Hello, I'm Zeke, and welcome to The Zekely Podcast. Let's talk, Pennsylvania. The guest I have today lives in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, but has taught the sciences in public school districts across Central PA. In her classroom, the chaos of the world is left at the door. Knowledge is shared and community is fostered. And now she's decided to take those skills to Harrisburg as the next state rep in her district. Thank you so much for being here, Jessica St. Clair.

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.

I've been watching you for about a year, so I'm really excited to be here.

my gosh. I'm very happy that you're here. I'm happy for any Democrat that's running in Pennsylvania, up and down the ballots. And I love that your name is Jessica. It's my wife's name. So we're we're off to a good start.

Right.

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

Yeah.

Jessica, I understand that you decided to run for state rep after a gun was brought into your children's school. So I assume you're not under the impression that more guns and PA will make people safe.

No. I'm not anti gun. It is a it's an amendment. It's a thing. But it's the right to defend ourselves, not the right to be offensive.

I mean the current Republican state reps serving in your district voted no for background checks when purchasing firearms. So I assume that you would not vote that way.

absolutely not. And about eighty percent of people are okay with background checks. About seventy percent are okay with safe storage laws. And specifically after this gun came through the high school, I noticed that Representative Kutz voted no on a ghost gun bill that was supposed to help us regulate something that's not regulated right now.

time and time again I bring people onto this show and the Republican counterparts all vote the same way. they don't want background checks, they're okay if machine gun conversion devices stay in Pennsylvania,

high high capacity magazines. They they're just all for it. And the most common cause of death in this country for children is gun violence. And I can't believe how Yeah, it's crazy. Yes.

Absolutely. Isn't like sixty three percent is gun violence? It's disgusting.

It's disgusting. And so, you know, I can't imagine like I have three kids and if I found out that someone brought a gun to my kids' school, that would, you know, take my breath away. So I I'm very grateful that when you get elected as a state rep that you will vote with the majority of Democrats and pass common sense gun reform in Pennsylvania.

Well, and I went and met with Representative Kutz at a town hall with my family and let him know this

Mm.

was when I was deciding for sure whether or not to run. I wanted to see what his opinion was on this and he says,

Yeah.

Politics, you have to vote like you're told.

I'm not gonna vote like that. Nope. Nope. In front of my family, he said.

Really? my gosh. Well,

I think we know who's telling him how to vote. It's probably the NRA and all of his

all the lobbyists who probably pay him to vote that way.

Not his constituents because

Republicans are okay with it too.

that's insane. Well, I'm glad that you will vote the right way with your conscience to protect children in Pennsylvania, including my own.

Jessica, you once won tickets to see Hamilton in New York City, but right before you went, your daughter broke her arm falling off her bike. You you ended up making it though, correct?

We did, yeah, she was excited to go.

I understand at the end of the show, every single cast member signed her cast.

All the ones that came out, yeah, they were so gracious. she loves Lafayette. He came out and signed

That's awesome. Mm-hmm.

her. That's her favorite, is Lafayette. Eliza came out,

That's awesome.

so it was nice.

Yeah, my kids, they learn all the music to Broadway shows before we go. And I'm kind of the opposite way. I like to be surprised about what's happening, but time and time again we go to these shows, they know all the music, they're singing along with it. So I I know that your daughter does the same thing, correct?

Absolutely. And the play came out right before she was born and I really wanted to see it. So this is really exciting that we get to watch it together.

Yeah. No, it was great. I saw it. I actually saw I think when it came out on TV first. And then afterwards I went and I saw it in on Broadway and it was just lovely. It was just a lovely, lovely show. but yeah, I'm glad your daughter made it beside Breaking Her Arm. I think honestly, I think we need to have more Broadway shows about revolutionary women. You know, we have a lot we have a lot of shows about men who've done great things, but I mean, you know, I watch all these documentaries about, you know, the women who helped get

a man into space in America, you know, the the hidden figures and

Mm-hmm.

you know, other high powered women and there's just no there aren't a lot of them. So I'm hoping that someday maybe that'll change.

Well, my daughter's going as Elizabeth Schuyler, Hamilton, for Halloween

There you go.

and she would love to see them in a sequel, as the song says.

Absolutely. Yeah, we have a spinoff. And then you know, Jessica St. Clair has a very nice ring to it. Maybe they'll make a show about you someday. Don't don't don't. There you go.

well hers is Elizabeth Saint Clair when she got baptized the

priest said, you go, there you're gonna be a actress one day.

Saint Clair. It's very regal. It's very regal.

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

The reason I choose the Democratic Party as a Catholic, it holds more of the things that I care about.

the right to life is the right to your entire life.

And so if we're

Mm-hmm.

looking at the spectrum of life, if as a doctor, you know, the the healthcare decisions that are happening in women, I actually needed mifepristone for a miscarriage and I didn't receive it at a Catholic hospital. so the moment that I actually needed this medicine, it was not available to me. So let's take that part out. But the rest of life, I mean, Pete Hagzef is right now wanting to put a

a firing squad on TV. That's not right

Yeah.

to life. Not to say that that person shouldn't be held accountable, but I believe in feeding the hungry. I believe in making sure that everybody has safe housing.

That's the Democratic Party.

I mean, there's nothing about the Republican platform.

That supports life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And so I'm just grateful that we share those values together.

Well, and honestly, when I was denied Mephoprestone, two weeks later I had to have emergency surgery because I ended up having an infection. So something that could have cost ten bucks ended up costing our family hundred like thousands of dollars to be able to deal

Yeah.

with just because of that one policy.

doctors should be making these decisions,

not the politicians or men, no offense.

Yeah, no, none none taken. And again, I don't have a problem with politicians making laws as long as it protects, you know, evidence-based medicine. And that is not what Republican politicians are doing at all. I'm very sorry you had to go through that. no no woman in Pennsylvania or America should have to go through the restrictive process to just take care of their own bodies. And I know that you will protect women as a state rep in Harrisburg.

Jessica, the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to prohibit foreign corporations to influence an election in Pennsylvania. I'm not quite sure why you would vote that way.

Because he was told to vote that way. right

Yes.

now data centers are a huge issue in our area. There's one going in in a neighboring township, one that's gonna affect us.

Mm.

And

Kutz has received money from corporations that have an interest in data centers. So the Pennsylvania Data Center Partners has funded Thomas Cootz.

I personally have not taken any.

corporate pack money. I've only been funded by small donors. I had one person who donated five thousand dollars and then they started treating me like they owned me. And after that I said, no, no, no, no. We will go with only small dollar donations. And you know, you can refuse a donation too. So

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

you know, I wasn't the one that gave me that money, sure, but you could say no to it. and so as far as going back on

not allowing g money in politics. I should not be questioned of whether or not my vote had to do with what somebody paid me for. I worked for the DEP for that was one of my first jobs. And a person got fired when they were inspecting a landfill for taking home a thrown out bag of dog food. It was a twenty dollar bag of dog food. He got fired.

And yet a politician can, you know, take unlimited in Pennsylvania, you can take unlimited amount of money as long as it's not from directly from a corporation. You can take it from the people who own the corporation, just not the corporation itself.

Yeah, I mean Citizens United has ruined politics in so many ways. And, you know, election finance reform needs to happen. It's not gonna happen with Republicans in control of the state senate. We need the trifecta and people like you to get elected. But yeah, it's just terrible. I mean, obviously, as you said, the current state rep is just taking advice or doing whatever he's told from his donors. But you have to wonder like who in the foreign space, what corporations are telling him how to vote if he voted no for that. So I'm glad that you would not vote to allow

interference from foreign corporations to tamper with our elections in Pennsylvania.

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.

Jessica, a ten inch hoagie at Wawa costs between eight and ten dollars, and Pennsylvania's current minimum wage is just seven dollars and twenty five cents an hour. Will you vote to raise a minimum wage as a state rep?

So freaking lutely. That's another thing. I I went to this town hall and I asked a few of the questions that you know, if he had given me an answer I was okay with, I wouldn't have run because I'm a mom and I'm a teacher and I'm busy.

he said that no adult should have to work for minimum wage. They can work at Sheets or Walmart. And I did bring up the fact that, you know, there isn't a sheet or sheets or Walmart on everybody's bus line. There's not a Sheets or Walmart in everybody's community. So I personally have had to work for minimum wage and that's when I was going to school. I was paying for college myself and worked for minimum wage. So it was kind of insulting.

On top of the fact that it was he clearly has never had to work for minimum wage. But sure, yes. I do actually believe in a tiered system though. I don't think a small business can handle going from minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour. Fifteen dollars an hour is what our fourteen dollars an hour is what our minimum wage would be if it was a cost of living adjusted every year. The state reps get a cost of living adjustment, a COLA every single year. So

For them to be so callous as saying, Yeah, it's okay for me to take it, but I don't think Pennsylvania should get a cost of living raised. That's it's callous. They've never felt what it feels like to be poor.

It's terrible. I mean, ev again, every state touching Pennsylvania has figured it out. And those states are not suffering and tanking their economies. Even Ohio, okay. West West Virginia, they're they're doing okay.

West Virginia, yeah.

w West Virginia. I mean, I wouldn't say West Virginia's doing okay, but they at least raise their minimum wage higher than Pennsylvania. But yeah, it's just crazy. I just hate when people use the narrative that nobody works for minimum wage anymore. That's not true. You just said that you did. Or that everyone who's working minimum wage is flipping hamburgers or, you know, doing jobs that

I don't deserve somehow to have a living wage or something, which I think is ridiculous. I mean, I like going to a restaurant and having well paid workers there. I I don't think it's good to talk down to people for doing essential jobs. I don't think that's a winning ticket. Yeah. Right. Right.

Well and child care workers child care workers don't even make minimum wage. I mean don't make fifteen dollars an hour, excuse me. Yeah, child care

workers are very important. I want my child to it costs a little bit more, but I sent her to a preschool that paid minimum wage.

Yeah, it's that's terrible. And it has to change, and I'm glad that you'll be part of that change.

Jessica, you are currently teaching biology at Harrisburg Area Community College or HACC but you also taught in public school districts across Central PA. So what's a recurring issue you saw in public schools that you want to address as a state rep?

Ugh, even at in college, having to re-teach students how to find facts, how to find resources that are legitimate. I do a a project in my microbiology class where students have to go and research. And I will tell you I no longer allow my students to use a dot gov

as a

Mm-hmm.

reliable source because it's not anymore.

Yeah.

So

It's sad to say that our our information has gotten so bad as a country that you're being lied to by your government.

It's terri it's terrible. I mean, it's embarrassing. Embarrassing is a better word, I guess. You know, that we can't go to government websites and get the truth. But that's what the Republican Party panders in just lies and half truths. And it's terrible and it makes it very

I mean, in my micro class,

in my micro class, I'm teaching future nurses and healthcare workers. And to have to teach them what a vaccine actually does for people is is horrible. Like you have to unlearn

Yeah.

all of this information. So and a science teacher is not teaching you how to be a communist. A science teacher is teaching you how to find good facts, and there can be good facts on both sides.

I just would prefer them figure out where they can trust sources.

Exactly. Well, I'm glad that you're doing that because I think that the truth matters and I think that school curriculums are built by people who are in power. And you know, the whole the whole issue that we are that we see ourselves in in this country is because when the South lost the Civil War, which they did lose the Civil War, they spent the next, you know, fifty years changing their curriculums to teach the, you know,

the the South actually did win, that the Civil War wasn't about slavery. And it it's we are still suffering to this day. We are still suffering to this day because of all the misinformation that was taught in schools in the South.

I think that that just to show there's in charge.

Well, and it's actually called the n it's actually

called the North the War of Northern Aggression. That's

how it's referred to in the South. The War of Northern Aggression,

Right. Right.

not the Civil War.

Yeah.

it's just so deflating. But I I that's why it's important to get you elected, because when we have people who are on committees who are passing bills to teach people in schools in Pennsylvania, we have to have people that know how to find the facts. And those are people like you.

Jessica, you've been a teacher for sixteen years and your favorite saying is close the door and teach.

Will you use that same method while sitting on committees as a state rep in Harrisburg?

So first let me explain quickly what close the door and teach means. It generally means that I mean my first my first teaching job was in Lancaster City schools. And these students have so many things going on in their lives that it's hard for them to focus. So when I say close the door and teach, I mean let's just close the door to all this outside noise. Let's get in and

Stop worrying about what's going on out there and worry about what we need to do inside. So another reason I like that close the door and teach is it allows us to have a community within our community. And I would use those skills in Harrisburg because

for us to actually get stuff done, we have to close the doors and just figure this stuff out. It's it's not rocket science.

I I again I was in the Capitol.

last week for a data center rally and I went to speak to Representative Kutz afterwards with some people who were in the rally. He told me I couldn't talk politics in the Capitol, which is really odd thing to say in front of people that you can't talk politics

Yeah.

in the Capitol. I would like to not talk politics in the Capitol. I would love to talk substance.

it's terrible that we haven't had a regular working state legislature in Pennsylvania for the last thirty years, right? Republicans who control the state senate, they barely come to work. They we we don't have a lot of bills passed out of the state senate because they just don't want to legislate. They truly believe at the state and national level that the solution to government is not to have a government. They just don't want

to have anything pass unless those bills that are passed help the billionaires and you know the the very, very ultra wealthy in this country.

so they just wanna deregulate

Well, it doesn't even have to be

it doesn't even have to be the billionaires. So

for instance, Kutz, he is still working as a lawyer at the same time as taking a hundred and fourteen thousand dollars from taxpayers. So they're quite okay taking our money and then earning more money on top of it. And being a lawyer

Right.

for real estate and municipalities is a conflict of interest when you are regulating that. So as a teacher, I'm not going to be able to hold a job

and also work in the legislators. So why are they allowed to do it?

Jessica, let's play a game called Teacher's Pet. Okay, I want to know if any of the following would get a a student on your good side.

Okay, I'm not saying you've ever done any of these things, but if they did, okay. How about picking up your dry cleaning? Would you would that would that be good?

I have never had dry cleaning, so I don't even know what that's like. I've never had dry cleaning.

You've never had dry cleaning? No.

I've washed all my own clothes.

Okay, fine, then that's

But you're right, I I

all right, so that that

have an idea where this is going. Yeah, I really don't think they should be tak

qu picking up my dry cleaning.

No.

I feel like that's a classic thing that you see on, you know on a in movies, you know, when professors are walking around campus and they always have that one student that's like, can I go pick up your dry cleaning for you? But that's never been an occurrence for you.

Nope.

How about any form of candy?

To hand out to students

No, for you. it's you.

or giving to me. no, no, no. I I mean,

don't believe I've ever been given candy as a teacher. The thing about

Really?

teaching in high school and college is you don't get presents.

You don't get

pr you don't they don't give you any candy or anything? You know, actually

No.

if I if I think about this, I don't think that I ever gave my teachers in high school or college candy. So maybe I need maybe I should have done better.

Well, I mean, I will

tell you that I had students after a health diagnosis, I've had students give me flowers. That's a very college thing to do, a flower in a car.

Yeah. Okay. That was actually one

of them. That would that was one of my questions was flowers. So that would work for you.

Yes, I have gotten flowers, but they have to be minimal

Okay, flowers.

flowers. If somebody sent me two hundred thousand dollars worth of flowers, no. But one bouquet

That that wouldn't work for you?

I think is okay.

Okay. Flowers are fine. Okay, th here's my last one. How about gift cards to a coffee shop on campus or or someplace nearby? Would that put them in your good book?

I really don't think that anybody has given me a coffee card.

Yeah.

I have for religious education. I teach religious education.

Okay.

you you cannot tell me that if somebody gave me a present, it doesn't make me think about them differently. It might not make me treat them differently, but I certainly think about

Yeah.

them differently.

No, I think it's okay to get a nice gift now and then. You know, obviously I think it's nice your students, you know, sent you flowers and you were sick or something. But, you know, certainly a lot of state reps serving in our legislature right now, they take a lot of gifts in the form of large checks to the from PACS and everything. And again, like we talked about, finance reform has not really been done or addressed to Pennsylvania recently.

And I'm just glad that you would be on the right side of that because it does matter. It does matter what you accept, whether you're a teacher or a state rep.

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.

Jessica, there's a

measles outbreak in Pennsylvania right now, and before becoming an educator you worked in public health, including roles with the PA Department of Health and Environmental Protection. So what would you do as a state rep to address preventable diseases?

I actually did research at Penn State Hershey on vaccines. So the Gardasil vaccine that was developed

Mm

by Merck was also something that my lab worked on. So when I say that there are hundreds,

That's amazing.

there are hundreds of people that work on a project like that. But yeah, so

I have a again a nuance, never black and white, but the thing with vaccines is they are so useful in cu keeping

Mm.

people from even getting a disease.

My kids last year didn't get the for the first time they were old enough. They didn't have to get it, the flu shot, and they got the flu and they they're now get they're on board. They're getting the flu. Because why

Mm. Yeah.

not get a shot and then not have to deal with that over time? So what I would love to see is

education of what these vaccines can prevent.

The thought that right now six people have passed away, at least six people have passed away from measles when it's a hundred percent preventable, is it's disgusting. There's kids in that bunch too. A girlfriend of mine hasn't chosen to vaccinate her kids. And I am just no parent has seen what it looks like to have their kid die of measles. Measles, polio is still in the environment. Ugh.

That bothers me that these

Yeah.

are things that are horrible diseases that are possibly going to kill a baby in my area. I can't live

Yeah.

with it.

It's terrible. Well, f I want to say two things. One, I think it's amazing that you worked on the Gardasil vaccine because I mean, cervical cancer rates are almost non-existent in so many parts of the world now. I think Australia, there was an article that came out maybe a year ago that like it's zero. Like they are not seeing cervical cancer in Australia because of this vaccine. I mean, that's incredible. The fact that you were a Jason and a part of that research is incredible. So I'm I'm in wow. I'm I'm in awe.

Well, and I know

women, you're not a woman, but I know women are going to be thanking me that they don't need to get pap smears every year.

Yay!

Yes.

I

I mean why it's

So those are the things

that come from a vaccine, you know.

Yeah. So that's incredible that you were a part of that. And also I know that you teach your students at HACC about malaria and Ebola, which I've never seen, I never want to see, but some of your students have seen those diseases, correct?

Yeah, so one cool thing about bringing in people on visas is they bring their knowledge from around the world. And I really encourage my students to share their experiences. So I have a lot of students from Africa and they have seen malaria firsthand. one woman had a guinea worm, which is a really it's a parasite that once it is about to leave your body, it ends up becoming a very, very, very long worm and you can't just pull it out.

You have to be very patient about wrapping it with a stick and it takes like a week to get this worm to come out. So that's not something that I can teach, but now that I've heard her say it, I can viscerally

Yeah.

know what it feels like. So it that that knowledge coming to the United

Mm-hmm.

States is going to prevent pandemics.

No, we need we need to spread this knowledge around. And I'm just very grateful that you will be on the side of vaccines, that they work, that they are safe and effective. Because time and time again we see these Republican politicians just so so much misinformation and disinformation and it is getting people killed. Like people are which I'm not surprised about because I lived through COVID. I lived through that pandemic and they were doing the same thing then. And they didn't care that hundreds of thousands of Americans were dying in excess because of all that misinformation. So

It really does matter and I appreciate you for that.

Jessica, screen time for children seems to be a never ending challenge for parents these days, especially when it comes to protecting kids from online predators. What would you do as a state rep to address these large game companies and hold them accountable?

I'm I love that you're saying game companies. So one thing that's bothering me right now is the addiction model of getting kids to pretty much gamble online without money. So it's not money,

Mm-hmm.

it's not gambling, but it still gives them that addictive behavior. And we've seen evidence that this is happening. I'm so glad that Facebook and other large companies are starting to get pushback on this.

But as a parent, and I know it's hard, you're a parent, I'm a parent. I think it's hard to understand what it actually looks like on a day-to-day basis unless you actually have the kids there.

Roblox versus Minecraft. You you've heard of those two? Roblox versus Minecraft.

Yeah. Yeah.

So my kids were on Minecraft and I didn't realize that Roblox allows students to talk to other people all over the world.

Now there was a lawsuit,

Yeah.

they have put more restrictions on it, but I only found out about that because my daughter was talking to somebody in Germany, which at first is kind of cool, some other country, but I have no I have no way of seeing her chat. so I like that there are some rules that are going into effect to a limit the the the t screen time students are having, but I still am not somebody who wants to abolish

I would like us to use data to figure these things

Yeah.

out, not this guttural reaction of yes or no.

No, I mean, I never understood Roblox to this day. I still don't understand the whole concept of the game. But I did learn from another guest on my podcast that, you know, these big gaming companies really skirt having to take any responsibility for any harm that comes to children on their platforms. So that if they're stalking, if there's t some type of,

identity theft or just embezzling money from people, these companies just kind of look the other way.

And it really there hasn't been a large amount of accountability taken at the state level or federal levels, you know, to really hold these companies to task.

Well, and that's actually a good

So I don't

point.

That's a good point too. Roblox, another thing that bothers me, is how much money my kids are asking me for to play Roblox. I

Right.

don't think a child should be, you know, hawking their mom for money so that they can play a game that's actually going to be detrimental to them. it's

Right.

not like there's ABC Mouse, we use that, that's great. That costs money and I get it. But I've spent probably the same amount of money on Roblox this year as I did ABC Mouse the other years.

I just hope that if a situation arises when you're state rep, to put some guardrails on these games, at least in Pennsylvania, that you'll that you will do.

Jessica, the current Republican state rep serving in your district voted no to extend OSHA protections to workers in the state, and no to establish greater access to workers' compensation in Pennsylvania.

I have to ask, why would you vote that way?

Because it costs businesses more money. let me tell you a story. I was working at a packing company for who contract with Hershey. And in the middle of the floor, there was this big pole supporting the entire building. It got hit by a forklift and was dangling. Now all of the workers underneath of that are underneath of this dangling pole, and we were told we needed to keep working.

I there were a lot of Somali immigrants who were in that factory. They didn't speak English. but I could tell that they were really upset about having to work underneath

Yeah.

of this thing.

So after I was quality assurance, it's my job to tell people what they should and shouldn't be doing. I asked my company, like, just pause, check it. No, no, no, we're not, we're not stopping production. I had to call OSHA. So if it weren't for OSHA coming, somebody could have been killed underneath of that. So

If you are not supporting worker safety, the only

Yeah.

other option is you're supporting businesses not keeping people safe. So unfortunately a yes or no vote is yes or no.

I don't support it, is what he said.

it's just crazy. I mean, how can you not support the safety of workers in Pennsylvania? just so blatantly. Just so blatantly saying I don't care if you get hurt on the job. And if you get hurt on the job, we're not gonna give you any type of workers' compensation, just shit out of luck.

Well, and the other thing that like amazes me, they don't want regulations.

Well, if people were good people on their own, we wouldn't need regulations.

Exactly. Yeah. I mean there there are so many laws that we benefit from to keep people safe. And the the type of wordsmithing and tying yourselves in knots that Republican politicians go through to gaslight you into believing it's a good idea to just not have a well regulated government to to protect people is just insane. They spend so much time trying to lie to people that if they spent half that amount of time just passing good legislation, then everybody would be safe and we'd all be thriving in Pennsylvania.

So I just think it's it's just crazy

what they put players to

Well, and I I was saying to somebody

this weekend about cheaters in my class. So

if somebody cheats in my class, how much energy are they taking to cheat? And you're right. If you're cheating in government, if you just put that same amount of energy into doing the right thing, imagine what our country would look like.

They're just rowing in the opposite direction. But that's why we have to get more Democrats elected because we all want what's best for people in the Commonwealth.

Jessica, what gives you hope?

thank you. I am a optimist. A pure optimist. And the things that are giving me hope are the conversations that I have with people.

For instance, in in my area, we have this thing called a visibility brigade. And it's over an overpass that they every other week, I believe, they put up phrases and things and you know people drive by and honk.

Well, I went to do this visibility brigade and I happened to park in front of a MAGA Republican's house and

She did not want me parking in front of her home. And this is somebody that could vote for me. So I went ahead and moved my car and then apologize. Now this woman,

Yeah, okay.

MAGA Republican, we talked for about twenty minutes.

And we agreed on almost everything.

huh.

My

hope is that when people are actually talking to one another, that they will see that they have more in common than they don't.

My hope and what I've seen in this election is when people start talking to each other, we can work together to get stuff done. So as long as I keep talking to people, I'm gonna be hopeful.

Good. Yeah. I mean, I think it's important for people running for office to hit the doors and talk to their constituents because I think it means a lot to have someone show up at your door and say, I am running. I want to support you and your family and tell me what's on your mind. Tell me what's affecting your family the most. And honestly, I agree with you. A lot of it is financial.

Every time someone takes out a GoFundMe campaign in America to pay off their medical debt, it kills me as a physician because we should not be living in the wealthiest nation in the world where people are getting crushed by medical debt. You know, whether it's their water bills or their electric bills, their health care, their mortgage rates, their property taxes, the potholes in the streets, you know, the number of stop signs, the quality of the schools that they're going to or their kids.

You know, can do their parents have the necessary resources to retire in the house that they grew up in? All of those things connect people, right? And I really feel like Democratic politicians like yourself want to pass bills to make it easier to live. It's not this dog eat dog world that Republican politicians strive for. They they yearn for it to just say, not my problem, as long as I'm okay, I don't care about anybody else. But that's not the type of community I want to build where I live, and that's not the type

of state I want to live.

Jessica, my last question for you is what are your

plans to get you through these next few years in America?

Okay, so I've got three weeks until the election.

Yeah.

I would love to be able to effect change on a a broader basis. I have already worked with a township is called Monroe Township. It's in Carlisle PA. And we also have in Middlesex Township. Sorry, Monroe is Mechanicsburg, Carlisle has Middlesex. The same developer tried to develop in Monroe.

And Middlesex, it's called Pax One. They're trying to make one of the largest data centers in the East Coast. I saw a difference in the politicians in both of those places, not the people. The people were working together, having conversations. The difference was the local politicians that were hired. I have now seen the inside of what municipal law is. I think one thing that would be able to solve a lot of these problems.

would be to have more of a regional approach to development and resources like they have out west. And when these laws were made, you know, Cumberland County where I live went from the Susquehanna River by Harrisburg all the way west. So these laws need updated so that they are protecting people in the modern world. So what I am going to focus on are those systematic things that are going to allow

Mm-hmm.

people to have

responsible government because in one one place three people voted no to data centers and the other place two vote people voted yes and now the entire Pennsylvania is gonna have higher electricity bills because of two men. that two men should not have that much power.

I I agree with you. I a hundred percent agree with you and it just sounds like you're gonna lean into the work. It sounds like no matter what happens, you're

for sure. Yeah.

going to lean into the work. And I that's that's what I've been doing. You know, when I could stick my head in the sand and pretend like nothing's happening or doom scroll all the time, but I think it keeps me going to know that good people like you in Pennsylvania are just waking up every day and just saying, No, this is not right and I wanna I wanna do something about it to make it better. So thank you very much for that.

Jessica St. Clair running for state rep in Pennsylvania as a Democrat. Look, anything can happen this November 3rd, Pennsylvania. Okay, we've seen historically red districts flip all across the Commonwealth. And as you've just heard, the current Republican state rep is not delivering for Pennsylvania. He only cares about himself. And that is unacceptable. You wouldn't tell your kid that that is okay. We have a grown man passing laws or just not even showing up to work and

profiting off of our tax dollars. Jessica, what is your website?

It is Saint ClairTogether.com because we all work together. So S-T-C-L-A-I-R together.com.

ahead.

can

I bring up a topic before we completely go? So if you want

to do your sign-off, that's fine, but I would like to bring up something.

Sure. Yeah, yeah.

my my representative has put out a bill, it's the affordability well, it's actually a a package of 10 bills, they call it the affordability package because he is so vulnerable.

They're they are allowing him to put these bills out. So he is able to market that he is authoring bills that will never go anywhere because the state senate does not vote yes on them.

So that's not really going to solve any problems for our families. So you can call it affordability all day. It's not going to help.

So if you live in

the township of Lower Allen, Precinct 2, Monroe, Silver Springs, South Middleton, Precincts 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, and Upper Allen and Borough of Mount Holly Springs, get off your ass and go to

Hmm.

Jessica's website, make a small donation, door knock for her, send some postcards. This is our time, Pennsylvania. I want it so badly.

I want to expand our state house majority. I want to flip the state senate, re-elect Governor Josh Shapiro, get the trifecta, and finally deliver the big stuff, all the good stuff that we haven't had in the last thirty years. Jessica, I can't vote for you. I wish that I could, but I'll be cheering for you from the sidelines. This is my contribution to your campaign. I hope I can congratulate you on November third.

Thank you. It was so nice talking to you.

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