By Run For Something
Photos: Facebook
In a new podcast collaboration with “The Most Important Question,” Run for Something’s young, energized leaders are shining a light on the issues that impact their communities most — from affordable housing and renters’ protections to public transit.
Each episode features host Quinn Emmett connecting with two guests from Run for Something’s pipeline: One who ran, won, and is now making progress on a key issue, and another who is on the ballot this fall and running to tackle that same issue.
In the latest episode, New York State Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Tucson City Council candidate Miranda Schubert joined to discuss their fight for public transit.
Sen. Gounardes spoke about how this issue was personal to him as a life-long mass transit user. When he initially ran for office in 2018, it was a key plank in his campaign. Since he was elected, he’s helped make change in a city where just 30% of subway stations are accessible—leaving people who use a wheelchair and those with shopping carts or strollers often unable to use them.
“At [the time he was elected], there were 18 subway districts in my Senate district…not a single one was accessible,” explained Gounardes. “I’m really proud that on the accessibility front, in my first year in office, I got funding included in the capital plan for three elevators specifically for my district, where prior to that, not a single station had an elevator in district. Now in the most recent capital plan that we just approved, we got funding to build an elevator at the tallest subway station in the country.”
In Tucson, where Schubert noted the average resident is paying about 20% of their household income on transportation alone, public transit has been a core component of her campaign for city council.
“At the end of the day, there are so many people who are struggling to make ends meet…The only way we’re going to get ahead is if we change the system, because it is rigged against regular people,” said Schubert of why running for local office matters. “I’m pro-transit, pro-housing, and pro-taking care of people.”
Last week, Somerville, Massachusetts City Councilmember Willie Burnley Jr. — who is now running to serve as the city’s mayor — and Atlanta City Council candidate Kelsea Bond joined the show to discuss affordable housing. Both renters themselves, the two spoke about why this issue matters so much to them and their communities.
“Every single year, I lose neighbors to being priced out or being displaced,” said Burnley. “We can’t have a community if the people who make up that community are always cyclically forced to leave.”
Bond told listeners about how their rent had doubled over the last decade, something their neighbors and people across the city are also grappling with.
“This is not a story that’s unique to me. This district is about half renter[s]. It’s relatively very young, it’s very dense because of all of the apartment complexes that have gone up over the last several years…Rent is through the roof, and this is something that is deeply felt by so many people within District 2 and across the city. And Atlanta is only bound to grow in the coming decade —so, this is a problem that we need to begin to tackle now.”
The episode follows the launch of Run for Something’s new push to rally renters to run for local offices. The effort aims to bring at least 10,000 renters into RFS’s pipeline in 2026—empowering a group that has been historically underrepresented in government but increasingly defines today’s generation.
The series will continue in the lead-up to Election Day. Full episodes can be found on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
