Down Ballot Banter

In this special bonus episode, hosts Monét Marshall and Quay Weston take you to the North Carolina Labor Commissioner debate. Held on October 1 in Smithfield, NC, the debate featured Democratic candidate Braxton Winston and Republican candidate Luke Farley. Monét and Quay catch up with attendees to find out why they came, which candidate spoke to their values, and why local and state elections are critical to our everyday lives. Tune in for on-the-ground insights and reflections from the candidates themselves as they share what’s at stake in the upcoming election.


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Down Ballot Banter is hosted by Monèt Marshall and Quay Weston and is a production of Earfluence.

Creators & Guests

Host
Monet Marshall
Director. Playwright. Arts Consultant. Cultural Organizer.

What is Down Ballot Banter?

Welcome to Down Ballot Banter, the podcast that puts the spotlight on local elections and what local government actually means for you. Hosted by Monèt Marshall and Quay Weston.

00:00:03 - Monét Marshall
Hey, y'all. Welcome to Down Ballot Banter, the podcast that puts a spotlight on local elections and what local government actually means for you. I'm Monae Noelle Marshall.

00:00:13 - Quay Weston
And I am Quay Weston.

00:00:14 - Monét Marshall
Yeah, you are.

00:00:15 - Quay Weston
Local elections are extremely important, and we're on a mission to learn together and to break down local politics in a way that makes sense to us and doesn't require us to be experts, because we are not. Hello.

00:00:27 - Monét Marshall
So, whether you're a seasoned voter or this is your first opportunity, we've got the insights and information to keep you informed and engaged.

00:00:34 - Quay Weston
Because when it comes to building new worlds, all of our inputs matter. Yes.

00:00:40 - Monét Marshall
So if you're ready to learn with us, let's go.

00:00:49 - Quay Weston
What's up, y'all? It's Quay. And I'm here with a nice little bonus episode of Down Ballot Banter, in which Monae and I traveled to Smithfield, North Carolina on Tuesday, October 1 to attend the North Carolina commissioner of labor debate. This was the first debate either of us have been to, which was pretty neat. And it was between the democratic candidate for commissioner of labor, which is Braxton Winston, and the republican candidate for commissioner of labor, which is Luke Farley. So in this episode, we wanted to catch up with people who attended the debate in person to ask why they decided to come out to the debate, which of the candidates spoke most to their values and principles and ideas, and ultimately, why it's so important for us to get involved with state and local elections. So we hope you enjoyed these responses and maybe you'll hear something that moves you, motivates you to continue to stay engaged. So question one is, what brought you out tonight?

00:01:45 - Attendees
Yeah, so what brought me out today is, I think, honestly, this is arguably the most important election coming up this cycle. I know there's a lot of attention on the president right now, but looking at state races, one of the things that's central to everyone's life is work and labor. And looking at this race, I think that the choice couldn't be clearer. You got an opponent to the candidate that I support, that is against making sure we keeping folks safe. In terms of the pandemic, which is still around, we have a candidate that is for his profession, is out there defending businesses that are cited for worker mistreatment, treating their workers unfairly, and then the candidate I support is someone who is shown time and time again through his elected office that he's going to support working people. And so, you know, for me, that support goes behind Braxton Winston.

00:02:37 - Quay Weston
Yeah, that's good. And what would you say to people who are not paying attention to races like this?

00:02:43 - Attendees
Yeah, I would tell them to look up both candidates, look up both platforms, but also just look down the ballot. Again, there's a lot of attention on the presidency, but when we talk about things like the minimum wage or we talk about things like making sure workplace conditions are fair for people, making sure, you know, laws aren't being violated when it comes to the workplace, that doesn't all fall on the president. A lot of that falls on the discretion used by the Department of Labor. And for over 20 years, there's been a lot of mismanagement in that office. You got people like Cherie Berry, you know, everyone calls her the elevator lady, but she was also the work and misconduct lady. She wasn't making sure people were paid. I think there was one year, like 2014, where there was over a million dollars worth of wages that were supposed to go to workers that didn't go there. And it was her job to make sure that those wages were paid to workers. So little things like that. Also making sure we can decrease worker deaths and stuff like that, those are things that are very important. And you can't get those things out of a presidential election. You get them out of the Department of Labor election.

00:03:45 - Quay Weston
That's right. Thank you. Thank you. So question one is, what brought you out to this debate tonight?

00:03:53 - Attendees
I came to support Lou and to learn more about what the labor commissioner does.

00:03:58 - Attendees
Right.

00:03:59 - Quay Weston
Yes.

00:04:00 - Attendees
And I'm originally from Charlotte, and now I'm a Wake county person. So I was interested in both these individuals and love to see the differences and what exactly they have up for their plan.

00:04:18 - Quay Weston
Were there any things either of the candidates said that spoke to you more?

00:04:25 - Attendees
Everything the conservative candidate says speaks to me more than the liberal candidate.

00:04:34 - Attendees
There were things said by the Mister Winston that I know are boldface lies. And I didn't appreciate that. But it's politics, you know, and I. But that's the way of the world.

00:04:51 - Quay Weston
And the last question is, what would you say to people about why local and state elections are so important?

00:05:01 - Attendees
It's the grassroots. It's the beginning. It's, you can't jump right out there and save the world without starting at home. We're not going to drive to DC and get somebody to listen to me as a neighbor, but I can talk to my city council people. I can talk to the board of education. I can talk to. I can talk to the labor commission, the people that are actually more directly involved in our lives, and that gives me a bigger sense of being a participant and having an impact.

00:05:37 - Monét Marshall
So what brought you out tonight?

00:05:40 - Attendees
So, I've been politically active in Johnson county for the last couple years, mainly as an lgbt advocate. I didn't see a lot of people doing that here in rural North Carolina, so just wanted to use my voice. And I figured for the council of State, it's one of ten positions on the kind of statewide ballot this was an important event to be at.

00:06:04 - Monét Marshall
Do you like to share why you came?

00:06:05 - Attendees
Oh, yeah. First of all, I'd never had an opportunity to come to a live debate before me either, so that was one of the first reasons I came. But I also am big in the Johnson County Democratic Party, and I was interested in hearing what the speakers had to say about unions. My grandfather started a union many, many years ago at a leather tannery back in Pennsylvania, and that's always kind of stuck with me throughout the years. And I'm also an employee of Verizon who has unions in the northeast. When they go on strike, I have to take their job. I'm the scab. So I see both sides of it. You know, I have that family history, but then I also, you know, I see what the unions have in my own job. So I was curious what the candidates had to say about that.

00:06:56 - Quay Weston
Did either of the candidates speak more to your values, principles, ideas? If so, you don't have to say who, but, yeah.

00:07:04 - Attendees
Yeah, I think Braxton Winston probably spoke more to my ideas and ideals. I was very confused to hear Luke Farley mention maximum wage multiple times, because as a history major, I was thinking of the FDR New Deal Democrat idea, which was that people shouldn't be earning exorbitant amounts of money. You know, we need to limit the wage federally. It didn't seem like that's what he was saying, though. I was confused by that.

00:07:33 - Attendees
But I'll agree. I think Braxton Winston spoke to what I believe in more. To me, his answers are more towards the worker, their safety, what will be good for them, whether it's like you say, bringing home the pay, being safe, caring for your family, all of that stuff just struck a chord with Mia, how he answered those questions.

00:07:59 - Monét Marshall
And last question. What would you say to anyone around, like, the importance of state and local elections?

00:08:05 - Attendees
When I say all politics is local, and it's very true, you know, it's everything from school board to, you know, your city council, the council of state, and then, of course, the federal. And that's what I'll say is when people go to vote, don't always think about the top of the ticket, start on the back of the ballot and see those things like judges that are just as important as everything else.

00:08:33 - Braxton Winston II
I absolutely agree. And for local races, it's really important. The board of education has been something that's been a focus for me. I've been to several of their public meetings using my voice, and you can use your voice at the ballot box, but if you only do that, you are only minimally participating. That is the floor for civic participation. So go to public meetings, go to public forums like this. Get informed and make your opinion known within your community. Find some people that are like minded and make some positive change.

00:09:07 - Monét Marshall
Thank you both.

00:09:13 - Quay Weston
And that was just some of the responses from people who attended. There were roughly 50, 60 people in attendance. And we thought that was a really good turnout for in person debate, particularly in Smithfield, North Carolina, where we traveled about an hour to get there. But to close us out now, you'll hear from both candidates for the North Carolina commissioner of labor as they speak to their reflections on the debate, what they believe went well for them, and also why it's so important for you to continue to participate in local elections.

00:09:46 - Luke Farley
I thought the debate went great. I thought there was a real opportunity to present the contrast between me and my opponent. And that's so important because voters have a choice to make, and getting the information out there that lets them make that choice is so important. Now, you know, this is a council of state race races people don't know a lot about, and it's so important that they look at the entire ballot and finish it.

00:10:05 - Monét Marshall
And what would you say about, like, the importance of state and local politics in general?

00:10:09 - Luke Farley
Well, the offices that people don't often think about are the ones that sometimes have the greatest effect on their lives, like labor commissioner. Everybody who works in North Carolina is under the protection of the Department of Labor, and so they may not be thinking about that, but this is an office that's important for them.

00:10:23 - Monét Marshall
And say your name, what you're running for, and where we can find more information about you.

00:10:26 - Luke Farley
I'm Luke Farley. I'm running to be your next state labor commissioner, and you can learn more about me at Luke four labor.com dot.

00:10:32 - Monét Marshall
Thank you.

00:10:32 - Braxton Winston II
Thanks for saying thank you. This was my first actual debate ever, and I thought it went well. It went faster than I expected. But really, I hope it's helpful for people out there to understand about what this role does and the difference between us as two candidates. And I think that the choice is really starkly different in this race.

00:10:54 - Monét Marshall
Why are state and local politics important?

00:10:56 - Braxton Winston II
Well, again, so I hope when people watch this, they understand a little bit.

00:11:00 - Quay Weston
More about why this state office is so important.

00:11:03 - Braxton Winston II
You know, that there is a place that they can go to if they feel like they're treated unfairly at work or they feel like they're unsafe, right. Or being retaliated against. These are things that we all experience in life, and sometimes we don't know where to go. And there is an office for that. And the Department of Labor is important. I hope that more people learn about the services that it provides and are able to take advantage of those services.

00:11:29 - Monét Marshall
And say your name, what you're running for, and where we can find more information about you.

00:11:32 - Braxton Winston II
I'm Braxton Winston. I'm the democratic nominee for North Carolina commissioner of labor. You can learn more about me and my campaign@votebraxton.com. or you can follow us on all the social medias.

00:11:43 - Monét Marshall
OteBraxton, thank you so much. Braxton thank you. Thanks for tuning in to down ballet banter. We hope y'all enjoyed diving into the tentacular world of local politics with us.

00:12:00 - Quay Weston
Yeah. And don't forget, this podcast is an extension of Lone's beautiful dream, the down ballad brunch, where there are three simple steps, is to eat, have a conversation, and to act.

00:12:12 - Monét Marshall
That's right, have a conversation using this podcast episode, the down ballot brunch chat guide, or your own prompts. Write a note to an elected official on a down ballot brunch postcard. Share quotes from your convo on social media, with consent, of course, or text three friends about their voting plans and find out what matters to them.

00:12:31 - Quay Weston
And if you're watching on YouTube, be sure to like share subscribe if you're listening on other platforms, be sure to rate and review share it with your people.

00:12:41 - Monét Marshall
Until next time, stay informed, stay engaged, and keep up with the down ballot answer.