GRIT welcomed Assemblymember Jen Lunsford for the third time in a year. As usual, she was fiery (despite recently having covid) — and real. Her say-it-like-it-is delivery is just the truthiness that our group needed. Maybe I speak for you when I say, I’m tired of the tip-toing and politicking of most representatives. I want guts, I want real emotions, I want truth. I want to know what’s really going on. How does this make you feel? And what are you going to do about it? Jen showed up with frustrations, realities, and facts (Remember those?).
While Elizabeth and I did our best to take notes, it was a challenge to chronicle it all. Jen shared so much—at rapid fire speed. Here are a couple of highlights, as I remember them:
- “We keep winning!” but the media isn’t covering the wins. Jen mentioned scores of lawsuits NY has won against the administration’s unlawful attempts to withhold or cancel funding, notably 2 billion in just one lawsuit. Forgive me for not catching exactly what it was for. Suffice to say, we need to be promoting and remembering there are many wins.
- Speaking of traditional media and inability to cover the right stuff. Jen lamented the loss of funding for public radio and encouraged us to be supportive, not to say we shouldn’t push back when they err, but to keep in mind how important they are to us. There are other battles to fight.
- As many of us, most of us, throw our hands up in utter disbelief at the other side’s lack of common sense, or morality. She reminded us — enthusiastically — how divided the information flow is right now. We are literally living in two realities. She even cited her own mother as being misinformed, even when Jen informs her that she was there, in the room where it happened.
- With all the Nazi Germany era comparisons flying around out there, Jen comforted us with one big difference: Unlike Germany and other countries at the time, the US is diversified by nature of our 50 state governments for sure, but also within our states, by way of counties, towns, and villages. And NY for one, is fighting like hell. Remember, we are the 8th largest economy in the world (California is the 4th), and we’re third in the US, behind Texas and California in overall GDP in the US.
- With her history as an attorney, Jen dove deep into childcare and health care related details. So much detail my pen couldn’t keep up. My over-simplified take-away is that she and her colleagues are making big strides, she’s in support of the direction Governor Hochul is taking, and happy that Monroe County is a pilot county for a universal childcare program. There was so much more to it. Suffice to say, we’re in good hands.
- Though she’s said it before, she emphasized our role for those of us who want to make a difference:
- Support candidates by voting, letter writing, text and phone banking, and door knocking. She said everybody wants to be part of a campaign, but aside from treasurer (a role in demand should you have this skill set) the gist is getting out there to get people to vote. She made note that ages 18-24 are the least likely to exercise their right to vote.
- If you’re on social media, please do your part to refute misinformation. She’s not asking you to back and forth argue, but to point out where comments are downright wrong because for every comment there are often hundreds if not thousands reading it.
- She said if there are no “Shenanigans” by the administration inhibiting the vote AND if we all help to get the vote out and we all vote, we should sweep the mid-terms.
- Support candidates by voting, letter writing, text and phone banking, and door knocking. She said everybody wants to be part of a campaign, but aside from treasurer (a role in demand should you have this skill set) the gist is getting out there to get people to vote. She made note that ages 18-24 are the least likely to exercise their right to vote.
- She also spoke about the general sentiment that Dems in Congress aren’t doing anything and said she has colleagues at the Federal level and that they are doing all they can. She referenced Schumer protesting outside of a detention center and doing what he can. (Before you say, she’s biased, yes that’s true but she is also a tell-it-like-it-is kind of politician. I for one, trust her.) I also interpret this as keep calling them yes and to focus our energy in other fights.
- Regarding holding ICE captures in the Monroe County Jail vs. Batavia, El Paso or disappearing all together, she said MCJ is a more humane facility and gives detainees access to their attorneys.
- She generously stayed the entire 90 minutes fielding questions from the group. Our questions ranged from nitty-gritty details about our district to broader NY state concerns and somehow always landing back to the national, international scene. She echoed what we’ve been reading about this new era of new world order, that moving forward it will take generations to rebuild citing DOGE as one of the most destructive forces to our government run agencies and described in her down-to-earth way that the United States of America will no longer be extraordinary, we’ll be ordinary. If this means ordinary like Denmark or Sweden or Canada, I’m all in.
When asked if she would ever run for Congress, she plainly stated that to run for and to stay in congress you need to be a fundraising machine. I’m not sure if I heard this correctly, she said you’ll spend 1/3 of your entire time fundraising, not legislating because you need to raise approximately $100,000 a day. So stated that she has no interest in that game. Especially since she’s achieved the role of Assistant Majority Leader in the NYS Assembly in just 3 terms. She’s on fire (in a good way) and I’m proud to have her represent me and my family. Rock on Jen Lunsford.