The Chris Voss Show - The Chris Voss Show Podcast – Shireen Ghorbani, Salt Lake City Council Candidate 2020

Episode Date: May 25, 2020

Shireen Ghorbani, Salt Lake City Council Candidate 2020 Shireenforcongress.com

Hi, folks. Chris Voss here from TheResistanceRadio.com. The Resistance Radio Podcast. Oh, my gosh. Coming to you here on the interwebs, and we certainly appreciate you guys tuning in. You'll also see this show on our affiliate podcast, The Chris Voss Show, Chris Voss Podcast, and you can find all those on the CBPN, thechrisvosspodcastnetwork.com. You can go there and subscribe to nine different podcasts that we have that cover the gamut of all sorts of different topics, general,

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So you get all the notifications of everything we've been doing. We've been having a whole mess of people that are running for office coming up in 2020. This is one of the most important elections, I think, in the American experience, the American Republic, the American experiment, which is just a little under 250 years old and probably at its most darkest moments, not only in politics, but with the crisis that we have with COVID-19. And the leaders that we're bringing into the next election that are going to govern us over the next two to four years are going to be the people who are going to make or break it for us. And so I encourage everybody, depending upon whatever side you're on, to give a listen to all the different voices, faces,

and all the people that are out there in the voting ballot, whether it's all the way up to the gubernatorial point where we had Chris Peterson on Friday and talked to him and got some really great information in him. We're profiling, of course, a number of the Utah politicians who are running, and we have today another one, Shereen Gorbani. How are you doing, Shereen? I am great. Thank you so much for having me. And we love to have you on. So I'm going to let you cover your bio and give us a background

on who you are and what you're about. Sure. Thanks so much. So I am a, I guess at the most basic, I'm a working mom. I live in Salt Lake City. I work at the University of Utah as a communications director and associate director in facilities management. So I spend my days thinking about training, building capacity, and making workflow better. I have two master's degrees in organizational communication and policy, one from the University of Utah and one from the University of Nebraska, where I also studied and taught. So I've spent some time in the classroom on things like public speaking, business and professional communication. And then the thing that I'm really passionate about is organizational communication and policy. So that place where decisions are made about how we get work done, how we make decisions that impact communities, and actually spent quite a few years studying campus sexual assault. So I was very interested as a researcher in the intersection of policy, institutions,

and violence, and really what can be done to make that a more humanizing experience when people are on the policy side of things, it can feel very cold. But we know that campus sexual assault is a big problem. And frankly, some small tweaks in policy can really help people who've been victimized by sexual violence have a much different experience in their education world. So that's kind of recent for me. But before that, I worked, I've done a number of different kind of interesting things that I loved. I was the director, executive director of a community theater. I ran an arts organization, children's theater, and then the adult side.

I've done, you know, jobs like slinging coffee. And for two years, I served this country in the United States Peace Corps. So from 2003 to 2005, I served in the Republic of Moldova as an economic and community development volunteer. So I've done a little bit of everything. I really love my work now at the university. I really love that role. And in 2016, a lot changed for me. And I got very interested in thinking about serving my community in different ways. I've always been a very active voter, a very person, you know, person very interested in

politics, served on boards, I am on the board for the Rape Recovery Center now, on the Wasatch Front waste and groups like the I'm joining Clark Planetarium. So a number of different boards and commissions that I've served on over the years, but really 2016 was a big turning point for me. And I'm happy to kind of talk about my journey into politics, but that's a little bit about me. I grew up before I was a Utah, I was a North Dakotan. So I grew up in a place that is very, has a lot of, I think, connective points between what I love about Utah, close connections to families, strong communities, places where people take the time to stop and visit. I loved growing up in North Dakota. It's a big part, I think, of my heart and who I am, but I'll tell you, there's no more beautiful state than Utah. And I would fight anyone who wants to say otherwise. Well, we've got a fight here.

You're not going to fight me. I agree with you there. In fact, as I've traveled all over this place, and I'm sure you have all the world people, you know, if they, if I mentioned Utah, they're like, man, that place is really beautiful. And you've got beautiful monuments and everything else here. Was 2016 a big change for you because of the huge kind of upheaval we had in the White House and politics and stuff? You know, it was a few things coming together. So that was certainly a big part of it for me. But more than that, so I mentioned I grew up in North Dakota. My mom was a single mom most of my life, an educator, a person who was really involved in her community. She was, as I mentioned, a teacher and in the late 1970s traveled across the world. She was living in Wyoming, in Montana, around the West. And I guess that Wild West wasn't quite wild enough for her. So she took a job teaching in Tehran. She moved to Iran and met my father. And if you know much about your history, the late 1970s wasn't a great time

to move to Iran. Lots of political upheaval. And she was evacuated with, I always like to say, kind of like on the set of Argo. Like if you saw that movie, that was a lot of the time that my mom was there. But she met my father, they fell in love. And she was evacuated out of the country. They managed to stay in touch, met in Frankfurt in Germany, and then eventually came back and got married in the front room of the farmhouse that she grew up in on the North Dakota-Montana border. But my dad, though a very loving and very affable person, was an addict and really struggled with mental illness, with alcoholism, most of the time I was growing up. And so when I was six, he was pretty much gone, had left to move to California, actually.

And it was just the two of us kind of out there on the prairie. And she was a huge force in my world of really kind and curious person, a big reader, you know, a person who loved to welcome others into her home. And in the summer of 2016, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. And in the course of about, well, just really weeks, so she was diagnosed in late June, and she took her last breath on August 19. And in that span of time, I saw just how quickly families can lose absolutely everything in this country with one diagnosis. And I remember, you know, things happen fast for us. And it resulted in a last, you know, couple of weeks in a hospital. And I remember just like taking laps, you know, to kind of step away for a minute, catch some air,

clear my mind, and you would hear families getting calls from bill collectors. And I just was, of course, in the process of losing my mom. And I was so outraged at what people were facing, trying to spend those last moments, in some cases, with their loved ones, staying with people who are fighting for their lives, and knowing that we have a healthcare system in this country that does not put people's health, well-being, or frankly, humanity first. And coming through that, I would say born out of both grief and just rage, I started to think about the election of Donald Trump. I started to think about really what it means to have

compassionate leaders who understand empathy and who are working on the issues that matter most to everyday working people here in the state and across this country. And I looked at that time, who is currently my representative, Chris Stewart, and he was a person who had voted against the ACA every chance that he got. I'm sorry, I get a little emotional when I talk about this, but he had voted against the ACA every single chance he got. But what was a bigger issue for me is that he wasn't coming to the table with solutions on how to drive down the cost or increase access to healthcare. So if you don't like the ACA, and there are plenty of things that I can complain about, and I know there are many critiques of the

ACA, but what I also know is that millions more people are on healthcare or have access to healthcare because of it. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Would I like to see a different system? Yeah, but I also understand that it was a step towards creating access to healthcare for more people. And we have so many ways that we could be driving down the cost of healthcare in this country, but he wasn't working on that and he wasn't advocating for it. And basically based out of that issue, I decided to run for the United States House of Representatives, which is not what everybody probably decides to do going through an experience like that. But I couldn't stand having someone who seems so disconnected from that issue that I know is such a core issue to so many Utahns. And I know that for a fact, because I knocked on hundreds of doors and I talked to thousands of people across this state who are struggling to

really find healthcare, access to good health care, health care they can afford. And it's one of the driving issues for people's, you know, I mean, now, especially when we think about the kind of world we live in and the health impacts of COVID-19, all of this layers into a situation that is just a terrible storm for access to health care, strong economies, strong families. So I'm very concerned about, I was concerned about my congressional leadership, took a run at it. And I have to say, even though I did not win that race, I moved, we were able to move the district six points, made it a much more competitive race than it had been in previous years. And I loved every minute of walking door to door in places like Farmington, out in Tooele and Grantsville, all the way down

in St. George, in Kanab, knocked on doors in Cedar City and in Runchville, just traveled the entire state and really spent a lot of time knocking on doors right here in Salt Lake County. And it was an honor. It was a joy. And I wouldn't have done anything different. It was great. That's awesome. So you've laid that foundation.

You know, I come from Las Vegas. And prior to 2018, a lot of things changed for me in 2016. Um, in fact, I used to be, uh, when I lived in Utah 20, 30 years ago, I used to be, uh, a right-wing GOP, uh, voter. Um, I had my businesses, I had my money. I was, you know, I was like everybody, everybody can get rich if they just work hard enough, that sort of attitude. And 9-11 changed for me. When I witnessed the live plane going into the second tower and me realizing the world was bigger

than me and that there were people who didn't have the same opportunities as me and everything else, I started to rethink. I didn't really start rethinking my politics as much as I just started rethinking my morals and my integrity. And, and, and I started studying the world and realizing that there are people that are born into issues, whether they're countries or whether they're in this country,

when it comes down to it, that, that don't have the same opportunities that don't have the same level of education that are born with a lot of crippling issues. Some people, you know, it's health or whatever the case may be, but not everyone can just pull themselves up by the bootstraps.

You know, I have two sisters, one that suffers from MS, one from a birth defect. You can't just say to them, well, just, you know, pull yourself up and you can get your own money and be a millionaire someday. And so, you know, we used to be this country. We used to take care of each other. But the great thing about Las Vegas is in 2018, I looked at pictures of Congress, and I went, this is a lot of white dudes. And I know how guys are because I'm a guy, and we start a lot of wars, and we try and get a lot of money,

and that's kind of how we think. And I said, you know what? We need more women in office. Women are empathetic. They care about their kids. You never get between mom and baron or kids. They care about their kid's future and they will do everything for that.

And I said, you know, we really need a Congress that represents both the state and local levels and federal, that represents what America looks like. And it's not 99% dudes. If you've checked the demographics of America. And so I made a big push for several months about how I was going to vote for women's straight ticket all the way down the ballot. I just voted for women. Um, now I didn't vote for a right women. Sorry, my bad. Um, but I voted for women down the ballot. If you were a judge and I didn't vote for right women. Sorry, my bad. But I voted for women down the ballot. If you were a judge and I didn't know what side you were on because they don't have sides with the judges in Vegas, I was like, I'll vote for a woman. So I did that. And we voted into Vegas.

I'm sure I didn't have anything to do with it, but we voted in Vegas, a majority women legislature. And they are doing the most amazing things there. They are promoting health care, education, children's issues. They are really doing empathetic, wonderful things for the state. So more and more, I'm hoping that we can have a nice blue or purple wave here up in Utah. Well, and I'll say, too, we have a pretty low representation of women. So I think we're 33rd in the nation for women in elected office. And I have found that my colleagues on the right, women on the right in this state,

are really often bold leaders who are sometimes sole voices on many issues. They're collaborators. They are people who are really trying to find those ways that we can reach across the aisle and see good policy. Of course, good politics over kind of the partisan, you know, hackery that we sometimes see in other venues. So even looking hard at the women who are running on the right in the state, I think is worth the look because we have a record of showing that many, not all, but many are coming to the table with really good solutions and working more closely across partisan lines. And that's really important. And women are good at teaming up on this stuff. And that's what they've shown to the legislature too. They're good at working together. And they just really care about the future. I'm a guy,

I'm sorry, but most of us are just like, we need to make a lot of money and let's go fight those guys over there. And you look at the trillions of dollars we've wasted in wars and stuff. And women really care about children. They care about the future. They care about education. I believe someone mentioned from who we interviewed earlier, I think Utah is 50th in the nation,

the last in the nation when it comes to the quality of education and education spending. Very low, last on per pupil spending. We are at the really near the bottom of the barrel, if not the bottom of the barrel on the wage gap. So women's work is deeply undervalued in this state. And there are many other indicators that suggest life for women in Utah is complex. Some of the other things that are very startling are the rates of child abuse, the rates of domestic violence, the rates of sexual violence in our community are really, really distressing.

And for me, as a person in elected office, I try to be transparent about my personal experiences and to help people understand that there are many resources available for help across our community. But those are often underfunded and stretched pretty thin. And when we think about the need in our community, there's a real lack of balance in terms of the kind of support systems people need. And I can validate that very truthfully. I went to high school here and, and of course, spent another, I think 15 years after that. And 50% of the women that I dated here had some sort of sexual assault experience from you know all the variety of

different fields unfortunately um and there is a high prominence of that that goes on in the state and i was i was alarmed i still tell people that this day 50 is a little too freaking high yeah so we are low on really every category of violent crime the one category of violent crime for which we are high in sexual violence. And that's, it's a really terrible and scary idea to consider when we think about the ideas that we have about ourselves. Yeah.

And it's such a beautiful state. So these are important issues that you cover in when people go. And in fact, let's plug your website real quick if we can. So people can check you out. Yeah, so my website, I'm pretty easy to find because I'm very proud of my Iranian heritage, but my name is not easy.

So the website is just Team Shireen. But you can find me on all social media platforms at just Shireen Gorbani. And that's G-H-O-R-B-A-N-I. So S-H-I-R-E-E-N. And Shereen Gorbani is where you're going to find me on Instagram, where I share a lot of information in the stories, especially about just County government, what's going on,

frequent updates there, but also on Twitter and on Facebook. Awesome sauce. So you have, you've, you've been in the Salt Lake Council. You're running for re-election basically. And which part of the Salt Lake City Council area, I guess, are you running on? Yeah. So the county council is under known, I would say, as a form of government and really county government in general is not top of mind for people. They often know their city mayor or they might know their city council, but the county, Salt Lake County council and Salt Lake County as a governing body is the second largest governmental institution in this state, just after the actual state of Utah. So it's a $1.5 billion budget. The vast majority of the efforts of Salt Lake County government are focused on public safety.

So that's everything from the jail to UPD to many programs around addiction, mental health treatment. And I'd love to talk more about what county government actually does, especially in the context of a COVID world. So we are also the health authority. We run aging and adult services, provide many libraries throughout our community, also trails, parks, open spaces, art venues, many things that really enrich our lives here in Salt Lake County. But the council is a nine person council. So in typical counties, smaller counties were the only county of this size and really were a third of the state of Utah, just based on population. So other counties are typically commissions and that's a three person commission. But we have a mayor and council form of government here in Salt Lake County. There are three that serve the entire county.

So those are at-large seats, and I am running for one of those seats, in one of those seats now, and running again. And then we have six regional seats. So those are just numbered one through six, kind of Salt Lake City, a couple that are sort of in the middle, kind of North End, East Bench, one that cuts down the west side, down in the southwest quadrant, and then one that's kind of north and east bench, one that cuts down the west side, down in the southwest quadrant, and then one that's kind of sandy draper area. So that sort of makes up the body of the council. And then, as I mentioned, two others that serve at large for a total of three at large. So it's a big responsibility. It's a really diverse and wonderful county to serve with lots of different needs and just lots of really incredible work going on.

Awesome sauce. This is really important too with COVID-19 coming up the oversight of health and everything else. We recently, I had one of my friends here. Her mother was one of the, I think 10 people now that have died at the Ridge. They just announced that I have,

I have two uh siblings in uh care centers one in salt lake one in utah county uh the salt lake one is the public one and the salt lake county one is the private one and so this is important to me because uh they've been pretty successful so far keeping covet 19 out but you know i mean living with the with the concern of you know where they're at and how we've seen COVID-19 decimate these facilities is scary. And you just live with, oh, my gosh, this is a really big deal that we're going through right now. Yeah. And I have to say, I'm so sorry because I'm guessing you're in a situation now where you're unable to visit your family members.

Yeah, we're unable to visit. They're really wonderful. The facilities, we can go up there and drop off food. And, you know, they have a whole, you know, it's like trying to get into the White House almost with an armored tank sort of, you know, experience where, you know, they don't let you near them. And, you know, they got testers and everything else. And we are able to bring someone in the room and we can go stand outside the window and wave at her. And what's really cute is you go to the care centers now and,

and I don't know who all the people have been coming by. I don't know if it's churches or different people or just maybe family members, uh, but they've gone around and they've taped like pictures to the windows of everyone's window. And they said, we know we love you and we're with you and stay safe and and so just seeing that wonderful outpouring of caring and stuff and realizing where they're at and uh is important but COVID-19 is going to be be uh with us probably for a good year or two or at least the implications and and results of it um and so that's why I've been really imploring people to think about how they're

voting this next election, because this is going to be around for a while, either the fallout from it with the high amount of bankruptcies, high amount of health issues people are going to have more. We're even starting to talk about COPD. I mean, I know I'm suffering a little bit of depression from everything that's going on. And, you know know people are going to be having a hard time financially uh there's going to be i want you know i i've talked a lot about the chris voss show about what's going to we're going to go through a lot of people if you remember the experience in 2008 uh went through the great recession this is going to be more depressionary uh in our experience and it's unprecedented according to uh i mean i I can say that, but, you know,

the Fed Chairman Powell. So this is unprecedented in modern history. We're going to go through and we're going to have to do to get through and out the other side. So in electing leaders that are going to be the leaders that get us through this, that protect us, that help ensure our health, that help make changes in our government, and who can logically think through processes, not only financial, but healthcare, you know, making sure we don't spread this virus any worse than it can get. And then recovery, and of course, policy, etc, etc, is super, super important. So I've encouraged a lot of people to do that. What do you see the future of that sort of the next experience over the next couple years? Yeah, so I would say first and foremost, really heavy on my mind are the lives lost that we have family members that

were unable to be with those that they loved in those moments that breaks my heart. And thinking too about the livelihoods that are on the line, You know, small businesses are the heart of Utah. And knowing that we have so many small business owners who are doing everything that they can to, if they have employees, keep those employees, if they, you know, continue to serve in some capacity, being really creative and working to do that, but also understanding that for a lot of people,

times are tight and they're going to get probably tighter. So I worry, you know, I worry a lot about that, but I'm very proud of the efforts of Salt Lake County, especially our Office of Regional and Economic Development, and they are doing a lot to support the community. So if someone's hearing this and they are a small business owner having troubles navigating resources that are available, the Office of Regional Development has a hotline. And if you can find them, Salt Lake County Regional Development, you can find them on Facebook, Instagram, you can find them all over. The hotline number's there and you can call and have somebody help guide you through the questions that you have. Salt Lake County is showing up in

big ways, whether it's our contact tracers that are working to slow the spread in our community, really, you know, crunching the numbers, understanding where we have hotspots. If you go to slco.org, you can find our information and our heat maps and see where the numbers are by zip code, really get a sense of the data and understand what's happening in our community. But I, like you, share a very big concern for long-term care facilities. We have a lot of testing capacity in this state. It's one of the things that we're doing really well on, and I'm proud of how we've really ramped up our testing capacity. I believe we need to be testing everyone in those facilities. We know that we have individuals that aren't able to adequately communicate the symptoms that they may be

experiencing. And we know that it's a particular challenge when COVID, you know, reaches those, comes inside the doors, right? So really doing what we can to protect the most vulnerable is a big priority for me. And it always has been. I went to college in Minnesota and my state senator was Paul Wellstone. He was a huge inspiration to me, worked, was a strong labor advocate and advocate for farmers and everyday kind of working people. And he had this kind of core organizing saying, which is we all do better when we all do better. And I think about it all the time with all the decisions that I make. How can we create the most opportunity for the most people? Because I really do believe that when we're thinking about those,

especially those who are the most vulnerable, and creating that opportunity for people to do better, to have more security, to have greater access to healthcare, to have strong communities that are safe with good parks and air they can breathe. That benefits all of us. It benefits everyone. And I think about that too, in terms of when I go out and I, I mean, I've gone out twice and forgotten a mask. It makes me feel terrible. I've turned around and gone back home because that sign of putting a mask on is makes me feel terrible. I've turned around and gone back home. Because that sign of putting a mask on is a sign of respect for my community. I don't know if that person, one time I went to pick up my bike tube tire popped. And I don't know if that person in that

tire, in the bike shop has a child with cancer or an elderly parent living at home or a loved one in a long term care facility. And the smallest thing that I can do is put that mask on and show that sign of respect. And I just, I'm very, I'm terribly worried that some of these basic health precautions that are recommended, the social distancing, the mask wearing, the hand washing, that can do a lot to keep us safe if we do, you know, even not all of them perfectly, but if we, the hand washing, that can do a lot to keep us safe if we do, you know, even not all of them perfectly, but if we do them all together, there's a good effect on slowing the spread of the virus in our community. And that could mean, you know, being able to be, and I mean, I hate to be so dramatic, but it could be, you know, being with

your loved one as they're really struggling through, through this, through a health condition or in the darkest sense, being with someone as they're, as they're taking their last breaths. That was incredibly important to me with my mom, you know, like having that experience and these small things that we can do as a sign of respect are not partisan. And frankly,

what I find, and I'm interested in your own story, but I really found that most people are not partisans. Most people just want good government that listens to them and works for them. And even when they disagree, is willing to show up and keep talking. That is what people want and deserve, I think, in their leadership. And we have to make hard decisions. We make hard decisions all the time

that people do not like. And at the end of the day, I really try to think, what are our big issues? Our big issues are, for me, of course, always access to healthcare. Thinking about what's happening in our criminal justice system

when people are really addicted or potentially mentally ill and are we getting them the resources that they need there? Are there better ways that we can police and protect our community? I think Salt Lake County's got some really good innovative programs on that front. When I think about growth, we think about the way our county's growing and the lack of access to housing is a big issue here. Transportation and infrastructure.

Those are difficult conversations and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. But man, it's an honor to serve this community. And I really do think about how can we create opportunities for lots of people to do well. And I, you know, in terms of this country, and it's still a young republic, it's still an experiment that we hope continues um on its its origins of its course of of of being a thing of integrity and and a beacon of light um to not only its own citizens but to sometimes the rest of the world in uplifting it but in in in the darkest of times in our in our most darkest moments in our biggest challenges whether it was the bombing of times in our, in our most darkest moments, in our biggest challenges, whether it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor, whether it was the world wars, whether it was, you know, any,

any major crisis that we've ever had as, as, uh, not only a country, but as a humanity, we've all come together. We saw the whole world rally around us at nine 11 and, and come together with us, um, as a country, you know, we've done that. Um, and I believe we may be in the moments, and we're still kind of in the early things because we haven't seen the full despair in the bottom of it yet. But we're in the moments where, you know, I mean, the last,

I think in 2016, someone was elected who really heralded the thousands of years old adage of dividing and conquering and getting people divided and promoting divisive politics even more so than ever before. And I think now in this moment with COVID-19, hopefully one of the things we learned from it, and I think we're seeing that in the way people are approaching it, is we're seeing, you know, it's dragging us down to the core of our humanity and, and death is at our door. I mean, this isn't, this isn't, you know, just divisive politics anymore where it's like, well, you believe in this and you believe in that it's life or death and the grim reaper standing outside the door going, Hmm, what do you end up to there? Um, and, uh, uh, and, and we've, we kind of have to realize that we have to now think about our neighbors more.

We have to think about taking care of each other. You know, the divisiveness over health care has been a big real issue. You know, I have mine, you should get yours. You know, and I don't want to pay for you and I don't care about you. You know, we really changed from this country that, you know, President Johnson, when they enacted a lot of these care programs to lift the country up and did great things. And we've really changed from this country where we used to care about everybody and to where we're just like, hey, screw you. I got mine and you deal with yours.

And if you fall down, well, that's your problem. And now we're realizing that you've, you got to make sure the guy next door, the guy you're walking around in public with has adequate healthcare is taken care of and is wearing a mask. And we're all, we're all, we're all doing this for each other because, you know, I'm, I'm, my number one job is to, is to keep my mom alive and keep my family alive, which is important to me. But I also realized the intersection of that means I have to keep everyone else alive and I've got to keep, I can't spread the virus, I can't be the spreader, I can't get it, I can't share it, I've got to be responsible to my community, and I think this is the, I think

this may be the bottom of that moment, where we learn to come back together, we get away from the divisiveness, we elect the leaders that are going to bring us together, instead of divide us, because if there's one thing that's going to conquer us and what we're learning, I mean, when you look at the, I believe it's the New York Times has a list of the top 1,000, not top 1,000, but the 1,000 of the 100,000 people that we're about to hit and deaths. This isn't about politics anymore. This is life and death. This is real. This is very real stuff. And, uh, and people need to think about this when they go to the vote box or when they vote by mail, however you do it this year. Um, I usually vote by mail because I don't like standing in lines, uh, in Las Vegas. Uh, and I like to make sure and get my vote in early. I get that baby in early. Um. I want to be counted. And this is going to be a real important election year. And hopefully, even though this is our darkest moment,

we rise from it like we have before. And we care about our neighbors. We care about our friends and relatives. We realize that health care for everybody is really important because if that guy can get hospitalization, he's not going to pass the infection and kill my family. You know, it's, it's really becoming very local and personal. And, uh, hopefully we learn from this experience, we grow from it and, and there's going to be a lot of models that will be forced to change. Um, but hopefully we adopt to him. Hopefully

we learn something from this. I'm a bad, one of my bad sayings is the one thing man can learn from his history is that man never learns from his history. And therein lies the cyclical nature of our failures. But, uh, um, hopefully we learn from this and if, and, and this is going to be a lesson that if we don't learn from it, it's going to be very painful if we experience it again. And there may be more COVID-19s on the horizon, and this may be an easy one from the way we look at it. So we've got to really prepare and grow.

And then, of course, we've got to go through the trough of the darkness of this. There's going to be a ton of bankruptcies coming up. I've had people say to me here in Utah, they're like, well, Utah isn't having as bad as the rest of the nation, and our economy is kind of going pretty well. But, uh, as I talked to Chris Peterson, uh, on Friday, uh, the, uh, nominee gubernatorial nominee for governor, um, there, a lot of big companies are here. Adobe, uh, uh, and Uber's had some massive layoffs. There's a lot of, there's a lot of big companies here and these companies, when they go through these dark times, they shed a lot of employees across the nation.

And we're hopefully going to go through a rebirth like we did in 2008 where there's going to be a lot of innovation. There's going to be, you know, Silicon Valley really blossomed after 2008 because people, you know, were out of work. They were hungry. They were innovative. We saw this boom in entrepreneurism social media really became of age and kind of a new way of advertising marketing uh away from

brick and mortar and so we're going to see a lot of our models forced to be changed upon us um and we're not even going to see the full depth of that probably for another year to two years we we haven't hit the bottom of code 19 yet we're a a long ways off. And if, I don't know if you've been following social media, but this weekend we're seeing, we're seeing stuff in Missouri where, and beaches where people are just out partying like it's 1999 again. You know, I will say in a, in a contrast, I certainly see people doing more interactions with their neighbors, you know, more gatherings that are, that are, I would say, largely pretty responsible, seem pretty small that I've seen just around here. Some that give me pause and make me worried, but just running a few errands yesterday, swinging through a grocery store, I just noticed that a lot of Utahns really are taking care, wearing masks, trying to be physically distant. Many people are in this really trying to

do the best that they can by their neighbors, by their loved ones, and by their families. And as a person who's in office right now, I'm just, I know that it's awkward. I know it's uncomfortable. And I'm just so grateful for those who are taking those extra steps of precaution to protect our community. Yeah. And I should probably, uh, and I should probably put a plug in for the Utah website. Utah has got a really cool thing where the care act enabled them to get mass and you can go on, uh, I believe it's the Utah government site. You can order mass. We actually got some the other day. Fortunately, I review a lot of products on the Chris Voss show and a year ago I was, you know, I was always flying and getting sick with all the traveling,

speaking and different things that I do with events, and so we reviewed some masks, so we had some masks sent us to a year ago before this even came up, and so we had a bunch lying around, but you can order the masks, and I encourage everyone to wear them, because, you know, the one thing I wouldn't, I, if I ever, I've often thought of this over the years, if I, if I accidentally killed someone with my car, you know, I was looking at my phone, it's being stupid. If I committed some sort of manslaughter just because I wasn't paying attention or I was reckless in a moment, I would have a hard time living with myself knowing that I killed another human being. And, you know, we're seeing the cases around the nation where just one or two people can just wreck into the thousands and kill multiple people. And, you know, we don't know a lot about this virus.

There's a lot of things. But just knowing that I may have been a source for that would just crush me. And I'm not sure I'd stick around for it. I think it's important to know, too. And I do. I mean, we've talked a lot about just the really scary nature of COVID-19. It's really important for people to understand too. And I know that many people do, but many people are fine and they recover and they have mild or asymptomatic cases. But for those in our community that already have underlying health conditions, and unfortunately,

many people do, this is a very serious situation. And we're learning more about how it impacts kids, how we might have other concerns, especially we are seeing really devastating numbers in our communities of color. So all of these small things that you are doing, wearing that mask, washing your hands, keeping the distance, limiting your trips in public, is really being a good and responsible citizen. And like I said, I know it's hard. I know it's hard for me as a person who just loves to hug people. When I'm seeing people run into somebody in the grocery store that I know, that moment of just feeling like we've given up some of our normal life and some things that we really like. But these small changes in our behavior

can really do a lot. And I just hope that people understand that. So yes, it's true that most people recover. Yes, it's true that for many, you know, moderate symptoms, you know, many asymptomatic, but wow, for those who are hit when they may have an underlying health condition or just there are some who are just, you know, otherwise healthy, but man, it hits them hard. Your actions matter and taking care in your community matters. And we can do so much to slow the spread of the virus. And this is a super spreader. I mean, this is a highly infectionary disease. I believe Rachel Maddow has been doing a great job of covering the people up in your area of town, the old Dakotas and the old dairy town, up in the Dakotas with the meatpacking plants. I believe one of the stories, if I'm retelling it correctly, a gal had the fever and she was worried about her bonus.

And she went and she was just worried about her job or money. I'm sure she had a family she was taking care of and she had a fever. So she took some acetaminophen, iced herself down. She beat the fever meter that they had at the front door and she went in. Um, and sadly she not only infected probably a thousand people and it's right in the community now, uh, she passed away. So she's not getting her bonus either. The way I look at it is I've lived 52 years. This is a moment in time where a few months I'm going to have to wear a mask. I'm a grown up. I can handle it.

And I only have to wear a mask when I go out. It's not like I got to do it when I'm driving down the road or at home. And so, you know, a couple months, you know, maybe six months or something. I don't know. We'll see how it goes. But, you know, maybe for half an hour I got to wear a mask at the store. I mean, come on. I can handle it.

I'm a big boy. You know, and if you really just look at it from that perspective, the small moment of time that we need to get through this and what we need to do and contribute to each other it's it's not that hard especially considering the kinds of sacrifices people have made for this country over the years this is a small ask i mean i i love the memes that i see online where they you know they show the guys you know storming the beaches in normandy and you know i can't imagine that stuff i grew up reading all those stories about how you know if you were in the first seven waves, the Marines to go into the beaches of Guam or,

or, or that whole, uh, uh, uh, area down there, you knew you weren't gonna, you were just piling bodies on the beach to give cover for your, for the people beyond the level seven. Um, and, but you went because you were an American, that's what you did. You were Marine. And, uh, so that's, that's the sort of gumption and, and, you know, having to ask people, Hey, we need you to sit home and just watch some TV and take it easy and wear a mask to do your contribution for this generation. It's like, Hey man, that's cool with me. I like this. I'm, I don't want to storm the beaches of Normandy, man. I'm not sure I got that level of, of Moxie. But so let's talk about anything you want to cover what you've done in office so far, what you're hoping to do with your next session.

Yeah. So some of the things that I'm, well, I'll just share one thing that I'm really proud of. We had the, through actually really good bipartisan work in our state legislature, were able to pass this thing called HB 411. And House Bill 411 created the opportunity for municipalities to work a lot faster towards renewable energy. That meant that individual municipalities, so cities, had to pass a resolution creating a pathway for the constituents of that town to be able to sign up for basically a quicker pathway to renewable energy. I was able to introduce that at the county council, and now the residents of unincorporated Salt Lake County can also be a part of moving towards this faster pathway towards renewables. So that's something that I'm really excited about

because I do think we have a real responsibility to be good stewards of the environment, to really take care of each other in that way. And it's a great partnership between the cities, Rocky Mountain Power, all of the different kind of entities working together. So that's one thing that I'm very proud of. We've also done some good work to draw attention to issues like immigration. And, you know, one of the things that I've actually been very proud of that I spend a lot of time

doing is going out and visiting many, many areas. I've been in every department in our county, visiting with, you know, department directors, but also actually going in to talk with frontline workers. There are thousands of employees in Salt Lake County that are doing incredible work for this community. As I mentioned, you know, everything from I got to go out and deliver meals with Meals on Wheels, have spent time in our jails, have gone on ride-alongs for probation, intensive supervisory probation programs that we have. Different things that we're doing to rethink the criminal justice system, have spent time with our legal defenders and with our DA, and really cherish the expertise and commitment that so

many public servants have, those who are working and supporting our community in county government. So that's something that I'm really proud of. And it's one of the places where that kind of connection to our workers, the connection to our employees helps me to see the big picture when we're looking at the kinds of, you know, budgetary implications of something like this, when we're thinking about those programs that really are a lifeline to so many in our community and how we're making our priorities as we head through

what are, I mean, undoubtedly going to be lean and uncertain times. So being out there, being engaged, visiting with lots of people, really understanding the multiple facets of county government has been really important to me. And with that, I know that we have a great opportunity to continue to serve our underserved communities, whether that's the efforts that we have around homelessness or sobriety. We have a number of sober living programs, addiction treatment programs. And because of our role in the health department and human services in the county, we're really the biggest provider, the biggest connector is probably the better way to think about it, to mental health

care resources and addiction treatment resources in the state. So a lot of efforts happen to connect people, to help people pull their lives back together if they're dealing with addiction or dealing with mental health concerns. And I could not be more proud of that work. And as a, you know, if I have the honor and the opportunity to continue to serve, prioritizing access to mental health care, addiction treatment services, thinking seriously about growth and how we grow, looking for opportunities to create and invest in open space, parks and trails, you're going to get all of that with me. That's awesome, Sauce. And this is going to become super more important with the COVID the COVID-19 not only with the health issues of COVID-19 but you know we're starting to talk now and you're seeing this in the national media

where we're talking about um some some people feel we may be even you know some people may have uh um the I think not COPD but the the um the uh it's basically the damage that a lot of our military people go through. PTSD. PTSD, that's what I'm thinking of. And I know domestic violence is on the rise because people are trapped in their homes with people that probably wasn't a good situation in the first place,

and now it's accelerated to a level that's out of control. I know people are dealing with a lot of depression and darkness, and we're still in the early stages of this. People are still kind of going along their savings. Not everyone. I know there's people in food bank lines. But there's a lot of people that kind of still feel like we're coasting okay on this a little bit. You know, we're seeing people out blowing out money on Memorial Day weekend. I was kind of surprised by that. I'm like, okay, well, I guess people think they got plenty of money. And so we're going to see financial issues, mental health care issues, not only from domestic violence issues,

but I think depression is going to be a huge amount of this. I mean, I've been used to working from home. I've owned my own companies. I've been an entrepreneur since 18, since 2004. I've literally worked at home other than a few stints with some investors. But for the most part, I'm very comfortable working from home, being at home. I'm not a guy who goes out and does a lot of different things other than when I travel, speak or do events, et cetera, et cetera. And now I don't do any of that. But I'm used to working from home. My whole life, et cetera, et cetera. But, and now I don't do any of that, but, uh, but, you know, I'm used to working from home and my whole life and my office and my businesses is

always been in my home. Uh, but for a lot of people, they're not used to that. They're used to the very social aspects of it. They have huge families that I don't, uh, they're used to, you know, they're used to being very mobile and, and, and, and, and, and people that have, you know, a lot of time spent outside the home. So they're not used to the kind of depression, the darkness. I, you know, one thing you do have when you're a person who works on a computer like me, you can work anywhere in the world as long as we got wifi is, you know, sometimes we get a little vitamin D deficiency. You know, we got, we don't get that sunlight. And so, you know, mental health is going to be, I think, one of the things that comes out of COVID-19 as being a big issue we're going to have to deal with for a

lot of years thereafter. I know the millennials took a huge hit from 2008 and watching their parents' life savings get destroyed and everything else that had a huge effect on them coming into of age and to job and work and their expectations of what they wanted and you know we just saw this this new generation that's graduating high school that they put on these beautiful events for with a lot of celebrities but but still those those kids are facing some serious you know issues and darkness and you know suddenly overnight somebody just flipped the switch on them having this bright future to like, yeah, that's all gone. And good luck with that. And so I think mental health is going to be a big issue.

And like I say, I really implore people to get out the vote this year because this is going to be the most consequential vote. And I know some people have said that for a lot of years, like I have because of what's gone on in the white house, but all politics are local. And that's really what we want to focus on. Like you mentioned in the pre-show, I mean, you want to, you want to go down that full ballot. Like I've been doing the last few years,

you want to make sure and look at everybody you're voting for. Like I sit down and I get the, I get the pre-form of the ballot so that i can research it that's one of the reasons i ordered the absentee ballot early in in las vegas is so i can research it and i sit and i go and who's this what do they do and i google them and and and that's so important because these are going to be the people that are they've got to get us through this thing because if you if you elect the wrong leaders for this next phase, we could be in a worse situation.

We're seeing that, you know, right now we're seeing some of the most troubled leaders in the world, Russia, Brazil, Europe. A lot of the people who just thought this was kind of a funny little joke are in the top four deaths and cases for this thing. And Brazil may take us, actually, the way they're going. It's kind of scary, the curve they're on. And Bassano, Bassanarano, their president, he's in complete denial. That this thing's even gone down.

And so, you know, but this is politics that's of death I mean you cannot I mean you can argue a lot of different politics and sides and everything else but when you're looking at a tombstone and you can't even go to the funerals now that's pretty real for people yeah and I think we're at a I mean for me at the national level the lack of the lack level, the lack of empathy, the lack of leadership, the lack of accountability is very scary, especially as we consider that a second wave is likely. This is probably going to be a difficult winter. Knowing that we could have just elected somebody who, you know, I think we can all talk about our sort of ideal presidential candidate, but to know that Joe Biden, at least as a person who will be bringing empathy back into that office, who will be accountable and responsive to the states and to be really

proactively thinking about what it means to support people through this time. That's really important to me. And I hope that people understand that the efforts, and I know this is unusual, and I'm going to kind of shift a little bit to you. So how do we help? How do we help candidates at this time? How do we work for that future that we so desperately want, where we have better leadership that's less grounded in partisan bickering and more grounded in working for you. And I think something that's really simple that a lot of people can do from their homes, a really great socially distant activity, is go and follow those, you know, I hope that people will come and find me. It's Shereen Gorbani on Facebook, on Instagram,

on Twitter, as I mentioned before, just my first and last name all together. But those retweets, the shares, the likes, especially on Facebook, sharing content over, when you see something that is a clear message that really resonates with you, sharing that on your page and getting that out to your own network is a small, low cost way that you can help spread the message and help people get focused on races from the president all the way, you know, to, I always joke dog catcher, we don't actually have dog catcher here, but all the way to, you know, all the way to your county councilwoman. And so I think that there's so much power in that connective work. And as we get closer and closer, start conversations with

people, you know, send a message hey how you doing have you voted are you gonna vote what questions do you have a lot of people just feel uncomfortable in that space they don't know where to go to get good um you know non-biased information about candidates they don't know how to engage in conversations about politics it's something i'm very passionate about but a lot of people just don't care you know engage in conversations about politics. It's something I'm very passionate about, but a lot of people just don't care, you know? And so how do we get people to get focused, get engaged, and make sure that they vote? Because you're absolutely right. The consequences of this election will be, it's impossible to overstate how important this election is.

And leaders that are empathetic. I mean, even the dog catcher. I have two Siberian Huskies. So when they get loose, I want the dog catcher to have a lot of empathy. So you're very right. And people can do a lot. They can go to your website and I suppose they can support, they can donate. But like you say, you know, this is one of the reasons that we've been opening the podcast.

I mean, normally the Chris Foss Show, uh our flagship wasn't even a political podcast we tried to stay away from politics and that's kind of what the chris the resistance radio is for uh but we we wanted to open up so that we could give people more voices more more um more exposure so that people could have better choices having better choices making better choices really And yeah, sharing now more than ever, because you guys, you know, all these politicians, I was joking with Chris Fierce and I go, you guys can't be out kissing babies and shaking hands right now. And I don't think anything, and that's going to change until November. So supporting your local politics or supporting your local politician

by sharing out their stuff, helping them on social media. We're using the Death Star, Chris Voss Show, Chris Voss Channels, of course, to promote these shows and get you guys out there, get you guys on those search engines and everything else. But sharing the message, talking to your people. I mean, just even, you know, my family and friends, they have a lot of people here in Utah they're friends with.

And just them hearing about you guys coming on the show, they're like, we want to hear what they're about and what they're doing. And a lot of people, a lot of, I think a lot of small politics, I don't want to say small politics because the impact, you guys, is really huge. I don't want to frame that wrong. You can call it local. Yeah, local politics. There you go. That's what I should refer to. Um, is, is, doesn't get covered cause everyone's, you know,

they like the big headlines of this is the Senate guy and this is the governor guy. But you know, all politics are local as we said. And, uh, so you've got to care about what's going on, um, down that ballot. You gotta, you gotta worry about all your stuff. And those are going to be things that are going to impact you sometimes more than your Congressman or your governor or, uh, who you elect into the white house. Um, all those, those, those do have a macro effect if you will. But, uh, at a real Michael level, um, you know, uh, local politics, your city, your County, uh, is important. And, you know, one thing I've been hearing echoing through some of

my friends in the state is that the platforms or the whole sort of mindset of different groups is really important and what they stand for, what they represent and everything else. I know one of my biggest challenges when I was a Republican here was I kind of had a different mindset about how there was a little bit more about me, my money, and you should probably just go get yours. And then once I flipped over and I didn't become a Democrat overnight, I kind of became a moderate,

but I realized that the world was bigger than me and I needed to care about other people in the world and what my position was in the world. And I needed to worry about caring about people that didn't have the same advantages of me or would never have the same advantages of me. And that if I cared about my world, you know, rising tide lifts all boats. I mean, we've seen that with the wages and everything else. Health in Utah. One of the reasons I left Utah was because I would wake up every morning and I couldn't breathe. The inversion in Salt Lake County was so awful. And if you've ever seen the videos of where they fly the drones over the inversion layer in Salt Lake County, it's head whipping. And I grew up in California where you couldn't see the mountains, you know, in the 70s when we

had just awful pre changes to pollution and, you know, Salt Lake County still struggles with that. Utah County struggles with it as well. Air quality and health and everything. And I think hopefully what we come from out of COVID is realizing that, you know, health is really important because otherwise the,

you know, the downside of living is not, it's not the coolest part to be above ground. It's kind of fun, especially when you keep your loved ones around you and everyone else. We're all in the same boat. All boats rise together. So I appreciate you being on the show, Shereen.

Anything you want to say in closing as we move out? Just one of the things that I've been thinking about, and I don't want to question your own experience of moving from maybe a more kind of right-leaning conservative mindset to something else, a little more on the left. But one of the things that really reaffirmed for me a lot of the faith that I was worried I was losing in the American populace was the experience that I had, of course, in the congressional race, I knocked on a lot of doors and I love doing that. But because of the demographics of the, of the district, I had to knock on a lot of Republican doors. And I will say that it was very, it was,

it was heartening in so many ways in particular, the reactions that people were having to what they were seeing at the border. A lot of, I mean, numerous conversations with Republican men who were devastated by the images of, you know, children and families being separated, who were very concerned about what that said about where we were going as a country, who had deep misgivings about the way this president talks, the way he treats people, the way he divides and vilifies did not feel right to a lot of Republicans in this state. And I know that, you know, it's going to take a long time, I think, for some of that. There's

certainly a lot of entrenched partisan rancor, and I'm not blind to that. But what I also know is that when we stop and have those deeper conversations, I have found some of the most generous people, you know, in our community lean right. I know that people have, you know, deep empathy and strong compassion for those around them who have consistently voted Republican. But what I will also tell you is that I think in this time, the kind of politics that we're seeing in our White House are so divorced from the values and kind of moral focus that people have really across many neighborhoods

here in this state. And though I would love to see certainly more purple and eventually a blue Utah, I'm grateful that our politics here, and that in many cases, not all, you know, elected Republicans in this state, I do think try to lead with good information, with science and data, try to lead with empathy. But I also know that at the end of the day,

we still have a lot of issues in Utah. We, as a populace, voted for Medicaid expansion when the state slow walked it for years. And many people lacked access to healthcare because we didn't take Medicaid expansion when we could have. When we think about the investment in our schools or the challenges that we have with the air that we breathe or how we want to protect our public lands, there's a big difference between Republicans and Democrats in this state. And I know that there are many Democrats who consider themselves fiscally conservative, who are really concerned about how we're spending taxpayer dollars, but really want to prioritize people's health, well-being, the beautiful spaces that make this state as stunning as it is, and a place that,

you know, people around the world are looking to come to. But I think we have to really think about how we're prioritizing the needs of individuals over the needs of corporations, how we're working to create fair tax structures for people over corporate handouts. And there are just so many complicated and complex conversations to be had in that space. And more balance would be good for this state. It definitely would. And, you know, and on this way, you know know we uh everyone talks about how beautiful the state is and its parks and everything and one of the things we're seeing at the federal level is an attack on the beauty of the state and the number one um uh income source for the state is tourism it's people coming here and going wow this place is great skiing they have beautiful national parks and

seeing at the federal level that they're just putting the state up for sale for oil drilling and all the ugliness that comes from it you know i come from nevada where we have a lot of the state has these gold tailings from the gold mines and everything that are hazard zones and dumping zones and i remember a lot of the different areas around utah when i left that were still super fun sites. And being cleaned up, even up in, I think, Midvale had one or two. I think Kennecott is almost a super fun site. There was some stuff down, I think, in Moab and stuff.

And you really don't want to see a resurgence of that or destruction of that. Every time I think about it, I think of an oil rig being put up behind, like, the Great Arches, you know? You see this picture of the great arches and then there's like oil rig back there pumping like you see in California all the time, which I wouldn't want to see here in this beautiful state. So a diverse economy is important. You know, we've got to have, we, I understand that, but we also can have a diverse and strong economy without selling off our, our, our most precious resources. Yeah. And I think it really impacts Utah, but anyway, it was wonderful to have you on Shereen.

Give us your website one more time so people can go share your stuff, go plug, go donate, go support your thing in any way possible. And I'm sure if you, there's probably some other things they need help so they can reach out to and email you and say, how can I help out and see if they can find something that fits in their format. So you can get connected with us at the website is team Shereen.com. And then on social media, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter,

it's just at Shereen Gorbani. And you'll be able to find me on those platforms as well. Love to have you involved. It can be, like I said, as simple as a, you know, a like and a share, and it can also be writing postcards, getting involved, making calls, all of that kind of work into the fall. Awesome sauce. Well, I certainly appreciate you being on the show with us, Shereen, sharing your insight. And we'll be voting for you in November. Watch for that ballot. And support the Democratic Party, support Shereen, go to their websites and check them out. Check out the podcast that we recently did with several different people that are running for

office in Utah. This, uh, this election cycle, including Chris Peterson. Uh, we had a great interview with him. Very impressed with him. I very impressed with him. And, uh, so check that out. You can go to the resistance radio.com. You can see all the podcasts there. We talk, of course, national and, uh, uh, local politics as well. You can go to the CBPN and see all nine of our podcasts there that cover

everything from technology to businesses to the Chris Foss show, which talks about everything or chrisfosspodcastnetwork.com. You can also go to YouTube and see these videos. If you're listening to the audio version of this on our podcast, you can see Shireen and video at youtube.com forward slash Chris Foss. Hit that bell notification so you can get that. Appreciate my honest always being here. Stay well, stay safe, and we'll see you next time.