This Is Not Who We Are: Confessions of an Elections Official/David Maeda

He led a state through the most contested elections in recent American history. And the whole time nobody knew what it was actually costing him.David Maeda served as the Director of Elections for the Minnesota Secretary of State from 2019 to 2024. He navigated the machinery of democracy at the exact moment when that machinery was being questioned, attacked, and defended in ways that tested everyone inside it. He certified results under scrutiny. He faced threats. He showed up every single day for one of the most important and publicly visible jobs in America.And through all of it — he was quietly battling depression. A heart that had been broken more times than he can easily count. Mental health struggles that did not stop because the ballots needed counting.His memoir is called This Is Not Who We Are: Confessions of an Elections Official. It rose to number one on Amazon in biographies and memoirs and six other categories at launch. And it is in his own words not political. It is extremely personal.It is about music. Cats. Friends. Heartbreak held with humor. And what it looks like to carry a deeply human interior life inside one of the most publicly scrutinized jobs in America.In this episode of Beyond the Draft, David opens up about the personal story behind the institutional one. About why he chose to write about depression and heartbreak instead of political drama. About what music gave him when nothing else could reach him. About the humor that refused to leave even when everything else felt too heavy to carry. And about what he most wants every person holding it together professionally while quietly struggling personally to hear.This conversation is for every human being who has ever shown up fully for a job that demands everything while their interior life demands everything else.David Maeda just gave them permission to finally be honest about what that costs.🎙️ Host: Imma📚 Guest: David Maeda/Elections Administrator · Memoir Author · Mental Health Advocate🌐 davidmaeda.com📖 This Is Not Who We Are: Available on AmazonBeyond the Draft — Where the real story begins after the writing is done.Your words have power. Your story matters. Keep writing.