How Carla Marie Built a TikTok Following by Making NYC Politics Relevant and Fun
Next Bootcamp meetup: May 7
but first… an update on who’s leading in Bootcamp points.
Primary Bootcamp leaderboard shakeup
Last week, Carley, Margaux, and Peggy were in the lead. Now it’s James, Erica, and Scott!
Do you need a refresher on what the Primary Bootcamp is again, how to join, and what to do? Here you go:
Complete Bootcamp Actions (here)
Check your points (Unreviewed Points here | Reviewed Points here)
Also, if you attended the launch party a couple weeks ago, that’s an easy 20 points to log right now (“Influence politics - I attended a June Primary Bootcamp event”).
Upcoming events
You can also subscribe to the calendar on lu.ma for more events as they’re added:
Thursday, May 1: 10 - 11:30 AM
Location: NYU Kimmel Center – Eisner and Lubin Auditorium
Leading mayoral candidates will discuss a number of critical issues facing New Yorkers, including housing affordability, federal funding, zoning reform, and affordable housing development. Candidates will also address the growing homelessness crisis in New York City.
Wednesday, May 7: 6 - 8pm
Location: Craft+Carry Upper West Side
We're meeting up on the Upper West Side-- come ready to share with others about what you've been working on, or ask for help, or get inspiration from other Bootcampers' experiences. Whether you're a seasoned advocate or just starting your civic engagement journey, you’ll leave with resources for your next steps.
Save the date: June 3. Lenny An and I are co-hosting with an evening dedicated towards getting to know various local advocacy groups across NYC, what they do, and how to get involved with them. Think of it as a college career fair for NYC politics. Stay tuned for more details!
Tap into the Bootcamp Community
I'm using Substack Chat as our community space for Bootcampers — a place to swap resources, share ideas, and encourage each other. Think of it like a group chat with neighbors who are right there with you, learning, building community, and growing political influence. There are already great threads going on the following topics:
Resources for planning a trash pickup
A chatbot to help you rank your choices for mayor based on your policy preferences
Links to resources on NYC government structure
Jump in and start a thread with your questions, reflections, asks, or offers!
How Carla Marie Uses TikTok to Make NYC Politics Fun and Accessible
I recently got to chat with Carla Marie, a creator you might know from TikTok and Instagram, about her journey into local politics — and how she’s using her platform to make it easier (and way more fun) for others to get involved too. Here’s a snippet of our conversation:
Sachi: How did you first get involved in local politics?
Carla: I’d always been interested in politics as my family was pretty politically active, but I first got truly involved while I was in college studying Fashion Design, ironically. It was a time of burgeoning protest movements in the city, and I felt a pull to get more involved in politics and policy. That interest led me to get hands-on, working on a City Council campaign. From there, it snowballed — and I’ve stayed active ever since.
Sachi: Why did you start posting about local politics on TikTok?
Carla: In 2021, during the NYC citywide election, I saw a real gap. There wasn’t much bite-sized, easy-to-consume information out there, especially for people who wanted to learn about local level races like the Mayor, City Council, DA, etc., but were starting from the basics.
So, I started making videos breaking down the mayoral race, explaining the roles, the candidates, and how everything fit together. After the election, I kept going — covering city news and current events in a way that felt accessible and relevant.
Sachi: What do you hope to achieve through your videos?
Carla: My goal is simple: to make local politics understandable and fun. I want to break things down so that people can actually see how it connects to their lives — not just the headlines politicians make, but the policies that affect daily realities. While I have my own values and candidates I support, what’s most important to me with this platform is sharing tools and information to help people get engaged in whatever way speaks to them.
Sachi: This really resonates with me — it’s similar to my approach to the Primary Bootcamp. On my Substack, I’m open about my values and the groups and candidates that I support. But if someone in the Bootcamp volunteers for a different candidate, that’s still a win. The real goal is to help more people get involved and start building their political influence. What kind of content are you working on now?
Carla: Right now, I’m focused on the upcoming mayoral race. I’ve been posting candidate interview videos to help voters get to know the field — and figure out who actually deserves their support. For example, my last video interviewing mayoral candidate Zellnor Myrie took place in a sneaker store, and we were talking about the main issues he’s seeing on the campaign trail.
Sachi: What’s something fun you’ve discovered through your videos?
Carla: The TikTok creator community! Through my work, I’ve connected with other creators who care about civic engagement — and we’ve even hosted events together. We’re planning a mayoral debate watch party for June– stay tuned for that!
The Primary Bootcamp action list already had “start a newsletter” as a way to level up your impact (30 points!)– but consider this your invitation to get creative on how to share about local politics with others. Launch a TikTok channel, create an Instagram account, host an event series. Play to your strengths. Pick the approach that gives you joy. If you’re producing the information instead of just consuming it, you’re influencing the conversation. 💪