Around the Districts Podcast

Beyond the Labels: Why LD25 Needs a Therapist’s Perspective

Affordability is the primary concern for voters. That’s true everywhere, but certainly in LD25. Arizona healthcare systems face a crisis as insurance companies overrule doctors and deny claims. Families pay the price at the pump, the pharmacy, and the hospital. In this episode, AZ State Senate candidate Laura Huber explains the systemic pressure on our medical and housing markets, and how a fresh perspective is worth considering.
Topics covered in this conversation:- Break the partisan "label trap" to focus on real policy.- Apply mental health and listening skills to legislative leadership.- End the insurance company stranglehold on healthcare access.- Stop (or at least slow) corporations from seizing local family homes.- What qualifies as a "Clean Election"? Is your candidate “Clean?”
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/therapists-perspective-part-2-laura-huber
== Donate $5 to Laura’s Clean Election Campaign ==https://apps.azsos.gov/apps/election/eps/qc/
== Learn more about Laura Huber ==Website: https://www.laurahuberforazsenate.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581647962921Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurahuberforaz/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@laura.huber.for.a

Building a Movement: Bobby Nichols on Affordability and the Path Forward

Survival is not a policy.
In the second part of our conversation, Bobby Nichols breaks down the brutal economics of affordability in Tempe. Bobby serves as an Assistant Attorney General. He brings a unique legal lens to the fight for working-class stability. This race is not about personality. This race is a tactical intervention to shift the Overton window.
We explore the "Housing First" model as a necessary barrier against the deaths of despair that plague our community. Bobby shares the personal cost of systemic neglect following the loss of his sister, Madison. Her legacy drives his mission to ensure every neighbor can thrive, not just survive.
From union building to the fight against ICE surveillance, the movement remains. Time is of the essence.
Read the full analytical breakdown on our blog:https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/affordability-movement-part-2-bobby-nichols
This is part two of a two-part interview.
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/affordability-movement-part-2-bobby-nichols
== Learn more about Bobby Nichols ==
Website: https://bobby4tempe.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GRega6zpC/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobby4tempe/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bobby4tempeYouTube: https://youtube.com/@bobby4tempe

Affordability and Water Wars: A Conversation with Laura Huber

From the suburban sprawl of Surprise to the essential agricultural fields of Yuma (winter lettuce capital of North America), Legislative District 25 is facing significant pressures. On this episode, we sit down with Laura Huber, a clinical counselor with seventeen years of experience and a deep legacy in Arizona farming, to discuss the consequential shifts threatening her community.
Failure is not inevitable. It is a choice. Watch to learn how Laura Huber plans to lead with active listening and grit instead of political righteousness.
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/affordability-water-part-1-laura-huber
== Learn more about Laura Huber ==Website: https://www.laurahuberforazsenate.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581647962921Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurahuberforaz/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@laura.huber.for.a

The Clock is Ticking: Bobby Nichols and the Fight for Tempe’s Soul

In this episode, we sit down with Bobby Nichols an Assistant Attorney General and candidate for Tempe City Council, to discuss the brutal reality of the local housing market. With renters making up 60% of our city, the lack of protection and stability has reached a breaking point.
Bobby breaks down his consequential plan to fight back, including a rental stabilization board and a vision for the city to act as its own developer on public land. We also dive into the fragile state of civic engagement in Tempe, the 7-0 voting patterns that silence community voices, and the personal tragedies that drive Bobby’s mission to ensure time is of the essence.
This is part one of a two-part interview.
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/clock-is-ticking-part-1-bobby-nichols
== Learn more about Bobby Nichols ==
Website: https://bobby4tempe.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GRega6zpC/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobby4tempe/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bobby4tempeYouTube: https://youtube.com/@bobby4tempe

The Ground War: Jacob George on Grassroots Survival and the Battle for the Next Generation

The 2026 election cycle is here, and the "sticker shock" of the 2024 results proved one thing: money alone doesn't buy movements. In the final part of our series with Unity Rising founder Jacob George, we expose the failure of "AstroTurf" organizing and the urgent need for a relational comeback in Arizona.
We dive into the max exodus of men from the Democratic party, the populist pipeline from Bernie to Trump, and how Project 2025 is designed to turn the next generation into worker bees instead of critical thinkers. Education and mentorship are the only barriers left against systemic failure.
Listen to learn how Unity Rising is building a succession plan to reclaim the future.
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/jacob-george-unity-rising-part3
== Learn more about Unity Rising USA ==Website: https://www.unityrisingusa.org/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unityrisingusaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unityrisingusaBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unityrisingusa.orgTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unityrisingusa

Jacob George on the Voter Exodus, the MAGA Fracture, and Why Party Labels Still Matter

The culture war is loud. Rent is louder.
In Part 2 with Jacob George, we talk about the messaging gap that’s bleeding young voters: national politics as a donation machine vs. local life as a cost-of-living emergency.
We get into:- Why “economic first” framing is the only language that lands- How to link social issues back to working-class survival- The MAGA fracture—and why some drift doesn’t move toward moderation- Why peer-to-peer organizing beats adult lectures every time
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/jacob-george-unity-rising-part2
== Learn more about Unity Rising USA ==Website: https://www.unityrisingusa.org/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unityrisingusaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unityrisingusaBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unityrisingusa.orgTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unityrisingusa

Jacob George on Unity Rising USA and Reclaiming the Youth Vote (Part 1 of 3)

Arizona’s youth vote can decide elections—and it can disappear.
In Part 1 of our conversation, Jacob George (founder + executive director of Unity Rising USA) lays out what he’s building: a student-led chapter model designed to counter Turning Point USA’s campus pipeline, cut through the jargon, and connect politics back to working-class survival.
We get into:- How lived experience shapes organizing- Why Democrats lose ground with young working-class voters- What “bold, simple messaging” actually looks like- Why Arizona margins are so thin they can fit inside one high school
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/jacob-george-unity-rising-part1
== Learn more about Unity Rising USA ==Website: https://www.unityrisingusa.org/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unityrisingusaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unityrisingusaBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unityrisingusa.orgTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unityrisingusa

Activating Youth: Francesca Martin on Mentorship, Local Impact, and Why “Community” Beats “Politics”

This episode closes our conversation with Francesca Martin, Deputy Director of the Keep Arizona Blue Student Coalition. Part 1 covered tactics, how she started organizing at 16, and how her team confronts voter apathy on campus.
Part 2 goes deeper: motive, mentorship, and the pipeline Arizona needs if democracy is going to hold. Francesca explains why the word “politics” repels so many young voters (they hear D.C. gridlock and shouting), and why “community” brings them in. Community speaks the language of rent hikes, housing costs, wages, and the right to stay in the place that raised you.
Francesca breaks down what real inclusion looks like for young leaders: not a pat on the head, but trust, autonomy, and serious responsibility because democracy needs succession. If the pipeline stalls, the whole system weakens.
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/part-2-francesca-martin
== Connect with Keep Arizona Blue ==Website: https://www.keepazblue.org/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keepazblueInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/keepazblue/X: https://x.com/keepazblueBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/keepazblue.orgTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@keepazblue

Building Political Power from the Ground Up: Francesca Martin on Youth Organizing

Political power doesn’t start in Washington. It starts in classrooms, union halls, and community meetings—where turnout is built and myths get shattered.
In this conversation, Francesca explains why “youth apathy” is often the result of campaigns choosing not to invest in young voters. She walks through what actually works: connecting the ballot to daily survival—rent, wages, campus safety, health care, climate—and building trust through consistent, visible organizing instead of performative politics.
We also dig into the lived experience behind her work: growing up in a proud union family, what worker protections can mean when someone gets hurt on the job, and why Arizona’s policy landscape makes state and local fights impossible to ignore.
And we hit the piece too many voters skip: down-ballot power. School boards. City councils. State legislatures. Propositions. If you stop at the top line, you’re leaving real leverage on the table.
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/part-1-francesca-martin
== Connect with Keep Arizona Blue ==Website: https://www.keepazblue.org/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keepazblueInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/keepazblue/X: https://x.com/keepazblueBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/keepazblue.orgTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@keepazblue

Dr. Raquel “Rockee” Armstrong on Leadership, Representation, and Bridging the Divide

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Dr. Raquel “Rockee” Armstrong, a visionary leader running for State Representative in Arizona's Legislative District 13. In this final part of our three-part series, Dr. Armstrong tackles the challenges of political leadership in a divided legislature. She advocates for unity and collaboration, stressing that shared values like safe neighborhoods and robust public schools unite more than partisan labels divide.  Discover her insights on why compromise shouldn't be a dirty word in politics, but rather a pathway to effective governance. Dr. Armstrong delves into the personal stakes of policy-making, illustrating how bad policies can directly impact families at their most vulnerable—turning into skipped prescriptions and overwhelming rent hikes.     Watch as she shares her strategies for staying grounded amidst the political machine, highlighting the role of community, transparency, and honest dialogue in building trust and effective leadership.  Don’t miss this compelling episode that offers a roadmap for civic engagement and the future of Arizona politics. Engage, support diverse voices, and be part of the change. 
Check us out on Substack: https://aroundthedistricts.substack.com/p/part-3-raquel-rockee-armstrong
== Connect with Dr. Raquel “Rockee” Armstrong ==Website: https://rockee4az.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rockee4AZ/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockee4azX: https://x.com/Rockee4AZ