An Honorable Profession

In this week's episode, co-host Ryan Coonerty talks with newly-elected Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. She and Governor Maura Healey are part of the first all-female executive team to lead Massachusetts in its long history. Driscoll served for more than a decade as Mayor of Salem, where she led a turnaround of the city's financial health and passed several groundbreaking measures t...

In this week's episode, co-host Ryan Coonerty interviews San Diego, CA Councilmember Raul Campillo. They discuss the city's economic recovery from the COVID pandemic, including the impact of a successful vaccination campaign that has meant fewer cases and deaths than initially predicted. In addition, Campillo shares his strategies for addressing some of the biggest issues facing San Diego and citi...

Following up on the release of the NewDEAL Forum's Democracy Playbook , this week's episode features Daniella Ballou-Aares, CEO and co-founder of the Leadership Now Project, a national membership organization of business and thought leaders committed to fixing American democracy. Daniella speaks with host Ryan Coonerty about why, after starting her career growing social impact companies around the...

In this week's episode, we're taking a look at public service from a slightly different perspective. Co-host Ryan Coonerty talks with Kerry Kriseman, wife of former NewDEAL Leader St. Petersburg, FL Mayor Rick Kirseman. She joins us to discuss her new book Accidental First Lady: On the Front Lines and Behind the Scenes of Local Politics, where she writes about the highs and lows of integrating pub...

In this week's episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan talks with Richland County, SC Councilmember Jesica Mackey, who made history in 2020 as the youngest African American woman ever elected to the Council. They discussed her transition from local government staffer to elected office, her approach to engaging the public, the causes she's most passionate about, and why diversity is essenti...

In this week's episode, Ryan Coonerty talks with the co-founders of School Board Partners: Carrie Douglass and Ethan Ashley. Carrie and Ethan share what they have learned from working to prepare and support school board members to make systemic changes in their districts, and the keys to ending outdated and discriminatory education policies and practices. At a time of unprecedented pressure and at...

In this week's episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan talks with Andy Flick, the Executive Director of the New Democrat Coalition in the U.S. House of Representatives. They examine the current state of Congress, including immediate issues like the debate over the debt ceiling and some of the longer-term priorities of the New Democrat Coalition: immigration reform, opioids, and mental heal...

In this week's episode, co-host Ryan Coonerty talks with Talladega, AL, Mayor Timothy Ragland, the first Black mayor of his hometown and the youngest in over a century. Ragland shares the inspiring story of overcoming challenges in his youth to reach the military and law school, and explains how he decided to return home to run for mayor. The conversation touches on how to attract new businesses a...

In this week's special episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan talks to Lauren Harper and Liam Kerr, co-founders of the non-profit Welcome Party, about how to broaden the Democratic Party's tent by engaging with Independents and Republicans to protect democracy. Their latest effort, the WelcomePAC, supports candidates in "democracy districts" -- areas where Democrats can be competitive if...

In this week's episode, host Ryan Coonerty talks with Indianapolis, Indiana Representative Blake Johnson. They discuss how to govern successfully in a legislative super minority, and how he has built productive relationships with colleagues with different ideologies by identifying their shared values. They discuss his work to prioritize communication between candidates and citizens by starting a p...

In this week's special episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan welcomes legislative leaders from blue, red, and purple states for a conversation on their priorities for 2023, how legislative strategy differs when in the minority, and how to find compromise. She is joined by Connecticut Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, Pennsylvania House Majority Whip Jordan Harris, Iowa Senate Democratic L...

In this week's episode, host Ryan Coonerty talks with Fairfield, CT Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey, a long-time NewDEALer and brave public policy advocate. They discuss her work from last year's legislative session to increase housing and improve equity measures in her state, her new challenges as the co-chair of the Public Health Committee, and how her experience as a social worker informs...

In this week's episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan talks with Sonoma County, CA, Supervisor James Gore. They spoke in the midst of California's historic wave of dangerous storms, reacting to the devastation across the state and addressing keys to disaster preparedness and climate resiliency -- issues that have been central to Gore's work. Gore, who serves in leadership at the National...

Recorded at NewDEAL's 12th Annual Leaders Conference, this week's episode features a conversation between host Ryan Coonerty and NewDEAL Leader Maryland Delegate Jazz Lewis. They discuss how the impacts of the Great Recession led him to become a community activist and inspired him to work on issues like economic opportunity and criminal justice reform. Lewis talks about his role advising Majority...

Recorded at NewDEAL's 12th Annual Leaders Conference in Washington, this week's episode features a conversation between host Ryan Coonerty and NewDEAL Leader Colorado Senator Jeff Bridges. They discuss how he is the only state senator with a Master of Divinity, which has given him a unique perspective on campaigns, the role of elected officials, and the future of democracy. Senator Bridges discuss...

Recorded at NewDEAL's 12th Annual Leaders Conference in Washington, this week's episode features a conversation between host Ryan Coonerty and NewDEAL Leader North Carolina Representative Brandon Lofton. They discuss how he was able to flip a red district and how he has been the target of gerrymandering ever since as he works to improve his state's education system while creating jobs. Representat...

Recorded at NewDEAL's 12th Annual Leaders Conference last week in Washington, this week's special episode features Arizona Secretary of State-elect Adrian Fontes -- dubbed by TIME Magazine as one of the "defenders of democracy"  during his successful midterm campaign against an ardent election denier. Speaking with host and NewDEAL Leader Ryan Coonerty, Adrian talks about why he decided to run for...

In this week's episode, host and NewDEAL Leader Ryan Coonerty talks with Canton, MI, Representative Ranjeev Puri about his leadership role as a majority whip tasked with holding together his caucus in a legislature that will be under full Democratic control for the first time in 40 years after this year's historic election. The first Sikh-American elected to the state legislature, Puri discusses h...

In this week's episode, we feature NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan's appearance on a recent episode of the Moderate Party Podcast - a political podcast for moderates, centrists, and independents hosted by Hillari Lombard. They talk about moderate victories in the 2022 midterms, why they happened, and how to replicate those successes. They also discuss why voters think both parties are extreme and th...

In this week's episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan talks with State Attorney Dave Aronberg from West Palm Beach, FL. In a wide-ranging interview about major policy challenges, Florida politics, and the future of the Democratic and Republican parties, Aronberg discusses his work to address the opioid crisis and some of the high-profile cases that have crossed his desk, his prediction fo...

In the wake of the midterms, An Honorable Profession co-hosts Debbie Cox Bultan and Ryan Coonerty joined forces to discuss what we saw in this week's elections and some main takeaways, including how mainstream Democrats beat back Republican extremism. They were joined by several special guests: former Michigan House Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman, who discussed Democrats' great night in his...

In the third episode of our special Freedoms At Stake 2022 Election Series, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan talks with President and Founder of iVote Ellen Kurz. They discuss the critical role secretaries of state play in our democracy and why iVote's work to elect pro-voting secretaries of state is so important. Ellen also talks about how disinformation is affecting these races across the...

In the second episode of our special 2022 election series, host Ryan Coonerty welcomes Harvard Professor of Government Ryan Enos, author of the groundbreaking book The Space Between Us , to the show. They discuss his research on the phenomenon of partisan segregation in our communities and why this trend seems to be accelerating. When we live apart, Enos argues, the ability to make coherent polici...

In the first episode of our 2022 election series, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan talks with Jessica Post, President of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC). They discuss the importance of state legislative elections in 2022 and how focusing on these races helps to build and maintain the power and influence of the Democratic Party from the bottom up. With so much at stake in...

In this week's episode, we replay NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan's appearance on a recent episode of the Moderate Party Podcast - a political podcast for Moderates, Centrists, and Independents hosted by Hillari Lombard. They talked about the true makeup of the party electorate and how these moderate, working-class voters will dictate the party's future. As we move forward, a generational change is...