How Democrats Can Change Their Message on Homelessness and Public Safety
Release Date: 03/13/2025
How Mountain View City Councilmember Chris Clark connects Tech and Local Government
An Honorable Profession
Recorded at the NewDEAL Forum Ideas Summit in Atlanta, GA, this week’s episode features co-host Ryan Coonerty in conversation with former Mountain View City, CA Mayor-now-Councilmember Chris Clark. Clark describes how he balances working for tech companies by day and the interests of the Mountain View community by night. They talk about how lessons learned in tech can be applied to improve local governments, how Clark transitioned from his upbringing in rural Illinois to the Silicon Valley, and his journey from being Mountain View’s youngest elected official and mayor to now a longstanding...
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How to Lead from the Minority with Georgia Representative Sam Park
An Honorable Profession
Recorded at the NewDEAL Forum Ideas Summit in Atlanta, GA, this week’s episode features co-host Ryan Coonerty in conversation with Georgia House Democratic Whip Sam Park, the son of a Korean Immigrant and the first openly gay man elected to the Georgia’s Legislature. Park talks about his journey to public office, his efforts to fight for healthcare after his mom got stage four cancer, how he advocates in a minority, and how he keeps hope in these difficult times. The conversation delves into how to recruit candidates who can change Georgia”s political landscape and how Park crafts...
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How Democrats Restore Trust in Government with Congressman Greg Landsman
An Honorable Profession
In this week’s episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan speaks with Congressman Greg Landsman who represents Ohio’s 1st Congressional District. Landsman is a member of the New Democrat Coalition and co-host of the new podcast, The Fly-In. They talk about the effects of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that passed the House by one vote - highlighting the massive unpopular cut to health care and food assistance programs that the legislation would slash to pay for tax cuts for the super-wealthy. Landsman shares what Democrats can do to help their constituents better understand...
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How to Serve Rural America and Make Bipartisan Progress with Senator Dylan Roberts
An Honorable Profession
In this week’s episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan speaks to Colorado State Senator Dylan Roberts. Roberts represents a swing district in the Western part of his state - including ski resort towns, mountain communities, and rural areas. Roberts discusses how he set priorities for this year's legislative session, including what it took to close a $1.2 billion dollar shortfall, as well as his work to pass two bipartisan housing bills to increase supply and bring down costs. He details what he hears from his constituents, as well as what Democrats often misunderstand about rural...
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How Government Can Get Sh*t Done: Marc Dunkelman on Why Nothing Works
An Honorable Profession
This week, we bring you another episode of our series on How Government Can Get Sh*t Done, as co-host Ryan Coonerty sits down with Marc Dunkelman, professor and author of Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress- and How to Bring it Back. Marc discusses the barrier preventing the government from solving problems and achieving broadly shared goals, what it will take to instigate meaningful change, the lessons we’ve learned from Trump’s second term in office, and how building more housing fits into progressivism and government reform. They also talk about The Vanishing Neighbor: The...
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How to Turn Environmental Science into Pragmatic Policy with Rep. Lindsay Cross
An Honorable Profession
Recorded at the NewDEAL Forum Ideas Summit in Atlanta, GA, this week’s special episode features co-host Ryan Coonerty in conversation with Florida House State Representative Lindsay Cross. An environmental scientist, Cross discusses how she draws on personal experiences to fight for the preservation of wetlands and endangered species across Florida. She highlights the bills she has recently championed to improve responses to natural disasters and aid recovery and to enact fair housing policies. Ryan and Representative Cross also talk about what it might take to move Florida back to being a...
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How to Turn Illness into Advocacy with Ohio State Representative Dontavius Jarrells
An Honorable Profession
Recorded at the NewDEAL Forum Ideas Summit in Atlanta, GA, this week’s special episode features co-host Ryan Coonerty in conversation with Ohio House Assistant Minority Leader Dontavius Jarrells. Rep. Jarrells speaks candidly about his childhood experience with lead poisoning, channeling his identity as a survivor of the devastating illness into advocacy as he works to pass comprehensive laws to reduce children’s lead exposure through the legislature. He also talks about the difficulties of serving in a Democratic superminority, how he draws on his experiences growing up in...
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How to Overcome Political Challenges with Stacey Abrams
An Honorable Profession
In today’s episode, co-host Ryan Coonerty sits down with NewDEAL Alumna and former Georgia House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams at the NewDEAL Forum’s Annual Ideas Summit in Atlanta. Abrams reflects on how she drove progress on big issues as the minority leader in the Georgia House between 2011 and 2017. She talks about how to model values-based leadership and encourages listeners to do the same, developing concrete guiding principles around which to rally their work. In addition, she cautions leaders to listen and understand the roots of people’s problems before jumping to policy...
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How Government Can Get Sh*t Done: Caitlin Lewis on Solving the Public Service Crisis
An Honorable Profession
This week, we bring you another episode of our series on How Government Can Get Sh*t Done, as host Debbie Cox Bultan sits down with Caitlin Lewis. Caitlin is the Executive Director of Work for America, an organization committed to addressing the talent shortage in public service by connecting qualified and passionate problem solvers with positions in state and local government. In today’s conversation, she speaks with Debbie about the shifting public service landscape under the Trump Administration, the economic challenges facing state budgets, and the unique opportunities for state and...
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How Michigan Manufacturing is Handling Tariffs with Lansing Mayor Andy Schor
An Honorable Profession
This week, host Ryan Coonerty speaks with Lansing, MI, Mayor Andy Schor whose community and state are at the center of national politics and the current debates around manufacturing, jobs, and tariffs. Mayor Schor discusses the disconnect between President Trump’s campaign promises versus the actual impacts his policies are having on the lives of the everyday Michiganders who elected him. He digs into the specific impacts of tariffs, including how they threaten mid-Michigan’s auto industry, as well as small businesses through the Lansing region, and speaks more broadly about how mayors...
info_outlineThis week, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan speaks with San José, CA, Mayor Matt Mahan, who was elected two years ago on his promise to tackle the city’s most intractable problems like homelessness, crime, and traffic. Mayor Mahan talks about his recently announced "Responsibility to Shelter” initiative, which makes historic investments in intermittent housing and supportive shelters while creating accountability for homeless residents to go indoors. Debbie and the mayor also discuss his advocacy for California’s Proposition 36, which increases penalties for petty theft and public drug use and which passed as a ballot measure with over 68% of the vote last November. Mahan reflects on the opposition he faced from Democratic colleagues on the issue and the lessons he learned from that experience on how Democrats can strengthen their message on crime, homelessness, and the role of good governance. And, as the mayor of the capital of Silicon Valley, and co-chair of the NewDEAL Forum AI Task Force, he explains how the city is utilizing artificial intelligence to improve government services, including by optimizing bus routes and detecting and repairing potholes. Tune in to hear about Mayor Mahan's journey from his rural hometown to his career in tech startups and what inspired him to run for elected office.
IN THIS EPISODE:
• [02:21] Responsibility to Shelter: holding unhoused individuals accountable.
• [06:07] Expanding low-barrier housing with dignity and support in the face of controversy.
• [08:40] Addressing addiction and mental health as public health crises.
• [10:32] Proposition 36 and the need for more inpatient mental health and addiction treatment.
• [14:54] A political perspective: why Democrats must prioritize results-driven governance.
• [18:34] Using AI to make government better by improving transit, city services, and efficiency.
• [22:38] How San Jose uses performance-based budgeting to drive its four key priorities.
• [26:26] Mayor Mahan’s theory of change and the role of government in delivering real results.
• [29:19] His journey from small farming town to tech entrepreneur to public servant.