Jan Maino: WCPT 820 Candidate Interview

0:00All right guys welcome back to choose views. Thanks for being with us this morning. As I said earlier, one of our guests this right out of the gate is a Democratic candidate from Michigan's house district 46. So let me tell you something about the state races. I've said this for a long time that we rebuild our party starting on the state level on the local level, certainly in the state on a federal level. When we rebuild our team there, that's why we're gonna continue to get things done. And we have a phenomenal bench. Our neighboring state, good old state, blue state Michigan. Jan Mayno is a candidate for Michigan's house district 46. And I am so excited to have her with us. We've been talking to Michigan candidates. We've been talking to North Carolina candidates and all the rest. Good morning Jan and welcome to choose views. Good morning, thanks for having. Absolutely. So let's start off with a little bit of education for our listeners all over the place.

1:01And rather than me tell your story, give us the Jan bio. Let it give us the run down on you and your background and why you are in this tight race. Help us out. All right, I would be happy to. I'm gonna start though. Everyone is like, where is house district 46? So I'll start with that. There are 110 house districts in Michigan. House district 46 is South Central. So I'm just 30 miles south of Lansing. And my district stretches from the western side of Jackson County and dips into Western Washington County. So most of Jackson love it at Western Washington. And I am a lifer in this district. I have worked for over 32 years as a social worker and currently serving as a therapist in this community. I was born and raised right here. I graduated from a local high school. I met my husband in a neighboring area of this district

2:01and we raised our kids kind of in the middle of East Jackson. And that's where I serve as school board president. And that's where I was really introduced to local politics initially. I've been on the school board for 13 years. I care a lot about public education and making sure that when kids graduate, they have the knowledge and skills they need to do whatever it is they want. And the 13 years on the school board really, while that is what has been my recent history before that, I started working in homes in this community as a social worker in the neighborhoods really figuring out their resources and what's working, what's not working and getting families connected to the services that they needed to live a functioning happy life. Happy might be a stretch for some people, but productive, they want it to be productive. So, and from there I have become a nonprofit executive. I was COO of our community foundation locally and that really is where I became familiar

3:03with the network of people that are collaborative and coming to the table and wanting to get things done. And party affiliation was not something that was talked about, but people might have come with different ideas and needed to have a neutral place to have a conversation to solve problems and I was so proud to be at the table for many of those conversations. And we really got a lot of things going, that are still going today for our community in terms of arts and culture and education and environment protecting our environment. And after that I worked for the state of Michigan and really actually was before that I worked for the state of Michigan, but becoming familiar with the state system is really helping me in this role today as a candidate, understanding from a different perspective what it takes to get things done to educate the government to educate the governor, make policies that affect families every day. So all of those things and then all the while serving on nonprofit boards in this community.

4:06So I've just been connected for over 30 years in this community in a variety of different ways and I feel like it's time for me to take that experience to lancing and bring back resources and make life better for people in this district. This district is, for those who don't know the geography of Michigan, you just kind of have to open up a map and it kind of runs left to right. And it's almost like a rectangular shape in some ways as I know it and I know Michigan pretty well. But tell our listeners a little bit about the makeup, the demographic of the district and what you've seen and learned and some of the people that you've come across. What's the district look like? What's the district made up of in terms of the community of people? We have about 91,000 people in this district and we have a really solid makeup of urban, suburban and some rural farm areas.

5:08We actually used to be a huge provider of auto parts to the auto industry. So Detroit and that hub right there is less than an hour away depending on which side of the district you're on. Maybe a little over an hour, maybe a little under an hour and that part of our livelihood, we actually made a car here once in Jackson, long time ago. I'm not very familiar with it. I know that it's a fact. We also have the rail system that runs right through Jackson. We have the oldest passenger rail station in the entire country right here in Jackson. So really a hub to get to Detroit, to get to Chicago or really kind of, I feel close to both of those locations. And but that industry tried up and a lot of people lost their jobs. And what we have now, it's definitely a working class community people here often will find themselves commuting down the road in one way or the other, 30 to 40 to 50 miles to find good jobs.

6:12We, when the auto industry left our area, we lost a lot of good jobs and people are searching for affordability and wanting to be here. And we really need to spend some time investing in the assets that we have and the buildings that we have that are not being used and attract businesses here. But it really is a working class community in so many ways. Are you seeing businesses being attracted to the area and what are some of the things that you and other leaders that understand the social impacts there are trying to do to help that happen? I see a lot of potential and a lot of hope for our district. There are many things going on that are good. But we need all the systems working at the same time in the same direction to make it happen. Often we see in our downtown area, small businesses trying to make a goal of it. But those are really like shops,

7:14the things that would attract someone to a downtown, our arts and culture. I feel like pretty vibrant. We actually have people that come here as a destination. We went through a three year juried, it's called Brightwalls. It's graffiti, it's graffiti art. And many of our all downtown. So people come here as a destination to tour around and see those, we have good restaurants. But we need businesses and our chamber and our county government and our community foundation really got together and tried to figure out how do we make this place a destination. We are in year one of a 20 year plan. So again, I see great potential. They are working with local businesses and to develop affordable housing and to attract jobs here. But we're in the very early stages. And it's going to take a lot of effort to stay that course over the 20 years. The plan is called Drive Jackson.

8:14And Jackson is the biggest city in this district. There are two cities. Jackson and Chelsea. And Chelsea is in that Western Washington. Also, when I'm thinking about the jobs here and the affordable housing here, we have potential, we have some work that's being done in Chelsea, which is just about 25 minutes from downtown Jackson. That is also an area that is seeking affordable housing. But affordable housing in Washington, our county is different than it is in Jackson. So they're working at the same time on the same things, but it's very different in the way that they go. In fact, in Chelsea, 14% of the people that work in downtown only 14% can afford to live there. So the affordability there is a little bit higher. It's more Ann Arbor-ish if you're familiar with Ann Arbor. That is sort of the standard over there. But also very much a thriving arts and cultural community over there. And I know from my work at the Community Foundation that you have to have thriving arts and culture

9:16to have a vibrant community. But we also need people of all ages. And right now, in Jackson County in particular, and for the last 50 years, people have been leaving. Young families, young adults are not staying here because there's not affordable housing and there's not jobs for them. And so that drive Jackson plan, one of the key components of it is to really hone in on that and figure out how do we keep young people here. And there is potential as a legislature. Legislator, I would really work on the incentive for businesses and also restoring buildings into affordable housing. The more housing we can build, the more affordable it will become for people. So. Yeah, you know, housing is an issue that is true anywhere in the country right now. Here in Chicago, it's an ongoing conversation. It's in New York, it's in Los Angeles. It's in red states, blue states, red cities, blue cities, red districts, blue districts. It is an American issue right now. It's not any, no one community is isolated in that space.

10:18And whether they be red or blue politically or somewhere in the middle. And it's a symptom of a lot of things. But one of the things that you just talked about that I think is an opportunity for so many cities and so many communities is older buildings that particularly larger buildings. Like I saw this the other day, Miss Milano, that I thought was just kind of, it reminded me of a thought I had years ago. And now I'm hoping that more elected officials and developers can come together and see this as an opportunity. And that's using some of the old malls, the shopping malls and shopping centers as a place because it's already the footprints there. So if it has to be made green, okay, great. But it's the structures there. And those places are, excuse the phrase, but those are brick, you know what houses. Because you are, that's true. We know. So I think that's an opportunity.

11:20Structurally, it's a matter of just redesigning it, which is less expensive sometimes and starting from scratch and sometimes starting from scratch is less expensive. But are those kinds of opportunities there in the district? Yeah, they're definitely there. We're actually finally got some momentum on what used to be called the Hazel Hotel in downtown Jackson. It went through, it's gone through many iterations and attempts at restoring it into affordable housing in downtown. We have lots of buildings that were manufacturing because of that auto industry that are downtown or downtown adjacent, that there's tremendous opportunity. And I love the look of the old buildings. Me too, me too. Yeah, that's good to hear. I mean, I'm gonna catch off, but yeah, I see those. And for those who don't, I haven't spent a lot of time in missing in, I would highly recommend that you put it on your list of states to go to and drive around Michigan's a beautiful state topographically.

12:23And when you get into certain parts, you don't realize how hilly and how many vista views you have in the state. And it is a great state for businesses to go to to build because there's just so many opportunities to work with political leaders like yourself and folks who are running for office like yourself. You know, let's take a quick break. When we come back, I wanna talk a little bit more about the race, but also talk a little bit about some of the things that are going on that you wanna tackle when you win the seat. And I'm gonna put it out there that you're gonna win the seat. The number is seven. Manifest that. We're gonna manifest that exactly. That's right, that's right, y'all. Seven, seven, three, seven, six, three, nine, two, seven, eight, is a number on Richard Choo. Keep it locked in. We'll be right back with more of Choose Views. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ All right, guys, welcome back to Choose Views. If you're just tuning in, I'm Richard Choo. And we are talking with Jan Meno, who is running for, this is what she's trying to do, guys.

13:23And it's our responsibility to help her. From wherever you're listening to this show anywhere in the country, she's trying to flip a Republican seat. And it is a seat that once we flip this seat, it's gonna give us a little bit more of a footprint in the Michigan State legislature, which will then give us an even bigger footprint, I say on a national level, because you guys heard what we talked with Justice Anita Earl yesterday in North Carolina about the change. And they're seating there, change the national numbers in the US, how's the representatives? So this is why state politics matter. You have had great conversations with some of the state elected officials, one in particular, Mallory McMurrow. And you guys had a really great conversation. And I want to talk about voting. And you had a conversation where you guys were, you kind of dove into an experience or when I think it was a conversation you had where you were outdoor knocking.

14:25Tell us a little bit about that conversation you had. Yeah, I absolutely loved door knocking and just to explain how hard I have to work on the doors. We have a goal for my district to canvas over 32,000 of the voters. I myself have canvased over 3,500 since we started and full steam ahead. And I, well, because I perhaps because I'm a social worker, that's my favorite part of all of this, is just talking to people being where they're at on their front porch. And in this case, I knocked on a door and the woman answered and I started to say, explain who I was and why I was visiting. And I hear from the living room someone say, hey, what's going on out there? And she said, there's this woman, she's running for state rap, she's introducing herself. She said, tell her to come in. And so I said, okay, so I go in and there happened to be a chair right there. And they're like, have a seat. And the woman of the house said,

15:27I'm just going to go over here to the kitchen and finish making my husband's lunch. And so I could see both of them from where I was sitting. And I started over with explaining that I'm Jan Meno, I'm running for state representative, lifeer in the district and where I was knocking on that door happened to be in the backyard of really where I grew up. So I start with that familiar with this area, graduated from this high school. And I start to talk about my campaign priorities. And I start with education usually because I'm currently the sitting school board president at East Jackson and how it's very important that we fully fund public education and get the right resources and curriculum into the classroom. So teachers can get that job done. And I talk a little bit more about that. And then I talk about how I want young people when they graduate to want to live in our community. I want them to keep their families here, get a job here. And right now they're leaving more than they're staying because of, as I said, affordable housing and lack of jobs for young professionals. And then I dip into the fact that I am a mental health therapist. And I care very much that people get the help

16:29that they need when they want it. And when we don't take care of people's mental health, it becomes issues in our community related to crime and substance use disorder and homelessness. And these are things really resonating with people. Right now it's been in the news here a lot in terms of homelessness. And then he asked me a few questions. And we really dove into education. His granddaughter kind of walked out into the living room. And he said she's going to high school. And we're kind of worried about what's going on. And I talk a little bit about Mississippi and what they have done with their reading and literacy. And without going into all of the details, Mississippi 13 years ago was almost dead last in the nation and literacy. They went all in on a program. The acronym is letters L-E-T-R-S. And it's a phonics-based reading program, evidence-based. And you fast forward to this year, 13 years later. And when you factor in poverty, they're third in the nation. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. We need to get the right curriculum into the classrooms, invest it. And there's lots of caveats to how you get certified in that.

17:32But we talked about that and asked some questions. And I answered them. And then I start to close in. And at the end of my conversations, I just say, are you a registered voter? And he said, yes, I am. My wife and I vote in every election. And I said, that's great. I would love to earn your vote. I'm the Democratic candidate. And he's like, well, here's the thing. We're a Republican here. And I said, OK, that's all right. Like, I'm glad that you talked to me. And I said, would you mind sharing with me who you're planning to vote for? And he said, yeah, I'll tell you. And he said, I'm going to vote for you. And he said, and I said, well, thank you so much. And he said, you came into my house. And you sat down and you answered my questions. And you sound like someone that has the experience and the knowledge to get the job done and work. And I'm going to vote for you. And I love those stories. They happen every now and then. More often, they actually happen more often than they don't in terms of that kind of middle of the road voter. But I am hearing a lot from people that say, I'll never vote Republican again. Or I'm just really struggling to get

18:34behind the Republican agenda right now. And it's time for something different. And those motivate me. Those conversations keep me knocking on the doors after a couple hundred and a week. And then I'm thinking, oh, my gosh. But I go out there. And as soon as I get out there, I am having a blast again. So I love it. So. Janet, that is such an, I'm going to refer to you as Jan respectfully. But Jan, that's such a great, great story. Yeah. What I find important about the story, there's a lot of pieces of importance about that story. But it's a national conversation. I think that we should be having right now because of what he said as his reasons for voting for you. And that is that he felt that you were qualified. You understood the issues. And that you were able to get things done. You didn't, it sounds like you didn't over promise anything. It sounds like you had a real conversation. And that you told, you made it clear to that family

19:35that you want to make things better. And you want to see the community that you're a part of continue is able to start to not just survive, but to thrive as so many politicians are saying, or works for any of our office, are saying. And it's not that it worked, but it got through. It got through the partisan parts of where we are as a country right now because at the end of the day, it is about getting things done. It's about delivering. And I'm hoping that other folks who are running for office on any level, state, local, state, and federal can understand that that's really where people are. Yes, some of the cultural issues can get in the way. And all those are the things that we know are real. But at the end of the day, you were able to break through and let this family know that this is something that you believe in and you're going to be able to get done. So kudos to you for that. For knocking on that, I always say one more is where all the gold is, that one more door, that one more call. You know what I mean?

20:36Yes, yes. No, I'm leaving nothing on the table. Last weekend, I was knocking a rule door and the gentleman answered and I explained who I was. And I heard from that inside the room again. She democrat a republican. And I said, Democrat and she came running with open arms. And so I know it's crazy. But listen, I'm going to say this. I say it all the time. So for the listeners, there's nothing new, but for you, it is. Our ideas are better. I believe we believe in each other. I really do. I can be as hard and tough as the rest of them. But I believe we believe in each other. And that's what you clearly represented when you were in that family's home. And you recognized the dynamics that was as a social worker. I was sitting here just kind of embracing your conversation because I'm thinking she's a social worker. She's been here before. She's walked into situations where the dynamics may not have favored her and all those things,

21:36but you were able to still get things done. And that's a great moment. So we're going to continue to send you all the energy and power that we can because this is the kind of local leadership, political leadership that's required right now. So I really appreciate you doing that and sharing it with us because it's a lesson for all of us to learn. So thank you, thank you, thank you for that. We'll stand up positive. I don't want to go down the path too much. But we've got to make sure that the person you're running against, Kathy Smoltz, does not maintain this seat. So how can folks who are listening, wherever they are, Jan, help you in this race get involved? I don't care. I say the four corners, whether they're in Florida or in Washington or California or Connecticut and anywhere in between that happens to be listening. How can they get involved and how can they help you in this race? Thank you for asking. And I do get people involved from all corners

22:38of the United States. If you visit my website, meno4mishigan.com and my last name is spelled M-A-I-N, like meno. Excuse me, meno4mishigan.com. And right on my website on the top tab, there is a Get Involved tab. And you can click on that. And all the ways to get involved are there. You can write us a message. And also, of course, on the top of my home pages, the Donate button. And my opponent will be spending millions of dollars on commercials, both supporting herself and attacking me. They actually started in June. And so every dollar matters, whether it's $5 or $500. All of it helps me get the job done. And as you were saying, the seat has not been a Democrat since the 70s. But I feel solid. I feel really good. I take nothing for granted. It's full-sea my head. But if anyone can help me, meno4mishigan.com and get involved or donate now. And what I will say to you guys is this.

23:39You heard or just say that the seat has not been, a Democrat has not been in the seat since the 70s. That's a lifetime. That's a generation. And what's happened in that community is not at the hands of Democrats. Because if it hasn't been in the hands of a Democrat or been led by a Democrat that long, then that's clearly not in the laps of Democrats. And I've been saying this a Jan on a local level, on a state level, on a national level. The problems that we have don't rest at our feet. Because when you look at that kind of timeframe, it's clearly the other party that's not gotten things done. So thank you so much for your hard work and your dedication. Hopefully we can have you back on again before Election Day to chat a little bit more and give you one more final push. Is that sound okay? Yeah, I love it. Thank you. All right, have a great day, Jan. Thanks for being with us this morning. Thank you. All right, bye-bye. Bye-bye.