March 4, 2024 • 32 mins
Supastar talks with Amanda Edwards about her mission and her campaign to represent the 18th Congressional District. Election Day is March 5, 2024! Let your voice be heard!!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Ninety three seven to vat Hetown's veryhip hop home of the Breakfast Club.
What up, y'all, Good Sundaymorning, Welcome to face of vat.
This is everything popping right here inthe h Town community. Now, don't
forget March fifth. It is yourright to vote. Okay. You gotta
let your voice be heard. Youknow what I'm saying, So don't sleep
on that opportunity. Okay, anddon't forget. If you know anybody that
(00:22):
is doing it big in the ageTown community, be sure to hit me
up at I am DJ Superstar onthe Gram. Okay. Yes, and
just in case you did not know, we are kicking off Women's History Month,
okay. And not only is itWomen's History Month, but it is
also a very very very important timeand that is it is election time.
(00:48):
And I'm so happy to have somebodyon the line that has always been a
community leader. She is always,you know, lending a helping hand and
always involved like I always you areinvolved. And I'm so happy to have
Amanda Edwards on the line this morning. Good morning, good morning, and
thank you for having me this morning. I'm happy to do well. Thank
(01:11):
you so much. And first ofall, I just commend you for everything
that you've done in our community.I mean, you've worn a lot of
hats, okay, And that's allI got to say. Yeah, you've
worn a lot of hats. Nownot only are you running again for another
office, but before we get intothat, okay, I just want our
(01:34):
listeners to get to know, likewho Amanda Edwards is, Okay, Like
what's side of town you grew upfrom. I mean, you grew up
in in Houston, you know,Like just give us a little background so
that they know that you are ahometown girl. I'm Houston through and through,
(01:55):
you know. I grew up onthe north side of town. I
went to Eisenhour, so I wasin the Innwood in Akerson's area growing up.
So for the Mighty Eagles out thereoop. So I grew up on the
north side. And then after Igraduated, I went to Emory and then
(02:19):
Harvard. But then I came backhome to Houston, and I knew that
it was my goal to make adifference in the community, so I got
really involved. I was practicing lawwhen I got back, but I also
got really involved in the community.So I used to be the board president
over at Project Rowhouses over in ThirdWard, and I've spent quite a bit
of time kind of all over thecity trying to invest in the community so
(02:46):
that it can be better than itwas before I found it. In My
uncles used to own the CNL ShoeShop over on Lion's Avenue and Fifth Ward,
So we have a long history ofjust knowing that it's your responsibility to
country no matter what. Everybody hasa different role to play, but he's
got to play a role. It'snot a spectator sport to be in a
(03:08):
community. You've got to be helpingand advancing at every junction. Really.
So anyway, I have always Igrew up in the eighteen Congressional District,
have been born and raised there,educated there, and still live in the
eighteenth today. And so if youask me what some of my favorites are,
(03:29):
you're going to hear all my Houstoncome out. So it's been a
really incredible journey to be at homedoing what I love, which is serving
people, and of course in thecity that I love so much. Right,
So let me ask you this,because like you're born and raised,
(03:50):
I'm born and raised here in Houston, and I can see your passion for
the city. How long did youknow? Oh that, like this was
your calling, you know what I'msaying, Like, because what position did
you hold first, like city council, city council. Yeah, I ran
(04:12):
in twenty fifteen. That was myfirst election for a city wide city council
position. And I remember at thattime people said, well, why don't
you run for district cy And Isaid, no, I want to serve
the whole city. And you know, it was something I was passionate about
because you know, I had alot of opinions about what ought to be,
what I thought, what needed tosee, what I wanted to see
(04:35):
in my community. I grew uphere. I remember I left for a
little bit and went to the EastCoast. I was in d C.
I was in Boston, I wasin Atlanta, and I was in New
Orleans for a period of time whenI was in school. And I would
always say when I would be inthese different places like oh, Houston,
(04:56):
can Sole do X or so doY, And we just had had all
this untapped potential. And really,the you know, difference or distinction with
respective that untapped potential is really havingthe right leadership to unlock some of that,
and so when I looked at ourpotential and just the spirit of the
city, just our capabilities, wereally can do anything we set our minds
(05:20):
to. And I really believe that, and so wanted to come back home
and make a difference here in away that was authentic to Houston and also
that authentic to what the community reallywants, you know. And it's been
a really incredible journey for me.I think I've always been interested in public
(05:41):
service. I was just like,how long did you like how I was
young, I was interested in it. I just, you know, I'll
tell you a real serious story,but also, you know, something lighter.
So I'd always kind of found myselfbeing in leadership positions. Class president,
so I was senior class president,and I and I was all these
things. But what really gave mepurpose, because I'd always kind of gravitated
(06:05):
toward that. But what gave mepurpose was actually my dad. When I
was ten, my dad got verysick. He had something called multiple miloma,
which is a very aggressive form ofcancer, and he died from it
when I was seventeen years old.And I remember at the time that he
(06:28):
was, you know, getting histreatments and things like that. I learned
a lot and had to grow upreal fast, especially around the question of
health care access. And I rememberasking my dad questions because I was learning
about what this insurance stuff was,et cetera, et cetera. And in
doing so, I learned that,you know, my dad was, you
(06:50):
know, at the whim of whateverthe insurance company might say, and I
would ask him, well, whathappens if they say no, what would
happen next? And you would say, well, we just have to figure
something else out. And I wasyoung at the time, but I knew
that there wasn't the right answer,and that the right answer is that we
have to have systems that work forpeople, you know, because people's lives
(07:14):
are lying in the balance of thedecisions we make, the policies we create
or choose not to create. Andso that gave me the purpose behind my
interests. I had an interest already, but I then became kind of a
purpose filled mission, if you will. And so now my mission and service
is always about putting people over thepolitics, because I know that there are
(07:38):
real people whose lives are lying inthe balance and can't wait five six,
seven, eight years for us todebate subjects they need you to add now
and they need some transformative change.They don't need you to bring band aids
to a surgery. They needed toperform surgery when it's not persergery, right,
And that's kind of what really fuelsme. I think since an early
(08:01):
age, I was always interested inpublic service. Now, the one thing
I will say is I don't lovepolitics, which is yeah, oh my
god, politics, and it's likeyeah, but the ability to use those
platforms to impact the change is justdeeply in line with my purpose. You
(08:22):
know, you made like, well, you made several good points right then
and there, because well I kindof recently lost my dad twenty twenty one,
and I just have such and mymom last year twenty twenty three.
So yeah, I'm and I'm theonly child, and you know, entrepreneur
all that stuff. I just haveso many different outlooks on healthcare, and
(08:48):
it's just just so much that wedon't know as a community. You know,
I grew up in Sunnyside, soI mean I get it. So
I you know, I feel likethere's no advocacy for like our senior citizens,
and especially if they don't have anybodyhelping them and you know, in
(09:11):
the community or what's available to them, and like all of that, and
like what do you say to somebodythat wants to help, right, that
wants to like lend and a helpinghand, but this problem seems so big,
Like where would they start? Yeah, you know, everybody has a
(09:33):
different role to play when they're dealingwith issues and challenges within a community.
Some people get involved on the nonprofitside of the world, right, and
so you can volunteer, serve onthe board of directors, volunteer, you
know, your time. Some peoplebecome advocates, you know, going to
(09:54):
the state legislature or to the citycouncil or to a public forum to speak
out about issues and using their platformssocial media and otherwise to really elevate the
significance of an issue that people arenot discussing. And then of course you
can get involved by you know,getting involved directly in public service to go
(10:15):
about changing the laws that are resultingin you know, the dysfunction that we
see. And so it you know, it really is about whether you want
to be in front of the camerabehind the scenes, and you know,
in what role. You know,how much time do you want to commit
And I think everybody, especially herein Houston. I think that's just part
(10:37):
of our fabric our DNA. Wegive back the help we want to.
We want to pitch in and andbe our brothers and sisters keepers, and
I think that's the right. Youknow, we just have that kind of
spirit here. So it's really kindof figuring out what organizations are doing the
work are you does that? Doesthat connect with you? And you might
(10:58):
say no, I don't want todo that with them. Maybe we want
to raise awareness and maybe we wantto pass some new policies, and I
want to be an advocate talking tothe local elected officials in that area,
you know, and finding out what'savailable, what do you not know about?
Sometimes it's a disconnect on information too, in terms of ways that you
(11:20):
can connect people to help. Oneof the things that I after Harvey happened,
recognized that needed to be done wasthat we've got to overhaul what happens
with housing in our community. Andso I proposed something called a Housing Solution
Center, because you know, wedon't have coordination between the governmental agencies and
(11:43):
people get lost. There's no coordinationwith a nonprofit. So everybody kind of
runs their program and a vacuum andisolation. And you know, for someone
who's had damage to their home becauseof a storm or something like that,
they just are you know, bumpingtoo, it bumping into a bunch of
nose and it's like a maze ofnos. Yeah, what if we put
(12:05):
a place together that could be agateway to a yes or housing solutions as
I call that. Instead of peoplejust having rejections and different programs saying where
you don't fit, why don't wehave case managers that help you navigate where
you do fit? Man that part, you know, And oh my god,
that is such a good point becausenot only that, but like prime
(12:28):
exept, Like I went through thefreeze with my parents, you know what
I'm saying. And that's not evensomething that Houston goes through. Of course
we wasn't expecting a freeze, butyeah, not like that. But their
house experienced a lot of water damage, Like you know what I'm saying,
(12:48):
Not only that, just damage periodand I know that. You know,
we tried to reach out for certainthings, and I'm like, god,
Lee, what if I wasn't available, you know, like no, I
had to check on my parents' neighborsto make sure they're okay, you know,
how can I help them? Andsome of them didn't even know that
(13:09):
some of these things were available tothem, you know, So, yeah,
you just made some good points,like it's so crazy. Yeah,
it's not a there's no ability tonavigate. You don't even know what to
burn, you don't know what theresources that are available to you. And
then so often it's the case thatsome of that paperwork it's just overly burden
(13:33):
some so people give up when theyget rejected, they certainly give up.
And then when you're dealing with seniors, is overwhelming. And so we should
not be treating our you know,most vulnerable residents that way. You know,
we should be helping them. Ithink society ought to be judged by
the way it treats its most vulnerable. And if we treat our seniors like
(13:56):
that, that's that's that's horrific.Yeah, And we've just not set up
systems that are easy to navigate forthem, you know, think about you
know, when you're in this stageof life or when they're in that stage
of journey. It's you know,it's overwhelming enough. When you have a
catastrophe, it's even worse. Yeah, Yeah, it's very tough, big
(14:18):
time. Okay, So let's changeit up. Let's change the subject real
quick. So what made you wantto run for Congress? And can you
break down for those that don't know, like, what would your role be
in Congress? Absolutely? So Iannounced my candidacy for Congress back in June
(14:39):
of this year. For those thatmay recall, I was actually in the
mayor's race at the time, andCongresswoman she Lejackson Lee decided that she wanted
to come down and service Houston's nextmayor and come home, and so I
pivoted into the eighteen Congressional district race. And what my goal was in announcing
(15:00):
my candidacy and running for the seatwas, you know, I always intended
to create a community. My missionand vision for the for the community was
to create a community where every singleperson, no matter what their background,
no matter their age, no matterwhat they do, everybody under our vision
would have the opportunity not just toget by or be in the community,
(15:26):
but we want you to thrive inour community. And by way of creating
that type of mission and vision,that means we've got to have a leader
in place that can bring some newideas to the table when it comes to
some of the long standing challenges thatwe have in our community. But also
someone's got a real vision for thefuture. So when I think about issues
(15:50):
around access to healthcare, and asI mentioned to you, you know my
personal experience with that, we're economicopportunity ranging from you know, education all
the way to what are we doingfor our entrepreneurs you know, right now,
for example, health care and economiceconomic opportunity to be intersect quite a
bit. A lot of entrepreneurs arescared to leave that. You know,
(16:11):
they want to be an entrepreneur,but they don't want to leave that W
two insurance behind right right. Theydon't want to be one of the underinsured
Americans that exist today. So we'vegot to fix the Affordable Care Act.
It was never intended to be thefirst, the beginning, and the end
the way that it started, butit seems like that's where it's been left.
(16:33):
And so we've got to pick thatback, that ball back up and
move it down the court because we'renot advancing the you know, the needle
in that space as much as weshould because as people's lives are lying to
balance there. So that's something elseI'm passionate about housing infrastructure investments. A
lot of the flooding we experience mobilitychallenges. You know, we need to
(16:56):
be investing in multimodial transpitten options.You know, that's you know, trains
to get you where you need togo, highway expansion where necessary. But
it's not just highway expansion, right, we need different modes of travel.
Because our community is growing. It'sgoing to be an increase of about four
(17:17):
million people coming into our eight countyregion in the next twenty years. What
are we doing to prepare for thattype of growth. We've got to prepare
now. And so it's a lotof you know, things that we could
be doing to make our community asreach its full potential. And that's that's
the objective, that's the goal.And the tools and the toolkit that exist
(17:40):
in the congressional level include your abilityto one advocate, so you know,
you can certainly use that bully pulpitto you know, a an advocate for
various issues, whether it's women's reproductiverights or issues around voting rights, or
issues around you know, what's happeningwith higher ed or criminal justice reform.
(18:04):
But at the same time, youhave the ability to use that position to
respond to constituent needs. For instance, people might call you on issues about
a past for one minute, andthen the next thing they're calling about is,
you know, challenges with you know, being you know, having challenges
while they're overseas, and the nextthing might be a housing issue. You
(18:26):
know, it's a wide breadth ofkinds of issues that people might call your
off about, so you've got todo that, so you call that constituent
response. Then the other piece ofthis is there might be some grant funding
that you can make available, andthat's something that power of the purse is
important because of course projects can getfunded, there are ear marks that can
(18:49):
be allocated. So people aren't asaware of that as they used to be
because it went away for quite sometime and now it's back. And then
finally you can pass and move policy. And I think that's the key piece
of what I want to see improvementwith is that that's where you get a
lot of the transformative changes that I'mtalking about, and not just you know,
(19:14):
the one offs or reactions. You'vegot to see that systems are broken.
Sometimes you got to rewrite the laws, and so that it is that
the system works right now. Systems, many systems are broken, and many
of them are not walking for people. And so it's up to us to
decide that we're going to keep doingthe same things and then expect different results,
(19:34):
or we're gonna do something different inorder to get a different outcome.
And in this case, sometimes youhave to change the laws of the system
itself doesn't work. Man, Ijust lost my train of thought listening to
this trance, Like, what areyou saying? Oh my gosh, I'm
sitting there like shaking my head like, yeah, yes, of my questions.
(20:00):
I'm like, oh my gosh,I didn't lost my questions. So
many good points. Oh you knowwhat, Yes, I mean, because
you know, you know, youlearn this thing well, and that's something
else you know now, I don'teven think what they're learning this in school,
But that's a whole other topic.But oh my gosh, this it
(20:26):
just seems like we are in thisI don't know, weird conundrum of whatever
this world is, and I feellike we're going backwards. I man,
okay, two things. Let meask you this before I forget this training
of thought. Can you explain tothose including myself, what covers the eighteenth
(20:48):
Congressional district, Like from what sideof town to what side of town?
Is that wonderful question? And formany this is going to be an education.
I think I talked to at leasttwo people a day who tell me
at the beginning of our conversation,I don't live in your district, and
then by the end of the conversationthey learned that they live in the district.
(21:11):
That is a question that many peoplewill sadly find out the answer to
at the ballot booth. Because intwenty twenty two there was redistricting of the
eighteenth Congressional district, so it changedto shape and the boundaries changed, so
they took off a portion of itthat was south of six' ten,
(21:36):
a little bit north of that,but pretty much the Sunnyside area, all
that kind of right south of thethird ward that is, they chopped that
off. You know that, AlGreen? Oh my gosh, okay,
I'm sorry to cut you off.This is so random because I was like
when I early voted, because lastweek when I early voted, I was
(21:59):
really looking for your name, andI was like, I was like,
well where is she? And Iliterally was like, well, I know
we in this district. But man, you just made such a good point.
I now I probably miss there's nopublic service announcement when that happened.
So let me be clear. Peopledon't know. They put they put it
(22:22):
in the news a little bit,but it's not like you would think.
So people really find out when theygo vote that they've been set out of
the district. And so you probablygot removed from the district. And you
and people like to joke and say, well, I don't live in the
district anymore, but I didn't move. It moved in the district moved,
(22:44):
you know, And that's what happenedto you. So yeah, the district
moved. And then what did theyreplace this area with. Well, it's
a lot different now. They've replacedit with pockets of Cyprus, so it's
further north. So you to go. Let me go back. So third
Ward is in the district, Midtownis in the district, Downtown is in
(23:06):
the district. Edo is in thedistrict. Fourth Ward is in the district.
First and second ward a little bitof Denver Harbor or in the district,
the Oak Forest. Fifth Ward inthe district all the way to Seppard
Park Plaza Inwood Acres homes all inthe district and then it goes to Intercontinental
(23:30):
Airport that all you know Green's Pointarea that the district. Well, now
they added some new parts and theycut you out of the district. They
added some new parts. And thenew parts include pockets of Cyprus Spring branch
east of the east part of somebranches in the district north of itin Yeah,
(23:52):
a little bit south of Jersey Villageis in the district now. Going
along the beltway on the north side, a lot of that is in the
district now. And you go furthereast. Guess what else is in the
district? The city of Umble what, Yes, like some would all down
there, but it's like half ofit, and so it just depends on
(24:15):
what side of the street you're on. It's half of Umbo and half of
a task caseda both and most peoplewill look at me like I up,
and I'm like, no, here'ssome real map, and they'll see that
they're in the map and they're like, oh, I didn't know that.
That is so interesting. Yeah,it's such a different district. So now
(24:37):
it's more suburban. It's kind ofgot a really odd shape. It goes
to Clinton Park, Pleasantville also inthe distriction of menchal Wow and then verdie
Forest, Houston Gardens, set ofgas Cashmere all in the district. So
it is a very urban and suburbandistrict at the very same time. What
(24:57):
is that like east and west?Like it runs like it's it's law.
It's like a circle. It lookslike a light bulb with a hole in
the middle, and the hole inthe middle belongs to Sylvia Garcia. The
area goes to her, but thenthe rest of it are surrounding. It
(25:18):
is the eighteenth so it is areally weird shape and so the bottom is
you know, kind of solid.But once you get above downtown, it
starts getting spread out to the eastand of the west once you get above
downtown, but it's you know,concentrated on the south south portion of it
(25:40):
of the district, so it doesn'tgo very far east or west on the
so crazy, man, oh man, Okay, it looks like, okay,
we're gonna have to have a parttoo, just just having to talk
just on I mean this that hasintrigued me because I was really like,
because I'm not gonna lie, yeah, I will say they'll literally go up
(26:02):
to the person and say, oh, you gave me the wrong ballot or
I don't have my person on here. They're like, no anymore you your
district is been redrawn. That needsto change or something. Now that's weird
in itself. Yeah, people needto be made aware and it's just not
a I don't know why that practiceis the way that it is. It
(26:25):
should be more widespread, more widelyknown. That's not cool because yeah,
members, Yeah, that's not cool. Because I went voting with my friend
and literally when I walked out,I was like, I ain't see.
I didn't even see and were like, what happened? Yes, I'm wrong,
And I was really like I waslike, oh, well, what
(26:47):
if they just purposely lived? Imean, all these thoughts just start going
through my hand get her to gether. I was like, well,
what happened? No, this isI mean, oh my gosh. I
literally I went back to the beginningand went back over. It was like
(27:08):
that I forget something like it wasthat kind of thing. I was like,
well, I just said, okay, well and see people don't even
know that part. Oh we're goingto have to do a whole second part.
Okay, listen, okay, listen, I don't have. And the
thing is, this is something thatjust because you've gone through school, high
school, college, whatever you stufflike this, we have to have these
(27:33):
discussions on ongoing because that doesn't haveanything to do with your schooling, right,
It's just a knowledge of what hashappened, changes that are coming down
that you're not being made aware of. That's where leadership you've got to do
a better job of communicating about thiskind of stuff with the residents. Man,
big time, listen, we areat our time, and I hate
(27:55):
when things happen like this because Ican talk hold and on because I'm like,
oh my gosh, like some ofthese things I had no idea.
But before we get out of here, just let our listeners know, you
know how important it is to voteMarch fifth, and what can you leave
us with in this last like threeminutes. You know a lot of people
(28:18):
say I don't want to participate inthe primaries. This is the primary election
for seats like mine. This iswhere the real decision gets made if you're
in a safe Democratic seat or whatare the other opposite party? And so
participating in the primary means that youget to have a real say on who
the nominee for your party is let'ssay you don't identify with a party,
(28:44):
that's okay too. You pick aparty's primary to participate in because you want
to make this election as to whoyou're going to be voting on in November.
You don't want somebody else making adecision for you. So I know
there's been a lot of election fatigue. We're just coming off of the heels
of a mayor's race that had arunoff. But you've got to make your
(29:07):
voice heard. Your life, yourcommunity, your family is depending on you
to be active and a participant andnot a spectator in this engagement. And
that's what people have to realize isparticipation doesn't always mean that you're going to
have your favorites or your all starlineup. Sometimes you're picking between the lesser
(29:30):
of two evils. But there arealways consequences for inaction. And just remember
that because we experienced that with havingsomeone named President Trump come into office,
right, and so we're still notwe've still not recovered from the damage costs
from that. And so participate,Go vote, tell your family, your
(29:52):
friends to do the same. Iwill tell you the numbers for early voting
have not been as high as whatpeople have suggest that they would be,
and so we've got to really makeup for it on election day. So
make sure you go vote. Youencourage your friends and family to do the
same so that you can have asmuch influence on the community you want to
(30:15):
see and you want to create andyou're part of that change. Man.
Amanda, thank you so much.This has been so great. I think
you should do like a political acolumn like something every month on I feel
what Shaw coming on? Yes,because this was like I learned so much,
like and I really want to finishtalking about that whole redistrict thing,
(30:37):
like that's crazy. Let's do apart two. Okay, Well I'm down
listen. I really thank you.Oh. Let everybody know how they can
follow you. Oh yes, yes, yes you can go online. Our
website is www dot Edwards for Houstondot com. Our Instagram is Amanda K.
Edwards t X, Twitter ak Edwardst X. I'm also on Facebook
(31:00):
Connecticut Edwards TX and on cheek talkas well. All right, so you
can follow us on social find us, we block walk, we're phone banking,
we're doing all the things. Andso right now my opponent and I
are neck and neck in the polls. So every single voice vote have you
(31:21):
know, person that goes to thepoll will have an influence on what happens
with this race. So this willbe the first time in thirty years.
Wow, we will have the opportunityto select new leadership and it's time for
a new voice, new solutions sowe can get some different results in our
community. So go vote, participate, and check us out online and share
(31:45):
that with your family and your friendsas well. Man, Thank you so
much, mana, this has beengreat. Okay. Part two is coming
soon, y'all. To coming soon, y'all. Yeah, a wonderful rest
of your day. Thank you youtoo. All right, y'all, I
will have everything up on my blogA ninety three seven of v Houston dot
Com keyword supersar And let me tellyou something, y'all have better get out
and vote, Okay, quit playing. I don't know why you think your
(32:09):
voice not being heard, because weneed your voice, okay, so go
vote now. Listen, man,I need you to keep it locked all
day cause yeah, we're the plug. We're hooking you up. And uh
yeah, that's all I gotta say. Hey, I'll see y'all next week
on Face the V Your Girls,Superstar Man, I'm back in an hour,
right here on the V
Ninety three seven to vat Hetown's veryhip hop home of the Breakfast Club.
What up, y'all, Good Sundaymorning, Welcome to face of vat.
This is everything popping right here inthe h Town community. Now, don't
forget March fifth. It is yourright to vote. Okay. You gotta
let your voice be heard. Youknow what I'm saying, So don't sleep
on that opportunity. Okay, anddon't forget. If you know anybody that
(00:22):
is doing it big in the ageTown community, be sure to hit me
up at I am DJ Superstar onthe Gram. Okay. Yes, and
just in case you did not know, we are kicking off Women's History Month,
okay. And not only is itWomen's History Month, but it is
also a very very very important timeand that is it is election time.
(00:48):
And I'm so happy to have somebodyon the line that has always been a
community leader. She is always,you know, lending a helping hand and
always involved like I always you areinvolved. And I'm so happy to have
Amanda Edwards on the line this morning. Good morning, good morning, and
thank you for having me this morning. I'm happy to do well. Thank
(01:11):
you so much. And first ofall, I just commend you for everything
that you've done in our community.I mean, you've worn a lot of
hats, okay, And that's allI got to say. Yeah, you've
worn a lot of hats. Nownot only are you running again for another
office, but before we get intothat, okay, I just want our
(01:34):
listeners to get to know, likewho Amanda Edwards is, Okay, Like
what's side of town you grew upfrom. I mean, you grew up
in in Houston, you know,Like just give us a little background so
that they know that you are ahometown girl. I'm Houston through and through,
(01:55):
you know. I grew up onthe north side of town. I
went to Eisenhour, so I wasin the Innwood in Akerson's area growing up.
So for the Mighty Eagles out thereoop. So I grew up on the
north side. And then after Igraduated, I went to Emory and then
(02:19):
Harvard. But then I came backhome to Houston, and I knew that
it was my goal to make adifference in the community, so I got
really involved. I was practicing lawwhen I got back, but I also
got really involved in the community.So I used to be the board president
over at Project Rowhouses over in ThirdWard, and I've spent quite a bit
of time kind of all over thecity trying to invest in the community so
(02:46):
that it can be better than itwas before I found it. In My
uncles used to own the CNL ShoeShop over on Lion's Avenue and Fifth Ward,
So we have a long history ofjust knowing that it's your responsibility to
country no matter what. Everybody hasa different role to play, but he's
got to play a role. It'snot a spectator sport to be in a
(03:08):
community. You've got to be helpingand advancing at every junction. Really.
So anyway, I have always Igrew up in the eighteen Congressional District,
have been born and raised there,educated there, and still live in the
eighteenth today. And so if youask me what some of my favorites are,
(03:29):
you're going to hear all my Houstoncome out. So it's been a
really incredible journey to be at homedoing what I love, which is serving
people, and of course in thecity that I love so much. Right,
So let me ask you this,because like you're born and raised,
(03:50):
I'm born and raised here in Houston, and I can see your passion for
the city. How long did youknow? Oh that, like this was
your calling, you know what I'msaying, Like, because what position did
you hold first, like city council, city council. Yeah, I ran
(04:12):
in twenty fifteen. That was myfirst election for a city wide city council
position. And I remember at thattime people said, well, why don't
you run for district cy And Isaid, no, I want to serve
the whole city. And you know, it was something I was passionate about
because you know, I had alot of opinions about what ought to be,
what I thought, what needed tosee, what I wanted to see
(04:35):
in my community. I grew uphere. I remember I left for a
little bit and went to the EastCoast. I was in d C.
I was in Boston, I wasin Atlanta, and I was in New
Orleans for a period of time whenI was in school. And I would
always say when I would be inthese different places like oh, Houston,
(04:56):
can Sole do X or so doY, And we just had had all
this untapped potential. And really,the you know, difference or distinction with
respective that untapped potential is really havingthe right leadership to unlock some of that,
and so when I looked at ourpotential and just the spirit of the
city, just our capabilities, wereally can do anything we set our minds
(05:20):
to. And I really believe that, and so wanted to come back home
and make a difference here in away that was authentic to Houston and also
that authentic to what the community reallywants, you know. And it's been
a really incredible journey for me.I think I've always been interested in public
(05:41):
service. I was just like,how long did you like how I was
young, I was interested in it. I just, you know, I'll
tell you a real serious story,but also, you know, something lighter.
So I'd always kind of found myselfbeing in leadership positions. Class president,
so I was senior class president,and I and I was all these
things. But what really gave mepurpose, because I'd always kind of gravitated
(06:05):
toward that. But what gave mepurpose was actually my dad. When I
was ten, my dad got verysick. He had something called multiple miloma,
which is a very aggressive form ofcancer, and he died from it
when I was seventeen years old.And I remember at the time that he
(06:28):
was, you know, getting histreatments and things like that. I learned
a lot and had to grow upreal fast, especially around the question of
health care access. And I rememberasking my dad questions because I was learning
about what this insurance stuff was,et cetera, et cetera. And in
doing so, I learned that,you know, my dad was, you
(06:50):
know, at the whim of whateverthe insurance company might say, and I
would ask him, well, whathappens if they say no, what would
happen next? And you would say, well, we just have to figure
something else out. And I wasyoung at the time, but I knew
that there wasn't the right answer,and that the right answer is that we
have to have systems that work forpeople, you know, because people's lives
(07:14):
are lying in the balance of thedecisions we make, the policies we create
or choose not to create. Andso that gave me the purpose behind my
interests. I had an interest already, but I then became kind of a
purpose filled mission, if you will. And so now my mission and service
is always about putting people over thepolitics, because I know that there are
(07:38):
real people whose lives are lying inthe balance and can't wait five six,
seven, eight years for us todebate subjects they need you to add now
and they need some transformative change.They don't need you to bring band aids
to a surgery. They needed toperform surgery when it's not persergery, right,
And that's kind of what really fuelsme. I think since an early
(08:01):
age, I was always interested inpublic service. Now, the one thing
I will say is I don't lovepolitics, which is yeah, oh my
god, politics, and it's likeyeah, but the ability to use those
platforms to impact the change is justdeeply in line with my purpose. You
(08:22):
know, you made like, well, you made several good points right then
and there, because well I kindof recently lost my dad twenty twenty one,
and I just have such and mymom last year twenty twenty three.
So yeah, I'm and I'm theonly child, and you know, entrepreneur
all that stuff. I just haveso many different outlooks on healthcare, and
(08:48):
it's just just so much that wedon't know as a community. You know,
I grew up in Sunnyside, soI mean I get it. So
I you know, I feel likethere's no advocacy for like our senior citizens,
and especially if they don't have anybodyhelping them and you know, in
(09:11):
the community or what's available to them, and like all of that, and
like what do you say to somebodythat wants to help, right, that
wants to like lend and a helpinghand, but this problem seems so big,
Like where would they start? Yeah, you know, everybody has a
(09:33):
different role to play when they're dealingwith issues and challenges within a community.
Some people get involved on the nonprofitside of the world, right, and
so you can volunteer, serve onthe board of directors, volunteer, you
know, your time. Some peoplebecome advocates, you know, going to
(09:54):
the state legislature or to the citycouncil or to a public forum to speak
out about issues and using their platformssocial media and otherwise to really elevate the
significance of an issue that people arenot discussing. And then of course you
can get involved by you know,getting involved directly in public service to go
(10:15):
about changing the laws that are resultingin you know, the dysfunction that we
see. And so it you know, it really is about whether you want
to be in front of the camerabehind the scenes, and you know,
in what role. You know,how much time do you want to commit
And I think everybody, especially herein Houston. I think that's just part
(10:37):
of our fabric our DNA. Wegive back the help we want to.
We want to pitch in and andbe our brothers and sisters keepers, and
I think that's the right. Youknow, we just have that kind of
spirit here. So it's really kindof figuring out what organizations are doing the
work are you does that? Doesthat connect with you? And you might
(10:58):
say no, I don't want todo that with them. Maybe we want
to raise awareness and maybe we wantto pass some new policies, and I
want to be an advocate talking tothe local elected officials in that area,
you know, and finding out what'savailable, what do you not know about?
Sometimes it's a disconnect on information too, in terms of ways that you
(11:20):
can connect people to help. Oneof the things that I after Harvey happened,
recognized that needed to be done wasthat we've got to overhaul what happens
with housing in our community. Andso I proposed something called a Housing Solution
Center, because you know, wedon't have coordination between the governmental agencies and
(11:43):
people get lost. There's no coordinationwith a nonprofit. So everybody kind of
runs their program and a vacuum andisolation. And you know, for someone
who's had damage to their home becauseof a storm or something like that,
they just are you know, bumpingtoo, it bumping into a bunch of
nose and it's like a maze ofnos. Yeah, what if we put
(12:05):
a place together that could be agateway to a yes or housing solutions as
I call that. Instead of peoplejust having rejections and different programs saying where
you don't fit, why don't wehave case managers that help you navigate where
you do fit? Man that part, you know, And oh my god,
that is such a good point becausenot only that, but like prime
(12:28):
exept, Like I went through thefreeze with my parents, you know what
I'm saying. And that's not evensomething that Houston goes through. Of course
we wasn't expecting a freeze, butyeah, not like that. But their
house experienced a lot of water damage, Like you know what I'm saying,
(12:48):
Not only that, just damage periodand I know that. You know,
we tried to reach out for certainthings, and I'm like, god,
Lee, what if I wasn't available, you know, like no, I
had to check on my parents' neighborsto make sure they're okay, you know,
how can I help them? Andsome of them didn't even know that
(13:09):
some of these things were available tothem, you know, So, yeah,
you just made some good points,like it's so crazy. Yeah,
it's not a there's no ability tonavigate. You don't even know what to
burn, you don't know what theresources that are available to you. And
then so often it's the case thatsome of that paperwork it's just overly burden
(13:33):
some so people give up when theyget rejected, they certainly give up.
And then when you're dealing with seniors, is overwhelming. And so we should
not be treating our you know,most vulnerable residents that way. You know,
we should be helping them. Ithink society ought to be judged by
the way it treats its most vulnerable. And if we treat our seniors like
(13:56):
that, that's that's that's horrific.Yeah, And we've just not set up
systems that are easy to navigate forthem, you know, think about you
know, when you're in this stageof life or when they're in that stage
of journey. It's you know,it's overwhelming enough. When you have a
catastrophe, it's even worse. Yeah, Yeah, it's very tough, big
(14:18):
time. Okay, So let's changeit up. Let's change the subject real
quick. So what made you wantto run for Congress? And can you
break down for those that don't know, like, what would your role be
in Congress? Absolutely? So Iannounced my candidacy for Congress back in June
(14:39):
of this year. For those thatmay recall, I was actually in the
mayor's race at the time, andCongresswoman she Lejackson Lee decided that she wanted
to come down and service Houston's nextmayor and come home, and so I
pivoted into the eighteen Congressional district race. And what my goal was in announcing
(15:00):
my candidacy and running for the seatwas, you know, I always intended
to create a community. My missionand vision for the for the community was
to create a community where every singleperson, no matter what their background,
no matter their age, no matterwhat they do, everybody under our vision
would have the opportunity not just toget by or be in the community,
(15:26):
but we want you to thrive inour community. And by way of creating
that type of mission and vision,that means we've got to have a leader
in place that can bring some newideas to the table when it comes to
some of the long standing challenges thatwe have in our community. But also
someone's got a real vision for thefuture. So when I think about issues
(15:50):
around access to healthcare, and asI mentioned to you, you know my
personal experience with that, we're economicopportunity ranging from you know, education all
the way to what are we doingfor our entrepreneurs you know, right now,
for example, health care and economiceconomic opportunity to be intersect quite a
bit. A lot of entrepreneurs arescared to leave that. You know,
(16:11):
they want to be an entrepreneur,but they don't want to leave that W
two insurance behind right right. Theydon't want to be one of the underinsured
Americans that exist today. So we'vegot to fix the Affordable Care Act.
It was never intended to be thefirst, the beginning, and the end
the way that it started, butit seems like that's where it's been left.
(16:33):
And so we've got to pick thatback, that ball back up and
move it down the court because we'renot advancing the you know, the needle
in that space as much as weshould because as people's lives are lying to
balance there. So that's something elseI'm passionate about housing infrastructure investments. A
lot of the flooding we experience mobilitychallenges. You know, we need to
(16:56):
be investing in multimodial transpitten options.You know, that's you know, trains
to get you where you need togo, highway expansion where necessary. But
it's not just highway expansion, right, we need different modes of travel.
Because our community is growing. It'sgoing to be an increase of about four
(17:17):
million people coming into our eight countyregion in the next twenty years. What
are we doing to prepare for thattype of growth. We've got to prepare
now. And so it's a lotof you know, things that we could
be doing to make our community asreach its full potential. And that's that's
the objective, that's the goal.And the tools and the toolkit that exist
(17:40):
in the congressional level include your abilityto one advocate, so you know,
you can certainly use that bully pulpitto you know, a an advocate for
various issues, whether it's women's reproductiverights or issues around voting rights, or
issues around you know, what's happeningwith higher ed or criminal justice reform.
(18:04):
But at the same time, youhave the ability to use that position to
respond to constituent needs. For instance, people might call you on issues about
a past for one minute, andthen the next thing they're calling about is,
you know, challenges with you know, being you know, having challenges
while they're overseas, and the nextthing might be a housing issue. You
(18:26):
know, it's a wide breadth ofkinds of issues that people might call your
off about, so you've got todo that, so you call that constituent
response. Then the other piece ofthis is there might be some grant funding
that you can make available, andthat's something that power of the purse is
important because of course projects can getfunded, there are ear marks that can
(18:49):
be allocated. So people aren't asaware of that as they used to be
because it went away for quite sometime and now it's back. And then
finally you can pass and move policy. And I think that's the key piece
of what I want to see improvementwith is that that's where you get a
lot of the transformative changes that I'mtalking about, and not just you know,
(19:14):
the one offs or reactions. You'vegot to see that systems are broken.
Sometimes you got to rewrite the laws, and so that it is that
the system works right now. Systems, many systems are broken, and many
of them are not walking for people. And so it's up to us to
decide that we're going to keep doingthe same things and then expect different results,
(19:34):
or we're gonna do something different inorder to get a different outcome.
And in this case, sometimes youhave to change the laws of the system
itself doesn't work. Man, Ijust lost my train of thought listening to
this trance, Like, what areyou saying? Oh my gosh, I'm
sitting there like shaking my head like, yeah, yes, of my questions.
(20:00):
I'm like, oh my gosh,I didn't lost my questions. So
many good points. Oh you knowwhat, Yes, I mean, because
you know, you know, youlearn this thing well, and that's something
else you know now, I don'teven think what they're learning this in school,
But that's a whole other topic.But oh my gosh, this it
(20:26):
just seems like we are in thisI don't know, weird conundrum of whatever
this world is, and I feellike we're going backwards. I man,
okay, two things. Let meask you this before I forget this training
of thought. Can you explain tothose including myself, what covers the eighteenth
(20:48):
Congressional district, Like from what sideof town to what side of town?
Is that wonderful question? And formany this is going to be an education.
I think I talked to at leasttwo people a day who tell me
at the beginning of our conversation,I don't live in your district, and
then by the end of the conversationthey learned that they live in the district.
(21:11):
That is a question that many peoplewill sadly find out the answer to
at the ballot booth. Because intwenty twenty two there was redistricting of the
eighteenth Congressional district, so it changedto shape and the boundaries changed, so
they took off a portion of itthat was south of six' ten,
(21:36):
a little bit north of that,but pretty much the Sunnyside area, all
that kind of right south of thethird ward that is, they chopped that
off. You know that, AlGreen? Oh my gosh, okay,
I'm sorry to cut you off.This is so random because I was like
when I early voted, because lastweek when I early voted, I was
(21:59):
really looking for your name, andI was like, I was like,
well where is she? And Iliterally was like, well, I know
we in this district. But man, you just made such a good point.
I now I probably miss there's nopublic service announcement when that happened.
So let me be clear. Peopledon't know. They put they put it
(22:22):
in the news a little bit,but it's not like you would think.
So people really find out when theygo vote that they've been set out of
the district. And so you probablygot removed from the district. And you
and people like to joke and say, well, I don't live in the
district anymore, but I didn't move. It moved in the district moved,
(22:44):
you know, And that's what happenedto you. So yeah, the district
moved. And then what did theyreplace this area with. Well, it's
a lot different now. They've replacedit with pockets of Cyprus, so it's
further north. So you to go. Let me go back. So third
Ward is in the district, Midtownis in the district, Downtown is in
(23:06):
the district. Edo is in thedistrict. Fourth Ward is in the district.
First and second ward a little bitof Denver Harbor or in the district,
the Oak Forest. Fifth Ward inthe district all the way to Seppard
Park Plaza Inwood Acres homes all inthe district and then it goes to Intercontinental
(23:30):
Airport that all you know Green's Pointarea that the district. Well, now
they added some new parts and theycut you out of the district. They
added some new parts. And thenew parts include pockets of Cyprus Spring branch
east of the east part of somebranches in the district north of itin Yeah,
(23:52):
a little bit south of Jersey Villageis in the district now. Going
along the beltway on the north side, a lot of that is in the
district now. And you go furthereast. Guess what else is in the
district? The city of Umble what, Yes, like some would all down
there, but it's like half ofit, and so it just depends on
(24:15):
what side of the street you're on. It's half of Umbo and half of
a task caseda both and most peoplewill look at me like I up,
and I'm like, no, here'ssome real map, and they'll see that
they're in the map and they're like, oh, I didn't know that.
That is so interesting. Yeah,it's such a different district. So now
(24:37):
it's more suburban. It's kind ofgot a really odd shape. It goes
to Clinton Park, Pleasantville also inthe distriction of menchal Wow and then verdie
Forest, Houston Gardens, set ofgas Cashmere all in the district. So
it is a very urban and suburbandistrict at the very same time. What
(24:57):
is that like east and west?Like it runs like it's it's law.
It's like a circle. It lookslike a light bulb with a hole in
the middle, and the hole inthe middle belongs to Sylvia Garcia. The
area goes to her, but thenthe rest of it are surrounding. It
(25:18):
is the eighteenth so it is areally weird shape and so the bottom is
you know, kind of solid.But once you get above downtown, it
starts getting spread out to the eastand of the west once you get above
downtown, but it's you know,concentrated on the south south portion of it
(25:40):
of the district, so it doesn'tgo very far east or west on the
so crazy, man, oh man, Okay, it looks like, okay,
we're gonna have to have a parttoo, just just having to talk
just on I mean this that hasintrigued me because I was really like,
because I'm not gonna lie, yeah, I will say they'll literally go up
(26:02):
to the person and say, oh, you gave me the wrong ballot or
I don't have my person on here. They're like, no anymore you your
district is been redrawn. That needsto change or something. Now that's weird
in itself. Yeah, people needto be made aware and it's just not
a I don't know why that practiceis the way that it is. It
(26:25):
should be more widespread, more widelyknown. That's not cool because yeah,
members, Yeah, that's not cool. Because I went voting with my friend
and literally when I walked out,I was like, I ain't see.
I didn't even see and were like, what happened? Yes, I'm wrong,
And I was really like I waslike, oh, well, what
(26:47):
if they just purposely lived? Imean, all these thoughts just start going
through my hand get her to gether. I was like, well,
what happened? No, this isI mean, oh my gosh. I
literally I went back to the beginningand went back over. It was like
(27:08):
that I forget something like it wasthat kind of thing. I was like,
well, I just said, okay, well and see people don't even
know that part. Oh we're goingto have to do a whole second part.
Okay, listen, okay, listen, I don't have. And the
thing is, this is something thatjust because you've gone through school, high
school, college, whatever you stufflike this, we have to have these
(27:33):
discussions on ongoing because that doesn't haveanything to do with your schooling, right,
It's just a knowledge of what hashappened, changes that are coming down
that you're not being made aware of. That's where leadership you've got to do
a better job of communicating about thiskind of stuff with the residents. Man,
big time, listen, we areat our time, and I hate
(27:55):
when things happen like this because Ican talk hold and on because I'm like,
oh my gosh, like some ofthese things I had no idea.
But before we get out of here, just let our listeners know, you
know how important it is to voteMarch fifth, and what can you leave
us with in this last like threeminutes. You know a lot of people
(28:18):
say I don't want to participate inthe primaries. This is the primary election
for seats like mine. This iswhere the real decision gets made if you're
in a safe Democratic seat or whatare the other opposite party? And so
participating in the primary means that youget to have a real say on who
the nominee for your party is let'ssay you don't identify with a party,
(28:44):
that's okay too. You pick aparty's primary to participate in because you want
to make this election as to whoyou're going to be voting on in November.
You don't want somebody else making adecision for you. So I know
there's been a lot of election fatigue. We're just coming off of the heels
of a mayor's race that had arunoff. But you've got to make your
(29:07):
voice heard. Your life, yourcommunity, your family is depending on you
to be active and a participant andnot a spectator in this engagement. And
that's what people have to realize isparticipation doesn't always mean that you're going to
have your favorites or your all starlineup. Sometimes you're picking between the lesser
(29:30):
of two evils. But there arealways consequences for inaction. And just remember
that because we experienced that with havingsomeone named President Trump come into office,
right, and so we're still notwe've still not recovered from the damage costs
from that. And so participate,Go vote, tell your family, your
(29:52):
friends to do the same. Iwill tell you the numbers for early voting
have not been as high as whatpeople have suggest that they would be,
and so we've got to really makeup for it on election day. So
make sure you go vote. Youencourage your friends and family to do the
same so that you can have asmuch influence on the community you want to
(30:15):
see and you want to create andyou're part of that change. Man.
Amanda, thank you so much.This has been so great. I think
you should do like a political acolumn like something every month on I feel
what Shaw coming on? Yes,because this was like I learned so much,
like and I really want to finishtalking about that whole redistrict thing,
(30:37):
like that's crazy. Let's do apart two. Okay, Well I'm down
listen. I really thank you.Oh. Let everybody know how they can
follow you. Oh yes, yes, yes you can go online. Our
website is www dot Edwards for Houstondot com. Our Instagram is Amanda K.
Edwards t X, Twitter ak Edwardst X. I'm also on Facebook
(31:00):
Connecticut Edwards TX and on cheek talkas well. All right, so you
can follow us on social find us, we block walk, we're phone banking,
we're doing all the things. Andso right now my opponent and I
are neck and neck in the polls. So every single voice vote have you
(31:21):
know, person that goes to thepoll will have an influence on what happens
with this race. So this willbe the first time in thirty years.
Wow, we will have the opportunityto select new leadership and it's time for
a new voice, new solutions sowe can get some different results in our
community. So go vote, participate, and check us out online and share
(31:45):
that with your family and your friendsas well. Man, Thank you so
much, mana, this has beengreat. Okay. Part two is coming
soon, y'all. To coming soon, y'all. Yeah, a wonderful rest
of your day. Thank you youtoo. All right, y'all, I
will have everything up on my blogA ninety three seven of v Houston dot
Com keyword supersar And let me tellyou something, y'all have better get out
and vote, Okay, quit playing. I don't know why you think your
(32:09):
voice not being heard, because weneed your voice, okay, so go
vote now. Listen, man,I need you to keep it locked all
day cause yeah, we're the plug. We're hooking you up. And uh
yeah, that's all I gotta say. Hey, I'll see y'all next week
on Face the V Your Girls,Superstar Man, I'm back in an hour,
right here on the V
Popular Podcasts
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.