This newsletter took a bit to write because I started a new job! I am a month into my role as campaign manager for Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vásquez! Yes, I am screaming!!!!

I’ve been interested in politics since at least the third grade. I don’t recall why, it might have to do with a framed portrait my family had of John F. Kennedy, but my cousin gave me a copy of his book, Profiles in Courage, and I ate it up. I read as much as I could about the presidents. Then went on a First Ladies kick. I even made zines for my classroom library in the fifth (?) grade summing up my research. I know. Nerd.

Fast forward many decades and I have worked on political campaigns including for alderman, state senate, and state representative, not to mention my own. I have completed campaign training from the White House Project (RIP) to Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy. It was during my campaign that I felt all the experiences and education come together. That is when I thought, “I should really do this as a job.” When my position at UIC ended and I needed to figure out what my next step should be, I returned to this feeling. That I love election season. It’s in my top 5 of the seasons - baseball, women’s sports, pumpkin spice, jeans & flannel, and election. The actual order varies on the day.

I am excited about working for Jessica for a two big reasons. The first is that it has been a very long time since I’ve dedicated my political campaign energy on a woman candidate. And a Latina? HELL YEAH. Second, did you know that Cook County Health is one of the largest healthcare systems in the country? And given the cuts from the federal government, we are going to need a champion at the county level to ensure that we can continue to serve the people of Cook County. Not to mention she is co-chair of the Northwest side rapid response team and helping to protect our neighbors.

As I end my first month I can see how every job, volunteer position, and training I’ve had are coming together. From turning classmates out to Amnesty International meetings to calling friends to donate to my campaign, it is all falling into place.

I wouldn’t be a good campaign manager if I didn’t ask you to donate to Jessica!

How I am Persisting - Books

What have I been reading? Oof… the summer was intense in both good and not great ways. That left lots of pockets for reading. Anyway…. here is what I’ve been reading since the last time I wrote:

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez did end with a thud. If you are into stories about creepy houses and estranged friends, this is for you. It was going pretty well until about 60% way into the story. The estranged friend plot was strong. Two working class girls with one who was able to get out of the community, the one left behind. Such a classic trope and one I will consume over and over.

I didn’t finish You Weren’t Meant to be Human. The content warning is not to be skipped. I love horror, body horror, but this just was too much for me. I was going to push through it, but I have other things to read.

Abortion and Reproductive Justice: An Essential Guide for Resistance by by Marlene Gerber Fried and Loretta J. Ross is a must read. I mean, anything by Ross is a must read. I haven’t finished, but what I have read is truly essential reading. Their goal for the guide is to walk us through what it means to RJ abortion rights, history, and law. If you have taken a women’s studies course, you know that we talk about taking a feminist lens to things - film, books, and life. Using an RJ lens means looking at Roe, the Hyde Amendment, and even the fall of Roe through a reproductive justice lens to find the deeper impacts. A great example is looking at how abortion was legal, then it was made illegal as the medical profession began to take hold, then as hospitals were creating wards to hold all the women harmed by illegal abortions the public started to advocate for legality. And throughout most of this ebb and flow to legality, the health of people who could get pregnant was rarely centered. If you are struggling with how we got to where we are, reading this will help you see the shortcomings of the larger strategy to focus on individual choices. And I hope will inform our public health policy when we are able to rebuild it. One day.

Friend and poet Lauren Eggert-Crowe, whom I met at the 2022 Buffering the Vampire Slayer prom, has a newsletter that is not to be missed.

It is rare for me to go too long without raving about something that Jude Doyle has written. And hopefully it is not too surprising that I really enjoyed their take on poptimism and Taylor Swift. This Swiftie is always here for a good critique of my fave pop girlie.

For the Record is cute and like most romance novels I have read, fairly predictable. But like love itself, the journey is why you tune in. The lead singer of a pop band and a punk band find themselves needing to work together as they try to launch the next chapter of their individual careers. Old feelings get churned up, but can they capture a relationship they denied themselves years ago? Is there such a thing as second chance at love? Like I said, it’s the adorable journey.

Scarlet Morning, Book 1 is a kids novel by ND Stevenson, the showrunner for She-Ra and author of Nimona. I’ve been following their work since Lumberjanes. And this book doesn’t disappoint. A tale about two orphans in a desolate land after the oceans become hyper-saline that the streets of their town have salt banks. One day they trade their most prized possession, a book containing a valuable secret, for passage upon a pirate ship. And that is where the adventure begins. Scarlet Morning is filled with in deception, a warped universe, and PIRATES! I am looking forward to the next book in this series.