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.

Of course, it's my pleasure.

Wow.

Hmm.

Yeah, of course. Now thank you for your support.

Absolutely, we're gonna play some games learn all about you and have some fun. Are you ready?

Yep.

Well Hadley, I've been told that your favorite part of running for office is calling people up and asking them for money. Is that correct? That's like your favorite part?

That

is not my favorite part Zeke.

No,

I can't imagine. mean, it's really unfortunate, but we live in a time and a place where it can cost up to $700,000 to a million dollars to run for state house. And since your seat is so close to flipping, it's probably going to cost even more.

Well, we're thinking 1.2 million. Yeah.

It's

terrible that we are here, but we have to play the game because they're high stakes, right? We cannot let these Republican politicians continue to have power in Harrisburg. But we're gonna have a little fun. Okay, we're gonna play a game called cold call. All right, so we're gonna I'm gonna I'm kind of take on some characters. All right, and it's gonna be like you're calling me and You're gonna have to make a sale. Okay, because a sale is made on every call, right? Either they sell you a reason why they're not gonna give you money

Thank

or you saw them on a reason why they should give you money, all right? So go ahead, the phone's gonna ring and you make your introduction and then we'll get started.

Hi, who am I calling? Hi, Zeke? Is this? Okay, okay. Hi, is this Zeke?

I'll be, I'll be, be, this will be Zeke this time.

It is, you I lost my car keys. I'm late for work. I can't find my keys. So what's going on? What can I do for you?

⁓ I'm so sorry,

my name is Hadley Hawes. won't take a lot of your time, but I'm a candidate for a state house over here in western Allegheny County.

Are there

some way under a cushion or something? Go ahead Allegheny County. ⁓ Are you Democrat, Republican? What's going on?

Yes, I'm a Democrat.

I'm a Democrat and this is the top flip opportunity for Democrats on the western side of the state. One of just a few chances we have to strengthen that really slim one seat majority. ⁓ good. My husband, he loses his keys all the time.

Mm-hmm.

Perfect. I just found my keys Hadley. You sound wonderful.

Yeah, I think actually

I'm the one that lost him this time. But look, I'd love to make a donation. I'll lock in right now.

Wonderful, I can text you the link.

Perfect. All right, so you got that one. Here's another one. All right, this time I'll be Jason. Go ahead.

Okay.

Hi, is this Jason?

It is, you I don't normally answer the phone when I'm on the toilet, but I just, you know, I've just been toilet texting for a little bit and I think that maybe I decide to answer. who, I mean, go ahead. What's going on?

you

Well,

yes, no, I appreciate you taking my call. I will talk to anybody no matter where they are because this is a really important race. My name is Hadley Haas and I am running for state house and this year is really important.

Don't hold back, because I'm not holding back right now. I'm just letting it all go. So just give me everything, Hadley.

Well, I am ⁓ running in a very important seat and I'm running against somebody who, you know, does not deserve to represent my

That sounds good to me. I feel lot of relief just both sitting here and listening to you. And so I will definitely make a donation to you, Hadley.

I'm straight too. Well,

I'm glad you feel that way.

All right, good. Okay, I have one more. Okay, and this time I'm gonna be Tyler. So go ahead.

Hi, is this Tyler?

It is! Yeah, are you my Uber Eats driver? I've been waiting for my tacos for like the last half hour.

⁓

wow, tacos sound great Tyler, but I'm actually not if you don't mind talking to me for a couple of minutes.

Yeah.

I guess I'm really hungry though. gotta say, when I'm hungry, I'm not in a good mood. So what can I do for you Hadley?

Well,

I will be really fast and let you get to your tacos. But yes, I am running for a state representative and it's really important this year that we have leaders with moral courage at every level of our government.

Alright, you know, I can't donate on an empty stomach, but text me your link and I'll be sure once I get the tacos, I'm gonna give you some money.

Happy to do that, Tyler.

Perfect! now, now, I don't look, I don't know what kind of crazy people you talk to on the phone, but you probably get some interesting phone calls, bet.

I do I do but I'm actually always happy whenever somebody answers the phone because I get a lot of voicemail.

Mm-hmm

All right, you so even if they're on the toilet you're good to go You're good to go

I'm good to go.

Hadley the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to wipe out school lunch debt for kids in school and Supports taking money away from public schools and giving it to charter schools. How do you feel about

Mm-hmm.

I do not feel good about that. No, both of my sons graduated from our local public school system here. They're both in college. Well, one just graduated from college. And I think that strong public schools are the foundation of thriving communities. And that should be where we should always be fully funding our public schools and making sure that kids have full bellies.

as a physician, mean, as a human being, I just think it's crazy that you can look a child in the

Mm-hmm.

and say, I'm not going to give you any food.

it's just, I don't know how you can do that as a human being.

It's just a fundamental lack of compassion, think, across the board when I look at the things that the way she votes. And I don't think she's looked a lot of kids in the eye.

I must, I mean, that's a

very dark premise that you're putting on there. But yeah, it's probably true. I just, I really want someone who's serving in Harrisburg, who is empathetic, who wants to make sure that children who go to school are well fed and are getting a good education, fully funded public schools. So I'm glad to know that when you are elected, and this is going to be your year, that you're going to take care of both of those things in Harrisburg.

Absolutely.

Hadley, your two sons inherited a rare genetic trait that left them with severe hearing loss. And thankfully, your health insurance qualified them to get the treatment that they needed. So how are you going to help increase access to affordable healthcare for all Pennsylvanians as a state rep?

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

My kids were so fortunate to have early access and to be able to afford for us to afford cochlear implants. It's like $90,000, you know, for the procedure and the device and it was life changing for them. And every family in Pennsylvania should have access to that type of

technology and support and so I'm going to fight for that when I get to Harrisburg.

Mm-hmm.

I appreciate that. I know that a lot of Democrats in the state house and the minority in the state Senate are working on decreasing predatory debt collectors for medical debt. nobody should have to take out a GoFundMe campaign. Nobody should have to beg and scrape by or decide to buy their medications or put gas in their tank because they are in medical debt. And so I'm grateful that your children had access to good medical care to take care of what they needed to be done. But there are lots of Pennsylvanians who don't have that access. And they are.

Nope. Right.

Absolutely.

going into debt just to get by for their medical care. So I'm grateful that you will be there to put that as a priority in the State House.

Absolutely.

Hadley, I understand that every year for Christmas, you make homemade ravioli for 40 people. Do you have 40 people in your family? Is it like a family affair, 40 people in your family?

It's

not just me to be fair. It's my aunts and my cousins and my sisters and me and we all go to my aunt's house and make ravioli. We've been doing it for years and years and then one of us hosts our extended family of about 40 people. The last couple years it's been my cousin Amy's house but I used to have everybody in my house and we'd be bursting at the seams. It's my favorite day of the year and my favorite meal.

Yeah.

That's a lot of people. That's like a fundraiser amount of people. That's a lot of people in your house. So what's your favorite type of ravioli? Because what's the best flavor?

I didn't even get up.

So

we make these like old school Italian, Italian peasant ravioli. That was my great grandma's recipe. So it's got some sort of like ⁓ Bob Evans sausage and spinach and a couple of different cheeses, but it's amazing.

Okay.

Ugh.

That sounds wonderful. Is

there a ravioli cook-off? Do you have a competition to see who makes the best ravioli? Or is just like everyone gets the same ravioli? It's the same ravioli?

It's, it's, everybody gets the same. It's like an assembly line. Yeah. My aunt makes the filling. My mom makes,

you know, rolls the dough. We shape them and we judge each other to make sure that like you get the bubble air bubbles out and they're not too big or too small. So it's a whole thing. It's a whole thing.

my God. Wow. So, and then how many

years has this been going on for?

my gosh, I mean, my grandmother died. My son is 20. So my grandmother died about 19 years ago and it was going on while she was still alive. So this has been going on for probably 30 plus years.

Okay.

That's an amazing tradition.

if I'm ever in the Pittsburgh area on the holidays, I might just crash it because I'm a fiend for ravioli. That sounds awesome.

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.

Well, Hadley, we're to play a game called That's the Holiday Spirit. OK, so your episode is going to air right before the May 19th election in Pennsylvania. For those who don't know, the primaries are coming up on the 19th. And if you are a Democrat or Republican in Pennsylvania, you can vote in the primaries. We don't have an open primary in Pennsylvania yet.

Thank

Okay.

We are going to pretend that we have election day as a national holiday. And I would like to know the following from you. So if election day was a national holiday, what would be the holiday greeting? You say Merry Christmas, for Christmas you say Happy Hanukkah. So what would be your holiday greeting for elections? Happy voting? Okay, I'm putting you on the spot here. ⁓ There's no prep for this. So happy voting.

Happy voting? Yeah.

That sounds good to me. All right. How about what's a gift that you would give to someone as an election day, a national holiday? Sorry, you can't say your vote. Okay. I mean, that's a given.

I mean, no,

people love those stickers. I mean, I honestly don't know that there's anything better. I don't, in Allegheny County, we have these great stickers. There was a contest for people to design them. And so they're really pretty cool. And stickers are a big thing now. You you put them on the water bottle or your computer, your laptop. So I would say the stickers.

The stickers? Okay.

that's a good idea. Okay.

Yeah, mm-hmm. Okay,

I think that's a good idea. Okay, fine. What's a tradition on the holiday aside from voting, right? So like on Christmas, you do the caroling and Hanukkah, play dreidel. So what would be a tradition on election day?

I mean, I think a watch party afterwards, a celebratory watch party. Yeah.

Watch party? OK. That sounds good. A gathering of some sort. Yeah.

Mine would probably be crying tears of joy every time Democrats get elected. That would be my cathartic tradition on election day. OK. Yes. Absolutely. OK, here's the last one. What's the signature meal for election day? Can't be ravioli. Can't be ravioli.

That's, Tears of joy are preferred. Having shed the other kind, tears of joy are preferred.

Hmm. No. ⁓ I

mean, I think donuts are a good thing. You have to kind of fuel up for the day so you get your donuts early. You know, I have to go to all these polling places and talk to people,

Donuts?

Okay.

Okay.

that sounds good. I like a good

artisan donut. So come around your parts, donuts there, and then ravioli for Christmas. like it.

Hadley, you were the director of business marketing at AT &T, the director of marketing at NuVista LLC, and the director of marketing and analytics for Wolf Consulting Group. So there is a common thread I see here, ⁓ that you are a director. You know how to direct people, companies. So do you think you'll be able to?

you

direct the Democratic Party in Harrisburg along with the other leaders to get more shit done once you're elected this November 3rd.

Absolutely.

you got put in these positions, so what is it that you enjoy directing in these companies?

You know, for me, I enjoy people. I enjoy nurturing people. I talk a lot. My dad was a big role model for me and he was a manager for a long time and I got to watch him and how he interacted with people and he treated them like family. He knew everybody's name. We went to their graduation parties and funeral homes and that to me creating that feeling of family among the people that

Mm-hmm.

your managing is what I really enjoyed about being a director.

That's great. mean, right now, the Democratic caucus in the House is just moving in such a great way together. mean, Matt Bradford as the leader, Joanna McClinton as the speaker. I mean, with a razor thin one seat majority, there's no margin for error. And so I think it's great that as a people person that you clearly are, that you are very good at directing teams, that you're going to fit right in with the Democratic Party and deliver for Pennsylvanians after November 3rd.

Mm-hmm.

That's the plan.

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

No, it's a really good question. I mean, it aligns with my values, right? I just think that we

to have a country and a Commonwealth that welcomes everybody,

fights for the little guy,

provides a government that works for people and fills in the gaps. And that's what I feel like the Democrats do. And that aligns with my values.

I appreciate that. I am very grateful that we share those same values and ideals and that you understand that when done correctly, government helps the most amount of people. right now we clearly see in Harrisburg, forget about Congress, right? That's a disaster. But even in our own legislative branch in Pennsylvania, the state Senate is not doing work, right? They are purposely not getting things done. And so the larger majority we have in the state house, we can protect our ideals and our values in Pennsylvania.

And I'm grateful for that.

Hadley I understand that your husband gave you a sports quiz before you got married and clearly you passed the test. I have to ask, what was the quiz about? What were some of the questions?

you

Mm-hmm.

my gosh. Zeke, I will be married 25 years. So I don't remember specifically what the questions were. ⁓ But they were like pretty obscure baseball questions, football questions, pro football questions. So yeah, that was one of the ways he knew we were compatible because I grew up on sports.

Huh? ⁓ Okay.

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

So it is quite funny that you bring up this quiz because when I first started dating my now wife, she is a huge baseball fanatic. I mean, huge. And I know nothing about sports. If you watch, listen to my show, I am the least sport forward person ever. And she actually made me flashcards when we went to a baseball game. Like I didn't know the difference between a hit and a run. I didn't know what the forward came, backwards came in. I didn't know anything.

you

And

I literally had flashcards during the game and she'd be like, look, get that card out. That's what that means. Yeah. And you know what? She married me anyway,

interesting.

But I did have to fly her to Atlanta to ask her to marry me at a Braves game. Okay. Because so yeah, we got married at a Braves and luckily the Braves won that game. So I think it's funny. So he quizzed you and you did well, just quizzed me and I still would probably not get any of them right.

Mm-hmm.

I have.

Hadley, the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no twice to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits beyond the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania. That is terrible. Why would you do that?

It's terrible.

I don't know. Like I said, just a lack of compassion. I don't understand.

I mean, I know that people try to put Republican politicians in silos, right? We have local, state, national politicians, but just looking at the way that Republican politicians are handling the Epstein files, I mean, that's why there's a direct line between their ideologies between Washington, DC and even in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I mean, how you can look at someone who's had sexual abuse as a child and just say, well, you know what, it's too late now.

Mm-hmm.

⁓ You are not going to get the closure that you so deserve is extremely callous. It's inhumane. It's just terrible ⁓ Josh Shapiro has tried multiple times to get you know our late our legislature to come together and house Democrats have passed it multiple times and it unfortunately dies in the state Senate But I'm grateful that you at least are gonna have empathy and understanding for victims of sexual abuse No matter what age they are and how long it is that they suffer from

Yep. Yep. Now I agree.

Mm-hmm.

Thank you.

Yep,

Hadley, there's a quote on your website that I absolutely love. And it says, we don't have time for culture wars, conspiracy theories, and wedge issues designed to dehumanize our neighbors. I mean, I couldn't agree more. No, we don't have time for this bullshit. People are suffering, and your vote will help them. It really will. And so I just really appreciate that you showcase

Mm-hmm.

Yep. Yep.

Yep.

because I think these days, Republican politicians are constantly pivoting to wedge issues.

and culture wars, and you really put that out there very nicely.

So do you get a lot of questions when you go to these fundraisers or events about these culture war issues that Republican politicians are trying to just distract people from?

Yeah.

I think it's really important to humanize these stories ⁓ and to make sure people understand when they're making these policies or these statements that they're real people behind these stories. And that's just something that is really important to me in this campaign. And it is something that we talk a lot about indoors. And I think that there's a real appetite for ⁓ bringing the temperature down.

Yeah.

Yeah, mean, the undocumented immigrants, the LGBTQ plus community, know, people of color are not the reason why your bills are so high. It's not why you can't afford a house. It's not why your public schools are not fully funded. It's not why you have, it's not why your potholes aren't being filled in. But, but you know, at the same time, that's literally all they talk about. And so I'm really grateful that you're focusing on the issues, what really matters to people.

Right. Right.

example.

their health care, their quality of life. And so I just love that quote. I wanted to showcase that.

Yep.

Yeah,

no, I appreciate that.

Hadley, you once met Franco Harris before he passed away. And for those who don't know, because guess what? Surprise, surprise, I didn't know who it was. He was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons, primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And that makes sense. You love Pittsburgh teams. So that must've been an amazing moment.

Yeah, I I grew up on the 79s. Steelers is that era that Franco was big as a part of. And when we moved back to Pittsburgh 18 years ago, we would see Franco around. But I never wanted to bother him. I didn't want to interrupt him or invade his privacy. But then he was at a Chris Deluzio campus launch. And I got to meet him then and talk to him.

there you go.

Now after he unfortunately died unexpectedly, his wife has become a big supporter of mine and a friend of mine and lives in the district. So it's been really beautiful to kind of strengthen that relationship. And he was just a wonderful human being beyond what he did on the football field.

I mean, it's nice when you meet your heroes and they're actually good people, right? I mean, look, you have me at Chris D'Aluzio. I I geek out over people who have power and do good things with that power. I geek out over you. mean, Hadley, you are gonna be in Harrisburg and your vote is going to control the access that my patients have to healthcare. I mean, that to me is so much cooler than running football, doing all that stuff. People deserve to have joy. You deserve to enjoy those things, but I...

Yeah

Thank

Yeah.

Yeah.

I really admire and enjoy meeting people in politics because I feel, but it's great when you meet people who have done great things in sports who are also good people and good policy

Yeah.

supporters. So that's awesome.

Hadley, you told a very powerful story once about a child in your district who was going through cancer treatment, whose father was taken by ICE. And this was not a hardened criminal, correct? This was not someone who was a danger to your neighborhood, to your community.

What would you do in Harrisburg to give undocumented immigrants in Pennsylvania who were just trying to raise their families in peace and contribute to society the respect and dignity

they deserve?

there are some good legislation around making sure schools are welcoming and keeping ice out of schools. But I think the other thing that's important, Zeke, is having good constituent services. Like this family is in my district. They're actually in my neighborhood. And when this happened, I just kind of stepped up and said, how can I help? And so I was part of a small group of advisors that just helped.

Mm-hmm.

get a lawyer and talk to the media and we actually finally were able to bring that father home.

⁓ great.

A couple weeks ago, he was able to go directly to the hospital and visit his daughter while she was in the midst of chemotherapy. And it was a really beautiful moment. And they had a barbecue a week or so ago to thank everybody who helped bring him home. So I know that's the exception more than the rule now. But I think as it's important that your state representative is a resource for you when you're a time of crisis. ⁓

Right. Yeah, I mean, I'm

grateful that you were there helping Because I mean, I see all the time Republican politicians in Harrisburg are literally cheering on ICE and would not have done anything for this family. And that is not

type of person I want serving in Harrisburg.

Hadley, you had your wedding rehearsal 25 years ago at PNC Park the year it opened, so how did you pull that off?

It was it was a little dicey Zeke. It was typical early June weather in Pittsburgh. So we had this great idea. PNC Park was opening. My husband, as we said, is a big sports fan. And so we had this idea we were going to do it there and outdoor barbecue area picnic area. And of course, it was raining that day. And my mom asked my husband what the backup plan was. And he ⁓

Mm-hmm.

Ugh.

said, Derek is going to work on it. Derek was the 20 something events manager. Turns out his backup plan was to give us all baseball hats and we huddled under the umbrellas in the picnic area. But the rain eventually stopped and my grandmother's hair maintained made it through the rain. Since they had both had their hair done the day before and we were able to enjoy the game and they played the Braves and the rain cleared up in time for that. So it was a really

Ha ha.

Okay.

memorable experience and turns out that Pittsburgh showed really well for all of our out of town guests that night. They did not win. Braves won, but we made it on the like little television. They did, I think on the jumbotron and we were on the broadcast as well wearing pirate hats and our groomsmen had pirate hats.

That's great. So did they win that game? Also, the Braves

Okay, they got you on the Jumbotron

That's amazing. That's great. So

actually I called the Brave Stadium before I went down to ask Jess to marry me. And they said that I think a year prior they stopped showing proposals on the jumbo screen because it distracted too much from the game because people were booing so much. Yeah. How crazy is that? People were booing so much that they were like, we can't show proposals anymore. So I actually called and asked. So yeah, I mean, we didn't, I think they like put something on a banner, like congratulations to us.

⁓ my gosh.

Right,

right. That's funny.

But they wouldn't show us on the Jumbotron. yeah,

there you go.

OK, we're going to play a game called Make a Proposal. So we're going have some fun with this, OK? So I'm going to propose to you first. And then you're going to propose to me, OK? But we're proposing to go out and vote this May 19th and then again November 3rd, OK? So are ready? Because I'm going to seduce you to the polls, OK, Hadley?

Thank

Okay.

Okay? Okay.

Hadley, I know we haven't known each other though.

you

Okay, but I

feel like we have a connection. We have the same values, the same ideals.

And it would really mean a lot to me. It would mean a lot if you could get your parents and all your friends and bring them together and come with me and vote. This May 19th, we're both Democrats. We'll vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. And then we'll have a great summer.

We'll get together, we'll have some barbecues, we'll enjoy everything. And then as it gets cooler out, we'll go together again and we'll vote on November 3rd for Democrats up and down the ballot. we're

expand our state house majority. We're gonna flip the state Senate. We're gonna reelect Governor Josh Shapiro and take back Congress. What do you think, Haley? We say yes.

could I refuse?

I was really nervous there for like a split second.

All right, so give it back to me now, okay?

I don't know if I can do better than you did, Zeke. ⁓

Come on, lay it on thick. The thicker, the better. this is, get, let's do

a little, channel your rom-com here.

Okay, okay. let's see. Well Zeke, know, we've got some important things coming up and I know I know life's been hard. I know it's been dark But I think we've got some really good people that we can go out and we can vote for and they're gonna make things more hopeful They're gonna make the world better But what we have to do is we have to go out and we have to vote And you have to vote twice

Mm-hmm.

You have to vote on May 19th, but most importantly, you have to show up in November and vote for these people so that the sun can rise again in November. Well, in January when they're all take office.

I'll do it. I do. I do Hadley. I do. I do. I do. Thank you so much for playing along. You're a good sport.

you

Of course.

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.

Hadley, the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to prohibit the use of machine gun conversion devices, ghost guns, background checks for purchasing of firearms, and red flag laws. And I know for you, this is one of

Mm-hmm.

whys for running for office.

And I think you told me what your state rep is pretty mean on this issue and you try and talk to her about it, right?

Yep.

The first time I met with her, wasn't actually about gun safety. It was about just the fact that I didn't think she should be putting so much emphasis behind women, trans women, and sports. But at the end of the meeting, I said, I'd love to come back and talk to you about common sense gun legislation. I'm a member of Moms Demand Action. And she said, I don't meet with Moms Demand Action. They're violent.

my god.

And then recently, a 17 year old from my community who was shadowing her asked her about her why she didn't vote for gun safety legislation and she told him he'd been brainwashed.

so yeah, those, ⁓ pieces of legislation, three of those four bills, ⁓ failed by a single vote last

she got a lot of pressure, a lot of calls to vote in favor of them. And she was very dismissive of a number of people who reached out to her. I think because she knows she's wrong on this. but she's afraid of, of the gun lobby and the gun extremists. And it's just shameful.

I mean, we've already talked about some of the shameful stances that she has as a state legislator and a person. But, you know, the most common cause of death for children in America is gun violence. I mean, it's got it's this is not an opinion. This is a statistic. And so if you as a state legislator can't do the minimum is to protect the lives of children in your own state, in your own district, then you're you're failing as a state legislator. And so I'm really grateful that

when given the chance, and I'm really hopeful that we will, that we can pass some common sense gun legislation and protect the lives of all

Hadley, life is getting pretty expensive. And look, not all of

is our fault, right? mean, gas prices are off the charts because of a ridiculous war that Trump has gotten us into and a lot of other blunders. But what can you do as a state legislator in Harrisburg to try and make life a little bit more affordable for Pennsylvanians?

I mean, I think there are things we can do around energy to make sure we're holding data centers accountable for bringing their own energy sources, making sure there are guardrails around data centers,

I think there are things that can be done around child care, making child care more affordable for people. You know, I think it's ridiculous that people have to choose between working or paying for child care. I absolutely think it's something that we're failing our families by not providing more affordable child care options.

and the other two things I should have mentioned is raising the minimum wage, which we know that my opponent voted against and is philosophically opposed to. ⁓ And looking at ways to reduce the cost of housing, increasing the housing supply as well is another way that I think we can make things more affordable for people.

Alright.

I appreciate all that. mean, know, Governor Josh Shapiro has really done a lot to try and decrease costs for Pennsylvanians over the last four years. I know he has a lot more ideas he'd like to push through, but it only works if we get the trifecta. And, you know, obviously you would be part of expanding the state house majority. We need that. We cannot afford to lose any Democrats and we've already gotten so much done, but I need some padding. Okay. This razor thin margin makes me sweat all the time.

Too many special elections, people get sick, I'm done with it. I would like a solid democratic majority, decreased costs for

move the Commonwealth.

All right. We're to play a game called Haas or Yass OK. So for those who don't know, we have a billionaire who lives in Pennsylvania. I said that's right. B billionaire Jeffrey Yass. And he funds a lot of Republican races in Pennsylvania, actually all over the country. He's a mega donor.

So I'm gonna ask you some questions. I'm gonna ask you, is this you or Jeffrey Yass? Haz or Yass? Haz or Yass? Yeah, there you go. Have you ever spent over $75 million in Pennsylvania to boost candidates who want to defund public schools? Yeah, I would say, yeah, that's not a Hadley-Haz thing, right? Okay, well, he's done that and he's still spending money. He is one of the biggest reasons why over the last 30 years.

Are you serious? Okay.

Yes

30 plus years, Republicans in the state Senate have tried to defund public school in Pennsylvania. And Jeffery Yass funds all of those candidates,

No, I think that was yes. I don't.

It was Yass, Jeffrey Yass, you don't have those millions sitting around? Okay, fine.

Well, he did that. Okay, he did that as well. Here's another one. Did you pay $3.5 million to influence the PA Supreme Court race last year?

No, no, think if I had all that money, I wouldn't be doing call time.

You didn't do that.

Okay, yeah, I guess that's very true. I guess that's

true. Yeah, Jeffrey Yass was responsible for sending out those mailers that were confusing people about the Supreme Court race in Pennsylvania. And thank goodness, thank goodness we retained our Democratic majority on our state Supreme Court, the backdrop to our rights.

Yes.

All of the misinformation put out there last year was because of Jeffrey Yass. All right, here's the last one. Did you contribute to two and a half million dollars

for the White House ballroom renovation. No, you don't want to get a personal invitation there, Hadley, come on.

Absolutely not.

I wasn't that surprised. Yeah. So again, people, for anyone who tries to say that the Democratic Party is the party of billionaires funding ridiculous campaigns, it's not us. In Pennsylvania, most of the money raised is raised in a grassroots fashion.

thanks.

Mm-hmm.

And the

only billionaire is a Republican billionaire

right down the street from me.

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

⁓ I would say I understand. ⁓ but I would also tell them that there are some really good people in government working for them now. we talked about Chris Delusio earlier, my Congressman. I know his heart is in the right place and that he's working really hard for constituents around here. I know some of my future peers. I always talk about Arvin Venkat, Dr. Arvin Venkat and how hard he's working. He's in the district just north of here.

His heart is in the right place. He's knocking doors even when he's not running, talking to voters. And I think there are people like that who should give people reason to hope. And the more people like that we can elect, the more government will work for us.

I just, my last guest was Austin Davis, the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. You know very well, and he said very aptly that democracy is best when you engage in it, right? When people participate, democracy works best. yeah.

Another.

Yep.

Yeah, I

think I've seen that too. People who are having a lot of anxiety, just getting involved in some level is the best way to work through that anxiety.

Mm-hmm.

What gives you hope?

you know, I was knocking doors in Finley, on Thursday and I had this really long conversation with an AP government teacher and he was talking about how engaged his students are.

and how hopeful that makes him. And I was with my son, Declan, and his ultimate Frisbee teammates this past weekend, and they were such good kids. And so I think I look at some of those young people, and I think that there's real reason to hope there.

Well, you give me hope, Hadley. know, there are people all the time, and I say this on almost every show that I have Democratic candidates running. I hear people say, where are the leaders in the Democratic party? Where are they? And I'm looking at one. I'm talking to one right now. You are a leader. You're a Democrat. And knowing that someone like you wakes up every day to try and make your community better, and hopefully will be making the state better soon, how can you not have hope? So I'm very grateful for you, and you give me a lot of

Thank you for saying that, Zeke.

Hadley, my last question for you is, what are your plans to get you through these next few years? It's been rough. It's been rough.

I take a lot of walks. We, this is a really pretty community where I live. So I take a walk up to the cemetery of all places and that's where I clear my head. So I walk up to the cemetery a lot, often with my dog or with my friends. So that helps me get through.

Mm-hmm.

But honestly, like we said before, just finding the way I can have the most impact and running for this seat is like a way for me to stay focused and not get bogged down in the day to day terrible news because I know I'm doing everything I can to push back against it.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm trying to find joy in the resistance very much so. And I'm doing this to stay focused. And so yeah, I need to find time to decompress, but leaning into the work always helps me keep going.

Yeah

Yep, yep. And my family, you know, I'm really, really, really lucky to have a big, wonderful, loving family and really good kids. So leaning in and spending as much time as I can with them.

Mm-hmm.

Absolutely.

Hadley Haas, running for state rep in Pennsylvania. This is the part of the show where you come in real close. You turn up the volume, okay? Josh Shapiro won your district by about eight points. And it is estimated we need about 3,000 votes to flip this seat blue and expand our Democratic House majority. Hadley, what's your website?

Okay.

Hadley4PA.com.

So if you are in these districts, okay, I'm gonna try and say it in one breath, okay?

Aleppo Township, Bell Acres, Crescent Township, Edgeworth, Finley Township, Glen Osborne, Glenfield, Haysville, Lee Township, Leedsdale, Moon Township, North Fayette Township, Sawickley, Sawickley Heights, Sawickley Hills, you need to get up off your ass. Get to her website, sign up to Doorknock, make a donation, phone bank, postcards, whatever Hadley needs, because this is our year, okay? We've been through a lot of pain. We're doing this.

Together and one seat at a time. We expand our statehouse majority We breathe a little bit better and we move the Commonwealth forward and hadley i'm just extremely grateful that you're running again I hope that I can call you after november 3rd tears of joy just congratulating you and I just know you're gonna get more shit done in pennsylvania. So thank you so much

Thank you so much for everything you're doing, Zeke.

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