In Episode 47 of Politics with Pan, Pan welcomes Angel Carrol, criminal justice advocate, content creator, and Ground Game TX board member, for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with her story and ends with a ballot measure Houston voters are deciding right now.

Angel opens up about her life in the system: arrested for the first time at 10 and put in a youth prison without ever being convicted, and at 15 or 16 certified as an adult facing two to four years after a school incident spiraled. An attorney and a diversion program changed her path, and she explains how that experience fuels everything she does, including Raise the Age, her work on adultification bias and the school-to-prison pipeline, and helping pass the CROWN Act in Austin and then statewide with Representative Rhetta Bowers.

From there, the conversation turns to the Houston Freedom Act (Prop A) and the campaign behind it. Angel walks through Ground Game, the nonprofit and PAC founded in 2021 in Austin, and how its 40,000-signature petition made it to Houston's November 4 ballot. She breaks down what the act actually does: making Class A and B misdemeanor marijuana possession the lowest enforcement priority so simple possession means a ticket instead of jail, favoring diversion over arrest, ordering a one-time audit of five years of marijuana enforcement with annual public reports, and banning no-knock warrants by requiring officers to announce themselves and wait at least 15 seconds, a direct response to the Harding Street raid.

The two dig into why it's needed: low-level marijuana arrests have reportedly gone up by more than 1000% under Mayor Whitmire despite claims that it's not a priority, it costs about $400 a day to jail someone, and existing diversion programs are limited, discretionary, and don't reach everyone. Angel is blunt about what the act is not, it does not legalize marijuana, and about where she wants Texas to go next, from prison air conditioning to ending slave labor behind the walls.

Personal stories anchor the whole episode. Pan shares his own experience being roughed up by police at 16 in California, and Angel tells the story of a late-night traffic stop outside a coffee shop where officers pointed guns at her over a rolling stop and assumed she was a Black man, a moment she says still haunts her, and one that shapes how she sees policing, community policing done right in Precinct 7, and the police union. They also touch on Black misleadership, education and school vouchers, the politics of weed and why the community's fear of it is misplaced, who actually supports the Houston Freedom Act including Lt. Gov. nominee Vikki Goodwin, and why Dan Patrick's anti-THC policies matter in this election.

It closes the way the episode does: go vote before early voting ends, "vote like your life depends on it, because it does", and remember that our electeds work for us.

📅 Early Voting: Oct. 19–30

🗳️ Election Day: Nov. 3

🔴 LIVE every THURSDAY at 8:30 PM

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Angel Carrollhttps://www.instagram.com/iangelcarroll/

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Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party, casting the pivotal 92% voting block, and in this episode of Politics with Pan, three of Houston's most influential Black women in politics sit down to talk about rage voting, judicial integrity, and the fight for the future of public education in Texas.Host Christian "Pan" is joined by master organizer Hon. Audrie Lawson Evans, Dr. Darlene Breaux, Alief ISD School Board President and candidate for Texas House District 149, and Judge Katherine Thomas, the youngest sitting district judge in Texas history and Judge of the 184th District Court.Early voting in Harris County is in full swing, and the mood at the polls is electric. Judge Thomas calls it "rage voting": people showing up mad, fed up, and determined to see change, with lines forming by 9:00–9:30 AM, voters bringing chairs and umbrellas, and young voters turning out in numbers not seen in 2024. The panel also gives credit to Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth for delivering on-time, trustworthy results, and explains why Texas has a voter turnout problem, not a voter registration problem.Then the conversation turns to power and representation: why Black women deserve to lead at the head of the table, not just have a seat at it, and how the historic 2018 wave of 19 Black women judges in Harris County transformed the judiciary. Judge Thomas and Hon. Audrie Lawson Evans break down the misinformation behind the "soft on crime" attacks on Democratic judges, why judicial canons prevent sitting judges from defending themselves, and the fact that crime is down in Harris County, as even Governor Greg Abbott has acknowledged. Plus, a practical voter toolkit for researching judges on your ballot, from the Houston Bar Association judicial preference poll to live-streamed courtrooms and League of Women Voters guides.Dr. Breaux delivers a urgent warning about school vouchers in Texas: $11,000 to $30,000 per student diverted from public school districts, 70% of voucher recipients already attending private schools, districts adopting deficit budgets, and state leadership pushing another $2+ billion for vouchers. With civics and PE cut and books banned, she shares how families and communities can supplement education through faith institutions and weekend schools, following the model of Asian and African immigrant communities.The episode wraps with rapid fire: the most underrated Black woman in Houston politics (Councilwoman Martha Castex-Tatum of District K), why the Democratic Party needs a "one band, one sound" united front, the one-word answers Bright, Necessary, and Strong, 10-year hopes for Harris County, and the panel's endorsed candidates on this year's ballot.Black women, the ballot, and the fight for public education, this is a conversation every Texas voter needs to hear before heading to the polls.📅 Early Voting: Oct. 19–30🗳️ Election Day: Nov. 3🔴 LIVE every THURSDAY at 8:30 PMFOLLOW & LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS:Hon. Audrie Lawton-Evans: https://www.instagram.com/audrielawtonevans/?hl=enJudge Katherine Thomas: https://www.instagram.com/judgekatherinethomas/?hl=enhttps://thomasforjudge.com/Dr. Darlene Breaux:https://www.instagram.com/darlenebreauxtx/?hl=enhttps://darlenebreaux.com/📌 Follow Politics With Pan:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@politicswithpanclipsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/politicswithpan/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587471566816#BlackWomenInPolitics #BlackWomenLead #HarrisCounty #TexasElection #EarlyVoting #SchoolVouchers #PublicEducation #DemocraticParty #TexasPolitics #VoterEducation #BlackVotesMatter #USPolitics #Houston #HTX #HarrisCountyJudge #TexasHouse #VotingRights #Houston #PoliticsWithPan

Houston politics is in the middle of a changing of the guard.

On this episode of Politics with Pan, host Pan sits down with communications strategist Shea Jordan Smith for a real, unfiltered conversation about where the city goes from here. From the legacies of Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner, to the young wave of leaders stepping up — Dolores Lozano, Christian Menefee, and the State House candidates on the ballot right now — they break down what Houston's political future actually looks like.

The conversation also covers the stuff nobody else says out loud: the fear-mongering ads flooding the feed, why kitchen-table issues (gas prices, property taxes, Medicaid) beat culture wars every time, the real story behind the James Talarico vs. Jasmine Crockett primary, what political creators actually do behind the scenes, and the big question, who's next on the 2027 Houston City Council horizon.

Plus: election week energy, rapid-fire questions, and an NGO Spotlight on The Montrose Center and the work they do for LGBTQ+ youth in Houston.

Mark your calendar:

📅 Early Voting: Oct. 19–30

🗳️ Election Day: Nov. 3

🔴 LIVE every THURSDAY at 8:30 PM

FOLLOW THE GUEST:

Shea Jordan Smith

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheajordansmith/

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