What Happens When You Actually Listen to Someone You Disagree With | Joe de la Cruz | Ep. 102

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I'm not a politician. I don't have a party on my chest. I'm just a guy from Connecticut who started paying attention and formed some opinions along the way.

Joe de la Cruz is my friend. We've been arguing at the bowling alley for over a decade. He sees some things differently than I do. And he's running for CT State Senate in the 18th District in 2026.

So I did what felt natural — I put him on the mic and asked the questions I actually wanted answered.

We got into why your electric bill is destroying your budget, whether Connecticut is worth staying in, what it actually feels like to cast a vote your own people hate, and whether two people who disagree can still want the same thing for the same community.

Chapters:

00:00 - Welcome Back | Joe de la Cruz Returns for Episode 102
01:45 - How a Youth Basketball Scoreboard Started It All
06:00 - Joining Local Government & Changing Things From the Inside
07:30 - Running in a Republican Town as a Democrat — and Winning
09:15 - His Son's Addiction & Why He Went Public at a Council Meeting
13:00 - Six Years as CT State Representative
16:00 - Why He Voted to Give Politicians a Raise
22:00 - Running for CT State Senate in 2026
30:00 - Connecticut Taxes, Population Loss & The Florida Debate
38:00 - Eversource, Millstone Nuclear & Your Electric Bill Explained
49:00 - Wind Energy, Block Island & The Battery Storage Gap
53:00 - Tariffs, China & What We Can Actually Learn From Them
57:00 - COVID Restrictions, Freedom & Where We Drew the Line
01:05:00 - When Both Sides Actually Agree But Still Fight Anyway
01:10:00 - Why Vote for Joe de la Cruz
01:12:30 - How to Support the Campaign

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