A Conversation with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan

TOPICS DISCUSSED

  • Shifting American Views on Labor

  • Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota

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TRANSCRIPT

Sarah [00:00:07] This is Sarah Stewart Holland.  

Beth [00:00:09] This is Beth Silvers.  

Sarah [00:00:10] You're listening to Pantsuit Politics.  

Beth [00:00:12] Where we take a different approach to the news.  

[00:00:14] Music Interlude.  

Sarah [00:00:29] Thank you so much for joining us today. We are delighted to be sharing a conversation we had at the DNC with Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan. So the sound might sound a little different; just FYI we recorded that in a hotel in the middle of Chicago. Should the Harris-Walz ticket win, Lieutenant Governor Flanagan will become Governor Flanagan of Minnesota, and it will make her the first indigenous woman to serve as governor and the highest ranking native woman in the country. We were so happy to talk to her about her work as lieutenant governor and the issues that have been important to her, and she stuck around for Outside of Politics, which you are not going to want to miss. Before that, we're going to be talking about labor. We're going into Labor Day, and there's some new polling from Gallup around Americans ideas about labor, and we wanted to talk about that.  

Beth [00:01:14] Just a little housekeeping before we jump into all of that. We'll be at Edgehill United Methodist Church in Nashville on Sunday, September 8th. You can find more information about that in the show notes and on our website. If you're in the Nashville area, this event is open to the public and we would love to see you there. And if you are part of our premium community, this week is our second to last Democracy in America slow read along episode. We have found democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville's classic to be so relevant as we go into an election this year. We are also wrapping up the Summer Book Club next week with conversations about the Sentence by Louise Erdrich. So lots going on in our premium community. We would love for you to join us if you haven't already. All the information to do that will be in the show notes.  

Sarah [00:01:55] Up next, we're going to talk about labor.  

[00:01:56] Music Interlude.  

[00:02:04] Beth, as we head into the Labor Day holiday, celebrating the labor movement in America, Gallup has some new polling data that I found very interesting. The share of Americans who say they disapprove of labor unions has hit an all-time low. Hasn't been this low since September of 1967. Seventy percent of Americans said they approved of unions in this latest poll.  

Beth [00:02:29] Doesn't feel surprising to me when you marry it with a lot of our big trends right now. I think in general, and we've talked about this before, Americans are pushing back against bigness. So big corporations that could take advantage of workers, big mergers, big tech. We're kind of in a moment of saying, wait a second. We like economic prosperity, but the free for all of the last few decades has come at a very high cost. And so we're trying to recalibrate, and I think labor is an important part of that recalibration.  

Sarah [00:03:10] Well, and I think it's about a little bit more than just how we feel about the economy and corporations overall. Look, labor got big. Labor was one of those things that got big. The organizations themselves got big and unwieldy, and there was a lot of corruption. Now, as I like to point out to some people, (my stepfather who has some very dated opinions about labor unions) is that now they're like the most tightly regulated institutions out there. They are eagle eyes on labor unions at all times. But I think it's more than just that maybe some of the bigger unions have obviously changed and grown and adapted since the 60s and 70s, and our opinions about them as well. I think, to me, what I feel here is all the new organizing. I mean, you can't miss it. I can't remember the last time that I could name a labor union leader, but Shawn Fain is everywhere because a lot of it is they're out there trying to add more factories. You hear all the time about the organizing at Starbucks and fast food restaurants and media companies. I think it's the like grassroots organization and building of it all that Americans are reacting to.  

Beth [00:04:26] Well, I think Amazon plants have a lot to do with this, too. It's kind of a new canvas for the labor movement. It'll be interesting to see as more of the Infrastructure and Chips and Science Act and IRA money gets spent because we had all these transformative pieces of legislation, but the money hasn't all been spent yet. The things haven't all been put into place. We are positioned for a real renaissance of jobs that are traditionally in labor's wheelhouse. And so what will happen if we have a lot of new manufacturing plants roll out, a lot of new construction jobs? How will labor respond to that? And how will public opinion of labor follow as maybe some of those disputes go from just, hey, remember us? This is a thing that we do and we're good at it. To some moments of tension. Because the one place that I feel like there is still an easy punching bag in politics around labor is teacher’s unions. And I don't know if that's because the public feels differently when the employer is the public, or if it's just that there's been a really successful long term smear campaign against teacher’s unions. But that's the piece that hasn't seemed to follow. And so I wonder, as public projects roll out, what the relationship between favorability and labor will look like.  

Sarah [00:05:53] I just really hope that people start to see the effects. I mean, look, the share of Americans who are union members is still way low. It's like 10%. But I'm still encouraged that this opinion is staying high in the face of a tight labor market, because there's a part of me that worried people would say, like, I don't need union organizing. I can get any job I want. They're paying better. We don't have enough labor. But it's encouraging to me that this is growing alongside that tight labor market and that people are saying, yeah, I can get the job, but we have to organize together to make the job worth doing. It's not just about higher pay. That's a piece of it. Union labor is incredibly impactful in people's lives. I remember a few years ago-- please don't ask for a link because it was a long time and I have to dig it up.  

[00:06:44] But it is out there about how even more than education level, income level, one of the biggest indicators for whether or not the next generation, if the kids did better than the parents, was union membership. It's just a level of stability and a level of care that goes way beyond just what you're getting paid. That really matters inside the middle class and inside your average family, whatever it looks like. I think it's just incredibly positive. And I think having somebody like Joe Biden that is such a pro-labor president out there on the picket line for the first time, has been a huge part of people thinking about that and seeing it and reconsidering. Because this doesn't seem to me like it's just people forming new opinions. If you're going to 70%, a lot of Americans are rethinking how they feel about labor.  

Beth [00:07:38] I would love to be beyond a organized labor is good or organized labor is bad place, and just more like it's neutral. It is a stabilizing force in some industries. It's really important because the power dynamic between worker and employer is so out of balance, because the companies are so big, because, because, because. There are lots of places where organized labor seems to belong. And I think it's interesting to study where it really works versus where it doesn't work as well. I think it's interesting to look at what led to some of those unions becoming corrupt or too powerful or out of touch with the needs of their members, because organizations have this tendency. Once you organize at the beginning, it feels really good and powerful. And then over time, organizations tend to exist for themselves. It's hard to guard against that dynamic in almost any kind of organization. So I just think we're in a moment that will allow us to learn a lot about organized labor, and especially how it responds to new technology and new industries. And I'm interested in what there is to be learned right now. And I'm interested in learning a lot more about teacher’s unions, because I do find that sort of intractability around teachers unions to be kind of fascinating and puzzling.  

Sarah [00:09:06] Yeah, I think the trajectory of the labor movement and thinking about what happens-- I read a really interesting piece this morning about all the corruption inside LA city government. The New York Times wrote a big piece about-- it was prolific, the corruption. Because I think in so many places when you get big, you get a lot of power and you have good leaders and you got bad leaders. People who are ready to take advantage of people who are ready to lead through some of that difficulty, and labor was no different. But on Labor Day, I just always try to think back to the people way before the 1960s and '70s who were risking their lives. I mean, the early progressive movement and around the labor movement, we're talking about very dangerous situations. And when Shawn Fein was at the DNC calling Donald Trump a scab, it was surprising to me how many people didn't know what that word meant. And I was like, oh, man, we've lost a lot of this history. I know Labor Day is the end of summer and it means a lot of things and there's a lot of sales, but the history of labor in this country involves incredible stories of bravery and huge personal sacrifice and tragedy. And it's really important. And there's so many aspects of our everyday working lives that we have the labor movement to think whether you are in a union or not. And I just always try to remember that around this time of the year.  

Beth [00:10:34] I am always in the midst of thinking a lot about childcare and the cost of childcare. And what strikes me in this trend of favorability for labor unions is Americans maybe being more honest about how, yes, unions do cause things to cost more. And we are, I think, starting to get a little bit more honest about the fact that cost is always going to be passed on to consumers, but labor and consumers are the same people. We are all both workers and consumers. And as I was thinking about child care this week, I found myself writing about child care rates and how it is excruciating to have to increase the cost of child care for families. But the driver of cost and child care is labor. And those workers have families, too. It feels like such a division when you're talking about revenue and expense, but it's all just people. And I think some of where we are in the labor movement right now is going, yeah, it's all people. And so maybe there are costs that we are willing to have raised in the name of having more families who prosper in our economy.  

Sarah [00:11:51] Yeah, I'm a capitalist, but one of my favorite parts of this political movement is the surge of patriotism. Not just because patriotism makes me feel good, but because it reminds us that we are more than consumers and that we share something more than our ability to spend or save money. And it's always surprising to me how often I'll say, this shouldn't be cheap. It costs us a lot. And people are like, oh, man, I'm so in the mindset of everything should be cheap all the time. Why? Things cost. Things have cost. Some of them are externalized in a way we need to have a conversation about. And the easiest way to have a conversation about that sometimes is to say, remember that as Americans we share these resources. Our fellow Americans labor this land that we all live on. The air we breathe, the water we drink, all of this matters. And we share this as this group of people. You got to remember you're in the group, though, to have that conversation.  

[00:12:56] I mean, that's what's powerful about labor organizing. It's saying, hey, don't forget, it's not just you. This is a group. It matters what happens to the group. It matters what happens inside the group. We're about to record our democracy in America. And this last bit, he spends a lot of time talking about when we all have individual goals we can pursue because there is equality, that's great. And it's a balance to a lot of things, but it also has a downside. And that we forget that there's some things we're in together and that we're not just individuals even in a democracy where there is equality of individuals. And that's what I think beyond even just if you are in a union that has been the positive impact of the labor movement is to say, hey, we share other things. We have shared interests that we have to talk about. And when we acknowledge those shared interests, there's a lot more power that we can pursue together.  

Beth [00:13:55] I wonder if people bristle about this should cost more because that also has a cost, right? When you are struggling with everyday expenses of life and those things get more expensive, it feels like a luxury to say, well, this should cost more. I love what you articulated about all of us being in it together, though, because I think that allows us to think honestly about all parts of the equation in our economy that the cost of paying people has so many dimensions because people are just people and the cost of the products that they make with labor as a pressure on that pricing also impacts people along so many dimensions. And I think that the more honest and open and willing we are to just put all that on the table and look at it together, the better conversations we'll be able to have about things like labor and inflation and the economy in general, especially as we head into an election.  

Sarah [00:14:52] I just think that so much of that bristling is built on an assumption that bubbles up in conversation a lot around prices, around choices, around a lot. It's deeply philosophical. Not to get out your bingo card to talk about this book I'm reading again, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. There's this idea he talks about that so much of time management is we want to control it because we just don't want to face the reality that we're going to die. We don't have any control over that. And the capitalism and so much of our commercial culture has sold us a lie. It's sold us a lie that things are always going to get cheaper and we're always going to make more money. And that's just the flow of the American economy. That's the American dream, right? Everything's always getting more affordable and you're always making more money. That is not a natural state. That is a state built on a lot of organizing by people like people in the labor movement.  

[00:15:51] And it's the dark side of something that you see is a luxury, which is you see to something that's due to you. It's sort of like this is what I deserve- my least favorite word in the English language. Like, I deserve this. We deserve this as consumers. We deserve this as employees. There's just not a lot of deserve in the American economy. I know we want it that way, but it takes a lot of work from a lot of people and it's not automatic. I think that this progress of the American dream being more affordable and more available to more Americans is not automatic and it takes a lot of work. And what does affordable mean and what are we talking about? Are we talking about a luxury? Are we talking about a home? Are we talking about something that now we all think everybody deserves to have? There's so much emotion tied up in the economy when we all pretend like we're just talking about numbers. And that's particularly true when you're talking about your own labor. It is your actual time. It is not something you control, as much as we want to read time management books that tell us otherwise. It is something you exist inside in. Time is something you are. It's not something you can save up.  

[00:17:09] That's why something like labor and the movement to say what does this mean? What is it worth? These are the actual moments of my life that I am spending maybe making somebody else a lot of money. And so, there's just a lot of emotion and a lot of inherent and often not expressly talked about values. I think that's why I get so emotional. That's why I'm encouraged by this data. I just think you're seeing Americans parse that out for the first time. Wait, what does it mean? This is my life. I think the younger generations do a really good job. Gen Z particularly is saying, like, this is my life and I'm not just going to pursue the success sequence because somebody told me to. These are the moments of my life and what does that mean to me? This book is also very good because it doesn't necessarily mean that you have complete total control of your schedule. I would love this to be the next phase of the labor movement, which he just talks about we've been told that having complete and total control of our schedule is the dream of labor, right? Like that's what we all really want to be is the employee who has total control of our schedule.  

[00:18:19] The problem is we don't all have total control of our schedule at the same time. So what does it mean if you can travel the world and work, but you have to do it by yourself because there's no one there to share it with. Everybody's not getting off at 5:00 and going to the bowling lane. Every business doesn't close on Sunday because people go to church. We have flexibility, but we're using that flexibility in ways that leave us alone. I would love to see that to be the next conversation as we talk about labor and what that means inside American culture. I'm just glad we're having positive attitudes about it at all. All right. Next up, we're going to talk to the amazing and incredibly smart and charming Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan.  

[00:19:04] Music Interlude.  

[00:19:13] Welcome to Pantsuit Politics. We're so thrilled to have you, Lieutenant Governor.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:19:16] Thank you so much for having me.  

Sarah [00:19:17] Okay, so I want to tell you a little something about our audience. Our number one city, Saint Paul, Minnesota.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:19:24] No way. That's where I work.  

Sarah [00:19:27] I know. And let me tell you, when Governor Walz burst on the scene, our listeners were like, oh, yeah, but wait, we want to tell you about our Lieutenant Governor. That's who we want to talk about, because if she is to be governor then we're really excited she'll be the first indigenous woman governor. Their love for you is deep and wide. They're very excited about you getting more attention on the national scene. What's that like? What's that been like for you?  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:19:52] It has been a whirlwind. The last couple of weeks have been incredible. I am still just over the moon about Governor Walz speech last night accepting the nomination for vice president. It's still completely surreal, but I love Minnesota. I love the work that we've been able to do there. We are very humble people. And so when we get the spotlight and can puff up a little bit, I think that's a really good thing. But I also think representation matters. And growing up, I had Geraldine Ferraro. That mattered tremendously. But for my daughter, her reality is totally different. She has Auntie Deb, who's the secretary of the interior and Auntie Sharice, who is in Congress. Her mom's the lieutenant governor, which she's like, whatever, mom. But really it's pretty incredible. And if I am not the first indigenous woman governor, she is shortly on her way.  

Sarah [00:21:01] Love it.  

Beth [00:21:02] Will you tell us a little bit about your indigenous background? That is always kind of the first sentence with your name, but I always want to know more.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:21:09] Sure. So I'm a member of the White Earth Nation, which is the largest tribe in Minnesota. I grew up in the community of Saint Louis Park, and so I grew up off reservation and in an urban community. But also the urban native community in Minneapolis is the birthplace of the American Indian movement. We've got an incredible cultural corridor of native- led nonprofits, and organizations and just a really robust community there. I am just really lucky to be surrounded by a lot of aunties in the community who hold me accountable, but also lift me up and pray for me every day. And just feel so fortunate to be part of a strong indigenous community in Minnesota. But also knowing that we have Indian country full of leaders, and I think full of women leaders, and dominant culture is kind of catching up to what we've always known, which is native women have been leaders since time immemorial.  

Sarah [00:22:21] So tell us about your journey inside politics. Did you start on a school board?  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:22:26] Yeah, I actually started on the Wellstone for Senate campaign in 2002. I was going to be an early childhood special education teacher. Like, that was my plan. And then my senior year at the University of Minnesota, I was literally driving past the, Wellstone for Senate office, and I was like I really like Paul Wellstone, maybe I'll just stop. And I walked in and was greeted by like seven people who were like, "Hey, welcome. Are you here to volunteer?" And I was like, I guess. And I sat down-- and back in the day this is something we did-- and stuffed envelopes with complete strangers for two hours. And then I went back every single day and did various activities that needed to be done. And by the end of the campaign I was leading our urban native outreach and organizing.  

[00:23:16] And that campaign really showed me that electoral politics is a tool in our toolbox for the change that we want to see in our communities. And I started doing work in the urban native community and in education, and folks recruited me to run for the school board. And I spent about six months saying, no, I'm not interested in that. And then finally some elders in my community said why don't you do this? And I gave it some thought. I was like, well, we're never going to win, but at least the issues that we care about will be brought front and center. Well, it turns out those issues resonated with folks in the community. And our campaign was the highest vote getter ever in a school board election. I became the first native person to serve on the board and the youngest person at that time to serve on the Board of Education. hardest job I've ever had.  

Sarah [00:24:10] My husband is a school board attorney [crosstalk].  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:24:12] Yeah, it's a lot.  

Sarah [00:24:14] It's a lot.  

Beth [00:24:14] Well, I know that Minnesota is getting so much attention and praise for free school breakfasts and lunches, but you also are working a lot on housing. It's been so refreshing to hear so much about housing this week at the convention. I would love to know how you would define the housing problem in Minnesota specifically, and what steps you all are taking to work on that problem.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:24:34] Sure. So this is really personal for me. I grew up in community of Saint Louis Park because my mom had access to a Section 8 Housing voucher that changed our entire life. I was able to grow up in a great neighborhood with good schools and an incredible community, and every kid should have that opportunity. So when we approach issues around housing, we're really intentional to look at the entire spectrum. So first are relatives who are experiencing homelessness, making sure that we have adequate services for folks, emergency shelter, transitional housing, to then affordable rental housing and ultimately to first time homebuyers. I think the issue just continues to be affordability, but also affordability because we just don't have enough housing stock. This last legislative session we said we wanted to go big so that people could go home and we put $1 billion into housing, into that entire spectrum.  

[00:25:37] It's incredible to now go to ribbon cuttings and groundbreaking. But we have more to do. And one of the things that I'm so excited for about the Harris-Walz proposal and administration is that $25,000 in downpayment assistance to help families build wealth, especially to bridge that gap between families of color and white families around homeownership, I think is important. But also just talking about building millions of more homes throughout this country is needed and necessary. But I truly believe that we have to approach the entire spectrum in order to get the stability for individuals and for families in our state and across the country. And I'm so relieved to hear that coming from folks who want to occupy the highest offices and land.  

Sarah [00:26:31] Yeah, it seems like that issue has taken some time, it took some build, but it really is flowing up and becoming like a policy priority. In your work as lieutenant governor, is there another issue you're like, well, I would really like to accelerate the journey on that. This is an issue that I'm seeing on the ground that we are not talking about nationally yet.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:26:52] One of the things that we were able to do in this last legislative session was just check off a whole bunch of things that we've been working towards and organizing towards for decades [crosstalk]. That's right. Exactly. And so like free lunch for kids at school, a child tax credit that will lower child poverty by a third in our state, codifying access to abortion and reproductive health care. But one thing that I started working on when I was a brand new mom with a baby on my hip was paid family medical leave. I was a children's defense fan at the time. We co-founded Minnesotans for Paid Family and Medical Leave, and we passed that and signed it into law when my daughter was 10.  

[00:27:39] So the lesson here is that organizing takes a long time. But now my top priority is to make sure that we are good at governing and that the policies that we passed in this last biennium, that we're implementing those and doing them very well. I want a new mom who-- I am guessing because that was my experience-- is already totally overwhelmed and like, what am I doing? To be able to have that confidence in those resources that are coming in so that she can focus on this new baby. So the implementation of these policies, delivering on these services, I think really build trust and governing systems is a priority for me. It might not be sexy, but I think it's what makes people's lives work.  

Beth [00:28:29] From a Kentucky seat, we think of Minnesota as reliably blue, very progressive place. But you just mentioned it took 10 years to do something. What kinds of political headwinds do you face in Minnesota? What makes it challenging to do big things?  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:28:43] I think we are solidly a purple state. And statewide we tend to do well, knock on wood that that continues. But I think the headwinds are when people try to divide us. There's a lot of rhetoric right now about who is in and who is out. Greater Minnesota versus the Twin Cities, and it's not helpful. I think when we win it's because we're able to bridge that gap and say we're in this moment right now where I want conservative folks and Republicans to come on in. I don't want you to have to hate your neighbor anymore. I want you to be able to bring over a hot dish-- a hot dish is a casserole for translation purposes-- when someone moves into the community. Or I want you to be able to build a relationship with someone you might not agree with them on anything, but you both care tremendously about making sure that your kids are safe. Those are the things I think that we have to focus on again. And so it's when we take swipes at each other or when the rhetoric from Donald Trump and from J.D. Vance start to then infiltrates our local politics or our state politics, those are the things I think that where we literally just get in our own way.  

[00:30:08] Music Interlude.  

Sarah [00:30:16] So at the end of every Pantsuit Politics episode, we have a little segment called Outside of Politics, where we like to have a little exhale. We had a lot of fun at the DNC. A lot of elder millennial music choices that Phil designed for us. And we have heard through the grapevine that you are a very large new kid on the block [inaudible].  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:30:33] This is true.  

Sarah [00:30:34] Okay, I know we've talked about some tough topics. Would you like to reveal your loyalty inside the group so that we can then debate if we were right or not?  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:30:42] Yes. So, I am absolutely a blockhead. We declared it New Kids on the Block Day in the state of Minnesota in 2019. And there's one boyband that is the best boyband of all time and that is New Kids on the Block. Much love to new addition, the OG boyband as well.  

Sarah [00:31:09] Well, because you put the work in.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:31:10] That's right. Growing up I was a Jordan girl. 

Sarah [00:31:15] Thank God. 

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:31:17] But it has changed as I've gotten older. And I will tell you that I am a Jon girl.  

Sarah [00:31:25] Really?  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:31:25] Yeah. Because he's so sweet and so kind, but also I like a man who can build me a house and do so with a great eye for decor. So Jon Knight is my guy.  

Sarah [00:31:45] Well, when I was a small girl and they had the Pay-Per-View concert, someone stole my seat in front of the TV, and I cried and locked myself in the bathroom and almost missed it. Do you remember [inaudible] through the moments with a shirt open and the fan?  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:31:56] Yeah. That's baby I believe in you. Absolutely.  

Sarah [00:32:01] [Inaudible]. And I in my old age have forgiven Donnie. I felt like he was the bad boy. He was deflecting a lot of attention from the New Kids on the Block. As I've grown older and wiser, I have forgiven him of that. And I embrace him equally with all the members. So that's where I'm at on my journey. 

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:32:16] I hear that. And if you watch Behind the Music, which I encourage everyone to do, a really important documentary of our time, that bad boy reputation I don't know that it was deserved.  

Sarah [00:32:31] I agree with you.  

Beth [00:32:33] So let's close out, give us your top three Kids on the Block [inaudible]. 

Sarah [00:32:38] That's like asking her to pick children.  

Beth [00:32:41] Listen, she's ready for this question, I believe.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:32:42] Okay. Oof! It's hard. So top is, Right Stuff. Number one.  

Sarah [00:32:52] Company and dance.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:32:53] Yes. I will say, number two is Please Don't Go, Girl. And then I'm going to mix it up a little bit and I will say I Like the Remix is number three.  

Sarah [00:33:06] Okay, not Step by Step?  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:33:09] I can appreciate Step by Step, but I feel like--  

Sarah [00:33:12] Who doesn't like counting in a song?  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:33:12] Yeah. I mean, I know all the words. I've been with them for this entire journey. They will continue, I'm sure. It's the Magic Summer Tour right now. That is my reward at the end of the DNC. I will be going to one of the concerts of the tour, and then get back to work for the people of Minnesota.  

Sarah [00:33:37] Yes, love it. With joy.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:33:39] With joy, that's right.  

Beth [00:33:40] What an honor to spend time with you. Thank you so much, Lieutenant Governor. 

Sarah [00:33:43] Thank you so much.  

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan [00:33:44] Thank you for having me.  

Sarah [00:33:45] Thank you so much to Lieutenant Governor Flanagan for joining us. And of course, thank you to the eternal artistry of New Kids on the Block. I can't wait to hear y'all's preference. Who does your undying loyalty belong to? Nkotb? I'm excited for that comment thread. This is the last day of our Cameo sale. So if you want to get a cameo to a teacher or student or just anybody in your life, run on over and do that now. We will be back in your ears on Tuesday. And until then, keep it nuanced, y'all.  

[00:34:13] Music Interlude.  

Sarah: Pantsuit Politics is produced by Studio D Podcast Production.  

Beth: Alise Napp is our Managing Director. Maggie Penton is our Director of Community Engagement.

Sarah: Xander Singh is the composer of our theme music with inspiration from original work by Dante Lima.

Beth: Our show is listener-supported. Special thanks to our executive producers.

Executive Producers: Martha Bronitsky. Ali Edwards. Janice Elliott. Sarah Greenup. Julie Haller. Tiffany Hasler. Emily Holladay. Katie Johnson. Emily Helen Olson. Barry Kaufman. Katherine Vollmer. Laurie LaDow. Lily McClure. Linda Daniel. The Pentons. Tracey Puthoff. Sarah Ralph. Jeremy Sequoia. Katie Stigers. Karin True. Onica Ulveling. Nick and Alysa Villeli. Amy Whited. Lee Chaix McDonough. Morgan McHugh. Jen Ross. Sabrina Drago. Becca Dorval. Christina Quartararo. Shannon Frawley. Jessica Whitehead. Samantha Chalmers. Crystal Kemp. Megan Hart. The Lebo Family. The Adair Family. Genny Francis. Leighanna Pillgram-Larsen. The Munene Family. Ashley Rene. Michelle Palacios. 

Sarah: Jeff Davis. Melinda Johnston. Michelle Wood. Nichole Berklas. Paula Bremer and Tim Miller. 

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