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We call it a podcast from the Mac of All
Trades Studio in Fairport and driven by Victor Chrysler Dots
Jeep Ram. It's Billified, the Bill Moran Podcast. Well, hello
and welcome. Thanks for getting your pot on, Thanks for
telling a friend. And that's how we spread the word
about the pirate ship. It's all about the grassroots. So
I I've been kicking around in my head for a while.
I've wanted to talk to this person because when I
go to the Bilified Facebook page, and I don't know
if she followed it or how, but she's one of
the first things that pop up. Mercedes Vasquez Simmons. She's
a Monroe County legislator and reaching for higher office and stuff.
But that you know, okay, so you go all right,
and then but she keeps popping up and I see things,
and I see a lot of activity in the community
and the stuff with politics. And then I see that
she was a beauty pageant winner and she has stuff
in boxing. I see her standing with Sugar Ray Leonard,
one of my favorite boxers of all time, and I go,
this is either the most intimidating resume I've ever heard of,
or this is someone who got real comfortable with being uncomfortable,
and I thought I got to find a way to
get her on the podcast. And I just reached out
one day and called the number. I thought it was
somebody else that answered. It wasn't. It was her, she answered,
and she said, yeah, I'd be happy to come on.
And I'm honored. But that is like I saw you
standing with Sugar Ray and I'm like, what the heck
is this?
Speaker 2: That's right, that's right. Yes, a New York state licensed
boxing promoter. I may be right now the only female
licensed promoter in the state of New York. Have been
into boxing pretty much all my life, and I'm close
to twenty years ago. I started a company call it
Pretty Girl Productions. And that's a fun story too that
I'll have to share one day. But so yes, I
entered into the boxing space as a fight promoter.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: Tried the boxing, you know, tried doing any amateur circuit.
Didn't care for getting punched in the face, so I excited.
There's got to be another way.
Speaker 1: It's always the punch. It's always the punch. You don't
throw when you're in the ring, right, it's the punch
you don't throw that. You go, God, my head only
right And you look back at tape and it's it's interesting, Wow,
what a cool thing. But I mean that and beauty
queen at the same time, I mean, what are we
doing here that's like or not?
Speaker 2: Well, let me tell you about the beauty queen. Tomboy
Born and raised a Tomboy. I just you know, in
the city. You know, we were just a I wasn't
bully of the neighborhood, but love to fight. I love
to scuffle with the guys, and it was it was
fun to do that. My mother was working with a
group of individuals within our community to help save what
was the Puerto Rican Festival. At one time, we were
at jeopardy of losing the festival, and my mother was
so kind of recruiting me to become a participant in
this pageant because again they were trying to save this pageant.
They were doing their fundraising just to have at least
a few hours of festivities in a downtown area. And
of course you have to have a beauty queen. And
I'm like, beauty queen, I don't want to be I
don't want to do this now, I've already you know,
dad into dancing. I love dancing and did a cultural
piece that was true to me. In fact, I was
the only contestant that didn't have shoes on, because if
you understand what it is to dance a cultural song
like a bleana or boomba, they don't wear shoes. They
didn't have shoes, and that's I was just being true
to that, and apparently that resonated with the judges, and
that's how I was able to become the beauty creating
Miss Puerto Rico of Rochester.
Speaker 1: Why I was shocked too.
Speaker 2: I was like me, are you sure?
Speaker 1: I wasn't shocked at all. I really wasn't shocked at all,
but I just thought, boy, what a what a thing?
It's usually one or the other. You don't see many
people who have such love of boxing then going beauty because,
as you said, getting punched in the face into the fun.
But what was life actually like growing up in Rochester?
You just mentioned that your mom saved the Puerto Rican
Fest and I don't want the Polish version, I mean
the real version. And I guess to sort of tag
onto that. What did being Puerto Rican here feel like
as a kid, oh, you know.
Speaker 2: I was immersed in a community that we're all Puerto Ricans.
I didn't know anything but what it is to be
Puerto Rican. So I was born and raised in the
inner City. In fact, I still live in the home
that I was raised. And I came back about four
or five years ago just to help my mother. I
noticed that she was slowing down. I noticed that things were,
you know, just weren't connecting as they should have. So
I said, you know, I'm just going to take some
time off from boxing in the private sector to really
focus on my mother's well being. And that was probably
the biggest blessing I could have had because it allowed
me to spend quality time with my mother and really
understand what her motives were. What why are you going
to so many meetings? And simultaneously, Father Tracy, who was
he's a pillar in our community, particularly in the Latino community,
his health started deteriorating. So I slowed down my traveling
because I was traveling quite a bit with boxing, and
I slowed things down, and I thought to myself, why
did God bring me back into this? And I think
everything is spiritual connected. Father Tracy was diagnosed with als
and quickly his health deteriorated, and you know, of course,
with not being able to be as mobile as he
wanted to, I was running him from one meeting to another,
and I thought to myself, from sun up to sundown,
he's in meetings impacting my community. And here is a
he's an Irish German priest. What was his investment? Why
did he care so much about our community? And as
I started meeting with individuals and attending some of his meetings,
it became very clear we didn't have a seat at
the table. And although we are a as a I
guess race getting into spaces that at one time we
weren't allowed, we still missed that voice. So Father Tracy
and just being able to shadow him and then shadow
my mother, I would deem the most as Batman and
Robin when anything was happening in our community. They were
front and center and bringing awareness to that community. Sadly,
Father Tracy passed away and then several years later my
mom did too, But that opportunity to be with them,
right to be in their space, to understand their why,
really resonated with me. Now again, Born and raised in Rochester,
My mother was a civil rights activist, and you know,
just by nature, because I was her only daughter, was
I was always with her.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: In fact, most people think that I was the only
child and my mother and several other children, but my
mother just you know, I was always with her. She
was my best friend. And understanding her why became part
of my why. It was part of my DNA growing up,
just seeing what she was involved with. Now, I wanted
to be a normal kid. I wanted to be outside
playing kickball and and playing baby dolls with the neighbors.
But that wasn't for me. That wasn't my path. My
path was to me more of a public servant, understanding
the little grain that everyone puts has the impact on
a community. Shortly after my mother was quite an extraordinary woman.
You either loved her, you hate her. There was nothing
in between. My mother called it the way she saw it,
but she earned the respect of many in our community.
She was able to mobilize our Latino community went when
it was time to take action again civil rights activists.
She fought for the right to vote. Many Puerto Ricans
one day migrated to Rochester and Latinos they of course
they're American citizens because right the relationship Puerto Rico has
with the United States, you're able to vote. But they
also saw as as cheap labor, the cheap labor they
can come. They worked the Kodaks, the Xerox, the Boston Moms,
all manufacturing, right because in the late sixties, early seventies
is one that we at this boom here in Rochester.
But what was missing was our ability to vote. Now,
the ability was there, however, there was a barrier, which
was illiteracy. Now understand that that requirement was of all,
you know, African Americans Latinos. However, those are the two
major sectors that were greatly impacted. So my mother worked
with the likes of Minister Florence John Lewis and to
remove that barrier. So shortly after, you know, Puerto Ricans
were able to vote again because of their citizenship, they
were able to vote. And that's really what changed things
for the Latino community and the African American community. I
will tell you that the relationship between the Puerto Rican
community and African Americans solidified during the Civil Rights movement.
That's really what makes us a strong unit. We just
have to remember that and continue to focus on issues
that impact us in our inner city.
Speaker 1: Wow, it really sounds like your mom had maybe the
largest impact on your life you are today.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, the twenty twenty election. Listen, I'm a fight promoter.
I can tell you anything that goes in inside and
outside the ring. But the twenty twenty election was a
defining moment in her life and my life. Again, my
mother fought for the right to vote. My mother knows
the ins and out of voting. She worked as an inspector,
she worked as a translator, She worked in many aspects,
so she knows the ed, the ld, any of those
numbers that come with where you're a representation. She knew
it because this is what she fought for. The twenty
twenty election, of course, being a presidential election my mother,
and it was right in the midst of COVID, so
our goal site was changed last minute. It was just
so many things that were happening, and my mother said, look,
this is voter suppression when they start making these changes.
We now need to get back to grassroots and get
our community mobilized so that we can go out to vote.
We ran a three vans. It was just very let's
transactional let's do this. Let's do this, and we were
able to get the community out to vote. Our post
site was maybe a mile down, but it was very busy,
very busy intersections where we knew the elderly weren't going
to walk through through that. So we made it a
point of getting our vans, getting a plan and getting
the folks out to vote. Now, as folks are going
into the polls, they were like, well, the bat looked
a little different. Now, I'll understand that the ballot has
since changed because now everything's electronic, and you know, I
would to hear that. I'm like, so, what does that mean? Well,
we don't know if we saw their specific candidate on
the ballot, and I thought it was problematic. Now. My
mother voted only on election date at one o'clock because
that would give her a gauge as to, you know,
who's leading the path, how many voters are out, and
what actions she needed to take to mobilize the community.
My mother was very strategic about everything she did. In
she knew that there was a problem. So she walked
in and the first thing she was she was encountered
with was a woman that didn't understand her English. Now,
my mother spoke with a spoke English, but she spoke
English with a Spanish accent. Most people, if you took
the time, you can understand what she says. She's been
here six years, I think you should be able to.
But she met some resistance early on, and my mother
just you know, she observed it. She took this on. Okay,
this is interesting. Now again, this is during COVID. They're
allowing three or four people at a time at the
pole sites and we were waiting for her, for her
in the van and she says, well, you know, she
calls me and says, there's a problem. This ballad isn't
the correct ballot. It's the wrong information on it. Now,
I had the right LD, which is the legislative district,
but I think the ED there was something that wasn't right.
And my mom was like, get the Board of Elections online.
They don't want to call for them. So right off
the bat there's issues. I don't know if it was
lack of training, but they just refused to help my
mother call the Board of Elections and fix it. My
mother knows what her ballot should look like. It became
just a scene of just pure chaos when it shouldn't
have been this, And my mother says, I've been in
this situation before where my right to vote has been compromised,
and I'm not going to allow and I'm not going
to tolerate. By this point, my mother's in her eighties
and she's a woman. I said, we'll say what's on
her mind. She's always been that woman, but now she
doesn't care who's in the who's in the in the scene.
She's going to tell you how she feels. And she says,
you know, stop trying to steal my vote. So she
did the ballot back, give me the right one. Needless
to say, this ended with my mother putting the ballot
after talking to her attorney. The attorney said, put the
name of your your your candidate on the ballot. My
mother literally took the paper the paper and filled the
entire thing. Literally, it went from one side to another,
with her ca that it's well, when you do that,
it creates these little false positive things. The machine doesn't
know how to read multiple things. So when she went
to put the ballot in the voter machine, it rejected.
It kept coming back and the more each time she
did three times each time, I can feel the anger.
I can see the anger she's putting it in, putting
it out. And when it was accepted, she saw the
word all and to her, that was the kiss of that.
She was like, absolutely not. You know, how dare they
nullify my vote? How dare they do that? And I
remember seeing her just broken by that, broken by that,
and she says, you know, I want you to call
the Board of Elections. I want you to call the
I call the AG's office. I don't know who you
need to call. Get them here, and we're going to
shut this place out until they can figure this out.
Media came. It was quite a quite as you do,
and she did file a lawsuit against the Board of Elections.
But it was that fire, and it was that look
of paying My mother said, look at this is what
I fought back in the sixties and here it is
twenty twenty election, a very important election. Why is this happening?
So that fire just really resonated. I think I put
something on Facebook about it, you know, just being mindful
of what your ballot looks like. And in my inbox
came some gentlemen. He was like, you know, take that
stuff down. It's not true. Your candidate would have never won.
And I'm like, well, a couple of things, A who
are you? And how would you know who I was
voting for? Everyone has a right to their experience. How
dare you tell me? It turns out he was, he
was the candidate, he was an elected official from this district.
So I'm thinking, shouldn't you be asking me what can
I do to remedy this problem that you're having instead
of attacking me for posting? And at that moment I said, well,
you're part of the problem. Then if you're not willing
to help us fix this, you're part of the problem.
And at that moment I said, well I'm going to
run against you. I don't know where that came from
a fight promoter.
Speaker 1: So wait, wait, wait, wait wait, stop hanging on a second.
So in twenty twenty, this is so you just decide
I'm gonna run for county legislator.
Speaker 2: No political experience, you know.
Speaker 1: Well, that's what we need.
Speaker 2: We worked on we worked on campaigns, but he as
a candidate. Are you kidding me? I'm the most politically
incorrect person you'll ever meet.
Speaker 1: Oh it's awesome. Those are the kind of people I like.
I love that I'm telling fighters, yes, yes, yeah, right right,
you're holding the Hey you got spit buckets and wraps
in your gauze and a little bit of vaciline on
the head. I got it, Mercedes. I love this. This
is amazing. And so because of.
Speaker 2: That, I'm the last person I think I shocked myself, like,
but what I just commit to you? But it was
the fire again, this is the seat. My mother's just
her disappointment, her hurt, her pain really burned the fire
in me to say why am I My mother would
be could I could hear say that? You know, I
did come to her with of course, asking for advice
on things, but I I present her problems that I've
been having. My mother would just look at me. She goes,
whe are you gonna sit on the sidelines or you're
gonna do something about it? And that I don't want
to sit on the sidelines. I refuse to sit on
the sidelines. It's time for me to start taking action.
And I just did a swift from a shift from boxing,
I went from one ring to another, because we tell you,
these are some serious battles that we've been having at
the county, within our community. Just as we have we
now have a seat at the table. My goal is
to remain active in my community and often i'm I asked,
you know you're not in campaign season. You can slow down. No,
when you when you're campaigning, you make commitments. When you're
done with it, when you're done with campaigning and you've
secured seat, that's when you actually start working. You have
to fulfill the commitments that you made. I find my
model and that's what I'm sticking to it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's a It's an amazing model. It
sounds like you had an amazing mother, right. Can I
ask a personal question? Was was your dad in the picture?
He was? He was.
Speaker 2: My parents divorced when I was young, but my father
was very much part of our life. Yep, you know
he'd pick us up, he take us out the pizza,
knew everything that was happening.
Speaker 1: And but mom was really the biggest influence.
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1: Can I ask like a cultural question, it is the
it's because I come from like Irish, right all Irish,
I could get second dual citizenship and it was very patriarchal.
But would you say that that Puerto Rican was more matriarchal?
Is it really led by by By honestly like strong
question strong, strong women that have really shaped I mean
you're talking about your mom. Who is I mean, you
want to talk about throwing a punch, right, she threw
a punch at eighty something, you know what I mean?
I mean, hey, that's that's that's so like that and
that and where does that comes from? Just a love
of her people and her culture and wanting it to be.
Speaker 2: Better here, absolutely, I would say that it is. But
culturally and you'll see that in many Latin American countries,
the concept of machismo, yes, right, that the male is
a dominant a factor. And you know my mother, My
mother lived a very abusive life and I sort of
don't know why to talk about that, but it's about
her marriage. It was very difficult. There was you know,
domestic violence that which we had to deal with, and
I think it was because of that that she emerged
to be this this superwoman that I've grown to admire. Now.
When my mother passed away, there was over two thousand
people at her funeral. Yeah, it was a traffic jam
Donutting Avenue because she insisted on having it at Saint
Michael's Church. And we'll talk a little bit about Saint
Michael's Church because it's such an important part of my
life and the community, uh in this in this section
of the city. But she was she was my superhero.
It was two thousand people there and then she wanted
to be buried in Puerto Rico, so the governor did
the whole half mess. It was just beautiful. It was
incredible that that she she earned that level of respect.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what well, what a testament you can always tell,
like I.
Speaker 2: Remember fired up when I talk about my mom, Well.
Speaker 1: You and as you should be, because I should thank you, Yes,
as you should be, because that that's a pretty uh
pretty amazing woman.
Speaker 2: And I'm telling you, all throughout my childhood people didn't
even know my name. They were like, oh, you're law Belin, right,
the daughter of Bilin, And what an honor it is
to be called like you thinking I was thinking about
changing my name to let you. But Mercedes is Mercedes,
and I have my own fire, my own fight. But
I thank her, And there's no there would be no
Mercedes if there wasn't no way lan and go along.
Let's be clear about that. And it's her fire. This
is the fight she had back in the sixty sixties.
It's the same fight we're having now, you know, equity
to different things. And it's not that there's a handout, right,
we never expected a handout, but give us a hand
sold that there is an opportunity for us to do that.
Mother came from the Puerto Rico. She insisted on not
taking any public funding. My mother still does in us
at an early age that government funding equals they own you.
And we never took a dollar, and sadly, I mean
we we suffered. We suffered. We ate vegetation. I mean,
this is what we we ate from our from our garden.
But it was her mindset to say, don't take any
money from the government because that means they own you.
And then I think about everything that's happen at the
federal level, you know, with SNAP, and how they're her
quickly to impact folks with SNAP. Right, that's that's a
level of control. So that that placed back in my
in my mind as well. You know, my mother had
some points with that, so we never took government subsidies.
My mother worked two three jobs at a time. She
was a single mom, trying to make a lot of
things happen in our community. How she found time to
do things and barely making thirty thousand dollars is a
mystery to me. But my mother was. She made it.
She's a she was. She was a fighter and made
no excuses. You know, there was no such thing as
you know, committing crime and somehow being justified criminality is
that criminality. There's no excuse for it. Born and raised
in poverty, this is what This is what I know.
But it doesn't defined you.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it doesn't define you. Neither doesn't justify again, criminality.
Speaker 1: You're speaking to. I'm gonna call it a philosophy that
I believe. I think that we argue for people's limitations,
and I think that that that's a real, real mistake,
and we do that in every aspect of life. We
do it for our children. We label them with things.
I'm not saying that they shouldn't be labeled. I've had
that argument before. They shouldn't be labeled. Let me say this,
we shouldn't label kids. However, if someone's coming to somewhere
to get help with a child and the only way
to get a third party insurance to pay for it
is a label, then fucking label the kid. Sorry, you know,
understand what I'm saying. It doesn't mean that it's gonna
whatever treatment plan, but let's help people in life live
a richer life. And I loved what you said about poverty.
It doesn't define who I am. It's just a circumstance
that I'm in, right, sure, right.
Speaker 2: And I'm also a strong believer that you know, quality
of life shouldn't be limited to the zip code. But
we live in certain areas of our city where it's allowed.
Look down Lyle Avenue, look down Clinton Avenue. Some of
the things that we see in these neighborhoods, you will
not it will not be tolerated on Park Avenue. Why
is that we have limited police presence in this area?
And I don't care what anyone says. We need police.
We need police to be in our communities, to be
completely part of our communities. I welcome them. In fact,
I opened up a youth center. I think we're closing
in on our fourth year here within the heart of
the city. When I grew up, there was a center
called the Puerto Rican Youth Development and Resource Center, and
it was a just had a resource center for youth
and family, but it was a place where we could
just be young people and if we had any issues
that there was someone there just to help us. You know,
due to politics that happens in our community. They shut
that down or fifteen twenty years ago, and they it
was a void in our community. Now we wonder why
young people are the way they are. They don't and
have an outlet. They don't have anyone to say we've
got you. So I wanted to recreate what was Puerto
Rican Youth Development Resource Center. Actually secured that name maybe
three years ago, but we called it the Latino Youth
Developmental Resource Center, and it's everyone. It's everyone within that
district one four six, five to one and anyone who
wants to be part of a youth programming. We go
over conflict resolution, problem solving, job readiness, we have sports programming,
and it's all completely free. Now we've tried securing government funding.
In fact, we were promised money. Listen, when I get
in a higher office, one of my biggest one of
my priorities is to make sure some of these nonprofits
are legitimate and b that they're truly getting the funding. Now,
we received the big checks, right, it was cool to
model the checks we never got it because the systems
are so complex that a small organization that doesn't have
that infrastructure to navigate through these complex systems, we never
got the money. So we are here. I'm putting money
out of my pocket because I believe in what we're
doing on North Clinton Clinton Avenue with the youth. Now,
we're not able to save all, but if we can
save some, if we could provide a place for them
to come in to say, guess what, I was just
kicked out of my house. I have nowhere to say,
come here and we'll figure out where you're going to
be versus you staying in a vacant lot or in
a vacant house. I don't want that to happen. So
we're trying to really navigate through governmental systems. But the
community has really supported us businesses. Small businesses see the
work that we're doing and they're sponsoring our services and programming.
We offer year ound soccer programming, basketball, and we're trying
to add more sports and collaborate with different teams, local
teams so that our kids are not limited based on
again there's zip code. We want them to have access
to everything, and if I can provide that to of
them with my limited income, I'm going to my mother
did it at thirty thousand dollars. I can do it.
I can do it too.
Speaker 1: Well, it's a.
Speaker 2: Lot of work.
Speaker 1: Things. So aren't there grants and things that that would
become available? Do you have grant Do you have grant writers?
Speaker 2: Some of the smaller grants, But because we don't have
you know, one of the criterias for nonprofitsies you have
to have a full time employee. Well, I'm a volunteer
because we still we don't have the money yet hire
someone on to run this. So every day we're there
in the community and I'm thankful for the volunteers stepped
up to say we want to help out to now.
One of our biggest initiatives right now is addressing absentee
at the high school level. R CSD is at a
seventy percent absentee. Listen, if that doesn't scare you to
a point where you're like, what is going on? Stop everything?
I don't know what as but yet I don't see
the alarms, I don't see the Hey, community, we need
to do something about it. So we're allowing this chronic
problem to continue and it's only gonna get worse now.
This is we've had the issue of the absentee prior
to COVID. COVID just amplified it and now it's just
something that sadly is accepted now. I applaud the new superintendent.
I think he had his work cut out when he
came on, but he's that's his focus right now is
addressing absentee. But again, we're at seventy percent at a
high school level. That scares me because they're they're not
in the seats, if they're they're not actually in these
classrooms or are they they're definitely not learning and odds
are the probably get into things that they shouldn't be.
So I'm terrified by it. That's our priority. We're getting
into communities, We're canvassing areas that most don't even want
to travel through because what there's children that are living
in these communities and they have a right to education.
Speaker 1: Everybody has the right to education. And I hear what
you're saying. It's very hard. And you know, I have
my sixteen year old son who lives with me. I
am not in those zip codes and I have sometimes
some real battles, real battles to get them to school
some years and it's like, you know, I've got ubers
or whatever I mean, but it's a little different. I understand. However,
it is a human problem and when a parent is
trying to get food on the table and doing these
other things, they got so much bandwidth. And if there's
a way for us to recognize that and help kids.
And the other thing, Mercedes is maybe, and forgive my friends,
maybe our public school systems a bit fucked up and
we got to find a different way. And the thing
is like to me, and it's hard. Right, schools are
a system and they have to be there's standards we've
got to you know, there's things. Being a teacher is
from a personal observation over the past few years, being
in some schools is hard coming from non education. You know,
I have thirty years on the radium and stuff and
then sort of making this switch and dovetailing into podcasting
and things and needing some health insurance. So you go
to a school or your sub or you'll do whatever.
You see how hard it is. But it's very easy
to come in and meet a kid where a kid's
at on an individual level. For me, but I don't
have standards I'm not the one who's got to get
them to you understand what I'm saying. So there's this,
there's a system with the school. Why can't we design
this to meet the kids where the kids are at.
These kids may not look there's all kinds of things.
They may not be neurodiversion, whatever, but they're capable and
we can find things for them that will reach them
whatever that is, wherever their interest is. How do we
do more of that and less of the other. And
then it becomes a battle because you know, the teacher's
got pressure, and so the kid's not there, and there's
this and that, and then the kids, you know, and
believe me being a class clown, right, but I was.
It's hard when there's disruption. Now take it to frustrating,
you don't. My dad was a he had he went
to Saint John Fisher, which is where I ended up
going as well, but I didn't grow up around here.
And he was He was a major in philosophy. He
got a master's and a doctor in philosophy, and he
taught sixth grade English in the city of Poughkeepsie, Wow
for thirty five years. And he would always say to me,
you don't know how someone's day began and what he
meant was. And I would assume that the some of
this stuff happens in the city of Rochester as well,
that in the middle of the night somebody's door got
kicked in and someone in the home was dragged out
for drugs or whatever or whatever. Things are going on,
and the frustrations and the you know, and when I
think about it, when we're angry about something, it's usually
and it's much bigger than the issue at hand. It's
usually a lot of built up ship over the years
when you have no outlet and you have nobody helping you,
and you're looked upon as as as forgive me, but
you know, the scuma society or the whatever or this
we're not helping. And yet we sit there and we go, well,
I don't understand. I don't get it. Well, come on, man,
it's human beings that need just a little guidance. That's
all people need is a little guidance, and you.
Speaker 2: Look for that, right. They need structure, they want struggle.
Speaker 1: Yes, boxing is so freaking wonderful for kids. I think
it's amazing for kids.
Speaker 2: I think so too. Everyone says, you know, how do
you enter into the boxing. It is such a violence
sport extraly, it's a very disciplined.
Speaker 1: It's a super disciplined sport. Hanging full a bar and
have somebody throw medicine balls at your stomach, you know
what I mean, or have them hit I did, I did,
I did right. But it's okay because it's and it's really, honestly,
it's a beautiful sport because it's about scoring points. It's
not all about the knockout. It's not all about this stuff.
I get it's about scoring points, and yes there's some
things there, but the discipline of it is wonderful. And
I think that that kind of and it doesn't have
to be that. It could be something else. But I
find so many parallels to life. I see you stepping
into a different ring, throwing different types of punches, promoting,
promoting yourself, doing all these things. It's it's amazing, it's
it's really interesting.
Speaker 2: We really have to try it. And I think that
if you see things and again I think I think
back what my mother said, if you sitting in the sidelines,
you know you're not You're part of the problem. You
have to get in there and try to figure things
out now. I don't know if I mentioned this. My
mother was an educators worked at Number eight School. She
retired after thirty five years of service, and she would
have stayed. She started having health issues and that's slowed
her down, and you know, she decided, well, let them
have just retire. But she was still very much invested
in the education of our kids. In fact, she had
this little challenge in our community. For each a she'd
grant five dollars. My mother was barely making minimum age.
And every year every semester you see a line out
of our house with everyone collecting their five, ten, fifteen, twenty,
and my mother celebrated that. She goes, I don't care
if we don't have any money. After this, the metre
of fact that our community now sees, you know, our
kids are being rewarded for it. So I applaud my
mother for doing those small initiatives that made such a
big impact. Because when my mother passed away, I would
get those calls, you know when my mother, your mother
did this, and then I had no idea. My mother
still had so many connections from you know, my childhood,
where people are off to college, they're in California, in Harvard,
and you were saying, your mom wrote letters of inspiration,
just telling us that we can still do it. And
just to think my mother was always busy. How did
she find time to do all this stuff? But she
found time. My mother said, when you want to do something,
you will find the time to do it. That led
me into getting into education too. I worked as a
substitute teacher and I wanted to sort of kind of
do it as a tribute to her. At doing someone
door at Rubert do Clamented number eight school, I ended
up at Franklin and I'm like, oh, Franklin, huh, Franklin
it is. And Franklin, my goodness, Franklin has such great things.
Again you hear Franklin. In fact, we have barriers. If
you ever drive down down Norton Street and Hudson's it's
quite a sight. And one of the things I want
to address with the City of Rochester. We've got to
remove those boulders. Have you driven by that by Franklin
High School? It is a welcoming site. It's not a
welcoming site for the community, for the students, the parents,
for anyone.
Speaker 1: So are they're trying to prevent people from driving on
the property. Absolutely, I mean I got it. I mean
I get the thing. I think there's a better way, but.
Speaker 2: There's there's got to be a better way to come on.
These molders looking intimidating and in fact, in some conversations
I've had with the student, they feel like they're in prison.
So how do we change that? We can, we can
change the facade. We can build something out of bricks, something,
something welcoming, not those rocks. But anyways, I'll digress, because
the immediate, uh, the immediate need was to keep our
students safe, and we don't. We no longer have the
Kia boys deciding they're going to use Franklin Lawn as
a racetrack. So that's one thing. But what started off
as just a year to celebrate my mother became I
think now we're entering our fourth year at Franklin. At Franklin, yes,
I am a substitute teacher. I have a full time
gig there and I teach Spanish, and within that there's
a little bit of social studies as we're covering different countries.
And I absolutely love this produce. It's incredibly rewarding and
I have an opportunity to really understand what are some
of the issues. And I see it firsthand again, I
have a youth center. I hear them, I see them,
but to be in there and see we have failed.
We have failed as society. When we have children that
are walking in with ankle bracelets, we have failed. When
children are coming in that are unhoused, we have failed.
When we have children that are coming in that haven't
had breakfast, and the list goes on. But we've also
failed when we here it is March, we have kids
without chromebooks. How do we expect them to excel if
we're not giving them the tools necessary? And I love
what you said. I think when we when you said
we have to meet students where they are now, we
are in the age of technology. AI, let's let's let's
let's leverage those technologies. And more so, if this is
what they say kind.
Speaker 1: Of, I hear some crusty, crusty old men sometimes say
to me that they're not teaching cursive anymore. And I go, well,
let me ask you something. Why aren't we using the
things that we have? And there are so many things
for neuro divergent diagnosed children. Right, you can talk your
stuff into something. You don't have to type it. You
don't have to. There are so many people that have
wonderful ideas that may not have other skills, transcribing skills.
It could be fine, motor skills, whatever was missed as
a kit. Fine, Okay, that doesn't mean that they're dumb
and they don't have ideas. And you know, we all
celebrate the I'm trying to think of God, who is
the guy in the wheelchair astronomer? Anyway, it's people with
disabilities who do these great, amazing things. And yet we
look at the people that we have and then you know,
they look pretty able. Body to go, well, what's the
fuck's your problem? And the problem is that somewhere along
the line there may be gaps in their education. What
I'm hearing from you, what I'm hearing, and correct me
if I'm wrong on this. Okay. I had a friend.
He has a name that is not very popular probably
in the city of Rochester much anymore. And I really
like this guy, and I thought he did a lot
of really good work, and I tried to get him.
I used to push him because I would say, you
need to run to be mayor you need to do something,
and it was I hesitate to even say, but he
ran a nonprofit. They were putting some money in places
they shouldn't. It was Adam McFadden. Okay, Now, Adam would
say to me, and Adam would come on the radio
show with me, and he was part of our We
did a high school fantasy football because I wanted to
highlight some of the kids as much as we highlight
the pros, right, so we would all draft different players.
And Adam once said to me that there's going to
be a real problem in the city because the grandparents
are raising the kids and they're going to die, like
they just age out. And as I'm listening to you,
your mother raised the community. Your mom raised the community.
I mean, that's what I'm hearing you say without you
saying that. But that's that's the story. And your mother's
not here anymore. And so here you are again, like,
but you're one person doing amazing things. You've started the
community thing, you've done this, you're a county legislator, you're
a school teacher. But you're one Where are all the
people what happened? Why don't we give a shit what
happened within the community? To not give a shit? And
I don't know if that's even the accurate thing. And
it sounds very bad coming from a face that looks
like mine, right, it sounds judgmental.
Speaker 2: Has an opportunity, and I think is that this early
putting their little brain in this earth. We all have
the opportunity to do it. We just don't have the will.
It's quick to it's easy to criticize. It's easy to criticize.
Yeah it is, But what are we doing about it?
Everyone's sitting in the sidelines. So we have to shift
that mentality to say, if we're upset about what's happening
with our youth stealing cars, what are we doing as
society to help that. When I said that, you know,
we have kids walking on walking in with anchor bracelets.
It took ownership. We have failed. We have failed. So
this is why I'm in education. This is why I'm
summing over at Franklin High School and have been there
for four years, and I can see myself being there
for many more years because I want to see those
kids that were in my ninth grade class walk the stage. Yep,
that's what I want to see it. And I tell
them all the time, and here they're worried about living
to see their their workers permit if I get six
you know, if I make it to sixteen, can you
help me find a job?
Speaker 1: I'm like, if I make it to sixteen, And.
Speaker 2: It was it was ninth grade and they're asking me that.
I'm like, what do you mean? No, not only are
you gonna make it till fifteen, you're gonna make it
to twenty five and four thirty five. And you and
I will laugh about this when you're taking care of me,
because you're the generation that takes care of me as
as it is. But it was a moment that I said,
how horrific that they can't see a future. There's no hope.
So my job is to just sprinkle hope all throughout
this community. And I know it sounds cliche, but this
is what's lacking in our community. They lost hope. Adults
have lost hope in this generation. They've lost hope in
themselves and being able to uplift and everyone has the
ability of doing this. I'll share a story. There was
a woman that lived down the street from the house
I'm living, which is my mother's house, and it was
my first time running. She heard that I was running
and I was running up against a machine, and she says,
I don't have a lot of money to give you.
In fact, I have no money. But would you step cans?
I cried, because I see her collecting cans every single day,
and you're willing to donate your cans to my campaign.
You believe in me that much? And I said, I
can't fail this community. I just can't. Everyone if you
look at our community or worse off than we were
ten years ago, twenty years ago, when there's millions being
poured into these communities. So we've got to put us
put a hold and see where's this money going? And
can we can we say accountability? We just continue to
pour pour money into this problem and there's no metrics,
there's no what are we're measuring? So does it make
you all feel great that you're pouring money in this
community and it's going nowhere? Why does our city look
the way it does? So those are problems that I
just I can't. I can't accept it. And I'm sure
most of the things I've said today is problematic to
my party. But I am Mercedes Party, I am the
People's party. I am who I am because I am
I see what's happen in our community, and I have
to roll up my sleeves. You know, people say, you know,
what type of Democrat are you? And my opinion has
been very interesting. What's it? But you know, I would
categorize myself as a Kennedy. Oh my god, I was
just gonna say, I'm Kennedy day.
Speaker 1: Okay, hang on a second, because Geez, I had no
idea where this conversation would go. I had a bunch
of questions things. I thought, you know, I'm so happy
the way it's going. Uh. I would say that to me.
The Democratic Party has such problems because they can't agree
on anything. And the more you go, it's more splintered,
it's more splintered. It's more splintered. And when we look
at the Republican Party, there's two things that they really
answer to church, big business. That's it.
Speaker 2: Sometimes and sometimes say that I think I think.
Speaker 1: That, and I love the way you think.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think our country is broken. Republicans. I think
we have serious, serious issues, and it to me is disconcerting.
I'm knocking on doors, I'm knocking on Democratic doors, and
there there's just so much to unpack in every single
interaction that I have because everyone's angry, But what are
you doing with that anger? Why are you so angry?
And what can you do to change it? You know,
they're like, well, we don't have police, we don't have resources.
Look at all this I said, but what are we
doing about it? They depend on elected officials to resolve
it when they have their own agenda too. Sorry, I'm
going to say that we have sitting elected officials that
are taking money from utilities. Well, of course you're not
going to advocate for reduction mutility because there they make
profit off of it, sadly, and it's both sides. So
we have to have honest conversations about what we're doing
and who we want to represent us. Because a no
vote is a vote. I hear people, Oh, I'm not
voting anymore, Well, guess what that is? The vote. I
need you to be educated and I want you to
I'm going to provide you with as much information as
I can, good, bad, or and different And one thing
that I kind of I think that why I'm different
than anyone. Now, I'll have conversations with anyone. You could
love me, you can hate me, but you'll always get
the same Mercedes. I'm consistent. My community needs law enforcement.
I'm all for community policing. We walk the avenues. Hutson,
Joseph Scio, come on down. I don't I don't get
too many takers on that. The same people who are
who are drumming up community policing. Where are you? We
need you out here, I need you come out Avenue D.
Let's go down, Sullivan. Let's go down in all these
areas where we're seeing an uptick of crime, and let's
let's be there. Let's be intentional about really caring about
our community if you want to see that, because because
we can't, we can't blame society, and some of the
issues that we can we can address. Some of these
are because there's there's not a structure at home. This
is what's happening. What can we do to help and
build up the families? And one of my priorities and
we've started working on this, is getting services down to
the street level. We have DMV that's now in our communities.
We have social services that are now coming into our communities.
But guess what, we also have a job career fairs too.
We have to have those intentional things happening at our community. Okay,
you said bring things to us, bring things to us,
but let's be intentional about what we're doing. Again, this
is not about a handout. I want to uplift. I
want to give you a hand so that you're able
to fight for yourself. I live in, you know, one
of the poorest districts five to one. How do I
change that? I can change it. We can't continue to feed.
Just just pour some more money and somehow it remedies themselves. No,
I want to provide you with the tools so that
you can be successful. Let's get you out of this
cycle of poverty and uplift you so that you're able
to become, you know, just independent from any anything that
holds you down today. So it's just so much to
unpack with all this. But I every time I hear
elected officials saying that they threw money and nothing worse
than you know, this whole political theater when they do
it during your election year. You're putting half a million
dollars to a rec center, community center right before election. No, no, no,
do it all your entire term and be present. There's
there's electors officials that will come to Clinton and say, well,
we're going to have police escort. Can you walk with
us down Clinton Avenue? Absolutely not. You leave all those
escorts and in all this entourage, let's have a real conversation.
We'll walk down Clinton, Joseph Stiles Street, anywhere you want
to walk in our city. Let's walk. I don't walk
with police escort. I don't walk with security. I walk
with myself. I want to have real and intentional conversation
about what's happening in our communities.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, so you pull back the political mask and
you get to see what's really happening and not not
the theater. As you say, right, it's not the political theater.
But let's go back to something that you hit upon
that I think is so important in human beings. I
believe that everything in life is an inside job. And
by that I mean that there's really nothing in This
will sound ridiculous, people do what the fuck is wrong
with you? I don't believe anything. No one can really
assert anything on you. Now, there are certainly things, as
you gave it an amazing example in the beginning where
your mother was trying to vote. That seems like things
were asserted that way. Were they intentional. I don't know.
Was it wrong, Yes it was, but there was things.
But I think that one of the problems that I
see so much and I wish there was an easy
answer to this is building the self esteem in children.
And when I say that, I don't mean like I
don't want to be blown smoke a kid's ass, and
it's not you know. And I hear people every kid
shouldn't get a trophy. Well, I had three sons and
I don't remember them out past the age of five
playing soccer. That everybody got a trophy, right, And even
there there was one kid who scored the most goals,
and so it gave you a meritocracy to try to
build toward. I don't know how you really build self esteem,
but the self esteem is what we need. And I
don't care where you live. The kids are hit with
shit on a constant level with social media, and it
is really really like they live on these things. That
device is never more than six inches away from them.
It feels like right, and so how do you have
to make those kids feel good about them? And when
I heard things like in communities and you say you're
the democrats, I'm not the whatever you think the others
in the party will say, I know, one of the
things that was coming out and it bothered me was
the defund the police, and I go, you know, words
mean a lot. Can we say something else instead of
defund the police and making you know, like in any community,
it's the the or what's the saying the bad apple
spoils the bunch, right, And we have that with police
as well, where there's bad police officers but yeah, or
they're bad teachers. Probably, there's all kinds of stuff, but
we focus on those and now all of a sudden,
you know, they're this and when we say defund the police.
There used to be things that the police did that
were great. There were youth leagues. You know. One of
the greatest basketball players to ever come out of this
area was in a police league. He used to play. Yes,
So my point being is, okay, you want to defund
the police, well, then let's reallocate some of the money.
Because those things impacted the community and it got and
you can't tell me like, people go, well, how do
you how do you make a friend? You know, I'm older, now,
how do you make a friend? You show up at
the same place all the time, right, and you just
as the conversation goes, we get to know a little
bit more more about each other and we share and share,
and then one day you're sharing something a little more vulnerable.
And that's how it happens. That's exactly how it happens
on a basketball court with the police and the kids.
And that's something that's not missing. And John Wallace is
a product of that, went on to play for the
New York Dicks, a wonderful guy, still comes back and
does all that. That is the shit that's missing.
Speaker 2: Absolutely and it's still I'm a big fan of pal.
I absolutely agree with you on it. As I mentioned,
we run a soccer program where at the Latino You've
Development Resource Center. We use one of the city recreation centers,
and several years ago I was approached by I believe
the Sheriff's department with a new group of cohort was
coming on and he had to do some community service.
So I said, I would love to participate in that
where they help coach our kids. They're all in the
field with our kids during that summer and the end
the last game, which is always ends with a little
picnic and barbecues. Really nice they did this and the
kids loved it. The last day they came in their uniforms.
The kids were like, wait, you're a cop. And it
was such a moment. But they build relationships, so all
of a sudden, he's not a cop with at an interview,
you know, and all the stereotypes they hear about a police.
This is the guy who couldn't play soccer or that
scored on them. You know, they all have this story
and these are lifelong relationships. But it changed their perspective
on an outlook on policing. We need to do more
of that. I really listen. I want to pal. I
want to pal right on Clinton Avenue. We can make
this happen. We're gonna have to We're gonna have to
work with the police to make it happen. Because you're right,
that's what's lacking for shootings since December. Uh, that impacted
a police officer. That alarms me. That alarmed at different levels.
But there are shootings in the city every single day,
but when it when it comes to law enforcement, there's
a there's no longer a respect for the police, and
that to me is terrifying. You know, when I saw
the video and we played several times and I thought
to myself, look at how people it reacted. Some ran,
but there was a gentleman that actually walked towards again
that was shooting, and I thought to myself that this
is society. We're gonna watch it and we're not going
to do anything about it. Yeah, and again another police shooting. Listen,
I don't want any shootings in my community. We hear
the gunshots on a daily and it's become it's normalized.
So we're having conversations where there are children to say,
here's how to resolve conflict. You don't have to go
towards a gun. You don't have to. And we did
a survey. I'll have to invite you over to my
center on North Clinton.
Speaker 1: I would actually I want to talk to you about
that off air, not not anything aboutvolunteering and doing things.
Speaker 2: Oh what do you mean. I've already put you down
as a volunteer, so you can't back out of this.
Speaker 1: I think I might like it.
Speaker 2: But I did a survey. The survey was how accessible
or the way it was worded is do you have
access or can you find a gun? And out of
twenty kids that we surveyed, twenty said that they can
find it. They can either have access to a gun,
and they can find a gun either at a badega
or at a trap house or wherever. And I thought
to myself, they all have access to a gun. How
do we remove that? How do we've become a society
where our children know how to have get access to
a gun because they're relatively available in certain communities. And
we have to really make a deep dive on why
that is. Why is it that these communities again, they
tolerate the level of tolerance that is a lot out
in these communities, and it's not the people. The people
want safe communities. You know, the safest community, the safest
time we've ever had in this community is when they
locked North Clinton down because of a shooting. A three
year old was shot and they shot us down. This
is the first time, I want to say, since I
was a teenager that I saw families walking their dogs.
I've seen people jogging, I saw people doing extra and
becoming part of it. But it literally took the command
center being right on North Clinton Avenue and no traffic
going up and down Clinton Avenue. Why does it have
to be this way? Why do we have to be
so extreme to a point where the only time we
see this is during a shooting. We don't want we
don't want shootings at all. Let's be clear. Born and
raised in this community, I don't want the violence. I
think if you've shot someone, you should do your time.
We have to look at some of the laws that
impact us today. Bail reform was created for a reason.
We have to go back and modify it. I'm not
saying you away with it.
Speaker 1: We have to mind. I thought bail reform was more
of and use is a very simplistic thing. But I
stole a pack of gum, and so instead of locking
me up so I can't pay my bills and get
to work and do this, let's let's let's take it
for what it is. And you're right, it certainly does
need to be probably reformed. I don't know how these things, Yeah,
it goes. The problem is we take It's like we
take the ship too far, and I don't understand how
that happens. I want to I know we're coming up
on an hour. I don't want to eat up your day,
but I want to ask uh this question. And just
going back, because you talked about money, coming into the
community and where does it go? And that's the to
hear someone of your level of political involvement community involvement, uh,
to say that is eye opening. Now, I'm going to
bring something up that was a screaming point for many
around the country, and that would be Minnesota. And the thing,
you can't give people money and expect them when it's
not their money, to not give it out. It's people
in the community. We're coming in and they go, hey,
we got two thousand dollars for you if you can
prove your kid is whatever, and so people were doing it.
Is that fraud or are the people giving the money
not putting the fucking barriers on it? You know what
I'm saying. I mean, I'm sorry, who's not going to
do that in a community where you feel like, hey,
two thousand dollars is a nice punch in the pocket
or whatever the money was, I don't know. And I go,
how can you blame people when you just threw money
without any guidance for the money? Right, and even there
maybe they.
Speaker 2: Had that's an easy way out. Well let's blame them
and let's yes, it's not their fucking fault.
Speaker 1: You would do the same thing. I hate that because
I go, come on, man, if anybody couldn't use a
little extra money, and you tell me, hey, does your
kid write the number five backwards? Okay?
Speaker 3: You you know we had here in Monroe County, we
had a situation where we had something similar where money
was being mismanaged and we had to be the bad
guys to pull it.
Speaker 2: And it was the ARPA funding look it up. It
was quite controversial, and you know, certain individuals decided they
were going to make me their point person. But when
we're giving you tax dollars to address issues that our
life impacting, listen, I'm going to say this. Don't play
with that. Everyone to say, well, well, you know we
have life experience, we have this incident, but you're buying wagoneers.
Tell me how you're helping those that are battling opioid,
those are battling social issues. How is that helping? I
asked the question. But you're right, the accountability starts with us.
Speaker 1: It does. And the hard Mercedes is it's when you
give people money that's not their money, they're not going
to spend it in the right way. If I feel
that maybe I'm painting with a broad brush. I'm just saying, like,
take it to you know, like giving your kid money
or encouraging your kid to get a job. Right, a
team kid. Right. To me, it's sort of the same
thing that a lot of times people get excited going,
oh god, there's money and you want a wagon ear
and wagoneers, do we need a wagon? Ear? It's it's
one hundred thousand dollars card. It's kind of shitty. They're
not even that great guys, They're just not I mean,
I'm a car guy there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and trust me, I got quite a bit of
backlash because I voted against h continuing the funding of
this nonsense. Yeah, we just can't continue it. I mean,
let me just tell you, hosts of your things things were.
They were ear Mark to hire a social worker and
then they hired someone that barely had a high school diploma.
Do you understand the impact that that has in our community?
A person has now given herself the title of a
social worker and doesn't have that. It just to me,
you are now the enemy of this community because now
you are advising folks that really need.
Speaker 3: Someone that's like a license right, social worker is a
serious and.
Speaker 2: How dare you do that to our community, to play
do it, to pretend to be something that you're not
and call it help. I don't need that help. We
need to be intentional about that. Every dollar and every
dollar should be accounted for. I want to see those
monthly reporting to say this is what the dollars have
been spent on. I teach young people every day about accountability.
I expect it from adults. So that's those Those are conversations.
And again there's people in this community that are not
happy because guess what, we cut that gravy train. It's
not going to happen, not on my watch. So call
it what it is. You're always going to get this authenticity. Now,
is it in my mind right about everything? Probably not,
most likely not, but at least, I mean, I'm honest
to have the conversation to say, you know what, I
was wrong about this, but with ARPA, I'm absolutely not
wrong about it, and I stand firm in my vote
against continuing to fund this nonsense.
Speaker 1: I have loved this conversation. It did not go all
the way I thought I would learn more about your
boxing and things. I don't care. I don't care. I
thought it was fantastic. It would be an honor for
me to have you back sometime.
Speaker 2: True, that would be fun. And before we wrap up,
I want to tell you is we're doing a boxing
event here. It's the first time in like thirty years
there's been a major boxing event in Rochester. It's going
to be at the Blue Cross Arena, really ro twenty fifth.
So we have Bryce Mills who's just recently won the
WBC silver championship. He's going to defend his title. Okay,
it's won it like two three weeks ago, so it's
cool it he's back on it. I'm a big boxing fan.
I'm a big fight fan. In fact, tonight I'm gonna
go see cage fighting. I love this. So people says, well,
you know, you either like boxing or you to like
boxing you like a man. I love them both. You
do both require a level of.
Speaker 1: Discipline, huge level of discipline.
Speaker 2: Those guys rules and regulations. But you go in there.
You just have to respect those that are answering.
Speaker 1: I don't understand. Well, yeah, right, and you have to.
That's that's very true. Uh, there's one other thing I'm
going to jump back to. Just I know we're going
a little bit overtime, but the uh, the I would
compare anything to stepping into those rings. You're adrenaline, You're
all this, You're nervous, right everybody, and if you're not,
there's something wrong with you. Those guys are really putting
it online. But I think what you do when anybody does,
it's the same thing. Take that step, step into that ring.
You know, if you're a young person or you have
young people in your homes, get them to step into
the ring. They're going to feel better because that's where
the true self esteem comes. Well, the problems happen and
we feel shitty about ourselves. And I don't know that
it's a disrespect for the police as much as it
is a disrespect for every human being these days. And
by that I mean if you don't have a little
bit of something in here, you don't give a shit
about anything out there, is kind of my point. And
when you're right right, we see more shootings of police officers,
we could say, boy, there's a real disrespect for police. Well,
there's also teachers getting punched and we're not hearing about it.
We're also yeah, huh, there's also parents that are getting whatever.
There's something where there is this hopelessness. And when there's that,
you know, the scariest thing is a person who has
nothing to lose. Yes, And when these kids feel like
they have nothing to lose and they're telling you if
I make it to sixteen, that's a really scary telling thing.
That to me is the bigger is concerned here and
and we need those community centers to show these kids
you matter, and and you got to figure out inside
here you matter and build something in here. Don't listen
to all this noise and ship out here. You matter, right,
And I think that that's where that we're seeing. I
don't know that it's a disrespect for the police. I
think it's a disrespect for themselves and they have nothing
to lose. Yeah, And that's a scary.
Speaker 2: Scary, scary, absolutely right.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And I think we have society, we owe it to
this generation to just give back. Take time out of
your busy schedule and spend time with youth. Rather be
through a rec center, through different forms volunteering at schools.
We need community back. I was just at a church
and we're talking a little bit about absent teachers bringing awareness. Listen,
I anywhere that would take me to speak, I will
talk about this because this is a chronic issue when
it comes to absentee and everyone has the ability of
changing the life of even if it's your neighbor they're
not going to school. Knock on the door and say
what do you need to get to school? Often you'll
find maybe they just don't have clean clothes, they don't
have supplies, they don't have whatever it is, help them.
If you have the ability, the means, and and and
again it's the will because you don't have to have
money to help help your neighbor. Just help someone to
particularly the youth, because they're crying for attention. But criminality
isn't it. We can't make excuses to say, oh, it's
because of that. No, we have to give them direction.
Let's give them direction, Let's give them the path to success,
and let's hope that that's That's something that I'm hoping
that we can continue doing in our community because it's
starting to pick up. People are starting to say, yes,
what can I do to help young people? And rather
it be you know, we're going to use We're going
to take our kids to the museum somewhere different, take
them out of their everyday run that they they see
this is.
Speaker 1: The life show. Show show them that there is more.
There is more, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just our kids to the museum out in
the country. And I forgot it was the count I
thought these kids were going to hate it. They didn't
want to leave, and they said, miss can I tell
you something something that we don't hear is the sirens?
And I thought, wow, how profound. And they didn't want
to leave. And they were rolling, rolling down the little
hills that they were. They were in costumes and for
a full day they were able to experience something different
outside of North Clinton. Joseph Hudsen. They were able to
do something different and man, what a roarty experience that
was for everyone that volunteered. And there were organizations in
small companies that help make that a reality because there
was a bus there, there's cost a bus, there's costs
of feed these goods.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: It was like I said, hey, I want to take
the kids, and people are like, here, here's fifty dollars,
here's one hundred dollars. And it was a community that
came together to provide them that experience and every year
they look forward to going out there. They call it
the country. We want to go to the real country. Okay,
let's do that. Yeah, it's amazing, right, something to live for.
Speaker 1: You're a beautiful soul if anyone's ever said, you really are.
You're doing amazing work. And I love the boxing. I
didn't know about the boxing and a Blue Cross arena
this April. I think that's really really great. That's going
to be back and that's another thing. Yeah, and boy,
i'd love to talk to you again, and I really
appreciate it. And please tell people how they find you
and how they can also vote for you. I know
you're running for a state Assembly. You're going for a
higher office than the county legislator, where you clearly you're
doing impactful work.
Speaker 2: Yes. So I have two websites. The one that I'm
really pushing right now is Mercedes twenty twenty six and
that's my website for my current goals, which is to
become a New York State assembly person representing this district
one hundred and thirty seventh District again, Michael, is to
have a seat at the table so that our community
has a fighting chance. You know, we sort of kind
of bow down to anything that's happening in downstate. I
don't care what's happening in downstate. We need to fight
and we have to have a voice and have the
courage to represent our district. And I know that I
haven't listen. I come, I'll come swinging right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you do, absolutely, you do well. This has been
a real pleasure for me. I really, really, really enjoyed
the conversation. Got you are one interesting human being. I
didn't know you kept popping up in my Facebook page
and go, man, it's this This chick's cool man. She's
standing with some sugar the heck and wait, you want
to beauty? What the heck is going on here? I
don't know. I want to find out more. And I'm
glad I did. I really appreciate it. I am, and
I will say, please go learn more about what Mercedes
is doing. And her dad built that car. By the way,
I'm kidding. I'm kidding. The car is named after the
man's daughter.
Speaker 2: Everyone says, because joke is, what's your brother's name, Toyota?
Speaker 1: The car was named after the man's daughter. Come on,
just like Porstia, same thing. Come on, all right, they
got those beauty queen daughters. I'm Bill Morea, you got it.
I'm Bill morea we'll see you next time, somewhere whatever
in the dark.
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