Twitter Travels for Pete with Sue Ann Rawlins

Mike Schmuhl, former campaign manager for the Pete Buttigieg 2020 presidential primary campaign and the current Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party joins me to talk about Pete's campaign, Indiana politics, and best practices going forward. Spoiler: Year-round politics.

Anthony Mercurio, former Investment Director for Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential primary campaign and Senior Advisor for the subsequent Win the Era PAC, joins me to talk about the ins and outs of political fundrasing. From his time working on Pete's campaign to his involvement with Win the Era, Anthony sheds light on how critical fundraising is for campaigns and the different ways to donate, from small grassroots amounts to sustainer pledges. Anthony stresses the importance of state and local races as you decide which candidates to support.

Lis Smith, former Senior Communications Advisor for the Pete 2020 primary campaign joins me to talk about her New York Times bestselling book, Any Given Tuesday - A Political Love Story. The conversation centers on her time with the Pete campaign, the excitement and challenges of building the rocket ship as it was taking off while incorporating the swell of supporters assembling to help. At the end, Lis has some words of advice for where to focus our energies to help get more Democrats elected, from the local level on up.

In this episode, three writers – Lisa, Paul, and your fearless host – discuss their Pete 2020 memoirs and where they take us moving forward. In addition to my memoir Traveling the Trail for Pete – Finding Belonging in a Political Campaign, two other books have been written about volunteering on the Pete Buttigieg 2020 primary campaign thus far: Boots on the Ground – A Grassroots Tale of Neighbors Stepping Up and Into Pete Buttigieg’s Historic Presidential Run, by Lisa Fleishman, and Paul for Pete – Politics. Theatre. Life. One Man’s Adventures or How I Became a Septuagenarian Fan Boy, by Paul Mason Barnes. Three very different books, but all with similar commitment to an awe-inspiring candidate.

Mike Schlichting, a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin Madison, joins me to talk about Intermodal Connections between air and rail—Railflyer—and how we can “Go Faster” with high speed transportation.

 

For more information about Mike's projects, check out: Wihst.org.

Paige Malott, Chair of Cascadia Rail, joins me to talk about advocacy for a high-speed rail project that would connect Portland to Seattle to Vancouver.

The GPS system that we all know and love from our phones falls under the US Department of Transportation. Why is this? And WHAT is it, exactly? Caz Margenau joins me to explain it all.

Kristin Kingsley, an auto safety engineer, joins me to talk about vechicle safety, which falls under the DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It's not just about the cars themselves, but the drivers as well.

In this discussion of public transit issues, Jenny @MisfitMuser brings her experience of depending upon an inadequate public transit system and Ryan @Omni42 contributes his public policy background as we talk about mass transit needs and the role of the Federal Transit Administration in meeting those challenges.

Michelle @Lagreeneyes03 has enjoyed working in the field of aviation for most of her professional life. In this episode, Michelle talks about the FAA and what she sees as areas that need improvement. Sounds like a job for Secretary Designate Maryor Pete!