Redistricting wars take a miserable turn for Democrats

24:37Brian Tyler Cohen:And I know that it is as close to impossible to build in Los Angeles as it could be. Um, even as, as I have built my own house, um, I know that, that you can't put a shovel in the ground for more than a year. Um, I mean, this is, you know, everything I'm saying is, is no surprise to you. I'm sure you've heard it every which way. Uh, so what is the, what is your stance on reforming, um, all that makes Los Angeles so difficult to build in? I mean, we, uh, we absolutely need to transform this city into a city that says yes to new housing rather than a city that is really designed around delaying and denying new housing.

25:20We have an extraordinarily intensive housing shortage here. We have the fewest homes per capita per adult of any city in America. And we have the highest rent burden population of any major city in America. Those numbers are directly related to each other. And it didn't happen by accident. This city said no to housing for a very long time. Residents stood up and had an active anti-housing movement and City Hall responded by making construction as slow as possible, particularly for apartments that are exactly what we need so much more of. Our average time for approving an apartment here is over a year and a half, much longer than in other states like Texas and Colorado.

26:05And I want to change all of that. I want to create a bureaucracy that's designed to say yes in a reasonable amount of time. So I want to put in place a shot clock, a deadline by which the city has to say yes or no to a permit application, 60 days for zoning compliant projects, 120 days for projects that require some zoning changes. I want to make sure that we are having a single inspector look at a project from day one to finish so that bureaucracy is not giving you two different responses to what you need to do in order to actually be allowed to build. I want to make sure the Department of Water and Power, which can add millions of dollars in costs and add months of delay to a project, is forced to come to the table from the beginning and tell you exactly what it's going to take and when they're going to turn the lights on.

26:54All of these things, these bureaucratic changes can actually transform the process of construction here and can make it much more possible for the city to build at the scale that it needs to in order to address our housing shortage.

27:06Brian Tyler Cohen:And I mean, to that point, too, there is there is national significance here, especially as we approach the 2030 census, where California is expected to shed electoral votes. And the states that are going to pick them up are not historically blue states. I mean, Texas is expected to pick up electoral votes. And so how does the national environment inform, if at all, how you think about your responsibility or your duty to make sure that we support our population here in California? Oh, I think it's incredibly important, especially as we're watching the redistricting battles play out across the rest of the country.

27:43We cannot afford to let this state and this city become less populous. We can't afford to give up house seats at this moment. I mean, I think it is absolutely essential for us in terms of our broader democratic project here in the country. And to me, this work on making sure that this city is welcoming, that we can actually invite more people to live in it instead of driving working families out of it. We lost 54 ,000 people over the past few years. And that's a huge population loss here. And it's going to impact us into the future. One of the things that has always been something that I've been so proud of as a representative of Los Angeles is that this city is a place of inclusion and welcoming for the LGBTQ plus community, for people of color, people who are fleeing oppressive environments at home, come to Los Angeles seeking refuge.

28:39And if this place becomes unaffordable, it is no longer that for so many people. So for me, it is really part of what I love about Los Angeles, part of what we need to keep alive about Los Angeles. Our housing crisis is intimately connected to our ability for the city to be a place of welcoming and inclusion and opportunity. And I think it's a really important electoral strategy at a time when every vote in the House matters.

29:07Brian Tyler Cohen:Well, I appreciate you taking the time today. Thanks for addressing all those issues. With that said, for folks who are looking to help out with your campaign, where can they go? Nithyaforthecity.com is our website where you can donate, sign up, learn more. And I'm on socials at Nithya for the City everywhere you go to consume social media. Awesome. Well, I want to remind people who are watching right now, if you live in Los Angeles, if you have friends or family in L.A., the election is happening right now. We are in early voting. The election, the last day is June 2nd. So please make sure to make your voice heard to get your ballots in.

29:39Brian Tyler Cohen:And Nithya, thank you so much for taking the time. Thank you so much for having me. I sincerely appreciate it.

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30:44Brian Tyler Cohen:And no matter what you pick, Ridge has free shipping, a 99-day risk-free trial, and a lifetime warranty on all of their products. For a limited time, our listeners get 10 % off at Ridge by using code BTC at checkout. Just head to ridge.com and use code BTC and you're all set. After you purchase, they'll ask where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them I sent you. I'm joined now by general counsel for NAACP, Kristen Clark. Thanks so much for taking the time. Thank you for having me. So we have some news here in light of the fact that not only has the Supreme Court struck down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, but now Tennessee is the first state to redraw their maps to eliminate the only Black Opportunity District in that state.

31:26Brian Tyler Cohen:The NAACP has sued. So can you first off give give some information as to what the legal basis for this lawsuit is, given the fact that it seems, at least from from, you know, the general public's vantage, that with Section two of the Voting Rights Act struck down, there is no more justification or requirement, I should say, for states to even have black opportunity districts? Yeah. Well, first, today was a dark day in American democracy. The Senate and House floor dates that led to eventual dismantling of the only majority Black congressional district in Tennessee was just disastrous. And, you know, this comes just a few days after the Supreme Court's ruling that really put the death knell in the Voting Rights Act.

32:18At the NAACP, we are committed to using every tool available to fight back and to stand up for voters and to make sure that every American, every citizen in Tennessee has an equal voice in the electoral process. And so what we did today is we filed suit in state court. The governor called a special session, an extraordinary session in order to pull the legislature back to redraw the maps. Under state law, that proclamation has to be very specific and clear. And the proclamation called lawmakers back to redraw the boundary lines of maps, but they did a lot more. There is a, well, a law that's been on the books that stretches back five decades that actually makes mid-decade redistricting illegal, unlawful.

33:17And so they had to take action with respect to that law. They also did something else unusual. They waived the residency requirement for one year for people who are going to be running under the districts carved out in this new map. It's our position that the proclamation should have included these very two significant and important actions. And because the governor didn't include those two additional actions, this session was unlawful, that the map should be discarded and that they should start back from square one. And starting back from square one, I think, should be leaving the status quo in place.

34:00There's no reason that Tennessee needs to do this. Yeah.

34:03Brian Tyler Cohen:Well, other than to eliminate as quickly as possible any representation for the state's only Black Opportunity District, given the fact that this is so urgent right now, we have midterms coming up so quickly, are you seeking a preliminary injunction? How fast do you expect this process to move? We think it will move very fast. And so stay tuned. It's why we did not delay and we moved very swiftly to file our lawsuit just hours after the maps were passed through the legislature. But we're really tracking very closely what's happening across the South. Tennessee clearly wanted to be at the start of the the tidal wave here.

34:53But it is a dark moment in America. where we see state officials taking bold and unprecedented action to disenfranchise Black American citizens.

35:08Brian Tyler Cohen:And it's not just in Tennessee. I mean, we're looking at this process playing itself out in Alabama, in Louisiana, where the Calais decision first originated from, in South Carolina, where the only representative, Black representative in that state is Jim Clyburn. You know, I had spoken about this issue on air on NewsNation with Katie Pavlich, and she has echoed this this right wing talking point that the Supreme Court decision effectively desegregated the South because now you don't have districts that were that were drawn expressly for for black Americans or brown Americans. And so what would your response to that talking point from the right be?

35:46Well, it's interesting that we're not talking about, you know, a different part of the country. We're talking about the South for a reason, because sadly, this is the part of the country that has a very long and egregious and undeniable history of discrimination when it comes to giving black American citizens access to the franchise. So it is not surprising that this is the part of the country that is proving to be ground zero as we see this mass disenfranchisement campaign unfold on the heels of the Supreme Court's ruling. The Voting Rights Act was one of our nation's truly most important federal civil rights law.

36:35And it just helped to push, to really nudge our country in the right direction. And that nudge, that movement really proved to be most important in the South, which is the part of the country, sadly, that had been most resistant and hostile when it came to opening up the doors of democracy to everyone.

36:56Brian Tyler Cohen:You know, this I'm sure that that the the feeling coming out of this moment is that this is kind of a retrenchment of Jim Crow. Is that is that what it feels like from your vantage? And I guess as a follow up to that, what do you say to folks who see things moving so sharply in the wrong direction so that they can have some sense of hope as we move forward and not just completely give up in despair? You know, Senator Oliver in the Tennessee legislature stood up on a table and held up a big banner that said Jim Crow 2.0. Yeah. You know, I think that is precisely where we are, but it's not the frame that I'd like to think about this moment in.

37:46And I think about this being an opportunity for Americans to come together and say that this is not the direction we need to be moving as a country. And some of the, you know, crowds that we saw at the Capitol today in Tennessee were multiracial and intergenerational. And I, you know, I truly believe deep down that this is an opportunity for us to dig deep and just say that this is not the America that we want in 2026. And it's why we're committed to being really bold and aggressive using the courts as a way to to fight back and move us back in a different direction.

38:29Brian Tyler Cohen:I'm joined now by candidates for the Georgia State Supreme Court, Miracle Rankin and Jen Jordan. Thank you so much for both for coming on. Thank you for having us.

39:06Brian Tyler Cohen:What do you say to folks who don't have faith that there are going to be free and fair elections because of all of the interference that seems to already be happening? So I'll jump in first. I think the biggest thing for people to understand in the context of this race is that all election challenges go ultimately to the Georgia Supreme Court. And so whenever you're talking about interference with an election or any attempts to monkey around with results or whatever, all of that ultimately goes up to the Georgia Supreme Court. And that's why it's so incredibly important for anyone who is concerned about this to make sure that they feel confident that the people that they're voting for and that they're putting on the court are really going to make sure that their rights are protected ultimately.

39:53I would agree that the right to vote, having access to poll places that are not being encumbered, it's very important and it's a very sacred right to not have it interfered with. And as Jen previously said, we have a unique opportunity here in Georgia to decide what does our court look like? Who are those justices that will ultimately serve for the next six years and help determine some of these key moments in Georgia's history? So it has been an honor to run for the Supreme Court and to give the voters of our state another opportunity and a different choice for what the court can look like and making sure that we stand up and uphold the Georgia Constitution and the rights of all Georgians.

40:41Brian Tyler Cohen:So, Miracle, the partisan makeup of the court right now is I believe that there are nine seats on the state Supreme Court and eight of them are conservatives. Is that correct? That is correct. So this is, you know, this would be the beginning of a process to rebalance out a court that is overwhelmingly Republican, not dissimilar to what we saw in Wisconsin, for example, where there was an overwhelmingly conservative court. And it is these election cycles where liberals are able to chip away at the conservative majority to the point where it actually flips, but it has to start somewhere and it could start here.

41:16Brian Tyler Cohen:And so, you know, we had just spoken about this idea of election protection, voter protection. But what other issues come before the Georgia Supreme Court? Why does this matter for folks in Georgia? So the Georgia Supreme Court matters because the court ultimately decides what it looks like for us in Georgia, in Georgian form, a living perspective. Right. So be it our right to dealing with. access to the vote, health care, criminal matters. There are so many issues that are fundamental, are what the constitution looks like and how is it applied across the board to all Georgians. That ultimately goes up to the Supreme Court.

41:59So when we talk about a court that has the power to ultimately decide what do the laws in our state actually, how do they get applied and how do they actually come out in context in our everyday lives, that is the Supreme Court. And so it's really important that when we're dealing with these major issues of our rights that are very fundamentally guaranteed to us, that we have a court that is willing to apply our Constitution fairly. What we've seen at the federal level is that a lot of those rights are being taken away, those federal protections that we once had, they're not there anymore. And so now it's coming back to the states for the states to decide what does Georgia look like, not just for this year, but from five years, 10 years from now.

42:43And so that's very important. It's a very pivotal moment because it also leaves the opportunity for states to have different rules in play, different laws that govern. And it shouldn't be that way. But when we don't have the federal protections giving us the baseline, then now we leave it up to the states to make those important decisions. And so ultimately in Georgia, a lot of that will land at the Supreme Court.

43:05Brian Tyler Cohen:Jen, do you have anything to add? Yeah, I mean, I think Miracle is exactly right. What we see is this devolution, right, where it's like things that we've relied on for so long in terms of the federal courts to really protect the individual rights of people in this country and in this state. Right. You know, we've been we've been told, you know, there's nothing here for you to see anymore. Right. Whether we're talking about when Dobbs came out and after 50 years now women don't have fundamental right to autonomy and to privacy. Right. And then just last week with the Calais decision in terms of the Voting Rights Act, where it was completely gutted now forever, because Georgia is a former slave state.

43:49It was governed by the BRA. So any challenge went to the federal courts. So in terms of our state courts, we've really never had to grapple with any of those issues or had any challenges arising under the state constitution, like a First Amendment or political association challenge. Now, because we can't go to the federal courts anymore, that's going to open up a whole other lane in terms of state courts and ultimately to the state Supreme Court level.

44:17Brian Tyler Cohen:So, Jen, I want to discuss the difference then between the existing members of the Georgia Supreme Court and both of you in terms of some of these issues in particular. You know, as there is more onus on state courts, given the fact that, for example, the Voting Rights Act will no longer apply and these issues won't be litigated in federal court, but rather in state court. Can you talk about some of the biggest differences between the existing members of the Georgia Supreme Court, your opponents and both of you? Yeah, I think the biggest thing is that our state Supreme Court really now is controlled by folks who are members and leaders of the Federalist Society in this state.

45:01And for those folks listening who may not know what the Federalist Society is, I can tell you that members of the U.S. Supreme Court that are members of the Federalist Society in a line are Alito, Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett. You know, all of the ultra conservatives are all Federalist Society folks. And so our court right now kind of follows, you know, what the U.S. Supreme Court is doing. And that's kind of whatever they do, it kind of gets dictated down. The problem with that now is, you know, what are they going to do now that we have rights that need to be adjudicated under the state constitution?

45:44And I'll have to tell you that historically, Georgia's state constitution has been interpreted much more expansively in a more progressive way. I like to quote a former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court who basically said his judicial philosophy was that the federal constitution is kind of the floor for people's rights. And the Georgia constitution always gives people in this state more, more protections, more rights. Right now, the folks on the court, they don't believe in that. They don't subscribe to that. And we've seen that in terms of a lot of the decisions that have come down. And probably what is more significant is what we know what's heading toward us in the future.

46:29Brian Tyler Cohen:Miracle, when you've spoken with Georgia voters, I'm curious what the principal issue that has been brought up to you has been. And especially like in an environment like this where where, you know, we have seen a Republican Party kind of campaign on one thing. And then when it came time for them to govern, deliver on something entirely different. So has that been a theme in your conversations with voters? It has been. People are really concerned with what our state looks like, what our nation looks like. And one of the things that I've constantly heard is what you just said. We were so one thing and now we have a totally different existence.

47:09Right. But beyond that, when it comes to the courts themselves, one thing that I've consistently heard Georgia voters say is that they don't feel like it's a place where they can get a fair shot.

47:18Brian Tyler Cohen:Yeah. And because they don't feel like it's the place where they can get a fair shot, I think more people are tuning in to judicial elections than they probably have before, because now they realize I actually get to pick who's going to sit on our state's highest court or any other quarter in our state. Right. So that has been an underlying theme that I've heard. But I was hearing that before I even made the decision to run as representing individuals across the state who've been really injured. My clients, when they come to me because they've lost a limb or they lost a loved one, they always ask me, will I get a fair shake?

47:53Will they take me seriously? And will I be treated the same? And we hear about equal justice under the law, but it has to be a lived out principle. It can't be something that we're just espousing, but not actually applying. And so that's why it's so important that we have justices on the court who will actually stand up and make sure that the rule of law is being applied for everyone. And that our Constitution is being read in its most broad sense to ensure that all the protections that were guaranteed are set forth. So those are the things that I've been hearing from the trail as I've been going around campaigning.

48:25Brian Tyler Cohen:To that end, and I feel like I buried the lead here, but can both of you give an idea of what your background is and why you've decided to run this race? What's most important to you? What was the impetus to jump in here? I grew up in South Georgia, raised by a single mother who had a beauty shop. It's one of those things where I didn't have lawyers in my family. But the most important thing was always about, you know, how you helped your neighbor in your community and really trying to lift everybody up. And it was only because of pro-education policies in this state at the time that I was even able to go to college and then ultimately law school.

49:09And for the last 25 years, you know, my entire career has been dedicated to representing individuals a lot like Miracle who are facing some of the most significant issues they've ever had to deal with, whether it's, you know, the single mother who's facing eviction on Christmas Eve or, you know, trying to run predatory lenders out of the state or folks who can't get their health insurance to actually cover their breast cancer treatments. I mean, but but what it comes down to is always about an individual who has to get a lawyer involved just to get what they're due. And that's not right. Right.

49:46And and so something has to fundamentally change. And that's also in terms of the way the courts are working right now. People aren't getting a fair shot. People aren't being treated fairly. You know, if you're powerful and you've got money, man, you've got a lot better shot, you know, in front of the courts as they are in Georgia right now. And so I know that's why I'm running. And I know that's a lot of the reason why Miracle is running, too. Yes. So I am originally from Louisiana. So the Calais decision really hits a little differently for me because my family lives in Louisiana right now, the vast majority of them.

50:22And so they're having to grapple with what does it mean when elections are getting canceled? And what does it mean when we may not have the representatives of our choosing in front of us for us to select from? So growing up in the South, I've seen firsthand how sometimes our laws disproportionately affect individuals. And that's one of the reasons that led me to law school and ultimately spent in the last two decades or so of my career fighting for individuals and standing up against powerful corporate interests that try to harm the. Some people call it the little person, which has been an interesting term to me, but harming individuals.

50:58Right. Because I think we all matter. And when we are harmed, somebody needs to be there to stand up for you. So that's something that I pride myself in doing throughout my career, taking tough cases and getting great results for my clients. My decision to run for the Supreme Court really came when I looked at my baby's eyes. I have two young kids that are under the age of 10, and I frequently tell them, you can be whatever you want to be. You can do whatever you want to do. But if you see something, you need to say something. And if you can do something, then you need to do something about it.

51:28And I'm in a position to be able to do the something, right? I don't agree with many of the decisions that have been coming down from the courts in our states. And I understand that there are going to be a lot of decisions that Georgians have to have made by our Supreme Court. And we need to have individuals on that court that we know will be fair, that will not lean towards corporate interests or special interests, but that will lean towards making sure we ensure that the rights of every Georgian are protected under our law and our constitution. because we're leaving a Georgia for somebody else, right?

52:00I have kids following up behind me and I need to make sure that I leave this state better than what I found it. And so that's one of the main reasons that I'm running because my babies deserve better, Georgians deserve better and we need a court that will protect all of us.

52:14Brian Tyler Cohen:Jen, for folks who are looking to help your In Miracles campaigns, where can they go? They can go to jenforgeorgia.com, justiceforgeorgia.com in Miracle. um, miracle for Georgia.com. So for both of us, the four Georgias, well, for me, for Georgia, F O R G E O R G I A.com. So miracle for Georgia.com. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to, I use the number actually. So just the four and then Georgia spelled out, but look, follow us on social media, share, you know, that's part of this is educating folks. Because like, look, no one has done this successfully since 1922. Since 1922, an incumbent justice on the Supreme Court has not been beaten.

53:04So it's one of these things, folks don't even know you can vote for somebody on the Supreme Court because they think about kind of at the federal level. And so part of this process has been about educating people to say, look, it is about transparency. It is about accountability. And you have the ability to actually choose the people who are going to make some of the biggest decisions in the coming years that absolutely not only impact your life, your children's lives, but even your grandchildren down the line. And might I add, Brian, that it's happening right now. This is in November. We have one race, one race only.

53:40It's here in May. We're voting currently in Georgia. If you're listening and you're a Georgia voter, you have until May 15th to early vote. The election day is May 19th. We don't show back up on your ballots in November. This is our only race and our only time this term to change what the Georgia Supreme Court can look like and for you to have that option to do so as the electorate.

54:02Brian Tyler Cohen:Well, I appreciate I appreciate you both being here for everybody who's watching and listening right now. We all have a job to do, which is to make sure that everybody knows that this race is happening. If you can contribute, then please contribute. But otherwise, there's no excuse for everyone who is watching and listening right now, not to let people know, whether it's through social media, whether it's through word of mouth, that this race is happening in Georgia right now. And as I mentioned at the top, the process for flipping a deeply entrenched conservative Supreme Court begins with two seats in this case, in terms of flipping the political makeup of the court altogether.

54:42Brian Tyler Cohen:So both of you, thank you so much for taking the time to be here. And again, I'm going to put the links to both of your websites right here on the screen and also in the post description. For those who are listening on the podcast, I'm going to put it in the show notes. And best of luck on the campaign trail. Thank you. Thanks for having us. Thanks again to Nithya Raman, Kristen Clark, Miracle Rankin, and Jen Jordan. That's it for this episode. Talk to you on Wednesday. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen. Produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesley, and interviews edited for YouTube by Nicholas Nicotera.

55:12Brian Tyler Cohen:If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app and leave a five-star rating and a review. And as always, you can find me at BrianTylerCohen on all of my other channels, or you can go to BrianTylerCohen.com to learn more.