Hello, I'm Zeke and welcome to the Zekely podcast. Let's talk Pennsylvania. The guest I have today was born and raised in my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He's a civic leader, social justice warrior, and currently serving as a state representative in Lancaster County. Thank you so much for being here, Representative Izzy Smith-Wade-El.

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 Zeke and thank you to everybody watching and listening. We really appreciate that on this election eve.

Absolutely. I hope that when this airs a week from now, we're all going to be, you know, celebrating and enjoying the state justices we retained and getting more Democrats elected up and down the ballot.

Ha

That's exactly right. And we do have as many people are forgetting, not just like five justices, not just Judge Stella Tsai and Brandon Neuman but my hope is that we're going to see a much deserved wave of school board and municipal candidates elected. ⁓ Just like in Lancaster, we're going to elect some folks in places where people never thought we could elect Democrats. We're flipping entire school boards in those places.

can't wait to see the results. I can't, I really can't wait. Well Izzy, I mean all the best people are from Lancaster, right? I I actually just learned, you might have known this already, Jonathan Groff grew up in Lancaster. Did you know that? I did not know that.

I agree, you know?

Oh yes, Zeke, I

don't know if you know this about me, I have a theater degree, so I'm well aware that Jonathan Groff was from Lancaster.

⁓ okay. Okay,

I did not know that and I love Jonathan Groff, everything he does and so I thought that was fantastic. So we're gonna have so much fun and all about you play some games, You ready?

Yep.

All right, well, I heard that you're a big Lord of the Rings fan. Is that true?

I'm pretty big Lord of the Rings fan, I do an annual rewatch on my birthday.

Okay. Okay, so that's that's much more than me.

I think they're great movies to study to. When I was in college, I would just put them on in the background, you know, get through like movie one movie two, it was deep in the game, get locked in. So we're gonna play a game. It's called you shall or shall not pass. Okay, so I'm gonna give you some possible legislation. And you're gonna tell me if it's shallow shop, but you have to do it in the voice.

Okay.

I want you to tap into your theater studies and give it to me like you mean it, okay?

Okay.

All right, first one, sensible gun reform in the Commonwealth.

Obviously, that one's gonna pass.

I gotta, I gotta get, come on, you gotta give it to me.

sorry, I I thought it was just for the no. You shall pass! There we go.

No, there we go. All right, good. Okay,

here's the second one. All right, sustainable funding for public transportation in the Commonwealth

A wizard is never late nor early. He arrives precisely when he intends to.

But shall it pass?

It shall pass.

It shall pass. Alright, what about,

here's one, restricting access to reproductive health care in the commonwealth.

You shall not pass! That one's easy.

Yeah, thank you. That one's easy.

All right, here's another one. ⁓ Banning books on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Shall that pass or shall that not pass?

There's I feel like a Gandalf the White joke I should be able to summon here that I can't at just this moment, but you shall not pass.

Yeah, I know. I'm feeling it. Excellent,

All right, here's the last one. Here's the last one. Raising the minimum wage in the Commonwealth

Yeah.

You shall pass. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you. I mean, I

love it. I felt it deep in my bones. I appreciate that. That was good.

Izzy, you became the first black and non-binary state rep in history to be elected in Lancaster County. I'm a big proponent of Representation Matters, and I'm sure for you and your family it meant a lot, but I can only imagine what it meant to people like you seeing you step into that role.

You know, especially in Lancaster, the thing is people don't know that we're here. And I think this is true for a lot of the thriving communities of central Pennsylvania. They assume central Pennsylvania is rural and rural for a lot of people. And I think this does a disservice is sort of a code word for white. But

There are thousands of African Americans, thousands of Latino folks, and really thriving queer communities in Lancaster, in Harrisburg, in York. And coming to the legislature felt very much like a vindication of some of this. Like I've sat in rooms with union guys from Philly and Pittsburgh who really don't know.

that Lancaster has these massive African-American Latino communities. And so often we hear from folks who don't understand why it's important to do Spanish outreach in Lancaster. They find that really deeply confusing.

Like that's the job, Zeke. If you are not able to bring your experience and your identity and your work to representing your folks in the legislature, you you should find a different gig or get more in touch with yourself. So yes, it did feel very good. And it's a real opportunity to change people's understanding of what Lancaster looks like and more importantly, what Lancaster is capable of.

I think it's wonderful

and I just wanted to spotlight that because I think it's great for yourself, great for the community, and great for Lancaster.

Yeah, thank you.

Izzy, why are you a Democrat and why do you choose to represent the Democratic Party?

You know, that's a great question. think, you know, I was raised by someone who frankly had much more radical politics than I did. But when I think about my political heroes of the modern era, that's where my values align. And that's who has been willing to step up when I have reached out. Like I have my critiques of the state and national democratic party.

But when I have looked for a political home to organize events with Black and Latino communities, to organize events for the LGBTQ plus communities, the Democrats and the folks who said, yes, we'll dive into that.

with you and like that's my version of political analysis. At the end of the day, who's willing to step into the ring at your

I agree with you. mean, the Democratic Party has a largest tent and it has the moral fabric that I feel like we share the most. So I'm really appreciative that we share those same morals and values and you carry that to Harrisburg.

Well Izzy, it has been over 100 days and the Senate Republicans still have yet to pass a budget for Pennsylvania. I have to imagine how extremely frustrating this is for you and your Democratic colleagues in the House. How many budgets have you passed? Is it 13 now? How many have you passed?

you

We have sent ⁓ more than a dozen bills over to the Senate. And you know, here's the thing that bums me out more than anything else. I'm in touch with the organization that runs my local domestic violence shelter. I am in touch with food banks and I am in touch with parents who are engaged in activism around public education.

Yeah.

And I think it bums me out Zeke, they can't find our state senator.

At this point, four months in, they are in my office because our state senator is hiding from them. Like he's not taking community meetings.

If you have to hide from your constituents, you gotta quit. For whatever reason, you might have good or bad reasons. If you feel like you can't face your constituents, you got to move on. Like stand, stand on business and say, look, we're not passing this budget because...

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

The Democrats refuse to add vouchers to it, right? Like we call that standing up for public education. They want vouchers or so-called school choice. Be willing to stand on your own business and say that to people. Because like for a grown person to hide from their constituents, you gotta get a new job.

It's terrible. mean, how many

parallels are there, right? I mean, we literally have a government shutdown in Congress because of Republicans not wanting to basically give people health care. And in our very own state of Pennsylvania, we're not passing a budget because Senate Republicans refuse to do their jobs. I mean, this is why it's so important to get Democrats elected up and down the ballot. It's not just in one place. It is literally translated to all levels of government where

Right?

Republican politicians just are not serious about legislating or passing laws or making things better for their constituents.

Right, Zeke, I would go further to say they've abdicated from the idea of government, which is really the idea that we can come together as a community and do better than we could as individuals. And my Republican colleagues in the Senate have abandoned that idea.

Right.

Right.

Yeah.

I'm really grateful for what you're doing in

Thank you.

to keep the ball rolling. I'm grateful we have a democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, who does everything he can to move money around and protect people in Pennsylvania, not just Democrats, not just Republicans, not just independents, not just libertarians, all people living in Pennsylvania. And I know that you're part of that solution. So thank you very much.

everybody.

Izzy, we both have some heavy names, okay? I mean, we do. My grandmother told me that it's a heavy burden to carry, you know, the name Ezekiel. Ezekiel is my full name, but nobody calls me Ezekiel. Your full name is Ismail, but everyone calls you Izzy. So I can understand it. Did you like your name growing up? Because I hated my name growing up.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yes.

I get a little emotional about this. It was right around the time I was getting reattached to my name. And of course, this is not like the most important thing that happened on that day. Right around the time I was getting attached to my name, I was 11. then, know, September 11th happened

we got to see, I think, some deep simmering racism and Islamophobia that we had in this country that often erupts in response to trauma, in response to victimhood. And I think that's important to understand, not condone, but understand. And then all of a sudden, I had this name which I had come to love, and all of a sudden, I wanted to hide it again.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

And that was a strange thing to be thinking about. My aunt worked at the Pentagon. She died that day. So I know very deeply that's not the most important thing that happened that day,

sort of hurt. In addition to the lives lost and the incredible tragedy, the public reaction and the continued, right? I'm not talking about a week.

two week, a month, five years, ten years, like the continued Islamophobia and racism hurt the national project. And that's a thing that I think about a

yeah.

That was like a really deep answer

to question about a name. It's just the thing that I thought it was.

It's okay. You know, I was

in one direction and it took a turn, but you know, first of all, I'm sorry about your aunt. That's terrible. I'm very sorry. And I'll never forget one of my colleagues is Muslim. And he told me that when the planes hit the towers, he was praying that they weren't Muslim on the plane because he knew what was going to happen if they were. And, you know, his family really suffered a lot, a lot of discrimination from that. So

Thank you.

thank you for that story. I mean, It makes everything much more real.

Well, let's lighten things up a little bit. Okay, we're going to play a name game, okay? Where you're going to try to rename some things. I think I'd use a little like updating personally. Okay, I think you'll agree with me. So here's the first one.

Okay.

Sure. ⁓

Cover Slut.

I don't...

I didn't

even know what that was initially. It's an outer garment worn to conceal untidy clothing. It's an actual word. Cover slut.

wow.

Yeah,

yeah, I know. I feel like we should update that word a little bit.

What did the cover slut ever do to someone to get that name?

Yeah,

no, that's rude. I would not appreciate being called out of my name like that. But some kind of like decency poncho, a modesty moo moo.

Yeah.

A a modesty moomo. I love it.

I love it. Okay, great great. We have two more. Dick Sissel. It's a common migratory black-throated finch. I guess I don't know what that bird did to get that name, but...

Hahaha!

not even sure I'm gonna be helpful here, Zeke. I actually think that we have let ornithologists run amok with bird names for far too long.

Yeah.

They have. Out of control. Just out of control how that wound

up being named that. I don't even have a good comeback for that one.

No,

I've got nothing there, but if there are any ornithologists listening to this, like what's happening? Like what's going on for y'all?

Yeah.

What happened? Yeah, what is

the origin story of the person who named that bird? I would be happy if just what was Black-Throated Finch. I think that's very proper sounding and noble. We'll just go with that. All right, here's the last one after grand finale. Teas Hole. It is the opening in a glassmaker's furnace through which the fuel is added. A Teas Hole.

Yes.

That makes a lot of sense. Was like just hole not available? ⁓

I guess not. They're like, no, we're going to add, we're going to tease it. We're going to tease, we're

going to tease the hole as we fuel this fire for glassmaking.

Or

you know, at least like feed hole, like what? Why are we doing this? what's, again, I have to ask glass makers, glass blowers, what's going on? Let's talk.

I don't know. I don't know.

I once

went to the Corningware Glass Museum, and I should have asked that question. I was just too embarrassed at the time. Maybe next time, Izzy, maybe next time.

Yeah.

You

Izzy, you have spoken publicly about depression and anxiety in your life and how important it is to address mental health. And I completely agree with you. I have a therapist. I talk about it often on my show. ⁓ So there are two issues at hand, right? It's access to mental health services. That's a problem.

right? And also the stigma of using mental health services. So how do think we could try and address both of those issues?

In my 20s, I got to the point where I was suicidal.

and my mother had to call local crisis services for me. I had to be talked down by a very patient professional gentleman who sat with me for an hour and followed up with me and made sure that I didn't throw away the opportunity that is life. And 11 years forward from that,

I am representing my community in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. And so I try to tell everybody that I talk to, you don't know. You don't know what the future holds for you. And there really is a lot of possibility if you stick with it.

The legislation is out there. It is written and drafted. I've never been so insulted in my work as a state rep as to hear the counter arguments. We proposed expanding funding for the 988 hotline to make sure that when people pick up the phone and they're in a crisis that someone is on the other end. And the price tag for that was a six.

cent fee on a cell phone bill. Not six dollars, six

When someone said to them, for a nickel and a penny, you can keep more Pennsylvanians from dying by suicide, they said, that's not our role.

Yeah, it's just disgusting. It's just no,

mean as a physician, I'm deeply offended because you know, I took an oath to do no harm and then that that oath doesn't start and stop when I go in and leave the hospital, you know, it's my job. I feel very much so to speak up against nefarious laws and lawmakers who would make the lives of my patients and people all over the Commonwealth lives harder. And I just think it is an abomination that people who have the power to make mental health more accessible would not do that.

for people.

So I'm just really grateful that you are continuing to stand up for the mental health of people in the Commonwealth. And when given the opportunity, I know that you will push that through. We just have to flip the state Senate, Izzy. We have to flip the state Senate.

It's,

we've got to. I feel bad often when I talk to folks, because folks are like, what is the solution to this? And I'm like, elect three more Democratic senators. I'm so sorry. We have to.

Yeah, it is.

I agree, we have to keep doing the work the buck has and always will stop at the voter. So we have to do our part to get you there.

Well Izzy, while I was Googling all about you, I discovered there is an elementary school in Lancaster named after your mother, the Smith-Wade-El Elementary School named after Dr. Rita Smith-Wade-El.

boy.

That's true!

Yes.

She

was a Millersville University professor, social justice advocate, and a leader. I mean, what an amazing family legacy you

Yes.

my god, I... Famously, a mama's boy over here, but I am just so proud of my mother. Like, her story and the things that she accomplished. You know, she was born extremely poor in segregated Washington, DC.

Yeah.

And she went from there to three Ivy League schools to here to where she has a school named after her.

So yes, I'm very proud to be a child of Dr. Rita Smith-Wade-El.

I agree.

Yeah.

the coolest part about that, maybe the funniest part. I was city council president at the time. So I said, while the school board's making this decision, I'm gonna stay

I was doing call time. I was raising funds to run for office to get this job. And all of a sudden it was a Wednesday night.

I could not make an outgoing call on my phone from all the texts and phone calls coming in and the two options and this will always blow me away. The two options were my mother.

And Ruby Bridges. Ruby Bridges, Zeke. And so, like, just to be given that honor as a family by the community, you know, you have an obligation to that, right? Like, there's the community honored my mother, me, and my family. And I want to honor and serve this community in return, of course.

my god, she beat Ruby Bridges?

Well, may her memory be a blessing and just what an amazing story and congratulations.

Thank you.

All right, Izzy, it's time for another segment that I do with state reps. It's called Constitu-what?

Hahaha!

where you tell me and the listeners and viewers what types of constituent services do you provide in Lancaster County.

You

gosh. My favorite constituent service story is this, Zeke. One of the services that we provide, we help people fill out pardon applications. We connect them with pardon lawyers. You know, and we have some relationship to the Secretary of Pardons so we can advocate on folks' behalf.

We were doing a pardon clinic ⁓ at a community center

gentleman walks in, and this gentleman has

Make America Great Again hat on, and a Camo Trump t-shirt,

fine, cool, whatever, I don't agree with that, but we help everybody, that's what we do.

Right. That's what we do.

So, you know, I walk up to him and I say, hey man, how can I help you? He's like, I'm here for the pardon clinic, my name's Ben, and I say, Ben, what's going on? And he says, I have a felony from when I was 29, and my wife and I want to move into a senior living facility, but.

We can't. Now this is a man who is being kept out of housing by a 30 year old criminal record. So I'm like, yes, absolutely we want to help you with that. Where are you from? And he says, I'm from Elizabeth town. Now Elizabeth town is about 30 minutes from Lancaster city in the Northwest corner of the county. So I'm saying, great, happy to help you.

How did you get here from Elizabeth Town? what brought you down here? And he said, well, I told one of my friends about this problem.

and they said you should go to your state representative's office. And I did. I went to their office and they said, we don't really do that kind of thing, but Izzy's office does if you drive down into the city.

What?

And it's a couple pieces of paper. Like it is really not something that was beyond them. But so just to have, know, when I frankly, very white, very conservative part of the county, one of my colleagues say, yeah, we can't help you with your criminal history, with your justice involvement history. Why don't you go into the city and talk to Izzy?

I mean you did more than his state rep did, who I'm assuming was his Republican. I mean I only have to assume that his Republican state rep said, can't help you go to Izzy. That was his response? I mean that's just terrible. I mean it's great that you helped him, but terrible that he had to get transportation, you know, 30 minutes into the city that where he doesn't live and you helped him out. I really hope that that changes his perception.

you may not have even talked about partisanship in that interaction at all, but the fact that you did that took care of him as a human being, something his own state rep couldn't do speaks volumes about the Democratic Party. When people try to tell me both sides are the same, they're not. They're just not the same. They're not at the local level, they're not at the state level, they're not at the national level.

I have to say I really hope I do hear back from you someday about this person's housing situation and you by far take the cake for ConstituWhat. That was a wonderful story, Izzy. Wonderful story.

You

Izzy, you recently launched Refresh Lancaster, which is a mobile hygiene unit which delivers showers, social services, and medical attention to homeless Lancastrians. So what a great initiative. And again, to me, this is a form of preventative medicine. If people are not clean,

if they don't have medical attention, where do think they're going to wind up when they're really sick? In the emergency rooms. And that's going to cost taxpayers even more money to take care of a

acute on chronic problem. So I think it's great. I really hope that it continues.

Yeah, that's actually one that we put together in my last year working for the Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition. And it goes all over the county, ⁓ works in partnership with our local ambulance services, and yes, provides showers, but you know, also it's staffed by EMTs. They provide wound care and sometimes what people need.

is just a clean pair of socks, the opportunity to get clean.

Yeah.

you know, I like to think that in addition to providing health, we are helping provide dignity in that project. And so for me, this is a great example. A lot of those folks are folks that should be at homes where they have access to, you know, a shower and clothes and et cetera, et cetera.

They don't have it right now and it's a big leap to get there. So we're going to do the next best thing for our neighbors and make sure they can get a shower and some clean clothes and some wound care while we work on bringing them home.

I think it's great. mean, healthcare is a human right. I firmly believe

that. And people deserve to have dignity. I mean, you just deserve to have human dignity to get yourself cleaned up

So thank you so very much for doing that initiative. I think it's wonderful.

Absolutely.

Okay. boy.

Okay.

we served as the capital of this fine nation while they were fleeing Philadelphia. The Continental Congress was in flight from the British Army.

That is true.

That's

All right, great.

Milton Hershey.

You got it? Very good. Yeah, and

by the is it caramel or caramel? I might, I might judge. I know we're not supposed to judge, but I might a little bit. Caramel. Caramel or caramel? Caramel. Some people say caramel. Caramel, good, because there's an A in there. C-A-R-A. ⁓

Hold on, I gotta think about this.

I I'd say caramel.

There is an A in there, but I think I've been positively

influenced by watching the Great British Bake Off. ⁓ That makes sense.

Okay, that's a lovely show. You know who got me into that? Malcolm Kenyatta. Malcolm Kenyatta got me to that show, okay?

I it's the world's largest Amish community? Okay. I heard a rumor that Ohio had more than us, but okay. Great, suck it, Ohio. Anyway.

That is correct. Very good. You're crushing this right now.

No, it's still Lancaster. Still Lancaster. Yeah. I love it.

All right, here's the last one. Lancaster County is dotted with 29 of these, popular for scenic tours.

covered bridges.

4 for 4, you crushed it Izzy. Very good. You know Lancaster County. Very good.

Well, Izzy, a lot of people are looking to Congress right now to address what Trump and Republicans are doing, but I know that legislators like yourself have been doing a lot of things to protect people living in Pennsylvania. So could you just explain some of those measures?

I think the thing that I'm seeing

more than anything is my colleagues going outside of the traditional pathways to help folks access food, housing, health care. But also I want to take a moment to shout out our governor.

if I can, just because millions of Pennsylvanians, millions of Pennsylvanians didn't get their snap disbursements, you know, on Monday morning, November 3rd. And our governor did two things that I think are important. One,

sued the Trump administration to say you have $6 billion with which to provide emergency SNAP funds. In fact, before you deleted it from your website, your own USDA developed a plan to use it in exactly this situation, release the funds. And I think people want to see that. They want to see our governor standing up for their right to just live a basic life and put food on the table.

Right? Okay, so that's the one side. But he also declared an emergency and released $5 million in additional fund for Pennsylvania food banks, food pantries, et cetera, et cetera.

And in addition to that, raised another million dollars from private donors to support that effort. Like that is a man who is working to make our lives better and provide for people when their federal representatives have abandoned

People don't want the moon. Most people, when you talk to them, are not interested in our political fights. And frankly, they're not interested in the myriad intricacies of government regulations. They will remember that when they did not get their SNAP benefits, that their governor stood up for them and their right to put food on the table for their families.

I'm grateful for what you can do in Harrisburg and of course I'm grateful for our Democratic Governor, Josh Shapiro. He gets shit done.

Just so.

All right, Izzy, here's another segment I like to do with state reps. It's called Small Business Spotlight. So I'd like to just give you the floor and just promote a small business that should get some love in Lancaster County.

Okay.

Ooh, okay. Sure.

could be anything. It could be anything at all.

There are so

many. Okay, there is a place called El Jibarito. It's right around the corner from me. They are the best empanadillas in Lancaster County. I will fight you about this. You're gonna go there. You're gonna order the guava and cheese. So that's gonna be like guava jelly and like a cream cheese. And that's how you're gonna set yourself up.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

That sounds delicious. Do they have

drink menu or is it business, strictly food?

Woo.

gosh, they have like a pineapple coconut smoothie that I dream about sometimes.

Okay. Okay.

Yeah, I think that's probably my favorite small business in my district. But I'll be honest with you, as you know, Lancasterians are pretty enterprising. The list is pretty

good enough.

It's easy to get carried away with this segment. It's easy to start listing them all.

It is.

It is. I'm going to list two others that I'm partial to. ⁓ Thank you, sir. There is ⁓ Amanita Cafe,

OK, fine. I'll allow it.

It's the best Shakshuka in Lancaster County and Shakshuka can...

shock shuka

Yes,

nice okay

it can often be hard to get.

The other is ⁓ sort of a one woman show. There's a woman named Chelsea Christmas, great name by the way, who is a standalone fitness entrepreneur who lives in my district and will come to you kind of wherever you are or wherever you were doing your thing and provide sort of a fitness training and routine for folks at all levels of athletic ability.

Mm-hmm.

That sounds great. had a personal trainer for years. Shout out to Rich Keber Transit Trainers in my area. But that's great. Well, thank you for playing that segment with me. I have to come back and frequent some of these food places because I have to say, I don't know if the Orange Julius is still in Park City Mall, but that was my first job. My first job as a kid was I worked at the Orange Julius in Park City Mall all those years ago. Yeah.

Yeah.

You

Nice. used

to deliver for, can't anymore, children can't anymore, but I used to deliver for Lancaster newspapers. That was my first, I was 12.

That was your first job. Yeah, Lancaster. geez.

Absolutely.

Yes.

Thank you for, this is the question I've been waiting for all night, Zeke, so thank you. Look, we have communities.

Black folks, brown folks, East Asian folks, Southeast Asian folks, South Asian folks. We've got seniors, we've got young men, college students. All of these constituencies are represented in Lancaster County.

So we've started this year. We're going to flip some school boards in parts of Lancaster County that have been Republican strongholds for decades. Once you have folks on those school boards in those municipal seats, each of those persons acts as a sort of hub. And now the network that got them elected exists and can be leveraged for the next election. So.

We're going to win these school boards. We're going to reelect our governor. The next step is electing two Democratic county commissioners. Now, I'll tell you, that's important for our plan because we need the county to certify the elections. Instead of having this massive Republican push to take away the freedom to vote from thousands of people, we need a county that will certify those

Right. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Well, I love the drive. I love the idea. And there are a couple of really great things you bring up. One is that all politics is local, right? All politics is local. And also, I think that there are a lot of people, these blue dots and red areas that feel despair. They feel like they're not being seen by the Democratic Party. And I just think that you shine a light on the fact that there are good people all around you.

So local.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Here.

There's actually two elections every year in Pennsylvania, a primary

That's right.

and a general, unless there are special elections all over the place, right? So we have to be mindful of the long game. And I just think that you do a really good job of showcasing what can be done when you have a vision. And I really hope that that vision comes true in my home county of Lancaster.

Right.

Thank you.

Izzy, what gives you hope?

I have a neighbor across the street, her name is Kat. She's on disability. She has a lot of trouble walking

All day, probably today, I know all day last week, she was calling folks to remind them to fill out and return their mail-in balance. Now Kat has enough going on in her life, and life isn't easy for Kat. But she saw that there was like an easy...

tangible thing she could wrap her hands around to make life better for her community. And she said, I want to do that. That gives me a lot of a lot of hope. Kat comes to so many events. Even though she has to come with her cane or with her walker.

even if she's in pain and frankly she should not have to but she does just the same because she's got kids and grandkids and she thinks by showing up and by making phone calls she can make a little bit of a better world for them and man Zeke isn't like isn't that just the

So today, cat is the thing that gives me hope.

I often say that hope is a verb. It's something that we have to wake up and do every day and we are surrounded by people who do that. And you know if you can't run, walk, you can't walk, crawl, but we just have to keep moving forward, you know, and that's exactly what we're gonna do. And you give me hope for all the things you're doing in Lancaster County.

Yes.

Thank you.

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

you know, the truth is Zeke, I think I'm not different from most other people. I have what I have always had, which is a certain core group of people.

you know, who love me and I love them. And we try to take care of each other and look out for each other and do work in our communities in different ways. I don't have a specific, like a 10 step plan to get through to the next inauguration,

I know it's gonna heavily involve heavily involve those folks. For anybody who's watching or listening,

Neither do I.

What they want is to isolate, alienate, and divide us. The foundation of pushing back on that is being in relationship and loving each other and taking care of each other. That's how we are gonna get through these next couple of years.

I agree. Thank you so much. Representative Izzy Smith-Wade-El, Lancaster County, you're just doing such a great job. I really appreciate everything you're doing, keeping hope out there, moving forward, having a plan for the future, flipping seats, and I just can't wait to see what you do next.

Thank you, Zeke. I really appreciate

I really appreciate the time

and I can't wait to maybe visit sometime. We'll have some empanadas together.

We

will have some empanadas, can't wait.

You take care.

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.