View the full episode transcript.
Nearly 500 Californians are in Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention, where Democrats will rally around Vice President Kamala Harris as their party’s nominee for president.
One of them is Igor Tregub, a newly elected member of the Berkeley City Council and chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party.
Episode Transcript
This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to the Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Hundreds of Californians are going to Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: That’s where party delegates will rally around Vice President Kamala Harris and gear up for the last 77 days of this wild presidential election. These delegates include people like Igor Tregub, a recently elected Berkeley City Council member who’s now in Chicago for his third DNC.
Igor Tregub: It’s such a privilege to be able to go to Chicago and be able to represent the community that I now serve.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Today, we talk with Berkeley City Council member Igor Tregub about representing California and the bay at the DNC.
Igor Tregub: I’m Igor Tregub. I am a DNC delegate that was initially pledged to Biden and now I am pledged to Vice President Harris. This is my for the DNC convention. I was a delegate for Obama in 2012 and party in 2020. I chaired the Alameda County Democratic Party and was recently elected to the Berkeley City Council, and I am a Jewish refugee from Ukraine.
Igor Tregub: I had a winding path to eventually make it to the States. I first lived in Knoxville, Tennessee, and then different parts of Southern California and 21 years ago. I think to the day I started my undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley, majoring in mechanical engineering and political science and fell in love with the Berkeley community.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: And delegates are the people who represent the Democratic Party. Lots of them are people like Igor, local government officials or people just really involved in local politics who volunteer to represent their region at the convention. They also have input on the official party platform.
Igor Tregub: I think delegates are the conscience of the Democratic Party. There are different ways to become a delegate. But in all three elections, I was honored to have been elected by the electorate in the congressional district where I am based that. And so it was a vote of Democrats in that congressional district that have been able to send me to the last three DNC conventions.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Is this really your role as a delegate, sort of a volunteer thing, or do you get paid for it or, you know, how often are you meeting?
Igor Tregub: It’s a labor of love. We have to spend a lot of money to travel and get a hotel room. But it is it is a small price to pay for doing our part to defend democracy. I think it varies tool. In 2020, I remember as a party delegate, I was somewhat involved in different drafting committees to to provide certain inputs into what eventually became the DNC platform. I think it’s a little different when, well, it was going to be a reelection campaign for President Biden.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: I want to ask you about the last couple of months, Igor, which has been pretty crazy to say the least. I’m curious where you were when you learned the news that President Biden was dropping out of the race.
Igor Tregub: Yeah, I was just speaking on a zoom of Democrats. I was asked to be there to talk about the race that I just finished for city council. And towards the end of the zoom, the news dropped and it it was very bittersweet, I have to say.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Delegates pledged their support to a certain candidate after the state votes in a caucus or primary. Long before the DNC even happens. So because President Biden won the California primary, they were pledged to him. But after he dropped out of the race, it left delegates with an open question Who would they pick as the party’s presidential nominee instead?
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Many quickly threw their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden endorsed Harris pretty quickly after after he dropped out of the race. But there was still that window of time when she gathered the support of the party. What did that look like for you on your end? As a as a delegate, it seemed like it was pretty fast.
Igor Tregub: It was very fast. I received an invitation. If it was an invitation, if I wanted to lend my name, committing my support. Now that President Biden has dropped out and passed the torch, committing it to Vice President Harris and I did that in a heartbeat. I was pleased at how smoothly that went where I think in the matter of a day, Vice President Harris amassed enough votes for California’s delegates for our state to declare our support for our hometown. Cheever.
Igor Tregub: I think the reason this happened so quickly is because California Democrats and Democrats in other states understand that this is a binary choice. We cannot have training wheels going into this election. And so it made sense.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Well, I think it’s safe to say it’s been pretty turbulent times. It’s now a brand new race that perhaps no one predicted even a couple of months ago. What of the last few weeks been like for you, Igor? It also occurs to me that you were also just recently elected to the Berkeley City Council. You are new to this seat. I’m sure you’re doing a lot of work in the background, sort of adjusting to your new role. I mean, what have the last couple of weeks been like for you?
Igor Tregub: It’s been very hectic. I am not going to sugarcoat it. But. I think about what is at stake and. It’s such a privilege to be able to go to Chicago and be able to represent the community that I now serve in that way. The gravity of the situation in this time, in this moment is not lost on me either.
Igor Tregub: When I have family members and friends literally fighting on the front lines of democracy in Ukraine, whatever turbulence I have been going through is a very small price to pay to do my small part, to be a part of making history and defending and preserving democracy.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: What is your main goal at the Democratic National Convention as a delegate?
Igor Tregub: My main goal is to show up. I am looking forward to building relationships. It is also an opportunity to do everything that I possibly can to then go back and organize, spread the message of what is at stake to those in my community and do my part to ensure that we not only elect the Harris Wallace ticket, but that they get the support that they need from a Democratic majority in the Senate in conquest and down ballot.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Why do you think people here in the Bay Area should tune in to the DNC this week when this episode airs, even if maybe they aren’t super plugged in to politics or maybe they’re even disillusioned with it?
Igor Tregub: I think there is probably going to be something there for all of them. Look, you know, there is a quote that has been playing in my mind often enough or particularly in the last couple of months since I’ve started this new well, politics is the art of the possible. And. What the Biden-Harris administration has been able to do is move mountains on policies that have made a real impact on everyday working families. Do we all want to see more progress faster? Absolutely.
Igor Tregub: And I joined the chorus of that. There is only one party that is invested in the American people in ensuring that the opportunities that I had, the way that Berkeley was able to become a home to me, this Jewish immigrant and refugee from Ukraine, that this is a place that everyone can call a loving home, where they are supported and where they have a safety net so that they can pursue their dreams, raise their kids if they choose to do that, and retire in dignity. Why?
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Well, Councilmember, thank you so much for making the time out of your busy schedule to chat with us. And safe travels to Chicago.
Igor Tregub: Thank you so much.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: That was Igor Tregub, a Berkeley City Council member representing District four. He’s also a DNC delegate and chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party. This 27 minute conversation was cut down and edited by Alan Montecillo and produced and scored by me. The Bay is a production of listeners supported KQED in San Francisco. I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks for listening. Peace.