Summary

In this episode of The Zekely Podcast, host Zeke interviews Kristin Egan, a Democrat running for State House in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Egan shares her journey from union leader and teacher to a political candidate aiming to flip a Pennsylvania State House seat Blue. They discuss key issues like minimum wage, housing affordability, gun safety, and the importance of civic engagement.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Kristin Egan

01:42 What the Buck?!

03:41 Family Influence

04:47 Wage

06:14 Wage War

08:50 Legalize

10:12 Puff or Pass

13:38 MLB

16:19 Guns

18:05 Union

20:13 Count

22:14 Poem

24:26 Data Centers

25:56 Campaign Finance

27:51 Democracy

29:55 Hope

31:46 The Future

32:22 Wrap Up

Kristin Egan: www.kristineganforpa.com/

Full Video Episode Available On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheZekelyPodcast

Short Clips Can Be Found On TikTok: @drzeketayler/@thezekelypodcast and Instagram: @thezekelypodcast

www.thezekelypodcast.com

Hello, I'm Zeke, and welcome to The Zekely , Podcast. Let's talk, Pennsylvania.

The guest I have today was born and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and has been a pillar of her community in promoting democratic values.

She's a teacher, union leader, and now she's running to flip a statehouse seat blue this year. Thank you so much for being here, Kristin Egan.

I’m Zeke, a doctor, a Pennsylvanian and unapologetic supporter of Democratic values. You might have seen me on social media working my ass off for Democrats and meeting some pretty amazing people along the way - like President Barack Obama and Governor Josh Shapiro.

For years, I’ve knocked thousands of doors all over Pennsylvania and poured my heart and soul into supporting candidates and causes that make a difference—from local school board races to national elections. The personal is political, and I take every election in Pennsylvania personally.

Where the mainstream media has failed you, I will give you truth and independence. You’ll hear from Democratic leaders, candidates, and change-makers who are working to improve the health of the Commonwealth, and it won’t be boring as hell.

No matter where you are, I’ll meet you with hope and a plan to make your community better one day at a time. Welcome to the Zekely Podcast. Let’s talk Pennsylvania.

Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

Well, in a in a couple hours, I'm gonna be going out and knocking doors for you today because the Lower Merion Democratic Committee has organized and you are within a stone's throw of Montgomery County, right there in Bucks. And so you are part of a list of people we are going to focus on to flip not just the state senate, but expand our state house majority and get the trifecta this year.

I appreciate that. It's gonna be a fun time.

we're gonna play some games on all about you and have some funny. You ready?

I'm ready.

Well, we're gonna play my favorite game to play with anyone running in Bucks County. It's called What the Buck? Okay, so I'm gonna ask you some questions and you're gonna try and answer and then say what the buck. You have to say what the buck.

Okay, otherwise the game doesn't work. All right. So ICE was evicted from its office in which Pennsylvania town due to falling behind on its rent payments.

I don't know. Allentown,

It was Allentown. Al

Pinsley.

What the buck? Yeah, Mark Pinsley, who is the controller

in that area, found out that ICE was behind on its payments, made it publicly known, got evicted, and he is running for the state senate. So yeah. That's amazing. What the buck? All right, here's another one. A mass casualty incident was declared in Berks County for what event recently?

Yes, I can't wait for him to be in the Senate.

You know? It's okay. It's okay. viewing the arrival of Pacific's big boy number forty fourteen locomotive. Yeah. Yeah, I guess th thousands of spectators waited in a hundred and sixty degree weather for the world's largest operating steam locomotive at the Reading and Blue Mountain Railroad station, and more than a hundred individuals received medical treatment on the scene, and thirty five people were taken to the hospital. Yeah, it's crazy, right? What the buck?

You found me.

Okay. Yeah. Coming in.

What the buck?

What the buck? All right, here's another one.

a quirky roadside attraction located inside a working restaurant in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, celebrates a giant fourteen foot tall statue of an iconic what, which was created that was created in Pittsburgh in nineteen sixty seven by franchisee Jim Delagati, if that helps at all.

my gosh, I don't need these answers.

No, don't know. It's a giant 14 foot Big Mac statue in a McDonald's. Yeah. I mean, what

I should have

done that one because we were driving by it pretty recently too and my kids wanted to go to it and we just didn't have enough time. I was gonna say some kind of a Heinz ketchup bottle in the museum.

yeah.

Well, thanks for playing what the buck with me.

Kristin, you are the daughter of a union Amtrak conductor and a math instructional aide and floral designer, and now you are a teacher and a union leader. So something must have rubbed off on you, I'm assuming.

Yeah, I mean, my parents have worked and sacrificed so hard their entire lives, committing, you know, not only to their jobs, but to the community as well. So I was raised by really hardworking parents. My dad retired from Amtrak, was part of the smart union, and even served for a bit of time as a legislative chair, too. and my mom worked in schools and then at a country club, leading all the the gardening and the the flowers, and she was known as the flower girl to the her colleagues.

Yeah.

That's amazing. And you were elected as chief negotiator of your union. So you are deep in the game and protecting workers' rights. I mean, that's that's what we need in Harrisburg. We need someone who has those values that are just ingrained in them and to do the right thing for all Pennsylvanians. So I just wanted to showcase that because I always find it fascinating how you know your upbringing really shapes who you are. And you've just been bathed in these democratic values and it's very impressive to me. So I'm grateful for that.

Right.

Kristin, the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. How do you feel about that?

I mean, if we can go back to the what the buck, like I I don't understand how you vote no on that. We have so many residents to who not only need that, but they're driving across state lines to receive those wages. And so it does it makes no sense that for this long we haven't raised the minimum wage. You know, as a teacher, I largely do this assignment every year and for the last 20 years, whether it was in speech and debate class or in my eighth grade English class, but we look at issues.

Yeah.

That are going on and and they get to determine what issues are most important to them and to defend them and do their research and fact check and and write a huge argumentative essay. And a great deal of students wrote it, of course, on raising the minimum wage.

It's embarrassing. I just think it's embarrassing that Ohio, Ohio raised their minimum wage before Pennsylvania did. I mean, obviously the holdup is the state senate, right? The state senate is where good bills go to die, which is going to change this year. I'm hoping this'll be our year to get the trifecta, just thirty years of the making. but obviously we need you in the state house to get it there. It's already been passed multiple times, so we have to keep the ball rolling. I don't want anything to stop that ball rolling forward. so I'm glad that you would vote to raise a minimum wage.

because it's just it's long overdue.

We're gonna play another game called Wage War. Okay? True false. I think you're gonna get these no problem. true or false? Most minimum wage workers are teenagers.

False. I think there's way more than teenagers who are making minimum wage.

That is correct. The majority are adults and many of them are supporting their families. That is there's a lot of misconceptions about the minimum wage that it's just a bunch of teenagers flipping burgers at, you know, fast food restaurants or squeezing out ice cream at summer jobs. It's not true. These are adults who are are literally going paycheck to paycheck, working multiple minimum wage jobs because that's they have no other choice. So you got the first one, you're good. here's a second one. Higher wages can reduce employee turnover. True or false?

Higher wages can reduce employee turnover.

Yeah, that is true. Right. It it is very expensive to go out and hire more people for jobs, right? You have to sometimes pay recruiters, you have to get them re-credentialed. It's this whole thing. It's a whole process. So it's much cheaper just to pay people a working wage, a livable wage, than waste your time just going through this attrition cycle, right? Of losing, you know, workers over and over again. So that is correct.

Yeah, you know, my my husband owns an HVAC business. And sometimes that labor can be a little transient. And we we joined the sheet metal workers union. And so we're sheet metal workers and it was the best investment. we pay our employees livable wages, healthcare benefits, and there's no turnover.

Mm-hmm.

Time is money and just to get on the books and do everything, it it costs so much money. So we're really grateful to be in local nineteen.

Mm-hmm.

All right, a couple more. raising the minimum wage always causes huge job losses. True or false?

False.

That's correct. Many modern studies find small or no employment effects for moderate increases, right? Because that's all the businesses are gonna leave, the millionaires are gonna get upset, boo-hoo, and go out of the country. Not true at all. I have two more. Raising the minimum wage can increase spending at local businesses. True or false? That is true. People are

who are what you what you would consider low income earners, not the millionaires and billionaires, actually spend a lot more money in their communities when they have money. They don't sock it away in the stock market or hedge funds. They actually stimulate their local economy. So that is true. All right, here's the last one. Many minimum wage workers are employed full time. True or false?

Many minimum wage workers are employed full time, is true.

Mm-hmm.

That is true. Right. These are not people working part-time jobs

So absolutely, I just wanted to dispel those myths.

about raising the minimum wage 'cause it's super important and with your help it's gonna happen this year.

Kristin, the current Republican state rep serving in your district, voted no to legalize recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania. How do you feel about that?

I feel like it's a real loss of revenue for our state. again, it's right across the border into New Jersey. People are spending their money there and they're getting that revenue and we are losing out on that.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And our taxes continue to go up for our residents. So we need to create more opportunities.

It's ridiculous. I have a theory that Republican politicians in Pennsylvania like going out of state to celebrate and do things that they just don't really care. Like for example, Brian Fitzpatrick could have celebrated his wedding, right, in Bucks County, our current congressman, but he thought, Now let me go to New York City, get a nice fancy yacht, put three hundred of my friends on it, and have a ten piece brass band. That you know, just something cheap and a full write up in People magazine.

So, you know, maybe they just don't care. Sure, go to New Jersey for their marijuana, go to New York, go to Colorado. You know, we could care less what happens in Pennsylvania. That that's my th it's just a theory. Just you not that it's

Another missed

opportunity to bring things into our local district and and build our economy here.

Right.

Hey, thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Zekely Podcast. And if you're enjoying yourself, please take a moment to rate my Podcast. Five stars would be great and leave a comment as well. And if you're watching this on YouTube, please hit follow. OK, back to the show.

right, we're gonna play a game called Puff or Pass. Okay. so if you like what I'm saying to you, you're gonna say puff. if you don't, you're gonna say pass.

Okay, and and like, you know, not the Bill Clinton, I didn't inhale stuff. We're actually you're gonna you're gonna like this. You're really gonna take a drag on it, okay? all right, marriage equality in Pennsylvania. Yeah, right? It's good. We need we need that. And and a lot of Republican politicians are not coming to the table with that. We've had multiple opportunities to codify that in Pennsylvania constitutional law. but it's not happening. I'm glad that you will puff on that. Okay, but how about paid maternity leave in Pennsylvania?

Okay.

Pop.

Mm.

We need that.

Right? I mean, it's embarrassing. Virginia just got it done. Virginia has a trifecta and they are crushing it right now, giving paid time off for people trying to start a family. How how can you say you're the party of life and family values when you won't vote to help people trying to start a family? It must mean you only care about certain families, you know, certain people starting a family. So I'm glad that you would support that. All right, how about fully funding public schools in Pennsylvania? That's a huge puff, right? I mean

That's right.

You know that's a puff.

Anytime I hear people complain about their property taxes going up every year, my first question is: what money is coming from Harrisburg? Your tax dollars that you pay every year going to Harrisburg, how much is coming back to your district to fund public schools? The answer is not as much as it should be because Senate Republicans refuse to fully fund public schools. Even after our own state Supreme Court said it's unconstitutional. so yeah, 100% we need to fully fund public schools, and I'm glad you would vote to do that.

You know, as a teacher in the district of which I work, 20% of my building was furloughed this year. And we are in massive deficits and we're constantly having to do more with less. And as a school board director, we had to raise taxes and it broke my heart. I did not want to have to do that, but we're not being funded at the state level. We need a fair funding formula because it's not sustainable for our residents to continually be taxed as high as they are.

No.

Yeah.

I agree. I agree. And the blame should be placed squarely on the Republicans in Harrisburg. And that's why we need the trifecta this year. All right, last one. Protecting reproductive rights in Pennsylvania. Huge puff, right? You're not gonna be able to drive home after well, you probably are home now already, but just no no heavy machinery after all that. I agree. Yes, we need to protect reproductive rights in Pennsylvania. I'm a doctor, right? I'm very grateful that I live in a state where I don't have to worry about choosing between protecting my oath and breaking the law.

Right. And there are many states, unfortunately, right now, where there are healthcare deserts, there are doctors who have left because they don't want to be prosecuted for practicing evidence-based medicine. And so, you know, and my colleagues that live in this area have said if it gets too dicey in Pennsylvania, there's Delaware and there's New Jersey. They're just gonna move across the border because they don't want to deal with that. So you will actually be protecting lives in Pennsylvania by protecting safe access to reproductive rights and also just

you know, protecting doctors' abilities to practice evidence based medicine. So you did a great job. You're super duper high right now on amazing democratic values. So good job, Kristin. They're gonna they're gonna love it. They're gonna love it.

I'm sure my students are gonna love to watch this.

Kristin, many years ago you once tried to hit the MLB parks, all of them, but you only got to thirteen. That is a really cool idea. Where where'd you get that idea from?

I mean I we just wanted to hit all. My husband and I wanted to go through but and we we did hit a bunch of them. brought my my newborn, my first, with us to quite a few of them as well. But as I started having more babies, it wasn't feasible to continue to travel like that.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

My wife is a huge baseball fan. I I mean, was really crazy about it when we first got married, n almost nineteen no over nineteen years ago. And I had to fly her to Atlanta and ask her to marry me at a Braves game. That's how yeah. Yep.

we did see that stadium. We were there.

what is your MLB team of choice? Who did you root for?

I mean I'm always rooting for the Phillies. But there were some really great ballparks. I loved going to San Francisco. I love the Detroit Tigers. That that was a great ballpark.

the Phillies? Okay. Just have to ask, you know. Yeah.

Uh-huh.

That's awesome. That's all. Well, we're gonna play a game called MLB trivia. I wanna see how well here we go. Here we go. I would get all of these wrong, by the way. My wife, my wife would get most of them right, but I would get all of them wrong. All right. Which MLB park is the oldest still in use?

my gosh, I'm dead. my gosh.

Hi.

The Cubs, Wrigley Field?

Fenway Park. in Benway

and bo opened in nineteen twelve in Boston. All right. Which current MLB park is the highest above sea level?

Is it on the west coast?

It's course field in Colorado. Yeah, there you go. which stadium is nicknamed the friendly confines?

Okay, I have not been to that one.

I have no idea.

Wrigley Field. the the iconic phrase was popularized by Ernie Banks to describe the welcoming and intimate atmosphere at the ballpark in Chicago. All right, here's a bonus. Okay, bonus.

The original home plate used in the final game at

is preserved and encased in glass at a Pennsylvania university.

What was the name of that field?

Spectrum. Worrs.

yeah. 40 year old Babe Ruth hit the final three home runs of his major league career at that stadium. It was crazy. So I actually went on a tour of University of Pittsburgh recently. My son is touring colleges right now, and I thought that was one of the coolest parts of the tour. Like you're looking at a at the home plate of where Babe Ruth hit his final home runs, and that's the last remaining piece of Forbes Field. Yeah, it's pretty amazing.

Well, it seems like you need to visit more baseball fields someday. I think Kristin.

Yeah.

moral of the story of this game is that you need to get back in the saddle once your kids are old enough and go make some trips with your husband. And you know, next time we do this game, when you're a state rep, you'll get them all right, okay?

Yeah.

Kristin, the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to prohibit the use of ghost guns and machine gun conversion devices in Pennsylvania. Why the hell would they do that?

I don't know. I mean, it's so upsetting to know that firearms can can be in the hands of of people and children. I'm I'm you know, twenty three years ago today, my my mother in law died due to gun violence. So on this day twenty-three years ago, so it it hits close to us. You know, she died at 46 years old, she never had the opportunity.

I'm so sorry.

To meet her eight grandchildren. And this is why we we need to make sure those red flag laws are in place.

We have to protect our community members and and support the second amendment too.

Yeah, I think there's a lot of misinformation obviously that's always going around that Democrats want to take everyone's guns away. And that's every single person I brought onto the show who is either e who either is serving as a politician or wants to be a politician has never said that that's what they want to do. They just want to make it safe. Just like driving a car is regulated. You know how all the hoops you have to go through to get a license and get your car inspected to make sure it doesn't run off the road or hit someone or or, you know, cause an accident.

Those are the things that people want for guns. It's the same thing. No one is saying you can't go buy a gun.

that

yeah it it it required more forms to register my children for kindergarten than it does to obtain a firearm.

Yeah. It's it's ridiculous. and also I know that any legislation you pass to protect the children in Pennsylvania from gun violence and adults will be in her memory. So so thank you so much for for focusing on that. We need to get that done in Pennsylvania.

Kristin, as you said before, your husband owns a small union HVAC business. He started about twelve years ago. was your husband inspired by you to allow his workers to unionize?

I I wouldn't say inspired, but he certainly asked my thoughts on it. You know, his his dad, he comes from a union family too. His dad's a teamster. So we've both grew up with strong union values. and and when he talked about the opportunity to go union and and what I thought about it, I was like, hell yes, absolutely. And you know, it a lot of people tried to tell us that it would cost too much money and

Okay.

Yeah, that's good.

It say it was the best investment because like we talked about earlier, we no longer have transient employees. People would go to the next HVAC business for 50 cents more and then in a couple of months ask to come back because they, you know, appreciated the the working conditions that my husband had. But people would flip and f flop to different businesses and now we have, you know, a really great staff because they're valued.

Yeah, that's great. I mean, union values are democratic values. And I I see that time and time again. And I know that Democrats in Pennsylvania support unions. And I I hear and I've heard Republican politicians say that they want Pennsylvania to be a right to work state, which we can never have, right? Because right to work is like a dog whistle for getting rid of unions, right? And making it almost impossible to organize and, work for good working conditions. So I'm glad that your husband, you know.

Took a note from you, even though coming from a union family, I'm glad that he saw that and he listened to you because yeah, as 12 years later, you're still going strong and having good workers stick around. So that's great. I'm glad that you're a union family and you propagate those democratic values.

Wow, you're still listening. Thank you so much. I want to make sure as many people in Pennsylvania as possible get to experience The Zekely Podcast. So to help spread the word, please take a moment to rate my podcast. Five stars would be great. Leave a comment as well. And if you're watching this on YouTube, please hit follow. Enjoy the rest of the show.

Kristin, the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to allow election officials to start counting mail and ballots up to seven days before an election. Why would he do that?

I have no idea.

propagating that narrative that there's a blue wave, right? That they're they're they're stuffing the ballot boxes, that it starts off one way, and as they're counting the hundreds of thousands of ballots that are safe and effective to use, the vote count's gonna change. But if we like many other states in the union, count the ballots as they come in up to seven days beforehand on election day.

Right.

They just drop the the vote count and then we all know what's going on and we can know who won an election within twenty-four hours of the polls closing. So yeah, I mean, it's the narrative, right? If they if they can't have a narrative that there's cheating going on, then they don't want to get rid of that narrative. So I'm assuming that you would vote to allow election officials to count ballots when as they come in.

Absolutely. And and to keep mail-in ballots too. And I looked at even my voting record

Yeah.

I have such a fantastic, like never missed an election,

except for when I was in college. And while I was in locally in college, mail-in ballots didn't exist. And so I was in class and on Tuesdays I went to class from like 7 a.m. till eight forty-five.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

I didn't have the opportunity to vote and what an injustice for people to not have the opportunity to vote. We are a democracy and we need to protect that.

Yeah. I w in Pennsylvania you get like a special shout out or award when you voted for fifty years straight, correct? In like every election every year. Is that a thing? I think it is. I think it is. I think like if you vote in every primary and general election for fifty straight years, you get some type of a shout out from the governor or like a diploma, you know, like a certificate or something. So I think I think we should we should that should be our goal. Okay, Kristin. You know, state rep here, okay, a little bit higher the fifty year certificate. All right, we'll go for that.

I know.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Okay,

good.

I have no

I concocted a poem

that I yeah, you heard me correctly. A poem that I'm gonna recite to you, okay? And I'm gonna lean into the cheese. And please bear with me on this. it is titled Pennsylvania is giving democracy. Okay. And I think so. Sit back and enjoy this or not. Embrace the cringe, okay? Pennsylvania.

Girl, are you okay? Because you've been saying maybe next election for over thirty years. It's time to stop ghosting democracy. This November 3rd, make a voting plan. Put it in your calendar. Set an alarm. Tie a string to your finger. Ask Jeeves. Consult your magic eight ball.

Be there. Vote democratic, not just at the top. I'm talking up and down the ballot. Leave no race behind.

Catch them all, infinity stones, Avengers, assemble. This is the way. Live long and prosper. May the may the force be with you. Hakuna Matata YOLO, no cap. Bet slay. It's giving civic engagement. Need a reason?

Trifecta in Pennsylvania has been more elusive than finding Carmen San Diego, getting your Tamagotchi to survive, a blockbuster with no late fees, a clean my space top eight Wi-Fi on SEPTA, or your parents figuring out.

How to unmute themselves on Zoom. 30 plus years. 30 plus years, bruh. So text your bestie, call your mom, message the family group chat, tag your cousin, send the pigeon, revive your AOL Instant Messenger away message, post the selfie, drop it to the Discord, share it on TikTok. fax if you must. Let's make I voted the hottest trend since Beanie Babies, Fidget Spinners, the Ice Bucket Challenge.

And whatever Stanley Cups are doing right now, because democracy, it's kind of that girl. So on November 3rd, touch grass, touch the ballot, touch history. Let's finally earn that democratic trifecta and make Pennsylvania's political status go from it's complicated to mission a accomplished

A plus, I love it. You need the trifecta. This is crazy.

you go. So that that was my cheesy poem for you. Okay. I'm may I'm hoping that Amanda Gorman hears this maybe or watches this and will be proud of me.

Kristin, data centers are being discussed all over the country right now, and Pennsylvania is no exception. What would you do as a state rep to address these centers?

regulation, regulation, regulation. I mean, bring your own energy. There has to be transparency and accountability with the usage of water.

There shouldn't be tax incentives for these big businesses to come into communities.

We have to protect our residents. Plain and simple. They can't be next door.

Yeah, we

Where people are are living and raising families, they need to still have, you know, a a good quality of life and not to have their property values diminished.

Have you noticed at all, Kristin, that PECO is just really upset that these data centers are coming to Pennsylvania? I I feel like they're not that upset about it, right? Instead, we get emails, emails that boo hoo, the unions are

striking, right? They're like, please don't be upset at PECO because we can't pay our workers enough, right? They want us to somehow feel bad for PECO. These energy companies would love to get the kickbacks for having these data centers in Pennsylvania.

So I think also those need they need to be regulated as well. And I that's gonna be included in whatever policy positions Josh Shapiro takes.

And PECO just made record profits, I think eight hundred and fourteen million dollars last year. And our residents need relief.

we need to protect our unions who are working for PECO. We need to regulate these data centers.

that's gonna take Democrats to do it. You know, the Republican politicians in the in Harrisburg are not gonna do the job. So we need you there to make sure the job is taken care of.

Kristin, the current Republican state rep serving your district, surprise, voted no.

To require all candidates in Pennsylvania running for public office to file online campaign finance reports. Why would you vote no for that?

I don't know. Why why not be transparent?

Right? I mean, w we all want to get money out of politics, right? And but we also know, and the Supreme Court just ruled in this country that it's a free-for-all. People can spend as much as they want on congressional candidates. In Pennsylvania, you can spend as much as you want on lot of races. And Democrats want to stop that. We want transparency. We do not want, you know, the barrier to entry to be money. It should just be whether you want to run for office or not. And until we get that done, we're going to have this ridiculous spending. I mean, your race alone.

A flippable state house seat will probably cost you north of a million dollars to run for this seat. It's ridiculous. And that's not right. That's not something to be proud of. Like I know you're not proud of that. It's just that's the state of play. You know, we are serious people participating in democracy, and that is a rule that people can just raise that kind of money to run for office in Pennsylvania. And obviously, by not making it transparent, it allows these people to make even more money through super PACs or whatever they want to do.

More than double that.

And just buy seats in the state house. And so obviously, the current Republican state rep wants that to keep happening. And I know that you would not vote that way.

No, I mean, even running for office now, knowing the cost of it, I can see why it prevents people from from wanting to do more for their communities. And we need people in these seats who represent their communities, not special interest groups that are going to fund their campaign to have them vote a specific way. Our our community deserves better. And they deserve real community members

Mm-hmm.

stepping up and listening to their concerns and speaking for them too.

Kristin, what would you say to someone who is disaffected with democracy?

Now is not the time. Now is to be disaffected. I understand why. You know, especially for our young adults who don't feel like there is anybody in government looking out for them.

Ha ha ha.

it's it's sad. You know, when I was younger, I always knew who my state rep was. I knew that she was a phone call away because my parents, you know, called called the office when trees were overgrown on a road and they would be corrected, you know, within

24 hours a lot of times, you know, our state rep was Tina Davis. And I I knew that our our government worked if we elected the people who were there to serve our community. And right now I don't think that our our younger folks really feel like anybody's looking out for them when they can't afford housing, when their student loan debt is at an all-time high, they can't afford gas to get to their jobs at minimum wage. What are we doing to give opportunities?

For our for our our 20-year-olds or 23 year olds or 25 year olds, but also our 40-year-olds, you know, our mothers who are out there giving their entire paycheck to daycare because of the cost of daycare is so high. I remember being in that stage just to go back to work, to then have to pay thousands of dollars in daycare. I can understand why they're disaffected when they don't feel like they're being heard, but now is not the time we need to energize.

and activate and get some some good people and get the trifecta so that these bills do not die in the Senate anymore.

As Austin Davis, our current lieutenant governor said, you know, democracy works best when you engage, you know, when you get engaged in the process. And so, yes, and that is exactly what you're doing. You are engaging in the democratic process by running for office

and your vote in Harrisburg will not just help your constituents, but your vote affects all of Pennsylvania. And people need to remember that. And that's why we're gonna help you get elected all the way at Montgomery County.

Kristin, what gives you hope?

The children, right? Not just my own children, but my students. they're so accepting, they're so kind, you know, there's always gonna be a little bit of problems here or there. but they

they ultimately, you know, make good decisions. They do really well and they and they wanna do well and they wanna be successful. And I feel like they're more accepting than than past generations are. And

They're collaborative, they're intelligent, they're creative, and they need a fair shot at life, like I had, like my parents had. So they they give me hope. I I think my constituents give me hope all the time.

I I love how energized they are too to see a like a a new voice coming to the table and someone who isn't a career politician. they like to see

a real person representing them that that knows what it's like to be part of a community.

Give me hope, Kristin. When I see someone like you running for a political position in Pennsylvania who is just so qualified and and so passionate about democratic values, I mean, it's hard not to have hope and and to see that there are good people in Pennsylvania. I all the time, all the time I hear where are the leaders in the Democratic Party. I'm talking to one right now. I am looking at a leader in the Democratic Party and you are running to make Pennsylvania a better place. That gives me hope. So thank you so much for being you and for running for office.

And thank you for everything that you do and you know, activating everyone and knocking doors with me.

Yeah.

It takes a village and I love the I love this community and I I love this state and there's work to be done.

It does.

There's work to be done.

Kristin, my last question for you is what are your plans to get you through these next few years in America?

My claims?

What are your plans?

I mean, just to to keep working hard for people, to stay optimistic, to to have some some balance, right? But to continue to listen to the concerns of of our residents, of our constituents, and to work for the people. That that's that's my goal for the next couple of years.

Yeah.

Yeah. Lean into the work. Lean into the work, right? And try and find some some joy in the resistance. Yeah. You and me both.

That's right.

Well, Kristin Egan, Democrat running for State House in Pennsylvania. This is where you bring it in. This is the part of the show where you come in close and you listen. Josh Shapiro won this district by about ten points, and it is estimated we need about twenty five hundred votes to flip this seat blue and expand our state house majority. Kristin, what is your website?

Kristenegan4pa.com.

If you live in Langhorn, Langhorn Manor, Pendle, Lower Southampton Township, Middletown Township, or Northampton Township, get off your ass. Go to Kristin's website, sign up to Doorknock, phone bank, send postcards, make a donation. This is our time. I don't want to hear that your vote doesn't matter. You could literally be the vote that sends Kristin to Harrisburg next year and protect our democratic values because there's a lot of crazy stuff happening in America right now. Nobody is denying that.

But our vote is our power, and they cannot take that away from us today, tomorrow, during the midterms this year. And Kristin, like I said, I can't vote for you. Damn it, I wish I could, but I can't wait to congratulate you on November third. You deserve this. And your constituents deserve it, and Pennsylvania deserves it. So thank you so much for everything you're doing.

Thank you. I appreciate you.

Well, thank you so much for joining me here on The Zekely Podcast. Stay hopeful and get involved. And until next time, let's keep building a stronger Pennsylvania together.