UnBolted LIVE with Enrique Rico, Chair of Spokane County Young Republicans

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. Hey, everybody. Welcome to another broadcast of unbolted. I'm MJ Bolt, your host. And with us tonight at 5:00pm on a Thursday, July 17th, we have the awesome Enrique Rico, who is the chair of the Spokane County Young Republicans. Enrique, thanks for joining us tonight. [00:00:40] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So good to see you again, mj. [00:00:42] Speaker A: Yeah, you too. You know, I've known Enrique for a few years in this work, and Enrique is such an awesome person and awesome stuff what he's doing. I'm just really thrilled to have you on here and to share about, like, what you're doing, what young Republicans are about and all that. So, again, thank you for being here and, you know, and for joining us. So, Enrique, tell people a little bit about you and your background and kind of, you know, what led you to get involved? I mean, you're 20. Tell me what your age is again. [00:01:17] Speaker B: 25. [00:01:18] Speaker A: You're 25 and you've been involved for a few years that I know of. And, and that's, you know, not every 25 year old has, you know, this much political involvement as you've had. So tell us about, like, how did you get here? [00:01:35] Speaker B: Yeah, so it's a really interesting story. I grew up in Spokane, you know, grew up in, in poverty. My parents were pretty poor. So, you know, all my life I kind of knew that you had to work hard to get, get, you know, success and, you know, the importance of hard work and saving up. So when I was 16, you know, I got my first job flipping burgers and, you know, worked at the Spokane Convention center for a little bit. You know, I, I did running start as a high school student. So I was, you know, high school student, well, you know, going to the community college and getting, you know, college credits. So I, I didn't really grow up in a household where my parents moved, really talked about politics at all. It was really foreign to me. Like, I would see signs pop up every once in a while. But it wasn't until I went to the community college and started to go to, you know, the Poli Sci 101 or, you know, 102 or whatever and really started to be exposed to it and I liked it. And I wasn't really, you know, Republican or Democrat at the time. I was just, you know, a curious student. [00:02:42] Speaker C: Right. [00:02:43] Speaker B: And I really felt like I saw like the, the liberal push. And, you know, sometimes I would just ask questions, right. That seem to, like, conflict with the narrative. You know what I mean? [00:02:55] Speaker A: Are you talking about, like, when you're in college? [00:02:57] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. When I was in school and I would just ask questions, you know what I mean? Ask a lot of questions because I was curious. [00:03:03] Speaker C: Right. [00:03:03] Speaker B: But it seemed like, I don't know if they think you're conservative. Like even the, the college professors seem to kind of like single you out and, and it was really like uncomfortable. [00:03:13] Speaker C: Right. [00:03:14] Speaker B: Wow. You know, time, time kept going and I started to pay more attention, you know, and it wasn't until about 2018, around that time, where I really started to, to like President Trump and his policies because I wasn't really too familiar before that, but I saw he was doing great work with like, health care and, you know, reducing drug prices for people who need it. And I also saw the news, you know, lying about, you know, what Trump's doing when I just watched, you know, the, the interview like an hour before. So I thought it was really interesting and I saw that the media was really one sided and I started to, you know, gain a little more distrust in the mainstream media and, you know, just follow Trump a little bit more. So as time, you know, went on, you know, we lost the, the 2020 election. You saw Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and you know, the effects of their disastrous policies and you know, what a mess the border was and you know, yada yada. So, you know, during the, the 2024 election, I really wanted to get involved and, you know, make, make a difference if I could. So, you know, I went to the, to the precinct caucus and you know, from there I went to the county caucus and then from the county caucus I went to the state caucus, which is a really cool experience. And I don't think a lot of people realize how important those are. And you know, if you're, if you're there and you know, you're a PCO or you know, you're, you're a delegate to the conventions, you can vote on, you know, the, the Republican platform for the state and you know, be voted to go to the rnc, which is really cool. [00:04:51] Speaker C: Right. [00:04:52] Speaker B: So that whole experience really, you know, sparked an excitement within me and I just haven't looked back since. [00:05:00] Speaker A: Yeah, so that was in 20. Let's see, was that, that was last year. That was 2020. It's been a crazy year. It's been a crazy, what, 15 months or, or, you know, so yeah, the county convention was in March of 2024, and then the state convention was in. Gosh, was that in April? Yeah. Or. April. That's right, April. Jesus, what a whirlwind. I should know this. I was chair of the party, of course. But you know, like, it's just was so much and so intense so fast. So I'm curious, Enrique, like, so, so you said you really didn't align with conservative or, you know, liberal policies really before you got into college. And I mean, you, you didn't have an alignment really before then, is that right? [00:05:50] Speaker B: That is, that is correct. Again, you know, my parents never really discussed it. Like, when you're not exposed to it, you'd hear things sometimes like, you know, the government shutdown of like, what was it, 2014 or something. [00:06:01] Speaker C: Right. [00:06:01] Speaker B: You hear those things. But like, we never really followed, we never really, you know, cared and it wasn't until, yeah, those experiences at college and you know, really just learning to critically think and you know, think for yourself is what really did it. I don't, I don't really think any rational, rational minded person can, you know, be like an intense, you know, Marxist liberal. You know what I mean? [00:06:31] Speaker A: Yeah, well, you know, I think it's, it's really awesome to think for yourself and like you said, think critically and unfortunately, you know, we're not training up people to do that too often or when they step out. Kind of like what it sounds like your experience was, if you questioned maybe that agenda or that narrative, it sounds like you got some bad, you know, feedback. [00:06:52] Speaker B: Yeah. And I feel like in a way they, they teach you how to think and like herd mentality, you know what I mean? They, they teach you how to be, you know, a good, you know, compliant citizen. Take your vaccines, you know what I mean? Put, put your mask on, you know what I mean? All these, you know, different things and they, they, they really push that and they, I feel like they trap you. And you know, college is supposed to be a place where, you know, you can exchange ideas and, you know, just debate. But now if, you know, some people don't hear something, they don't like, oh, you need safe areas, you got to go to a safe area. And you know what I mean? There was a lady who came in and spoke up the, the Lincoln Day dinner just this year. His name was, her name was Olivia. Really sweet lady, really nice lady, right? Probably one of the sweetest people I've met. And you know, she just speaks about protecting women and women's rights in sports. And she goes to, you know, Seattle University. And you know, there's increased safe zones, you know what I mean? There's increased access to counseling. They're saying all that through emails because, you know what I mean, people can't exchange Ideas anymore. It's. College is an exchange of ideas. It's more like an indoctrination almost. But, you know, a lot of people need it depending on what they want to do for, for their career. And I don't know, I just think it's really interesting. [00:08:18] Speaker A: Yeah. So did you go to college here in Spokane? [00:08:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I just went to the community sfcc, but I'm thinking of going back. I need to get my bachelor's to, to qualify for this program I want to get into. But yeah, I, I just went to community college and got my general associates, you know, transferable degree. So. [00:08:38] Speaker A: So even there you saw this, you know, agenda narrative that was definitely left leaning. And you know, I think some people don't realize, recognize, especially older people like me that have been out of school for a very long time have, how much, how prevalent it is in our institutions now. And you. I, for some reason, I would think that a community college would be less of that, you know, than, than maybe some of these bigger universities or colleges. But. But that definitely was not your experience. [00:09:13] Speaker B: Well, I'm sure it is a little more toned down at the community colleges. I haven't went to a university yet, so I'm not, you know, entirely sure. But no, it was definitely left leaning. It was very obvious. Nobody tries to hide it. [00:09:27] Speaker A: Yeah. So that, so it's just fascinating to me. I think it's really cool and I think it's unique also, Enrique, that you came from basically nonpartisan. You know, you came with a kind of a fresh, clean slate with no preconceived notions. A lot of people grow up with their parents leaning one way or the, the other and, you know, develop their opinions from that. But you really just had a fresh slate and you could just think about things critically and, and then you also mentioned the media, how you felt like you weren't getting the, the straight truth or the fair shake from the media. And we haven't talked About COVID like 2020, of course, happened right in there. Talk a little bit more about that because I think that's still something that a lot of people wrestle with. They assume that they're going to get the truth from the mainstream media. [00:10:19] Speaker B: Yeah, Covet was already five years ago, huh? That crazy to think about just yesterday. [00:10:28] Speaker A: Yes, I remember it very freshly. [00:10:31] Speaker B: Right, right, right. No, I remember. I think it was like December of 2019. I started to see articles of like, some sort of, you know, virus coming out of, you know, China, and there was some concern there and I was just like, huh, interesting. And, you know, it wasn't really until like, you know, a few months later, until the spring where the lockdowns and the mandates started to pop up. And you know, of course, you know, everyone's kind of like, you know, concerned when something like that first comes up. You want to know what's going on, you want to be safe, you want to keep your family safe. But I think it didn't really take too long to, to, for people to realize that the news, yeah, something was, something was off. Something was off. I felt like the vaccine popped up way too quickly. Like how they get the vaccine made that fast, that's a little surprising. Like the mask and the six foot distance, that stuff had no scientific basis. You know what I mean? I think it's really interesting. There's an interview with Fauci where he said something like there was no, you know, scientific study conducted with like trials of like the 6ft to 10ft to, you know, whatever feet, he said. So it's like, interesting. They're just making stuff up. They're just making stuff up the entire time. And I feel like they did it for fear and for control. Obviously it was an election year. It was a big election year and, you know, who knows what happened with the mail in voting, you know, that year? I don't know. I don't know. But I, I do know that there was a lot of, you know, distrust. And I felt like the, the survival rate if someone did get Covid was extremely high. Like no one was at risk of like dying really, unless you were, you know, exposed to some pre existing condition or you're really old. But you saw people like Governor Cuomo who stuck people who were COVID positive into, you know, the, the elderly homes and you know, it really spread, you know, to them and did a lot of damage. So I don't know, just the entire time it just felt, it felt weird. It felt like a game. It's hard to know what's true nowadays and what's not because there's like so much, everyone's saying so much. You know, you're hearing things from all over the place. But it's hard to trust. It's hard to trust the news now. They've lost all credibility. And I think you can see that with like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, because now they're saying, oh yeah, Joe Biden's, you know, was cognitively struggling for a while, but, you know, we just weren't told. And it was like, it was really obvious. It's really obvious. There's no way that, you know, you can be in a room with him and not know, you know. [00:13:09] Speaker A: Yeah. So were you still in College when 2020 when Covid hit and the lockdowns hit? [00:13:16] Speaker B: No. No. So I did the community college, like as a running start student in high school. And then, you know, during the COVID time I was in trade school, I was doing road work, so doing construction at that time. So I wasn't like a student. I was just, Just working. [00:13:33] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. But you started to kind of definitely question the narrative and the mainstream media and. Yeah, it was, you know, the, as you said, the, the success rate or the survival rate, that was the thing that just never, you know, it's like this is 97.5% survival rate. Like, why are we doing this? You know, when only, you know, 3% of the population is, is really being affected by this. And I have a, an old. My dad's almost 85 now, so he probably would have been 80. And he had gotten really sick, you know, with something like a couple months prior and had been sick like, you know, with a bad flu for like three weeks. But he was over it and moving on. And, you know, it's like, okay, you know, like, people are getting over this, so. [00:14:24] Speaker C: Right. [00:14:24] Speaker A: Yeah, it was. So I wonder, do you think how that all played out, like, impacted you in your maybe politic, political endeavors? [00:14:38] Speaker B: That's a good question. I don't know. It's. I feel like in politics, why would you ever trust a politician, right? It doesn't matter if, like, you support them and you feel like, you know, you guys are on the same team or not. Like, you should really hold everyone to the same standards and, you know, think critically, think for yourself. Why would you ever. Why would you ever trust, you know, a politician when they're, you know, grabbing for more power, more money? Like, you know, how much money did the pharmaceutical industries make from these vaccines? And you know, it went from, you take one shot, you'll be good to, oh, we're on your fifth, sixth booster now. Or, you know, how many boosters do you have? It's like patches on a vest or something. It's like, how much money did they make from that? Like, what was, you know, the real purpose? Like, was it, was it to save lives? Was it to make money? It's. It's hard. I. I just think people should be, you know, you know, a little skeptical of, you know, everyone in positions of authority because power corrupts. You know, you can, you can have someone who goes in for the Right. Reasons. But, you know, by the time they leave, they've been corrupted by the system. I think people have to take that into account. [00:15:44] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, for sure. So what. How did you. So you went to the precinct caucuses, which happens every four years in our state, and then we have, you know, which leads to the state convention, which leads to the national convention, which leads to the party nominating, you know, their person for president. Right. Like, and there's other things that happen along the way, but it starts at the grassroots level in your neighborhoods, in the precincts. And so how did you get involved with that? Like, how did you hear about that? I mean, you're 23 at the time. No, well, it was last year, so you're 20. You know, three. 24 at the time. [00:16:23] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So I just heard from word of mouth, which is interesting, because you don't see a lot of, like, you know, advertising for stuff like that online. Like, a lot of people wouldn't know. So maybe that's something we can strive for in the future, trying to be, you know, more inclusive and make sure the word's getting out there. But, yeah, I just heard from, you know, a friend of a friend. So, you know, I showed up because I was interested, you know, at that time. You know, I was. I. I'd been injured in September prior to that, so I was sitting on the couch a lot. You know, I had a bad leg injury. So when that precinct caucus came up in January, he's like, sweet. Something to do. Get off the couch, you know, go crutch over there and see what's going on. [00:17:03] Speaker A: So, yeah. Was it other young people, Enrique, that, you know, shared this information, or was it just, you know, some other acquaintances that you had? I'm curious if it came from another young Republican or. [00:17:16] Speaker B: It was just acquaintances, I believe. [00:17:18] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I actually. I kind of do remember meeting you around then. I think the first time I sat down with you. I'm trying to remember what the event was now, but we. We all went to dinner up in. Around Kendall Yards, I think. Yeah, I sat down with you. Yeah. And I don't remember if that was after the county convention or what. [00:17:40] Speaker B: That was after the state convention. Yeah, I remember. [00:17:42] Speaker A: Okay. That was the state convention. Yeah. That was very interesting. So, yeah, so. So that's what's kind of cool about this. And like I said, it only happens every four years, which is too bad, because it really is a cool, cool process where, you know, you really honor those grassroot voices and you talk about Your platform, the Republican platform, you decide for the county with the. The, you know, county platform is going to be basically these principles and values that. That we believe all Republicans should adhere to, but, you know, especially the ones that are elected. And then. And then you move on it. If you go to the state. State convention, that's where you vote on the state platform and then also the endorsement of candidates as well. And so. Yeah, and that happened to be in Spokane, so that was a pretty cool experience, right? [00:18:33] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it was a great experience. And I forget what time this happened, but I know, you know, after the. The precinct caucus and the. The county caucus, I really started to get involved with, you know, UMJ and people like, you know, Mark Anthony, who was my district leader at the time. And so I joined what was the vetting committee for the candidates in the. Who are running for the. The fifth Congressional District, which. Which Michael Baumgartner won that. And he's been doing an amazing job, I believe, so shout out to Mike. But it was cool being able to meet, you know, all these candidates coming in and really ask, you know, tough questions. And I think a lot of candidates appreciated not taking it soft on them. [00:19:17] Speaker C: Right. [00:19:18] Speaker B: Like, asking, like, real questions and like. And being real. I think in politics, a lot of the time, people feel like they can't be, like, real. It's like, you know, just. Just be you. Be. Be authentic. Be real, you know? [00:19:29] Speaker A: Yeah. So. And where did you become a precinct PCO right away, before that? [00:19:38] Speaker B: I believe I did maybe just a few weeks after, because I was in a vacant precinct. [00:19:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [00:19:44] Speaker B: So, yeah, I was able to sink in. [00:19:46] Speaker A: Yeah. That's awesome. That's awesome. And so because of that, then you got connected. And, you know, Marc Anthony is an amazing person, an amazing networker, and gets people involved. Like, every county needs a Mark Anthony, you know, because he recruits people really well and got you involved. And then you got to be on our vetting committees. And these vetting committees is kind of a new thing that we started back in 2023 with the new board leadership. And before that, kind of a small group of people would, you know, hand pick the endorsed candidate. And the PCOs didn't really have a voice. And the poll party idea, the county party's idea, whether you're Democrat or Republican, is that the membership is made up by the pcos. And I was talking to somebody this morning about that's the. That's the structure throughout the. Not just our state, but the nation. Right. The pcos are the members of the party and so. And they are elected positions, even though most people don't see them on the ballot because of the ways our laws are. And a lot of them go unopposed. That's why you don't see them on the ballot or they go vacant. And like, you know, I think we have about 60 of our PCOS are. Have. Have people in them or. I'm sorry. So. But then all of a sudden, here you are, you know, 24 on the vetting committee for a congressional seat, you know, asking potential Congress people about, you know, what, what they feel about this or that. So that's. That's pretty cool. I didn't realize you were on that vetting team. [00:21:27] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it was. It was a really cool experience. And, you know, I got some. Make connections with people, and I think, you know, that's what this is about, really, is about people and connections and doing the best you can for. For your friends and family. [00:21:39] Speaker A: Right, right. And that for in Spokane county, then what happens from those vetting teams is they give recommendations back to the pcos on who they believe the best candidates are. They rate them, and then they. But it's up to the pcos. The pcos actually vote, then whoever shows up. If you don't show up, you can't vote, but they. They're the ones then that vote on the endorsement. And so that's how the endorsement process works. So that's pretty cool. So. Yeah, go ahead. [00:22:09] Speaker B: Well, I was just. I wanted to add that. I really appreciate that it, like, the Republican Party is very inviting. It invites people in. We want people in to be, you know, pcos. And I, I feel like it's really set up to be bottom up, you know, from. From the people in the pcos, you know, upward, which I think is. Is really special and it's really unique. And I, I just like to add that, like, for Spokane specifically, I think we have way more pcos than. Than the Democrats have. So we have, you know, a lot more people in there and, you know, a lot more people that are giving to the organization, which is sweet. [00:22:46] Speaker A: Yeah. And Enrique, what part of Spokane you live in the city of Spokane, right? [00:22:52] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I moved recently. I moved to an apartment because I had a downsized a little bit. So I live right across from sfcc. [00:23:00] Speaker A: Okay. [00:23:01] Speaker B: I think someone told me that it's the county, but I feel like it's still the city. [00:23:04] Speaker A: Yeah, it's probably right in there, so you'll have to research that. But you were in like a downtown. More downtown, you know, in the city. Of Spokane proper precinct. Correct? [00:23:19] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:23:19] Speaker A: Which is if people watching don't know. Spokane has been going, you know, blue for quite a while. Downtown Spokane. So we live in the county of spokane. We're like 60, 40. So overall. Ish. Right. Like, 60% usually goes Republican. 40%. And in the surrounding areas outside of Spokane proper, almost all of our positions, you know, end up being Republican. People vote Republican predominantly. So like a 60, 40. But in Spokane proper, that's not the case. [00:23:56] Speaker C: Right. [00:23:57] Speaker A: It's blue. And so there's, you know, I think you. You have different challenges in your precinct than I do out here in Spokane Valley. Right. Which is predominantly red or Republican. So maybe talk a little bit about that too, because I think that's so important that we get more involvement in these blue areas. [00:24:18] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I think. Yeah, you're totally right. Like, Spokane, which is, you know, predominantly the third legislative district is. Is pretty blue. And I don't think a lot of people realize that. Just the way people vote. I truly feel like there is a lot more conservatives. I just don't vote vote. And we need to encourage our friends to. To get their ballots turned in. But, yeah, it is rough in Spokane, and it's kind of. It's a little rough campaigning. You know, just the contrast of door knocking and helping Campaigns in Spokane vs. Spokane Valley is like, the people in Spokane Valley are a lot more, you know, willing to conversate and, you know, be, you know, a little more welcome to people. Where in the third, I feel like a lot more people are, like, kind of, like, caged in maybe a little bit. It's harder to campaign in the city of Spokane. I feel like if you're a Republican and we have a lot of work to do, I don't think it's out of our reach. But I do think that we as the Republican Party need to get our eye on the ball and start getting some big wins. In Spokane, for example, city council, if we can't flip a couple seats and we continue to have this same city council that we have, like, these guys are jokes. [00:25:34] Speaker C: They. [00:25:34] Speaker B: They've done absolutely nothing, you know, for. For the city of Spokane, if you look around downtown, it's a disaster. It's heartbreaking. There's so many people out here, you know, starving and losing their lives and high on drugs, and I feel like everyone just looks away. You don't have that as much in the Valley. [00:25:51] Speaker C: Right. [00:25:51] Speaker B: So, like, these are the big differences where, like, you know, the Valley's more conservative, where Spokane's more liberal, and you have more of these issues, right? Crime's more of an issue in Spokane versus Spokane Valley. It's like those are things that matter to people. And I think it should be a wake up call maybe, but. Yeah. [00:26:09] Speaker A: So. And you, did you grow up mostly in Spokane, Enrique? Yeah, yeah, in the city. So you've seen the, the, you know, last 25 years or 20 years that you were maybe paying more attention, how it's transformed, right? [00:26:26] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah. It's. It's very obvious. Like, I remember when I was a little younger, you know, a young teenager, my dad worked at a gas station downtown. And sometimes on the weekends or during the summer, I'd go, you know, to work with him over overnight. And it. There. There was a lot less homeless people. And the, the people that, that were there, you knew by name. Now it's like a complete different story. Are you still there, mj? [00:26:58] Speaker A: I'm back. Okay, keep going. I don't know what happened, but. [00:27:02] Speaker B: Okay. Okay. I don't know if I left on accident, but yeah, like I was saying. So my dad worked at this gas station downtown. And, you know, the homeless people know them by names. [00:27:12] Speaker C: Right. [00:27:13] Speaker B: He built relationships with people. And, and it wasn't as bad. You know, the disaster right now is a crisis. There's. There's so many people. It's, you know what I mean, Multiplied by several. The. The overdoses downtown and the deaths have, you know, increased and continue to increase. It's huge. People don't want to come downtown to shop anymore. People don't want to take their young kids to Riverfront Park. These have, you know, big effects on you as a city. And it's sad when you have something like hoopfest downtown where it brings in so many people home. And then you kind of see the city workers and the police, you know, kind of push, you know, the homeless people away, you know, just for the weekend, you know, just for the event so. So they can get some, you know, some. Some quick money and, you know, have the tourists, you know, not. Not see as much as that. But it's a huge deal. It's a huge deal in Spokane. I think people are frustrated with that. [00:28:07] Speaker A: Yeah. And, you know, I do. I hear from people that used to go downtown a lot, you know, people out in the Valley and then even people that live in the city, you know, that just maybe not right downtown, but they don't want to go downtown anymore. And, you know, through the Republican Party, we had a bunch of. We had these business roundtables every month there for a While, and so we were talking, you know, directly to the business owners and the people that had these businesses and the stuff they go through just to have a business. I mean, it's just not profitable. It's not feasible. It's not, you know, you can't, you can't keep doing it. And so it's really sad. Now you work downtown right now, right? Or where. [00:28:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I work, I work right downtown. Right. [00:28:51] Speaker A: So you get to see it. You see it every day. [00:28:54] Speaker B: Every day, yeah. [00:28:56] Speaker A: Wow. [00:28:56] Speaker B: I have a right right outside my window of a view of old building called the Red Path. I think it might be like low income housing. And it's just a hotspot for, you know, drug activity. I literally see drug transactions outside the window. You know what I mean? There's a corner store right there. I go into the corner store. It's most outrageous and weird experiences, you know what I mean? It's bad. And I, and I don't, I don't want to demonize anyone who's out there struggling because personally, you know, I've experienced with that. My mom, for a large portion of my life, she struggled with, you know, drug abuse and she was absent, but by the grace of, you know, Jesus Christ, she found, you know, salvation and, and she's doing awesome now. So I, I don't, I, I don't demonize, you know, these people out here going through stuff. I think, you know, there's a lot of debate why should people be doing drugs right out in the open? Like, why does it seem like, you know, the police don't really care about enforcing, you know, laws anymore. And really, if it seems like someone's out here and they can't really take care of themselves, themselves and they're not healthy, you can tell they're not healthy. And it doesn't really seem like they can keep themselves safe. Then I think, you know, the, the city should step in, make sure they detox, get the drugs out and then, you know, push them towards a direction where they can, you know, get rehabilitated and, you know, transition and get their lives back. Because if you keep just trying to throw money at the issue, they're throwing money at the issue, raising taxes, throwing money at the issue, and nothing happens. Like it's insane. [00:30:29] Speaker C: Right? [00:30:29] Speaker B: That's the definition of insanity. We gotta switch it up a little bit. But, you know, our city council doesn't seem to believe that. [00:30:37] Speaker A: Right. Well, and we've got, you know, a Democrat majority, a 5:2 majority, plus a, you know, Democrat mayor Lisa Brown. And so you know, they've passed, like, the Compassion Resolution. And, you know, to me, it is not compassionate to enable people to stay in this hurtful environment. That is the, that is the opposite of compassion. And, you know, we have, like, places like Union Gospel Mission, ugm, but they have, they've proven that they can help people and they can turn people's lives around. And, you know, they, they have requirements. Right, but it works. And, and, and it's not enabling, but, you know, that's not who gets the support. That's not the policies that are prevailing right now. It's this enablement. And the same thing in Seattle. I mean, it's probably a little more visible in Seattle. I think we see more of it, like, on social media just because more people are videoing it or whatever. But it's like that, just straight down Spokane here. And it is, it is not helpful. It's not compassionate, and it's. It's hurting these people. Like you said, we have passion, you know, compassion for people that are struggling. But. And it's hurting businesses. You know, they're not going to be. A lot of people don't go downtown, don't have businesses downtown anymore. You know, it's just. Yeah, it's not, it's not good. So, I mean, we, we want to get involved. And I would think that's kind of part of your why, of getting involved to help change your community and, you know, change things. Is that part of your why, Enrique? [00:32:22] Speaker B: Well, that's the hope I feel. Yeah, that's the goal. [00:32:25] Speaker C: Right. [00:32:25] Speaker B: I feel like everything you have to do in life, you have to have a purpose behind it. [00:32:28] Speaker C: Right. [00:32:28] Speaker B: There's got to be a reason that, you know, you're doing things and waking up and, you know, you have your goals. [00:32:33] Speaker C: Right. [00:32:34] Speaker B: So, yeah, my goal is to really just make Spokane a better place and, you know, make. Make the state a better place if you can. And it takes time, it takes commitment. Sometimes I get discouraged and, you know, I question why I'm doing this. And if I'm, you know, utilizing, you know, my, my young years, like, as well as I could, but. But I just. Yeah, like you said, we have so much love and compassion for people that I think, like, you have to. [00:33:00] Speaker C: Right. [00:33:00] Speaker B: I. I feel like I have a calling, and it's not really about me personally. I feel like I see some people that gravitate towards politics with big egos. Maybe I, I could really care. I could care as people know me or don't know me. Like, I just. My goal for the young Republicans is to bring, you know, have an avenue for young people to come in and to know how to make a difference in their communities. [00:33:23] Speaker C: Right. [00:33:23] Speaker B: To. To. To know, you know, how to, you know, lobby their state legislator, their city council, and, you know what I mean, do these things to actually make differences instead of noise, because we have so much noise right now. We have so much noise, and I think it's even easy to get overwhelmed. I just want to make an impact. [00:33:41] Speaker A: Right, yeah. And it. Do you feel like you're able to make an impact with your involvement in the Republican Party and. And through the Young Republicans? [00:33:52] Speaker B: I'm making more of an impact now than I would have been if I didn't. [00:33:55] Speaker C: Right. [00:33:56] Speaker B: So, like, I don't know, for example, this year, a lot of, you know, the Washington Young Republicans got more involved with Olympia during the legislative cycle. We had a lot of great members showing up to testify just about every day on bad bills, and there's no shortage of bad bills. [00:34:13] Speaker C: Right. [00:34:13] Speaker B: And it was like, did it make a difference? Probably not. A lot of the bills they passed anyways. [00:34:20] Speaker C: Right. [00:34:21] Speaker B: But you're putting pressure on them. You're letting them know that. That, you know, the young generation is waking up and we're here now. And I think it actually got under the skin of a lot of Democrat legislators because I started to twist our words more. I notice, you know what I mean? They started to talk about us, you know, during their forums, and, you know, it was like, sweet. Well, game on. You know what I mean? So. So it's cool. And yeah, if I felt like I had the answers and I could wave a wand and, you know, solve problems, I absolutely would. And I'm. I'm learning as I'm going, just like a lot of us, us. And yeah, you know what I mean, we have a lot of great, you know, people that support us, but, you know, along the way, it's more trial and error and, you know, learning as you go. Right, right. [00:35:09] Speaker A: Yeah. And. And I'll. I'll say, too, I think it's important as well, like, when you have young Republicans or, you know, younger people than me out there testifying, it also shows your generation and other people that are more your age, like, this is what's going on. You know, we're sitting right in front of this bill, and this is what this bill is saying, and it's not good. And I think, you know, people are going to be able to relate to you saying that or people of your age more than they're going to be able to Relate to me saying that, you know, it just translates better. So just by. Even if most of us don't feel like, you know, we tried really hard this legislation session and legislative session, and we keep trying every year, and it feels like, you know, it's falling on deaf ears. But honestly, I do believe it is having an impact on the other people that are watching you and showing, hey, look, they're out there fighting, and I believe in what they're fighting for. And, gosh, I wasn't even aware that our state has these policies. I mean, that's true across the board. Right. So I think you are making way more of an impact, especially as young Republicans, being involved in different things like that. You know, it'd be awesome if we could get people going, you know, to city councils and school board meetings, you know, and I know that's always a struggle. Just even as our county party, our whole county party, there's so much to do, and there's so many city council, you know, we've got. I can't even remember, think of how many cities we have within the county and, you know, many school boards. So there's tons of meetings to go to. But if you can even just start going, you know, to. To one and start showing up, it makes a difference. Talk to us a little bit more about the young Republicans, Enrique. Like, you know, because I do think that there's power in numbers, right? And that's. That's the power of the Republican Party. And I'm not saying the Republican Party is perfect at all. In fact, it's got its own problems and it's got its own corruption, and that's what we're. We've been getting involved to change and. And to straighten out. And we need good people that will do that, like Enrique, that are, you know, not doing this for their own ego, but doing this to do what's right and to promote truth. And so talk to us a little bit, like, about how you got involved with the Young Republicans then and what you've been doing with that group. [00:37:37] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it. It started in Spokane because there wasn't a group chartered when I first, you know, got involved with the Spokane gop. But it just took, you know, a few young people in the age range 18 to 40, a few of us, you know, sat down, got chartered, got it together, and then we just started growing from there. [00:37:57] Speaker C: Right. [00:37:58] Speaker B: It doesn't take, you know, a lot to. To get chartered. And if you live in, like, a county in Spokane that doesn't have a wire chapter, I Encourage you to reach out to us at the, you know, Washington Young Republican website. And it literally only takes, you know, five people to get chartered. You have to have a set of bylaws, which, you know, we created some bylaws and, you know, all that to make sure we're compliant with, you know, the state standards. And then from that, we just started to, you know, have socials, invite more people. You know, we like to have, you know, a lot of fun, but we also like to, you know, make an impact. So, you know, last year a lot of us spent a lot of time campaigning for, for various candidates and, you know, gained a lot of experience like that. And then you just continue to grow, right? You continue to have socials, you continue to, to go out and do things. So I know, like after the Lincoln Day dinner, we all went polling and, you know, got some, got some drinks and when the Washington. Shoot. Why am I drawing a blank right now? The Washington, the State Committee meeting that just happened in Spokane recently. [00:39:07] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, well, we hosted. [00:39:09] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, we hosted a reception and invited all of the, the state committee members and, you know, as an appreciation and thank you for all our efforts. So it's cool. It's cool. Getting to know your elected officials. [00:39:23] Speaker C: Right? [00:39:24] Speaker B: And like Jim Walsh, the head of the Spokane. Not the Spokane, but the Washington gop, he's very supportive of the Young Republicans, which is awesome, and we really appreciate that. We love Jim Walsh. So it's cool building those relationships. At the end of the month, we have our big, you know, Young Republican National Federation meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. So a lot of us are going to go down to Nashville and enjoy the week there. And, you know, there's going to be a big convention and restructuring for the, for the National Federation there. But it's cool. We like to have a lot of fun. We rented out the entire hotel. So it's entire. The entire hotel is yr. So it's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a lot of fun. [00:40:09] Speaker A: Yeah, that's cool. NYR is Young Republican just, you know, for anybody that's not sure. So, yeah, the Young Republican, the chat. So it's a chapter and what's interesting about it, and I love that you guys, I think they used to have one and then it kind of dwindled and, and as far as I can tell, I talked to a few people, but I love that you guys got it going again. And it. You. You are your own en. Entity outside of the Spokane County Republican Party. So you, you really. Which is awesome. I think there's. But it can be mutual. We also, we have a committee under the Spokane county gop, a Young Republican Committee. So we started that before you guys had your chapter. So we want it because we believe, too, that we want to get young Republicans involved, like, you know, us old fuddy daddies that are getting gray hairs and, you know, getting older. We need fresh blood. We need new, new thinking. We need, you know, I mean, you. That's a whole demographic, a whole generation of people that oftentimes aren't connected. Right. Oftentimes don't know the policies that are going on and oftentimes aren't voting. Right. And so we need to change that. Like, if we're going to change, like you said earlier, the definition of insanity is keep doing the same thing and expect different results. And so we want to get more people involved. So that's. We had kind of both those things. So you don't have to have a Young Republican chapter to get started. You know, you could have just some few people that start meeting or work with your local county party, your county gop. But the nice thing about your Young Republican chapters, then you're tied in to the Washington State Young Republicans, which now you're tied into a whole statewide network, and then you're also tied into this national network. So again, it's these numbers that help you. Right. Advance your agendas, right? [00:42:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:10] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:11] Speaker B: You can't do. You can't do anything without a team. [00:42:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:14] Speaker B: It's all. It's all teamwork. [00:42:15] Speaker C: Right. [00:42:16] Speaker B: And like you, I feel like, you know, the. The generation of people who have been in politics for. For decades. [00:42:24] Speaker C: Right. [00:42:25] Speaker B: And they've been committed. I think they're a little tired of all the bickering and fighting internally. But there's like, so much information that you guys have that I feel like needs to be passed on to the next generation of people who want to get involved because, you know, you don't. You don't want all that. All that knowledge to be lost. [00:42:48] Speaker C: Right. [00:42:48] Speaker B: So I think there's a big push right now to get people in and get people trained up and knowledgeable before, you know, people just say, you know, I'm done. I want to, you know, retire from this. I've done this for 30, 30 years, which, you know, I've heard that, you know, quite a few times. People. I've done this for 10 years, 20 years. 30 years. They put so much effort and commitment into it. I think a lot of people are just exhausted now. People are tired. But there's there's the need to, you know, be the bigger Republican team and, you know, get, get, get the younger guys trained up. But yeah, as far as the national federation goes, it's. It's so awesome to have, you know, a nationwide group. You know, you have people that, that you can relate to and, and way to network with people from across the country, and it's really cool. It opens up a lot of opportunities. [00:43:36] Speaker A: Yes. And. Which. Talk about what you're doing right now, because if I understand right, like, it's kind of through these opportunities of you connecting, networking within the Republican Party that you got the job that you're doing. Is that right? [00:43:51] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. So I did excavation for the longest time, road construction. I'm now a legal assistant. I work for a law firm, which is cool. You know, I sit behind a desk all day gaining a little bit of weight. I need to get to the gym a little more. But no, it's. It's cool. It. I. I never would have thought that I could get here to this point and, you know, have some, Some more education to do. But, you know, yeah, being. Being in the Republican Party and, you know, building these connections with people, it does open up doors for you. It does open up opportunities. And I know I'm not the only one. There's, you know, so many other testimonies of people getting connected because of, you know, their activism. So, yeah, there's. Yeah, anything's possible, you know, by the grace of God. Absolutely. [00:44:41] Speaker A: Yeah. You meet some great people, for sure. And, you know, of course, we've. There's always some characters that are interesting in any kind of organization. But, you know, for the most part, I think there's a lot of good people trying to do the right thing and help make. Make things better. And, you know, I, I don't. I don't exactly know why there's been a lot of dysfunction when, within the party, especially in our state, or maybe it's in every state. But I really believe that we have got great people like Enrique that are getting involved and trying to make it good and build the infrastructure, like with the Young Republicans to help get people involved and, and, you know, make the whole thing way better. And a lot of, you know, I'm a former chair of the party here in Spokane, and so many people are like, why aren't you doing this? Why aren't you doing that? Why aren't you doing this? Because we don't have people, you know, we don't have the. The people. A lot of people donate to Republican and it goes to national or it goes to Trump or it goes to win Red or it goes to the state party and it doesn't stay local. Like, only if you, you donate to the Spokane county gop, does the money go to the Spokane county gop? Only if you vote, you give to the Spokane County Young Republicans does it go to the Spokane County Young Republicans. And usually stuff doesn't flow down from the state. At least I've noticed, had that, you know, where, where the state is just giving us tons of money at the county. I don't know if you guys get, do you guys get any support? [00:46:18] Speaker B: We have not been that fortunate. We, we have been fortunate enough to have, you know, build solid connections with people that, that have sponsored us and donated, you know, money because, you know, it's unfortunate. I feel like people are getting squeezed all around for everyone's struggling now. But I feel like we do a lot with a little. We, we, we're fiscally responsible and we realize that we don't have tons of fines. [00:46:45] Speaker C: Right. [00:46:47] Speaker B: I hear there's a new group in Spokane, the Young Democrats. They look really official. They look, they look really meant. They have money. [00:46:54] Speaker C: Right? [00:46:55] Speaker B: Who's giving these people all this money for them to look so professional? [00:46:58] Speaker C: Right. [00:46:58] Speaker B: It's interesting. [00:47:00] Speaker A: You should probably check those USA dollars, I'm thinking. [00:47:04] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, but, but no, we don't have a ton of money flowing in from the state or, you know, from, from, from anywhere really. Besides, you know, people like you, mj, people that just really care and want to help and, and want to see us succeed. So, you know, they donate a little bit of their hard earned cash and, and we always appreciate that. And yeah, we do. We do what we can with, with what we have. [00:47:27] Speaker A: Yeah. So what is your, do you guys meet monthly? Enrique? [00:47:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I try to. We try to meet monthly. Sometimes like holidays come up or whatnot. Sometimes they be postponed, but we always meet the second Sunday of every month unless it's postponed or canceled. And I've been trying to do it at the Hive at Spokane. It's, it's a public space, you know, library, cool, big rooms with projectors and monitors. So usually we're always at the Hive the second Sunday of the month. And other than that, we, so that meeting is more of like, you know, how are we going to strategize, you know, what should we be doing, you know, to, to be better. But if you want to, to, to get to know us and, and to come meet us, just follow us on, on social media and yeah, we have, we have a lot of social events going on. So just pop into a social event and say hi. Like, even if you're over 40, it doesn't matter. Just come say hi. We'll, we'll, we'll invite you with welcome, open arms. [00:48:30] Speaker A: Yeah, you guys are very welcoming. I've even maybe attended an event or, or two where, you know, you guys invited me to come, which I greatly appreciated. And they're great, great group of people. And I just love all the ideas and the fresh energy and, you know, just fresh perspective too. Right. So what are the, what are the different. Where do they find you specifically? What are your social media accounts? Where can people find you? [00:48:56] Speaker B: I believe if you just look up Spokane county yrs, you should be able to find us. Okay, just a second. [00:49:04] Speaker A: I know I had, I had it pulled up earlier too. Let's see if I can find it there. Okay, so on X. Here's the X. Oh, here's here maybe. [00:49:19] Speaker B: Of course, my, I believe it's, it's either Spokane County Young Republicans or Spokane yrs. And, and you'll see us. It's a little embarrassing. I'm not too. [00:49:34] Speaker A: Yep. At Spokan yr is what your X account is. And so that's it right there. Oh, it's still trying to pull up. So that's your X account. And how about on. Are you on Facebook as well? [00:49:51] Speaker B: Yes, we're on Facebook and Instagram, but I believe that's all right now. So for Instagram, I believe it's the. It's also Spokane yrs. [00:50:05] Speaker A: Okay. So people can connect with you through those social media accounts. Yes, is the best way. [00:50:12] Speaker B: Or you can always shoot us an email. SpokaneCounty yrs gmail dot com. [00:50:18] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, awesome. What. Anything else that you want to leave with people, Enrique? Why, why should people get involved? And you know, there might be a lot of people watching that aren't under 40. Oh, that was a question. Before we, you know, have final thoughts, I did have somebody ask me, you know, what about for people? Because I, I said this is for young Republicans for anybody under 40, but you have a lot of people that are like your age in the 20s or early 20s or even, you know, 18, 19. So talk to us about that because that's quite a spread from 17, 18 to 40. So. Yeah, what, what are, are you just looking for anybody under 40? Do you guys have different age groups that maybe get together on their own, talk to people about that? [00:51:10] Speaker B: Well, that's, that's a great point. I think it really depends on how well people, like, flow together, for one, and get along together, but also, like, you know, people who are closer to, you know, they're in their 30s and getting closer to 40. You have so much more life experience and knowledge that you can pass on. Like, I'm sure there are skills and, you know, things you've seen in your life that we can learn from and benefit from. [00:51:36] Speaker C: Right. [00:51:36] Speaker B: So I think it's more of, like, are you willing to join and commit into growing this? Because my goal ultimately, for this program is to know one day when I decide to do something else and leave, that'll still be there, and it won't be like, you know, the older groups that, you know, seem to, you know, fizzle out and, you know, go under eventually. I want this to be a program that stays and lasts, you know, for. For decades. So, you know, if you're. If you're a little older, I think that's totally fine. Come. Come in. We still invite you and welcome you if you're younger. Please come in. We want to train you and educate you and get you in. [00:52:12] Speaker C: Right. [00:52:12] Speaker B: So I think, you know, depending on where you're at, like, it'll be, you know, what you're doing will be a little bit different. But, yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, people under 21 can't drink. [00:52:25] Speaker C: Right. [00:52:25] Speaker B: So sometimes we have cocktail parties and, you know, cocktail receptions and. And things like that that people under 21 can't go to. But we also always have a lot of inclusive events that, you know, anyone of any age group could go to, so. [00:52:39] Speaker A: Right. And some of the events, like, you guys have, like, been meeting with legislators. You had an event with Rob Chase. I saw. Correct. [00:52:48] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:48] Speaker A: And that was just with the Young Republicans. [00:52:50] Speaker B: Yeah, that was us. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's really cool. I definitely want to build more strong relationships with the legislators and let people, our members, get to know them more. [00:53:03] Speaker C: Right. [00:53:04] Speaker B: Because it's important. It is really important. [00:53:09] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And it's a really cool opportunity, you know, because all of a sudden you're. You're meeting with people, you're talking about this. You're talking about the upcoming elections. We've got such important elections this year. You know, a lot of people paid big attention last year because it was a governors and other statewide races and the presidential race, which, of course, was very important. But so are these local races that are this year, city councils, school board races, you know, other local district races. And so how do you. How do you foresee your grand group getting involved in these elections, I, I think ballots like dropped or are dropping right now, you know, getting in people's mailboxes for the primary. [00:53:56] Speaker B: Well, I think there is, you can't afford to take your eye off the ball right now. And you're totally right. With, with the elections coming up, they're important. Midterms, you know, next year, those will be huge. We, we, we can't afford to, to take a step back and say, you know, we'll Trump's in office. You know, we're good, you know, until the next presidential. We gotta say, just as committed. We have to say justice focused. We have to make sure our friends know how important this is, make sure our family members know how important these races are. And I think, you know, a lot of these ones, people don't really vote. And it means that, you know, I. Your vote matters more when people vote less. [00:54:39] Speaker A: Yep. [00:54:39] Speaker C: Right. [00:54:40] Speaker B: Get, get your vote in, get your ballots in, please, and, and tell your friends. So, yeah, we're going to continue to, to help out candidates how we can, you know. You know, we're stretched a little thin now. I wish we did have, you know, a lot more members because we have about 80 members on paper that signed up, which is good. That's a lot of growth. But I'd say maybe about 20 that will, you know, show up and rotations, which is good, you know, but I wish we had more. I wish we could help, you know, all the candidates and all the, the key races. [00:55:11] Speaker C: Right. [00:55:12] Speaker B: But, yeah, we'll just continue to do the best we can and continue to try to grow. [00:55:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Well, if you, you know, know anybody. Right. This is my plea. If you know anybody under 40, right. Have them connect with Enrique or the Spokane Young Republicans. And even if you don't live in Spokane county, they can help get you connected to maybe a chapter in your local community or with the state too, if you want to start a chapter. And I think that's really awesome. Any final thoughts that you want to share with people, Enrique, before we sign off for tonight? [00:55:47] Speaker B: Sure. I would just like to toss out there again how important I feel that it is that the work that we're doing for this. Because I don't know if a lot of people realize, but the old College Republicans groups that used to be around at a lot of different universities, they're not there anymore. Wow. They're not there anymore. And it's funny, we have a new YR member, his name is Jay. He goes to school in Pullman, and he helped build, you know, a YR chapter for. For that county. I think it's Whitman county out there, and that's awesome. But he told me, you know, he was asking about the College Republican groups. There are none. You know what I mean? Same here. Same in Spokane at Gonzaga and Eastern and stuff. The College Republicans aren't around anymore. And I think tpa, osa, and Charlie Kirk have done a good job of getting more social engagement, like social media traction and, you know, at least having an outlet for, you know, university students to go if they're curious and hear whatever. But a lot of people don't realize they're. They're nonpartisan. TPUSA is a non. A nonpartisan group. From what I understand, a lot of the conversations I had with TP members, they don't really feel like they're being trained and equipped to be activists. They're more just there for the show. They're along for the ride right until they graduate. I think we can do better. And I think that the. The Young Republicans are committed into training and, you know, encouraging people to. Yeah, hey, you're passionate about, you know, kids, you might have some experience. Run for school board, maybe. [00:57:18] Speaker C: Right. [00:57:18] Speaker B: We want to support our members to, you know, strive for, you know, excellence. [00:57:24] Speaker A: Absolutely. And we, again, we need fresh thinkers, fresh blood, you know, in those different. Different jurisdictions, school boards, city councils, to challenge the thinking, challenge the narrative, challenge the, you know, the old way of doing things. Like, you know, it's. It's clearly not working. And again, like you said, I mean, these races this year are just as important as the national race, as a presidential race. I mean, the city council elections dictate what happens here in Spokane. Yes. The presidential dictates what happens in our nation. And there's definitely policies affecting us, but the policies affect us here locally are made at these local levels. Our school districts, our city councils. And so, like, we. We need to make sure that people are engaged in these. And so ballots are dropping, you know, and if you don't know. Do you guys do an endorsement thing at all? Enrique, as you young and I'm sorry, young Republicans. [00:58:31] Speaker B: Yeah. So endorsements are a little interesting. So we, as, like, the Spokane county chapter, don't endorse. Endorsements typically happen from the state level. The state wires, where anyone on the executive committee there can, you know, debate and vote whether it's a good idea to endorse or not. So it. It does happen sometimes, but not from, like, Spokane County. It's from the entire state, which opens it up to a lot more debate. [00:58:59] Speaker C: Right. [00:58:59] Speaker B: So I Think it's, it's not like a cakewalk to get endorsement from the yrs. [00:59:06] Speaker C: Right. [00:59:07] Speaker B: You really have to be somebody who, you know, the state program feels like could benefit that area. [00:59:14] Speaker A: So you're, you're different, like, than the county party because the county party definitely puts out their recommendations. And that is on The Spokane County GOP website, by the way. Spokaneop.com if you want to look for those recommendations. But you guys are actively involved, I obviously, in the campaigns and helping, you know, get Republicans elected, which I think is great. So, yeah, Enrique, you know, thanks for being here and thank you for what you're doing. I mean, thank you for what you've been doing, for stepping up. You know, you had a empty precinct and you stepped up to be a pco, implore people to check that out if you, you know, are interested in that. But then you also helped ensure that this Spokane County Young Republicans got established and got set up and restarted, which is awesome. I mean, that's an awesome thing. I mean, how many people did you start with? You know, five, 10, maybe 20. Right. [01:00:13] Speaker B: It was just a few of us. [01:00:15] Speaker A: Okay. And now you have 80. You know, that's one year. Look, you know, and I know you want more, and we always need more people, but you have come a long way and, and you know, that's part of your grit and tenacity, yours and others. I know David was very involved with that. A lot of you all were very involved with that. And you guys also just have contributed greatly to the campaigns. I mean, you've made a big, big difference to our local campaigns and our efforts to help get out the vote. So you're making a big difference. And you know, what I'm excited to see is what that leads to. You know, you may not, like, be in this for an ego or to prop you up or because you think you're going to run for office someday, but you're the exact type of person that we need to have running. The people that don't usually want to run are the people that make the best candidates. Right. So it's going to be fun to, to watch you and your endeavors and, and you know what, what you continue to do, but I really hope you stay involved. I love that you're the chair of the Young Republicans right now here in Spokane county. And, you know, I'm always here. So if you guys ever want to promote anything or get on here and talk about, you know, something, or get on the spaces and talk about, you know, some upcoming stuff or needs, you Guys have. Just know I'm a partner and this is what I'm doing. I'm trying to do what the media won't do. I'm talking about. I want to give you guys, you know, people like you and people like Spokane, you know, this organization, Speak, Spokane County Young Republicans, a platform to share about the great things that you guys are doing so well. [01:01:59] Speaker B: Thank you for those kind words, mj. And thank you for. For all you do and all your hard work and pushing the conversation and getting more voices in the mix. It's. It's so necessary and it's so awesome. You're such a great person. I feel like you have such a kind heart. You know, the PCOs in Spokane definitely love you, but, yeah, anyone who, and anybody who, who likes what the Young Republicans are doing and, and support us and, and think that they want to see it continue, please support us. We need all the support we can get. It's all about being a team and a family. [01:02:30] Speaker C: Right? [01:02:30] Speaker B: So please follow us on the social medias. Spokane County Young Republicans or Spokane yrs. And yeah, if you can make a donation, please, or just share our content and help get the word out. Let your nieces and nephews and, you know, your sons and daughters and grandchildren know, because this is something that is really special and I want to cherish it and I want to make sure that it. That it lasts longer than I do, you know? [01:02:57] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, we can't. We can't afford to sit on our duffs and. And let this, our nation, and our communities kind of degradate in front of our eyes anymore. We know we have got to do better, you know. That's why you got involved, Enrique. That's why I got involved is because I was. I was floored at what I was seeing, starting especially with COVID Starting with COVID And it prompted me, moved me to, you know, get involved at a deeper level and really make an impact. And we have to, like, this is our livelihoods. This is our future. You guys are our future, you know, and we need you, we need you involved to ensure that our next. The next generation is going to have a good life and not be enslaved and not be under tyrannical rule, whether it's in your county or your city or your state or your nation. Right? And. And that's why. That is the why to getting involved. So again, applaud you for what you're doing, Enrique. Always love talking with you. Come on. Anytime. And, you know, blessings to you and the entire chapter. Tell everybody. Hi. I miss seeing everybody, but anything I can do? Sure. Just reach out. [01:04:11] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. 100 MJ anytime. Reach out to us. [01:04:15] Speaker A: Okay. All right. Blessings. Take care. Thanks. [01:04:17] Speaker B: Yeah. God bless.