Salem politics are getting dirty.
Ward 1 Councilwoman Virginia Stapleton and Vik Schaaf, a local educator who was managing social media when Stapleton ran unsuccessfully for House District 21partner of the “demobras” podcast.
The podcast’s name, neon green color scheme, and font come from pop singer Charli XCX’s recent album and sequels “Brat Summer”, during which the singer endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race.
Stapleton said she had been thinking about the podcast for more than a year and would jot down ideas for topics while serving on the board.
She expressed her desire to combat misinformation and lack of information about the city’s budget deficit of $17.7 million and statewide factors that led to revenue problems prompted her to create the podcast.
“It’s hyper-focused on local government and really helps people understand,” Stapleton said. “The policies that you can see, touch, feel and experience are all local, right? People think about politics, and they think about the White House or Congress. All of that is very important, but the things that impact the daily lives of people who live here in the Salem, Keizer, Marion County and Polk County areas is actually your local government.”
Recent topics include a candid interview with outgoing mayor Chris HoyStapleton and Schaaf’s takeaways from a business group letter to council calls for committee to review city budget and a division into three parts of the city budget deficit and problems caused by Oregon’s adoption of Measures 5 and 50.
The episodes, which range from a 12-minute bonus episode to a 107-minute in-depth analysis of payroll taxes, have a conversational tone, and the hosts typically start each with a list of three things they found funny or interesting that week. .
“We wanted to bring joy back to politics,” Stapleton said. “Getting involved locally and civically should be a joyful thing.”
She said she was surprised by the reception the podcast received, particularly its popularity with the younger generation. She asked one of her teenage daughter’s friends to thank her for the podcast because she couldn’t fit a government class into her class schedule.
“We really want to reach these people because we need them to be involved as they consider moving into adulthood,” Stapleton said.
She and Schaaf aim to publish weekly episodes, but also try to respond to breaking news like the business group’s letter to the council.
Stapleton hopes the podcast will grow and people will voice concerns and topics that interest them.
“I would love for people to join us and contact us and share any kinds of questions they have,” she said. “Of course, over the next six months, this will be extremely important to the city of Salem, given our budgetary issues, and I hope to use this space to do what I can to help the city move forward.” Before.”
The podcast is available on Spotify And Apple.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.comcall 503-910-6616 or follow @wmwoodworth