The Improvement Association - Trailer

Serial - The Improvement Association - Ep. 5: ‘Democrat, Republican, White, Black, Green’

The Improvement Association PAC’s power in the county is threatened when an unlikely candidate enters the race for county commissioner. Plenty of people outside the PAC now have their own ideas about how to build Black political power here. Zoe examines what this election could mean for the PAC’s future.

The Improvement Association - Ep. 5: ‘Democrat, Republican, White, Black, Green’

From serial productions in the New York Times, this is the Improvement Association.

It's the Democratic primary, February 2020,

There's a flurry of candidate signs stuck in the ground,

mostly Bloomberg and Buttigieg, which is odd.

They're not popular here, but no one cares about the presidential primary much.

The race that matters is the County Commissioner's race.

The Blading County Board of Commissioners is the top-governing body in Bladen.

Cigdale's been Commissioner for eight years.

He's running for re-election, and he's being challenged for his seat.

In fact, he's facing the exact scenario that he and Horace are always warning about.

The main candidate challenging Cigdale is Black,

and there's another challenger in the primary, who is White.

Having two Black candidates run for the same seat here means they're in danger of splitting the Black vote between them and letting the White guy run up the middle.

The Black guy running against Cigdale has been launched at him like a grenade.

By none other than mini-price, former Treasurer of the Pack,

who recently quit in frustration about how Horace and Cigdale were behaving as leaders of the group.

It's Mini's nephew running against Cigdale. His name is Mark Gillespie.

I found out pretty quickly this election is high drama and high stakes,

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0:00.0	From serial productions in the New York Times, this is the Improvement Association.
0:07.0	Chapter 5.
0:08.0	Democrat Republican.
0:10.0	White, Black, Green.
0:18.0	It's the Democratic primary, February 2020,
0:22.0	Blading County, North Carolina.
0:25.0	There's a flurry of candidate signs stuck in the ground,
0:28.0	mostly Bloomberg and Buttigieg, which is odd.
0:31.0	They're not popular here, but no one cares about the presidential primary much.
0:37.0	The race that matters is the County Commissioner's race.
0:41.0	The Blading County Board of Commissioners is the top-governing body in Bladen.
0:45.0	Cigdale's been Commissioner for eight years.
0:48.0	He's running for re-election, and he's being challenged for his seat.
0:52.0	In fact, he's facing the exact scenario that he and Horace are always warning about.
0:57.0	The main candidate challenging Cigdale is Black,
1:00.0	and there's another challenger in the primary, who is White.
1:03.0	Having two Black candidates run for the same seat here means they're in danger of splitting the Black vote between them and letting the White guy run up the middle.
1:14.0	The Black guy running against Cigdale has been launched at him like a grenade.
1:18.0	By none other than mini-price, former Treasurer of the Pack,
1:22.0	who recently quit in frustration about how Horace and Cigdale were behaving as leaders of the group.
1:28.0	It's Mini's nephew running against Cigdale. His name is Mark Gillespie.
1:34.0	I found out pretty quickly this election is high drama and high stakes,
	...

The Improvement Association - Ep. 5: ‘Democrat, Republican, White, Black, Green’

Serial

Serial Productions & The New York Times

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