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Left Out Loud is a progressive political podcast breaking down the biggest stories shaping our democracy. From up-to-the-minute political news and midterm election coverage to in-depth interviews with grassroots Democratic candidates, the show spotlights the voices and movements fighting for real change. Smart, informed, and unapologetically loud, Left Out Loud pairs sharp analysis with humor and plain-spoken commentary, cutting through the noise to focus on what actually matters. If you care about elections, organizing, and the future of the Democratic Party—and you like your politics with a little personality—this is the podcast for you.
Ally: All right, Seth.
We got a great congressional
candidate again today.
Mr. Vance Bostic out of
New York's eighth district.
Um, Vance is.
Amazing.
He's just the kindest guy.
He has a really interesting backstory.
I've done a lot of research on him
through his website and his social
media, and you know, he is taking
on establishment Dems to the.
1000000th degree because he
is opposing Hakeem Jeffries
for his seat in his district.
Um, Hakeem, as we know, is not
only a congressperson, but he is
the minority leader of the house.
So it is a, a tall order to even
throw your hat in that ring.
Seth: Yeah, I'm really looking
forward to talking to Vance.
I mean, he's a, another fellow
millennial, uh, real New Yorker guy.
And, uh, like a lot of the type of
candidates that we wanna bring on this
show, he's a grassroots guy, progressive,
uh, and so absolutely looking forward
to talking to another guy like that
who's looking to really involve his
community in all of his decisions.
Ally: Yeah, this'll be fun.
All right, let's get into it.
I'll see you on the other side.
Seth: Let's do it.
Ally: Hey, Seth.
Hey,
Seth: Allie
Ally: got a very special guest today.
We are taking back the name Vance.
We have a Vance with us today.
A good Vance.
The right kind of Vance Vance
Bostic out of New York City.
Vance.
Are you with us?
Oh
Vance: yeah, I am
Ally: here ready to go.
So nice to meet you.
Thanks for joining us today.
Um, now Vance, you're
running for District eight.
You're running for Congress in
District eight of New York City.
Is that correct?
Vance: That is very correct.
Ally: Okay.
And your district consists
of, this is my research.
You can correct me of Brooklyn,
Queens, Coney Island, east New York.
Bedford is all that sounding right?
Vance: Okay.
So Brooklyn and Queens are boroughs.
Mm-hmm.
So it's, it doesn't include queens.
Okay.
But, um, it does include, it is
Brooklyn and it's like a backward
sea from like, Bedstuy Brownsville,
east New York, Carnar Sea.
Mm-hmm.
Um, mill Basin, Marine Park
Sheeps at Bay, Coney Island,
Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach.
Okay.
Um, all the way down there.
So it's like a backwards sea from
like northeast to South Brooklyn.
Ally: Okay.
Good to know.
Thank you.
Um, so your district, you're a congress
person right now in District eight
is minority leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Yep.
So let's get into that as a constituent.
Um.
And I'm sure you're out there talking
to other people right now, obviously
because you're running a campaign.
What's the overall consensus or feeling
in terms of how Hakeem Jeffries is
serving not only his constituents,
but serving at that federal level
as the minority house speaker?
Vance: I think here in Brooklyn when I'm
speaking to people, people are over him.
People are ready for change.
Um, you know, it really frustrates
me because I hear the polls
and we all hear the polls.
And the polls say that Hakeem Jeffries
has a 70% approval rating in the
district, but I've been out for like
eight months now speaking to people
and it's not reflecting that at all.
Mm-hmm.
I would say maybe one outta every
10 people actually still support him
with a majority of people are just.
Over it.
They're overall, the games
they can see through.
All the crap.
Um, yeah, for the most part people
are done with the, the shenanigans.
Um mm-hmm.
And for me, as somebody running
a big part of it, for the people
who don't see through it, is about
exposing his level of betrayal.
Because I do live in the district.
I did vote for him, I did support him.
And I feel betrayed.
I feel when I look at his record and
when I look at his, his, uh, donor list.
In his voting record.
I'm just, I feel very betrayed.
I look at it and I'm like, well,
he's actually not on our side.
Like one of the things that prompted
me to running was when I saw him
at like union rallies and giving
speeches and smiling and pictures.
But then I, like, I look at his
voting record and he's voting for
union busting and he's voting,
he's voting against unions.
And I'm like, this is a major problem.
Um, so.
Most people see it,
most people are over it.
There's a few people that actually still
support him, but we're, we're chipping
away at them for sure to make sure
that his level of betrayal is exposed.
Ally: Yeah.
I have my own personal
opinions about Hakeem Jeffries.
Obviously I don't live in your
district, but just seeing him as the
minority leader of our party, um.
I'm very disappointed.
I don't feel like he's
meeting this moment at all.
Um, obviously I'm sure you
feel the same that we do.
Yeah.
Um, our democracy is in
real trouble right now.
We are in peril as a country
and we need leaders that are
willing to stand up and fight.
I see leadership like that, um, with
people like Jasmine Crockett and a OC.
Consistently fighting, um,
against the worst impulses of
Trump and his administration.
But I have not seen that out
of Hakeem Jeffries at all.
Vance: No.
No.
And that's like, that was one
of the things, um, also, I mean,
there's a lot of things that
prompted me to run, but feeling.
That I don't feel represented
by him feeling that he
doesn't represent Brooklyn.
Mm. Feeling that he has been a hindrance
towards any progression we could make.
These are the things that I was like, we
can't keep being held back by this guy.
Yeah.
We need people that actually
want to be public servants.
We don't need more career politicians.
I'm tired of that.
People don't get involved
in the process of voting.
Because they don't feel heard.
They don't feel seen.
They don't feel represented.
Therefore, they don't
even participate at all.
Mm-hmm.
What I would like to do is
to change that entire thing.
When I, when I think about running
for Congress and getting elected
and being in the position, I wanna
be more than a representative.
I want to be a teammate with the people.
Like I have this idea of.
What bills I go to vote
on in, in the house.
I want to run polls in my district
to see how the constituents
want me to vote on those bills.
I love that.
Uh, and it's, it's a way to
involve the people in the process.
I want my office to be just a, a hub
for constituent services for not just
for services for them, but for ways
to help out in the political process.
Um, I think it's about getting
people involved more in including
them in every step of the way.
That's how we get people.
To participate.
Yeah, we,
Ally: that's fantastic.
I mean, we have seen, especially over
this last year, a lot of people that have
been voted into Congress are MIA, you
know, even when it comes to spending time
in their offices, conducting town halls,
um, listening to their constituents,
responding to their constituents, they've
just fallen off the face of the earth.
So I think that's a great way to approach
service, um, being a public servant.
Right.
Yeah.
Is really connecting with the public.
Vance: Yeah.
And that's something that I say
all the time is that I'm running
for the job of public service,
not for the job of politician.
Ally: Mm-hmm.
Vance: Like I, I, I don't have a
political background, but I have a
background in hospitality and in service.
And that's what I think we
need in Congress for now.
We need real public servants.
We don't need another career
politician with a low degree.
I'm tired of seeing that.
Look at where they got us.
We need people who care about humanity.
And that's what I'm running for.
Yeah.
I'm running for public service.
Ally: I agree.
So let's, let's talk about you.
Um, I scoured your website.
I wanted to get to know as
much as I could about you.
Um, I found kind of your journey to this
moment really inspiring, talking about
how you grew up, some of the challenges
that you faced, um, you know, from
youth all the way to young adulthood.
So just talk to us about you, right?
What is your journey that
brought you to this moment of
deciding to run for congress?
Vance: Yeah, well, definitely,
like I said, um, for as long as I
could remember when I was a kid,
I wanted to be a starving artist
like that was living in New York
City, living in Brooklyn doing art.
I was like, I gotta work
in like the food industry.
I gotta work in hospitality and I'm
gonna be like a starving artist and I'm
gonna make art at night and I'm gonna
work in service in the day and just
always work in service for the people.
That's something that I've always.
I loved doing.
I've always, um, wanted to pursue that.
I've never really done
anything outside of that.
Um, every job that I've had has
been a service job of some sort.
Um, whether it is when I was a Carney
back in the day and I used to travel
the East coast of the United States
with the carnival, um, literally
working amusement rides, and that was.
Such a good time in my life.
Or I used to work at a catering hall
doing five star Italian weddings
out here in Brooklyn as well.
Um, and even just doing stuff like that.
I've worked on several
different food trucks.
I've done, uh, catering events
for all types of things.
And that's just really kind
of been my, my overall focus.
Even when I did event photography,
when I was working in nightlife,
I got into that because I was
watching other event photographers.
I was looking at their photos and
I was like, people just look drunk.
They look a mess, they look sweaty.
And I knew that I could make
the community, and specifically
I worked in LGBT nightlife.
Mm-hmm.
Um, so I wanted to make
people look beautiful.
And I would Photoshop all my photos
and I would edit sweat off of them.
I would fix like girls' makeup.
I would make people look.
Beautiful in these settings when
they were just having fun and
letting, and that to me was another
way of servicing the community.
Um, and that's just kind of
like, been my, my journey.
I, um, I will say I'm not
the greatest with academics.
I didn't, I, I ended up
dropping out of high school.
Um, and a lot of this was
because I put work first.
I, I, somebody, I grew up in poverty.
I live in poverty.
I've always had to.
Put work ahead of my own
education at most times.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but I dropped outta high school.
Uh, I ended up getting my GED back in like
2013, like right at the time where they
were like changing the way the test was.
Mm-hmm.
I was like, oh, this is the moment I
have to get it now before they do this.
I was like, I, I don't know what's
gonna be on that next version
of the test, but this is it.
I gotta get it done.
And I ended up, I pa I passed, I
got my GED and again, I went back
into, I wanted to go to school.
I, I wanted to go to college and
get a degree and I never did.
I. I went back to work and I kind of
had to, you know, we, we gotta survive.
We have to work.
That's kind of just the system.
Yeah.
Unfortunately, that's
Seth: the millennial plight.
Vance: Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
That's it.
It it's, we're stuck with
work and it holds us back from
being our true selves, right?
Yeah.
Um, and then finally the
pandemic happened, uh, in 2020.
And instead of sitting home when
my job closed, instead of sitting
home, I ended up going back to school
and actually getting my degree.
And through those years from
getting my GED to, um, the pandemic
happening from 2013 to 2020.
I have found a love for accounting
and through working in the restaurant
industry, front of house, back of house,
um, doing like some managerial tasks,
I fell in love with the process of
accounting and I wanted to learn it more.
And I've always, uh, for years I was
like, I really wanna get a degree.
I really wanna go to, to restaurants
and get into the office and really help
them thrive with my knowledge of front
of house, with my knowledge of back of
house, going into the office and then
just being able to help restaurants
really thrive to their, um, fullest was
something that I really wanted to do.
So I ended up.
During the pandemic, instead of
sitting at home doing absolutely
nothing, I enrolled in school and
literally the process happened so fast.
Like it was like August.
I was like, I should do this.
Like I have the time now.
And then like September
I was like in classes.
Wow.
And, and, and, yeah.
And I spent, I got my
associate's degree two years.
Um, then I went and I
got my bachelor's degree.
I did my bachelor's in public accounting,
business management, and finance.
Um.
Then another two years.
And then I did my master's degree.
I was like, you know, I got, I got
accepted into this program and I was
like, it was like a one more year and I
only needed a certain amount of credits.
And I was like, I could, I could
actually have a master's degree,
like who would've ever thought.
And I did.
I ended up getting my MBA, um, my
Master's in business Administration.
Good for
Ally: you.
Vance: And I, in five years, I did it in
five years, but those, that's incredible.
Was some of the hardest
five years of my life.
Like I was doing winter, spring,
summer, fall, almost six classes
a semester, like it was a
Ally: lot.
I know people that have gotten
accepted into the Fast Track
Master's program as an undergrad.
And they're lucky to get
it done in five years.
That's remarkable that
you were able to do that.
Vance: Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, I, I did remember, so I did, it
started with my associates in 2020,
and then I ended with my master's
in June, 2025 is when I graduated.
Okay.
That's incredible.
This last year.
Yeah, and I, I went.
Through all of it, um, five years
straight, uh, three degrees, and
I did it and I was good for you.
Through the, I did a
kicking and screaming.
I'll say that the whole time.
I complained about all of
it the whole entire time.
I was like, I don't know.
And also it was like I'm 38 years old.
I haven't been to school in years.
I was never really that good at school.
And so adapting to the
process of being a full.
Grown adult, uh, in college after not
being in school for so many years.
Like, I just kept comparing myself
to students in my class that
were, they felt ready, like they
just got done with high school.
They felt like, like
they were ready for it.
And I was still like, how do I,
how do I even do any of this?
Ally: Yeah.
Vance: Like how, how do I, how do I study?
Like it was, it was a, um, an experience,
but I will say where they had me on
academics, I had them on life experiences,
Ally: yes.
Vance: So that was like the one contracts
that I did notice in school was they
were, they were just not, they didn't
have any experience in actual living life
where I did, I had a lot of experience.
I had a lot of work
experience, like real world.
Stuff going on that they didn't like.
Well, they were ready for school,
but I was ready for the world.
Ally: Yeah.
And that's really beneficial.
I think a lot of times when people
go back to school as an adult.
Mm-hmm.
Um, the experience is so much, it's,
it's harder because, as you said, you
have to readjust to school life, but it's
easier in the sense that you have, so
you, you, you have found your place in
the world and so you're really focused.
On what it is that you wanna
accomplish by being in school.
Where some kids, you know, they, they
apply to school, they get accepted,
and then they're like, now what?
I have no idea what I
wanna be when I grow up.
And you're just spending all of this money
getting out of school, potentially with
a degree you may never do anything with.
Mm-hmm.
So I, I really commend you for that.
Yeah.
Seth: And I know, like through my
experience, like when I graduated college,
you know, right out of the recession.
I mean, I was incredibly confused
because I'm getting out into the work
field and I'm, you know, I'm learn.
I'm learning how to live,
you know, independently.
But at the same time, I'm looking
for a job and there's no jobs.
My entire field was, was taken up.
I mean, we had a couple of part-time
jobs and that's what I ended up doing.
And uh, you know that, that
is a huge advantage for you.
So that is, uh, that's, that's something
that I, that I envy you on for sure.
I, I wanted to get back to, to Keem
Jeffries though, because for me,
I, what's been so disappointing.
His leadership for me is just
the fact that he hasn't been
able to whip the votes in.
In the face of the incompetency we
see from the Trump administration.
I mean, this should be a situation
where, you know, where they were.
They, they pretty much lost
their entire lead in the house.
It's from five to two.
And Hakeem to me, should be able to
make some things work, but I feel like.
He can't because he has certain loyalties
and he's also apparently lost touch with
his district in New York, and I feel
like everything is kind of distracting
him from what his main responsibility
really is to the people in New York.
Yeah.
Vance: No, I, I completely agree.
Um, a big part of the problem is the
way that he hasn't been able, as the
house minority leader, he doesn't have
control over the Democratic party.
And to see like these few Democratic like
members step out and vote against things
that would actually help the people is
really frustrating when he's supposed to
be, like, he claims that he has everything
in control, that he's like the leader.
But that's not what we're seeing.
Um, and then even when it comes
to the district, like yeah, like
people in the district, they're,
they're definitely over him.
People are ready for a change here.
And I think overall, you know, whatever
the case is, he's been in, he's been
in the establishment for so long and
he has loyalties to everywhere else.
Um, he's just tapped out of
what is needed in this moment.
He is not the right person for the job.
Mm-hmm.
Um, there are so many other people.
In Congress right now that
would be better leaders, um,
that will make better speakers.
I don't foresee Hakeem
becoming speaker of the house.
I it cannot happen.
Yeah.
Um, at all.
Uh, and more importantly, I think
he needs to leave and not be
representative of the district.
We need people who actually live
our very real lived experiences.
In these positions, writing laws for us,
not taking money from lobbyists and also
letting lobbyists write legislation so
our Congress people can pass it for them.
It, the entire system is just,
it's, it's just not working.
And it all has to change.
And I will say it's not just Hakeem
Jeffries, that's the problem.
It's the entire establishment,
like almost every single
representative needs to be replaced.
Um, it's unfortunate that Hakeem
is in the position that he is,
and he is as weak as he is.
Yeah.
Ally: Yeah.
Seth: And Ali, I know you and I were
very disappointed to hear, you know,
the how the Save Act passed through the
house, you know, along those margins.
And once again, Hakeem Jeffries is,
you know, found wanting, coming up
short in the task that he's been given.
Ally: Yeah, absolutely.
Vance: And, and his reply to
that was, oh, I didn't do it.
Like, okay, you didn't vote for it,
but you're the leader of the party,
Ally: right?
Vance: Like, aren't you
supposed to be these books?
The buck
Ally: stops
Vance: with you.
Ally: Yeah.
Where is the accountability?
Vance: Yeah.
So even though you didn't do it, the
the, the responsibility is yours.
Absolutely.
Like, I blame everything
that's going on in the party.
I'm completely blaming Haem.
Mm-hmm.
That's just, and that's just like the,
the price that comes with being a leader.
Ally: Mm. Yep.
Absolutely.
Um, well, you know, I love your backstory.
I love that you were able
to get back into school.
Um, and I think you're, you're a
people person, it just exudes from you.
And our previous guest that we
had on last week, he's running for
Congress in Virginia and you know,
he said, what we all have been
thinking and saying is we're tired of.
Um, our congress, our politicians
being made up of former business
executives and lawyers, right?
These people are woefully out of touch
with the struggle of day-to-day Americans.
You have worked in the service industry.
You're clearly a people person that
is not only willing, but happy to
connect with people in your community.
And I think that's what we're
really looking for going forward.
So, um.
I just applaud you for taking
everything that you've been through
and focusing that in on giving
back to your community in this way.
I think it's great.
Vance: Yeah.
I mean that was, I just
wanna add to that real quick.
Mm-hmm.
That was kind of the thing that
motivated me towards running.
Like when I was thinking, when I
was contemplating it, uh, and I
was going back and forth with my
own self trying to figure out like,
is this something like I can do?
Is this something I want to do?
Like, how can I commit to this?
And before I made the
commitment, like that was the
thing is like realizing that a.
Because I don't come from money,
because I worked in hospitality.
I, I, money's not gonna sway me.
Mm-hmm.
That's one thing that I, I'm very
confident in my stance with the
way I don't care for capitalism
and the process entirely.
Um, and then also it was just about my
loyalty to people, my love for humanity.
Those are the things that
pushed me to wanting to do it.
And also like my disregard for
like, publicity and attention.
Like, I, these are things that,
that we need in our representatives.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and those are the things that I. Feel
like I embody and that's when I made the
dec. That's what came down to the final
line, to making the decision to actually
commit to the process of running for
Congress was those aspects right there.
My, my attention to my love for humanity
and the way I don't care for money and
the way I don't care about publicity
and the way that I'm also like extremely
self-reflective and can take criticism to
assess, and I have a, and I have a very.
Thick skin.
Um, but I'm also like funny and
can joke around about things.
Like those are the things that I,
those are the qualities I believe
that we needed and we need people.
Ally: Yeah.
Real people.
Real people.
I agree with you and I looked
through your, your platform and
some of the policies that you
plan on, um, on campaigning on.
A lot of them are very typical
of what we are looking for with
progressive candidates, right?
You talk about healthcare and you talk
about, um, banning insider trading
and protection for marginalized
people, marginalized groups.
Um.
You know, banning Citizen
United at the state level.
These are all things we want our
candidates to be talking about, but
something that really stuck out to me,
and I know this is personal to you, is
the Artist and Gig Workers Bill of Rights.
Vance: Yeah,
Ally: I haven't seen that
before, so I'm curious.
Tell me what that is.
Vance: Yeah, well, I will
give some insight on the, the
entirety of the platform first.
Um, so when I, when I decided
to run, I initially, I didn't
wanna build a platform.
I was like, I really, you know,
my whole thing is about including
the people in the process.
And what I really wanted to do was
include the people in the process
of actually developing the platform.
We want, but through the process, the,
the beginning days of it, everybody
was like, no, you need a platform.
Like, I wanna see a platform.
Like where's your platform?
So I was like, fuck, now I
really gotta like do something.
So the idea was about you, like you
said, it's, it's common sense things
that we all have been asking for.
And that's exactly the idea
is we have been asking for
these things for far too long.
No more asking from healthcare
to housing, to getting money
outta politics, all of it.
We need it done.
No more asking for this type of stuff.
So that's kind of was the idea of, of
formulating what I have on my platform
was about just doing what we want.
Mm-hmm.
No more asking for it.
Um, but the artist and Gig Workers Bill
of Rights is something that is super
personal to me as an artist and as
somebody that has done a ton of gig work.
Also as, um, AI takes over
everyone's job and people resort
more to artistry and to gig work.
We need these workers to have protections.
Uh, and the idea is just extending
our regular bill of rights for
regular workers, um, or for everyday
workers, um, to artists and gig to
include artists and gig workers.
Make sure they have OSHA protection.
Make sure that they're.
You know, and, and all of
the other policies on it
kind of play into each other.
Like the healthcare definitely
goes into covering that.
So there's areas of that that's just
like making sure that gig workers
aren't catching asthma attacks and
dying 'cause they can't afford an
asthma pump or whatever the case is.
So all of them kind of play into each
other, to build off of each other, to
have a system that functions for people.
And that's just kind of the
idea is to make sure that.
You know, as AI takes all of
our jobs that, that we have
protections for all these people.
Yeah.
Um, yeah.
And it, and it's the one
that I feel the closest to.
Um, and out of everything on the platform,
that was the one that like I wrote
myself and that I was like, I want this.
I need, like, this is, and I do, I
do promote it at the, like, the top
of a lot of things that I, that when
I want to talk about the platform.
Yeah.
The Artist and Gag workers Bill of Arts
is something that I kind of always am
like, I gotta make sure I mention this.
I, I
Ally: love it.
I could, I could tell when I read
it that it was personal to you.
Yeah, I could tell that this was
something that was really important
to you, which is why it stood out
to me, um, and resonated with me.
So I, and I think it's great.
Vance: Yeah.
And we're in New York City.
It's, it's all artists thinking Gork here.
Ally: Yeah.
Vance: And it's also like, you know,
Seth: go ahead.
Oh, my bad.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I was gonna say like, because I, I,
reason why I relate to it is that I've
never had a full-time job, you know, like
I said, graduated out of the recession,
still have never had a full-time job.
I'm an independent, uh, contractor
for different TV companies.
And so a TAA company has never, uh.
Paid for my healthcare, paid for my 401k.
I've had to set those things up for
myself and that was why, you know,
having the Affordable Care Act was
so crucial for me early on when I got
off of my parents' health insurance.
It really picked me up because
when you get into this gig
economy, there are no benefits.
You, you are on your own.
And so a a, a Gig Worker's Bill of Rights.
Is something that I knew you were
Ally: gonna love this one, Seth.
Seth: Like it just like
the spark went off.
Ally: Yeah.
Seth: And I was like, yes.
Because when you get out, I
mean, when you get outta college,
there's no guarantees out here.
This isn't America, 1975, there is
a job waiting for you if a, if you
have a college degree, you're gonna
have to, you're gonna have to hustle.
You're gonna have to make it work.
So, man, yeah.
We need protections, uh, for gig
workers and, and people like us.
Vance: Yeah.
No, I, I, um, I definitely love it.
And another thing that like sparked
my, my love for that particular thing
is watching, um, the NYPD consistently
throw away, like vendors fruit and
vegetables that are on the street.
Like, there's nothing that I hate
more than seeing, just like somebody
trying to make it through the day.
And then just the NYPD is just rounding
up all their stuff and just throwing
fresh fruit and vegetables away.
Like it's, it's infuriating.
Yeah.
And it's, it's like there's,
there's nothing that like.
Hurts me more than seeing that.
Like, it, it really does get
to me on a very deep level.
Um, and it's part of why, like, I also
like continuously, like despise the NYPD.
There's no need, there's no need
to like do anything like that.
There's a yeah, like, because they
don't have what, a permit or a, a
license or something to sell fruit.
Like what you're gonna throw
away their whole thing.
You could just tell them
to pack up or whatever.
It doesn't even matter.
These people just need to protect that
and that just needs to not happen.
Right.
That's just what it is.
Ally: I agree.
And, and you know, like I said, so many
of your progressive ideas policies,
um, remind me a lot of Zoran Momani.
And so how are you feeling
about Zoran so far?
Vance: I, I liked, I supported
Zoran all through his run.
Um, I was out canvassing, I mean, I
was doing canvassing for Zoran before
I even decided to like run mm-hmm.
My own thing.
And actually it was after Zoran won
the primary here in New York City.
Um, that really sparked the, the,
the want for me to run, um, shortly.
I mean, it was, it was the beginning
of when I realized that there was.
Hope people had, hope.
There was an electric like sense
of hope all throughout the city.
Um, when he won that primary that I was
like, oh my God, this is what's missing.
People don't relate to their
representatives, like people, and,
and we had record breaking numbers.
It was 'cause he inspired people.
He gave people hope for
something different.
And we saw the turnout, we saw
the people getting involved and
I was like, that's what we need.
We need more of that in
order to get people involved.
Because I mean, we saw for 20,
24, 90 million people didn't vote.
Yeah.
And that.
Is a problem.
Um, so yeah, no, I supported Zoran,
uh, through the entire process.
I, uh, I, I like him.
There are things that
I don't like right now.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, the, uh, the endorsing
Kathy Holle is kind of annoying.
Mm-hmm.
I kind of liked her primary challenger.
Um, I was, I was feeling
Ally: him.
I imagine there's some
strategy behind that, right?
Yeah.
Because Kathy already has the gig,
and if he's able to, you know, um.
Coerce in a nice way her to get
behind some of the things that
he wants to get done because he
will need her ultimately, right?
Mm-hmm.
To get funding for some
of his, his larger policy.
Um.
Proposals.
I can see why maybe
that would be his route.
He's, he's a pretty, he's a pretty
bright guy, but I think it's, he's a
Seth: charmer right's,
Ally: a char m charmer.
He is,
Seth: he charm the pants off of, of him.
Trump.
Donald Trump.
Trump.
Which
Ally: is crazy.
Seth: He had him rocking, uh,
turtleneck for goodness sake, right?
I mean, if, if he can do that with Trump,
Kathy Ogle is, is a, is is easy street.
So I
Ally: doesn't stand a chance.
But I, I do think, you know, the thing
that, that I, I love about how your
policies are similar to Zo Ron's is
because I feel like having, you know, um,
representatives throughout New York City
that are aligned with Zoran Mom, Donny's
policies can make them go even further.
Right?
Yeah.
You're not working against each other.
You're all working in
unison to accomplish mm-hmm.
Very similar progressive
changes in New York City.
So I think it could be a
really good partnership.
Vance: Yeah, and that's kind of
like the thing also that pushed me
towards running was saying like,
well, Hakeem is not gonna support.
What Doron wants to do for New York.
Ally: Yeah.
Vance: And what we need in that seat is
somebody that's actually going to not
just work with him, but build it and,
and push it and, and see the vision.
Like that's something, as I saw
the vision, and you're right, my,
my policies are very in line with
what he wants to do, but it's also
about providing for the people.
These are things that we
have all been asking for.
So again, it goes back into just like, no
more asking, but also like we need people.
To back him, to back the plan to see the
vision and wants to help build the vision.
And I fully believe that
Hakeem is not for that.
Yeah.
Um, he is, he is owned.
And it, the people who own him
don't wanna see any of that.
I mean, look at how much they spent
to, to try to block Zoran from
getting in in the first place.
Ally: Exactly.
And speaking of not being
owned, I also saw you are not
accepting any corporate PAC money.
You're not accepting any APAC
money, so you are a true grassroots,
progressive candidate that.
Every five, 10, $15 donation is
going to make all the difference
in the world for somebody like you
running a campaign in New York City.
Um, before we get to how people can
support you in your campaign, Seth, do
you have any final questions for Vance?
Seth: Uh, just, uh, who, uh,
do, were there any politicians
who inspired you on your way?
Like, other than maybe ones that we've
already talked about, maybe people in
your family who, who really inspired
you, uh, that you grew up around, or
that you, uh, kinda see as a mentor?
Vance: Um, you know, through the process
of running I, and just even before running
for Congress, uh, Shirley Chisholm here
in, um, well, she, she is, she's not alive
any longer, but she was, um, one of the
first black, um, female representatives.
Um, I believe it was, I
wanna say it was New York.
10 maybe was her district.
Um, she also ran for the presidency.
Um, she was one of the first black
women to run for the presidency as well.
Um, back in, oh man, I don't
remember the days exactly.
I wanna say it was in the
eighties that that happened.
Um, maybe late seventies, early
eighties, something in that field.
Uh, but no, Shirley chosen is definitely
somebody, she was just so aggressive.
She was the, um, unthought.
Embossed, yes.
I dunno if you've heard that,
that phrase, but that was her.
Um, and.
Yeah, she's somebody that I, I, I, I've
watched, uh, documentaries on her now
and I'm just pulling inspiration from her
just because she is aggressive and she
just was a take no shit kind of person.
And she did what she wanted to do.
And that's something that
I would love to emulate.
And as, especially as somebody who's
from Brooklyn, she's from Brooklyn also.
Mm-hmm.
Like, that's just what we need.
'cause we can see Hakeem
who's taken all the shit.
Yes.
Seth: You know
Vance: what I mean?
Like, like he was taking it all.
Mm-hmm.
So it's just like, we don't need that.
We need people who are gonna
stand 10 toes down on business
and Shirley just was that person.
Um, and she's definitely somebody that I
am trying to emulate and feed off of that
energy as I run through this process.
And I mean, it's, it does get
discouraging sometimes the entire process.
I mean, I'm just a regular
person trying to run.
For a federal office, and it is not the
easiest thing I keep telling people.
This is the longest job interview
and application process I
have ever done in my life.
Um, it is, it is.
It is something.
It's an experience.
Um, but I think penetrating through that
gate kept wall is something that is so
important, uh, to show that a, we need
regular people in there, but also it
doesn't have to be locked the way it is.
Mm-hmm.
I think that there is a way to
enter into the system and to be
aggressive and unapologetic about
it, um, to remove those barriers.
That they have put in
place to keep us out.
That way they have a lock on it all.
Um, but Shirley Chisholm definitely
represents all of that, and that's
somebody that I definitely look
up to in this process for sure.
Ally: Yeah.
That's great.
That's awesome.
Um, okay.
Vance Bostic the good.
Vance the good.
We're reclaiming the name.
Vance: Yeah.
Although I will say I'm
not always so good, but
Ally: nobody is.
But you're not, you're definitely not.
The other Vance that we're talking about.
Not even close.
Vance: My, my name was given to me.
I didn't choose it.
Ally: Yes.
And I love it.
And I love it, and I love that
we're reclaiming it for good.
So Vance, tell people
how they can support you.
You have a, I know you have a website.
You wanna give your website any
socials that you have out there.
Vance: Yeah, for sure.
Um, you can totally go
and check out my website.
I fully recommended go check on
my Ballotpedia questionnaire.
It was one of the first
things that I had wrote.
Um, and it is extremely personal.
I let a lot of like, insight, um,
into there, into my perspective.
But my website is, uh, Vance
Beef for NY eight at uh, no
Vance Beef for NY eight.com.
I was about to say@gmail.com,
like it was my email, no.
Um, is van B for NY eight.
Um, dot com and you can,
all my links are on there.
If you want to check out my socials,
I would definitely say go to my
Instagram, which is vance.b.nyc.
Ally: That's where
Vance: I got you.
And then you can, you can check
my, my link tree that is in my bio.
And if you wanna participate in the
campaign outside of donation, you can also
find the donation links on everywhere.
Um, but if you wanna participate
in the campaign and help build
this movement, uh, join my Discord.
I have a Discord that's acting
as my campaign headquarters.
You can also get to that
in my link tree in my bio.
Um, and, and that's where we're we're.
Coming together and working together.
This is how we include
the people in the process.
I mean, you can help
formulate my policies.
I'm rewriting, I'm rewriting policies all
the time, or I'm adding new ones to it.
That's not up yet, but
we're in the background.
We're working on some new
platforms that we wanna add on.
Um, there's people helping
formulate that kind.
Uh, bringing the plan that I originally
had with having the community for,
uh, build those, those platforms, um,
that's something that we would do.
Um, you can help with opposition research.
If you got some dirt on Hakeem,
you want to help out, um, help
me, tell me at all I want to know.
Mm-hmm.
Um, if, if you do design,
you can help design things.
If you want a canvas and door knock,
like any, any way to participate,
the campaign is open for the public.
It's, it's something
that I want everybody.
Involved in, um, nothing
is gate kept here.
Um, so yeah, definitely go to my website,
follow my socials, uh, and we gotta make a
reach because Hakeem is a household name.
Everybody knows him.
And if he wins, just because he's
known, it'll be a real shame.
Ally: Yeah, I agree.
It's been a real pleasure
talking to you, Vance.
Um, thank you.
Obviously, I wish you the best of luck.
We'll make sure that everybody knows
how to, to reach out to you and to
connect with you and to support you.
Um, and let's stay in touch.
Tell us how things are going.
We're gonna be following you.
Um, primaries for New
York's for your district.
Mm-hmm.
When are they happening?
Vance: So primaries are June 23rd.
Okay.
And I believe the early voting
starts, it's like 12 days before that.
Okay.
I believe they are in New York.
I could be wrong.
Don't go.
I don't know when early
voting starts exactly yet.
Yep.
But, um, the primary date is June 23rd.
Ally: June 23rd.
Okay.
So let's stay in touch between,
uh, now and then and just
see how things are going.
'cause I'm really looking
forward to big things from you.
Vance: For sure.
For sure.
Definitely.
Especially with the ballot
access happening right now.
The next big hurdle is
getting on the ballot.
So if we don't make the ballot we're it's
all fucked, it's all downhill from there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that's really the focus.
And that's due April 2nd Okay.
Is when, uh, ballot access stops,
and then we have until April
10th to get everything bind and
submitted to the Board of elections.
Okay.
In order to get on the ballot.
Um, yeah.
So by hopefully late April,
May-ish, we'll, mm-hmm.
If I made the ballot or not.
Hopefully I will.
We'll,
Ally: hang on that.
I hope you do.
I really hope you do.
Yeah, it's been great talking to you.
Vance: Thank you so much.
Yes, Bri,
Seth: I really appreciate the time.
Ally: Yeah,
Vance: for sure.
For sure, for sure.
Ally: Thank you, Vance.
Vance: Thank you.
Have a good one.
Ally: Alright, well that was Vance Bostic.
I mean, what a great guy.
Another great guy.
Seth: Yeah, just a really
outgoing, likable fella who's
obviously a people person.
Uh, you know, it was so thrilling
to, to see how he's gonna involve
his community members in, in every
decision that he wants to make.
I mean, this is not a guy
who's gonna be swayed by money.
Um, he's going to go to his constituents
first, and that's maybe, that's
probably something that, that Hakeem
Jeffries has lost in the shuffle
of being the minority leader.
All the, that comes with it and
all the favors that you gotta,
you know, keep for everybody.
I mean, I, I'm sure it's, it's crazy.
But Vance is the type of guy who is
young, he's hungry, and he is looking
to put the focus back on New Yorkers.
And that's really, I think, what District
Eight deserves there in New York.
Um, very, very progressive, uh,
in that same vein as an a OC.
Was really energized by Zoran Mom's Run,
and I can certainly see him collabing
with guys like Zoran to really, you
know, give New York what it needs a,
a real plan for affordability again,
so that the great city of New York
is available to all Americans and
not just people who can afford it.
Ally: Absolutely.
I loved that conversation.
I loved his backstory.
Um, all of the hard work that he did over
the pandemic when most of us were just
kind of bed rotting and binge watching.
You know, he was like, I'm gonna take
this opportunity and go back to school.
Something I've always dreamed of doing.
And he accomplished so much over that.
Period of time and uh, and there's just
something so affable, like there's a
humanity in him that really comes across.
He cares about people, and this
is what I really wanna see we get
back to with our candidates, right?
Not people that are business executives
or lawyers as we talked about, or real
people with real life experiences that
still are in touch with the challenges
that we're facing day to day as.
Everyday Americans.
I think that Vance embodies that.
I think that he is going to fight for
other people just like him, um, in New
York City that just wanna, just wanna
have a, a, a easier go of it than we are
experiencing right now in these times.
So.
Um, really hoping that
he gets on that ballot.
I think he said that was going to be
decided April 2nd, or that's the deadline.
So we should be hearing more
about that, um, towards end
of April, early or early May.
And we'll make sure to follow up
and see if he did make that ballot.
I'm hoping he does.
Fingers crossed.
And then, um, if he does, we'll follow
his journey up until the midterms.
Seth: So yeah, it was, it was really
inspiring to, to hear him talk
about how he reinvented himself.
Millennials get a a really tough,
we got a really tough break of it.
Uh, we, we, we came in the game,
uh, in a time where there was a
lot of upheaval financially and in
the job markets and, you know, he
took that time to reinvent himself.
Um, in a time where a lot of people could
have fallen into despair, he chose to rise
above it and really give himself a shot.
So, uh, really, uh, great to hear that.
And a motivated guy like that is
somebody that we need in office, right?
A guy who's gonna come in, be hungry,
uh, represent the people and, uh,
and bring a fresh perspective.
Ally: And, you know, he
just got that MBA in 2025.
He is right on the heels of
that major accomplishment.
This is somebody that's got a lot of fight
in him and, uh, he's clearly willing to
fight for the people of New York City.
So, great conversation and, um, we'll
see what's gonna, we'll see what
happens with, with, uh, with Vance.
I really, I really like him for
that, for that, uh, that seat.
Seth: Sure.
I mean, he's, he's, he's the real deal.
You know, he, he was a, you know, the
gig, the, he is a real gig worker, you
know, worked in the service industry.
And I'll tell you, and I'll tell you
what, Allie, again, like the, the Gig
Workers Bill of Rights, that's something
right there that could really catch
on, and I hope that people hear that.
Because that is the reality
for so many Americans.
Ally: Absolutely.
Alright, another great interview.
We'll catch up later and get into some
news stories and our LOL of the week.
Seth: Alright.