More Like Us

Portland made one of the biggest changes possible to their local democracy in 2022 - a bigger change than any other US city has made since 1936. Did it work? On this episode of More Like Us, host Colin Cole sits down with Justice Rajee, Former Director of Advocacy at the Urban League of Portland and current Board Chair of Williams Russell CDC in Portland. Justice grew up in New Jersey and has called Oregon home for about 20 years. Justice and Colin talk about how Portland replaced its five at-large commissioners with a 12-member council elected by proportional ranked choice voting, what changed since the first election in 2024, and what other cities can learn from it. Connect with Justice: @justicerajee on Instagram More Like Us is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

For years, national Democrats have written off the South as a lost cause. Rhyane Wagner says that was a mistake. On this episode of More Like Us, host Colin Cole sits down with Rhyane Wagner, Policy, Narrative, and Coalition Partnerships Director at Alabama Values. Rhyane is a Memphis native and previously spent 17 years in Florida. She’s now headed to Birmingham, AL, and she believes “so goes the South, so goes the rest of the country.” Rhyane and Colin talk about why ignoring Black voters in the South has failed, why representation alone isn’t enough without values alignment - and how to rebuild voting rights in the wake of recent Supreme Court decisions. Learn more about Alabama Values More Like Us is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

The Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision upended 40 years of voting rights law. So where do we go from here? On this episode of More Like Us, host Colin Cole sits down with Professor Ruth Greenwood, Director of the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School. Ruth grew up in Sydney and came to the US in 2008. She has spent about 15 years fighting partisan gerrymandering and working for minority representation. Colin and Ruth break down what Callais did to the Voting Rights Act, how proportional representation can protect minority communities without drawing districts by race, and what having more moms in Congress could change. Even for someone who calls herself an optimist, she admits this moment is a tough one. More Like Us is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

Have young Americans given up on our political system? And should they? On the first episode of More Like Us, host Colin Cole sits down with JP Mejia, Executive Director at Big Country. JP was born and raised in Miami, and the Parkland shooting first pulled him into politics. He later spent years organizing in the climate movement, where he ran into a political system that wouldn’t budge. Big Country took one question on the road: “Have you given up on our political system? Why or why not?” From a college campus in Richmond to Scottsdale to outside a UFC fight in DC, the answer was nearly the same everywhere. People think the system is broken, and JP says they’re right. Learn more about Big Country More Like Us is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

Fed up with the two-party duopoly? It doesn't have to be this way. Most democracies around the world have ditched winner-take-all, loser-gets-none elections for proportional representation, a system where every community gets a fair share of representation. Republicans in blue cities, Democrats in red rural towns, renters, young people, and working-class voters could all finally elect people who answer to them. (Don't worry, so could homeowners and retirees.) And after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2026, proportional representation offers communities of color a durable path to electing candidates who answer to them. On More Like Us, host Colin Cole of More Equitable Democracy sits down with election experts, voting rights advocates, community leaders, and cultural voices for candid, funny, and occasionally reality-checking conversations about what a democracy that actually represents all of us could look like, and how we get there. New episodes on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe so you don't miss the premiere. More Like Us is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies. For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/