The Realignment Podcast

Episode: Giselle Hale: Moving Abundance from Op-Eds to Action – Why Local Elected Officials Are the Missing Piece of the Puzzle
Date: October 2, 2025
Host: Marshall Kosloff
Guest: Giselle Hale, Abundance Network

Overview

In this episode, host Marshall Kosloff speaks with Giselle Hale of the Abundance Network about the recently launched Abundance Electeds program. The conversation spotlights how “abundance” – the movement focused on increasing supply, improving state capacity, and fostering real outcomes in local communities – is evolving beyond think pieces and national punditry into tangible local action. The episode explores:

• The role of local elected officials in advancing the abundance agenda
• The limitations of national-level policy discourse
• The unique value and challenges of actually solving local problems
• How storytelling and personal experience are reshaping political common sense

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. From Movement to Local Action (03:03–06:58)

• Abundance Network Origins & Structure:
  Giselle introduces the Abundance Network as a three-year-old organization (C3, C4) based in San Francisco, focused on "doers" actualizing the abundance movement. The core programs include a donor network, chapters program, Abundance Professionals (skill-based volunteers), and the new Abundance Electeds segment, which is 124 members strong across 31 states.

• Personal Journey:
  Giselle’s multifaceted background—campaign politics (Obama, Congresswoman Eshoo), 15–20 years in tech, and nearly a decade in local government (planning commission, city council, mayor)—informs her practical, cross-sector approach to abundance.

“We’re really focused on actualizing this movement in real life, in communities... organizing a variety of civic leaders who are really just interested in growing the movement.” — Giselle Hale [03:12]

2. Naming the Movement & Building Identity (06:40–08:52)

• Why “Abundance?”
  Many local leaders were already practicing abundance principles, but lacked language or community. Naming and framing the movement provided a shared identity and an avenue to expand impact.

“Naming something means that you can now build an identity around that, you can build community around that. So I really think that's what sort of created the possibility for this to even be a movement.” — Giselle Hale [07:33]

• From Housing to Broader Applications:
  For most electeds, housing (and the fight against NIMBYism) has been the “gateway issue” to abundance, but the framework is now being applied more broadly.

3. The “Outcome Obsession” – Changing What Matters in Local Politics (08:52–13:02)

• Beyond Legislative “Victory Laps”:
  Traditional local leadership is oriented around passing bills and claiming wins. Abundance leaders are “obsessed with the outcome,” emphasizing tangible improvements (e.g., lower rents, visible reductions in homelessness) over procedural victories.

“Passing the legislation was a milestone. Maybe it was the starting line. The finish line is you've actually solved the problem.” — Giselle Hale [10:16]

• Abundance as a Mindset:
  Unlike YIMBYism (housing-specific), abundance is a framework and mindset for addressing any local challenge—flexible, holistic, focused on real-world metrics.

4. The Gap Between National Discourse & Local Realities (13:02–18:38)

• Pundit Skepticism:
  National pundits often deride the abundance movement as “obvious” (care about outcomes, increase supply), not appreciating that most officials don’t operate this way.
  The media tendency to ignore local officials and their unique challenges exacerbates this disconnect.

“There is just a missing lack of focus on local elected officials and the challenges and frankly the mindsets and the approaches they have that goes deeper than the obvious.” — Marshall Kosloff [13:29]

• Local Government’s Unique Leverage:
  Local governments employ 72% of public sector workers and control 29% of spending—making them a “best place to start” for reform and credibility building.

5. Messaging & Narratives that Resonate (18:38–26:26)

• Effective Messaging Is Localized:
  National polling and messaging frames (e.g., “abundance vs. populism”) rarely match local electoral dynamics. Local officials focus on stories and results that affect people’s daily lives (e.g., “Where do your kids live now?”).

“You should never say supply to a voter... How you actually talk about abundance to real people is very different than the white papers you read.” — Giselle Hale [09:10]

• Inclusive, Nonpartisan Identity:
  Abundance is not ideologically exclusive—members self-identify as progressive, moderate, and conservative. It’s a methodology, not just an ideology.

“That is like a big idea – that you could be not just committed to an ideology and that you really could be committed to a methodology, a way of solving problems.” — Giselle Hale [21:12]

• Storytelling & Personal Connection:
  Reaching voters through stories about children, family, and concrete life improvements is vastly more effective than abstract policy language.

“Derek had a great point when he met with our group. He was like, say babies. Just say babies... We're building homes for grandbabies, right? Who's going to be mad at that?” — Giselle Hale [22:34]

6. Personal Testimonies & the Human Case for Abundance (26:26–35:05)

• Story of Self:
  Giselle shares her background—growing up in poverty, experiencing inefficient state systems, and moving to the Bay Area where high housing costs delayed family plans. Lived experience (and stories like her husband's time in foster care) animate why state capacity and abundance matter.

“What I learned in those years is that it was really time consuming to be poor... that's state capacity.” — Giselle Hale [28:07]

• Local Officials: “Extreme” Commitment:
  Unlike Congress, local officials are woven into their communities, receiving feedback everywhere from kindergarten drop-off to the grocery store.

“If you're in Congress...you can be selective. Local government, I was getting feedback in the drop-off line at kindergarten... you can't escape it. In that way it's like quite pure. It's a quite pure level of democracy.” — Giselle Hale [36:13]

7. Beyond Housing: Where Else Can Abundance Go? (37:18–51:16)

• YIMBYism vs. Abundance:
  While YIMBYism is housing-centric, abundance applies “rinsing and repeating” outcome-driven, supply-increasing frameworks to childcare, eldercare, transportation, energy, healthcare licensing, and any service bottleneck.

• Case Studies:

  • Permitting ADUs:
    Even successful policy needs implementation—e.g., after making accessory dwelling units (ADUs or “granny flats”) legal, actual bottlenecks were in the permitting process.
  • Childcare:
    Like housing, childcare is often illegal by zoning. Reform can quickly expand capacity and, as Boise's Lauren McLean showed, process improvements (like fingerprinting for licensing) produce real results.
  • DMV Reform:
    Tyler Journant in Missoula, Montana, cut DMV wait times from an hour to three minutes by personally observing and improving procedures—a story of direct, outcome-focused local action.
  • Energy & Data Centers:
    Virginia’s data center boom foreshadows future bottlenecks in energy supply, where early, thoughtful action is needed (nuclear included).
  • Medical Abundance:
    Steve Teles’ work highlights medical licensure reform at the state level, critical for addressing shortages in the heartland.

“If you really want to do the outcomes thing, you learn pretty quickly. Policy won’t get you there.” — Giselle Hale [41:12]

8. The Limits of Punditry & the Need to Center Heartland Stories (55:06–58:50)

• Rail Projects as a Local Abundance Issue:
  Racine, Wisconsin has been trying for 20 years to reopen an existing rail line (blocked by environmental review process)—a vivid reminder that abundance is needed in the Midwest as much as on the coasts.

“It's a 20-year process to get an existing rail line put back online... I wish we could spend more time and attention on these sort of heartland stories.” — Giselle Hale [57:37]

• Call to Pundits:
  National writers should seek out and highlight local leaders and their stories, connecting macro ideas to micro realities for more credible, grounded dialog.

9. Where to Learn More & Get Involved (59:55–61:39)

• Abundance Network Outreach:
  The network continually seeks new members, professionals (volunteers), donors, and local chapters.
  • abundancenetwork.com
  • abundanceelected.com

“We want to move people from op-eds to outcomes... If you want to make this happen, we will help you find a piece of this movement and help you contribute.” — Giselle Hale [61:14]

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On Movement Naming & Identity:

  • “Naming something means that you can now build an identity around that, you can build community around that.” — Giselle Hale [07:33]

• On Impactful Storytelling:

  • “Say babies. Just say babies... We're building homes for grandbabies, right? Who's going to be mad at that?” — Giselle Hale [22:34]

• On Local Outcomes Over Process:

  • “The finish line is you've actually solved the problem. You've created an opportunity. Like what we see now in Austin, where rents are coming down.” — Giselle Hale [10:16]

• Democracy in Action:

  • “Local government...I was getting feedback in the drop-off line at kindergarten... It is your neighbors, it is the grocery store and you can't escape it. In that way, it's like quite pure.” — Giselle Hale [36:13]

• On Moving Beyond Op-Eds:

  • “We want to move people from op-eds to outcomes.” — Giselle Hale [61:14]

Key Timestamps

• [03:03] • Abundance Network origin & programs
• [07:33] • Movement naming and new identity
• [10:16] • The “outcome obsession” of abundance leaders
• [13:29] • Why local officials are missing from national discourse
• [22:34] • Effective messaging: talking about “babies,” not “units”
• [28:07] • Personal story: lived experience shapes abundance perspective
• [36:13] • Intimate, relentless democracy at the local level
• [41:03] • Implementation vs. policy: ADUs and bottlenecks
• [47:04] • Childcare, eldercare, multimodal transport, energy, & DMV case studies
• [55:06] • Heartland case study: Rail in Racine, Wisconsin
• [61:14] • Invitation: move from op-eds to outcomes

Final Takeaway

Local elected officials are crucial for translating abundance theory into practical impact. By centering outcomes, embracing personal stories, and tackling ground-level bottlenecks—often ignored at the national level—these leaders offer a model for “common sense” reform that is participatory, inclusive, and tangibly improves people’s lives. The episode is a call to shift attention, support, and narrative power to those most capable of actual change.