Summary

In this episode of The Zekely Podcast, host Zeke interviews an inspiring politician, Juan Tafolla, who shares his journey from local council to becoming Pennsylvania's youngest elected official. He discusses his motivations, the importance of local politics, and how social media can empower the next generation of leaders.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Juan Tafolla

02:13 Non-Traditional

03:20 Never Have I Ever

04:54 Why Democrat?

06:17 Family

08:38 Turtles

10:47 Gen Z

13:27 Shadow

14:35 Mexico

17:02 EMS

19:19 Fears

21:05 Exposure Therapy

24:07 Zoning

28:04 Let's Name the Zones

30:05 Agenda

31:39 Disaffection to Hope

33:06 The Future

33:49 Wrap-Up

Juan Tafolla: https://www.juantafolla.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 lives in Kennet Square, Pennsylvania and is a Gen Z who understands the importance of local government. Currently he is studying law at West Chester University, but in 2025 he made history by becoming the youngest elected official in Kennet Square at just 19 years of age. Thank you so much for being here, Councilman Juan Tafolla.

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 so much for having me.

I think that you are definitely the youngest elected official that I've ever had on The Zekely Podcast and I think we need to have more people like you. So thank you so much for being here and talking all about yourself.

No, thank you. Thank you for having me. You know, it's interesting. A couple of weeks ago, I found out that I wasn't just the youngest in a Kennett square as elected official. I'm currently the youngest in the whole state. The whole state.

The whole state, ⁓ my gosh, I did not know that. Well, that's amazing.

so it's me. And then there's a 22 year old mayor by the Pittsburgh area. And then I think we have.

Okay.

two 25 year old state senators, and I think a 33 year old district judge. So we're the top youngest in the whole Commonwealth.

my God.

I am speaking to history right now. This is amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining me here. We're going to talk all about you, play some games and have some fun. Are ready?

Sure, thank you, yeah.

Alright,

Juan, because you are serving a public office, you are actually not having a traditional college experience right now. You are studying law, criminal justice, and politics at Westchester. So how things been going for you compared to your fellow classmates?

we're not having the same experience, but I wouldn't trade this for anything else. I'm very lucky to be in this position and to have been elected.

Yes, I'm missing out on some parties and all that stuff, but I'm very happy with what I'm doing and I'm 20 still, so I think once we're 21, things could probably change a little bit.

Yes, yes, yes. After you have those council meetings in Kennet Square, you can go home and have an old fashioned

But I just think it's phenomenal that you're having this experience that the majority of your friends are not having.

It is, yeah. It's been pretty fun. a lot of people ask me, know, how do you balance both, you know, college and being an elect official same time? And it's because of what I'm studying. majority of the classes overlap of what I'm already doing or what I've learned. So it helps a lot. It helps a lot.

Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, you're getting on the job training and training at the same time.

Well, let's play a little game, okay, called Never Have I Ever. All right, it's a, and I'm gonna have this focused on college here, okay? So, never have I ever been to a frat party. I have. I actually joined a frat. You've never done it?

Yeah.

No, never.

No, no, I'm on my second year right now, we'll see what next year.

Okay, okay.

Yeah,

I did join a frat, which I regret doing when I was in college. It was a crazy time. But yeah, okay. I mean, maybe someday you'll go. It can be a good time. It has to be the right crowd. All right, how about this one?

Yeah, I know

No, go ahead, go ahead.

who are in some.

well, make sure they're good people. Do a lot of vetting, okay? Make sure they come out to a Kennett Square Council meeting first to just see how serious they are about making you rush, okay?

you

Alright, here's another one. Never have I ever painted my body and attended a sporting event.

No, no, I have it, no.

Yeah, I've never done that either. I've never been a big, anyone who listens or watches the podcast knows I'm not a big sports person, so I never did that.

Well, there was when I was little, like the little stripes on the face.

Now I'm talking like shirt off, know, total body paint, you know, with letters or something like that. Never done that.

All here's the last one.

Yeah.

Never have I ever ordered fast food with friends after midnight and played video games for hours knowing that I have an exam the next day.

Yeah, I have.

Yeah,

I definitely did that when I was in college too. I you gotta do that, right? You gotta get the mega fries with the cheese on it and the pizza

Just go crazy until the early hours of the morning.

Yeah, until one or two and then the...

playing off video games.

And then wake up and go to class

the next day. Yeah. Well, enjoy those memories, man. It's a good time.

Juan, why are you a Democrat? And why do you choose to represent the Democratic Party?

Democrat Party is the future of the country.

And hopefully we keep,

focusing the people. I think that's important. We have to keep focusing on the people. And that should be our number one goal as Democrats, to focus on the people.

It's the values, it's the ideals within the democratic platform. And as you said, you know, the democratic platform focuses on people because the democratic party believes that when done correctly, government can help the most people. But that's only if people that you elect believe that when you're dealing with, you know, either at a local level, with hundreds of thousands of dollars to a county level with maybe millions of dollars all the way up to a state level, billions of dollars and then

and

federally, trillions of dollars, right? mean, that's a lot of money when used responsibly can help a lot of people. But if you choose to, you know, gut things and shut things down and let people suffer, then the opposite can happen. And I'm sure sitting on council, you've had to manage a lot of those decisions.

Yeah, yeah, I think us as Democrats are willing to work. You know, we saw it with the TSA thing happening federally. I know our Democrat leadership reached out to the side to work and they were like, no, you know, I think that they have to stop. You know, we have to focus on the people and we Democrats are showing that.

Juan, your family is a big reason why you got into politics. And I'm just curious what some of those conversations were like at such a young age, to focus you so much on getting into, you know, politics and civic engagement.

Yeah, so majority of my family, current and like generation wise, held elected offices in Mexico. And it was in 2023.

I originally wanted to study aerospace engineering and politics, a second, you

minor degree would have been nice. But then I had a conversation with my uncle

Mm-hmm.

and my grandpa and we just started talking about politics and I was like, I think I was 16 at the

So I found it so interesting, like the stories they would tell, like how they got to help people and it got me.

hooked into it, I did more research. And then when I came back

to the States,

I talked to the former mayor of Kennet, Leon Spencer about

program called a junior member council, which is like an internship kind of thing where you're, you're on the council, but you don't get to vote or, or attend executive sessions. So I did the program for a year and I like nine months.

Yeah.

19 at the time. So I'm like, you know,

Let's make history. Let's go for it. And I did the paperwork and everything and I think the rest is history.

That's crazy. Well, I have to thank your uncle for planting that seed, that bug of running for politics because, you know, it's a big deal.

I think people underestimate the dedication it takes to really do a good job, even at the local level. So I think it's wonderful that your family inspired you, and I'm sure it's only going to lead to a life of service, and that's going to make your family proud.

Thank you.

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.

Juan, you have three pet turtles named Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. So I have to f- Where- Why did you decide to name them after states?

So it's funny, we had, my dad was working outside by a creek and he was digging the dirt and in the shovel, he picked up the

⁓

And he brought them home. He brought,

think it was 10 in total.

Three survived. So there was New York, there was Florida, was Wisconsin,

and magically only Delaware, New Jersey, and PA survived. The reason I named them like, well, I know there's 10. Why not name them after states? It'd be much easier to remember.

my God.

Okay, okay.

my gosh.

Were there any states that were harder to lose? Like when you lost New York, was that like a hard day for you? Were there certain states that were just more difficult than others?

Yeah, New York. I'm like, York was my favorite. She, but

happy Pennsylvania is alive. I'm like, ⁓ that's the one I really wanted.

Yeah, yeah.

my God. Well, how old are they now?

They are now, I think, three years old? They're like this size now. Like, they grew. They grew big. Yeah. They're the, I think, the red-eyed sliders. The ones that have, like, the red marking on the sides.

years old.

So the size of a mango. Looks like the size of a mango. So and what kind of turtles are they?

Yeah, okay, I can see them. I can see them. Yeah. And then how long do they usually live for? Like what's the average lifespan of these turtles, do know? wow. Okay.

I think it's 12 or 15 years. ⁓ I

know when we got them, I wanted to get a tortoise. Those last you like a hundred years.

I'm like, it's still in the conversations that I can get one.

yeah, yeah, yeah.

God so so are they are they with you in college now or they back at your parents house?

They're at my parents' house. They're in a tank in our hallway.

Okay, so here here's the question if you ever get a tortoise what what state is that gonna be?

think California.

Texas?

California, Texas. I mean, I've never

had someone on the show that I knew owned turtles as a pet. So I had to bring that up, of course.

You

Juan, you're a Gen Z politician. So how are you connecting with your generation and inspiring them to get involved in local and state government?

Yeah, I think social media helps a lot. We noticed that when I ran during election day in November, we had a lot of young people come up to the polling locations in Kennet. A lot of my fellow classmates who I recently graduated two years ago, they're like, I came out to vote for you because I know who you are. And because of your social media posts, you know the outreach you were doing. So I think like Instagram, Snapchat.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

and, Tik

helped a lot is to get people my age to come out and vote.

Mm.

in terms of getting out to, think speaking, speaking to groups, for example, ⁓ one of my, ⁓ West West Chester university classes in urban politics, I was given the, the opportunity to speak to my classmates and introduce myself. so I, I always have this, I tell them, you know, if I can do it, you can do it as well. you know, the sky's the limit.

⁓ people are going to try to, you know,

you down and say, can't do it, but you can do it. If you believe down here, you can do it. so that that's like my, my, my like little motivation speech to, to be my age. Like if I can do it, you can do it. course.

Now, I love it. I love that you're so present on social media because these days I feel like with their phones, that's their connection to the outside world. And whether it's getting their news or getting entertainment or a combination of the two, I think you have to meet people where they are. And these days you have to be plugged into that network.

because we're not gonna get a spot on CNN or MSNBC and any of these mainstream media networks and get your message out there. It really is through local networks or on social media. So that's interesting to me. Okay, because I do a lot of social media posting. I don't really know the demographic of everyone I hit, but I definitely put out as much content as possible and try and make it fun and engaging because I do believe that most people are scrolling on their phones in their free time all hours of the day.

Yeah, think having, you know, what helps a lot is having short snippets. That's what gets, that's what gets your attention and it gets him to watch the whole thing. Having short snippets helps a lot.

I know I try to keep them a little over a minute to less as much as possible. But sometimes the message, you don't want to get lost in the sauce. You want to keep people engaged because after the first 10, 11 seconds, they just drop off. So I'm always trying to find that messaging sweet spot. But you're going to have so much time to build up a social media messaging and following platform because you're starting out so young. So I really hope you keep building on that. And I hope people follow you and realize you're going to do great things. You really are.

Yeah.

Thanks so much.

Juan, you once shadowed with State Senator John Cain's office. So what was that experience like?

that was amazing going to

Getting to meet my state senator. Senator Cain's very cool. He's cool. He's very cool. And then I got introduced to the Senate to the Senate floor, which is also pretty

talking to him and meeting with his amazing staff. And I also got to go to the lieutenant governor's office, Austin Davis.

then his chief of staff took us to the

to the main balcony, which you can see

all of Harrisburg through the front Capitol, which is a beautiful view from there. It was amazing to have gone there. And I'm very grateful for Senator King for taking me in that day and showing me the Senate and the Capitol. was very fun.

That's awesome. I have a very strong feeling that there's gonna be a high school student someday that's going to be going to the Capitol and touring your office and you giving some tours around the state Capitol. I really do believe that because I think you're gonna inspire a lot of people and I think you're gonna keep moving upwards and do some great things for Pennsylvania.

Thank you, Zeke. Thank you.

Juan, while a student at Kennet High School, you became a junior council member for one year, and during that time you traveled to Mexico with the goal of building bridges with the government, specifically the community of Toluca and the borough. So how has that experience helped you in your current role?

It's helped me a lot. Almost 50 % of our population is Hispanic or Latino. So getting to see majority of the perspective of how most of our residents' home country was or where they came

know, it gave me that understanding of like, this is what their life was over there. And how is...

elected official, how can I bring some of that back here to their new

You mentioned that over 50 % of your borough is composed of the Hispanic population. How has that been managing their emotions or fears or concerns with the whole ICE occupation that's happening with the current Republican government?

been scary. I'll say that it's been scary. It's concerning, especially for young folks that they're concerned to go to school and then next thing you know, their parents may not be home. You know, it's very sad and concerning. That shouldn't never happen. We were very lucky enough to have community leaders and organization groups who are helping.

with these situations here in the Kennett area. And I've been very lucky enough to have a good relationship with the Mexican consulate in Philadelphia, which serves the Commonwealth and I think parts of New Jersey. And staying in touch to see how we can collaborate and keeping each other informed of what's going on in our municipalities. I think it's very important that us as elected officials are there for our community members.

regardless of their status because at the end of the we all represent

100%. And you are not going to obey in advance, and you have a spine and you're going to stick up for your constituents. And that is the human thing to do. That is the empathetic thing to do.

I'm just nice to hear those stories because I know that there are lots of people who are looking for leaders in the Democratic Party. And here you are.

we have to stand up over communities. That's very important to me, regardless of what your background is, what your skin color is, what your status is, you know, I'm with you.

halfway through the episode and you're still here. I hope you're enjoying yourself 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. Okay back to the show

what progress have you made to address cost savings with FHIR and EMS services as Councilmen?

I serve as shadow member to the working group inside the borough that's trying to get us back into the commission. I speculate and I think it's probably going to happen that we'll rejoin the commission by the end of the

to provide those services to our residents. And I support our firefighters and our first responders. In my opinion, I think we should have never

Can you explain, so whose decision was

it to leave the commission? Whose decision was it to leave the commission and what were the consequences of that?

Part, so some of the members were in the previous council that just left.

There was personality issues with elected officials and people from the fire companies that I think ended up causing us to leave, which in my opinion, as elected officials, we shouldn't let our personal issues with other people interact with how we govern.

And I feel that's why some of the reason why the previous council

But hopefully this year, we amend those bridges that were burnt down in my opinion and try to find ways to fund the fire and EMS

So basically, I can just bring it all together, and I understand the previous council, which you were not on, decided to leave the commission that was part of the fire department co-op, essentially, and not help basically fund the fire department to the level that it should have been in your part of Kennet Square, for lots of different reasons. But now you're trying to get back into that co-op to join the other five.

boroughs essentially and then all work together to help fund the fire department.

Yeah, yeah, that summarizes it.

Got it, got it, it. Well, I mean, look, we need level-headed, pragmatic people at all levels of government. And this is a perfect example of when you don't have level-headed people and you don't build good relationships with others in a professional manner, then your borough is gonna lose out. And the people that live in Kennet Square deserve to have the same access to emergency services as everyone else in the surrounding area. And when people in government don't agree with each other, then...

The people who live in those communities suffer. So I'm really happy that you have that level ahead on your shoulders and that you can work with others and build those bridges because lives are in the balance. So thanks for

all that.

Yeah, thank

Juan, I understand that we both share a fear of spiders and heights. Is that correct? Yeah, I agree with you. Spiders have too many legs. You know, I'm a firm believer that anything with more than four legs is just not in my wheelhouse of comfort. You're on the same page, I guess.

Yep.

Yeah, I can deal with the small ones, but the big ones or the ones like I think they're called the daddy long legs, the ones like the big legs. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm not, I'm not a fan.

I'm not a fan at all. And yeah, Heights, I even watch those, you know, social media posts where people are doing these, you know, really high walks on bridges or skyscrapers and like you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach. Or I'm like, you just got to scroll past. Like I'm not, I'm just not a fan of those types of videos. Yeah, you know, I feel like there's just something built in that way. You you got to choose snakes or spiders, right? I'm fine with snakes.

Yeah.

⁓ and heights, you know, I'll go on roller coasters if I have to with my kids. I'm the one that has to go on them because my wife will not go on them. But I'd be fine. I'd be fine on the ground the entire time. You know, gotta be that parent.

Yeah, I know when I was junior member at council, I toured the fire company, which is behind my backyard. And they put me in the fire truck with a big ladder. They raised me all the way to the top. I was like, ⁓ get me down. ⁓ get me down.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

No, no, yeah.

Yeah, no thanks. Yeah, no, that would not be my jam either. Well, just make sure if you ever do decide to have kids someday, you have to choose. know, either has to be one parent or a significant other that is gonna go on the roller coasters, because you're inevitably gonna have one kid that wants to go on those things, okay? I'm sorry. You may not be the one. TBD.

Mm.

Alright, we're gonna play a game called exposure therapy. Okay, where I'm to talk about some things that might make you uncomfortable and then we can work through them together Okay, we're gonna have little therapy session on The Zekely Podcast. Okay,

you are waiting to pick up food from a restaurant and Despite the fact that you ordered it earlier Someone else gets their food first. Okay, what kind of emotions are going through you right

Getting a little tightness in the chest, is your heart rate going up a little bit?

I think.

Heart rate going up a little bit, a little upsetness, like, where's my food? I ordered it before you.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Yeah, you just did an all-nighter of studying. You you really, need the

All right, are we okay? Just talking about it, do you feel a little bit better? Just calming yourself down, you know, thinking about your constituents. You don't wanna have a crazy moment where somebody picks out their cell phone and records Councilman

Yeah, it's.

You

you know, just going off because you didn't get your food on time. You just got to bring the temperature down.

Don't need it to be in the front page. Don't need it to be in the front page.

Exactly, exactly.

It's just a hamburger. It's just a hamburger. Okay, here we go.

All right, how about this? Lying on the beach with full sun exposure, no umbrella, sunblock of course, but it's 95 degrees out and there's no breeze. How are we feeling?

You

fire.

Yeah,

you're not enjoying that? No, I don't enjoy it. I would not enjoy that either. I'm not you're not a beach bunny.

No, no, fire.

Not that much. We did have an experience, this is probably like 10, 12 years ago, where we forgot to put on sunscreen. like our skin was peeling. I think it was probably one of the worst decisions we ever did. Like it was bad. I'm like...

Yeah.

Yeah, no,

I'm not a beach bunny either. My wife just loves the sun. She wears sweatpants and a hoodie in the summertime and she turns 10 shades darker when she goes outside. So she could do it all day long, but I get hives if I'm out in the sun for too long. I wear the UV protection, long sleeve, wetsuit guards, and even the ones with the hood on them. So you'll just see like...

you

My sunglasses and the hood up and then just the zinc oxide everywhere because I just can't do it Yeah, that that that's not it for me. Here's the last one driving on the turnpike Truck is in the right lane. You're trying to pass on the left, but the car in front of you stays right next to the truck

I know that this might be the worst one. This might be the worst one. I saved it for last

I know we're not supposed to, but like the high beat...

I know. I know, the

high beams come out, right? I mean, like, come on, keep right, pass left. That means you gotta pass. You gotta pass. I'll never forget, I was driving on the Turnpike once. I must've been following a car, this is at nighttime, a half an hour. A half an hour, I was stuck behind this car and a truck on the right, and they were just like, I don't know, maybe they were a conversation or something up there, I couldn't see it, but yeah, that really grinds my gears. But again.

We got to breathe it out, right? Me and you breathe it out, breathe it out. We can handle this. No road rage, no front newspapers for a councilman to follow. OK. Well, I'm glad we had this little therapy session. And I have a big proponent of therapy. So thank you for that.

you

Thank you.

Juan, you said that zoning is one of your most powerful tools on borough council, saying it's your teeth. Can you explain what major zoning issues Kennett Square is dealing with and how your power on council will help address those issues?

So we have this property called NVF, which is, I think, naturalized volcanic

So what we're currently facing right now is

some of those, so they did PCBs, fiber, fiber, fiber stuff and everything. So those chemicals leached into this field we have right now. So it's currently zoned as industrial, but this group who brought the, who bought the property, ⁓ raw copper, wants to put housing on top of it. They want to do, affordable housing in one section. And I think luxury housing, protecet in the other section.

So we as the borough council can let that development happen if we change the zoning. So we would have to change the zoning into ⁓ from industrial to ⁓ residential. So that's our teeth into allowing that to happen. My major concern is that there's been from talking to residents and hearing stories as that there's that area there's unfortunately some of the residents have gotten cancer.

So that's called cancer clusters.

In my opinion, I would not vote on changing the zoning until I get a firm yes or no, cancer is happening because of that property. Because in my conscience, I do not want to put a thousand residents in that big field knowing that they'll probably get cancer in two, five years. So right now, zoning is a tool to, you know, in my opinion,

prevent anything from being built there until me and my, and some other council members who want to join me, you know, get that firm answer. Yes or no, something is happening there, or it happened when the factory was there before it got demolished.

I mean, this to me really highlights the importance of local politics because all politics is local. mean, the mainstream media is constantly just overwhelming people with a lot of things that are happening so far away from where they live. And I'm not saying that what's happening in DC isn't important. It is 100 % important. But you literally have the power to prevent people from getting cancer. You have the power to demand

Yeah.

that you set up a board to go out and investigate and take samples from the ground and test them to make sure that when people build houses there, that they will not be in danger. And you better believe, you better believe that there are other people who would be on that council if they were elected, if they had the chance, who might be getting some money on the side from these big organizations to have a development and might say, you know what, an extra $10,000 to me sounds good. I don't care what you build.

That is not the ethical stance that you should take, but you as an elected official have that moral compass that says, no, I have a responsibility. I have people's lives in my hands and I'm gonna take that seriously. So that's why I always say every election is the most important election because people like you, Juan, have the power to save lives just by the zoning that you control on council.

Yeah, yeah, I agree with you. It's us in the local level that affect you more than what the federal and state does at some points. Because we hold your policing, your zoning, your schools, your roads.

Right, right, right.

100 % and someone like you could vote whether or not ICE could use any of the buildings in your area for their operations. I mean this stuff is all local. So I'm just very grateful that you take your job seriously and that you're going to put the lives of your constituents first and not your own personal greed.

Mm-hmm.

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Okay, let's play a game

let's name the zones the zones the zones Let's name the zones of Kennett square. I can't make it rhyme. You remember finding Nemo remember that Okay, yeah, let's let's like let's name the zones So I'm gonna ask you some questions and you're gonna tell me the answer so hopefully and I made them multiple choice You don't know them off the top your head. Okay?

Yeah.

A developer wants to build a four-story apartment building with retail on the ground floor in downtown Kennet Square. Which zoning district does this belong to?

It's a commercial zoning,

You were right, it's mixed use commercial. You were right, it's mixed use commercial. Very good. I didn't even have to give you multiple choice that time. You're doing great.

Yeah, makes easier.

homeowner wants to build a fence eight feet tall when the code allows six feet, okay? So here's multiple choice. Is it allowed outright? Does it need a variance?

Or is it flatly prohibited?

It's either I think you have to go to the zoning hearing board so would say variance

Correct. Yeah,

need to go to the zone. Right. You need a variance, right? You have to go and ask permission

Here's another one. A business wants to demolish an older building in historic district to build a modern glass cafe. Is this automatically approved? Does it require historical review, or is not allowed under any circumstances?

It would go under historical review, which would be

our contextual

review board.

good. Yes. It has to go under historical review. Very good All right. Here's the last one a cannabis dispensary wants to open

500 feet from a school. Is this allowed? Restricted due to a distance issue or encouraged for tax revenue

It's restricted due to the length of where the school district is.

Mm-hmm.

you're correct. Yeah, see, you know you're zoning. You understand all the zones of your borough, all right? And again, this is local politics, right? These are the things that like every day people wanna go out in their community and do things and you have the power essentially to set up the guidelines on how they can move forward. So thanks for playing Let's Name the Zones.

you

when someone says they don't know what democratic policies are or what their agenda is, what do you say to them?

fighting for equal rights would be, I think, number

protecting our environment would be also another

Making ⁓ life more easier in terms of the minimum wage. know like him and PA or State House just passed a bill. Hopefully it passes in the Senate, raising the minimum wage here in the Commonwealth.

Yeah, probably won't because Republicans control the state Senate, but, you know, hopefully we'll get the trifecta this year, Juan, and we can get it, you know, pushed through, a Democratic Senate, state Senate, Democratic House, and Governor Josh Shapiro will be wonderful. But yeah, I think that you actually have a great place to pull from because you as a Democrat are embodying Democratic values by what you do on council, especially just with your zoning. You know, there, I don't think that

Mm-hmm.

saying, hold on a second, let's make sure we don't give people cancer, realistically is like a priority for Republican politicians. They want to deregulate things. They want to do less when it comes to oversight, when it comes to industry, when it comes to building, when it comes to pretty much anything manufacturing, right? They want to roll back protections for unions and support and everything like that. So I think you are leading with your democratic, you know, policies, even at the local level.

Yeah, thank you. I align a lot with our governor, GSD. Get shit done. That's what it's about, getting shit done.

Yeah, get shit done. Okay? That's right. That's

what it's all about.

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

Don't lose hope. Don't lose hope. know, times may seem dark and rough right now, but there's always light at the end of the tunnel. And you know, there's a lot of good politicians out there that we're all trying to do, we're trying to do our best and we're trying to get all through it together. And don't lose hope. That's all I can say. Don't lose hope.

Absolutely.

Well, this is a great segue into the next question, which is, what gives you hope?

⁓ I think.

I would say I'm probably little older, I think people my age, people like me, like as I mentioned, the 22 year old mayor by near Pittsburgh, know, us younger people getting involved, that gives me hope. And I'm very lucky to be part of that new, that movement.

you give me a lot of hope. People like you give me hope. People are, again, people are constantly throwing their hands in the air and saying, where are the leaders in the Democratic Party? And I'm looking at one right now. I'm talking to someone who is a leader in the Democratic Party. No position is too small. All elected positions are important.

And I truly believe that your leadership where you live is going to inspire other people to get involved and the power that you are wielding to protect other people is going to have generational effects. And I think that is super important. So I have a lot of hope in you and that's what keeps me going. There are people all over Pennsylvania just like you waking up every day and trying to make the Commonwealth a little bit better.

Mm-hmm.

My last question for you, Juan is what plans do you have to get yourself through these next few years?

Oh, I think I look forward to what my three years in council are and seeing what comes next. Hopefully the residents and the voters gave me another opportunity for another office for reelection. We'll see. But I got to say there's plans we're working on right now to see how can we further keep serving our community and keep getting shit done.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean you gotta graduate college, you know, you gotta go to college and who knows the sky's the limit for you Juan, really, I mean you're gonna do amazing stuff.

Well, Councilman Juan Tafolla, Pennsylvanian Democrat and the youngest elected official in Pennsylvania, crazy, didn't, just crazy, you are an amazing person, you're doing great things where you live, and I'm just so grateful again that you do what you do every day with your democratic values.

the vision that you have for your community. I really hope that people in your generation look to you for inspiration and hope. Like you said, we need hope. Hope is a verb. It's something you do every single day. And I'm very optimistic for Pennsylvania rolling into November 3rd. We can't forget we have a primary first on May 19th. Please make sure that you have a plan to vote. But we all have work to do. And if you're looking for someone to inspire you, it's people like Juan in your communities you need to be looking out for.

and inspire you to get involved and do something where you live.

Thank you for having me. It was truly an honor. At the end of the day, it's to inspire people to get involved. I think that's what it's all about.

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.