Sticky Note Conversations

Episode Description:

Assembly member Reuben D'Silva (District 28 — East Side & North Las Vegas) joins Sticky Note Conversations for a wide-ranging discussion about his dual life as a public school teacher and state legislator. Reuben shares stories from 14 years in the classroom at Rancho High School, his path from immigrant kid to Yale graduate to elected official, and why he believes the Democratic Party needs to deliver more than just resistance. We dig into the 2025 legislative session — including the daily room cleaning bill and the failed film tax credit — student walkouts over ICE detentions, the Moms for Liberty attack that backfired, and what bills he's already filing for 2027. Plus: what democracy means today, whether the American Dream is still alive, and how Reuben defines the middle class on a teacher's salary.

Show Notes:

Guest: Assemblymember Reuben D'Silva, Nevada State Assembly, District 28 (East Side & North Las Vegas)

Host: Erika Washington

In this episode:

  • Introduction — Cold open and welcome
  • Meet Assemblymember Reuben D'Silva — Erika introduces Reuben's background: Nevada Assembly since 2023, Education/Government Affairs/Revenue committees, veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and longtime community activist
  • Life as an Educator at Rancho High — Reuben on teaching at his alma mater for 14 years, following in his mother's footsteps, and why being a teacher is his core identity
  • Teacher Pay & Education Policy — Reuben's experience starting at $34,000/year with two Ivy League master's degrees, the bureaucracy driving great teachers out of public education, and what policy changes could attract and retain the best
  • Student Engagement & Immigration Issues — How students at Rancho are affected by ICE crackdowns, the walkouts that followed a parent's detention outside the school, and how Congressman Ro Khanna stepped in to hold a town hall with students
  • The Walkout & Moms for Liberty — Reuben's viral video supporting his students' right to protest, the national backlash from Moms for Liberty, and why he pushed back hard
  • Path to Politics — From immigrant kid with no papers to student government leader at Rancho, the Hispanic Student Union, and the mentors who shaped his political awakening
  • Running for Congress — Reuben's two Congressional runs (2016 as an independent, 2018 as a Democrat), his Bernie Sanders-inspired progressive platform, and what he learned from losing
  • The Future of the Democratic Party — Why resistance isn't enough, the case for Medicare for All, paid family leave, and economic populism, and how the party can reconnect with working voters
  • Legislative Session: Room Cleaning & Film Tax — Inside the daily room cleaning bill fight, why Reuben polled his district before voting, and the missed opportunity of the film tax credit bill that lost by one Senate vote
  • Balancing Teaching & Legislature — The reality of Nevada's biennial session: unpaid leave, no benefits, finding long-term subs, and the case for a full-time legislature
  • Looking Ahead: 2027 Session Bills — Reuben's pre-filed bills: a CSN license plate to fund athletics and food security, and a Nevada Asia Pacific Trade Commission to build international economic relationships
  • Democracy & The American Dream — Reuben on demos kratos, the threat of Trump-era authoritarianism, the need for de-Trumpification, and whether the American Dream is sick or dying
  • Defining the Middle Class & Closing — What middle class actually means on a teacher's salary, discretionary dollars vs. income, homeownership as wealth-building, and Erika's sendoff
Mentioned in this episode:

  • Rancho High School (Las Vegas, NV)
  • Clark County School District (CCSD)
  • Congressman Ro Khanna — immigration town hall at St. Christopher's Church
  • Moms for Liberty
  • Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign
  • Senator Cannizzaro — EDUCATE Act
  • CCSD trustee bill
  • Sony & Warner Brothers — proposed Las Vegas studio expansion
  • College of Southern Nevada (CSN)
  • New Deal-era policies, GI Bill, Glass-Steagall
  • Make It Work Nevada / Beyond Impact
  • KUNV 91.5
Follow Reuben D'Silva:https://www.instagram.com/reuben.dsilva_/

  • Nevada Assembly District 28 — East Side & North Las Vegas
Sticky Note Conversations is hosted and produced by Erika Washington, edited by Black Gypsy LLC, with special thanks to KUNV 91.5. Powered by Make It Work Nevada, a project of Beyond Impact.



  • (00:00) - Introduction
  • (00:42) - Meet Assemblymember Reuben D'Silva
  • (04:01) - Life as an Educator at Rancho High
  • (09:02) - Teacher Pay & Education Policy
  • (12:55) - Student Engagement & Immigration Issues
  • (22:38) - The Walkout & Moms for Liberty
  • (28:38) - Path to Politics
  • (31:58) - Running for Congress
  • (38:01) - The Future of the Democratic Party
  • (43:19) - Legislative Session: Room Cleaning & Film Tax
  • (50:18) - Balancing Teaching & Legislature
  • (55:33) - Looking Ahead: 2027 Session Bills
  • (59:33) - Democracy & The American Dream
  • (01:04:47) - Defining the Middle Class & Closing

Creators and Guests

Producer
Erika Washington
Composer
Wil Black

What is Sticky Note Conversations?

To keep my thoughts in order and my to-do lists remotely manageable I create arrays of sticky notes on my desk and wall. New idea? Stick note! Someone I want to meet with? Sticky Note! Need to remember to pay a parking ticket? Write it on a sticky note. Over the course of the last year, I have wanted to create a podcast that allowed me to dive deep into conversations with interesting people.. I wanted to have real conversations that were more than sound bites or regurgitated talking points about fluffy topics. My hope is that each episode feels like old friends catching up. Revealing great information but also humanity, struggle, victory, joy, grief, and possibly, a flicker of transcendence.

I hope you will enjoy these as much as I do creating them.
Join me here every Saturday as I pull a new sticky note off my desk.