UNITE!

Ashley and Jonathan are back post-Thanksgiving, grateful to be joined by County Councilwoman Liv Bennett. Bennett dropped tons of knowledge about what the County Council has been up to, like passing a bill banning discrimination based on hair style, to what it will be considering, like a county Independent Police Review Board. 

We did it! 45 has been fired. Federally we won but on the state level across the country it was a different story. Tune in to our recap of the 2020 elections. We have a special cohost, State Representative Summer Lee, joining Ashley and Jonathan, to dig into what should come next in Southwest Pennsylvania. 

The UNITE! Podcast gets us ready for the final push to the last day to vote in Pennsylvania (it's November 3, if you didn't know!). Jonathan Mayo gets an assist from a family member to kick things off (Go young people!). Super-volunteer Jody Handley joins the pod to sing the praises of text-banking (Join us for our MEGA text bank on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 11 am!) and to discuss the work UNITE! has done and will continue to do in the region.

The countdown to Nov. 3 continues! This week, Ashley & Jonathan talk about mail-in balloting and provide information on drop-off locations and discuss UNITE's recent decision to endorse and support the ballot initiative in the City of Pittsburgh aimed to strengthen the Citizen Police Review Board. Ashley talks with endorsed state representative candidate Jessica Benham (PA-36) in the second half of the pod. 

With Nov. 3 less than six weeks away, Ashley & Jonathan talk about the recent events in Louisville and how they speak to the need for systemic change, starting with who is representing us at all levels of government. With that in mind, they welcomed in State Representative Sara Innamorato, one of UNITE's four endorsed candidates this election, to talk about how the state legislature can help impact change and how engaging in that process is important.

Ashley Comans and Jonathan Mayo are counting down to Election Day with a series of podcasts that will dig into how all of you can get involved, from voter registration to census outreach to issue-based work. On this episode, we welcomed in two dynamic members of the UNITE Board to talk about the work they are doing in/around the election: Monica Ruiz from Casa San Jose and Brandi Fisher from the Alliance for Police Accountability.

Ashley Comans and Jonathan Mayo begin a conversation with Pittsburgh Public School Board Director Pam Harbin about all things education. They cover topics from the decision to renew Superintendent Anthony Hamlet's contract to the laptop shortage and the lack of communication around the start of school during the pandemic.

Ashley Comans and Jonathan Mayo welcome in soon-to-be PA State Rep Emily Kinkead, a UNITE! endorsed candidate in District 20 who won her primary. We talked about the chances to flip the state house, co-governing (as always), priorities in the district and what Emily believes is an opportunity to really move the needle legislatively across the state.

Lisa Middleman ran for DA in Allegheny County because she believed change in our criminal justice system was long overdue. Even though she lost that race, her work as a criminal defense attorney in helping activists who are arrested during protests in Pittsburgh now shows she's putting her money where her mouth is. Middleman joined Jonathan Mayo for a conversation about protests, rights and the need for criminal justice and law enforcement reform.

Ashley and Jonathan talk about County Council, what it is, what it does and what it can do. Current At-Large County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam (a UNITE! endorsed candidate who won!) joins the pod to talk about what she's been trying to accomplish since she was elected along with Liv Bennett. 

Welcome to the UNITE! podcast. In our first episode, our hosts Ashley Comans & Jonathan Mayo talk about what is UNITE! We have the founder and chair of the organization, Summer Lee. She's also the PA State Representative for the 34th district. Tune in to hear about what we are about and all you can expect on this show.