Tomás Garduño - "We Built This City"

Host Erika Washington talks with organizer and author Tomás Garduño about his book, "Fundamentals of Electoral Organizing," and why organizing is “reorganizing” power so working-class people can speak with one voice and govern in their own interests. Garduño, born and raised in Albuquerque with deep New Mexico roots and 25+ years of organizing experience, defines democracy as working-class power and argues elites divide people by identity to weaken the 90% working-class majority. He shares key lessons for organizers—humility, reassessing the time/place/conditions, and taking risks with courage—and explains why electoral organizing is urgent to protect elections and counter authoritarian tendencies. They discuss that 70% of U.S. elections go uncontested and encourage people to run for office or support campaigns in roles that match their skills, with a focus on the midterms and flipping Congress. The book is available at fundamentalsofelectoralorganizing.org   (00:00) - SNC S3 ep7 Tomás Garduño "We Built This City" (00:05) - Introduction (03:40) - Who is Tomás Garduño (09:51) - What is Organizing (14:39) - Democracy Defined (32:50) - Courage and Risk in Organizing (38:45) - 70% of Elections Go Uncontested (48:55) - Why Keep Organizing (51:16) - The American Dream (54:46) - Midterm Election Goals (59:06) - Closing Thoughts