Ald. Ameya Pawar ( 47th Ward ) believes that—should he be elected governor in 2018—he'll be able to leverage his outsider status to transcend machine politics and work for positive change for every corner of the state.
Pawar, who previously worked extensively in the emergency management field, was elected to the Chicago City Council in 2011 and re-elected to a second term in 2015. He is both the first Indian American and the first Asian American to hold a post on the council.
Pawar recently spoke with Windy City Times about why he's running, what needs work in the state, and the LGBT community, among other issues.
Windy City Times: What would you draw from your experiences on the city council, and your experiences before that, in the governor's office?
Ameya Pawar: One thing that I've proven, in my time on the city council, is that as a total outsider who no one endorsed or helped, and ran a grassroots campaign, that I could come into office and work with the same people who worked against me. The whole point of democracy is to bring people along so that you can deal with each other, and not demonizing each other when it comes to the issues. I've passed a dozen pieces of legislation in my lifetime in office … I've proven that there are machine politics that still carry the day when it comes to the city council, but I can transcend that when I work with people. It's that same kind of approach that we need in Springfield.
WCT: Gov. Rauner came in as an "outsider" to Springfield, to shake things up, and he has had a difficult time with the entrenched machine there. How would you transcend that?
AP: The thing about Gov. Rauner is that, he goes around to white communities and tells them that they're having troubles because "those people in Cook County" are not giving them their fair share. So, he uses the anxieties of poor white people and pits them against poor Black and Brown people. Then nothing at the top ever changes.
Gov. Rauner is an outsider in the sense that he lives so far "above" government, he doesn't need it, so he demonizes it and wants to destroy it. The thing about being an outsider is, yeah, I was one too, but I've also proven that by working with people, you can make change. Because you need votes to move things. Demonizing people, not engaging them in diplomatic efforts, not working across the aisle—that's not democracy, that's a dictatorship. In a democracy, it's about the art of the possible.
WCT: What do you think will be your biggest advantage in the primary contest?
AP: One of the biggest things I'm doing is—I don't write people off based on who they voted for in the last election. So, I'm spending a lot of time in the red parts of the state. While we're a "blue" state, most of the state is red. I think it's time to engage voters of all political persuasions, to show the iniquities that affect all of us. I'm scrapping the standard Democratic playbook, and not just focusing on Cook County and Chicago. I'm saying that there is a common humanity here—we're neighbors, whether you live in Cairo, Carbondale, Chicago or Rockford. We rise and fall together. That message of unity, in response to Gov. Rauner's agenda of race-baiting and bigotry, is the best response.
WCT: What feedback are you getting in those red parts of the state?
AP: The same things I hear in the liberal parts of the state—that the millionaires and billionaires and the insiders get wealthier, and everyone else is getting left behind and people are sick and tired of it. … I have the same conversation in red communities, in blue communities, in purple communities. They're just people at the end of the day.
WCT: What do you think is your biggest disadvantage in the primary?
AP: While campaigns shouldn't be about money, the campaigns are about money. I'm not going to be able to do TV ads every minute of the day like the millionaires and billionaires. But I also see that as an advantage, because I'm just like everybody else. In 99.9 percent of the state, if they ran for governor, they'd be doing what I'm doing. I think the disadvantage that some people see is an advantage for me.
WCT: What would be two or three of your top priorities?
AP: There would be four planks. Changing the ways we fund schools—the state has got to put substantially more money into the pot. Universal child care—we say we have family values, but we have to show that we value families. A major public-works bill—that could really get people back to work. And criminal justice reform—what I tell people is this: We have to look at our history. Forty years ago, when our factories and industries were leaving Black and Brown communities, poverty rates went up, and our crack and cocaine epidemic moved in. The response was not investment for new jobs or treatment, the response was a racist one.
Now those jobs are leaving white communities, and we have the same issues: poverty went up, and we have opiates. Today, we call it a public-health issue and we want to provide treatment. It's always been a public-health issue. What undergirds all of this is economics, economic development and jobs. I'm not saying we'll ignore institutional racism or our racist past—we'll take that head-on—but going forward, we have to bring poor white, Black and Brown people together and create jobs, and invest in schools and working families with childcare. Simply put, invest in people.
WCT: How would you address the state's seemingly perpetual budget issues?
AP: We live in a wealthy state. Our economy is the fifth largest in the country. We're dead last in public-schools spending. We're dead last in social-services spending. We have the money, we just don't have the political will to tax the wealthy; they need to pay their fair share. It literally comes down to more money, dollars and cents.
WCT: What kind of engagement have you had with the LGBT community?
AP: I've always been a big supporter of the Center on Halsted. More importantly, I think I've always been out there saying that it's a shame that we're even having to talk about LGBTQ rights, as if they apply to a different class of people, as if somehow they are not human. With regards to Donald Trump [and his transgender military-service ban], trans rights are human rights. The idea that we would ban our trans neighbors from service is inhumane. I was one of the sponsors on the legislation in city council to make sure that we had equal access to bathrooms.
My point is, I believe in an equal and inclusive society and I'm frankly ashamed that we are even having a conversation about whether or not we can marginalize people based on who they love.
WCT: What would you say are some of the most pertinent issues for the LGBT community?
AP: It's about making sure that Illinois is inclusive and welcoming, whether it's for immigrants or LGBTQ people. We live in an inclusive society, and as the chief executive of the state, it's my job to guarantee that inclusiveness. … My commitment to the LGBTQ community, and other communities who may feel marginalized because of our president, or people like Bruce Rauner, is that the "debate" will be over. If we're lucky, we won't have to debate that anymore. We can talk about specific issues, but I want to give people a sense of who I am. You're not going to have to wonder where I am on human rights.
WCT: You've already made some comment on the transgender community. What can a governor do to assure that they receive equitable treatment in the state?
AP: Making sure that their documents and state records don't stigmatize people—that's based on whether they even want to have their gender-identity referenced. It doesn't matter. People are human beings; that's all that matters. I know that there are a number of bills in play that kind of address these. You don't even have to ask me. If things like those come up, send them to my desk and I'll make sure they're signed. Again, I try to look at this from a "big umbrella." Gender is a socially constructed view of the world, and we've marginalized people for millennia based on a socially constructed view.
WCT: What can the governor do for residents dealing with HIV/AIDS?
AP: There are communities we haven't addressed; for example, we've seen an uptick in the African-American community, for example. Where my parents are from in India, there is a large spread of AIDS amongst truckers, because of the lack of access to quality contraceptives. The point is, we have to be able to talk about these issues and then fund them. That means that the conversation takes place in a space where people don't feel marginalized or embarrassed. … When it comes to policy related to HIV/AIDS, we would make sure there is special attention paid to the community and the programs we put on are culturally competent and sensitive to what is actually happening.
WCT: What do you see as the future of the Democratic party, both at the state and national levels?
AP: My sincere hope is that we organize in a way that allows people to transcend race and class, and that we can address our common goals. For example, when we go around the state and talk about institutional racism, we try to frame it in a way so that a lot of people understand that [if we have the conversation] we're not accusing you of racism. But if we're not willing to talk about it, we're all party to the institutionalization of racism. We need to talk about issues and create those spaces without attacking one another. The economy is out of whack; it favors the few and it pits the majority against one another. We're all struggling, from the upper middle-class all the way down. … The Democratic Party needs to be focused on justice and equity, and policies that help transcend race and class. I'm hoping that I can be a part of that.
This is one of a series of interviews Windy City Times is running regarding gubernatorial candidates. For more on Pawar, visit Pawar2018.com .
