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Independent Thought started 5 years ago, in January 2020. It started out as a nothing more than a podcast for me to share my feelings surrounding the 2020 election. In 2021, I started routinely having guests on the show, to discuss our political news cycle.
While I enjoyed all of the guests I’ve had on over the years, I’ve always especially enjoyed my conversations with folks running for office, or elected officials…bonus points if they were someone in my own community.
As a political commentator, I think it’s incredibly important to speak with folks who are directly involved in the political process.
Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to speak with folks running for City Council, Municipal Judge, Mayor, U.S. House, U.S. Senate & Governor.
Today I’m excited to bring to you the latest edition in this series! And, it’s my first time speaking with a member of my state legislature.
SJ Howell - Democratic Legislator HD 100 - Montana State Legislature
SJ Howell was recently re-elected to the Montana State House of Representatives, for their 2nd term.
Howell was elected in the 2022 election to the 95th district, making them the first non-binary person to be elected to the state legislature in Montana.
SJ is also the Executive Director of Catalyst Montana - which uplifts low-income and marginalized Montanans through community organizing, policy advocacy, research, and leadership development.
SJ is currently sponsoring legislation in the Montana House, that will improve and expand the function of Medicaid in the state.
In this discussion we talk about:
0:57 - The current state of the Democratic Party
4:40 - Impacts of Donald Trump’s policies
8:30 - Anti-Trans legislation
15:30 - Why organizing is so important
20:07 - The housing crisis
33:10 - Medicaid access
37:47 - Voting rights
39:41 - State government power vs Local government power
42:30 - Fun question & closing
For those newer to Substack, you can DOWNLOAD this episode directly from here, if you’d rather listen to it as a podcast. If any of you have issues downloading the video, please let me know & I’ll be glad to assist you.
What are your thoughts about the episode? Please let me know below!
I’m planning on having more guest conversations like this one in the future.
For those who are interested in learning more about SJ, you can check out their Instagram account or, their Montana State Legislator page .
Until next time,
Desmond
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