Hello, I'm Zeke, and welcome to the Zekely Podcast. Let's talk, Pennsylvania. The guest I have today lives in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, but during the aftermath of 9-11, he was at ground zero monitoring the health of workers combing through the debris. He knows how to bring people together for a common cause. And that's why he's running to flip a state house seat blue this November 3rd. Thank you so much for being here, Jeremy Ferderber.

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 for having me. Nice to meet you.

Absolutely, this is the battle of the Jeremies. I can't believe your opponent is also named Jeremy. That's so rude.

It's a prerequisite apparently to run for office here in this district. So I'm I meet that requirement.

Well, yes, that's what we're trying to tell folks.

Crazy. Well, you're the good Jeremy. Okay. So we need to get your name out there

and we need you to help expand the State House majority in our state house. And we need to get the trifecta. Okay. This is gonna be our year, right, Jeremy?

Absolutely, this is the year it's gonna happen.

All right, well I wanna send you there. So we're gonna play some games, learn all about you and have some fun. Are ready?

Yes, sir.

All right, well, Jeremy, from nineteen ninety six to two thousand, while at Allegheny College, you had your own hip hop radio show and

huh.

your DJ name was Ole Dirty Ferdy which I love. Nice, nice nod to O D B.

You're right.

that was a great time for hip hop.

It it really was, the the golden era and it it still still shines through today. And there's I you know, I feel old saying this, but they don't make music like they used to and hip hop falls into that category as well.

They don't. They

don't. Are we both millennials?

I I'm Gen X. I mean, I you I'm the tail end of Gen X, but yeah, yeah.

Your Gen X? Okay. Challenge.

Okay. I'm a I'm a solid millennial. Those were great times. I mean, just waiting for that CD to come out and then

Yeah.

listening to that. I mean, for me, it was on the bus.

going to school every day, you know, black

Yeah.

Black Street. It was just like so amazing. And so I'm jealous that

Yeah.

you got to have that. What was your favorite part of being the DJ?

I think it was cr being able to create this this persona and and share something that I really loved with

a broadcast radius of probably five miles. So

Uh-huh.

it's a pretty small, pretty small area that we covered. But it it was really fun. And I remember introducing in the studio, there were some new CDs that would come out during that time. I remember one of those was Daft Punk and nobody had heard of Daft Punk. And so I had a

wow.

hip hop show, but I you know integrated other other music genres into there. And we got this this new CD in the studio and I I said well here's a here's something new. It's some techno

So it was it was really

Uh-huh.

cool to introduce some some new things to an audience, including my you know, my hip hop that I that I grew up

as a farm boy

Yeah.

in Butler County, which is odd in itself, but yes.

I can relate. I can relate. I was a farm boy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I just feel like, you know, the struggles just spoke to us, you know, through through through the music. It it really does.

Yes, entirely. Yeah.

well, you're not the first person that I've had on the show who was a DJ during college. I feel like it's a prerequisite sometimes, you know, speaking to the masses.

Really? Yeah.

but we are gonna play a game called ringtone. Okay. So using only classic hip hop songs, I'm gonna give the following people ringtones. Now, due to copyright laws, I cannot play the music.

But I'm gonna I'm

Okay.

gonna wrap it in a very terrible way, and you're gonna

boy.

guess the song and the artist, okay? So so for Josh

All right, let's see.

Shapiro, this is my song for him, okay?

Okay.

Still rock my khakis with a cuff and a crease, still got love for the streets repping two one three, still the beats bang, still doing my thing. Since I left ain't not much changed. Still.

man.

man.

You're gonna embarrass me here. This is not gonna do well for my campaign. You're gonna I I I know it. I I can't

It's okay. It's it's it's

my fault because I you know, I'm not the I'm this is not my field.

No, you you

no, you were eloquent and I am I'm embarrassed. Go ahead.

It's actually it's

actually my ringtone as well, because it's by Dr. Dre, and I am a doctor, and still Dre, still Dre.

Yes, okay. Okay.

See, I guess I'm just more of an East Coast guy, I'm sorry, you know. I yeah.

It's okay. Well, you

you might have your chance. You might have your chance, okay?

Unless it's far side.

True. All right. This is for Donald Trump, if I would ever for some reason have him in my phone. My child of watch you grow up to be famous, and now I smile like a proud dad, watching his only son that made it. You seem to be only concerned with dissing women. Were you abused as a child, scared to smile? They called you ugly?

Alright, Zeke, we're gonna to take a turn here because

I'm I'm drawing a blank. Is it is it nah? That is Nas. Alright. You sounded just like him too, which is the weird part. It's unmistakable. Have you heard the new

Okay. It's it's Nas ether. Yeah, Nas ether. Yeah. Come on. Come on. Yeah, I mean look

Nas in Slick Rick?

It's nice. It's it's very, very nice. It's okay. It's okay. It's you're doing great. You know, it's more I

yeah, it's really nice. I'm sorry. This is see, this is it's it's the nerves. I've never done a podcast before, so we can edit what we need to edit.

I have no shame. So this is more just by entertaining my listeners and viewers because, you know

They they just come to see me wearing, you know, ruin rap songs from the old days. Okay. Now this one's for Brian

All right, sorry.

Fitzpatrick, okay? Moderate Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, who I cannot stand, okay, in Bucks County. And I hope

Okay. Okay.

Bob Harvey beats his ass this November third,

Okay.

but this is my ringtone for Brian Fitzpatrick. Not that I would ever have him my phone, okay?

man, I don't know how many of these I'm gonna fail.

Cause long as I'm alive, I'm

gonna live illegal. And once I get on, I'm gonna put it on my people's. React quick, spit lyrics like macks

I hit your dome up when I roll up. Don't be caught sleeping 'cause I'm creepin'.

I'm a l illegal is that that's mob deep. No. Yes, it is. It is. Alright, thank you. Finally. Okay. Yes, it's it's one of the best of all time, yes. Thanks, boy. Okay.

Yeah, Mob Deep, there you go. Yeah. Yeah, Mob Deep Shook Ones Part Two. Good job. Classic, classic hip hop. No, you did good. Okay,

now this last one, okay, John Ossoff. Have you have you been watching or listening to John Ossoff just eviscerate his opponent for this of the Senate in Georgia?

I've been enjoying seeing some not just him, but across the board it seems to be happening.

I mean,

he has just he is just completely,

Yes.

completely decimating him, you know,

Yes.

ca basically just calling out the hypocrisy of the Republican Party, like saying like my opponent hires people from the Third Reich. If he if John Lewis was marching in Georgia, he'd be grabbing a billy club. I mean, it is phenom it's all true. I mean, hit his opponent

Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's

is terrible and actually currently you know, a member of Congress, but he's running for Senate against John Ossoff.

It's a

Yeah.

it it's a shame that we have to have these realizations in twenty twenty six, but yes.

Mm-hmm.

It's crazy. Well, this is my ringtone for John. I would love, I'd be honored to have John Osoff in my phone if he ever called me. But this would be my my ringtone, okay? I think you're gonna get this one. And I still and still I see no changes. Can a brother get a little peace? It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East. Instead of war on poverty, they got a war on drugs, so the police can bother me.

This is a classic, man.

I need I need the beat, but but just go ahead, just tell me. I this is yeah, okay, okay, okay. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Right, thank you. Alright, well clearly

I know, I know, it's copyright. Tupac changes. Classic Pac. Classic Pac. Okay.

I have no knowledge of hip hop, so no, I I yeah. No.

And no, you do. You do. It's me. It's it's a hundred percent me, but I have to they'll just

round this out and put it back on you. What would your classic hip hop ringtone be for you?

man.

If you know, ne when you're in my phone, what would you would you would you want your song to be? When the Fertiber, old Dirty Furdy, is calling me.

Well, I'll I'll say I'll say this. my wife and I have a little bit of a a little bit of a tradition. And this Saturday is our anniversary, actually. So we may we may

do this again on Saturday. But for the first few times we got out on our own, which was pretty rarely when we have we have two

Mm.

kids, 15-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. And

the thing that just became our little tradition, we get in the car.

And immediately would turn on Triumph by Wu Tang just as our

yeah.

little like anthem as like, Hey, we're getting away as a power. We're like, Hey, look at us, man, we still got it. We still got it. So yeah,

Yes, yes.

I I don't know that maybe, hey, after November third, I'm gonna play some Triumph and yeah.

It I go. I mean, yeah obviously

for old dirty ferdy you gotta have a Wu Tang clan song as your ringtone. So it'll g

Yes, yeah, yeah.

next time you call me, that's what I'll be jamming to, okay?

Okay, all right, sounds good.

Jeremy, you live in a very purple district in Pennsylvania. So how are you

Indeed.

going to build a coalition of people to get you elected this November third?

I'm a committed member of my community. I've coached soccer. I've played soccer my whole life, but I I I coach my kids soccer. my daughter doesn't play anymore, but my son's team I've coached since he started playing. And

there's something about that experience where you don't get to select who you're hanging out with, what kids are on your team. You have to make do with what you have and you have to make the best of that. the parents come along with it. And a lot of these parents,

yeah.

they're they're they're great. It's a great experience and

I know for a fact that a lot of the parents that you know have kids that I've coached definitely don't come from the same political background that I do. And it it's it's very nice because I know that I've proven to them that I can manage a group that's made up of all sorts of different folks. They'll thank me after a season and say what a great experience it was for their kid, how much it resonated with them and you know what a good impact I had on them. And I I know that's not the same as legislating, but it it's similar. You you

Deal with the folks that are around you and you find a solution to a problem, that being kids that don't know how to play soccer, and you teach them how to play the game. and also I I participated, I'm not sure if you heard about Pine Richland in the news a couple of years ago, but the school district that we live in, the the book ban was was coming through that yes, that was coming through our area. It started in Bucks County,

yes. Yeah.

where my wife's from actually, and made its way through through here. And there were 14 books that were being challenged, and it was a you know, publicity for all the wrong reasons. But

We have a great superintendent and he put together a team of five members of the community and five administrators from the school district to read all fourteen books over a very short period of time and get together as a group of adults and talk about these and talk about the divisive nature of and talk about the you know the salacious content that that was being presented at the school board meetings. So I was selected as a volunteer for that.

And again, I can confirm and tell you that I sat there at a table with a group of people that were definitely not from the same background. And we all read all these books and we all discussed the uncomfortable topics. And yeah, there were some definitely adult-themed parts that came up that would have been inappropriate for certain kids. I wouldn't have wanted my at that time, my 10-year-old son, to be reading this without an understanding of what it was about.

But the truth was these books weren't available to elementary school students. They were only in the high school. And the more interesting part to me was that hardly any of them had ever even been checked out of the library from the school. So we had these conversations, we read these books. I think it was 14 books in six weeks, which I will never complete a feat like that again in my lifetime. But we sat together, we came to agreements,

And it was so nice to see a group of adults come together and come to a rational conclusion that made sense for everybody. And there was compromise made. And it was like, wow, why can't we replicate this up the chain? And I think that was part of what drove me to say, hey, it's possible to come together with community members that might see differently at a fundamental basis on on certain things, but

When it comes down to it, we all agree on the main things. We're more aligned than we think we are. So and then the school board flipped, which I helped do. And

That's good. Yes.

it was nice to see that, hey, we can make change at a local level. And now we have a mixed school board. I don't want anything to be totally weighted one one way or the other. I think it's good to have voices from all sides, but you know, it's possible and we can do it. We'll do it again.

That's great.

Yeah, moms for Liberty, those bastards. I mean, they just came in there and they screwed everything up. And I'm I didn't know that you were a part of that that initiative to to read the books. That's great. I that's my first time learning about that.

Yes, yes.

Yes.

that

to me really does solidify the fact that you can build a coalition. I mean, that that was a lightning rod in Pennsylvania during that time. All the divisiveness

It was.

that, you know, was kind of a microcosm at the national level, and you were on the ground doing the work. You were reading the books that were being threatened by Moms for Liberty and a very, you know, conservative school board and working with people on both sides, you came to the same conclusion.

These these books are not destroying the minds of children. And this is just a wedge issue. And there are

Right. Yeah.

more important things to focus on, like feeding children in schools and making sure that they have

Exactly.

access to heating and cooling and having the books that they need to learn and the and teachers that are paid well, right? And so those

Yes. Yes. Right. Yes.

are the things that you really should be focusing on.

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.

Jeremy, tell me about the time you escorted the Dalai Lama around to living in Florida. That's a pretty crazy

Whew.

thing.

So to be fair, it was the Dalai Lama's brother, who, if you know anything about Tibetan history, he and if I understand this correctly, and I apologize if apologize if I'm speaking off turn, but

essentially the Dalai Lama's brother was the one who

fled China back to Tibet to warn his brother, the Dalai Lama,

Mm-hmm.

that the military was coming to get him.

wow.

And he lied to the Chinese military and said that he would not do that, but did it anyway. And because

Okay.

he lied, he he had to give up his

his his rank as a monk.

So he for the rest of his life has lived not as a monk, but as the brother of the Dalai Lama, who essentially saved the Dalai Lama's life because he warned him of his impending doom. And

Got it.

that's when the Dalai Lama fled. So and I I

Crazy.

my dad studied Tibetan Buddhism in college, and therefore I have some some basic knowledge of it. But

Ha ha.

yeah, so through that, you know, we've always been involved with the Pittsburgh Friends of Tibet. when in in Florida my wife and I hosted there was the Tibetan

Freedom March that went all through the eastern the east coast actually and we hosted a group of monks and Tibetan nuns at our place for a few days during that walk. We walked with them. So we've stayed involved, but

I somehow I got word that the Dalai Lama was in town in Miami and his brother was coming to visit and needed an a ride and an escort essentially. But he was coming with

Uhhuh.

his wife and the three monks that travel with him. I don't know how I essentially ended up being asked to do this, but I went and rented a crappy minivan and picked him up from the airport. introduced myself to all of these strangers who were very, very kind folks and

drove them around, gave them a quick tour of South Florida and ended up at at the hotel they were staying at in Miami,

the Dalai Lama

was staying in the Mandarin Oriental and Brickle Key, very nice place, had Secret Service protection, obviously. And I I thought I was just dropping his brother off. And I said bye. And they said, no, no, no, please, please come inside. I said, okay, so I parked a minivan that I rented and and went inside with them, went through all those secret service security checkpoints and rode the elevator up. And next thing I know, I'm in the presidential suite with the Dalai Lama and he's having his muesle for breakfast and was, you know, regarding his brother and they were you know rejoicing and just it was nice. It was a nice little

family reunion that I happen

Yeah, yeah.

to just be part of. There's this random white kid from Western PA living in Miami,

Ha ha.

like with an awkward shirt and tie combo on that I probably regret if I were to look back at pictures of the day. But no, it was great. he he shared his breakfast with me, which apparently is a blessing in in in that culture. And I I

appreciated the Dalai Lamas left over Musley. And then he gave me a personal blessing and a kata and thanked me sincerely, looked me in the eye. And it was it was a nice experience. I'm not, you know, much of a religious person myself, but it was definitely a meaningful experience for me. So yeah, pretty cool.

what are the

what do the moose taste like?

Well, I think it was a little lighter in texture than I would have preferred. And

you know, a little a little less sweetener than I would have preferred. I like a little more honey, a little more a little more raisins, a little more, you know, maybe nuts in there. Yeah, it was like a it's a glorified oatmeal, let's be honest, yes.

So it's like oatmeal? It was like it was like oatmeal basically? Okay. Okay.

All right. Do you think it's like it travels with him? Like he he brings it from Tibet?

You know what? That's one of those mysteries we're never gonna know, I'm sure. But no, no, no, this was a step up from that for sure. Yeah, yeah.

I don't know. It's not like creamed wheat from a box somewhere or something? Okay. This is a step up from that. Well that that is a

that's an amazing experience. I I mean I I wouldn't even know

It was.

how to get into that type of a circle. But that amazing, amazing. Well we're gonna play

I yeah. Yeah.

a game called Tell That to Your Dalai Lama. Okay, do you so so spoiler alert, okay, remember in the movie Wedding Crashers when Vince Vaughn knocks out Bradley Cooper at the end of the movie?

Knocks him out.

Yeah, th it's at the wedding. Okay. Like Vince Vaughn is getting married, and then Bradley Cooper is pissed off because that like his own marriage is being broken up. And then when Bradley Cooper comes up to confront him, he knocks him out. He's like, Tell that to your Dalai Lama because he's always talking about meeting the Dalai Lama. Do you remember that? Okay, remember that? Okay. To it's a cla it's like classic cinema because I think I was in college when it came out. So

That's right. Okay. I haven't seen the movie in a while, but yeah. All right. it is. Okay.

to me it's like the equivalent of like, How do you like them, Apples? from Goodwill Hunting.

You know, so

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

so I want you to pretend that you are in the state house. So this is building on something, okay? And you're

Okay, okay.

invited to the signing of various bills by Governor Josh Shapiro. And in the crowd, you've got the Republican minority, just mean bugging, okay, just stink faces. And

Mm. Mm.

as Josh Shapiro signs these laws, these bills, you're gonna say, tell that to your Dalai Lama, okay? if you like the following, okay?

Okay.

All right. Parental leave in Pennsylvania.

Tell that's your Dalai Lama. Hey, I'm a data too. I I yes, I need it. Yes.

Yes. See what there yeah. Yeah,

you need it, right? It's crazy that in Pennsylvania, you know, people are struggling and having to, you know, go back to work so quickly when they should be home with their children.

It is. It is.

Yeah. And and I'm lucky in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, our commissioners actually passed laws, you know, ordinances so that people who work in Montgomery County can have parental leave. So I think the need should be across the common law.

It should be across the country, honestly. I know

Yeah.

there's initiatives here in Allegheny County that are that are currently that that's pending and that's looks like it's gonna pass for Allegheny County. And there's a lot of arguments on both sides of the of the issue, which I can understand as a small business operator, where small businesses would be concerned about this. But I I think that we need to scale it up from just a countywide

Mm-hmm.

thing, just a statewide thing to across the

Right.

country because I feel like that is like many things,

It's a universal basic right that we should have as Americans. And the

I agree.

inequities that we have when you compare the benefits that we have against some other countries in the world who may not

Mm-hmm.

be considered as first world as we are, it's amazing. we're not, you know, we we could do better. We could do much better. Yeah. Okay, sorry.

We can certainly do better. Okay, I I have a couple more for you.

tax credits to purchase a home in Pennsylvania.

You gotta say it though. You got you know

tell that to your Dalai Lama. Tell that to your

Dalai Lama.

tell that to your dilama. That's right. No, we I mean, look, it's expensive to purchase a home today in

Yes.

this country. Pennsylvania's no exception, but we should be able to give people that leg up. So they should get tax

I

credits to purchase a home.

I knocked on a door two days ago. there was a

A young man who had just moved home, I know his age because I was using the app. I saw there was a 23-year-old male that lived in the house. And he was who answered the door. And he said he just graduated college from university up the road, grade school. And he said, I I just graduated and I'm I just moved back in with my parents because I can't afford to buy a home. He's like, the

Yeah. Yeah.

the cheapest home I can find is over $300,000, 7.5% interest rate. I can't afford that, so I'm here. And

Mm.

That is

Yeah.

a I

I

honestly I feel really bad for folks that are in that position right now because it it's it is a struggle to be able to afford your own home, to start your own life really outside of the umbrella of your of your family if you're lucky enough to have that. So yeah.

Yeah. Right.

Yes.

All right, I I have two more.

Fully

Okay.

funding public schools in Pennsylvania.

tell that to your Dolly freaking Llama, please. And no disrespect for Dalai Lama.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

yes, yes. unlike other folks that might be vying for the same position, I am in favor of fully funding our public education system and not diverting funds away from the public educ education system. And I will stand on that a hundred percent. So yes.

Good.

Yeah. And actually, you know, for people who don't like their property taxes going up, if we fully fund public schools in Pennsylvania, they may stay stagnant or go down because the less you fund public schools at the state level, the higher you have to pay at the local level.

I think we can we can accomplish both of these things and they can coexist. All right.

Certainly can. All right, here's the last one, okay?

Child care tax credits in Pennsylvania.

yeah. tell that to your Dalai Lama because my kids are well past that day. But I know before we owned our home here, we owned our home in Florida, and our second highest expense then was our child care behind our mortgage. Our

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

second highest expense now is our health insurance behind our mortgage. So

Yeah.

we're we're seeming to be spending way too much money on things that should be

affordable to the average everyday American citizen and we should be

Yeah, I agree.

fostering people's ability to start lives and grow families rather than

Mm-hmm.

diminishing that again.

I agree. It's crazy. I was walking into work a couple months ago and I saw a nurse who I hadn't seen in quite some time. And she said that she had to cut back to part-time because she just couldn't afford to work full time and pay childcare. So it just made more sense for her to so we're basically losing good people in the workforce because they have to stay home and watch their kids. So for all these people that say, Well, we need more people working, it's like, well, they want to work, but they there's no point in working if all the money goes to childcare.

So yeah, I agree. We need to get that signed

Absolutely. Well,

into law.

and not to continuously bring up anecdotes, but literally just yesterday I was knocking doors in a neighborhood right down the road from mine and I met a lady in in her thirties, Republican who has always voted Republican, been a Republican her entire life. And she told me she is so ready for change and so glad that I stopped by because she, in twenty twenty five, she had worked at the VA for fifteen years, had a a contract through twenty twenty seven, did you know.

High marks from all of her supervisors, loved her job, loved her co-workers. She was doged. she lost her job. She said it put her

Mm.

house into financial turmoil. And not just that, but they had just recently adopted a daughter from another country, another culture, doesn't look like them. And she made the difficult decision, but in her mind, the decision that made sense to stay home because it was.

Yeah.

After she lost her job, it was it was more affordable

Yeah.

for her to stay home and raise her kid than it was for her to try to get another job. And on top of that, they've now been afraid to even travel because they're not sure that they can travel safely with their daughter who doesn't look like them because they're afraid of what might happen. And it was a heartbreaking story. And I know I maybe sound like a politician talking about this, but it's true. When you get out and you actually talk to real people experiencing these real things, it this is really happening and we need to fix it. Need to fix it. It's gotta start somewhere.

Yeah. Yeah. No, we we need

So

we we need people like you to get elected in Pennsylvania and go to the state house and pass laws to protect them from the harmful things that are happening at the federal level because there are things that you can do. And I'm hoping

Yes. Yes.

that with the trifecta, we can help Pennsylvanians get them back to work if they want to a child care, help them buy a house, help them get a more affordable health care because the Medicaid cuts are coming January first,

yeah.

twenty twenty seven.

yeah.

But I'm hoping that you're gonna be able to stand up there with Josh Shapiro and say, Tell that to your Dai Lama over and over again.

I will say it, I'll look at the camera and I'll be thinking of you when I say it. All right.

Tell that to your dilama. I love it.

Jeremy, we are at the epicenter in Pennsylvania of a measles outbreak.

Yeah.

And the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to authorize licensed pharmacists to provide vaccines recommended by the PA State Health Department. How do you feel about that?

I would scratch my head if I had any hair left to scratch off because it doesn't make any sense to me. again, i this kind of comes back to the the issue with the schools where you have to you have to trust the people that are educated and have gone through the process to make these decisions, not only for what we teach our kids in school, but for public health things just like this is happening right now.

It it's beyond me that that we are seeing this happen in our state, now in our county, totally avoidable. And I I think that

it it's gonna be a wake-up call. I think that's one of the myriad reasons that people are gonna be going to the polls in November and voting for something different because

I understand the desire to have personal freedoms across the board, but I also understand the need to do things for the betterment of our society as a whole. And

Yeah. Right.

you gotta look out for your kids, your neighbors, yourself, and your community. And in in doing that, this is ridiculous. Let's let's

legislate accordingly.

I agree with you. I mean, look, public health is a team sport. We live we

Yes.

live in a community with other people, and there are people for various reasons who cannot get vaccinated because they have

Yes.

immunocompromising diseases. you have elderly who can get sick a lot more easily, and even if they are vaccinated or at higher risk of getting, you know, comorbidities from that.

So I I am glad that you are going to vote to protect Pennsylvanians. Vaccines are safe, they are effective. And the tracker on PA.gov has shown that of all the people who have gotten the measles in Pennsylvania, less than one percent were vaccinated. Okay, so it is an effective vaccine. Please get vaccinated today.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Jeremy, the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, which is that's a despicable seven dollars and twenty five cents an hour. What would you do as a state rep?

I would get that increase to a minimum of fifteen and then I'd say, tell that to your Dalai Lama because I

Yeah.

it it it's ridiculous. I mean

fact that it hasn't changed in how many decades now? I forget. it's it's it's been a yeah, it it

Over thirty years. Over over thirty years.

I don't understand the resistance to that. And I I have a serious problem with the wealth inequality in our society and the fact

Mm.

that

the smallest percentage of folks are making the most and everyone else is left to pick up the scraps. And I yeah, that that's a whole separate issue for a different

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

podcast. But that it's a no brainer. There shouldn't even be a conversation about it. It should just be done

Yeah.

and then we can build from there. Let's let's let's

Right.

reset the starting point and then build from there. Without a question.

Exactly. Yeah, every state touching

Pennsylvania somehow figured it out and their economies aren't crashing. So I think Pennsylvania needs to kinda come into the new age and get this done. But it it's gonna take the trifecta. We gotta get the trifecta, right? So so once we get the trifecta,

Yeah, we'll be okay. Hey, we got it. We got it. It's gonna happen.

we're gonna get a lot of good shit done. But the minimum wage,

Hell yeah.

that's coming up.

Jeremy, as I said before, you worked on Staten Island following nine eleven, where all the debris was transported and combed through. So that must have been a very powerful experience for you.

I I think a couple of the biggest takeaways were just the the ultimate tragedy of it, of everything that I saw and everything that we saw, whether it was a you know, a body part to you know, a a a fire engine that was fully intact in the front and the back was just melted. but I think some of the most

The stuff that sticks with me the most from what we saw would be like a photograph that would have been sitting on someone's desk that was just burnt around the edges of, you know, a a dad and his daughter, for example. I don't remember there's one that sticks in my mind because that was one of the things that probably we watched flying like confetti outside out of the building after it was hit initially, after they were hit. And

just recognizing that that person probably lost his life and that family lost a loved one. And it the tragedy, obviously, we all anyone who lived through it and remembers it was un unmistakable.

beyond the tragic part of it, it was really interesting and really nice to be a part of this because it was truly a time, in my opinion, when Americans all came together and

It was really, really nice to have that feeling of solidarity, of of you put aside all your differences, your political

Yeah.

affiliation, whatever. We were all just Americans. And that was a very, very nice galvanizing feeling to have. and even like, you know, I I learned in the process that FDNY and NYPD guys, there's a like a all rivalry there. And

Everyone came together. You know, we worked with FDNY, NYPD, FBI, CIA, Secret Service. Everybody was on site doing something and working as a team. And it was really nice to be part of a team that was coming together to do that. I keep saying that as kind of a recurring theme, but I'm all about teamwork.

Yeah.

and yeah, I I guess my my biggest takeaway is it was really nice to feel like a part of a of a

really national community. We we're all representing each other and we all came together over a common cause. And I'd love us to get to a place like that without terrorist act, obviously.

Yeah.

know reminded me of the the frailty of life, I guess. So yeah.

No,

it's a great contribution to the country. you know, I I know that there were a lot of forensic people going through all the rubble, you know, after it happened, but I've never actually talked to anyone who did it. So I think it's pretty phenomenal that you were there, that you helped.

Yeah.

you contributed and you know, obviously it's made you into an amazing person. And and I think you can you

Well, thanks.

can you can take that type of initiative to Harrisburg after you get elected a

Yeah.

state rep.

Yeah, thank you.

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.

Jeremy, you used to be a serious road cyclist. And for a couple of years in Florida, you rode with a team that was sponsored by Lamborghini. That's pretty insane.

Yeah, it was pretty cool. I didn't ride as fast as a Lamborghini could drive, but I had the

I had the name on my on my kit, which was pretty cool. So yeah.

That's

crazy.

Yeah, it was

Did you get it? Did you get

any like any perks? Do you get any anything nice? No. Just the outfit.

I wish. I wish. The closest I ever came

was one time I I I flew to Italy to do an inspection on I did indoor air quality was my my

former profession. I still consult with with doing that from time to time. But I I had a client who was having a a fourteen million dollar yacht built in Italy. And I got to fly over there because he had concerns about the air quality on board his yacht, which was, you know, first world problem there for sure. But I I didn't I twist my arm. He's like, when can you get over to Italy

Yeah, okay.

to look at my yacht? I said, schedule looks clear. So went

Yeah.

over and I think I was about I think I was about an hour away from where the Lamborghinis were built. And that's as close as I ever came.

To it. But yeah, no, that it was it was a fun

Nothing like that.

time. And yeah, I used to be in really, really good shape and could ride really fast. And then 10 years ago, when we decided to move back to Pennsylvania to raise our kids here because this place is important to us, I came back and started riding again and realized, damn, the roads around here are narrow, windy, and these

Yeah. Yeah.

hills,

man, it is.

It's a luxury down in South Florida. The only hills you have to deal with are bridges that go over the intercoastal. And so I don't ride as

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. No.

much, but I still do ride. I have a collection of bikes that probably need to thin out, but yes.

I mean, I I respect the bike riding culture because I I just there's no seat that is ever agreed with my butt. Okay. I I after like five minutes riding a bike, I like can't feel my feet and I just don't I just don't want to do it anymore. I I think I've even

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

tried the split seats before and I just feel like, you know what, it's not my thing. I'll I'll I'll walk.

No, I I I hear

ya. I hear ya. I my dad got me into it. my dad is still he's sixty nine. My parents are both sixty nine years old and my my

Yeah.

they both ride a lot. My dad is a very serious cyclist who I give him a lot of credit. He had a hip replacement a few years ago and he is he's he rides every single day,

It's all going.

whether it's inside or outside. And yeah, he's I guess got an ass of steel. So Yeah. Yeah, you do, you do. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean I you have to. You honestly have to. Well,

I I I'm hoping for you that maybe Lamborghini might come out and sponsor you, you know, for this race. Why not? You should really be like, hey man. Yeah, maybe they will.

Hey, if if if they if they watch this, maybe they will. Crazier things have happened.

Well, this is this is a great segue into our next game called Sponsors. Okay, so as a state rep, you're gonna be bombarded by potential sponsors in

Hmm.

the form of lobbyists, right? So I'd like to know if you'd ever meet with the following organizations if they requested through your office, okay?

Okay.

The Pennsylvania NRA

would you meet with the National Rifle Association

Okay.

Pennsylvania chapter?

You know, I would meet with them. I would

Okay.

I would talk to them.

Hmm.

Would I seek the endorsement of the NRA or ask for their grading or

No.

absolutely not. No, no, I I they

No. Yeah.

don't represent the same values that I that I hold true and yes.

Good. Yeah, I I'm st I'm still

getting over the fact that nine people were murdered in Erie, Pennsylvania. You know, just a grandfather totally decimating his family. I I'm sure as we get more information from that, you know, I think that probably sensible gun laws would have prevented that tragedy, right? I I think that's the minimum we can try and get that done in Pennsylvania.

That is one of the main things that I am running on. I I lost my grandfather to a serial killer. I am acutely aware of the damage that gun violence can inflict on on a family and on generations

Yeah.

of a family. And my dad was a young father himself. I was, you know, only a couple years old, and my dad had to go through that at a very young age. And I still see him today dealing with that, not growing up

Yeah.

with a father of his own.

It's senseless. It is it's ridiculous that we have

done absolutely nothing from a legislative standpoint to

Yeah.

combat gun violence. And I hear the argument every time I bring it up that it's it's about mental health. And there's surely a mental health component to it, but at the end of the day, these things are designed to do one thing and that's kill. And

If we can't put some guardrails in place, you know, I

Yeah.

equate it when I talk to voters about I equate it to putting a speed bump. If you have a lot of people that are just flying down a road, speeding down a road

Mm-hmm.

constantly, what do you do to mitigate that? You put a speed bump in place.

Right. Right.

It's gonna slow down maybe 90% of the people that drive past it. There's still gonna be 10% of the jerks that fly over it too fast

Yeah.

and put your family at at risk. but

If we can do the same thing with guns and assault rifles and make it a little harder

Yeah.

for the wrong person to get their hands on the wrong kind of weapon to do the wrong things with it, then we've done our job. And if we can prevent one tragedy, yeah, that's all. We prevent one tragedy and it's worth it. And

Right. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah.

anybody who opposes that, who resists that, I I'm sorry, but I have I have no respect for you if you you

Yeah, good.

know, and I can say that as a you know, I'm a responsible gun owner myself.

But I've also lost someone to gun violence. I understand it from both sides. And I think that when I mention that to voters, and they know that I'm not some radical saying, we're gonna come take your guns away,

yeah, we need sensible gun legislation, period. Yeah.

We do. Yeah, you're gonna

be no friend of the Pennsylvania NRA then, which I I respect and I love. All

No, no, no.

right, I have a couple more. How about the Heritage Foundation?

No, no, I would not. I don't want to entertain a conversation with them, sorry. Yeah. Gotta draw a line somewhere. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

one.

Okay.

Pennsylvania

Pro Life Federation.

you had me at pro life. You didn't have to even say the federation part. absolutely not. No.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm sorry.

I'm really hoping that with you in Harrisburg and we get the trifecta, we can codify reproductive rights in our state constitution. It needs to happen. It needs to happen. And thank goodness

Absolutely. Absolutely.

that we have a democratic majority on our Supreme Court in Pennsylvania. Thank goodness we have Governor Josh Shapiro and we have a current majority in the state house democratically. We are protecting reproductive rights in Pennsylvania, but that can change.

with who is in control. And so we need

Absolutely.

to have laws on the books. And I guarantee you the PA Pro Life Federation is not on our side with that issue.

absolutely not. It's gonna take two cycles to get it done and I

Yeah.

think this is

This is the time to make it happen.

Yeah. Right.

I I've had, well, I had one one voter in particular whose door I knocked on who who really challenged me on that point because that's that's what I lead with. I say, you know, I say, I want to show my kids if you're fed up with the way things are going, which I certainly am, that you can step up and do something about it, which is what I'm trying to do. And then I lead with, you know, I have a 15-year-old daughter. I want to make sure that she grows up to have the same rights that her mother and her grandmother has had in the state of Pennsylvania to make their own decisions about their own bodies.

this guy came he he a minute later said, I wanna come back to that. It's like

your daughter, she has that right. She has that right currently, doesn't she? And I said, Well, yes, technically she does have that right currently at the state level. he said, Well then you can't run on that. That's you're you're wrong. You can't run on that. I said, Well, no, actually I'm not wrong because at the federal level she had that right up until a few years ago. Now she doesn't.

It is very precarious whether or not she will continue to have that right at the state level. So I don't want to just work to introduce new legislation. I want to solidify the things that we currently have at the state level and really solidify those. And yes, that is important to me and we need to make it happen, period. And we are in a in a great state where that is a possibility and that is high atop my list of priorities for sure. Yeah.

I love to hear it. Love to hear it.

Thanks.

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

I think that was a a poor choice. and I'll tell you why. Taking all the recreational habit stuff out of the equation, when you look at it from an economic standpoint, we are losing out on revenue to all of our adjacent states. Anyone

Yeah. You're right.

who wants to get it can drive across the state line, purchase it legally

Mm-hmm.

there, and that state is getting that tax revenue. Those tax dollars are going to that state. That is

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

money that we

As Pennsylvanians are missing out on. And last time I checked, we need to invest in things like childcare, education, infrastructure. I live in the city of Bridges. Well, I don't live in the city, but I'm close to Pittsburgh. And you know, these things need upkeep.

Yeah.

We need to invest more in what we have in our state. And if we're missing out on revenue that's literally there waiting for us, it's a poor decision. And I think that the

The public consensus has definitely shifted in recent years towards more support for this and I think that

Right. Yeah.

that's definitely something we need to do. Absolutely.

Good. It's time to legalize it and with the trifecta we can get it done.

Absolutely.

Jeremy, what gives you hope?

I've noticed a a a construction trend as I knock on thousands of doors around the you know the district. And when you get closer to town and in town, you've got a lot of older homes that have big wraparound, beautiful wraparound front porches. And those were built in a time when we had these neighborhoods, these communities, where everybody relied on one another and where you'd spend time on your front porch, you'd talk to your neighbors, you'd welcome people to your home.

It was a welcoming space. And I think as time went on, construction changed and maybe mirrored the the the whims of society. And our front porches became smaller. I'm looking at mine because it's almost non-existent and less welcoming. And then we started building bigger private back decks where you

you know you can you can do what you want back there, you know,

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

away from others, and then you start getting

Doorbell cameras. And we we now live in a time where we seem to be far less trusting, far less welcoming.

I think that a lot of that is based in the fear that we're told to have about.

different people about change. I think that it'd be nice to get back to a place where we have

welcoming front porches again, whether that's you know literal or figurative. I I I think it's nice. We need to get back to a place where we can talk to our neighbors and can strike up a conversation with somebody who might see things differently than ourselves. And you never know what that might lead to. It might lead to a lot more agreement than than you think. And not just about politics, just about anything. And I think we need to get back to a place where we talk to each other like human beings again. So there's there's hope in that regard.

Yeah, I'm good. I'm glad that you have hope at the doors, you know, talking to your constituents because ultimately those are the people you're gonna show up for as a state rep. And I agree, you know, it is we are very disconnected these days, you know, with people in our community. We're just so busy all the time working and we're on our phones all the time. But I am hopeful there are people doing the work like you in communities and you're gonna, you know, when you get to Harrisburg, pass laws to connect us and to keep us healthier so that we can get out there and be in our communities and and live the American

Absolutely. Yes. Yes.

dream.

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

Well, it starts with winning on November third, because I've

Yes, yes.

been working my ass off and I really I I think that voters are ready for a change. So

sticking to my priorities with this, I said from the start, I'm I'm not gonna lose sight of who I am as a human being. I'm still coaching my kids' soccer team. I'm the assistant coach now, so I don't have quite as much responsibility. But my kids are 15 and 12 and I, you know, I I've I have unfortunately missed out on a lot of these last few months with my wife and kids because I've been doing this. So

Once I win, I'm gonna get back to spending time with my family. my kids are at an amazing age right now, both of them respectively. And I wanna I wanna help see them through these next few years because you blink and you miss it. I don't know how old your kids are, but it's it it really goes fast. So I

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

wanna make sure that I I I can do my job as a legislator and represent the community, but also you know, spend that time that I have with my family while I have it. So yeah. Yeah.

Good. Lean into the work. Lean into the work.

You know, ride your bike. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, well I'm gonna keep playing too. I mean, yeah, riding,

running, staying in shape is good. I'm gonna I'm gonna make Jeremy healthy again. So

Good. Excellent. Excellent.

Well, Jeremy Ferderber Democrat running for state house in Pennsylvania. Anything can happen this November 3rd, okay? We've seen historically red districts all across the Commonwealth flip. It just takes people to show up and vote. And we need to show support for Jeremy. Jeremy, what is your website?

It is www.ferd number four pa, so f e r d 4 pa.com.

There go. If you live in Bradford Woods, Marshall, Pine, Richland, West Deer, and parts of Hamptownship, get off your ass and go to Jeremy's website. Sign up to door

Yes. Yes.

knock, send some postcards, make a small donation. Every election is the most important election, Pennsylvania, and I want to see Jeremy and many like him get to Harrisburg and get more good shit done. Jeremy, I can't vote for you. I wish I could.

I wish you could too.

But I'm gonna be cheering

for I'm gonna be cheering for you from the sidelines. I hope I can congratulate you on November third because it will be well earned.

I look forward to that and I thank you very much for this opportunity.

Old Dirty Fur. We need to get old Dirty Ferd to Harrisburg, okay? Let's go.

yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Back on the wheels of steel. All right, man.

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