Episode 97: From Business Leader to State Assemblywoman | Cottie Petrie-Norris | California State Assembly District 74
Cottie Petrie-Norris is a California State Assemblywoman representing District 74, which includes much of coastal Orange County. After two decades in business, the 2016 election inspired her to step into politics for the first time, running (and winning) a long-shot race. Since taking office, she has focused on issues like homelessness, mental health, veterans’ services, and environmental protection. Cottie shares what it’s like to transition from the private sector to public service, how she approaches leadership and decision-making, and why she believes more women should run for office. We talk about the importance of local government, how to stay engaged as a citizen, and the role persistence plays in creating meaningful change. Her story is proof that when you see a problem and step up to solve it, you can make a real difference in your community.
“You need to look for the unfilled need. Where is the space where my unique skills can add value?”
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Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters
00:00 Meet Cottie Petrie-Norris
03:15 Growing Up and Building a Career in Business
07:40 The 2016 Election as a Call to Action
11:20 Running for Office for the First Time
15:00 Winning a Long-Shot Race in District 74
19:15 Transitioning from Private Sector to Public Service
23:40 Legislative Priorities and Policy Wins
27:50 Tackling Homelessness and Mental Health
32:10 Protecting the Environment and Coastal Communities
36:30 Why More Women Should Run for Office
40:15 Staying Engaged in Local and State Politics
44:00 Advice for Citizens Who Want to Create Change
48:15 What’s Next for Cottie Petrie-Norris
Folks that are supposed to be in charge. The folks, as you said, who are supposed to be the grownup folks that are supposed to be the experts, don't know what they're doing and don't have the answers. And it's up to each and every one of us to, to take on that mantle and to to be the change that we want.
Mm-hmm. To see in the world.
That's Kati Petri Norris, and this is The Powerful Ladies Podcast.
Hey guys, I'm your host, Kara Duffy, and this is The Powerful Ladies Podcast where I invite my favorite humans, the awesome, the up to something, and the extraordinary to come and share their story. I hope that you'll be left, entertained, inspired, and moved to take action towards living your most powerful life.
Katy Petri Norris is the California State assemblywoman for the 74th district. My district. Prior to her being reelected this past election, I invited her onto this podcast to discuss what's actually happening in state and local politics, why she ran for office, and to ask her how we can all get more involved, all that, and so much more is coming up.
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please tell the audience who you are and, um, what you do for the state of California.
Well, hi Kara. I am Assemblywoman Kati, Petri Norris. I'm proud to represent California's 74th Assembly District in California's state assembly, which is one of the two branches of California's legislature.
And the, uh, 74th district includes a lot of Orange County, right.
Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Laguna. Who else is there? Yeah. Yeah. So I
represent a, a large part. Of Coastal Orange County. It's Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Laguna Woods. And my family and I are, uh, are live in Laguna Beach.
Very cool. How long have you guys been in Laguna Beach?
We have been here for just over eight years. We, uh, we moved here in 2012. We actually moved, it was, it was a week before my oldest son started kindergarten here. Uh mm-hmm. Here in Laguna.
Very cool. And are you a California native originally? I'm Cara. So I grew up in, I
grew up in San Diego County. I grew up in La Mesa.
Mm-hmm. Um, and was born and raised there. Went to, to Helix High School and then I left right after high school and uh, went back east for college. I went to Yale and then I spent 20 years away from California. Lived in living and working. All over the states and, and all over the world. And, uh, after 20 years realized that there really is no place like home.
And mm-hmm. My, uh, my husband and I decided to come back to Southern California and we, we really do feel like it's our, it's our forever home. As you know, you're, you're my neighbor, you're just around the corner in Costa Mesa. Mm-hmm. Um, this really is a, a pretty incredible part of the world and, uh, such an incredible community.
It really is. Um, I'm from the east coast originally, but I've gone back and forth between California and some place on the East coast most of my life, and even lived abroad. And when people ask like, are you gonna move again? I'm like, I don't think so. Like, there's not really a reason to, like, I, I love traveling.
I'll be in other places. Mm-hmm. Whether it's for work or for pleasure, but you know, when it comes down to like, where do you wanna have a home base? I don't know why you would pick anywhere else other than affordability. Like, I don't know why you would.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. We feel so blessed to have found, to have found Laguna Beach and uh mm-hmm.
And really blessed to, to be raising our family here.
Yeah. Um, and I read in, um, doing some research about you that you spent a lot of time as a businesswoman in finance and tech, I believe is where you were. Um, what made you want to make the leap from being in the corporate environment to being in politics?
So, as you said, I, uh,
I spent 20 years working in, in the business world. Mm-hmm. I, uh, worked for both large and small, uh, financial services and, and technology startups, um, both here mm-hmm. And overseas. Um, so I definitely did not come to this job as a career politician or as a political insider. And I will say that, that I think it's been.
A perspective that's served me really well. So every day I, I show up as a mom. I show up as a businesswoman and I show up. I think really and truly as a representative of this community and the folks that, that I'm, I'm here to serve. Um, and I'll tell you the, the decision for me to move from the business world into the political sphere, the, the tipping point for me really was the, the 2016 election.
And, and I think. We've heard and we've seen for mm-hmm. Women candidates and women elected officials all across California and, and, and all over the country. Um, mm-hmm. The, the 2016 election for me was a huge wake up call. Um, I was. Horrified. I was, uh, deeply, I was just, you know, devastated. I spent, you know, a couple weeks just in, in tears and mm-hmm.
Felt like the world was, you know, kind of plunging into chaos. And I kind of realized, look, I'm not gonna be, uh, I'm not gonna spend the next four years being. Mad or being sad, I'm gonna do something about it. Mm-hmm. I'm gonna change the things that I can change, um, right here on my doorstep. And, and at that time, um, the, the, uh, gentleman who was representing us in the California State Assembly was cut from the very same cloth, um, in my view as, as Donald Trump, you know, of.
Climate, climate change, denni of, of women's rights, women's right to choose. Mm-hmm. And he also was somebody who just wasn't doing anything for this district. He wasn't getting the job done. And I, uh, decided that I was gonna change that and, um mm-hmm. So I decided to, to run in, in 2018, uh, in the 2018 election and had just the most incredible, incredible group of supporters and volunteers.
Together, we, we turned a long shot race into a historic victory in 2018. And, uh, so I was elected for the first 2018 and was just reelected in, uh, in the November election, gosh, almost, almost four weeks ago. Which is great. I know it feels like
it's, feels like it's been 10 years at this point, but which just does since then.
It does it and it was so traumatic. It's hard to, yes. No. Part of what, um, had me reach out to you is that we obviously got so much mail during the election and the mail that we got for you was the only piece of mail that said anything that we cared about. It actually had, like, this is what we're gonna do.
This is why I'm not getting involved in this nonsense. Like you choose. That's the message I got. And I was like, oh, that's, thank you. Thank you for not having to be hate mail or anything else. And, you know, hearing about the fact that you came from the business world, um, I saw a lot of parallels between myself and you and feeling like, okay, no one's coming to rescue us.
We're gonna have to do it ourselves. Mm-hmm. Like, what do we do? And. After, you know, leading an organization called Powerful Ladies. I didn't realize the responsibility that was in that fully until this year. Um, we had to pivot so much of creating a membership to support female entrepreneurs. They could survive.
Um, we launched an entire series of a powerful conversation about America. We did a, a three part series on racism with, with panelists. We're gonna keep that going in 2021, but I woke up like pretty much the day after the Black Lives Matter riots like went crazy. Mm-hmm. I looked around and I was like, how is nobody stepping up to?
Say something about this. Like, you mean just acknowledge it and being in business, so much of my, my perspectives, like who in the business world is gonna say something? And then no one said anything. And then so few people in the political space said anything. And I was like, what? Like what happened where I woken up and now I am the adult in the room?
Like, mm-hmm. What happened? And I feel like so many people are motivated now to see. That anything we care about, we have to really be involved in having the conversation. Um, how much of the conver, I think you're so, I think you're so
right and I think mm-hmm. Um. And even in his, uh, in his commencement address for the 2020 graduate.
So Obama said something to this effect where, you know, he said it's, if we've learned anything over the past two years, it's that sometimes the, the folks that are supposed to be in charge, the folks as you said, who are supposed to be the grownups, the folks that are supposed to be the experts, don't know what.
They're doing and don't have the answers. And it's up to each and every one of us to, to take on that mantle and to, to be the change that we want. Mm-hmm. To see in the world. And it's not enough to just complain about it on Facebook. It's not enough to like, you know, share an angry retweet. We have to get serious about the, you know.
Calling bullshit when we see it and stepping in to, to close those gaps and to, to continue to, to move, uh, to move forward. And, um, and I think for me, the last four years have certainly been an incredibly dark cloud, but I really do think the silver lining, I think that, that the huge silver lining has been the way that truly, I think for so many women, you've seen so many women in our community, in our state mm-hmm.
And all across the country. Step up as activists, step up as organizers, and then step up to, to run for office. Mm-hmm. And, and to win. And, um, that's been just this incredible, I think, sea change and mm-hmm. Inspiring and, and motivating to, to see so many folks just go, okay, it's down to me and I'm gonna, I'm gonna do it.
Yeah. And, and I think what, within all the, the women who have been stepping up, most of them. Have similar backgrounds to you or like that this is the first time that they're getting involved in politics. And from now that you've gone through that, like you've, you've stepped through. Mm-hmm. Do you, were you surprised at the transition, like how easy it was to move into this political space that maybe seemed separate before?
Um, and do you feel like you're, the conversations are happening that need to, at the state level?
I think I was, I was, uh, surprised and also gratified, I think, to realize what I brought to the table. Um, and I just, I work with. So many incredible folks, so mm-hmm. I, I serve alongside people with just the most incredible diversity of backgrounds.
We represent these incredibly different districts, right? Mm-hmm. California, it's a state of the nation, state of 40 million people, right? We're the fifth largest economy in the world. We. Uh, we come to the table with really different backgrounds mm-hmm. With really different perspectives and experience and, uh, work incredibly hard to forge a path that that is right for, for all of California.
And I think mm-hmm. Um, for me, a couple of things became. Evident early on, and I, I'm somebody who always, um, I've got a background. Uh, you know, when I worked, worked in finance and technology, it was always in marketing. In marketing, you're always taught to, you gotta look for the unmet need, right? Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. And I think in the same way when I have entered this, this new space and this new sphere, I've been kind of looking for where's the gap that, that I can fill? Like where is this space where my unique set of skills, my unique background. It's gonna add value and Yeah. Um, and I think a, a place for me that, uh, that has, has really stood out is that I think overall California and, um, just the, the way that we run our government mm-hmm.
I really do think we could benefit from adopting. What is really just kind of standard practice in the business world, right? So like when you're in the business world, you say, okay, we're gonna do, we're gonna do this. We've got our business plan for the year. You implement it and you're constantly tracking, looking back.
Mm-hmm. Figuring out mm-hmm what's working, what's not, what do we need to change, what do we, how do we need to pivot? Yeah. And not enough of that happens, I think in, in politics and in the bureaucracy of California. So we write a lot of laws. We have a bunch of, we have a lot of press conferences and we don't do a good enough job of looking back and saying, Hey, uh.
Did that get implemented, number one. Number two is, is this great idea actually working in practice? Mm-hmm. Is this, this money that we're investing is the return on that investment what we expected it to be? Because if not, we need. To shift gears. Mm-hmm. We need to stop that program and start a new one.
We need to stop spending money on something that's not working and reinvest it somewhere else. And, um, so one of the, the roles that I've had in the assembly is I chair a committee called the Accountability and Administrative Review Committee and mm-hmm. As the chair of that committee, what I've really, uh, been pushing for for the last couple of years.
We'll continue to be a big area of focus for me. Mm-hmm. Is that more accountable view of our government. And I think that's incredibly important no matter what. Yes. I think particularly in the midst of our current, uh, current moment and the fact that, that our country and our state is facing a pandemic induced recession, it's more important now.
It's more important now than ever.
Yeah. And, and, and I think it's what people, the constituents of these areas really care about, right? Because as you mentioned, we're the fifth largest economy and we seem to have a record of not being very effective with all the money that we have. And it's like, wait, like there's whole countries living off of the same budget that have all sorts of magical things in place that are being provided.
Um, there has to be a way to, to be smarter about it. Yeah. I, I'm mo on board with you of how do we measure it, track it, and stay on the budget that we committed to. Right. Because it's really just basic business fundamentals, which, um, were unfortunately hijacked I think when, when President Trump was running.
'cause I haven't seen a lot of those put into place. Mm-hmm. Uh, and so I think it's great that that's, that's coming. Um. You know, when you look at your, I saw a lot on your website as well about the homelessness mm-hmm. And how that's such a huge thing in California and especially Orange County. Um, is there, like, how quickly do you think that, that, that homelessness can really be addressed?
Um, and we'll just pick Orange County for right now, but. Are changes happening the right way? Are the things that got implemented with different hotels and things taking people? Are they working? Are things moving in the right direction? I think it's really hard to tell as a, as citizen and like, what's really going on?
Well, as, as you, and I'm sure most of the folks listening, uh, probably know there are, on any given night, there are more than 7,000 men, women and children right here. In Orange County, in this, this land of so much plenty who find themselves without a place to sleep And mm-hmm. That is, is certainly a humanitarian crisis.
And I think, uh, what we've also seen is that it's, it's an economic one as well. There was a study done because it's two or maybe even three years ago now, um, that was, was led by a UCI in partnership with. The Orange County, United Way, and a number of other, um, leading nonprofits study the cost of homelessness in the county.
Mm-hmm. And what they found is that the current cost for Orange County of the homelessness crisis is something like $300 million a year. Mm-hmm. And it would actually cost us less, cost us less, something like 50 million to house. Completely house every single homeless individual. And again, I think with, with my, uh, perspective as as a business woman mm-hmm.
It's like, okay, well it's, it's not just that we have an opportunity to do the right thing, it also turns out that it's gonna be the thing that is, is actually more efficient. Yeah. More efficient and more effective. So let's push down that path. And I do think that that study was a real turning point for the county.
Um mm-hmm. And the Orange County United Way kind of acted as a convener for just dozens of nonprofit organizations and religious groups and community groups. And there's been such, I think, a huge coordinated push over the last couple of years. And while the, the problem is still. Enormous. Mm-hmm. Um, we've made some really good progress in building a system of care here in Orange County.
Mm-hmm. So, um, we have, uh, the, the capacity of our emergency shelters is now a hundred percent. So we, we have a hundred percent of the emergency shelter capacity that's required. Today. Mm-hmm. Um, we also are seeing permanent supportive housing capacity coming online in, in, in cities all across the county.
And the first of, um, three health and wellness hubs called Be Well is is underway in the county. And, um, so. There has been, been so much good work that has happened, and I, I do think that we're, we've made some tremendous progress and that the system of care is being built for me personally, I am, I'm focused really on, on two things within this.
The first is, uh, is our veterans, um mm-hmm. So. Uh, I was able in the 2019, uh, 2020 budget, so last year's budget to secure some state funding for a program called Welcome Home oc, which is also in partnership with the Orange County United Way. And the goal of that program is to end veterans homelessness here, and we've made tremendous progress on that front.
And then the other, the other piece for me, that's a huge priority, um, and that underpins. Not just our, our homelessness crisis, but so many other things is the issue of mental health. And I think it's, it's certainly no secret that, um, our, our system of mental health care is. It's broken mm-hmm. Here in the state of California, and we, we see the fallout every single day in our emergency rooms, in our jails mm-hmm.
And on our streets and mm-hmm. That's a place where, as you said, gosh, we're, we're certainly spending a lot of money on it. It's not that, that we're not spending a lot of money on mental health care, it's just that we're not effectively directing those dollars at programs that actually work. Mm-hmm. To me that is, uh, an underlying issue that, uh, that, that needs, needs more focus.
Um, and is is a top priority for me as we look forward. Yeah.
Yeah. No, I couldn't, I couldn't agree more. Um, it's. Everyone gets it impacted by mental health at some capacity, and especially in COVID, right? Everyone is so much more present to it. Um, so I think there's great, the telehealth shift I think has been really great for people.
I also know it's limited because of, it's a lot of it's divided by state lines, right? So you can't. Be a, um, an LPC or, um, any other therapist and, and, um, do therapy for people in different country, uh, states than yourself. So that's been something really interesting, um, to look at and having a veteran who, uh, is a Purple Heart veteran who lives next door to us, who I see.
Struggle with what it means to be reintroduced with a disability and, um, you know, PTSD mm-hmm which I think has now changed is PTS 'cause it's not a disability, it's normal. Um. You know, seeing that he's such an amazing human and wants to work hard and wants to be a contributor and is so great as just a, a neighbor in our community.
Um, making sure that he has a path like it, it matters to us at a whole different level when you see the people who are struggling with it. Mm-hmm. Um, so thank you for taking on these causes. Um, you know, when you look at your every day. Being powerful and what that means. What does it mean to be powerful and to be a powerful lady to you, and how does it directly relate to the work that you're doing now?
And I was thinking about that just when I saw the powerful ladies invite on. Mm-hmm. My calendar and what, what does it mean to have power? And I think for me it, it means a few things. Number one is it, uh, I think, you know, as an individual means being able to rely on yourself. Mm-hmm. And, um. You know, having folks alongside you is great.
It's so important. I'm so blessed to have a, a wonderful partner and a wonderful family, wonderful friends and wonderful colleagues. But knowing that you can take care of yourself mm-hmm. I think is so much a part of, uh, of what it means to be powerful and also knowing that you have the agency to, to make changes that you think are.
Important, um mm-hmm. In, in your life, in the world, you know, in, in my case, for the community that, that I serve. Um, and I think also for me, in the context of serving in this role. Being a powerful woman also means being in a position to lift other women up alongside me, and, uh, to recruit people, to work on my team, to recruit people, to run for, for other office and to support them in those elections.
That is, uh, one of the things that is most incredible about, about the role that I'm in right now. Um, and I think that it is so important for us. As women, women, whether we are, uh, powerful women in elected office. Mm-hmm. Powerful women in the corporate world, powerful women in the philanthropic world, realizing that we have an opportunity.
Um, and I think a duty both to inspire and also to lift up the generation that is, is coming behind us, um mm-hmm. Is so, so key.
Yeah. Can you think back to a time in your life when you realized how powerful or capable you were, or has this been something that's always just been ingrained in who you are?
Well, I'll say that, um. As, as I was growing up, uh, and I, I, I loved my mom with, with all of my heart. She actually, um, we just would've celebrated her, uh, her 70th, it would've been her now, her 68th birthday, a, a couple of weeks ago. Um, she passed away a few years ago, but growing up I saw that my mom was not powerful.
My, my stepfather, she was in an abusive relationship with the man who became my stepfather. And, um, I saw the ways in which he eroded her sense of self and her sense mm-hmm. Of self-confidence. And I remember from a really, really early and young age recognizing that and recognizing that I wanted something different for myself and that I was mm-hmm.
Determined not to repeat that pattern in my own life. Mm-hmm. And, um, I think that that instilled kind of this, uh, sort of of. In me mm-hmm. Made me, made me a fighter. Um, and I fought really hard to take care of my mom. I talk, fought, fought really hard to take care of myself. I fought really hard to take care of, of my younger brother and sister, and, um mm-hmm.
I've continued, I think, to, to be a fighter as I've, as I've grown up. And, um, and, and as I've, I've turned, I've turned, as you said, into a powerful woman.
So it sounds like 8-year-old, you would not be surprised of what you're taking on today. I think
eight year olds, we would be very happy that many of the things that I, that I, I wished for as a young girl have, have come true.
Mm-hmm. And, uh, incredibly, incredibly grateful. Mm-hmm. Um, incredibly grateful.
How have the women in your life changed your trajectory and got helped you get to where you are today? Um, I talked
a bit about, I, I spoke a bit about my, my mom. Mm-hmm. Um, and I think another woman in my family who. I had a huge influence on me, um, at a very young age, was my great aunt who really was more like a grandma to me.
Um mm-hmm. And in many ways raised my, my mom and her and her two siblings. And, um, my, my great aunt, her name was Claire. My Aunt Claire was the most, uh, generous. And giving and selfless woman I think I've ever known. She mm-hmm. Um, trained to become a teacher when she was just, I think, 16 years old and spent her life as an educator, both as a classroom teacher and then as, uh, a principal until she retired.
I think sometime some, you know, sometime in her seventies. But, uh, she was. Incredibly generous, incredibly giving, and showed me how much power there is. Self and in giving of, in giving of yourself. Um mm-hmm. Because she touched so, so many lives and mm-hmm. Was an inspiration to so many, so many children that she, uh, that she taught and so many children that knew her as a principal.
So she had a huge impact on me and someone else who also I think had a really big impact on my life and my trajectory. Was my, was a high school teacher of mine. Um, her name was Ms. Lee. And Ms. Lee, she was actually a national at one point, national Teacher of the Year. And, uh, she was my, she was my, um, AP English, uh, sorry, AP government and, uh, history teacher.
And Ms. Lee just really inspired us to learn, um. In a way that was unlike, you know, anyone I had ever encountered. Mm-hmm. When I was 16, she expected us. To be engaged in the big questions of the day. We weren't just there to mm-hmm. Learn the history books and recite it back to her. We were there to, to understand what was happening in the world today and what had happened before and mm-hmm.
Um, she was definitely, you know, someone who made me believe that I should apply to, to go to Yale University and mm-hmm. Helped me. Realize, I think what I was, what I was capable of, um mm-hmm. And, and realize what I should be aspiring to achieve.
Mm-hmm. The definition of discussion that I love is thinking together and what I loved growing up and going to college in the New England area was that the idea of Ms.
Lee and what you, this idea of being part of the conversation and discussing things and that. It was okay to disagree. Like being in the Boston area, it was really common to have people disagree and to be at a restaurant or at a bar and like have the conversation and not be, not be making enemies, but like really being like, why do you think that way?
Like it would just break out and it was normal to like be having that conversation over a beer in a bar. And it was common for. Lots of different people in different classes and positions to have those conversations too. And I think there's something so beautiful about that definition, right? Thinking together and how we can change things.
Um,
and what I like and, and sorry,
sorry to interrupt you. What I like
about what you're about, that point you're making is kind of this idea. Healthy disagreement and healthy discourse and healthy debate and mm-hmm. It really concerns me now because I feel like we are living in just this such a fractured moment.
Yes. Where this idea that we can, can disagree. But can have a conversation about it and a productive conversation and you know, perhaps even at the end of it, reach some kind of common ground and understanding. It feels like right now we are, are living in just this bitter, partisan divide. And yes, it's.
It's like either you're, you're with me a hundred percent, or you are my enemy, and mm-hmm. Um, I think for me though, what I really believe is that, like, that's kind of what we see because those are sort of the extremes that are most active on Facebook or most active on Twitter. And I really do believe that most people are somewhere in that middle.
Yes. Um, and I'm, I'm very hopeful that we kind of get away from this notion of. Either you are with me a hundred percent, or you are my enemy and I'm all.
This politics of hate mm-hmm. Is the thing that, that concerns me, frankly, more than, than any other challenge that we're facing. And we've gotta get back to, like you said mm-hmm. Hey, you know, over a beer in a bar, having a disagreement, but still walking away, respecting each other and respecting somebody else's perspective and realizing that we are stronger when we can, can all collaborate and, and work together and, and find some common ground.
Yeah. And then I think, you know, part of what made it possible is that if things got too heated, you could always remember like, oh no, we all love the Red Sox. Like, it's okay. We're rooted in that and I, I think that's what we miss so often in, in conversation today is we're forgetting how, what we're rooted in unity on like, I don't know anyone that doesn't want to work hard or to take care of their kids or to take care of their parents.
And, you know, people want, you know. Whatever the modern version of the American Dream is. It, it ultimately means that we get to take care of our families and, and get to experience the fruits of whatever, however hard we've worked and the risk that we've taken. And I just think there's such a missing, going back to marketing.
There's, we're not doing a great job as a nation of doing internal pr, right? Like when we look at how does, uh, a Nike or an AIE do so great. My, you know, I was 20 years in footwear and apparel. And so I look at how they would beat other people and the first, they would convince everyone inside about this amazing product launch and then they would be doing it externally.
And there's something about, I think what also Canada does really great of, like they have commercials about this is what it means to be Canadian. And there's this rootedness of, well we all know we're nice, so like what do we wanna talk about on top of that? And I just see such an opportunity to, to bring that back as well, right?
Like. Even if we just go into the, the bubble of Orange County, we all love the weather. We all love going to the beach. You know, we all love, um, the things that we have here. And I look at my, my own street, my one block, and during the election, every other house probably had a different sign on it, representing where people are at.
Mm-hmm. During the same amount of time we were all checking on each other and who needs groceries and you know, a neighbor had to go to the hospital and everyone went over to like take care of things. And I kept looking around being like, if our one block is okay, that gives me hope that we can make, we can expand that.
How do we make the street? Okay? How do we make the town? Okay. Um, so I guess I know that there's so myself and I'm sure everyone listening are like, how. How do we change that conversation? Do you, do you have any ideas? Do you have a, what, what can we do to start changing that conversation? Well, I'll tell you, I don't certainly, um,
changing the occupant of the White House doesn't solve all of these problems, right?
Mm-hmm. Um, you know, the, these problems we've been talking about. Don't, or end with Donald Trump. But I am very hopeful that a change of tone kind mm-hmm. At the very top will cascade down and will have an overall positive effect. And so I do think that the, uh, the Biden Harris administration. Is going to set a very different tone.
Mm-hmm. I think even when you think about the fact that we're, right now we're in the midst of a, you know, unprecedented, unprecedented public health crisis. Mm-hmm. This is exactly the time that, in my view. We should be, rather than kind of seeing this public health crisis turned into, you know, a another, uh mm-hmm.
Kind of political debate or a political divide. This level of crisis and challenge, I think reminds us that, as you were saying, of our common, of our common humanity. And, and the fact that whatever else happens, I care about my neighbors, I care about my community. I don't really care if you've got an elephant on your t-shirt or a donkey on your t-shirt or, you know, whatever.
Mm-hmm. I, I care about you as a person and mm-hmm. I do think some of that has been lost in kind of the ugly rhetoric that's started at the.
Um, these next several months and as we hopefully see a vaccine rolled out and see us start to actually defeat this pandemic that we do have an opportunity to, to, to come together in a new way and do the hard work that's gonna be required to build back our communities. She said one street at a time and Yeah.
And stronger. And stronger than before.
For, for people of the community who want to support you, how critical are the, you know, city level positions in politics to implementing things that happen at the state level or supporting what you're trying to roll out from a state level into the communities?
They are absolutely critical and, and I think. That has been revealed, uh, especially in the midst of, of the COVID-19 pandemic. I think we have seen just how important it's for us to have good people at every single level of government, from the the White House to our Congress, to state representatives, to county, to city, to focus on school boards.
We need. Good people who are focused on doing the work and solving problems in the community, and mm-hmm. I'll say that, that for the most part, you know, regardless of Party I mm-hmm. Work with just incredible people at every single level. But unfortunately you do see the, the outlier where you're like, oh, they don't seem to even realize it's their job.
To solve these problems. Mm-hmm. It's their job to be working for people and to help make people's lives better. There are, there are folks at, again, at every level. They see everything as kind of just this, like, it, it's a very sort of cynical perspective where it's, it's this opportunity to turn something into like a political wedge issue.
Mm-hmm. So that they can send a fundraising email or you know, go on Fox News, build their profile, get it a headline in the Orange County Register. And, um, that kind, that level of cynicism is, is horrible. It's disgusting at any point in time, I think particularly in the midst of this crisis. Yeah. Um, for those few folks where I, that's my assessment of them, I've been mm-hmm.
Particularly, uh, particularly horrified, but mm-hmm. Um, by and large, I would say that we've got incredible, incredible people, um, representing us at the local level. People who care and people who are working. Mm-hmm. Tirelessly to help the, help the workers, the families, and the small businesses who are hurting so badly right now.
Um, yeah, but it's, I think your, your original question was how much does it matter and mm-hmm. It matters a lot. It matters a ton for us to have good people at, at every level.
Yeah. And, and for people who wouldn't, who don't think that going into one of those roles would be, uh, a good fit for them, what are actions they can take to be involved in the political process?
Is it, um. Is it holding elected officials, um, accountable for what they said they would do? Is it asking great questions at a town hall or at, um, open forums? Like how can people participate without, um, stepping into one of those roles themselves? There
are so many ways to, to get involved. Mm-hmm. And, uh, so many ways to get engaged.
Um, so if you are, are into the, the political side of things, volunteering on the campaign is. Is so critical, especially mm-hmm. For some of these, ensuring that you've got good people at the local level. Those are grassroots campaigns that run off of volunteer energy, volunteer enthusiasm, and volunteer commitment.
So, um mm-hmm. That's, that's one way to get involved and engaged. Um, you can also at. Either, again, on a volunteer basis or, or even, um, as an appointed official, an appointed commissioner or an appointed committee member. You can serve your city in a way that doesn't require you to, to run for office and doesn't require some kind of a full-time commitment, but it's still an opportunity for you to, to have a voice on, um, a, a subject and in an area that you care about and where maybe you've got some expertise to get, whether that's finance or.
Our parks and recreation or housing. Mm-hmm. And human services. There are so many opportunities for appointments to, to city commissions and, uh, city boards. Um, another way that's, uh, incredibly valuable to get involved is in nonprofit organizations. And we have got just such a dynamic network mm-hmm. Of nonprofits working here all across Orange County.
And one thing to me that particularly. In, in the midst of COVID-19, I think what we have seen, um, alongside. This unprecedented and terrible public health crisis, we've seen people get involved and get engaged in, in big and in small ways. Mm-hmm. To do something to help their neighbors to do something to.
I help the community navigate this and, um, whether that's volunteering at a, at a food bank, um, you know, volunteering to, uh, to help support the education of, of young children volunteering to, to help, um, address the homeless crisis. As you said, there are opportunities for people to get engaged in, in so many areas.
Mm-hmm. Um. Be part of, be part of the solution.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, as we're looking into 2021, and I think we are all excited to powerfully wrap up this year and start fresh after what, um, has happened over and over again to, you know, whether it's my clients or just friends and family, you know, it feels like we have had to level up a decade worth in one year.
Morally, you know, socially, economically, whatever it is. Um, and as you're going into 2021, what's, what are you looking forward to, um, both in your role as an assemblywoman, but also for yourself personally? Well, let me start first with,
um, with my priorities as mm-hmm. Uh, as your, as your representative in, in the California State Assembly.
And, um, there, there's really three, and I'll touch on those briefly, but, um, number one continues to be COVID-19 response and mm-hmm. Um, there's been an absolutely herculean effort underway to ensure that California. Is prepared and mm-hmm. That, uh, we were able to, to respond to this pandemic, both in the spring surge and, and what we're seeing right now with this all surge.
Um, I, I increasingly, and when I think about, uh, the, the COVID crisis, I'm increasingly focused actually on our schools and mm-hmm. Ensuring that, uh. We are able to open our schools safely and get kids back. Mm-hmm. Into the classroom safely for, yeah, for in-person learning. Um, what we have, have seen over the last several months is the vast majority of our kids are still learning online.
Um, we've got, mm-hmm. The, most of the schools that are, are back in per for in-person instruction are, are private schools serving. Mm-hmm. Our wealthy students, we're seeing the kids that can really at least afford it, get, get left further and further behind. Mm-hmm. And what we've also seen is that the schools that have reopened both here in Orange County, all across the country and all across the world, we are seeing that schools are not super spreader sites.
We are seeing that we're able to take smart and careful precautions to keep our, our students, our uh, teachers. Other staff members. Staff members in the community at large, safe, which I think is really, really encouraging and mm-hmm. So I think in California we've gotta ensure that we are, as of of January, pushing hard to, to reopen schools.
Mm-hmm. Ensure that they're open safely, but ensure that we're doing everything we can to, uh, to. To serve the, the kids of California. Um, so that, that's certainly one top priority for me. Mm-hmm. Um, another area of focus is economic recovery. And, um, as I, as I mentioned, as I think folks know, we are officially in a pandemic induced recession.
We know that. Mm-hmm. The steps we've taken, uh, to respond to COVID-19, we know that, that save lives. We also know that. It's been devastating for mm-hmm. For workers, for families, for small businesses, all across the state. And, um, so I'm part of a, an working group on economic recovery, and I'm really focused on, um, both infrastructure investments and also on workforce development programs.
And during that we, or mm-hmm. Are putting Californians back to work. And then a third priority for me, um, in my first term and, and a continued priority is environmental policy. Mm-hmm. And particularly, particularly given the community that I represent. Sea level rise and mitigating and doing better job of addressing the, the threat of wildfire risk.
Yeah. So those are, are my, uh, my legislative priorities for next year are, as I said, COVID response, uh mm-hmm. Economic recovery and environmental policy and, um, personally. I am, uh, I'm looking forward to, I think like everyone, I am really looking forward to 2021. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I think turning the, uh, turning the chapter from, from 2020.
Um, but mm-hmm. When I reflect back on, I think my first German office and certainly the past year, while I never would've expected that I would be serving in the midst of this. Unprecedented public health crisis. I didn't run for office because I wanted to, you know, go to events with the, the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce or pose for pictures on Instagram, like I ran for office because I wanted to serve this community and mm-hmm.
Um, the reality is that that's never been, that, that needs never been more urgent or, or more. And so I am more committed than ever, uh, to this job, um, and, and to this work and mm-hmm. Um, I think personally as we think about moving through the COVID-19 era mm-hmm. Um, and look forward to a time when we've got a vaccine and when we can resume some level of normal normalcy.
I am, I think just really looking forward to. Um, the kind of in person connections that I think we've been missing in so many aspects, things able to. To, to continue doing virtually, but mm-hmm. There's something about being in, you know, being in, in a yoga class with a bunch of other people and having that sense of connectedness.
Being at a, a concert, you know, and experiencing live music and being in the moment with. With a crowd of other people, um, being able to have wonderful dinner parties and just yeah. You know, celebrate with milestones with, with groups of friends. Um, so those are some of the things I think I'm looking forward to.
Mm-hmm. Most when I think about, when I think about 20, 21.
Well, and it makes it so much easier to, uh, feel like a community when you actually get to be in the presence of the community.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Um, we ask everyone on the podcast where they rank themselves on the powerful Lady scale. If zero is average everyday human and 10 is the most powerful lady possible, where would you rank yourself today?
And how do you think you rank yourself on an average day?
I will say, let's see, I'll, I'll give myself like a seven and I'm today and, and on an.
I think that there's, I, I think that there's, there's still room for me to grow and that there are opportunities for me to, uh, to continue to become a more, a more powerful lady, which, uh, or is actually an oppor opportunity that I welcome and look forward to. Mm-hmm. And. I love, I have always loved challenging myself.
Mm-hmm. And kinda taking on, on new hills and uh, and new challenges. So, um, when I think about what I need, the work I need to do to get from a seven and. To that, that number that, uh, that number 10. Mm-hmm. I think I find that more exciting than I do, than I do. Daunting. Uh, I ran for office and I ran to, to represent this community because I felt like we were getting shortchanged in Sacramento.
Mm-hmm. And, um, I'm proud of the work that I have done over the past two years to change that. Mm-hmm. Millions of dollars back to the district. I've passed important legislation on, uh, addressing the challenges of climate change, uh, legislation to to help small business owners, uh, legislation to improve access to healthcare.
It's really been an incredible, it has been an incredible honor and privilege to do this job and to represent our community, and I am. Humbled and
resident of orange.
Any advice that I would mm-hmm. Would have to give. Um, and particularly, I guess it's particularly for young women who are considering whether or not to, to run for office, whether or not to kind of put up your hand and, and do that and mm-hmm. Uh, it can be daunting to put yourself out there. It can feel really scary to, to run for office.
And what I always say, um, when anyone asks me like, should I do this? Should I think about it? If there is that little voice inside of you that says, I think I'd be good at this, I think I should do this, I would always say, go for it and do it. And, uh, particularly to, particularly to to women and, and to, to young women.
Um, we need more women in leadership. Um, whether that's in our boardrooms or our courtrooms, our, our. Uh, legislative chambers and, uh, it's so important to, to believe in yourself and to put yourself out there and, uh, and to take risks to ensure that, um, you're becoming, you're becoming your most powerful self.
Well, I love that. Thank you so much for all the work you do for all of us in Orange County and California. And for stepping up, right? For being that. Yes. Um. It's great to have you as both a leader and also, you know, inspiration on what is possible and to have confidence that there is somebody in politics really representing us who, um, isn't a politician who isn't there for any other reasons and actually making the impact that they're there to be.
So thank you so much for that.
Well, thank you Kara. It was wonderful to join you. Thanks so much for inviting me, and, uh, thank you for all that you do to, to help and, uh, support and showcase powerful lady
wherever you live in the world. I hope you heard Katy's invitation to get up, get involved, and hold our elected officials accountable. You are the change you wish to see in the world. What will you do in this new year? What steps will you take to create the world you wanna live in? If you're stuck or have questions on how to do that, or you're just looking for support?
Reach out to me and the team here at Hello, at the powerful ladies.com. We'll do our best to point you in the right direction to connect, support and follow Kadi. You can follow her in lots of places. Instagram is a course always easy, and that is at a SM Kadi. She has a Twitter link, a YouTube, Facebook websites, and she even has shared her email with us.
You can find all of that@thepowerfulladies.com slash podcast in this episode's show notes. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you've enjoyed this episode of The Powerful Ladies Podcast. There are so many ways you can get involved and get supported with fellow powerful ladies. First, subscribe to this podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.
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I'd like to thank our producer, composer, and audio engineer Jordan Duffy. Without her, this wouldn't be possible. You can follow her on Instagram at Jordan K. Duffy. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Instagram: @AsmCottie
YouTube: /c/assemblywomancpn/featured
Facebook: /AssemblywomanCPN/
Website: https://a74.asmdc.org/
Email: assemblymember.petrie-norris@assembly.ca.gov
Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
