Neal Runs For Mayor
24 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsGo behind the scenes of Neal Sáles-Griffin's quest to become mayor of Chicago. Follow along as a first-time candidate navigates the byzantine world of Chicago politics, and hear from Neal's colleagues, friends, family—and Neal himself.
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Episodes
BONUS: Neal Did Things Differently
April 11, 2019 11:45 - 11 minutes - 13.3 MBIn the last of our election post-mortem bonuses, we hear from a data scientist, a filmmaker, and Neal's mom about the work they did on the campaign and what surprised them about the experience.
BONUS: Kina Collins on Political Courage
April 04, 2019 11:45 - 13 minutes - 15.5 MBKina Collins is a Chicago activist who's focused much of her work on gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform. In this bonus episode, she reflects on young voters' disenchantment with the citywide election, the tumultuous events that led up to it, and the work that continues.
BONUS: Paul Vallas on endorsements
March 28, 2019 12:00 - 9 minutes - 10.5 MBWailin sits down with former mayoral candidate and friend of Neal, Paul Vallas, to discuss his public support of Lori Lightfoot for the April 2 run-off and pull back the curtain on the endorsement process.
What's Next
March 21, 2019 11:40 - 20 minutes - 23.8 MBAs Chicago awaits the mayoral run-off on April 2, Neal isn't wasting any time in getting to work. He drops by to share his plans for what he's working on next. Plus he invites two friends—fellow candidate Paul Vallas and activist Kina Collins—to the studio to reflect on Neal's campaign and his next chapter. Show Notes "Paul Vallas Really Loves His Broom," a Chicago Magazine profile published in the run-up to the election (0:57) "Young Chicago Activists Have A Plan: Take Over City...
Election Night
February 28, 2019 12:45 - 10 minutes - 11.9 MBOn February 26, Neal hosted friends and family for a party to say thank you and to watch the election returns. There was charcuterie, laughter, a few tears, and a lot of love. Not too shabby for a candidate who was never expected to get on the ballot. The first election may be over (Chicago is headed to a run-off in April), but the work is just beginning. Show Notes New York Times story on the election (00:39) The Chicago Board of Elections' unofficial summary report put Neal at ...
Show Your Work
February 21, 2019 12:45 - 21 minutes - 24.8 MBWe've arrived at the final week for Neal, the longshot candidate who was the 14th and final mayoral hopeful to make it onto the ballot for this pivotal Chicago election. Neal and campaign manager Claire Feinberg talk about the projects they're pushing forward on that aren't just integral to the campaign, but are also laying a foundation for the work he wants to carry on past the February 26 election. Show Notes The Chicago Tonight forum on WTTW and the Fox 32 debate (0:52) Neal'...
A Receipt for Your Taxes
February 14, 2019 12:45 - 19 minutes - 22.7 MBNeal is getting ready to unveil another big project—a visual explainer for how the Chicago budget works and where that $22 billion ends up. He's also starting to make the rounds at mayoral candidate forums and media interviews, making public his idea to give Chicagoans a receipt for their taxes. Show Notes Chicago reporter Sarah Karp tweeted updates from the mayoral forum at Kenwood Academy that Neal attended (00:30) Neal’s appearance on Fox32’s Good Day Chicago (00:40) The Cen...
Neal Sáles-Griffin Has A Cold
February 07, 2019 12:45 - 25 minutes - 29.4 MBCampaign tech wizard and behind-the-scenes fixer Raghu Betina sits down to talk about an app he's building that started as an internal tool for the campaign but is being turned into a publicly available voters guide. It's one of several projects that the campaign is working to unveil in the final weeks before the election. Neal is battling a cold but stops by to give a preview of what else is to come. Show Notes The Chicago Sun-Times' mayoral endorsement interviews (1:35) Neal ex...
Slingshot
January 31, 2019 12:45 - 23 minutes - 26.7 MBThe Chicago mayoral ballot has been set at 14 candidates, with Neal as the last name added. He now has just four weeks to get out the vote. Hear from Claire Feinberg, who's stepped up as campaign manager, about how the team is embracing constraints and working on its own timeline, rather than racing to play catch-up. Neal pops in at the end for a nerdy cameo! Show Notes The New York Times story about the extreme cold that hit Chicago and the Midwest (0:19) Our previous episode ab...
The Neal Appeal
January 24, 2019 12:40 - 10 minutes - 12.1 MBWe're here at the end of all things: Neal's final hearing at the Board of Elections. And in a twist that no one on his team saw coming, he lands a spot on the ballot for Chicago mayor. Hear how it all went down that morning. Show Notes Our previous episode, "A Motion at the Eleventh Hour" (0:35) The Chicago Tribune's write-up of Dorothy Brown getting ruled off the ballot and Neal getting on (1:53) The Chicago Board of Elections commissioners (2:40)
A Motion at the Eleventh Hour
January 22, 2019 06:05 - 13 minutes - 15.2 MBGo inside the Board of Elections hearing room on Thursday, January 17 as Neal makes his case (again) to get on the ballot. Come for the emotional roller coaster, stay for the Dragon Ball Z references! Show Notes Our previous episode, "The Sky Would Have To Open Up" (00:30) Chicago Tribune article "Willie Wilson ends fight to keep Dorothy Brown's name off mayoral ballot" (1:07) Rickey Hendon last turned up in the episode "A Cesspool for Human Error" (6:00) Campaign lawyer Ed Mul...
The Sky Would Have To Open Up
January 17, 2019 12:45 - 19 minutes - 22.3 MBToday—Thursday, January 17—is the day of Neal's final hearing at the board of elections to determine whether he'll get on the ballot. When we last left off, he was about 2,400 signatures short and waiting to hear an official ruling from a handwriting expert on how many disputed signatures would be converted to his favor. Listen to this episode to find out that result and hear about the unprecedented digital effort Neal undertook in his last-ditch effort to overcome Willie Wilson's p...
The Final Sprint?
January 03, 2019 12:45 - 29 minutes - 33.5 MBNeal and his team spent long days at the board of elections, defending their 18,000 signatures from a ballot challenge mounted by candidate Willie Wilson. Now the future of Neal's candidacy depends on a ruling from a handwriting expert and whether Neal can track down—in person—a few hundred to a couple thousand Chicagoans who signed his petitions. And if that's not enough stress, Neal and Wailin get into a friendly argument about transparency and why he didn't release his tax return...
A Cesspool for Human Error
December 20, 2018 12:45 - 20 minutes - 23.3 MBNeal filed over 18,000 signatures to get on the ballot, but they were challenged by mayoral candidate Willie Wilson. Now Neal and a team of volunteers have to defend each challenged signature before the board of elections, a time-consuming and difficult process. Hear from Neal and two of his volunteers, including a Chicago high school student, on what it's like to analyze handwriting and stay on the good side of records examiners. Show Notes Our previous episode, "Neal Files For M...
Neal Files For Mayor
December 06, 2018 12:40 - 27 minutes - 31.8 MBNeal has filed his signatures to be an official candidate for Chicago mayor in 2019. Now it's time to tackle petition challenges from other candidates trying to keep him off the ballot. Show Notes To learn more about signature collection, listen to our episode about the process (1:19) Neal's "Leaders of the Future" hoodie had this design from local brand Leaders 1354 (4:40) Sam Letscher on Twitter (4:51) Neal talked about Chance the Rapper and Kanye West's support for Amara Eny...
Chance and Kanye
November 22, 2018 12:40 - 10 minutes - 12 MBHappy Thanksgiving! Today we have a short conversation between Neal and Wailin that didn't fit into our previous episodes. They discuss how progressive candidate Amara Enyia scored high-profile endorsements from Chance the Rapper and Kanye West, whose teams had also contacted Neal. Show Notes "Chance the Rapper brings his star power to a long-shot campaign, backing Amara Enyia for Chicago mayor" (Chicago Tribune) (0:27) "Kanye cash follows Chance praise, boosting Amara Enyia mayo...
Midterms, Money, and Progress
November 08, 2018 12:45 - 30 minutes - 34.8 MBNeal takes a short pause from signature collection to discuss what he noticed around voter turnout and engagement on midterm election day. He also shares a significant change in strategy around incentivizing volunteers as the process to get on the mayoral ballot reaches its critical final weeks. Show Notes Our last episode, "Signature Moves" (0:14) Roxane Gay's op-ed in the New York Times, "You're Disillusioned. That's Fine. Vote Anyway." (5:34) The unofficial turnout in Chicago...
Signature Moves
October 25, 2018 11:40 - 22 minutes - 26.3 MBEvery candidate for Chicago mayor needs 12,500 valid signatures to get onto the ballot. That’s already a huge undertaking before you even get to the potential legal challenges, ballot order lottery, and other shenanigans that are part of this process. In this episode, we dive into the messy details of what it takes to even get on the ballot in Chicago and how Neal is taking on the challenge. Show Notes Sam Letscher on Twitter (2:12) Bossy Chicago (2:40) 478,204 people voted in t...
Invent the Future
October 11, 2018 11:45 - 20 minutes - 23.4 MBThis is the story of how Neal decided to run for mayor of Chicago, with cameos from a famous computer scientist, Neal’s parents, and others who encouraged him to seek the city’s highest public office. Show Notes CrossRoads conference (1:17) Alan Kay's biography (1:24) Basecamp, formerly 37signals (2:00) Jason Fried, co-founder and CEO of Basecamp (2:08) Basecamp invested in Starter League in 2012 (3:05) Neal and his Starter League co-founder Mike McGee sold Starter League to ...
BONUS - The Van Dyke Verdict
October 10, 2018 20:40 - 20 minutes - 23.9 MBNeal sits down with Shaun to share his reaction to the October 5 guilty verdict in the Jason Van Dyke case. The Chicago police officer was convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. It marked the first time in almost five decades that a city police officer was convicted of murder in an on-duty shooting. Neal talks about the impact that the McDonald case had on its decision to run for office and looks ahead to the wo...
Launch
September 27, 2018 11:30 - 28 minutes - 32.7 MBThe plan for Neal's campaign launch event was to give remarks for around 10 minutes and then take questions. But nerves took over and 85 long minutes later, it was clear that something had gone wrong. In this episode, we unpack what happened in the launch event and what Neal learned from the experience. Show Notes Chicago Tribune reporter Bill Ruthhart's tweets (2:46) Ruthhart's story about Neal's campaign, published a day before the launch event (2:53)
BONUS: The Rahm Bombshell
September 20, 2018 13:15 - 16 minutes - 19.5 MBOn September 4, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel unexpectedly announced he was not going to run for a third term. Not too long before that, Rahm and Neal met one-on-one for over an hour. What did they talk about, and what does Neal's campaign look like now that the race's incumbent and most well-funded candidate has dropped out? Neal stops by the studio to discuss. Show Notes Rahm's announcement coincided with the start of the murder trial of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, who s...
Nobody Nobody Sent
September 13, 2018 12:00 - 21 minutes - 24.7 MBWe're Shaun and Wailin, two audio producers in Chicago who were surprised and excited to learn our friend Neal Sáles-Griffin was running for mayor of Chicago. We had lots of questions about what it takes to run a campaign at this level as a political outsider, so we started a podcast to follow along with his journey. In our first episode, we talk to Neal about the importance of the beginner's mindset, the tools he's building for his campaign that he plans to make available for other...
Neal Runs For Mayor - Teaser
July 24, 2018 18:00 - 3 minutes - 3.63 MBComing soon: A new podcast that follows the mayoral campaign of lifelong Chicagoan Neal Sáles-Griffin. You'll hear from his friends and family—as well as Neal himself—through the ups and downs of running for office as a first-time candidate. Subscribe now so you'll get the episode as soon as we launch!