The Grand Old Podcast

In the season finale, we have Chandra Sharma again as our guest. Chandra gives his tips and advice for having a successful career in politics. Chandra says the best way to get started is to find a direct method to work on a campaign.  Most people think getting your start in politics is to get a political science degree but the best route is to work directly on campaigns.  Izaak and Chandra were both active members on California College Republicans and this avenue led them directly to working on political campaigns. Chandra said that being in College Republicans directly resulted in starting his career.Chandra also points out that a great resource is to connect with your local active central committee. Reach out to your local party central committee and elected officials which  they can connect you to the campaigns. Regarding work ethic, Chandra said that working hard and showing up on time are key qualities. There’s a lot of grunt work involved in politics so don’t be the person who complains and slacks off. These type of people will not have as many opportunities presented to them for the next campaign cycle. Putting in extra effort is key as well. When you put in the extra effort, your work will be noticed and it will help buff up your reputation. Chandra said it’s a good practice to find someone who wants to help people develop and move up in their careers. It’s good to connect with the campaign manager or consultant to learn more about the industry and can help mentor you on your career. Chandra and Izaak both agree that developing relationships are crucial. The world of politics is a small world, especially California Republican politics, so everyone in the industry will get to know or hear about you.  You don’t want to have a bad reputation as a slacker or someone who isn’t reliable in this industry. When Chandra looks at a resume, he will look.at the references and see who has the person worked for and then find out if that job candidate was a good worker. You want to be able to have people say good things about you and your work ethic. If you would like to connect with Chandra, you can email him at chandra@meridianhq.com Intro/Outro Music: http://www.purple-planet.com   The post Working in Politics #2: Chandra Sharma appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

We introduce a new segment of The Grand Old Podcast on this week;s episode. This is the Working in Politics series where Izaak and his guests discuss advice and tips for people who want to have a career in the field of politics and campaigns. For the first episode in this new segment, Izaak has on again Joe Patterson, Joe will give his insights for people looking to have a political career. Joe says the best way to get a foot in the door is to intern. Joe states that its best to have an internship while you’re in school because offices/legislators like having students as interns. Joe says a good route is to intern at a legislative office, whether its at a capital building or district office. Joe also got good experience from going through a fellowship program. He went through an Assembly fellowship program which allowed him to work at the state capital and expand his network of contacts. Joe says that its important to understand that if you want to get involved, you’ll have to do things that are unpaid. For people to know who you are and see your skills, you’ll have to volunteer or intern at an office or organization to work your way up. Even to this day, Izaak and Joe still volunteer with different organizations to expand their network. If you would like to connect with Joe, you can email him at joepatterson@gmail.com Also, Joe is running for city council in his town of Rocklin, CA. To show your support for his race, visit joepatterson.com Intro/Outro Music: http://www.purple-planet.com The post Working in Politics #1: Joe Patterson appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

We bring another episode to the Campaign Strategy Series. On this week’s episode, Izaak has on Sangeeth Peruri who is the co-founder of Voter Circle. Voter Circle is a new digital platform that helps campaigns and candidates reach out to more voters through their supporters. Sangeeth’s background is in Wall Street finance; however, he retired in 2012 so he can  start giving back to the community. He became an elected official for the Los Altos School Board District. It was through Sangeeth’s experience running for office that led him to come up with Voter Circle. Voter Circle is a digital platform that allows you to connect and communicate your message to your supporter’s network. The Voter Circle platform allows your supporters to connect their email list and match it with a voter file. Your supporters can see who on your contacts list are registered to vote in a particular district and what they’re registration is. They can reach out to them using the platform and  send out an email/message,written by the campaign/candidates, which will come up as a personal email. With Voter Circle, a campaign can craft the message and use their supporters to reach out to their contacts who live in the particular district as well. When the supporters reach out to their network, the recipients can engage/sign up with the campaign. This friend to friend voter outreach brings in high returns of engagement and allows people to volunteer with a campaign with a few clicks of the button. Not only has Voter Circle has led to an increase in engagement, but it also led to an increase in voter turnout. If you would like to connect with Sangetth, you can email him at sang@votercircle.com. To view a demo of Voter Circle, visit www.votercircle.com Intro/Outro Music: http://www.purple-planet.com The post Campaign Strategy #3: Friend to Friend Voter Outreach with Sangeeth Peruri of Voter Circle appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

On this week’s episode, Izaak brings in Former San Jose City Councilmember Pete Constant. Pete will be sharing his insights and advice for people looking to get elected to office and how best to serve your constituents. Pete starts off by saying it’s important to plan out your campaign and candidacy before you actually start running. You should have your plan laid out before you start running and be prepared for what you’re in store for. Pete also points out that candidates need to be communicating with their communities before they start running. He has seen on multiple occasions of candidates running for office with no reputation or presence in the community. These candidates don’t realize that you have to have a presence in your neighborhood before you run for office. How can people expect to vote for you if they don’t see you around the community? Izaak and Pete continue talking about the motivation to not only run for office but serving as well. Pete says that being an elected official does not grant you “power” but instead it grants you “influence”. How you use that influence determines your effect in the community. Pete’s advice for first time candidates is to reach out and talk to elected officials. There are so many resources available to you such as your local political party. Also look for help from members in the community. To run a successful campaign, you’ll need to be able to ask for help and raise money. When someone contribute, whether its $5 or $500, that donor has invested in you and will support you. On being an effective elected official, Pete says to not forget about the people who helped you to get elected. Remember your obligation to help your local party if they helped get you elected. On being accountable to your constituents, Pete says it’s important to show up. You have to be available to meet with your constituents. Remember that you’re serving the people, they’re not serving you. You can connect with Pete by email at pete@peteconsstant.com. Intro/Outro Music: http://www.purple-planet.com The post Get Elected To Office #2: Pete Constant, Former San Jose Councilmember appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

In this episode, Izaak interviews Joe Patterson. Joe is the former Executive Director of The Lincoln Club of Northern California and is currently the Executive Director for the California Gaming Association. The topic they will be discussing is political advocacy in your neighborhood and how you can affect change in your community on local issues. They discuss this topic by covering a specific issue that Joe Patterson directly faced. In his town of Rocklin CA, a psychiatric hospital was being proposed to be built close to a high school and other local schools. Joe and fellow citizens of his community were uncomfortable with this proposal and sought to affect the opening of this psychiatric hospital. Joe says that the first important step is to get people involved. How do you do that? Connect with people by using social media  to communicate and connect with your neighborhood. When you connect on social media, make sure you frame the issue to communicate your message. When communicating to your neighbors, you are able to meet people and help form a coalition. Joe talks about the importance of an organized operation. His leadership group consisted of public relations professional, attorney, medical professionals and himself who was a political professional. Through their organized coalition, they were able to effectively affect change withing the local governemnt. In your coalition, it’s best to have someone to understand the media and legal options for the best results. When you’re organized, it’s important to reach out to other groups and organizations in your community to get them on your side. For example, Joe and his group got the school board and police chief on their side to oppose the psychiatric hospital. Joe reiterates that it’s extremely important to get organized and use social media to communicate your message to your community. If you would like to connect with Joe Patterson, you can email him at joepatterson@gmail.com The post Neighborhood Political Advocacy with Joe Patterson appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

In this episode, Izaak’s guest is Sarah Storelli. Sarah is a young corporate professional who works in the tech industry, but who also is an elected member to the San Francisco Central Committee. Izaak and Sarah discuss the current landscape for millennial women in the corporate world. Sarah discusses what her experience has been like and tips for young women to succeed in the corporate industry. Sarah states that an important factor to consider is finding a mentor in your field to help guide you along your career. The duo starts discussing how politics plays into your professional career and how being involved can help you boost your career. Sarah advocates that being politically involved brings more of an understanding of both the public and private sector. Also getting involved gets you in front of the influencers in your industry and community, so always show up and meet new people. If you would like to connect with Sarah, you can contact her via email at sarah.l.storelli@gmail.com or you can connect to her LinkedIn page by clicking here. Music: http://www.purple-planet.com The post Young Women in the Professional Landscape with Sarah Storelli appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

This is the first episode of a new series, the Get Elected To Office Series, this series will feature current and former Elected Officials where they will give their insights and takeaways on running for office and being a competent elected official. In this episode, Chuck Page, former Mayor of and Councilman of Saratoga. Chuck gives his insights on running for office and lessons learned. Chuck’s main insights are: 1. Have your communications ready when absentee ballots go out most voters vote by absentee so it’s important to communicate to these voters. 2. Make sure you love people and being social. You really have to enjoy talking to and being around people if you want to run for office. 3. Be prepared to accept donations. Successful campaigns take up  resources and you need a way to finance those resources. 4. Take advantage of resources that are available, whether it is from your local political party or other elected officials and candidates. 5. Always write down events that happen that can lead to anecdotes to use on the campaign trail. Chuck’s advice for when you get elected and to be a good representative: 1- You have to care 2. Try to learn as much as you can. To get a hold of Chuck, you can visit his website at www.chuckpage.org or you can reach him at 408 356 0427. The post Get Elected To Office #1: Chuck Page, Former Saratoga Mayor appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

This is the first episode of the Campaign Strategy segment of the podcast. These episodes will feature top political and campaign professionals talking about the latest strategies and tactics being used in campaigns and political advocacy today. This episode features Michael Escoto who is a digital campaign expert who has worked with the Republican National Committee. He is the Digital Senior Consultant for the National Republican Congressional Committee. In this episode, Michael talks about passive listening and how it will be used in regards to politics. First, passive listening is technology that is used today that lets devices hear you when prompted but they are always on and listening to you. Examples of passive listening is Siri on IPhone. Siri is always on and listening in waiting for you to prompt the technology. Michael goes on to explain that with this technology, advertisers can know if you talk about a certain product or service, which then they will send you advertisements for it straight to your devices. Michael then talks about how this will be used in politics. this type of technology will allow campaigns or politicians hear what your thoughts are on candidates or issues. You can talk about how you’re for a certain candidate while talking in your house and then that campaign can identify your house and try to communicate with you. Passive listening can also be used to tell if anyone is home so campaigns can target houses that they know for sure that the residents are there. Click here to view Michael Escoto’s Linked In page. You can also email him at mescoto@nrcc.org. The post Campaign Strategy #1: Passive Listening with Michael Escoto appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

In this episode, Izaak gives his thoughts and take on Trump becoming the presumptive nominee when Cruz/Kasich dropped out. He talks about what he has seen from friends and fellow political professional in terms of their reactions. Izaak’s take is one of positivity and unity. He is looking forward to supporting Trump as the nominee, along with all the other Republicans running for office down the ticket. Izaak strongly believes that Rump being the Presidential nominee does not represent “The End Of The Republican Party”. The GOP is defined by all it’s members, not one candidate or elected official. Izaak references  an editorial by Former Governor Bobby Jindhal on rump being the nominee. Click here to read Bobby Jindhal’s Wall Street editorial mentioned in the episode. The post Trump’s The Presumptive Nominee Reaction appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

In this episode, Izaak’s guest is Burt Lancaster, not the movie star!, but the business and entrepreneurial consultant. Izaak delves into how he met Burt when he ran for California State Assembly. Burt is a successful business and entrepreneurial consultant who has advised multiple business in the U.S and internationally. Burt is born and bred from San Francisco Bay Area.. He grew up in East Palo Alto. Burt formed his own company, Lancaster Resolve, which is a technology consulting firm. His company has allowed him to travel around most of the world to advise businesses. He has given many lectures on businesses and entrepreneurship as well. Burt says that being entrepreneur requires a certain personality. If you like to meet at the water cooler and talk about the latest sport scores, then it might not be a good fit; however, if enjoy being on your own and working solo, then the entrepreneurial landscape may work out for you better. Burt suggests reading a book named The Millionaire Next Door to give you an idea of what real entrepreneurship and typical millionaires look like. You can check out the book in our resources page. Regarding roadblocks for today’s entrepreneurs, Burt states is the excess of regulations and high taxes are a hindrance to entrepreneurship. Some states are easier with less regulation,, Unfortunately, our home state here in California is not one of them. Regarding opportunities and the future of entrepreneurial, Burt says there is no greater time. Because of the instant access and delivery of the internet, anyone can become an entrepreneur. Izaak and Burt wrap up the discussion by defining what an entrepreneur is. They both define it as someone making a product, service or item from scratch and producing and distributing their product out to the world on their own. If you would like to learn more about Burt Lancaster and his business, Lancaster Resolve, click here. To learn more about the Silicon Valley Leadership Group which was mentioned in the episode, click here. If you would like to get in touch with Burt Lancaster, you can email him at uncleburt@hotmail.com.   The post The Entrepreneurial Landscape with Burt Lancaster of Lancaster Resolve appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

On this episode, Izaak has Bob Nuñez on as his featured guest. Bob Nuñez is the Chairman of the Santa Clara County Republican Party, Trustee for Milpitas Unified School Board,Executive Committee Member of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Republican Party and Executive Member of San Jose La Raza Roundtable.  Bob mentions early on that he is from Orange County and has been a life long Republican. Bob is very involved in the social justice community in the Santa Clara County. Bob believes that social justice isn’t an exclusive issue for Democrats. Social justice is for effective government  and effective services. Izaak and Bob start talking about their experience as being Latino Republicans. Izaak talks about that he would get surprised responses when people discovered he was a staunch Latino Republican. Bob recalls his tenure as East Side Union High School District Superintendent. That position made him very active and involved in the community, which led him to discover that many people, especially, in the Latino community, share the same conservative values. Izaak and Bob start a discussion on hurdles and opportunities with the Republican Party engaging the Latino Community. Regarding hurdles, Bob says there are two of them. First, is talking about there is “room in our tent” and “if the Latino community understood what we stood for” are roadblocks for the GOP. Bob feels that instead of us inviting them to our “tent”, we as a party need to go into the different communities and find out what their values and issues are. Second, Republicans need to get involved in different community groups and organizations. It’s a hurdle when Republican do not try to get involved with becoming members or leadership of different community organizations. There is no growth if you only stick to GOP organizations. Izaak says that a hurdle in his opinion is thinking that Latino only issue is immigration. Izaak and Bob both share the sentiment that immigration is an important issue, but business environment and education are as important to Latino as to anyone else. Regarding opportunities, the GOP can help Latino and any member of the community start business and take business mentorship to the next level. We preach that we are the pro-business party, but let us show it by helping our neighbors succeed. Also, the Republican Party needs to look into social justice issues. We can’t just be about pro-business and ignore social justice issues. Whether it be by efficient public programs or private investment, GOP needs to take the lead in addressing these issues in our community. To connect with Bob, visit www.svgop.com or you can email him at bob@svgop.com. Bob also encourages you to visit sanjosenaacp.org and larazaroundtable.org to see his other organizations that he is involved in.   The post Latino Engagement with Bob Nuñez of SVGOP appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

On this episode, Izaak’s guest is Nino Lucido. Nino is an eighteen year high school senior who is a passionate Republican activist. Nino will talk about his experience being a staunch Republican in high school nowadays. Nino talks about how most of his classmates are Bernie supporters and recalls a project he gave that dispelled Bernie’s position. His presentation helped to recruit his classmates to support Republican candidates. Nino then talks about his relationships with his teachers and how he enjoys getting into debates with them. Nino gives his take on how the GOP can start engaging the teenage youth community. It’s all about connecting with them young. Teenagers are directly influenced by they’re family and teachers and we all know that teachers can have political bias. Izaak and Nino also talk about how its important to engage with minority youth as well. If you would like to connect with Nino, you can email him at ninolucidogop@gmail.com. If you are on the Headliner app, you can view Nino’s videos.   The post Being A High School Republican with Nino Lucido appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.

Welcome to the introductory episode of the Grand Old Podcast! This series is hosted by  Izaak Pichardo. Izaak is from Kern County and is currently residing in San Jose CA. To learn more about Izaak, check out the “About Us” section on our website. Thank you to Ms. Ashley Willits for providing the intro/outro vocals for the program. Ashley is a beautiful and talented young woman who has experience in music and vocals. You can check out her YouTube channel by clicking here. The Grand Old Podcast is a fresh new podcast series with episodes featuring politics and campaign lifestyle. This series will also feature episodes on topics around issues on the national, state and local scene.The series will look to have guests that include elected officials, candidates and experts in their field of campaigns and issue advocacy. The program will feature Republican guest more often but it will also have Democrat and non- Republican guests from time to time. Make sure to sign up on our email list. Email subscribers will get sneak previews of upcoming episodes along with exclusive content. If you would like to support The Grand Old Podcast, you can donate to our Patreon Page. Patreon is like kick starter/go fund me for creative artists such as podcasters. It’s a way for fans to donate and support the podcast so the program does not have to rely solely on sponsorships. Thank you again for listening and stay tuned for our upcoming episodes! The post Welcome To The Grand Old Podcast! appeared first on Grand Old Podcast.