On October 14th, 2020 Millennial Action Project Founder and CEO, Steven Oilkara joined a panel discussion following a virtual film screening of the documentary UnRepresented — a film that investigates the mechanisms that grant political insiders enormous power and influence in our nation’s politics.
The panel discussion was cosponsored by MAP and our partners at Unite America, a national organization that works to bridge the growing partisan divide by enacting political reforms and electing candidates who put people over party.
The panelists included Andrew Rodney, executive producer of the film, and Sara Eskrich, executive director of Democracy Found, a Wisconsin-based initiative committed to revitalizing American democracy. Each panelist explained their motivation for working on government reform and what led them to their current organization and role. The panel was moderated by Unite America’s Executive Director, Nick Troiano.
Nick asked the panel a multitude of questions that touched on the main themes of the film, reasons to be optimistic about the future, and what citizens can do after watching the film. Andrew emphasized that the film aimed to be nonpartisan in assigning blame and holding people accountable for the current level of corruption in our government. Andrew contended that being nonpartisan does not preclude one from illustrating where the parties stand on issues of government reform, debt management, and corruption in politics.
Steven argued that the documentary’s visualization of the cycle of corruption made clear how corruption impacts and disadvantages younger Americans. Steven referenced the film’s discussion of how the majority of a candidate’s time, in a competitive House district, is spent raising money from big donors and select industries. In order to spend an inordinate amount of time raising money, candidates must have money themselves, which tilts the playing field toward candidates that come from wealthier backgrounds. Related to this point, Steven provided examples of how little state legislators are currently paid and how this skews the representation in state legislatures toward people that are older and wealthier, because they can afford to run for office and hold elected office. Some state legislators have a full time job outside of the legislature.
The conversation shifted toward solutions with Nick’s question: “How solutions and reforms can be accomplished, when it requires the parties in power to change the rules that got them into power in the first place?” Sara cited the combination of a progressive donor and conservative entrepreneur in Wisconsin that have put their policy disagreements aside and come together to push for electoral reforms in the Badger State. Sara emphasized that this collaborative effort has been and will continue to be critical for ensuring that electoral reforms are passed and signed into law, in Wisconsin, and across the country.
Steven added to Sara’s point with a few reasons to be optimistic about the chances of achieving government and electoral reform. Steven highlighted the Millennial Action Project’s (MAP) successful Wisconsin Future Caucus — the only bipartisan, structured group that meets regularly to collaborate on policy solutions in Wisconsin. Through these relationships, MAP and the Wisconsin Future Caucus spearheaded the first bipartisan PSA encouraging early voting in the runup to the 2020 general election.
The panel discussion concluded with questions from the virtual audience. The panelists urged viewers to get involved in discussing the need for reform and doing their part to ensure that electoral and government reform become a reality for the next generation.