SPEAKER_00 0:01

Wow, that's really deep.

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Thanks. We worked really hard on that one. That was that's a good one, right?

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Yeah. This one is like a soul twisting.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

My guest today is Connie Chan. Connie is a supervisor for the city of San Francisco, and she's currently running to succeed Nancy Pelosi as SF's Congresswoman. Look, I don't want to convince you to either love San Francisco or to hate it. I think there are enough people doing that already. What I want to convince you to do is to pay attention to San Francisco. Because if for good or for bad, SF is America's future. Look, economically, San Francisco is the most dynamic part of the world. If it were a country, the San Francisco Bay Area would be the 20th largest economy in the world. The fastest growing, the biggest companies in the world come from San Francisco. Technologically, everything you love and everything you hate about life in 2026 was created in a seven-mile radius from where I currently sit. Everything from autonomous drones to self-driving cars and AI all came from right here. Politically, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, everyone at the bleeding edge of the American left wing came from this city. San Francisco is America's lab, and Connie Chan is running to represent America's lab. What sets her apart is that she grew up here. She grew up in the lab. And she's had this very particular type of San Francisco story. She is the daughter of San Francisco's Chinatown. And she's climbed up through its political ranks to come to represent it. I found the conversation with her much more open and much more honest than I was expecting. I love this conversation. And I could not be more proud to present it to you. With that, I bring you Connie Chan. From WeFunder's Office on Mission Street in San Francisco. This is Warman Trade. Can I call you Connie? Is that okay? Absolutely. All right. That is actually my first question for you, Connie. Is because I I read this on your Wikipedia and I think uh this is an important detail. How did you get the name, Connie? Where does that come from?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

That that is important. Actually, it's uh given by my family when we uh came to uh the States, when we came to uh San Francisco, my uh cousin and my family were like, Oh, you know, you're about to enroll in school. I was 13 years old. And they were like, You're about to enroll in school. And I was like, Yes. And you know, I'm my my Chinese name, it's difficult to pronounce and it's kind of embarrassing to pronounce too. So my cousin's like, you need an English name, you know, so that people can pronounce your name. And I say, okay, fine. So what are my choices? And so they go through the list, and and I think that I didn't know unbeknownst to me, there's a whole generation of us apparently that name after Connie Chung, but indeed, that really was like one of the options that my family offered. And it's like, well, you know, Connie Chung. Like, it's like, that's a good name, Connie. And I'm like, Connie, it is. So wow.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Um, I have found I love the stories. It's I think unique very often to East Asian immigrants, in particular, I think to Chinese immigrants, that you go through this very specific experience so often of picking your name. Like, my my and my wife is Cantonese, and her when her parents moved, like John Wayne was the big person. So my father-in-law's name is Wayne, uh, and my mother-in-law's name is Cindy. Like, it was it is a very unique experience as a not always as an adult, but as a sentient person, you pick a name, you get a name. So that's that's very interesting. Well, uh, tell me this. How much do you know? How much was it talked about, your parents' life before you all moved uh to San Francisco? What what is your understanding of kind of what they had to go through to get here?

SPEAKER_00 3:49

I came here when I was 13 with a single mom. So my mom was single mom, and uh with a younger brother, and her already, uh her sister and her brother-in-law were already here. And they came here during the 60s. And so we came like 1989, 1990, like somewhere around that time period. Um, so we really is to for my mom was to reunite with her, with her sister. Um, and so that's how how we came here in into San Francisco, Chinatown. I think for my mom, you know, at that time, it was just not just on her on our family life, but it was also that she wants to be with her family. But she kind of felt that I think it's a very typical immigrant story that there is a lot of instability. There's a lot of and there was a lot of uncertainty, and there was a lot of like wanting to be with family, but also to believe that having this really core belief that in America that you can, you know, be anyone you want to be and you can have a better life. And I think that's fundamentally like I think the the mindset my mom had.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

How much do you remember those first weeks, months in San Francisco? Do you remember what that was like?

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Oh, I totally remember. Well, I mean, now it's less so. It's clearly a long time ago, but it was, I remember how awesome like I found San Francisco to be when I went to grocery stores, like amazing, but everything seemed so big.

SPEAKER_02 5:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Not Polly, I was also young and smaller, or you know, so but everything seemed so big and everything seemed so grand, and um, it was wonderful. And Chinatown was this weird mix of like, wait, we don't really live like this in Asia. Like, wait, this looks like 18th century decor. Like, that's not how we live. And you know, and what is like we don't eat sweet sour pork. Like, what is happening here? And like fortune cookie is a brand new thing. Yeah, it was created here in San Francisco, yeah. Like, I don't, I didn't know that that was a thing. Uh, so and definitely I've never in so many eight rogues in my life, you know, until I got here. So those were the experiences.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Was your family, uh, were you, your mom, your brother, were you all living in uh Chinatown at the time?

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Yeah, like actually with my aunt and uh and my uncle and her uh kids were were already grown. But it was one bedroom apartment uh for them as well on Jackson Street. And then uh me and my mom, and like we squeezing in one room with my aunts, and my brother was sleeping on a couch. My uncle had like a uh a futon like in the living room with a partition, and uh that was how like I uh a good chunk of my time in in Chinatown when I first arrived.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

I um I recommend to every American, if they're here, if they come to San Francisco, to spend a lot of time in Chinatown. I I really don't think you can understand the story of America, the story of California, the story of San Francisco, until you've really internalized what SF Chinatown is, right? I mean, like all of these things that we still talk about, like the the whole the denaturalization um story that happened you know, right when Trump became president, uh, was it was, you know, it was a Chinese man from San Francisco, Chinatown that was that created the precedent for that. So I just I find it to be so rich with a particular kind of through American story. But anyway, um back to back to you. Do you remember at the time seeing anyone in uh media, anyone around you that you felt like, okay, this could be me. This could be, this is an idol, this is somebody I want to emulate, this could be me when I'm grown up. Did you have any heroes at the time?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

You mean like when I first came?

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Yeah, when you first got here.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

You know, I mean, of course, like I think that's like how I got my name, right? In Ocon-chang. And it's just like, oh, you know, but I I also felt that at that moment, you know, I I don't know what it was, but it like there was a lot of full of like a different kind of things that was happening in San Francisco. It did feel and I think that that's still the case with San Francisco. I don't maybe less so these days, which is I kind of miss it. Is that anything that's possible in San Francisco? And that um it's not just limit to like TV or magazines, um, but growing up, like just the community itself.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Uh, who's around, who's who gets to be around. And and this, I went to Galeo High School, I grew up in Chinatown. Um, but you we if you hop on a bus, you can go to a lot of places in the city. And just all of that as a lifestyle for 13-year-old immigrant kid, it was amazing. And it it didn't feel like there's any particularly one person that I wanted to be because there's so many ways of living that you like, wow, you can be that, you can be that, and you can be a mix of that. And it was pretty amazing that way.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

How early did you know that you wanted to be in public office?

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Like never.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Really? Yeah. You found out like two weeks before you were in.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

I mean, I like I like public office, like running for office. Yeah, I run for office as an elected. I did not think that I was gonna be doing this at all. Yeah, I didn't think I was gonna run for Congress. I didn't think I was gonna run for supervisor. I went to UC Davis. I came home and I had I I earned my degree in religious studies in classical Chinese. Yeah. And I came home and my mom was like, please don't tell me that you want to be a nun. Yeah. Like, like, what are you gonna do with this degree? Yeah. And I was like, look, I'm not gonna be a nun. Because I actually do know what that means. Like, you know, so no, thank you. Yeah. Um, but I do know that, like, how about can I have a gig? Well, you know, I was like college students. It's like, but how about can I have a gig that I feel like I can wake up towards and like feel like this is worth my while to like pull myself, like open my eyes and wake up and go to go to work. Like, can there be something that way? Like that is such gig exists. So with that, like I start doing, but I have no skills. Like I felt like I have no skills. Um, according to my mom, I I maybe like maybe qualify to be a nun, but better not to be a nun. Um, so I then end up um, no, I don't I am bilingual. I know how to speak uh Mandarin and Candonese. I I Classical Chinese, I write really well too. So in terms of like translating. And so I was like, you know what, this is one skill I have. What can I do I feel good about? So I volunteered to be a uh translator and interpreter for uh San Francisco Bar Association. And like, uh so the first one of the I got a couple cases here and there, it was kind of in translate some documents, but one case that I got into was a case that is um tenants case. And with this pro bono tenants attorney who's uh facing the tenants is facing eviction because the landlord is accusing them illegally leasing the the space. But it's and they said, Well, this is my brother, and the landlord's like, Well, there you have no documentation to prove that this is you're related. And during through the interpretation back and forth, because you can only interpret, you can only interpret what is being said.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

Right? Like, you know, by the tenants, by the attorney, and back to back to the back to the tenants.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

You're not allowed to add any of your context.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Yeah. That's that's kind of job.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Yeah. It's kind of important. I think I'd be a horrible interpreter, really.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

You want to actually I exactly.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

That was what it was. Yeah. I was like, oh my God, like this is an impasse. Like this is this is killing me. Because I think I know what the problem is now. Like my interpreting for a while. So I said to the attorney, the tenants' attorney, I say, may I just like interrupt for a minute? Like, I just think that there's some like also cultural interpretation that's like required. Yeah. And then he's like, Well, fine, like do something because I don't know like what the problem is, right? I was like, you know, and so I asked the tenants, like, hey, you know, like, why do you think this is your brother? Like, I say this is not. And then they're like, we're sending from the same village. It's true in our culture, like, even if you're not blood related, or maybe sometimes you don't even share the same last name, but if you're you're from the same village, your family, like this is your village, literally. So this is your brother. Um, and I got a chance to like interpret it back and say, I really think this is just what it is, like the way they viewed the life. Like, you have new immigrants, this is from your village. Coming to like I I receive you to my house, you you help me pay rent, but we're in this together. Like, this is the village. Um, and I got to interpret that. And then they'd be able to settle the case and and avoid eviction. I think I was hooked. Yes. And I think just with that, I just keep doing it. Like I just keep in every single job, I think I just be like a translator. And I got really good at translating and even like, you know, English to English because at times it's really also culture.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

You know? Um, and then I think eventually there was when uh Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer decided not to run for office again, she not decided not to run for re-election. She's like, Do you want to do this? And I was like, What? Um, but yeah, like I do. Like I think that that's just a different challenge and different gig, but I think the job remains the same.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, I I think that's a really beautiful story because I think um I don't know. I'm if there's an issue I'm very passionate about in my life. Uh so I immigrated here when I was 17. Um I am married to the daughter of immigrants, uh, a lot of my friends immigrants. And I think there's such a fundamental misunderstanding about immigrants in America. It is, and it's even when I hear other Democrats talk about um immigrants, I still don't feel totally seen. I appreciate the support, but I still don't feel totally seen by them, right? Right. It's um I think it you get the sense that for a lot of Democrats, like uh the only immigration they can imagine is is sort of refugees. Like they talk about all immigrants as if that's our story, right? But there's so much more kind of texture and like um and context. I I love the idea of starting. I I can't I really couldn't imagine like a better metaphor for for what you do now to start as an interpreter, right? To be able to tell these people's stories and to take that bigger. Um, well, tell me this. Why do you think you won? Um, yeah, why why do you think your campaign was successful?

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Because we're immigrants. Like, I mean, it it it is this is really true. Like, I think time and time again, every time that I I ran in 2020 in the peak of pandemic, I ran against somebody who was really well established, uh, had money and being able to raise money. Uh, and in fact, ran before maybe she lost, but you know, like still like according to you know data that she would have more name ID than we did. And then again, we were running for re-election. Um, it was tough too because there was a lot of attacks. And and again, billionaires actually funneling into a pack against us. I mean, we have been underestimated.

SPEAKER_02 15:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

We've been counted out. And I was like, well, that's the story of the immigrants' life. We've always been underestimated, we're always being counted out. Like if you speak English with an accent, then you're not as smart.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Like somehow that there's a lot uh complexity to really who we are in both our politics and how we approach life. And and the the sort of this commitment to problem solving, because you have to. Because if you don't solve small problem and big problem, it's for us, it's it's it's really a by definition, it's uh it's survival. Yeah. And I think that's how we won. And I it's the reason why we when we jump into this, like now we're running for Congress, there were people like, what? You know it's a big job, right? Yeah. Yeah. I was like, yes. I think I got to know what they got too.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

No, I I appreciate that a lot because I do think in a lot of the as sort of depictions, the cultural depictions of of immigrants, there is this tendency, again, even the the ones that are supposed to be positive, it's always like uh the immigrant is always shown as this very like, you know, they they mind their own business and they just they run their uh they run their little shop and they're sincere and they're just they're very serious, kind of even like nerdy people. They're very like, and the the thing is like if you think about who immigrates, right? It's it's the most bold, adventurous, ambitious people from every country that immigrate, right? Yeah. And there's something about the process of immigrating that your sort of your wings get clipped a little bit, and everybody sees you as this very serious, hardworking, which again, most immigrants are. I'm not taking that away from us, but we tend to also be badasses, and we tend to also have a lot of opinions and all of that. And you're looking at this like store owner, and you think that this is like oh, their only thoughts are about running their corner store, but you don't realize like this, this was the funny guy in the group. This was the bold one, this was the one that everybody was like, Oh my god, this person's a daredevil. Like your mom is like that to move, uh, to move with a 13-year-old daughter. And how old was your brother at the time?

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Uh, yeah, two years later, uh, two years younger.

SPEAKER_01 17:19

As a as a single mother, uh, at that time, that that's incredible. Yeah. It's I I know very few people, maybe none that could have pulled that off, right? So I I appreciate that so much of how you look at this is yeah, no, fuck yeah, I can do it. Like it's why why could I not? It's but anyway, let's let's let's talk about that a little bit more. I am curious about your sort of theory of San Francisco politics. Uh because uh I find, as somebody who's been living here for a little bit now, that it's actually very different how San Francisco politics works, is actually quite different from how I think people outside San Francisco think it works. I think the perception, if you ask my family members outside of San Francisco, I think they would tell you the most liberal, the craziest thing you could say will get you elected. I think that's the perception of San Francisco politics. But what I have found, and I want to test this theory with you, somebody who actually knows something. Um my my sense is that what works in San Francisco is actually uh what within the San Francisco sort of landscape, what we see is like a certain kind of pragmatism, right? That we actually are like within our San Francisco landscape, we tend to pick whoever we see as like the most effective, pragmatic person. Is that kind of your experience, or am I off on that?

SPEAKER_00 18:40

I think in San Francisco that politics is it is like San Francisco's weather. It's microclimate. Uh yeah. Like the reality is that if you understand how to dress uh to a different neighborhood, uh and you survive, you're not too cold and not too caught, and you're just comfortable. And then you with that same mentality, the way you view San Francisco politics, I think then you survive here. It's to understand that, like, well, it's a little bit cooler here, and but it's a little bit warmer here, but so but you're not gonna suddenly put uh you know a down like jacket on or like wear a short in this neighborhood. You're you tend to just understand that there's like a six degrees of like separation of of each other. And that's really that's our climate and also our people and neighborhoods. And uh by understanding that, then you can understand that while that we all are like a lot of us are Democrats, there's different shades of blues. Um and that there's still a lot of disagreement among all of us. And and and in fact, in this such a wide range of uh ideologies and diversity, even though people outside of us would just say, no, no, no, you're you're all the same, crazies, you know, crazy liberals. Yeah. Um we, of course, among ourselves don't think that way.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Yeah. Um I I think I think that's a very good way to think about it. The the microclimates. Well, the specific microclimate that you represent, right, is um uh the Richmond, of course, parts of the Richmond, and then parts of uh let me actually let me let you describe the district. What all is covered in the Connie Chan district right now?

SPEAKER_00 20:21

Well, actually, even the Richmond uh or the district one, it's also have its own microclimate. The inner Richmond, which is like super hib with like, you know, the farmer's market and you know, great shop. And then you're gonna go into the central Richmond, which is like a little bit more like tenants, like or or residence, residential heavy. And then you go to outer Richmond, and that is like where Golden Gate Park, the beach, and like, you know, and close to Golden Gate Bridge, but truly that's where the fog is. Um, and that is really the Richmond. And of course, uh, thanks to uh some others, uh, that they really was like, Connie, you you seem like a working class like district supervisor. You need some rich people in your district. Yeah, and so they redistributed us so that we uh have like some of the wealthiest um Seacliffe, Seacliff and Presidio Terras into uh the Richmond, and I welcomed them just the same.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

Okay, so I'm curious about this part of it. Like I've even in this podcast, I've already done it. I've already spammed this button. A lot of the Richmond is Chinese, right? Uh or uh and and Asian. Do you ever feel like did you ever just kind of get annoyed that every interview you're doing, it's like, oh, and we today we have the daughter of Chinatown, Connie Chan? Like it's that this thing is kind of put around your neck all the time. The I'm asking, I'm even doing this, right? Where I'm asking you to speak on behalf of all the immigrants of San Francisco. Like, does that do you ever feel like, no, I'm just another person running for Congress? Like, cut this part out. Like, do you do you ever feel frustrated by this like weight that's put on you?

SPEAKER_00 21:58

No, because like my elders. Will disown me. They're like, be proud if you are the daughter of China. And I am. And I and I think that actually I am here to speak for the entire API community to say that we're not the same.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

Like, actually, I think that that's one thing that I can do for the community and be able to speak on behalf in a very confident way to everybody in the world. It's like, look, like we're not the same. We're not monolithic and that we are very different. There's a whole range of us. Um, and uh so don't take anybody who say I represent the community uh and and their and the views may be uh part of a community. Like I don't want to invalidate anybody's point of view when they say that and and they should absolutely represent, but I don't think that's all of us. So so I'm here to say that's not all.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

Okay. Well, let me ask you a related question. Um why do you think there hasn't been, I mean, there have been spurts of this, but why do you think there hasn't been a major immigrant civil rights movement in America in the way that there has been for other uh marginalized groups? Uh I mean, I have my theories around it, but it it feels like we're kind of due for one, right? Both in terms of like the actual sort of laws and and how we treat immigrants, um, and also just like our kind of cultural, because if you think about like the civil rights movement in the 60s, it wasn't just about changing laws. It was also about being treated as equal, right? In people's imagination. I always wonder that. It feels when I read American history and the history of these sort of protest movements, it feels like we're due for an immigrant civil rights movement. Um, why do you think that hasn't happened yet?

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Yeah, I mean, I think that there were really, and and just, you know, wanna in honor of like Reverend Jesse Jackson, you know, thinking about the Rainbow Coalition that he was like leading and championing. And it was really important for for a lot of people, um, and including some of my mentors, like Mabel Tang, Supervisor Mabel Tang, um, and in Chinatown, and many, many of the leaders. I think that when it comes to immigrants, just immigrants community alone and just how diverse we are. But I also think it's that how in reality, how diverse. I think the hardship is shared, but just how we got here is so diverse. Yeah. And and and we cannot deny the fact that even among immigrants, that there is a mix of, you know, classism, sexism, um, and just even like, you know, discrimination against each other. Like, I mean, one Chinese um, you know, against another, like because of class and many other reasons and language. And I think that in and the reason why we end up here and how we end up here uh is so diverse that I think that nothing like the Trump administration and and his and his agents, that I I do agree with you that this is the moment. Because never before, I think many immigrants was just like, ah, you know, the Democrats and the Republicans. Like, I'm glad that there's a two-party system because where we came from, only one. Like, like, right? Like then, so so then at least there's a lot of immigrants like we appreciate the democracy, we appreciate the system. And so we we rather have we understand what happened if there's everybody agrees.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Like that is really what the immigrants want, like and under fundamentally understand that our freedom, our democracy is actually um founded by the fact that we allow difference of opinions. We are we can we can understand that we don't have to agree 100% of the time, but then we're we we still break bread. Yes. Like you get to still eat together in the big hall, right? Like you still get to have your families that come for Thanksgiving. We're they're not gonna be rejected at the door. Well, maybe some of the stuff. Maybe some people say go from the back to the back door. But um, but still, and I think that it is not until now that I think the immigrants' community are alert. Yeah. And they said, Whoa, you're killing even like I think for immigrants, like we didn't, we didn't think you're gonna kill a white person on the street. I think for immigrants, like, I don't think that people understand the degree of fear that people actually have. Is that like, whoa, they just kill one of their own on the street so blatantly like this, right? I'm talking about, I think everybody knows Renee Good, and I'm talking about Alex Pritti. That like it's like this is those imagery is inject tremendous fear in immigrants. So I agree. I think the immigrants community has very different mentality about what uh government is now at the moment, and and there's a lot of worry for our future.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

Warm Intro is brought to you by WeFunder. WeFunder created this thing called the community round that lets you raise money directly from your community. So instead of going to VCs and rich people, angel investors, you can go straight to your friends and your family and your customers. And uh, you know, but this is not a traditional ad read. I used WeFunder for my company three times. We ran three rounds on WeFund, we raised over a million dollars. And I found that it completely changed how everybody felt about our business. Our customers all of a sudden didn't feel like they were just customers, they felt like they were owners in the business. They shopped with us more, they told their friends about us. My team felt like what we were doing was important because our community had shown up to invest in us. I tell every founder I can find to go raise a WeFunder round. Especially for companies that care about community, there is nothing greater you can do than letting that community invest. Go to WeFunder.com slash join. Let's check it out. You decided to run for Congress. Um, why why do it now? Why run now?

SPEAKER_00 28:06

We never plan for it. And and I I think that there's no doubt that it this is really the Speaker Maradon Nancy Pelosi's timing. It's not our timing. Um and she has earned like every right uh in in her public service to decide when she wants to retire, when she decided to continue on. And and when the moment she decided not to seek re-election, I think that there were a lot of conversation, you know, and and because when she decided it was November 2025, which we have like a good chunk of Trump already. And we have done a lot of work in San Francisco. And to recognize, like, whoa, like no matter how much hard work that we put in San Francisco, the federal government's change is so impactful, negatively impacting all of us. And that we got to have an agenda from San Francisco. Should it not be from Speaker Meredith Nancy Pelosi carrying that, then who should? And when I say it's that when we jumped in, I don't know, someone was pointing out the other day that I will I really do love to use the we and not I. Because no one does this alone. And like, you know, and if you want to win this, it it has to be a we. And and it's it really is the reason why we jumped in is because we know that we see that there's a coalition building. People are eager to have a working people agenda. So let's do it. So we did it.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

On that, on that point, um what is your sense? You've you've run a few times now in in different for different positions at Woods Success. Um, what goes into being a good campaigner? Like, let's say there's somebody out there who's, you know, daughter of immigrants, um, has no political connections and wants to do this, wants to do what you have done, what you are doing. Um what what do what is your sense for what goes into being a good campaigner? Um aside from what goes into being good at the actual job you're running for, but what what is what is running actually like? Like what are the worst parts of it? What are the best parts of it? What has that been like for you?

SPEAKER_00 30:09

At first I was like, oh, why do like why do Americans like describe like office, like you're running for office? Right? Like also what that I mean, I I mean, if you think about that term, yeah, like the description, running for office, it's true. You are running. So first and foremost, being good at good campaigner, have good shoes. Like, you know, like good shoes that you can stand for a long time, you can walk for a long time, you can literally run, because now you got to get to like, you know, one event to another. So, really, absolutely you gotta have good shoes so that you're comfortable. I think that at the end of the day, like it's like know your community. Know your community, but also know why you're running. Because if you know why you're running in every room, you can actually explain why. Then when you go to every community, hopefully your what your why you're running is a good reason. And that hopefully your why actually resonates uh with your community. And so I I think that that's very important, actually know your why. And but to win, I think that your why should be aligned with your community and know your community's why so that it is aligned. And I think that it's not just about running, but to win, that that's a key part.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

I uh this reminds me where you're saying of uh in President Obama's book, my favorite part of that book, it's very long, famously long, but there's this part where he's just describes his daily routine when he's running. And I had this very strong thought where I was like, oh my God, I I don't think I can do this. I like if I I'm I'm not planning to, but if I was and I was when I was reading this half the age that he was when he ran. And I was like, I don't have this kind of stamina, I couldn't do this. This is it ridiculous. Like the amount of energy and I've you must be so tired. I am so tired. I I'm so impressed by you, but anyone that does this, it's Jesus. It's uh can I without we don't have to go into the actual list of it. How many events have you how many hands do you think you've shaking this week?

SPEAKER_00 32:15

I think I am that like stronger cut recovering from a pandemic because I shake so many hands. Yeah. I mean, like there are people who be like, oh, we're sick now. And I was like, yeah, because I've been shaking hands. Like as soon as we are vaccinated, I've been shaking hands. You know, and so um, so I feel like I have built up the tolerance for like germs. Um, but it of course it helps when you have like you know hand sanitizer in your pockets and everything. Uh and I don't know, but then that's the point. It's like you gotta lose count. Yeah. Like, and the point is that you do, I I'm also glad you brought up like shaking hands. It really is part of it.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:52

Like I know it sounds silly, but shaking hands is and eye contact um is what the first step of of campaigning.

SPEAKER_02 33:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Like shaking hands is and or or I should say, however you meet people, however they want to meet you. But the key is meeting them.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Do you when you walk down the street in San Francisco, what percentage of the time is somebody yelling out, oh hey Connie, how you doing? Like, are you getting recognized on the street fairly often?

SPEAKER_00 33:21

I am now. Yeah. And it still shocked me. Like, this is how we test, like, is this working? Like when you launch, and it's like, are we building momentum? So we launched November 20th and we had a video out. It's a launch video, and and it went out. And uh, you know, I I get that a lot in the Richmond. I'll be like, oh, hey, how's it going? Because it's a Richmond, right? It's my hood. And I also get that a lot in Chinatown because that's where I grew up. Um, and then for the first time, I think we were somewhere outside of Richmond or outside of Chinatown randomly. They're like, people came up to me, like, hey, are you Connie Chan? And I'm like, Yes, I am. Like, and I'm like, I think I'm in trouble because I can't remember this person. And like, did I meet them? Like in my, you know, like this is your job. Your my job is to remember people, right? And then my job is to remember their needs. And I I like start to be like, oh, I am in trouble. I can't, like, why? I have never met this face before. They're like, oh yeah, we saw your video. That was so great. You're running for Congress, right? And I was like, that is so sweet. Like, thank you so much. So, like, now I'm less worried that I'm not doing a good job. Like, I'm like, oh, do I know you? Like, am I in trouble? Now I'm like, okay, yes, maybe, maybe they know me for somewhere now. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 34:30

My grandfather. So I grew up in India and um India, you know, very political society, uh, famously a democracy. Um, my grandfather would always tell me the story of the one time he met a politician, and he said, This is the one thing you need to know about politics. That when he met the politician, he uh looked at my grandfather and said, Mr. Mishra, how have you been? Um and um my grandfather said, you know, he I thought about that forever. He said, How have you been? And he said, I realized later he read my name tag. That's how he had the Mishra. But in he didn't say, How are you? He said, How have you been? Because that implies that you we've we've known each other for a while. And I I just I just love that like my grandfather loved that. I just loved that it made him feel seen. But it's the you live a life. Uh anybody running for office has to live a life that is very different from uh I mean, you probably meet you could probably add the like two to three zeros to the number of people I meet a week, and that's how many people you meet a week. And it's it's you have to operate at in a way and on a plane that most normal humans don't have to. So I'm I'm it's very commendable. And I thank you, it's the tip about the shoes and the sanitizer are both very helpful.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

Um but can I also add one more thing for the young people who want to run for office? And and I noticed this too. And I would say this, and because I learned this from Kamala Harris.

SPEAKER_02 35:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

And uh when I was staffing her. And when we she she will walk in a room, she's noticed right away. And because she does have a presence. And uh and I learned this from her. She would go and she would still say, Hi, how are you doing? I'm Kamala Harris. And and there are gonna be people who are very gracious. It's like, of course we know who you are. This is your event, you know. Um, but I I think that is important. It's like we should work hard to remember the people that we're we are meeting and and how we can better serve them. But it is also our job to never assume that you know who I am, and you should know that like I'm here to serve you, and therefore I should introduce myself to you, no matter what. Although sometimes I I did that backfire on me too. They'll be like, Connie, we met. And I'll be like, oops, I'm sorry. I'm just trying.

SPEAKER_01 36:48

Do you um have you had any interactions you wish you hadn't had? Have you had people come up and just start complaining about how something's going in the Richmond?

SPEAKER_00 36:57

Yes, all the time.

SPEAKER_01 37:01

Oh man. But it's um I I will say that this this is sort of a sidebar. Yeah. But I I want to actually, and it's building up to kind of a bigger question. Um, I saw the debate that uh that you did uh with uh Shoikott, who's been on the podcast, and then Scott Wiener.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Um there's only been one, you know. Yeah, I know. And that is somehow that is stopped. I wonder why.

SPEAKER_01 37:24

That's why. Well, uh we'll we would love to host one. We would we'll reach out to both teams. We'll see. I will I will be the host of it. No, but um, I was watching the debate and something about it made me really happy, which was I look up at this stage, and it's uh uh it's you, it's Roycott, it's Scott Wiener, and I I it is uh a daughter of immigrants, right? An immigrant herself, um uh from China. It is it is in uh the son of Indian immigrants from Texas. It is an openly gay man, one of the first to serve in office. And I looked at that and I was like, I San Francisco is the best. Yeah. Because I don't care what you think about San Francisco, the fact that all of these people want to serve and are have a genuine chance at representing one of the most important congressional districts, right? Maybe the most important congressional district in the country. I you can hate San Francisco all you want, but this lineup should make us all proud. Yeah. As Americans, not even as San Franciscan. So I I appreciated seeing you up on stage. It made me very happy.

SPEAKER_00 38:26

Yeah, well, I appreciate you saying that. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 38:29

Uh well, I want to turn this about San Francisco for a second. You've been here, you've you're actually one of the few people that's actually lived here for most of your your entire adult life and most of your life. Um, how have you seen the city change in that time? And I mean, we had a uh to make it a little bit more specific, what do you see as San Francisco's problems now? That in the with your personal experience of it, what do you think is currently going on with the city that needs work, that needs improvement?

SPEAKER_00 38:59

Yeah, I think that um San Francisco, um, I love it so much because it's a sanctuary bubble. And I really just think that it's been the sanctuary for a lot of people, myself included. Uh, it's been great. And so you're here, we're here, and we love it. And then everyone else like wants to wants defined us. Yeah. And I think that's our problem. Like everybody else wants to define San Francisco. And San Franciscans don't want to be defined by anyone else but us. And then we were like, but we don't like one definition. We want all the definitions. Um, and then so I I think that's our problem. Um, that uh we we're constantly combating the labels that people want to put on us, the definition that people want to use to describe who we are as a city and as people. Um, and and I think that is the challenge that we face.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

Yeah. It's um well, if I can ask you to to talk about that a little bit more, right? So San Francisco has become this sort of cartoon for a lot of America, right? Uh of uh or this meme of a poorly run city, right? Even for other liberals. Like I remember years ago, The Atlantic ran this article about how progressives failed San Francisco, and that was the title of the article. And so it has become this like um what people try to treat as a cautionary tale for this is what happens when you let progressives run a city. Um do you find any truth to the kind of outsider criticisms of San Francisco and how it's run? Uh, or do you think it's mostly just political talking points? Or maybe it's somewhere in the middle. Like, how do you think about the specific criticisms from the outside? Do you think there's any truth to any of them?

SPEAKER_00 40:48

I think those were the toughest years for San Francisco. And what happened there is, in my opinion, is that like we lost a sense of humor about San Francisco as San Franciscans. And that we took ourselves way too seriously. And that to recognize, like, guys, like this is problems that everybody face, every like city face. And somehow we took it upon ourselves to say, like, well, then why can't we take criticism and be like, you know, and and have some reflection self-reflection and accept some of them and reject some of them and maybe make fun of ourselves a little bit and make fun of others a little bit. Um, so I have not been online for quite some time. Like I just quit.

SPEAKER_01 41:29

You don't read the comments?

SPEAKER_00 41:30

I I quit social media.

SPEAKER_01 41:32

That's a great thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 41:34

It really is. I was like, this is this I decided that, well, it was like it was three o'clock in the morning and I was like on Twitter or formerly Twitter, now known as X. And then I was like, what am I doing? And then I was like, but I didn't feel good about not only about myself, but I didn't feel good about my city. I didn't feel good about many, many things in life. And I was like, but I think that that's because I'm being influenced by these thoughts. So let me just turn it off. Or and I try, I didn't quit it right away. Yeah. I just try like, how about just stop it for like a few days? And then it went on a couple of weeks and then one couple months. Um, so it's been years. Uh, but I'm very fortunate to have a team to do that. What I'm trying to say is like, there's this um online account called um Charlotte. It's a local version, San Francisco Charlotte. That is a uh version of like onion, you know, like right? Onion's funny. I love onions. By the way, the first time I read it, I was like, is this real? Like, because I was a immigrant.

SPEAKER_01 42:30

I was like, I didn't know that you could eat it to have the exact same experience.

SPEAKER_00 42:33

I didn't get I didn't know that you can make fun of politics and politicians the way that it does. I was like, oh. Um, so I loved it.

SPEAKER_01 42:40

Uh can I ask do you have a favorite uh either onion or shallot uh article? Yeah of uh favorite one of all time.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

I I'll I'll tell you shortly. Okay. I want to finish that.

SPEAKER_01 42:49

Oh, please, please, please, yes.

SPEAKER_00 42:50

I was just saying that like that would be the only reason I would want to go back on it. Yeah. Just to read them. That's just to read them. And I'm about to go to why. Uh and then so then um that I think that's why we we should make fun of ourselves. The the favorite one piece is um actually about myself, unfortunately. Really? But it's about um how I I I shouldn't really use bat words, but I but I do use those. Uh I call my colleagues assholes. And come on about it. Yeah. And I'll be like, mm, this Connie Chan, like, you think that she's all square, she's not square. She means she calls her colleagues assholes. Whoops.

SPEAKER_02 43:29

That's fine.

SPEAKER_00 43:30

Uh and but but they actually like really make fun of like me, made fun of my colleagues about like, oh my God, like, you know, Connie Chan, how dare you call me your call colleagues assholes? I thought that was hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

Oh, that's great. I um uh my favorite onion article is all all political. I remember, do you remember when uh Donald Trump got uh COVID right around the time of the presidential debates? Uh-huh. And the White House was like really trying to downplay how serious his COVID was. Uh-huh. And they kept being like, he has just been taken to Walt. Read out of an abundance of caution. They kept saying abundance of caution. And the onion ran an article saying Donald Trump moved to morgue out of an abundance of caution. And I thought that's still it's it's still my favorite. And they like did this photoshopped image of him looking very blue and like obviously deceased. But anyway, um, coming coming back here, so um I understand what you're saying, uh, which is and I I can relate to it, that I do think a major problem. I think a lot of people listening to this will think that like I or we're trying to downplay these shoes, but I think what uh what I'm trying to do, what I I hear you doing, is trying to find some sort of root cause. Like, why have these problems been able to take hold in San Francisco? And I I completely agree that we absolutely we lost a sense of humor. We have really lost a sense of civic pride. That I, you know, my wife grew up in LA. She's very proud of LA. Every New Yorker I know is so proud. I mean, Alex, who's sitting here, our editor, didn't even grow up in New York and he's proud of New York, right? Like it's you just grew out in New York, you know, I'm proud in New York, right? I grew up thousands of miles away from it. But I genuinely think the civic pride uh dictates how you treat the place you live in, right? When you're proud of it, when you see it as your home, um, you treat it well. When you're not proud of it, you you treat it the way you treat a public bathroom, right? That it's just you're just in and out, you're just there for work and you gotta get out. And I think San Francisco's loss of civic pride to me is very directly tied to a lot of our sort of ills. And I think we big, we I don't know a lot of people that are proud to be San Franciscans. I mean, I know I am, but I don't know a lot of others. Um, and so I think so much of the work that needs to get done, I completely agree with you, is not just, yeah, you know, deal with uh the the crisis of homelessness, deal with like a lot of the issues we have in the city around like crime, around affordability, all of these things need to be dealt with. But at the same time, like um we need to restore a sense of civic pride, I think, while we're doing all of that. And I can feel kind of like a warm and fuzzy thing, but I I agree with you completely. That's just as important as everything else.

SPEAKER_00 46:07

Yeah, but I also think intellectual honesty. Like, I think what happened is that you cannot have um, you know, you cannot problem solve if you don't have an intellectual honesty. Yeah. Like you gotta actually look at homelessness. I mean, you know, we're we're really here in the heart of the mission, and then we would be saying, hey, you know, like do we have problems? Absolutely. And like, should we just problem solve it? Yes, absolutely. But like, let's actually like take it piece by piece. Like, is it all governments, like city government's fault? No. Like, you know, there's like many other issues that go with it too. Um, and also, like, what else, what about the solutions? Uh, is it all quote, uh progressive policies? No. Like, I mean, look at the federal governments had play a role in some of the uh homeless, uh systemic homelessness uh that we see, not just in San Francisco, but across the nation. Like, there's so much to like solving homelessness. Yeah. And to simply say it's because of progressive policy, I think that we're doing a disservice uh to uh people's intellect. Um, and we're not being intellectually honest about to just be like, oh, it's so easy, just like it's because of progressives. Like, sure. Like, you know, we can say that uh they like to say, like, the progressive are all performative. I was like, I mean, I say the GOP performs pretty well too. They're very performative with their speeches too. I mean, have you seen a moca? Like, wow, like that's like some really intense, like, you know, they they wear the it's theater. Yeah, they wear the flags, American flags, like I mean, some serious outfits there. Yeah. And so, like, you know, I I just think that at the end of the day, fundamentally, in my role as a policymaker, that I certainly hope that people will um serve with humanity and with intellectual honesty, and hopefully with a little bit of sense of humor, you know, if possible. But to actually understand that, like, you know, that it's our job to problem solve, absolutely. Um, but you know, in a space like especially San Francisco, I think that we have a lot to be like like really be celebrating and a lot of stuff that we can say, point to and say, how great is this?

SPEAKER_01 48:16

You know, so it don't you also think that part of I think what makes progressivism hard and what I think makes San Francisco a hard city to govern and to represent, my sense is that because we live in the future. I mean, the by the the definition of the word progressive, right? Is you're thinking about progress, what the future is gonna be like. And the future we don't agree on, or like, you know, there can be many versions of it, it hasn't happened yet, right? The past is much easier to agree on. We can all just pick a year and say, let's go back to 1950, right? Or whatever year people want to do on the other side now. And I do think that that's the problem we have over here is that like I talk to people outside San Francisco, other Americans, and they talk about San Francisco's problems as if they're separate from America's problems and not just like a teaser trailer for what's coming, right? Like we we just live in the future here. And I like for for good and for bad, yeah, everything we deal with is stuff that the rest of like we're dealing with how to cross the road when you have self-driving cars. Whether or not you like self-driving cars, they're coming for your city. So buckle up, Chattanooga, like because it's gonna happen. And we just have to deal with this. We have to deal with like, yeah, when tech monopolies blow up, what do you do with that? Like, what do you what do you do with like an insane rise in uh rents? Like, these are we just we're like San Francisco, we're America's lab. Yeah, we just have to live in the future. So, but anyway, um bringing this, bringing this back, um I want to ask you, and I I promise I I I know we're running out of time here, so I'll I'll wrap it up quickly, but I have a handful of questions, quick questions. And one is uh we talked about San Francisco. Let's talk about the actual role that you're running for, right? Uh first off, I I find a lot of people don't actually understand what a congressperson does. How do you think about the role of being San Francisco's congresswoman? How do you think about uh representing San Francisco in Congress? Like what is that job to you?

SPEAKER_00 50:03

Yeah. I mean, it's okay. I mean, I think a lot of people don't know what a district supervisor does either, or a budget committee chair, you know. But it but I do see that as being congressperson in San Francisco, it's very similar. It's in terms of policy maker role, is that first and foremost is you it's the person that and and the people that they're they bring on to make what that job is to be. Like there's so you can do a lot or you can do very little or or nothing at all sometimes. Um and and and it depends on what you want to actually do. Meaning, do you want to just issue a lot of press release and stand in, like, you know, do a lot of ribbon cutting? Or do you actually fundamentally want to believe that there is a movement and that you can be part of it and you're gonna lead that movement and be a voice for that movement? And I think that the way that I see San Francisco is actually the same thing that people want to make us like the problem or or poster trial or certain certain issues. I am glad that they see it that way in reality. I'm glad that you you think of us, you know, and and the way you describe it as a lab of the future for America. And because we are. And I think that that is how I see a congressperson from San Francisco is leading the San Francisco agenda in Washington, D.C. and being that voice. But we are the future. We are the like this working people movement. And I got a question today. Like, they're like, so taxing the billionaires, what up with that? Like, you know, and I said, look, San Francisco absolutely have to be that voice because when we are that voice, so will the rest of the states and so will the rest of the country. And that it is time for us that a billionaire cannot pay less taxes than our teachers and nurses and firefighters. And if San Francisco congressperson says so and say it very loud in DC and make that on the agenda that this is for the working people, we will have Medicare for all, we will fund, you know, K-through Talk Classroom and have free city college, we will have affordable childcare. If we say that from San Francisco, that agenda will be amplified. Um, and that because when we say that it can be done, and we have been doing it in San Francisco, it makes other cities, other states, and the entire country believe that this can be done. And I think that it's it's a two sides of the same coin, right? They said you're, you, you're uh a poster child of failed progressivism. Well, then let's actually be the other side of this coin and to say, well, we can be the success of progressivism. And I think that that's what we're doing in San Francisco.

SPEAKER_01 52:41

Yeah, and I mean, just to add to everything you're saying, like to anyone that doesn't believe that San Francisco is the future of American politics, just think about it just a few San Franciscans that we all know in national politics. Nancy Pelosi, right? Um, uh, Madam Speaker, uh Emeritus, the most powerful speaker, most influential speaker in all of history. Whether you love her, you hate her, absolutely true. Um, Governor Gavin Newsom. The uh people forget he was the mayor of San Francisco and uh quite likely probably will run for president, right? It seems uh to be the case.

SPEAKER_00 53:11

Um and Kamala Harris were are taking turns. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 53:15

Yeah, they're they're good friends, aren't they? And of course, and uh uh you know, Madam Vice President Kamala Harris, right? That it's uh or ex-vice president Kamala Harris.

SPEAKER_00 53:23

And and late, uh, and late uh Senator Diane Feisted.

SPEAKER_01 53:26

Absolutely. It's these are if you ask somebody on the streets and anywhere in America to come up with the four most prominent Democrats currently in politics or in recent politics, these are the four names that we're coming up, and they were all all came through San Francisco. We've always sort of led the way. But I want to actually, we've gone very broad with this to sort of end the conversation. I want to I want to bring it home with two questions about you. All right. Uh the first question um I want to ask is if you could magically uh time travel back and you could meet yourself at 13, first day in San Francisco. Um what are you what are you telling 13-year-old Connie day one in San Francisco? Be better to your mom. Great answer. That is good generic advice for just about everyone.

SPEAKER_00 54:11

I mean, you know, maybe because when my mom passed in 2021 and uh I now have a 12-year-old son. Actually, my my son is very sweet. Um, but I I I would just like compare to my son, and I think about myself as 13, like because now I'm trying to compare like how how to be a better mom. But I was like, oh my God, I was a terrible daughter. Yeah. Like I was a nightmare. And like I I don't think I had well, I think I kind of did uh said that to my mom, but I I wish that by action, not by words, like years later to tell her, like, oh, I'm sorry, I was terrible. But I I I would say that to my kids or myself.

SPEAKER_01 54:49

Beautiful answer. I have a final question for you, and it's actually the first question I asked you. Um let's say uh some immigrants moved to San Francisco uh this year or a couple years from now, and they are thinking of what to name their daughter, and they decide to name her Connie uh after Connie Chan. Um what do you hope they had in mind with uh with naming their daughter Connie? What do you hope that name, your name, comes to represent because of your work?

SPEAKER_00 55:20

Wow, that's really deep.

SPEAKER_01 55:22

Thanks. We worked really hard on that one. That was it's a good one, right?

SPEAKER_00 55:24

Yeah, this one is like a soul twisting.

SPEAKER_01 55:27

Take your time with it, please.

SPEAKER_00 55:29

Wow, this one is really deep. I don't know why it hits me kind of hard to think that like someone would say, Oh, name name their kid after you. That's deep.

SPEAKER_01 55:38

I hate to to do this right now. I don't think you realize how dangerously close you are to people naming their daughters after you. I I it's if it hasn't happened yet, it's gonna happen soon.

SPEAKER_00 55:51

I'm so grateful that you said that. That's like I'm really touched. Um Wow, I never thought of that. That's very humbling to hear that that could be then I hope that they then I I I hope it's like hope and resilience that that when they name their daughter. Wow, I mean, you know, it's it's to say this this is a better, there's a bit better future and that we can we can fight for that.

SPEAKER_01 56:20

Tanya Chan, hope and resilience. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 56:23

Thank you. Hi God.

SPEAKER_01 56:27

Warm Intro is produced and edited by J Wan Moon and Alex Aiko. Hosted by me, Chai Mishro.