Public Speak

Felicia Jadczak, Rachel Murray

Public Speak is a podcast about local government for people who've never thought much about it. Hosts Rachel Murray and Felicia Jadczak are both knee-deep in local civic life. Rachel's on a neighborhood planning committee in San Diego, while Felicia's on City Council in Easthampton, MA. They're here to pull back the curtain on how your city actually runs. Zoning fights, budget votes, neighborhood drama, bureaucratic rabbit holes: all of it, explained like you're talking to a friend who's nervous but curious about how it works. No prior civics knowledge required. Strong opinions welcome.

Episodes

  1. Oct 26

    What Prop 45 Means for Environmental Regulation with Edgar Ramirez Manriquez

    We chatted with Edgar Ramirez Manriquez, Chair of the North Park Planning Committee and an environmental planner who analyzes the impacts of public projects. Edgar grew up in Calexico in the Imperial Valley, where he saw firsthand how industry affects the air and water on both sides of the border. That experience shaped his career and is the reason he cares so much about how California reviews big projects. He explains CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act), in plain language. From there, we talk about Prop 45. Its supporters call it the “Building an Affordable California Act,” and it would require even the most complex environmental reviews to be finished within one year. 😬 Edgar shares how that deadline could lead to cut corners, how broadly the measure defines “essential projects”, and why it could lock in today’s rules so that future protections wouldn’t apply to projects that are already approved. Follow Edgar on Instagram to learn more! Takeaways CEQA is a disclosure law, and Prop 45 would set a one-year deadline on environmental review no matter how complex the project isThe measure’s definition of “essential projects” covers far more than housingGo to your local planning group, host a prop party, or just talk to your neighbors! Every little bit makes a difference. Visit us at publicspeakpodcast.com to learn more about us and how to support our work!

  2. Sep 14

    Yes on 40, No on 41 and 42: Untangling California's Billionaire Tax Fight Subtitle: Why the billionaire tax could win the vote and still lose

    Rachel takes the lead this episode for a deep dive into who pays for what in California, using this November's Proposition 40, aka "billionaire's tax", as the jumping-off point. She and Felicia trace how direct democracy landed in California in the first place. From there, Rachel talks through Prop 13, the 1978 property tax revolt that still shapes housing and school funding in California today, and a story about deceptive campaign mailers from a 2020 San Diego mayoral race that still makes her mad. (Raises fist to sky) Then it's on to Prop 40 itself, a one-time 5% wealth tax on roughly 200 California billionaires, projected to raise somewhere between $40 and $100 billion for healthcare, food assistance, and education. Rachel breaks down who's backing it and who isn't. Critically, Rachel brings in Props 41 and 42, two measures bankrolled by tech and finance billionaires, that could legally cancel Prop 40 out entirely if they earn more votes. It's a clear look at how California's ballot system can be turned against the very people who built it, and a reminder that this stuff is complicated and we honor and respect those who don't have the time, energy, or bandwidth to take this on, though this is what those in power want. Chapter List0:08 — Welcome & the Topic: Who Pays for Stuff in California (Prop 40, the Billionaire's Tax) 4:00 — Direct vs. Representative Democracy: How California Got Its Propositions (1911) 6:14 — California's First Propositions: Women's Right to Vote & San Francisco's Shocking No Vote 10:51 — Prop 13 (1978): The Property Tax Revolt Still Shaping California 17:21 — Deceptively Written Ballot Measures & a 2020 San Diego Mayoral Race Mailer Story 21:31 — What Prop 40 Actually Does: The Billionaire's Tax, Explained 27:36 — Who's For It, Who's Against It: Newsom, SEIU, Planned Parenthood & the CA Teachers Union 39:29 — The Poison Pill: How Props 41 and 42 Could Kill Prop 40 51:37 — Follow the Money: The Billionaires' PAC Funding the Opposition 56:31 — 14 Propositions, Voting Logistics & Direct vs. Representative Democracy, Revisited Further Reading & Sources Better Future Media — economist Gabriel Zucman's take on the wealth tax model behind Prop 40Ballotpedia: Prop 40 — the full text and background on the billionaire's tax measureBallotpedia: Prop 41 — the competing measure at the center of the poison pill fightLegislative Analyst's Office — the state's official, nonpartisan fiscal analysis of Prop 40CalMatters — voter guide breakdown of Prop 42Hoover Institution — the conservative think tank's analysis and revenue estimate for Prop 40SEIU-UHW — the union's case for the measure, straight from the group that wrote itThe Lever — an investigative look at why Newsom came out against itBallotpedia: Prop 42 — the full text and background on the retirement savings measure Visit us at publicspeakpodcast.com to learn more about us and how to support our work!

  3. Jul 24

    What it Means to Be a Local Leader with She Should Run CEO Erin Loos Cutraro

    Erin Loos Cutraro is the founder and CEO of She Should Run, the national nonpartisan nonprofit that's encouraged nearly 30,000 women to consider running for office since 2011. Her path started in a sixth-grade classroom teaching history, then wound through the Missouri Secretary of State's office and a stint as political director of the Women's Campaign Fund before she built She Should Run into its own standalone 501(c)(3). In this episode, Erin talks with Rachel and Felicia about what's changed for women considering a run: the recruitment gap is still real (men are still more likely to get tapped on the shoulder), a new layer of online abuse and harassment has raised the stakes in ways it wasn't a decade ago, and the persistent myth that women raise less campaign money than men, which simply isn't true. The conversation digs into She Should Run's Local Leader Lab, a 12-week cohort program built on a "go small, go deep" philosophy, betting that investing deeply in a smaller group of underutilized women leaders creates more ripple effect than trying to reach everyone at once. Erin explains how they're scaling it by training past participants as facilitators, and why the community that builds around each cohort often matters more than the curriculum itself. They also get into the gap between campaigning and governing, using Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner as a jumping-off point for how candidates get "cast". There's some good news by the end. Stay for it, because we all need to hear it! Sign up for the Local Leader Lab now! Chapter List 0:08 — Welcome, Erin Loos Cutraro’s Path to She Should Run & Her Civic Origin Story 6:13 — What’s Changed for Women Running: Recruitment Gaps, Online Abuse & the Fundraising Myth 12:46 — Inside the Local Leader Lab: Go Small, Go Deep & Building Real Community 21:20 — No Tool Replaces Human Connection (Choosing Quality Over Quantity) 24:00 — Scaling by Training Facilitators: How 10x the Applications Changed the Model 26:33 — Graham Platner and Getting “Cast” 42:05 — The State of Women Running: Record Numbers This Cycle & the Local-to-Higher-Office Pipeline 53:26 — Erin’s Advice: No Linear Path, Start With Your Why & How to Join the Fall Cohort Visit us at publicspeakpodcast.com to learn more about us and how to support our work!

  4. Jul 1

    An Inside Look at School Committee With Jenny Graham

    Jenny Graham is a mom, the vice chair of the Medford School Committee, and currently chairs the committee building Medford's brand-new high school. By day, she runs Zelus Consulting Group, a 22-year-old firm focused on process optimization and change management for healthcare and government clients. She and Felicia go back to 2019, when both were on the campaign trail. In this episode, Jenny shares  what pulled her into local politics, what Our Revolution Medford is (versus how outsiders assume it works), and how misinformation spreads in local politics. Jenny also breaks down something most people get wrong: under Massachusetts law, a school committee isn't an advisory board, it has the power to hire and evaluate the superintendent and set the entire school budget, independent of the mayor or city council. She talks about what it's like to conduct a superintendent's performance review entirely in public, why Medford's budgeting process shifted from "what can we get" to "what do we need," and how Chapter 70 state aid works. Seven years into the job, Jenny reflects on real wins, including a 2024 override that added $7 million to the school budget, and why progress in local government is slow, resource-constrained, and almost always a team effort. Chapter List 0:08 — Introducing Jenny Graham! 2:01 — Why Jenny Ran for School Committee 6:11 — How Jenny and Felicia Met on the Campaign Trail 8:58 — Our Revolution Medford: Shared Values, Accountability & Disagreeing Without Falling Apart 13:46 — The Biggest Surprise of Elected Office & the "Nefarious Purposes" Myth 16:19 — Why Local Government Resists Simple Answers 22:02 — Easthampton's Budget Override & Who School Committee Actually Serves 25:40 — School Committee 101: Its Own Government Under Massachusetts Law 34:21 — Performance Reviews Done in Public & What a Healthy Superintendent Relationship Looks Like 41:04 — "The Hardest Job in Politics": Superintendent Pay, Burnout & Building the Budget 45:09 — From "What Can We Get" to "What Do We Need": Property Taxes & Chapter 70 49:37 — Seven Years In: Wins, the 2024 Override & Wrap-Up Visit us at publicspeakpodcast.com to learn more about us and how to support our work!

  5. Jun 18

    How One Boston Neighbor Accidentally Became an Activist with Beth Santos

    Beth Santos runs Wanderful, a global women's travel community she's been building for 12 years. She and her husband Marvin own Ula Cafe in Jamaica Plain, an "activist cafe" in the Sam Adams Brewery building. For the past couple of years, she's been deep in the weeds of Boston civic life in ways she never expected. In this episode, Beth talks about how she became one of the loudest public advocates for the White Stadium Project (a public-private partnership that would turn a crumbling, 70-year-old stadium in Franklin Park into a state-of-the-art facility owned by Boston public schools and home to the city's new National Women's Soccer League team), what it was like to show up at a nine-hour City Hall hearing to give public comment in the middle of a Wednesday, and why the narrative around the project got so twisted she had to write a letter to the Jamaica Plain News just to set the record straight. She also gets into what it was like when Marvin ran for Boston City Council last year. She shared what it costs to run, who ends up in those rooms, and why the line between "good at running" and "good at leading" is so wide. Beth is funny, sharp, and genuinely passionate, and she makes the case that none of us are actually outside of politics, whether we like it or not. Chapter List 0:08 — Welcome & Introducing Beth Santos 1:18 — Wanderful, Ula Cafe & Building Community 5:43 — You Don't Need a Title to Be Civically Engaged 9:46 — Growing Up With an Activist Mom and a Gas Mask 13:32 — White Stadium: Franklin Park, a 70-Year-Old Ruin & the Deal That Changed Everything 20:48 — The Misinformation Problem and the Letter That the Boston Globe Picked Up 23:54 — Joining the Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Council (and Keeping Gentrification in the Room) 26:23 — When People Question Your Motives 28:35 — Giving Public Comment at a Nine-Hour Hearing 30:43 — Who Gets to Participate? The Privilege Required to Show Up on a Wednesday 37:33 — Marvin's Run for Boston City Council: What It Takes, What It Costs, What It's Like 47:56 — How to Stay Civically Engaged When You're Already Overwhelmed 52:37 — Phone Banking at Ula Cafe and the Power of Just Showing Up 54:34 — Wrap-Up & Part Two Teaser Visit us at publicspeakpodcast.com to learn more about us and how to support our work!

  6. Jun 12

    What Even Is a City Council? Felicia's Guide to Local Government 101

    What does a city councilor actually do? What's the difference between a town and a city? And why does a TV show about a small-town mayor have a board of selectmen? In this debut episode of Public Speak, Felicia, an Easthampton, MA City Councilor and your new favorite civics explainer, takes the lead. Felicia shares how she went from "local elections aren't really on my radar" to being elected to city council, detours into the surprisingly fascinating history of Easthampton, and then lays out everything we were never taught in school. She talks about the difference between towns and cities, what select boards vs. city councils actually do, how precincts and wards work, what ends up on a councilor's plate, and how much they get paid. Rachel pops in throughout with questions you’d probably want to ask yourself. Together they make local government feel less like a board meeting and more like a conversation you actually want to participate in. Chapter List 0:08 Welcome to Public Speak!  2:08 Felicia's Origin Story: From "I Don't Vote Locally" to City Councilor 3:59 Easthampton, MA: Little City, Big Heart (and a Lot of History) 25:28 Pop Quiz! Spotting a Civics Error in Widow's Bay (Rachel fails spectacularly lol) 29:35 Select Boards vs. City Councils 35:51 What City Councilors Actually Do 57:36 Let's Talk Money: How Much Do City Councilors Get Paid? 68:44 How Felicia Got Appointed (and Then Elected) to Council 83:55 Point of Order: Why Is This Podcast Called "Public Speak"?     Visit us at publicspeakpodcast.com to learn more about us and how to support our work!

  7. May 27

    Welcome to Public Speak!

    Felicia and Rachel are back, but this time they're stepping off the She+ Geeks Out mic and into something a little closer to home, literally! In this teaser episode, we pull back the curtain on our unexpected journeys into local public service, with Felicia serving as City Councilor in Easthampton, MA, and Rachel freshly elected to her North Park Neighborhood Planning Committee in San Diego. What prompted this new pod? A shared conviction that local government is wildly misunderstood, frustratingly slow for good reasons, and way more accessible than most people think. From demystifying city council meetings to explaining why your park might take five years to materialize, Public Speak aims to make civic life feel a little less like a foreign language, and a lot more like something you could actually be part of. Guests from around the country are coming. Robert's Rules will be explained. Stay tuned! Visit us at publicspeakpodcast.com to learn more about us and how to support our work!

  • 7 Episodes

About

Public Speak is a podcast about local government for people who've never thought much about it. Hosts Rachel Murray and Felicia Jadczak are both knee-deep in local civic life. Rachel's on a neighborhood planning committee in San Diego, while Felicia's on City Council in Easthampton, MA. They're here to pull back the curtain on how your city actually runs. Zoning fights, budget votes, neighborhood drama, bureaucratic rabbit holes: all of it, explained like you're talking to a friend who's nervous but curious about how it works. No prior civics knowledge required. Strong opinions welcome.

Information

  • Creator
    Felicia Jadczak, Rachel Murray
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Public Speak Podcast
  • Show Website
    Public Speak