Around the Districts Podcast

Chandler transformed from a quiet farm town into a global economic hub. As the July 21st mayoral election approaches rapidly, the city requires leadership that understands this massive demographic shift. In part two of our talk with Chandler mayoral candidate Matt Orlando, we examine the three pillars necessary for the future of the city. He prioritizes community safety, economic development, and...

Local districts must collaborate to defeat well-funded political machines. In this episode, Legislative District 12 Chair Melissa Galarza details how grassroots campaigns swap resources and bypass the consultant class. We discuss the direct path from local school boards to federal office. When we elect strong leaders at the municipal level today, we block bad national policy tomorrow. Watch to lea...

Chandler Council Member Matt Orlando campaigns to become the next Mayor of Chandler. He brings 25 years of public service to city hall. In this episode, we sit down with Matt to discuss the true cost of high-tech industry sprawl, data centers, and community safety. He explains his recent vote to reject a massive artificial intelligence data center where developers failed to guarantee local jobs. W...

Welcome back to Around the Districts! In this episode, we sit down for Part 2 of our conversation with Chandler City Council candidate Cicely Rocha-Miller to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to run a grassroots local campaign. Cicely shares her perspective on why the arts are a fundamental connector—not a luxury—for the Chandler community, detailing the unique partnership between th...

In the second part of our conversation, Maritza Saenz returns to expose the deep conflict over ballot access in Arizona. The state legislature maintains a steady assault on early ballots and mail-in access. We dissect the Free, Fair, and Secure Elections Act (I-08-2026), a citizen measure that establishes voter rights in the Arizona Constitution. This measure places established ballot access out o...

The 2026 election cycle is here. Wealth alone does not buy movements. In this episode, we continue our conversation with Claudia Kline. She seeks a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives for Legislative District 8. We look at the harsh landscape for rural Arizona. We show how state policy fails our neighbors. We dissect how corporations use right-to-work laws to exploit workers and suppress...

Municipal campaigns are hard work. In 2024, Cicely Rocha-Miller missed the Chandler runoff election by only 242 votes. This razor-thin margin proves a fundamental truth: your vote matters. While national campaigns dominate our screens with partisan battles, municipal decisions determine our daily lives. In Part 1 of our conversation with Chandler City Council candidate Cicely Rocha-Miller, we disc...

National campaigns waste millions on late-stage television ads. They ignore the physical labor of the precinct. In part one of our series with Legislative District 12 Chair Melissa Galarza, we examine how local organization wins elections. Melissa built a powerful team of precinct committeepersons in the East Valley. Volunteers distributed over one hundred thousand physical voter guides. They knoc...

The state legislature counts on your exhaustion. They believe that if they make the act of the vote difficult, you will stay home. In this episode, we sit down with Maritza Saenz of Protect the Vote. Arizona has a thirty-year history of secure mail-in ballots. Now, that history is under siege. This is not just an attack on a few—it is a systemic attempt to control every single voter, regardless of...

The 2026 election cycle demands leaders who live the reality of their districts. Legislative District 8 faces a choice between community service as a hobby and representation as a necessity. Claudia Kline joins the show to expose the systemic neglect that poisons our air and drains our public funds. We discuss the environmental toll on the Yavapai-Apache and Pascua Yaqui communities. We examine th...

The math of dissent is precise. AJ Kurdoglu knows this math. In part two of our conversation, we expose the tactical storm of this administration. We reveal the human cost of state-sanctioned kidnapping. Gilbert was once a fortress for silence. Now, it is a site of resistance. We discuss the 3.5% rule. This is the threshold where a disciplined minority breaks a failing system. We also confront the...

The powerful use hopelessness as a tool for control. They want silence. We refuse. In this episode, we prove the tide can turn. We look at promising data. From the Salt River Project election to national flips in red districts across the nation, the working class is waking up. Voters in Arizona stood in line for four hours to protect their power. The costs of survival continue to rise while the ma...

On March 28, 2026, the United States saw the largest single-day protest in its history. "No Kings 3" drew an estimated 8 million participants nationwide, including over 101,000 in Arizona alone. In this episode, we sit down with AJ Kurdoglu, co-leader of Chandler Gilbert Indivisible, to talk about the tactical shift of moving the protest into the conservative stronghold of Gilbert. We discuss the...

Affordability is the primary concern for voters. That’s true everywhere, but certainly in LD25. Arizona healthcare systems face a crisis as insurance companies overrule doctors and deny claims. Families pay the price at the pump, the pharmacy, and the hospital. In this episode, AZ State Senate candidate Laura Huber explains the systemic pressure on our medical and housing markets, and how a fresh...

Survival is not a policy. In the second part of our conversation, Bobby Nichols breaks down the brutal economics of affordability in Tempe. Bobby serves as an Assistant Attorney General. He brings a unique legal lens to the fight for working-class stability. This race is not about personality. This race is a tactical intervention to shift the Overton window. We explore the "Housing First" model as...

From the suburban sprawl of Surprise to the essential agricultural fields of Yuma (winter lettuce capital of North America), Legislative District 25 is facing significant pressures. On this episode, we sit down with Laura Huber, a clinical counselor with seventeen years of experience and a deep legacy in Arizona farming, to discuss the consequential shifts threatening her community. Failure is not...

In this episode, we sit down with Bobby Nichols an Assistant Attorney General and candidate for Tempe City Council, to discuss the brutal reality of the local housing market. With renters making up 60% of our city, the lack of protection and stability has reached a breaking point. Bobby breaks down his consequential plan to fight back, including a rental stabilization board and a vision for the ci...

The 2026 election cycle is here, and the "sticker shock" of the 2024 results proved one thing: money alone doesn't buy movements. In the final part of our series with Unity Rising founder Jacob George, we expose the failure of "AstroTurf" organizing and the urgent need for a relational comeback in Arizona. We dive into the max exodus of men from the Democratic party, the populist pipeline from Ber...

The culture war is loud. Rent is louder. In Part 2 with Jacob George, we talk about the messaging gap that’s bleeding young voters: national politics as a donation machine vs. local life as a cost-of-living emergency. We get into: - Why “economic first” framing is the only language that lands - How to link social issues back to working-class survival - The MAGA fracture—and why some drift doesn’t...

Arizona’s youth vote can decide elections—and it can disappear. In Part 1 of our conversation, Jacob George (founder + executive director of Unity Rising USA) lays out what he’s building: a student-led chapter model designed to counter Turning Point USA’s campus pipeline, cut through the jargon, and connect politics back to working-class survival. We get into: - How lived experience shapes organiz...

This episode closes our conversation with Francesca Martin, Deputy Director of the Keep Arizona Blue Student Coalition. Part 1 covered tactics, how she started organizing at 16, and how her team confronts voter apathy on campus. Part 2 goes deeper: motive, mentorship, and the pipeline Arizona needs if democracy is going to hold. Francesca explains why the word “politics” repels so many young voter...

Political power doesn’t start in Washington. It starts in classrooms, union halls, and community meetings—where turnout is built and myths get shattered. In this conversation, Francesca explains why “youth apathy” is often the result of campaigns choosing not to invest in young voters. She walks through what actually works: connecting the ballot to daily survival—rent, wages, campus safety, health...

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Dr. Raquel “Rockee” Armstrong, a visionary leader running for State Representative in Arizona's Legislative District 13. In this final part of our three-part series, Dr. Armstrong tackles the challenges of political leadership in a divided legislature. She advocates for unity and collaboration, stressing that shared values like safe neighborhoods and robus...

2026 is a critical year for Arizona voters. This episode breaks down why local elections matter more than ever—from city council and school boards to the SRP Board and state legislature. Learn key dates, why turnout matters, and how your vote influences policies on housing, education, water, and safety. Voting is a right earned through sacrifice, not a convenience. People fought—and died—for the r...

In Part 2 of our series with Dr. Raquel 'Rockee' Armstrong, we dive into the healthcare premium crisis and economic pressures facing Arizona families. This is about more than policy—it’s about survival. Watch now and join the movement for a healthier Arizona. Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/part-2-raquel-rockee-armstrong == Connect with Dr. Raquel “Rockee” Armst...