The Great SOS Debate - Greg Ballard

[clears throat] Whoa.

How's everybody tonight?

Good.

Everybody in good shape? I wanna be able to see you, so--

[laughing]

Uh, are, are you just wanna ask me questions or you wanna stay with your statement or what?

What do I think of it tonight?

[sighs] Well, that's a, that's an outstanding question.

That's a completely unanticipated question.

[laughing]

No.

No, thank, thanks for being here, Abdul.

Appreciate everybody coming out actually.

The-- You know, it reminds me when I'm out there that, um [clears throat] [sighs] You know, everybody's up, everybody's up there trying to create a resume.

I actually have a resume, a very public one.

Uh, you know, through a book and several long-form podcasts.

My life is kind of an open book, and what I did and how I did it and why I did it is all out there already.

And, um, as I've said before, this is not an entry-level position.

You need somebody with experience, especially in the shape that this office is in now because it's, it's bad.

And, uh, we wanna make sure that we get in there and clean that place up as quickly as we can to restore the trust in that office.

I-- People should be proud of their secretary of state, and they should, they should be proud of all their state office holders.

Clearly, that is not the case here.

And I like to think with what I did as the mayor for eight years and w-how I left office, uh, and how I conducted myself in office was meaningful, and I think I did it the right way.

And I wanna do that here as the secretary of state also.

And I, I, I just, um, I think it takes somebody who's been around a couple times to go in and do what has to be done in that office.

[clears throat] Whoa.

How's everybody tonight?

Good.

Everybody in good shape? I wanna be able to see you, so--

[laughing]

Uh, are, are you just wanna ask me questions or you wanna stay with your statement or what?

What do I think of it tonight?

[sighs] Well, that's a, that's an outstanding question.

That's a completely unanticipated question.

[laughing]

No.

No, thank, thanks for being here, Abdul.

Appreciate everybody coming out actually.

The-- You know, it reminds me when I'm out there that, um [clears throat] [sighs] You know, everybody's up, everybody's up there trying to create a resume.

I actually have a resume, a very public one.

Uh, you know, through a book and several long-form podcasts.

My life is kind of an open book, and what I did and how I did it and why I did it is all out there already.

And, um, as I've said before, this is not an entry-level position.

You need somebody with experience, especially in the shape that this office is in now because it's, it's bad.

And, uh, we wanna make sure that we get in there and clean that place up as quickly as we can to restore the trust in that office.

I-- People should be proud of their secretary of state, and they should, they should be proud of all their state office holders.

Clearly, that is not the case here.

And I like to think with what I did as the mayor for eight years and w-how I left office, uh, and how I conducted myself in office was meaningful, and I think I did it the right way.

And I wanna do that here as the secretary of state also.

And I, I, I just, um, I think it takes somebody who's been around a couple times to go in and do what has to be done in that office.