Chapter 01: Ten Perfect Strangers

The People’s Republic of Astoria — A Six-Episode Limited Series

In June 2018, ten strangers met in Astoria Park to canvass for a 28-year-old bartender running for Congress against a ten-term incumbent. Nobody thought they could win. One of those ten people was named Shawna Morlock, a first-time canvasser and mother of a four-year-old who’d never done anything like this before. She’d go on to knock the same doors so many times that people would beg her to go away.

Meanwhile, a young actor named Michael Thomas Carter had just come off the Bernie Sanders campaign, and was looking for his next fight. So he replied to an email, and became the second paid employee of the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez primary campaign — at first, working out of her apartment in the Bronx.

They were up against Joe Crowley: the chair of the Queens Democratic Party, a congressman widely expected to become the next Speaker of the House, and a man who hadn’t faced a primary challenge in 14 years. His allies in the Queens political machine — lawyers Sweeney, Reich & Bowles — had spent decades profiting from a system of handpicked judges and lucrative surrogate court assignments. Crowley had the endorsements, the union backing, and over $3 million in the bank.

AOC had $800,000, mostly from small donors. And an army of people willing to knock over a hundred thousand doors.

Chapter 01 introduces the grassroots organizing model that would reshape politics in western Queens — and Tim’s confession that while all of this was happening, he was watching from the sideline, working at a craft oyster & cocktail bar on 34th Avenue, in the neighborhood.

Featured Voices

Shawna Morlock — Volunteer canvasser, first involved with the AOC 2018 campaign, later a key figure in the Tiffany Cabán and Zohran Mamdani campaigns

Michael Thomas Carter — Second paid staffer on the AOC 2018 primary campaign; former actor and Bernie Sanders volunteer

Ross Barkan — Journalist, novelist, contributor to the New York Times Magazine, and former State Senate candidate in Bay Ridge

Magdalena Moranda — DSA volunteer and field lead (introduced briefly; featured prominently in later episodes)

Topics & Context

The Queens Democratic Machine: For decades, the Queens County Democratic Party operated through a network of patronage, judicial appointments, and political loyalty. Joe Crowley inherited his congressional seat from his predecessor and wielded soft power through relationships with the city council and local operatives. By 2018, the machine had largely stopped doing grassroots organizing — relying instead on money, endorsements, and institutional inertia.

Sweeney, Reich & Bowles: According to reporting by Chris Bragg in New York Focus (January 2025), these attorneys are still involved in Queens’ judicial selection process, through which they receive lucrative surrogate court case assignments. But back in 2008, a similar system in Westchester County was squeezing fees out of the Ocasio-Cortez family, after her father’s death. It would radicalize her.

The Canvassing Model: AOC’s campaign pioneered — in western Queens, at least — a field-first strategy where volunteers would knock doors rather than relying primarily on television ads, glossy mailers, or institutional support. This model would become the blueprint for nearly every progressive campaign in the city in the years to come.

Sources & Further Reading

Chris Bragg, “Queens Exposed,” New York Focus, January 2025 — on the ongoing judicial patronage system involving Sweeney, Reich & Bowles

AOC’s 2018 campaign ad, “The Courage to Change” — referenced in the episode; available on YouTube

Reporting on the 2018 NY-14 Democratic Primary — New York Times, Intercept, Gothamist

Music

“City Streets” and additional tracks by Pyrosion, used under Creative Commons license. Full licensing details available on the Credits page.

Production Credits

Written, narrated, and produced by Tim Donovan.

Special thanks to Alice, Daisy Larom, and Sarah Noe. Thanks to Shawna Morlock, Michael Thomas Carter, Magdalena Moranda, Ross Barkan, and all the guests who shared their stories.

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