could derail us from that momentum that we have going into 2026? And in addition to that, what should we be preparing for not only for the midterms, but beyond? So we have stronger, more resilient movements.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (54:30 – 59:13)

Yeah. Organizing 101 organizing is either 70/30, 80/20, 70 percent listening, 30 percent talking or 80 percent listening, 20 percent talking. Listen to working people like like truly listen to working people and allow yourself to be transformed by what you hear.

 

Right. To me, that is just critical. Right.

 

Like instead of trying to force feed working people your agenda, listen to working people and be transformed. Right. By what you hear.

 

Of course, it’s a back and forth, but we got to do so much more listening. Right. So, that’s number one.

 

Number two. People need something to fight for and to vote for. So, give them something to fight for and to vote for, not just something to fight against and to vote against.

 

And then number three, leadership matters. Right. And so we need to recruit and support our leaders because people follow other people.

 

Right. People don’t necessarily follow ideas, people follow other people into ideas, people don’t necessarily follow organizations, people follow other people into organizations. Right.

 

And so who are the leaders on the grassroots level that we need to be supporting in order to build the mass following to challenge democracy, challenge authoritarianism and make democracy real for people? I just think that those are all lessons that we could learn from this year and bring into next year. And, you know, the last thing is that most people are tired of the status quo.

 

I can’t find many people that are hungry for the status quo, that want to defend the status quo, that feel a passion to vote for the status quo. And so, you know, stand up and defend the status quo at your peril. Right.

 

This is a moment where people want results, where people are just tired of this idea that we can’t have the things that we deserve. And then we should take our medicine and be happy, happy with it. Right.

 

Like people are tired of that. Like and as fed up as they are with the destruction and the chaos of MAGA. I think like the strange thing about non-MAGA, like the people who are non-MAGA that aren’t like, they’ll wake up every day clutching their pearls and like, I can’t stand Donald Trump, is that I think there is for some people an appreciation and respect for the fact that Trump is wielding power and attempting to manifest his agenda.

 

And as horrible as it is, people respect people that have a point of view. Right. Because like at the end of the day, I don’t have to agree with you, but I need to I need to believe in you if I’m going to take chances with you.

 

And, you know, I think one of the things that happened way too much in the Democratic Party and still happens way too much is that there’s a lot of Democratic Party elected officials that are seeking to get people to agree with them on everything or to like get the poll tested thing that has the most agreement with the most people. But then, you know, like most people could like see through that and be like, oh, this sounds kind of like, you know, like you’re using talking points. Right.

 

It sounds like you’re saying the thing. I do agree with you, but it sounds like you’re like purposely saying the thing that I would agree with. Tell me who you really are.

 

And like. As horrible as Donald Trump is, his lack of filter suggests that that might really be who he is. Right.

 

Like what he does, if you notice what he does is like he lets you he lets you into the con every now and then. You know, like he’s a con man and he’s kind of like, I know I’m a con man, but that’s kind of the shtick. And like we’re all in it together.

 

Right. There’s a strange way where like that reads more authentic than the controlled Democratic Party operative saying all the things you’re doing, this thing. What is this thing?

 

Normal people don’t do this. This thing. Right.

 

What is that?

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (59:13 – 59:22)

I believe. Where did that come from? I think it’s like your pointer.

 

It’s like your laser pointer or something.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (59:23 – 59:27)

The thumb pointer thing like normal people don’t do this, by the way.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (59:27 – 59:28)

They don’t. They really don’t.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (59:29 – 1:00:45)

Yeah, there’s just something really off putting about all that shit. And everybody’s tired of it. You know, people are just tired of it.

 

And so just like look like, you know, one of the reasons why Zohran won is because he he won his race. He ran his campaign. And I think people need to authentically run their campaigns that are authentic to them as their people, their communities, because you could win that race, but you can’t win somebody else’s race.

 

So, don’t don’t look at Zohran’s race and be like, oh, maybe I should do the Zohran thing. No, you got to do you got to do the thing that’s real for you. And people are going to feel that we could tell we could pick up on what’s bullshit and what’s real.

 

And like and like people are just tired of the bullshit. People are like, I don’t want to hear about this fake shit. Like like the world is like collapsing around me.

 

Like, I’m working harder than I ever had to. Like, I’m going from child care to my second shift. I don’t got time for the bullshit.

 

Like, can you help make my life better, more affordable? Can you work with me in order for me to be me and my family and my community to be more safe? All right, maybe I’ll listen to you.

 

And so that’s the terrain in which we need to engage working people.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (1:00:47 – 1:01:33)

That’s so true, Mo. And I really want to go back for a minute to what you said about how people follow other people. They don’t follow movements.

 

So like, how are we creating more leaders so that we are actually building that movement together? Because you’re right. It’s like when you talk about when people donate to organizations, they start by donating to their friend who asks you to donate to their organization.

 

Right. Because that’s that’s who you that’s who you follow. So, it’s a similar thing.

 

But with all this advice that you’ve been sharing and wisdom today, what is the one piece of advice, Mo, that you’d give to someone just beginning their career in advocacy or in politics? And on the flip side of that, what is something important for more seasoned folks to be open to?

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (1:01:34 – 1:03:12)

So one piece of advice I would have for somebody new coming into this into this movement. Is find something hard to do. Right, like don’t seek like an easy job, stretch yourself, because that’s how you attain mastery is by stretching yourself.

 

And if you like don’t feel that like gut level excitement to do that hard thing, then that thing probably isn’t your ministry. If it’s your ministry, you’ll feel excited about doing the hard thing. Right.

 

And like there’s something really magic about like developing mastery in the thing that is your ministry. And when when that comes together, it’s like it could it’s like spiritual. So that’s my my advice to somebody interested in this work.

 

And then somebody who’s been in this work, what I would say is that in this particular moment, when we’re fighting fascism, this is a good time for you to take a step back because you’ve spent years in this work and to consider what is your highest purpose in our collective effort to defeat fascism. It may not be maybe what you’re doing right now. It may not be it might be what you’re doing, but it may not be how you’re doing it.

 

But chances are this is a time for an upgrade or reflection in your journey because things have changed fundamentally under our feet and we need to act accordingly.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (1:03:13 – 1:03:27)

Yeah, that’s a question I ask myself actually all the time. So final question, Mo, as we close out, and this has been such a rich conversation. It’s a question I ask every guest.

 

How has your work been a love letter to your people?

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (1:03:27 – 1:05:19)

Well, one of the great things I get to do on a pretty regular basis is I get to I get to knock on doors. I get to face working people. I get to meet new people all the time.

 

And the thing that I really appreciate about it is that like and why I love organizing and from the grassroots organizing that I did or the student organizing that I did or the work that I did to build the movement for black lives or the work that I’m doing now to build the Working Families Party is the like spiritual, collective romance of it all happens in those conversations where I’m like, oh, I’m helping.

 

I’m helping sort of Sherpa somebody into their their own understanding of their own power. And I could feel that happening. Like people are drawing connections that for whatever reason they haven’t drawn and they’re moving from a subject, which is how most people feel like stuff just happens to me to an agent.

 

Oh, I can make shit happen. Right. That’s so powerful.

 

And once you get there, it’s so hard to go back. Right. And then the other thing is, is like people actually feel isolated.

 

And then through knocking on their door and inviting them to in real life event and having them come to that event or. You know, meeting them and having them join like a WP Wolfpack or any number of things, right, it’s like I hear these stories and they’re like, yeah, I was so frustrated, I was so angry or whatever. But now I….I don’t feel alone.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (1:05:20 – 1:05:20)

Yeah.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (1:05:20 – 1:05:45)

And we’re not going to win every battle. There’s a lot of uphill battles we’ll have. We’re going to win some.

 

We’re going to lose some. But. That person can never shake that feeling of going from isolation to feeling like they’re part of community, and that is that feeling of isolation to I’m not alone.

 

That’s one way of describing love.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (1:05:45 – 1:06:00)

Mo, thanks so much for making time to join us on the podcast today. If you’re interested in the work that Maurice Mitchell and the Working Families Party is doing, you can learn more at WorkingFamilies.org. We’ll make sure to include that link in our show notes as well.

 

Thanks again, Mo.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (1:06:01 – 1:06:01)

Bless you.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (1:06:01 – 1:06:02)

Thank you.

 

[Maurice Mitchell] (1:06:02 – 1:06:03)

It’s been great.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (1:06:04 – 1:07:45)

Wow, Caroline, what a final episode. And that wraps up the first season of Direct Democracy Diaries. Caroline, I just want to like as we close, like this has been such a beautiful experience with you.

 

I have enjoyed being on this journey with you. You always find a way to tap into my creative juices that sometimes as a leader, it’s hard to find when you’re like trying to run an organization. So, I appreciate you so much for being my my partner in this.

 

And I want to thank all the guests that we’ve had this season. You have taught us so much, not just the tactics and the tools that we need to win, which I’m sure people were scribbling down and and taking notes. But the heart, the soul of the work that drives movements.

 

The times that we are living with, they are incredibly difficult. The days, they feel so incredibly dark and it’s really hard some days to find the light. But I actually have this quote in front of me that that sits at my desk.

 

I look at it every single day, not upside down. And it’s a quote from the author Arundhati Roy. “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way.”

 

“And on a quiet day, I hear her breathing.”

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (1:07:46 – 1:08:27)

That’s beautiful, Chris. I feel like I hear her breathing in the stories our guests have shared throughout the season with us and how they are breathing life into the amazing work they do and bringing us all closer to Freedom Side. And I can’t wait to be back with you and all of us here listening today.

 

Next season, season two. So, thanks again, Chris. It’s been an amazing journey to be on with you.

 

And I’ll catch you all in 2026. We’ll all catch you all in 2026. So, tune back in to season two coming at you very soon.

 

Stay tuned. Bye, y’all.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (1:08:27 – 1:08:27)

Bye.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (1:08:28 – 1:08:29)

See you soon, Chris.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (1:08:29 – 1:08:30)

See you soon.

 

[Caroline Sánchez Avakian] (1:08:31 – 1:08:45)

Thanks for listening to the Direct Democracy Diaries.

 

If you enjoyed today’s episode, leave us a message on our socials at Ballot Strategy and check out our website at Ballot.org for more updates, insights, research and so much more.

 

[Chris Melody Fields Figueredo] (1:08:46 – 1:08:50)

Can’t wait to see you next time. Keep fighting for change one ballot at a time.