Election Special: Rick Steves & Jose Antonio Vargas

With Election Day around the corner and some controversial ballot measures, our local politics got support from some unexpected celebrities: Rick Steves and Jose Antonio Vargas.

Rick Steves is the host of Rick Steves’ Europe, a tv travel show. He is also an avid supporter of Measure 91, which supports regulating and legalizing marijuana in the state of Oregon. As a Seattle resident, he was influential in a similar law which passed in Washington State. He spent ten days in various cities in Oregon, campaigning for Measure 91 on a tour he called: Travel as a Political Act: Ending Marijuana Prohibition in Oregon.

Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, film-maker and founder of the organization, Define American. He wrote a powerful essay, coming out as an undocumented immigrant back in 2011, followed by advocacy for immigration reform. With the support of the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), Vargas spent a full day in Oregon, campaigning for Measure 88, which issues alternative drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants. For Vargas, this issue is personal and hits close to home; his first drivers license was issued from the state of Oregon back in 2003.

I had the opportunity to chat with Rick Steves by phone and Jose Antonio Vargas in studio as part of my Election Day Special, which aired on KBOO Community Radio’s public affairs program, Radiozine.

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Air date: 10/24/2014