Bedros Keuilian Podcast Show - 179. Unifying Californians and Inspiring Change

Episode Date: February 15, 2021

It's no secret that California has been a Democratic stronghold for years and the once-thriving economy is on the decline. While Silicon Valley produces tech giants and billionaires, the rest of Californians struggle to merely get by.  Today, Bedros brings you another Inside Look episode into 2022 California Governor hopeful and Republican, Major Williams. Major has been a driving force for California's people, engaging in community outreach and addressing policy that will make life in California the best it can be for all citizens. Major explains the problems California faces, such as the homelessness that plagues its streets, its ridiculous high taxes, his outlook on immigration, how its elected officials dictate and delegate rather than serve, and so much more.  Here's what you don't want to miss: 2:50 Running for the Governor's seat from a different perspective that California is not used to 4:30 How Major's approach and solutions at the city level made him an obvious choice to run for Governor  5:28 How Major's grandfather influenced him to "step up" in a dream that has now become his driving force 6:00 The importance of reaching everyday people like himself to learn what's important to them 7:55 Ways to restore California, move forward collectively, and how politicians and citizens can work together 9:58 How Major's background in the entertainment industry, as a marketing executive, and his ability to create structure in leadership makes him uniquely qualified to be Governor  11:22 Major's frustration with politicians and elected officials not dealing in the world of "completion" 11:56 How being an athlete and entrepreneur has programmed his DNA to "get shit done" 13:36 Majors response to being a Black Republican in a Democratic-run state  14:31 His superpower and gift that allows him to reach people across demographics and across the political isle   17:15 Major identifies homelessness as a top priority, how it's become a business in California, and what he plans to do about it 22:41 How California's current mismanagement of spending seems to be the only solution to get things done 23:38 How California must become more business-friendly and his copy and past approach to success 26:10 Major’s first 90 days in office and the executive orders designed to give "choice" back to the citizens of California 28:30 Immigration reform, sanctuary cities, and how massive amounts of tax dollars fund illegal immigration  31:42 How blending work and life helps to unite his family and the undying support of his wife 34:55 Major recalls his evolution from "saggy pants" and blaming the world to wanting more out of life 37:00 What caused his shift from being a democrat to a republican after becoming more informed about policy 39:16 Major's confidence to craft the right message, reach people on a personal level, and the importance of the Black community

I am an entrepreneur, small business owner, and market it for the last 20 years, meaning I have to have an imagination on how to keep the lights on every single month for me and my wife and my family. Right. And that's the difference. We need problem solvers, collaborators, not singular individuals like Gavin Newsom right now. It's like one size of it all, governorship. Welcome to another Empire show. This is Beiros Kulian, and this is an inside look.

Today we've got an awesome guest with us for this Inside Look episode, and it is someone who's running for the governor. seat in a great state of California here, Mr. Major Williams. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. Yes, sir. Thanks for coming out to HQ. Now, you live in Pasadena. Yes, yes, Pasadena. But is California, has it been home for you your whole life? No, I'm originally from Dallas, Texas. I came out here on a visit 21 years ago. On the third day, I met the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Gotcha. And I just never went back. So she's a California native. Yes, she was born in Altadena, which is right. into Pasadena. Sure. Gotcha. So, of course, you made that move because you had no choice.

Had no choice. Yeah, no choice. Good man. Good man. And so obviously living here in California for 21 years now, 21, you've seen a lot of changes. Absolutely. In our great state. And oftentimes, when people reach out to me, they're like, hey, Bezos, when you're making all this money as an entrepreneur and you're paying 8 to 12 percent higher taxes, don't you want to move to another state? Well, I've had the good fortune to travel to every state in the union. Right. And I just love California. There's something special about what we have with the weather, with the mountains, with the ocean, and I choose not to be run out of this state.

And for that reason, I've decided that I'm not going to run out. I'm not going to leave like everyone else. I'm going to stay and fight and going to make California great again. Right. And, of course, that's when I, as I was going through that mental process throughout mid-2020, Because there was a time during that period where I was like, maybe we want to leave after all. Maybe this is the time. Ryan Williams.

Yes. Mutual friend. Yes. Or not Williams. I'm sorry. Ryan Tillman. You know what I'm talking about. Ryan Tillman.

Great, great officer. Yes. Yeah. Right out here. He goes, hey man, I want you to meet someone. And so as I started to kind of explore who you are, like, you know what? Maybe my gut is right. Maybe we're not going to leave.

Maybe we can make California great. and of course I wanted the opportunity to have you on the show for that reason. So you're running for the seat of governor, but you're running for the seat of governor from a very different perspective that California is not used to. Explain that. Well, I didn't see the change that I wanted in our state, obviously. So, you know, as my grandfather always told me, said, become that change. But I also wanted to be a part of the political climate.

I ran for mayor of Pasadena, so I started two years before then. And after that race was over, I became the president of the new California governor committee. And the whole premise of that was to stay politically active to support the next Republican governor candidate running for office. During that time, the vetting process, we spoke to at least 11 potential candidates. And at the end of every scenario, me speaking to them is telling me, this is what we need to do. Like, this is how we restore our state. They would look at me like, major, you should just do it. Like, time and time again.

Now. So wait, you're talking to particular. potential candidates. Yeah. And after talking to 11 of them, everyone comes to the conclusion that maybe you ought to be the one doing this. Right. And it wasn't just because of my presentation.

They were also from an analytical standpoint of what I did during my mayor. So there was an old joke when I first announced I was going to run it in Pasadena that I was going to get 100 votes. You know, who is this guy who is the first time candidate? He's not going to get 100 votes. And the reason why they said that is because a gentleman ran in 2015. prominent black guy in the neighborhood. Everyone knows him.

He only got 512 votes. Got it. Everybody was shocked and surprised, right? So obviously, I'm going to get 100 votes. No one knows who I am or whatever, right? So we get close to 5,000 votes. Gotcha. 5,000 votes, different from a vast variety of demographics there.

And so from them, not only in my presentation, but from looking at what I was able to do there and be effective with my messaging and the solutions that I offered the city and the citizens, It made more sense for them to say, we should try this on a statewide level because now you have a base and people are listening to you from a variety of parties, from different age groups, from different socioeconomic backgrounds. And so they kind of pushed me into that particular space. Now, I have a sports background, so I'm very competitive. So in my mind, I don't want to run again because I just lost.

I don't want to be that guy. Like, there's always running for races and whatnot. And so I was kind of hesitant. Being a very spiritual guy, being strong in my faith. My grandfather is one of the most influential people in my life. And he passed away some years ago, but the guy won't stop talking to me. And he literally came to me 178 days ago in a dream at 430 a morning. And he said two words.

He said, step up. Literally just shook me and I woke up and I shook my wife and told her what just happened. And my wife, she's so great. She just grabbed my hands. She prayed for me. And literally, when I opened up my eyes after that prayer, I saw myself being sworn in as the 41st governor of California. So I had to do it. And ever since then, in 178 days, we have been working our way and navigating up and down the coast.

And our perspective is different. We're not coming in and say we're geniuses and we have a magic one. We're going to deal in reality. And we also want to listen to the people. So every dollar that I've been able to raise have allowed me to stay on the road and stay active so I can get in front of everyday people. like myself and ask them the questions, what do you want? What are your ideals? What are your suggestions?

What are the solutions? Because I don't see any elected officials or even candidates making that type of effort. Everyone is saying, you know, this is my platform. It's my platform. Well, I'm not opposed to give you my platform, but it has to come from what I've gathered out on the campaign trail, which makes me uniquely different. Well, that already is uniquely different because in the 38 years that I've lived in California, no one has come to me or my family to ask,

what do you want? Yeah. How do you want this state to look? And I could understand when I was a young kid and we lived in poverty and no one was going to ask us. But in the last 15 years or so, I've been doing well in life. Right.

And I'm a citizen of California. No one has still asked me. Yet they take my money and make decisions with it. And so that already is a very unique direction that you're coming from. And so I love hearing the fact that you realize you've, You're being called to do this. Yeah. This isn't like, hey, I think I'm going to do this.

Because, again, with not having won the mayoral run in Pasadena and being competitive. Yeah. I get it. Hey, do I really want to run as a governor? But when you're being called to do something, you don't have a choice anymore. Absolutely. And you can look at the momentum in the shift. You know, it took me two years.

Let's use Instagram for an example. It took me two years to get 8,000 followers, you know, just having a nice base. This is 178 days later and I'm in 172,000 followers, 155,000 followers, over 200-something 000 on Facebook. So our messaging is effective and it's working, but it's only because I'm being honest and transparent with them and up front. There is no magic one, but there is ways that we can move forward to restore our state collectively together.

People want a partnership with their elected officials. The difference is, you know, we're looking at these elected officials and they're kind of like up here. and we're screaming up and you know they can't hear another but like an echo and it's like faint right but i'm actually right down here with them and i'm talking to them and they're sharing emotions and they're crying and they're telling me their stories and they're telling me their ideas and they're excited about it i go to these small towns and me as a candidate i'm just i'm excited myself right but when i go to these towns they're super excited and i'm surprised that they're excited but they tell me you don't understand

no one ever comes here right no one ever comes here right no one ever comes here, share a quick story. We were at an enduring California and we stopped at a gas station. There was no one on the inside of the gas station. So we just got the gas outside. We see a kid running back into the gas station. My guy that was with him, he asked him, it's like, you know, we came in here. No one was around. He said, man, Major Williams is at a fundraiser down the street. I had to work, but I tried to see if I'm going to get a picture from him real quick. Wow. The guy left his post and didn't know I was right there at the gas in my truck. So he told him I was over there. He came over. He was happy. We took a selfie. I did a video telling his mom, you know, hello also. But those are the type of moments that we represent. And those don't exist with any other candidates or elected officials anywhere. So we are approaching it differently. And it's not made up. This is just who I am.

You can clearly see that because as I've been following you, well after Ryan Tillman introduced me to you via social media, he was like, hey, do you want me to make an introduction? I was like, not yet. Let me just see what he's about. You can see the transparency, and that's what social media is really good at. And a grammatical error sometimes. Right, right, right, which makes you human. And I could respect that being a foreigner. I don't speak and write well. And so people always call me out on my writing. So I get that. So outside of that, being called to it by a dream where your grandfather visits you and gives you those two words, step up, what qualifies you to be a great governor? Well, for the last 20 years, I have had my version of success in multiple industries, being in entertainment industry, being in sports, but ultimately being a marketing executive.

A marketing executive has to have the unique ability if you want to be successful in that field to be able to negotiate, how to use leverage, how to speak to people, how to effectively market, how to sell, and how to build companies and businesses and create structure and format. For me, that is leadership in a nutshell when it comes to what we are missing. So oftentimes people think it means master degrees. It means that you've held multiple offices that make you actually qualify for. Well, from looking at the data and statistics, we are looking at these same individuals that you're saying that are qualified. They're making so many mistakes. And or part of the main reasons why we are united in the F word.

And that F word is frustration, right? So let's not, let's try something different. It's not one of those difference where it's going to take us. This is the formula of, so I tell people all the time, everything that we do already is politics. You already qualify it. I would vote for an electrician to be the next governor of California. You know why? Because at least they deal in completion.

If they come to your business or to your home, they can't leave, get the check or the yes, unless what? The job is done. Politicians and elected officials do not operate in that space. They're like career workers and educators. Bingo. Me, I am an entrepreneur, a small business owner and marketed for the last 20 years, meaning I have to have an imagination on how to keep the lights on every single month for me and my wife and my family. Right. And that's the difference. We need problem solvers, collaborators, not singular individuals like Gavin Newsom right now. It's like one size spirit at all, governorship. It just shouldn't exist at this point. It's 22. Well, you made a really good point there. Look, in this building, in fact, right before you think.

2021, I'm sorry. 21, 2021. That's, that's right. I like how you're forward. thinker. I like your forward thinking. But right before you came here, I was interviewing someone for a new position in our company. And I said, hey, look, just so you know, you're not here to trade time for dollars. You're not just going to put in your 40 hours a week and you're going to get paid. In this building, we only get paid for done. And every entrepreneur I know that makes money and is profitable and is able to donate to their church and charities and causes that they believe in, get paid when the job is done. Yet what we've seen historically in all governor, from mayoral to the state government to all the way to the top, rarely do they get

the thing across the finish line because they're incentivized to not. Yeah, to not. And so they conflicted. Bingo. And so when I saw someone like you who comes from the entrepreneurial space that comes from a place of humility and comes from a place of being competitive as an athlete and an athlete always wants to win, I go, well, as long as he has the best interest of the people, we will all win together because you are literally programmed as an entrepreneur as an athlete to get shit done. Absolutely. Yeah. Big time. Yeah. Big time. It's natural in my DNA. It has to, we have to have an end goal and we have to have completion. And we have to win. Like, where the championships are at? Where are the victories in a political spirit? But we also want to

show a different version of making it fun, making it engaging. And that's why our campaign just represents a variety of messages and we do it from a way of making people think, you know, and we make it fun, but we're also serious at the same time. So we give you different complexities in regards to what we bring to the table. So let's talk about something that I believe in our state, California is like the big giant pink elephant. Yeah. You are running as a Republican. Yes. A conservative. Yes. You are pro-second amendment. You are very different than all the other governors historically that this great state has voted for. Now, we also realize it's for that reason the state isn't the shitter. We get that. We get that. But how are you going to change the

minds of the people who have historically voted against the opposing party? Well, there's an opportunity. That's the imagination running away. Like, how do we fix it? How do we message effectively? I put it all on my shoulders. If it doesn't happen, that means that I didn't do a good enough job communicating my message, presenting the best plan for us to move forward or to restore our state. I wasn't able to unify or galvanize us in the way that I see it actually happening. But I will tell you that my unique ability, and some people don't understand it, I have a superpower and I have a gift.

My gift is being able to go in a variety of different rooms in industries or demographics or whatever. and at some percentage of it be compelling or get my point across. So how I work is I can go to the projects and I can speak to the kid with the panaceag and with the braids. You know why? Because I used to be that kid, right? Democrats, I used to be a Democrat also, so I know how they think is well, too. My mom was on welfare for 20 years.

There was a ceiling. So I felt like, you know, the government loved us because it gave a mom free food and free money, right? And then I elevated past that. Conservatism was a better route for me, free thinking. I'd rather someone showed me how they made the $100 versus give me $100. Why? Because I can replicate that and also share that with people around me to empower them as well. But I think that California has never seen a person like myself that was so bold.

But to go back to my analogy, being able to speak to kids in the project, I can also exist with the soccer moms, me and my wife, right? Because we exist in that space as well. But from having my personal success as a marketing executive, I've sat with millionaires and billionaires and added value to every conversation as well, too. So now, you know, it's like a triple threat. But then I walk into every room and I never turn into a cat. I'm always a lion in every room and every space I walk into.

And everyone feels that. And so that's how we're going to do it. People are looking for leadership right now. They're looking for strength, but they're looking for someone. who's going to be representative of everyone. Yes, I'm a Republican, but my campaign is for everybody, for all Californians, which is why I always specify this is not my campaign. It literally is all of our campaign, and we have a unique opportunity to turn the tide

because the state of the state, the morale is really low right now. So I want to be the one to be the lightning rod to come and spark everybody and say, hey, we can do better, we can unite, we can work this out and restore our state, but it has to happen with a different brand, the leadership that's bringing a different conversation in the halls of Sacramento. That's great, and I love the fact that you're using marketing and your ability to reach the people of California

who might have a very different perspective than you do to help change their mind. But at the end of the day, every politician has had some kind of a marketing team around them to pair it off a narrative, to stir emotions because we know that emotions create motion and they want to get voted in. So before I kind of hold your feet to the fire,

I am going to hold your feet to the fire, what exactly is wrong with California right now? Because I don't think, see, people go, dude, you should get out of California. And they say that to me because someone else, they heard someone else say that. And they go, the two things are like, well, it's not gun friendly,

and it's going to hell with all the taxes. But there's a lot more wrong in California. And I want to know what you see is wrong with California and to see if it's congruent with my vision as well. So maybe list off what you think is wrong with California right now. So first of all, we have to identify that there is a laundry list of things that people feel like that's wrong with California. One of them that's at the top is homelessness. Under Gavin Newsom's leadership, homelessness has risen over 16% of the last two years.

Well, anytime you look at homelessness like a business versus a service, this is the output that you get. Only until we change the mentality of how we approach homelessness like a service, then there's checks and balances and there's accountability. When it's a business, it's kind of like how we said earlier, someone is profiting and benefiting off of it, so it's not in their best interest for it to actually be complete. Homelessness right now is an industry. It shouldn't be looked at as an industry. Let me just bring that back for a moment for all of the slow listeners in my audience. Listen, and I was one of you guys, and so I know I'm a slow listener, learner. I have to read a book seven times together.

I'm not kidding you. I'm currently on the seventh version of Think, not Think and Grow Rich, the other Napoleon Hill book. outwitting the devil, but that's a different story. When homelessness is a business, we end up having more homelessness. Yes. Sir, can you explain how homelessness can be a business? Because I'm sure a lot of people like me out there are like, bro, what are you talking about? So when homelessness is a business, that means that it's set up to receive funding per person per facility.

So if you are truly doing your job when it's a service, that means that you're going to be limiting the funding. coming into your organization, to your facility, et cetera. There has to be a balance when it comes to that. And so people are, they're winging people. They're not getting the best services. Everyone is just kind of, you know, on the surface with it versus really doing the work to get people react and make it back in society

because the three pillars that will decrease homelessness in California, one of them is mental health hospitals. The third one is drug and rehab facilities. And I'm sorry, the second. And the third one, the first two don't work unless you have the third one, which is wraparound services. Rapparound services is something I learned from working with nonprofits and group homeless very early on

for six years when I first moved to California. And it's when kids turn 17 to 18 years old, you have to have them walk through a process of transitioning into adulthood, right? So if you're coming out of mental health, that means you pretty much have nothing. You probably have limited family, limited resources, so there's no direction. So that sets an individual up to actually be right back to. in that same predicament. With wraparound services, trade school, job training, housing, medication, wellness, personal hygiene. So am I hearing you say that you want to help homeless

people become better? Absolutely. That is not how the state is currently run. Absolutely. Which goes back to when homelessness is considered a business. And for every additional person who's homeless in our state, the state gets more funding, all with the best of intentions. And another thing, when I tell you about marketing, when you see the tent encampments all over the place, specifically like Skid Row, that's really an image to attract more funds. Because if they can show that imagery, it means that they receive more funds. Look how bad it is, so give us money. More money.

So I've always told people this. I said, once I become governor and I'm sworn in, for a good short amount of time, I'm going to be very unpopular. Because I am going to clean off the streets, the sidewalks, and our parks with the homeless tent encampments. But I'm not going to be a vicious dictator type of individual. They're going to have outlets and things to do, and we're going to empower them. I mean, most of them I have a job to help us clean off all the tent encampments. And the ideal is this.

When I go to Skid Row and I go often with my nonprofit, we give away shoes, feed people. But I was noticing a certain trend when I say business versus service. when these individuals are lining up on a Saturday or a Sunday for those free meals, it's kind of rewarding that behavior. My thing is, if you're going to be in this line, we have a brand new facility that's right over here. You must take a shower. You must take a shower.

You have to log in and take a shower. We have food banks. We have clothing banks. So a percentage of those individuals, if they have that type of access and resources, they feel something different about themselves. Your confidence begins to get into. So it's psychological, but no leadership is willing to go to that extent, to empower,

to enrich, and motivate and inspire individuals. And that's what's different. These guys are lethargic, and they're just worker bees, so to speak. We have to be leaders and be forward-thinking when it comes to how do we remedy the situation. So to that point, we understand the homelessness and how it continues to grow because it's being treated as a business rather than a service. and the service should be to make them whole again through mental health, through obviously giving them a skill, et cetera. What about, why am I paying so high in taxes? Like, why am I paying

such ridiculous levels of taxes, major? And where's that money going right now? So we know that California is the fifth largest economy in the world. We don't lack resources or money. We just have terrible mismanagement and spending here in our state. There's a lot of waste for spending. One of the main reasons why our taxes are so high is because we only know how to tax the citizens to get things done at the end of the day. Until we have someone in leadership that understands how to create new revenue, only then will we be able to sit at the table to reduce taxes here in our state. And when I say new revenue, this is an ideal that I have. California is not business friendly. But imagine if California was. This is the mecca. This is like

the brand of all brands of states. Oklahoma, Arizona, and Texas are literally running ads on the radio here, luring away businesses by offering incentives. Yeah. So how do we become business-friendly? You insert a different brand of leadership that understands that, that acknowledges that, that wants to compete, that's going to attract those companies back or attract new companies here. One of the main things that I'm doing with My Restore California plan is going to be a program where I'm going to solicit four manufacturers, huge manufacturers, minimum four to five. thousand jobs per manufacturing company because the ideal is this 20 30 years ago our great grandparents or whatever worked in factories and they had a great life for themselves so I want to

I want to provide a different alternative that's going to be available for them now the reason for that is it's going to create a ripple effect I believe in setting steps and layers because as I said there's no magic one but over a period of course of time you'll be able to change the narrative in regards to fiscally how California is ran so instantly we bring forward companies or manufacturers back. There's what? There's jobs. The economy changes. The businesses around them thrive as well.

And there's new revenue for California. There's new revenue for the government. But let me ask you this. How are you going to incentivize companies to leave Texas, Arizona? Restrictions. You got to lower restrictions. If you eliminate a lot of restrictions and create those incentives, and also you look at success, what is Texas doing?

What is Oklahoma doing? we will copy and paste their model and we will take it back. Bingo. I want you to stop right there. Folks, pay attention to listen as we do this. We have so many people that have been on this exact show, and they've said success leaves clues and to model success. And here you are repeating that, not so much about a business,

because the Empire shows about starting and building businesses that are going to impact the world. But really, if we run the state like a business, we copy and paste what other states have done that are friendly to entrepreneurs and businesses. And so you're willing to do that? 100%. And lower restrictions so that we can actually have margins open up. Absolutely. And I do the exact same thing with homelessness also.

There's a great model in Austin, Texas, and also in Fresno. And I'm working with them right now to kind of craft it for California specifically. But they're workable, positive models that they have already that exist. And my mind is blown for the simple fact that we haven't tapped into those type of resources and started to mirror some of that here in our state to remember their homeless crisis. That's fascinating. That's fascinating. So what other things are on your agenda to do? Let's say I can wave the magic wand and bam, Major Williams is in office. First 90 days, how are you going to start the fixing process of California? What are the big things?

So the first 100 days, we are going to fight against SB 276 and 277, which are mandatory vaccinations. as many families in business that are leaving. There are many families leaving because they refuse to want their kids to get vaccinated here in the state. I myself, I'm against my kids getting vaccinated. I'm not against people vaccinating. I believe it's a choice. And so in my first 100 days, we will create executive orders to basically wipe those two particular bills out. We're going to attack bills like AB5 as well.

And we're also going to... What is AB5? AB5 is the bill that basically takes... the rights away from independent contractors and basically takes your ability away to work. So if you want to, if I wanted to work for you, but like two days a month, it makes it more difficult for them to do that because now you actually have to put me on payroll, you have to put me in workers' comp, etc. Which makes it more expensive for me. Absolutely. So it's a ripple effect. And it's not in your benefit because you're paying taxes out of your paycheck. Absolutely.

Which is only to the benefit of the state because they're going to take that money and squandering. Absolutely. And the government and the individuals who created the legislation, they use it as if they're helping you, like, we created this to help you so you're not getting burnt by the employers or whatever. But if you have a working relationship and you sign that agreement and you're okay with it, for each per individual person, they agree with that. They're okay with that space. Sure. So AB5 is a real strong one that we're going to do. And I'm really interested in sitting down with our teachers unions and teachers union also. Common Core Curricular is something that really agitates me. Explain that. So Common Core curriculum in our schools, there is excessive

curriculum that they have that exists when kids are learning about sexual education way sooner than I would like millions of other parents. Sure, same here. Which is why my kids are in private school. Exactly. And for me, it's one of those things where we have to have a real tough conversation. I need to understand

the logic and also the data behind the curtains so I can understand that. I won't understand it, first of all. Right. Right. Because there's no logic. There's agenda behind it, not logic. Absolutely. Absolutely. And so that is something that I'm going to address very aggressively, very sternly.

And the thing is this is me. I am a fair individual, but I'm a shrewd business person. I'm a shrew leader when it comes to certain topics and certain things, in addition to child sex trafficking as well, and just understanding that California cannot exist and thrive and be restored the way I want it if we don't restore our immigration system and eliminate sanctuary cities.

We are open to reforming the process. of getting people with their papers and their credentials, if they're adding value to the state as they want to, no issue with that. But for the illegal individuals and the people that are coming here creating crime, there will be no leeway for that at all. Let's talk about that for a moment, because I'm an immigrant to the United States, right?

I'm an immigrant. We entered legally. We escaped Soviet Union. We went into Italy. We went to the American consul. After 10 days of my father speaking to the American consul and saying, look, I'm a political refugee. I will tell you everything you need to know about the communism and how communism was run and what intentions they have.

We love legal entry into the United States. We entered legally and my dad's mentality was because we worked so hard to escape and enter legally, son, you're going to grow up and you're going to serve this country. Serve the people and the country will serve you. Great mentality. I have no problem with immigration. I have a massive problem with people pouring in illegally and then my tax dollars. Yes.

And even, by the way, even if you're an employee, you're paying a massive amounts of taxes out of your paycheck if you live in California. Those tax dollars are funding those illegal immigrants. Their medical bills and everything. So how are you going to fix that, man? That sounds like a daunting. What does reform mean? So reform is going to be working with some of the best and brightest here in our state. We have to work with an amazing legal team and also legislators to create legislation that's going to close some of those loopholes.

Is it going to be easy? No, a lot of people are going to fight us on it. But we have to take those first steps forward in order to make sure we get that agenda passed. Once more, it won't be a magic one. It's going to be something that's difficult. But being the governor, you do have certain powers with executive orders, which could expedite it or halt it at that particular stance. And I'm sure we may get pushed back, but I'm ready for that as well.

Okay. So really what you're saying is you're ready to take on a fight because... 100%. It's like what people always ask me, like, why would you want? want to get in politics. Like you're on your nonprofit, you know, you hang out with your kids or whatever case may be. And I always come back to the analogy of like if you're a boxer, right? And people's like, why do you box? Like, you know, my thing is, I don't mind getting hit, but I love the fight. And that's my hope. That's why I'm boxing. That's why I'm in politics. I'm okay with it. I can take a punch.

Sure. So let's just shift gears for a moment. From what I can tell, you got two sons? Three. Three sons? Yep. One just turned five today. Got it. Okay. So it seems like the older two, were traveling with you recently. Yes. Okay. Yes. I saw that video. You got three sons.

So happy birthday to your youngest of sons. Thank you. And of course, you're married. Yes. What is the toll that this whole thing is having on you right now in your family? Because you're all over, man. Yeah. I mean, you're all over trying to get the word out that Major is here to do something very different

for the state of California, which I can appreciate that fight. But what is the toll on your family? Can I ask? Sure. Is there a toll on your family? So for the first two years when I was running for Mayor of Pasadena, the last eight weeks of that campaign, I burnt out, you know, because I was doing everything myself and just, you know, I didn't have a whole lot of support and I raised only 40 grand in two years. But that was just me in my entry. Fast forward. Now, this is a bigger scale. You know, this is California is so much more bright light, so to speak, and there's so many people pulling at you. And it has certain toes on it.

But collectively, we're in it together. One of the main reasons why you see my sons with me is because my sons is starting to affect them in the sense of their behavior. So they're always with their mom and their behavior has changed. I'm like, are you serious? He did that? And I said, me, my wife kind of had a heart to heart. It was like, you know what? I think it's because of your presence.

You know, they act totally different when you were around, right? So I basically had to make a decision. I said I need to include them in the process as much as possible, which is why you saw them come out on the road with me recently. And they love it. You know, they're still talking about it. They're going back on the road with me. We're going to Oakland.

Then we're going back to San Francisco. Then we're going to Sacramento. So I just gave them jobs. You know, I have them carry all the bags. You know, that's funny. So one of the things we talk about on the show a lot and one of the things I do with my franchisees when they ask, well, now I'm a business owner.

How do I have work-life balance? You're not going to have work-life balance. You're not going to have a work-life mix. There you go. And that's exactly it. I really, since Andrew and Chloe were small, we would, I'd have a speaking gig somewhere, and we'd fly out as a family sometimes,

or just maybe me and Andrew or me and Chloe, and then I would speak at the event, then we'd spend two days in New York doing the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty. You have to blend it. It's a mix, it's a mix. And so I love seeing you setting that pace for your family. And I love the dynamic because I don't,

I didn't know my father growing up. I don't have a relationship with him. I don't even know who he is. How come? He's not in a picture. Okay. You know, my mom, they never was together. I think it was like one night staring.

Who knows? Sure. But I don't know the guy. But I always tell people I could have looked at that two different ways. One of them I could have came just like that individual. Or I was just so fired up. I said when I have kids, I'd never be that type of dad. And that's who I've been to my kids ever since.

And so even having them on the road with me, and they was with me for my mayor of you, but it was local, right? But this is a different ballpark. And it feels so good because my kids, I just see how they look at me sometimes. And I did an interview for the first time, not the interview, but I did a podcast. And I think I forgot where it was, Moderna or something like that. It's close to Fresno, great people at the AG Center. And I was talking about the strength of my wife.

But in my peripheral, because I was a point guard, I'm looking at my 10-year-old son, and he's sitting in the front row and I just see his eyes gleam here, right? And I just kind of get choked up. Yeah. You know, because, you know, my wife has been there with me for 20 years, 20 plus years. We've been married 15 years. And this is an evolution to who I am. You know, I was a guy who had braids, pants, sagging.

You know, I was that guy, you know, 20-something years ago to be able to evolve into this place right now. When you were that guy, did the world owe you something? You felt like... Absolutely. Really? Absolutely. It was your fault because I was successful. Sure, sure.

Absolutely. Sure. I remember that like it was yesterday. Yeah, yeah. And I remember that evolution of getting away from that and saying I want something different because I saw myself differently, even in that particular space, but I know how to get to that point because I didn't have those voices or examples. So I was looking at myself as a late bloomer, but God makes things happen all in the perfect time.

So I can be able to be that vessel or leader or teacher for my kids. And so it all worked out. So let me ask you something. Earlier you said, you're like, hey, because I could understand the guy from the hood, who's got his braids and his pants sagging because I was there. And I could understand the millionaire and billionaire and add value to that community. That's great.

And then you went right to you and said, hey, and, you know, I used to be a Democrat. And I changed my ideology. What shift? What took place? Because what I found, and I don't know if this happened with you. But the, if anyone wants to know, I'm not a Democrat.

I'm not a conservative, per se Republican. I'm like, let's live by the Constitution, government small, all operate out of great character and morals. If there was anything, I'm probably more of a libertarian. But all that said, I found that when, because I got a nephew, he was like, man, we need to be taxed more because the rich don't need to make all this money and all this stuff, right? And I was like, okay, keep telling me that. So he told me that for about seven years. And then he quit his job. He quit his job. and he started running a social media ad agency. And then when he started to say,

and he lives in California, when he saw how much he was paying, he very quickly went from being a Democrat to a governor as far as who's voting, or to a Republican who's voting for it, right? And I said, hey, what happened? What happened with the change? He's like, man, do you know how much we get taxes?

Like, what do you think I've been telling you this whole time? So typically, I'll see that shift happened from a Democrat to Republican when their money is concerned. Right. What caused that shift for you? Well, me, mine wasn't because of that. Mine was just, I was uninformed in what being a Democrat entailed. I wasn't politically active up until like four and a half years ago.

And I had a crash course in policy and politics four and a half years ago by joining a good friend of mine who ran for lieutenant governor of California. So having the experience and success as a marketing executive, he brought me on board to help him with marketing, but also be the community outreach guy. It was a close to $4 million campaign. So he had the best people around him that was helping him with this campaign. And I was right next to him. So whatever he was told or learned, I was able to absorb all of those different things. But at the beginning of it, it was very simple. Me and him had a conversation one night at his house.

The first night he let me know that he was going to run for governor, I mean, lieutenant governor, and he leaned over it and he said, you know, I'm a Republican. I said, oh, so you're the crazy racist white guy that's holding me back, right? And we had a good laugh about it. But then we started going down a rabbit hole of policy. And I realized that I didn't align with those beliefs anyway. Mind you, I wasn't never acting, like an activist. I wasn't marching for nothing.

I was nulling for it in a political space at that capacity. But once we started looking at a policy that was beneficial versus detrimental, for me, I was like, I had to check that box. And I changed over the next day, signed off. I'm a conservative. I'm Republican. And it just really came down to me understanding the policies. I'm pro-life.

I don't believe in that. I do believe that the bigger the government, the smaller the people. So I'm always for the people. And I believe my Second Amendment rights. I am a gun owner. I'm an avid hunter. And I know that California has some of the strictest gun laws. The strictest.

You know, and so we don't have a champion or a voice. And, you know, I've toured the agriculture scene as well, the industry. And they're being obliterated by so many restrictions also. And they need water. And for me, it's like a simple thing to be able to do. But once more, if you treat like a business versus a service and caring about a billion all the industry with all these families that have been giving so much to our state, this is what you have. So I want to be that voice for all of those. I love hearing that.

Let's talk about something else for a moment. You're black. What? Crazy. No, crazy. And when you think about how the African American population leans towards liberalism, towards the democratic way,

you're immediately going to be ostracized. For sure. And we've got a fair number of like African American

population here in California and you need their support. What's your game plan? The game plan is to connect through a story

versus going in trying to teach and tell them. You know, you should do that. So I'm going to do this for you, this is a plan. I need to be able to connect with them through my story. There is a relatability there that other candidates can express in those environments. And from that story,

or that relatability, gives us an opportunity to build. And what my plans are is going to be based upon what you're actually giving me, because what do I do? I come in and say, what do we need? Where are the opportunities for us to better our communities, to better your community, what kind of resources do you need? And I would be in a position to be able to do that for you. But at the end of the day, it is a hard line that I do tell them. If not me, then who? And how do you feel like that's going to work out? Because I can show you data and statistics of those, that brand of leadership, those individuals with those so-called backgrounds and qualifications have not served this community in any way or any capacity. Yet they've made promises to that community and the community

keeps their loyalty. Yeah. Why is that, man? Well, sometimes it's just wishful thinking. And sometimes it's the old analogy that my grandmother should say, some people just rather they cut their nose off to spite their face. You know, it's kind of like a one-track mind, one political issue, one-issue voter type of situation. But once more, it comes back to me. I have to embrace that. Like, I want to break through that barrier.

So I treat it all like a science project, each conversation, each interaction, because I really want to figure out how do we break that? Because if I always look at it as if it's the hardest thing to do, which a lot of people project and say that it is, then I would never. do it. I would never take that for a step or anything in history would never have been accomplished because everything that's been accomplished great in history was said to be hard. Sure. Right? Think if I would came to you and say, hey man, I'm building an airplane. We're like, what? Only birds fly. Right. So think about that. Right. And then what do we see every day?

You know, planes far and all over place. It's a business, right? So I exist in that space. I believe in myself. I believe in my confidence to be, I have confidence to be able to craft the right message and come from a genuine place. But I just think my story is, way more relatable than anybody else in this race. I agree. I agree. And I couldn't actually agree more. And truly, this is the first time we're meeting face to face.

And I look forward to building a relationship with you. And the audience knows here, like the moment I see like a red flag, I'm going to be like, hey, red flag, right? But from what I've seen and everything that I've seen and everything that I've experienced with you, you really are the next and the next and best candidate as a governor for our state of California. And I appreciate you coming from a place. of service and understanding that you're a public servant first and asking questions.

Yeah. And I want to finish this interview off, unless there's anything else you want to add, you can, but I want to finish it off by asking you this thing, this question. What, what, why do you think that there's less of our political servants, I'm not going to call them political leaders, there's so many of our political servants who are afraid to ask those questions. Like, what do you want? What do you need? To the farmers, to the entrepreneurs, to the, to the, all the different communities, why aren't they asking questions like you are instead of just dictating and delegating?

So I'm going to give you a metaphorical example. It's just like when you go to the basketball court and you know that you're not talented. You're not going to go and guard Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. So any of the elite players, you're going to go try to guard like the lease and just stay in your own little lane. The reason why they're going to go to these particular

places. They don't have the talent because they know they can't produce. They don't have the art of the deal. They don't have the confidence to go in there and sway their colleagues. They don't have the juice. Right. It factor. They don't have the it factor. And they know it. I often tell people this and it's funny being in this political space, a lot of these individuals are, they were never the it guys. They were never the cool guys in school. They never had that flare. So now they're in the industry where they get attention and recognition for being in those particular offices. They put the suits sewn. They have the pens and things of that nature.

And so they have this elitist type of field because they think this is how I'm supposed to act. What's throwing them off is that I walk in with the same type of confidence, but I'm still so down the earth and so genuine and so cool with people. And I didn't have to create my character. This is exactly who I am. They had to create their facade. They had to create their character. They had to get a mirror and talk to themselves and build themselves up.

up, I've been confident in myself for a very long time at 14 years old, had my own business, you know, cutting yards, you know, gave my cousin a job, selling cars since, right? So I've always been sure I, you know, playing basketball, I sucked. Was basketball your sport? That was my sport. Okay. You said you were an athlete, I was. I was horrible at the beginning, but I worked every single day and I surpassed every one

of my peers by the time I was a junior in high school. And I remember my senior year, I never forget a good buddy mine by the name of Andre Washington, he said, I would have never expected you to be who you are today on the court because I was the guy who they were put in the game in the church leads when it was like, you know, 13, 14 years old. Everybody on the team, no, don't put him in. I was that guy. But I went and worked every single day, ran hills, dribbled, shot in the rain, everything by

myself. I was one of those type of people's like, I'm going to show you. You can't tell me I can't do something. If you tell me I can't do something, you basically told me I can't do something. you basically told me I can do it. Well said. And to that point, I just want to stress another point here to our watchers, to our viewers and listeners, in that when you show up with natural confidence, you feel very okay.

You feel very safe with asking, hey, I don't know exactly what needs to be done. I know something needs to be done. What do you think needs to be done? And that was a lesson that I shared with one of my leaders upstairs for one of my companies. He made a decision that he could have asked other more experienced people around him, but he made that decision out of, he was. He wasn't fully, he made that decision out of insecurity because he felt that if he had asked for help, he might have been seen as weak. And so he needs to make a decision.

And he was just kind of hoping that it worked out. And of course it didn't. And so I had to come and help course correct. But I share that because, as you guys are watching this, obviously you see where I'm going here. If you're in California, I need you all to vote for Major Williams. And I need you to tell at least 10 other Californians to vote for Major Williams. That aside, since the Empire show is about building better humans. and entrepreneurs are going to impact the world,

as you build your confidence in life by stacking those wins and not being a hypocrite, you end up feeling very okay and safe. Like, I don't feel insecure at all, going to someone and saying, man, I don't know how to do this, but I need your help and giving me some guidance. And that doesn't make me a lesser person. At all.

And you nailed it when you said, those guys in power right now, they weren't necessarily the most confident people growing up. They did figure out the formula to getting elected and now show up with this fake mask of confidence. Yeah. Yeah. What else do we need to know before we wrap this episode up about Major Williams and the future governor of California?

Well, we need to know that, first of all, this is a very organic campaign. Everything that we have done as far as our awareness has been very organic. We have an amazing ambassador program where people are donating to the campaign on a monthly basis, even if it's just $5. And if you do do that, just understand you may get a random phone call from me as well, too. And we do that all the time. We just call people and just give them thanks and just let them know that we appreciate. And then, you know, they feel a certain kind of way.

It's like, I wish I can do more and say, no, you have no idea what you just did. I don't care what amount it is. If you donated 100, a thousand, it's all the same to me. Beyond that, just continue to follow us on this journey. Follow me on Instagram at Major Williams. And if you know any podcasters or any other media outlets, be sure to tag them on our comments or in our content. and let them know we exist. We just dared to show today earlier

and we're looking forward to do more, do more and get the name out there. Good, but let's talk about that last piece for a moment about the financing. This is a grassroots campaign that you're doing. You're not funded by some big conglomerance organizations that are trying to lobby and get you into position so that they can have, you know, whatever,

all the stake in California. And so you really do need to be funded. And even guys, even if you're not in California, if you're part of the United States, because if change doesn't start here, You know what pissed me off? I'm going to tell you something real quick. Yeah.

I had a few friends who left Southern California in the last four months. And I said, hey, why are you leaving? They said, well, it's gone to hell. I said, well, if it's gone to hell and whatever state you're going to, isn't that going to go to hell too? Because this is the trailblazer. This is the trailblazer. And so whatever state you guys were in, I'm asking you to not only follow Major Williams

on Instagram, but go to his website. And even if it's just $5 a month or more, you ought to consider making those contributions to a grassroots fund that's going to make a massive change because you know how it works. When there's change that's positive in California, it bleeds across the entire nation. And sadly, when there's change that's negative, look what happened when California has gone so sideways

that we've got so many states like Pennsylvania and Michigan and New York, New Jersey, and all these other states who are starting to adopt that way of behavior. And so again, I just want to thank you for taking the time to coming out here to HQ. We'll certainly have you on. the show again in the future. Thank you. I appreciate it. This is great. Yeah, man. And guys, be sure to take a screenshot of this episode. Be sure to tag Major and myself. And when you share

this, tag every big podcaster from Ed Milet to my friend Andy Fersilla to Joe Rogan. I want you to tag every podcaster that you know should have Major on there so that we can get him on the shows and get him into office. Thank you so much and appreciate y'all watching The Empire Show.