BECAUSE I LEFT CHILDREN AT HOME TO DO THIS JOB.

SO I WASN'T GOING TO WASTE MY TIME HERE.

AND HE ALWAYS SAID, IT'S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.

AND I THINK I'VE DONE WELL WITH THAT.

>> DFL STATE REPRESENTATIVE CARLOS MARIANI HAS REPRESENTED ST. PAUL FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.

HE'S DECIDED IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER IN HIS LIFE.

>> THIS HAS BEEN COMING FOR QUITE A WHILE.

YOU KNOW, LAST THREE YEARS, YOU KNOW, WHEN MY PARTY GOT -- REGAINED CONTROL OF THE HOUSE, I WAS OFFERED AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHAIR A COMMITTEE THAT I REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO CHAIR.

THE SPEAKER WISELY DRAGGED ME INTO IT.

AND, YOU KNOW, TRAGICALLY, YOU KNOW, TWO YEARS AFTER THAT GEORGE FLOYD WAS KILLED IN MINNEAPOLIS.

AND IT THRUST OUR COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, MY CHAIRMANSHIP, RIGHT INTO THE EYE OF THE STORM.

>> MARY: DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEEDED TO STAY TO SEE THAT THROUGH, AS WELL, TO GET SOME OF THE POLICE REFORM THROUGH?

>> YEAH.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE DELVED INTO IT RIGHT AWAY WHEN I WAS OFFERED THE COMMITTEE.

WE'RE A LITTLE BIT PROPHETIC, BUT IT DIDN'T TAKE ROCKET THIS WAS A PATTERN THAT WE'VE SEEN, IT WOULD CONTINUE AND HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVENE.

>> MARY: WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE POLICE REFORM, BUT YOU'VE DONE MANY OTHER THINGS ON IMMIGRATION AND EQUITY.

WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU IN YOUR CAREER?

>> YEAH, WHEN I CAME INTO THE LEGISLATURE, I HAD A LOT OF WORK AS AN ACTIVIST ON IMMIGRANT RIGHTS.

WHEN I TOLD PEOPLE THAT THAT WAS OF INTEREST TO ME, FOLKS WERE LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH STATE LEGISLATION?

AND I WAS JUST STUNNED.

YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT NOT HAVE TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, LEGISLATING LOCALLY.

AND FOR ME, I CARRIED A NUMBER OF THOSE BILLS.

BUT PROBABLY THE ONE THAT I FEEL MOST GOOD ABOUT IS THE MINNESOTA PROSPERITY ACT OR THE DREAM ACT, WHICH OPENED UP OPPORTUNITY IN OUR STATE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION ACCESS TO UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS.

WE PROVIDE NOT ONLY ACCESS BUT WE PROVIDE FINANCIAL AID AND ASSISTANCE TO THOSE STUDENTS.

>> MARY: 30 YEARS AGO WHEN YOU CAME IN, I THINK PEOPLE ASSUMED MOST OF THE DIVERSITY WAS URBAN, AND WE'VE SEEN INCREDIBLE GROWTH, ESPECIALLY IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY OUTSIDE THE METRO.

SO HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR THOSE RURAL LAWMAKERS TO CHANGE ON ISSUES, BREAK WITH PARTY, RECOGNIZE HOW MUCH THEIR DISTRICTS ARE CHANGING?

>> REGARDLESS OF THE ISSUE, I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THE HALLMARK OF A TRUE LEGISLATOR, TRUE PUBLIC SERVANT.

YOU KNOW, WHICH IS, OUR WHOLE SYSTEM IS SET UP FOR US TO BE THE VOICES OF PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

>> MARY: YOU'VE SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES IN 30 YEARS, YOU'VE SEEN A LOT MORE DIVERSITY COME TO THE CAPITOL, PARTICULARLY IN THE HOUSE.

LOOKING OVER THE LANDSCAPE NOW, HOW IMPORTANT, WHY DOES THAT MATTER FOR MORE DIVERSE VOICES TO GET THERE?

>> THAT'S WHO WE ARE AS A PEOPLE, AS MINNESOTANS.

YOU KNOW, IF IT'S GOING TO BE GOVERNMENT, OF, BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE, THEN THOSE PEOPLE'S VOICES NEED TO BE THERE.

CHANGE, BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, I CAME IN THE '90S AS WELL AND REMEMBER IT BEING A VERY WHITE, VERY -- >> YEAH.

>> MARY: AND, YOU KNOW, THE CURRENT COMPLEXION AT THE CAPITOL HAS CHANGED AND IS CHANGING, HAS THAT BEEN REALLY REMARKABLE FOR YOU TO WITNESS?

>> IT'S BEEN REMARKABLE, FRANKLY, IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, THE LAST FEW YEARS.

QUITE HONESTLY, FOR MOST OF THOSE YEARS IT WAS A PRETTY HOMOGENOUS GROUP, AND IT WAS HOMOGENOUS NOT ONLY IN RACE BUT ALSO IN GENDER.

THE CHANGE HAS HUGE, MARY, ESPECIALLY IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS.

WE'VE SEEN IT WITH THE CREATION OF THE POCI CAUCUS, FOR INSTANCE, AND THE DFL IN THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE, AND WE'VE GOT PEOPLE OF COLOR, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AISLE AS WELL.

AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN DRAMATIC.

AND I THINK IT'S ONLY GOING TO CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE.

>> MARY: SO, FOR NEW LAWMAKERS COMING IN, BASED ON YOUR DECADES AND DECADES AND DECADES OF EXPERIENCE NOW, WHAT'S YOUR ADVICE?

WHAT WORKS?

WHAT'S EFFECTIVE?

>> DON'T THINK THAT IT'S ABOUT YOU.

THAT'S A HUGE MISTAKE.

I THINK IT'S TRUE GENERALLY, BUT I THINK ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, WITH THIS WORK, AND THIS INSTITUTION, THIS IS ABOUT THE INSTITUTION.

YOU APPROACH IT WITH RESPECT, WITH A SENSE OF NURTURING IT AND TENDING TO IT, BEING A GOOD STEWARD OF IT, YOU SHOULD FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN, ABSOLUTELY.

AND MAKE SURE YOU'RE LISTENING TO PERSPECTIVES THAT MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE.

OCCA