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We are reshaping or challenging prevailing perspectives on current events. "Change The Narrative" reflects an intention to not only inform but also inspire listeners to engage with current events thoughtfully and proactively.
Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a KU NV studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Dave
Rico White 0:30
And welcome. We are reshaping or challenging prevailing perspectives on current events, and that's changed the narrative which reflects an intention to not only inform but also inspire listeners to engage with current events thoughtfully and proactively. So I'm your host. Rico White, I'm here to my left. Her name is Sarah
Sarah Fernandez 0:50
Fernandez. Who is it? Sarah Fernandez,
Rico White 0:55
that's right, that's right. And you know what? We were supposed to have this guest by the name of Shenea Booth, but we have a Russian counterpart here. Who's our Russian counterpart
Shenea Booth 1:07
that came in? Oh, da, da. Dave. Shenea Booth,
Rico White 1:15
Shenea Booth, our Russian counterpart. Hey, just to let you guys know, Shenea is running for Nevada State Assembly District, 22 here in
Sarah Fernandez 1:24
Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rico White 1:26
There we go, Nevada, Nevada. So all right, let's get this. Get down to business. Welcome Shenea. How you doing?
Shenea Booth 1:35
Thank you so much. I'm doing amazing. Rico and Sarah Pleasure,
Rico White 1:39
pleasure is all hours. So tell us a little bit about yourself.
Shenea Booth 1:43
Well, my name is Shenea booth, also known as Shenea stiletto on the Vegas Strip. I am a local entertainer and acrobatic performer, and I am also a former two time world champion acrobatic gymnast, and I'm also a survivor of UC gymnastics. For folks that remember that case, but are maybe not familiar with that case, it was one of the most prolific abuse cases in US history. I, along with other amazing gymnastics talents like Simone Biles, were a part of a 10 year settlement, and we fought to change the game within youth and Olympic sports, and we push for new laws, and I am still doing that to this day. And I took, you know that work as an advocate, you know, into advocating and pushing for more rights for local entertainers here on the Vegas strip, and pushing for better wages, better work protections. And I saw that not only were performers here exploited on the Vegas Strip, needed more access to benefits and union rights and needed increased safety nets, but that also regular Nevadans and working families and working Nevadans needed those safety nets and protections too. So that is my work here. That is why I'm running for district 22 that is Henderson and Green Valley Ranch. And, yeah, I don't know about you,
Sarah Fernandez 3:04
but I just heard a strong woman,
Rico White 3:07
a strong, strong because I was gonna say, can you share your personal and professional background? But you already did it.
Shenea Booth 3:14
So I'm quick, quick on the draw, okay? On message all day, every day. So if
Rico White 3:20
people don't know, we have somebody that has royal blood, she's she's famous here she she was part of a, let's see World Championship in Warsaw. Is that correct? Oh, yes, that was me. That was that you and you were partner with Julian, yes. Julian, okay, Julian, how do you say his last name? Amaro. Yes. Julian, tomorrow. All right, and you won
Sarah Fernandez 3:45
Puerto Rican Puerto Rico, yes,
Rico White 3:52
Amaro, and you won the 2001 US sports acrobatic national championship. Is that correct? I did it.
Shenea Booth 3:58
Is correct? All right, I think I was like, eight or nine time national champion, actually
Rico White 4:03
gonna, we won't even go through it. I forget we're not, we're not even gonna go through them all. Since you won them all, you did it all. I am gonna mention this for the people who are going to listen to this at a later date. And if you're in the acrobatic gymnastic world, you'll know this name, Glenn sunby,
Shenea Booth 4:23
yes, Rico. Thank you for giving that Glenn sunby Shout out. There we go. That is, he was everything. Tell me about him, so famous and so big in gymnastics. Is he big? He's a legend. He's a legend. And to get the Glenn sunby award means something within the gymnastics community, and I will forever be honored that you know my name is attached to the
Rico White 4:44
Glen sunby name. Moving right along. Let's see You were also and I don't, I don't want to take anything away from the gold medals, so I'm not going to mention anything about silver. No, no, no, don't do that. We're just going to because that's a that's a retraction, that's like going back, right?
Shenea Booth 4:59
That was that. Was lost, but yeah, we came back. It came back. It's okay. It teaches you character. That's how I that's how I'm, you know, running now as a candidate, because failure teaches you sometimes more than winning does it's a win, it's still, it still can be a win. But I love to compete. I love everything about competition. That's also why I've entered the Nevada State Assembly race, because competing is in my blood and in my bones, and I think it's a really important way to build character and to show yourself what you're made of.
Rico White 5:31
Well, I always was taught that failure is success reversed
Shenea Booth 5:35
inside out. I love that. So I mean, we're not even gonna that's so
Rico White 5:41
there we go. So let's, let's get in some policy priorities, right? So what are your top three priorities, if elected, and why are they
Shenea Booth 5:50
important to you? I If elected and when elected, do you need a pen
Rico White 5:54
or anything? No to keep? Oh, okay, yeah. Let me lower my voice. I didn't know if you needed a pen. Oh, but you're so
Shenea Booth 6:05
you're that's because you're here for me. You and Sarah are here for me. I feel so protected and taken care of from beginning until in folks, it just has like it has been, yeah, you got me, alrighty, you got me just like, I want to support district 22 and also to all Nevadans. I think the important thing to remember about the Nevada State Assembly race that sometimes I hear from folks is reminding them that maybe I'm elected in Henderson district 22 I represent all Nevadans, so I will be, you know, voting on all state bills. So even if you don't live in my district and you can't vote for me, my appointment will affect your life every single day. And I think that state positions and state and local elections are so important because what you cannot maybe control within the national impacts and conversations, you can do better by local Nevadans through state legislator and through state policy, okay, you got something when you went there.
Sarah Fernandez 7:07
We had a strong woman in the room myself, of course,
Rico White 7:15
amazing. All right, how do you plan to address these strong women, it's hard. This brother got a man, I tell you. So how do you plan to address key issues like education, health care, housing in Nevada? Well, Nevada, Nevada.
Shenea Booth 7:37
Well, you know, that brings me back to my three priorities, if we're just picking three, because there are so many I know that Nevadans are dealing with. And, you know, I want to address, address affordability and housing and the rising costs, you know, supporting small businesses better, because Nevada is an entrepreneurial state, and folks come here to, you know, start, you know, something innovative. And, you know, and, and, and change the game industry comes here to plant roots, and I want to give more folks opportunity to build and do that also too. You know, affordable health care. That's a really big one, and it's hard to pick three. I'm going to also say education, because when I am knocking doors, which I am doing for one to two hours every single day I have knocked. I think we're up to like, 100 doors right now, and we're going to get to 2000 doors. So that is how I'm spending my days in the community and asking neighbors and those in the community in Henderson, what are the top three priorities in your life that will make a difference, that are impacting you, your working family, if you're a young professional, if you're a retiree or a senior, that is a big demographic of Henderson and my voters. And they are, you know, they want their retirements protected, that's important to them. And you know, they're a part of a lot of generational families in Henderson as well. And so they're watching their children grow up and their children raise their children, and they want to make sure that they're in safe communities and that they have adequate education that's not just going to support them now, but getting into the workforce later. And I want to be able to do that in the Nevada State Assembly. Okay, you did say
Sarah Fernandez 9:12
protecting their neighborhood on public safety. How do you plan to address the public safety concerns in your district? Well, you
Shenea Booth 9:19
know, I would like to work with local lawmakers and leaders on that. And, you know, bring committee, bring town halls in, speak to, you know, neighbors, speak to those that are leading in public safety in my district. And see again, how can we improve on the model and make things better? How can we preserve, you know, law and order.
Sarah Fernandez 9:41
You said education was a big thing for you as well. What are your plans to improve the education system in Nevada, particularly underserved communities, underserved
Shenea Booth 9:48
communities, and that comes back to dollars, and that comes back to increasing the overall viability of our public schools. I went to amazing public schools. That is how I got to where I am. Now as a two time world champion, as somebody that went straight into Cirque du Soleil, as someone who started their own small business and has been, I think, successful for the last 20 years. That has been not easy to do, and I am a success story of public schools, and it's challenging. I hear parents saying that there are schools that they do not feel are serving their children. And I have parents in Anderson that are saying they're taking their children out of the schools in the district and putting them in other schools because they're trying to find the best place where their children have teachers that are licensed, where they have curriculums that are not expensive, especially if you're in an underserved community, what can you afford? And those things should not be out of reach. A good public school education should be within reach for every single child, not only in district 22 but also two in Nevada. And so when we're taking those dollars for the budget and for the state, why aren't we putting that money back into education so that we can make sure that the children can not only access the jobs locally here, but that they can go on to have careers wherever they want. You know, in the world, like myself, because my life and my career has been so international, but definitely we want them to feel equipped to have the careers and the jobs and the trades that they want to have in Nevada. And that also starts with workforce development programs that I feel are proactive and also innovative and speak to the economy. And I think the world that we live in now, we have a lot of old systems trying to do new things, and I think that we leave a lot of children and we leave a lot of, you know, educational resources behind
Sarah Fernandez 11:35
by doing that. Now I do want to touch real quick on something. You know how we were just discussing education? Now, I know that there's some particular schools where there are homeless teens that actually go to the school and shower and stuff like that. Do you think of maybe implementing, or at least trying to have some kind of implemented program for homeless teens that are still going to school, but they come to school, they shower, they do what they got to do. And I know this because my girls, when they were in school, there were a few kids that were homeless, and they would actually go to the schools and take showers and have their meals there. So something that you think I'm pushing on, that I know education is great, don't get me wrong, you got to have an education order to succeed, but these are other programs that
Shenea Booth 12:11
a lot of people don't know about. Yes, well, and that's a great question, Sarah, because I just sat on a policy workshop at the Children's Advocacy Alliance just a few weeks ago, and they were discussing foster children that are also in very similar situations, where they become homeless, where they also to run away from their families because they don't feel safe, and then they don't end up getting the proper education that they need, or they don't feel like the policies support them, or they don't feel like there's language within these policies to support them. And I spoke to foster care advocates, those are also too and also do social workers that are working with the children, the ones that, again, don't feel like they can go back home because they're not safe. And that speaks to, I think, so many different things. How are we making the homes safer for the children to be able to be there? How are we protecting and encouraging families? Because we know that comes from, you know, economic disadvantages, right? If the children do not feel safe at home. And as someone who has worked extensively in child safety policy, as a survivor of USA Gymnastics, that would be a very strong point for me in terms of policy pushes. And what spoke to me so much about being around the foster care system and the policy people that I was with at the Children's Advocacy Alliance was the fact that they said, you know, so many children fall through the cracks with these policies. It's not that they're not. We don't need new ones. They said, We need you to strengthen and listen to the folks like those children, who are, you know, who is going boots on the ground, who is involved, and I think that's also the importance of being a state assembly person, are you going to have that first down conversation with that homeless youth and provide them the direct contact with the direct benefits that they need so that they can not only survive, but that they can thrive within the system that they're in and get them into a better situation?
Rico White 13:57
Love it. Well, okay, then
Shenea Booth 13:58
so on that note, you guys are amazing here. You got all the questions.
Rico White 14:06
So being that, that's what you're gonna do, and moving forward, how do you intend to engage and address the concerns of your constituents?
Shenea Booth 14:15
By showing up and by being there. That's why I am knocking on their door. You know, every single time a constituent in Henderson a district 22 answers their door, and I give them a flyer. They're like, it's you like, you're the person on the flyer. You're the person that's actually running for State Assembly, and you're at my door, you're here to speak to me, and you actually care about what I have to say. And you're not, you know, rushing me off. I tell them, I invite them for coffee, and you're always going to be able to get a coffee with me. And that is what I've been doing as an organizer for the last several years for the local entertainment industry. I've been boots on the ground. It's been about speaking to 1000s of entertainment workers and professionals here for the last six, seven years, it's been going to the unions. It's been going to the lawmakers myself and saying, We feel that this particular stance. Life would be important. This would change the life of someone today, not in 10 years from now, not looking down the road. But is your state representative, you know, accessible? Or do you just see them in Carson City? Do you just see them during special session? Or is this someone who is showing up regardless of all the things that they also do have it going in their life, because as state assembly people, we continue our day jobs, right? We still have our lives that we have to lead, but our responsibility is to the people I am here to serve Henderson District, 22 and then all Nevadans. So my inaccessibility prove would prove that I am not up for the job. Because unless you can call me and text me and speak to me in real time, like folks are doing right now, and saying, I would like to take you out for that coffee and ask you the hard questions and see what you can do for the state. Then I don't think that
Sarah Fernandez 15:49
you're up for the job. So you're basically not talking about it. You're mean about it.
Shenea Booth 15:52
Yes, exactly. Sarah, thank you. With all this, all the sound bites,
Rico White 15:58
okay, then that's another sound bite. So check this out. This is the dirty word in politics. Okay, which one? How many? It's two of them. Oh, my All right, transparency and accountability. So What steps will you take to ensuring transparency and accountability in your office when you win? Well, the fact
Shenea Booth 16:19
that you are going to be able to be able to engage and see me. I'm not going to be hiding from you, and you're going to know how I'm voting. You're going to know my stance is. You're going to hear me in conversation regularly, right? I'm not going to hide behind silence. And, you know, being a survivor, if you see gymnastics, that will that's what we dealt with, a lack of transparency and accountability from institutions that were supposed to keep us safe as children and supposed to keep us safe as Olympians, and they didn't do that, and I've built, you know, over the last decade, testifying under oath, which is not easy to do. I've testified under oath for almost a decade, and also to, again, speaking truth to power, to folks that thought that they were too big to fail and that there was policies that would never get passed, and we showed them otherwise. So taking that energy into the legislature and to into my office when elected, is what I would do, and is the thing that I think that is a responsibility of every single representative that holds the duty of representing their district. Okay.
Rico White 17:15
No, I just love listening to her. She's she's right on point, and I hope so, because you talk about the things that happened in your past and testifying and all of that stuff, What's your stance on social justice and equity in Nevada? Nevada in Nevada,
Shenea Booth 17:36
Nevada in Nevada, well as a black and brown woman of color, all of the things bipoc, that's a very big phrase in the entertainment industry, black, indigenous or person of color. So I'm going to speak to all of my communities. I don't take that very likely as the first black woman showing up in almost every single space that I am in, starting from being a young gymnast and also to mentoring black gymnast, black performers, black entrepreneurs and black you know, small businesses, the level of social justice you know that always needs to be a part of every single conversation. That's not something that you abdicate once you get into a room. And I know by being the only voice there and opening the door very wide to show others that it's not just about me, it's also about you getting here, the importance of that, and that's never been lost on me, especially because I've been the first I was the first ever American world champion in my sport. I was also the first black American, you know, in my sport. I'm the first, you know, person in many circus spaces and local entertainment spaces as well, and still exist as that to this day, even though there has been much more diversification, which is wonderful, better efforts to have more inclusivity. But that is my stance all day, every day. You know, we don't all win and we don't all eat until we all win, we all eat right? It has to be about everybody, right? And that should be the undercurrent of everything that we are focusing on, and as somebody, again, that shows up black and brown into every single space, that is exactly how you see me first, and that's exactly how you remember me. And I know that, and I take that very seriously. Okay, okay, girl,
Rico White 19:12
she's gonna leave us speechless in a second.
Sarah Fernandez 19:15
Well, she's leaving you speechless the whole time.
Rico White 19:17
Thank God. I got some questions. All right, check this out. You and Sarah talked about, yeah, what do we say? What did I do?
Sarah Fernandez 19:30
Talked about, she says all the things,
Rico White 19:33
by the way. Well, you know, people that need assistance when they're homeless and yeah, and they need different types of assistance, yeah, so how will you address the challenges posed by mental health and addiction issues in the community? Because some of those could be the homeless kids that are that are attending schools and this and that, and, you know, it's hard. It's harder than a it's hard. Yeah, it's.
Sarah Fernandez 20:00
It you were about to mess up.
Rico White 20:03
Yeah, there's some things you just can't say on air.
Shenea Booth 20:06
So it's yes, yes, I yeah, I agree. And you know, the mental health conversations have expanded drastically over the past several years. It's no longer taboo to say that I need support for my mental health, you know, bring that back. You know, big shout out to Simone Biles for
Rico White 20:24
just gonna say that, highlighting it happens in your industry all the time. Yes, yeah, doing that triple backflip, and yes, all of a sudden you're there and you can't, it's like, oh my god,
Shenea Booth 20:35
am I gonna land correctly, or Yes, or whatever. But anyway, and that can happen every single day on the Vegas trip for entertainers and performers that are risking their lives. You risk your life. You can get the twisties every single day. I have, you know, have friends and colleagues, and you know that, you know it just depends on the day that could also happen to you. And that's your job, right? That is a job that you're going to every single day that feeds your family. And what about if you get mental health issues during that?
Sarah Fernandez 21:00
Yeah, because that's not the only thing you're doing. You got life also beating you up on top of doing
Shenea Booth 21:05
right your job. Everyone has so much life, and also to speaking to mental health benefits. You know, our veterans are so vulnerable. My partner is a vet. Oh, is he one branch force, recon and Marine Corps, Marines, Marine Corps.
Sarah Fernandez 21:19
He's a Marine. I can't say x, because once you're a Marine, you're always, always a Marine.
Shenea Booth 21:25
Never leaves you, believe me. Air Force, oh, Air Force, hello, hello, still currently in the Coast Guard. No way. Yes, show up. Yes. All the things I'm still a troublemaker will always be one. Yes. So yes, yes. And you know, there's some good people on the ground that are doing some very good work around that, that are working to work with the state and getting better programs, again, to getting better funding. You know, obviously, you know, many vet benefits are that's processed on a federal level. So you know, in terms of what we have access to and what we can do on the state and local level is also, is obviously more and being more proactive in getting our vets and getting folks that are struggling with mental health, the care and the resources that they need. Because these are not folks, again, that should not get into, you know, they shouldn't be in our criminal justice system. They need holistic healing, and I have benefited in my life immensely from increased benefits. But the thing was, it was a road to get there, and I think also too, we need to show folks what they do have access to. So many times I hear I didn't know that this program existed. So what resources are we using for the state so that people know that they do have these programs that they do, and then we take away the red tape that sometimes it takes to get into these programs. Unfortunately, sometimes you're waiting for months to get approved for things. I think we need to streamline some these processes so it doesn't take you when you're having an episode that it does not take you you don't get criminalized for having a mental health crisis, but you also to have the support of public safety, to protect you from yourself, to protect your family. All of those things are really critical, but I think the accessibility of benefits, and then also to taking away the red tape that it takes to access that and making sure that you're able to do that easily and to support you when you're in your most critical state. Well, dang,
Rico White 23:23
we got a lot of Dang. Let's talk. Let's change it completely up. Let's talk about
Shenea Booth 23:30
environmental policies. Okay, all right. Oh, I got something to say to you on that. My district is upset. My voters are upset and with an attitude, they have a lot to say.
Rico White 23:43
Well, what are your views on environmental protection and climate change, and how would you promote sustainable practices in Nevada? I'll say Nevada so. And then you can talk about what they're so upset about, too.
Shenea Booth 24:00
Well, yes, I mean, I will, I will start with that, because I have many voters in my district that are upset about losing those tax breaks with respect to solar, and so they want to see that come back to the state. They said, Okay, this is something. This is why I got solar. This is why I invested in this. I also know a lot of folks that run solar businesses that have been directly impacted by the decisions that we've made, or, you know, also two things that have happened on a federal level. So I can't just say that that's like a Nevada problem. Those are things that have happened within the national conversation. So, you know, I think that, you know, in the environmental issues are things that we do need to address. They are, you know, there will be many impacts environmentally. I see you have climate change here we again, have to look towards the fact that so many jobs are going to be, you know, cycled out due to the impacts of climate change and, you know, and maybe the lack of environmental protections, and we need to keep that at the forefront. Of of the decisions that we make, but many of the small businesses that are directly impacted by that That, to me, is very disappointing, and what we could do on a state level, I would love to figure out a way of how we can do that through policy to keep those businesses thriving that want to use renewable energies. Why are we going to penalize anyone that wants to start a business that promotes renewable energy, and then also to the folks that are homeowners, that you know, want to also to use renewable energy and be responsible, you know, citizens and be proactive. And we want to keep people's costs down, because everything is rising so high and it's so expensive, and these are ways to do it. But why are we? We need to protect, you know, those pathways, and keep them affordable and accessible to everyone.
Sarah Fernandez 25:45
Okay? I thought you were gonna say, dang, no, no, no.
Shenea Booth 25:50
That was really good. I tried to do a condensed version of what my voters are saying.
Rico White 25:55
Okay, so concise. So if we have to wrap this up because we're coming to the end and what long term vision do you have for district 22 and do you plan to and how do you plan to achieve it?
Shenea Booth 26:06
Thank you so much. And I just want to say thank you again, and thank you Sarah for having me today. You know to discuss my run for Nevada State Assembly and what I would like to do for district 22 in Henderson, district 22 has come a long way. It has evolved since, I would say, over the last five or six years, it has had incredible like exponential growth. There are so many new families. There are so many new different demographics that are moving into Henderson, and it want to support that growth. You see new businesses coming into Water Street, and all of that draws folks from different parts of the city. And I also, too, want to keep district 22 you know voters and you know and neighbors in district 22 I don't want them to feel like they have to leave the district to go and seek things for their children, for education, for activities, for mental health benefits, as seniors, as retirees, as young professionals, as entrepreneurs, as small businesses, you don't want them having to leave the district to seek opportunity elsewhere. So the important thing for me is to support the district in the direction that it's going in, not to, I think, stifle the growth that I seeing, that I keep seeing in the district with cadence, which is an amazing development, you know, it's amazing the opportunity that's happening there, and the folks that are moving in with their families and that, you know, you know, want to continue to strengthen their roots in the district. And I think that's one of the most important things I hear from voters. And when I'm door knocking, we don't want to have to leave district 22 we don't want to, you know, lose out on the benefits of this community and how it's, you know, starting to thrive. And what can you do to preserve our livelihood here? What can you do to preserve, you know, our families staying here and building generational wealth. And, you know, again, I think having a vision for district 22 that some may not have thought of just, you know, a short time time ago, because of how much things have changed, you know, between Water Street and the district in Green Valley Ranch, I just want to make
Rico White 28:15
a quick mention that this is brought to you by SF, CCW, and In a world, being prepared means getting the right training. And at SF CCW, they're the leading concealed carry weapons certification company dedicated to empowering responsible gun owners, and they have expert instructors provide comprehensive classes, combine safety, legal knowledge and practical skills, ensuring that you're not just certified, but truly confident and in this community of trained professionals, whether you're a novice or seasoned shooter. SF, CCW, equips you with every situation. SF, ccw.com, and I just want to thank everybody for being here. Our guest from Russia.
Sarah Fernandez 28:57
Well, our guest from Russia, I know you have a son, so give him a shout out. So when he listens to this, he can be excited that his mom was on here. Yes, hi, Sai.
Shenea Booth 29:07
He is He is graduating in May. He is graduating from high school. So, hello, hello, hello. All right, so excited to have me on here, and then also to just give a small shout out to the campaign, Shenea for Nevada. Calm folks, if you would like to volunteer for the campaign, if you'd like to donate, that's S, H, E, N, E, A for nevada.com. We would be grateful to have you. UNLV internship, we're taking you too. Thank you so much again. Sarah and Rico,
Rico White 29:33
all right, thank you. Shenea booth. Shanae booth, district 22 running for office. My co
Rico White 29:39
host, Sarah Fernandez, all right, I appreciate you guys. All right, we're out of here. You.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai