Pro Politics with Zac McCrary

Political pollster Zac McCrary interviews interesting people who work in and around the political industry. Guests come from a multitude of backgrounds and specialties within the political industry, and span the partisan spectrum. This is not a podcast for partisan squabbling or punditry about the latest issue in DC - it is hearing directly from successful people in the industry...their stories, experiences, and advice. This is a podcast for anyone who works in politics, hopes to work in politics, or wants to get up close to see how things really work in the world of professional politics.

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Pro Politics with Zac McCrary

Analilia Mejia, co-Exec Dir of The Center for Popular Democracy & Bernie Sanders' 2020 Political Director

June 20, 2023 • Zac McCrary

Analilia Mejia is currently the co-ED of The Center for Popular Democracy...and prior to that she was Bernie Sanders 2020 Presidential Campaign Political Director with stints in the Biden Administration, with the Working Families Party, & deep roots in union organizing. In this conversation, she talks being raised in working class Elizabeth, NJ as a daughter of immigrants, the life-changing role that a union job meant for her family, and the through line of empowering people that has run through her entire career in and around politics.

IN THIS EPISODE

Analilia talks growing up in a working poor household in Elizabeth, NJ as the daughter of immigrants...

Analilia's "political awakening" in 1988...

Analilia cuts her teeth in politics as a union organizer in Chicago...

Analilia explains the role of the Working Families Party, whom she led in New Jersey...

Analilia on her path to becoming Bernie Sanders '20 Political Director & how she tackled the job...

Analilia on why she continues to identify as a "Bernie Bro"...

The role Analilia played in bringing Bernie voters into the Biden coalition...

How Analilia joined the Biden Administration and why she left it to work again on the outside...

Analilia on her role as Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy & the role CPD is playing...

Analilia weighs in on how progressive orgs should be cognizant of communicating smartly to voters...

Analilia's career advice to young operatives...

AND AOC, Saul Alinsky, analogies, Ana Maria Archila, Sarah Badawi, Ella Baker, Build Back Better, George HW Bush, Wendy Chun-Hoon, Detroit Action, Michael Dukakis, finding a full humanity, George Floyd, fireworks, food insecurity, Jeff Flake, the free clinic, gummy bears, Fannie Lou Hamer, The Highlander School, Pramila Jayapal, jiu-jitsu, Arianna Jones, John Kerry, LUCHA Arizona, The Montgomery Bus Boycotts, Vivek Murphy, the New Georgia Project, people chess, radical transparency, Chuck Rocha, Jane Sanders, Faiz Shakir, Singer sewing machines, strep throat, Donald Trump, Nina Turner, the US Constitution, Jeff Weaver...& more!