Hello, I'm Zeke, and welcome to the Zeke Podcast. Let's talk, Pennsylvania. The guest I have today lives in East Vincent, Pennsylvania, and for the last eight years she has been a legislative powerhouse in the state senate. And now, with the possibility of achieving the trifecta, her third term would usher in a Democratic majority for the first time in over thirty years. Thank you so much for being here, Senator Katie Muth

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. I'm grateful for the opportunity to chat with you.

Absolutely, you know, you complete my playbook this year for Pennsylvania. The most competitive races to hold and flip going into the midterm. So I am extreme you're whole you know, you state senators are hard to hold down. You really are. You're so busy running all over the place. So I respect the I respect the game, but I'm really happy to have you here finally.

Right. No, I appreciate your flexibility in my crazy schedule.

It's okay, it's okay.

We're gonna learn all about you. Play some games and have some funny you ready?

Sure.

All right, here we go. Katie, I have seen and applaud your tenacity when it comes to confronting data centers in Pennsylvania. you were removed by the police at one county meeting, correct?

I was put in timeout, yes.

Yeah, put it into what does that mean? What does that mean exactly?

it's a five five minute timeout like a penalty box.

That's crazy. I In in your my gosh,

In in my own township, so it was it was very entertaining.

in your own township. That's wild. Just for calling out lies that you just didn't like your tone or something? What was going on?

Well, the Board of Supervisors Chairman was giving a very gaslighting like monologue. I don't know why, but it was like I have a difficult time being quiet when people are lying. And so I was a little fidgety and then it turned into me just being like, We're gonna interrupt you if you're not gonna tell the truth. which resulted in the board chairman waving for the police chief who was like down the hallway.

You know, so I I put my I remove I was the second person to be put in timeout, to be clear. There was some a constituent of mine who was put in timeout before me.

I mean, that is just crazy. I mean, you recently introduced legislation which would prohibit data centers from obtaining public utility status,

an advocator for a three year moratorium on hyperscale data center

construction, correct?

Right, right. That's some of the legislation we've been work we have out. We have other bills we're working on in terms of like protective setbacks from residential development, schools. if the legislature or the governor doesn't want to pass a moratorium, then they should definitely put in protections that require these industrial operations to be located well, you know, well away from where people live and spend time.

And what has been the reception of your bill to the around you know, the state senate?

The state Senate, it's interesting. So there are some people in some hot seats that are targeted to flip. And so Jared Coleman has a eighteen month optional moratorium that was weakened further by a Joe Pittman amendment right in budget. And they never ran that bill on the floor, so that bill sits. So there's a lot of like talk or what's the word, performative politics.

But nothing has passed out of the chamber.

But it wouldn't pass anyway because you don't have the Democratic majority in the state Senate, correct? I mean things are not gonna move really until we have a trifecta in Pennsylvania.

That's the assumption. I mean, on this issue. I mean, there's plenty of other issues where I think Democrats definitely are leading. I think this is an issue that's that's difficult, right? There's a lot of donors that support this development on both sides of the aisle.

it takes a lot of political courage to be in front of. And I and I do think that if Democrats want the majority, they need to be on the right side of this issue.

Yeah, I agree. Well, I mean, there's not gonna be a chance to even get it done without a democratic trifecta. So I think, you know, hope springs eternal from that standpoint. I'm just happy that you are out there. You're in the community, you're doing the work. And, you know, people are always saying, Where are the leaders of the Democratic Party? Where are they? I'm talking to one. I'm looking at one right now. You are out there literally putting your body, you know, in I gu I don't want to say harm's way. I mean, I'd like to think that the police would not harm you, but I mean, look at the society you live in right now, it's happening all the time.

But I'm just grateful that you are putting

Right.

in the work and I'm very hopeful that the bills that you're writing will finally have a chance to see daylight once we get the trifecta after November.

Katie, I understand you love DIY projects and that you can miter like a boss. So I wanna know what

I'm

my husband's a better miterer, but yes, I have my was

Really.

gift my father bought me a miter saw a few years back for Christmas. I love DIY. If I like the end result, I like the middle part that's like a mess and it doesn't go as Pinterest or YouTube told you it would go, or you find out things in your house are not symmetrical, or you painted in the wrong you use the wrong kind of paint on wood. but yeah, like I

I love DIY.

Well what's

a what's a project you're working on right now?

I d we just finished our we don't I don't have any projects right now because I'm running for reelection, but I like six planned for after

Six planned.

after November. but my husband and I finished, we did a coffered ceiling in our dining

Okay.

room. Like it's like a very expensive thing to have done. And I'm like,

how hard could this be? so we bought like sca we already had scaffolding that we bought for another project. So that was really helpful because like

Being upside down is hard. and like nailing things upside

Mm. Yeah, I can imagine.

down. Yeah. So it took us longer than I thought, but that was last we did that through last budget. and the budget before it, we did these bookshelves. So like we've done we've done a lot of when when

they're beautiful. for the for the

I'm frustrated with my real job, I'm like, let's go find success somewhere else.

Yeah. No, for those who can't see,

this is you know, for the listening, the listeners of the show, beautiful bookcase and shelves behind you, Katie. Just very, very nice. I could not I

Ha ha ha

would have to take some serious classes to even get close to that. So I'm very very impressed. well we're gonna I guess I've seen people

YouTube's your friend. YouTube could show you anything.

like build a house using YouTube. So I guess that's always a a thing.

Right.

Yeah.

Well we're gonna play a game called DIY. Okay. I wanna know what you can do by yourself. And I'm pretty sure you're gonna do all these 'cause it that that shelf is any indication. could you install a dishwasher all by yourself?

No, I've never done plumbing other than like a garden house, which I sprayed myself with trying to switch it out to a sprinkler. So I probably shouldn't

Okay, yeah. Okay, all right.

do plumbing.

Fair enough. Okay, we're on the same page there. How about an oil change?

God no. My

No.

my husband could, but I definitely couldn't.

Okay. I have to say that growing up for I don't know, I couldn't tell you why. You have to ask him, but we had a pit in our garage that that you could yeah,

my husband would love that. He loves to do all that stuff.

you could drive the car over and change your oil. I don't know, it's kind of kind of weird. okay, how about this one? Coolant? Okay.

I can change coolant. Coolant. I can I can sp I can

I can re put coolant in, so

I can

check I can check the oil level and I can replace windshield wiper fluid. That's about as far as I can go. Yeah. There you go. We can do that together. Okay, how about

I can do windshield wiper fluid on the side of the turnpike, yes, absolutely. Right.

changing an electrical outlet? Could you do that?

Could I? Probably. Yeah. Well, so like you have to turn your power off and then

Yeah. You could. See, I would be I'd be too scared to do it. I'm not an electrical worker. Right.

like so that's I know how to do that.

And like I made my husband do like I'm like the planner and I measure

Yeah.

and I like draw it on the wall. So I had him do like wall sconces, like lights, which are really difficult if you don't have like a stud to drill into. but you can run the wires for the sconce through the outlet.

So I think I could definitely do that just because I've watched four sconces go in.

Sconce. I I'm just proud

of myself. I know what a sconce is. And honestly, I I I the I

Right, right.

know that the circuit breaker is like the forbidden box in my house. Like if I have to go near it, I'll touch it, but I couldn't

Right.

I couldn't do electrical work. Here's the last one. What about some major landscaping? Can you do any of that? You could do the landscaping?

Yes. I so

I love to every year rip out everything we did the year before and I wanna be Martha Stewart, I'm not. I wanna order my new thing is to order a hedge trimmer that's not like a really long blade because I'm only like five two, but I want to be able to symmetrically shape a shrub.

Okay. All right. That yeah, that is I mean kinda like Edward Scissor hands, you know, like really do some crazy shapes. Okay. Okay.

I want them to be like all in a nice row, like order orderly. Right now

I have a very beautiful garden, but like I don't have those I don't have those like you know, like like Alice in Wonderland shrubs. Like So it would be cool to

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah.

try that. I don't know that mine will be symmetrical.

I built a sandbox like back in the day when my kids were much younger. I like tunneled out part of a hill in the back of our ha yard and I got these

Okay.

really big four by four by tens and I got really big screws. And I the guy who I borrowed the trailer with to haul away the dirt was so impressed with me. I actually broke his single hitch sorry, single axle trailer. He wasn't even mad at me. He was like, I'm not even angry at you, you broke my trailer.

So that was like the craziest thing I ever did was I built a mega big sandbox for my kids when they were first born. Yeah, that's what I did. But

That's legit though.

it was legit. I mean it was pretty awesome until the neighbor's cat found it and then it kinda ruined it after that. But I have to say, I would like

Ooh.

to I would like to miter a little bit better someday. So we we'll have a miter off you and me, okay?

I have two miter saws, so I could we could I could teach you side by side.

You certainly you could definitely teach me something for sure.

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.

Katie, you became the first Penn State athletic training student to intern with the NFL team, completing your internship with the Pittsburgh Steelers while earning your undergraduate degree. That's pretty amazing.

I was the first female, so I was the first girl from the program, yes.

That's awesome. Well look

Up until then there was only only the bros got to go to the NFL for internships. Right, right.

I mean, look look representation matters. I mean, that's that is an amazing

accomplishment. how how was the reception?

Well, so the Pittsburgh Steelers had a woman on staff on their sports medicine team. So the there was no difference to the t players, right?

Okay.

And so and most of them came from colleges where women worked with the sports medicine team. So there really wasn't a difference. I think it's just

you know, there's some people like at Penn State, when I was there, you couldn't work with football because the coach viewed women as a distraction.

So despite being a healthcare provider. So you know, I was lucky enough that the head athletic trainer for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he is a a Penn State alum, John Norwig, but he also understood that that's not a reality and women are are a great asset to a sports medicine team. So I was grateful that he believed enough in me to pick me.

that's

I mean, that's amazing. I look, obviously, you know, hopefully the more the presence of women in everything, all spaces, decreases the amount of misogyny that exists in this world because

Right.

obviously it's not the woman's fault if the men are distracted, okay? That is some internal

Right.

work you have to do. But I want to know what's something football taught you that unexpectedly applies to politics?

That's great question. So I I think it it taught me that there are people in charge, and not just football, but I've worked with other teams. and my my husband is also an athletic trainer, so that's how we met. And so I can after I was at the Steelers, I went to grad school in Arizona. And so we worked in different clinical rotations. I worked with Arizona State football, but then when I was finishing my thesis, I graduated late, I

was at a high school. And so they didn't have a really great concussion policy. And so my husband and I like, we laugh at this now because we didn't realize how politically charged this was back then. But we like took on the whole school district on this concussion policy. And so like we did all this baseline testing and then we someone would get hurt and have a concussion and we come in to, you know, get ready for practice and they'd be like doing gym class. And we're like, what the what are you what are we doing here? Like so

We really I think what it taught me was that you can't be afraid to stand up to those people that have a title based on like what is right and wrong. And so, you know, that inadvertently gave me a lot of courage in this job is that like just because somebody's there in a role with a title doesn't mean that they're always gonna do the right thing. and so, you know, just like I would look out for the health and well-being of any team that I was in charge of, I look to the same thing for my constituents. And I think that

you know, that that built confidence to just be like, even if you did this this way the entire time, science has shown us

this is bad. So we're gonna have to change the way we do things. And that's really hard in government. I thought it was hard in c in in athletics, but it's even harder in government. So it certainly gave me, you know, this backbone that I I didn't realize until I got in there. You know, that like it and and to not second guess yourself. Like know your

Know your shit, but don't second guess yourself.

Yeah.

No, I mean it clearly shines all the time in how you approach legislation and just sticking up for people in your district and across Pennsylvania because, you know, you're getting put in timeouts by police officers and like, you know, fuck off. It's like, you know, okay, fine. In the hallway. my God. Well,

Well, board chairman, we can't blame the police. They just they just escorted me to the hospital or the ha in the hallway. In the hallway, huh? But

I think it's phenomenal and just such a great achievement for yourself, you know, and paving the way for other women in the field.

And taught you some great lessons. Clearly, you applying today as a state senator.

Katie, the budget

was

passed recently in Pennsylvania. Congratulations. It didn't take half a year this time.

But there were some things missing from the budget: maternity leave, raising the minimum wage, legalizing recreational marijuana. So did you forget to include those in the budget? What happened?

They were never in this budget deal. so that's that's frustrating.

I think this budget was done quickly because it's an election year. And there were really important policies that people on all sides of the aisle across the Commonwealth support that were MIA.

And I hope that those things, should we get a trifecta right, are are prioritized because if not, like there is a consequence to inaction. And I think the best example in this budget was we finally passed a cost of living increase for our school employee retirees and then the state employee retirees. And this is for a section of those retirees that are the oldest.

and they've been living in poverty. They had not had a cost of living increase in over 20 years.

So it was like a really big deal in the terms of like that's such low hanging fruit, because like this should have been done years ago. And yes, it was one of my bills. I could sit here and be like, woo, go me, I got a bill into the budget.

But like over a hundred thousand people died before they could get that cost of living increase. And so, like, to me, like that's a it's a horrible metric, but it's an important one to mention that the longer, you know, policy

takes to implement, there are consequences. And so, you know, my grandmother was one of those inuitants. She used to be a baker in Greater Late Trobe School District before all the schools outsourced their food.

you know, of services to to private companies. And so she she died right before COVID, but she was one of those people that never got a cost of living increase. she was 92 when she died. And so there are so many more like her, right? And so to know that that took that long, you know, I hope that that we push harder on all these things. Like, you know,

Yeah.

all these things have consequences if they're not addressed.

things got done quickly so that people could get out and not have the the criticism of a late, late budget. But there were so many things that were left out of that that you know, I hope a a trifecta addresses quickly.

Look, Katie, I understand the assignment. Okay. This is why I'm trying so hard to get more Democrats elected up and down the ballot, expand our state house majority,

Right.

get you re-elected, get the trifecta, re-elect Governor Josh Shapiro, and then get the you know, get things done, get legislation moving. And the reason why

Right.

it hasn't gotten done yet is because Republicans have controlled the state senate for the last thirty years. I was eleven, Katie. Eleven years old. I didn't even know what politics were back then. but I do now. And so I'm in the fight with you, and I'm I'm

Right, right.

hoping

that, you know, come November third and next year you're gonna have that power that you haven't had in such a long time.

Good question. I mean, part of the reason I ran for office was learning about the pay-to-play in the in government specifically to healthcare and why healthcare is so expensive. So

I don't know. I maybe I guess, you know, I wasn't I voted all the time, but I didn't know who my state senator was until I ran against him. So wasn't someone who was out in the community or doing outreach to someone like myself. So I think

People are even more so in twenty sixteen, like right now, you know, ten years later, people are way more in tune to what's going on with government in general. And whether it's federal frustration or you know, data center development in Pennsylvania, people are just like learning more about these processes.

Yeah.

And so I think it's an important thing. So I think what I learned from that group

I mean, I didn't even know who the Democratic Party. I mean, I I volunteered on the twenty sixteen campaign, but I didn't know the structure of the party, the county party, the state party. And there wasn't really anybody like explaining that or welcoming, you know, new people. So it was 'cause we had just moved back from Arizona after grad school. So we moved to Montgomery County. And so like we met great people as a part of that, even though the election outcome was not, you know, favorable for us. That those just

Yeah. No, I

I mean you always bring up a good point that, you know, people oftentimes don't know where to start when it comes to politics. I mean, 'cause it it it can be overwhelming. But honestly, I think that is a little bit of a cop out because I don't follow sports at all.

I don't know anything about it. But I mean

Once you do it a while, you know, you pick up the cadence. You understand what's happening throughout the season and you can pretty much follow what's going on. And it's a religion. Paul like, you know, sports is a religion. People follow that. They follow teams that win, that lose, whatever. And politics is a lot like that. You know, people go into office, they lose, people pass away, there's special elections. But the difference is politics actually affects your everyday life. You know, like whether that

Right.

pothole is gonna get filled.

Or that streets gonna change, or that hospital's gonna close, or like you said, your your paycheck, whatever, you know. So when you find something that you love or that you need a necessity, you find a way to get involved. And I know that's what you did, but I think that there does have to be a part of someone to care enough to figure out what to do. You know, it would be nice. It was just like as simple as like the food pyramid. but it is a little bit more complicated. But I'm very glad that you went into the game of politics.

And you were clearly built for it because you're doing an amazing job. And God damn it, I really want the trifecta this year and really see what you can do uninhibited because I think you're going to do a lot of amazing things for Pennsylvania

during a budget debate in June of twenty nineteen, you took the floor and read a letter from a disabled constituent who relied on the PA general assistance program, and then the Republican controlled Senate voted against renewing the program twenty six or twenty-four, which is mortifying. I mean, why why would they do that?

you know, it kind of showed me my first budget, like how cutthroat people are that you would

Yeah.

to cut $50 million out of a budget to meet this arbitrary number that you can go home and brag about that took people off of this assistance plan when they were in the most need. Like you might be getting cancer treatment and you could you were eligible for that money monthly.

Or, you know, it would cover things that, you know, medical c healthcare couldn't cover. So like your toiletries or whatever, and you're like, this is what we're doing to shave some money off the and so like it it did open my eyes on the lack of humanity of the people that I work with. I I've I've sat and talked to some of these people, you know, in the Senate dining room and they talk about their grandkids and all these things, but then they go and vote against humanity.

and yeah, like it's just it's cruel.

And so for me, I I didn't really know what was happening in that moment. I was just like, I am going to read this letter. and at the time whoever type printed it out for me, it was like not double spaced and it was like size ten bots. I was like using my finger

Uh-huh.

because I was getting yelled at by reading it and I was just very but it was like showed me the moment of like, don't shut up when you know things are are are when people are being harmed, right? Like you I have to be on the record. And so,

I didn't get kicked out but of of I didn't get censored or anything, but it was certainly an eye opener to, you know, what people are willing to vote for.

It's just I mean, look, as a doctor, as a human being, it's just disgusting. I mean, I

Right.

I took an oath to do no harm. That's literally

Right.

my pledge to do no harm.

and I feel like that is how you treat the legislature. You, Senator Katie Muth go in there and try to pass legislation to help the most amount of people. And we have the money.

You know, it I think someone once told me if it's a problem that can be fixed by money, it's not a problem. Okay? We have the money to fix all of these problems in Pennsylvania. And it t it really has to take a heartless, selfish person to not green light these things for other people. You're not taking money out of anyone else's mouths. If anything, you're taking money out of billionaires' mouths and they can afford it. Okay. So I'm just extremely grateful that you put yourself out there.

We don't even tax billionaires in

Pennsylvania. That's a whole other conversation, right? Like

I I know, I t

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

My answer probably is different than most. I think that I'm a Democrat by value. I'm probably one of the few Democrats that will push back on the party establishment when they're going in the wrong direction. And and there's a lot of nuance behind that answer. But I think that my values and what I think humanity should reflect and how government should operate are democratic values. And I b I sh believe in democracy in its fullest.

And you know, I I think that the Democratic Party has the most potential to uphold those those values and and they need to re-embrace those values and and make sure that we are not as a party going towards the corporate politician route and keeping ourselves rooted and what our values are. And those values are are f are basic, right? They're fairness, you know, that people are taking care of.

throughout their lifespan, that you have a opportunity, you know, to to thrive, and and protect people from from harm, whether that be environmental harm, economic harm, billionaire harm, whatever it whatever it is, and and those are things that, you know, make me a Democrat and and and choose to be in that party.

Yeah, empathy. You are a Democrat because you have empathy. And that is for some reason, you know, Republican politicians think it's a it's the toxic trait of this country around the world is to feel someone else's pain.

And I think that we share the same values and ideals, the the two of us. And I'm glad that you bring those values and ideals to Harrisburg every day.

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Right.

Katie,

you are the minority chair of veteran affairs and emergency preparedness. do you ever get pushback from people who say that Democrats don't care about veterans?

You know, it's funny you say that last year I went to go pick up mum plants, flowers. We do a veterans expo every fall. And I went to go to this local nursery that I've been to before, but for like buying my own stuff. And so I went to go buy all pick up all these mums. And the woman who owns the nursery was like, It is so nice to see a Democrat who cares about veterans. And I was like very taken aback by that. I was like, like yikes. so I d I don't un unfortunately that seems to be like

maybe historical stereotype or something. but I I do think that it is a committee where there even like I mean to be clear, if you don't know who my the majority chairperson of that committee is Doug Mastriano So you can imagine that like

I know my god. I know.

so so it's it makes for for some entertainment. But to be honest

It's not a it there's not a lot of like,

partisan battles in that committee. So it does make that committee a little less like

than the whole chamber. But

Yeah.

you know, it is I do think that that is sometimes the perception, but I I don't know that that's the truth. Like just because like Republicans get their picture taken with veterans, I don't think equates to caring about veterans. So there's that piece of it. So

I do think people like, you know, that have served that have are now in office that are Democrats are helpful, you know, in terms of like changing that narrative and also just showing up. Like I that veterans expo that I hold, we have we like have a lunch and everything, and like it's not Democrats just attending, right? So like there

Mm-hmm, yeah.

is a lot of support that comes out of that. So I think the more Democrats and I mean we really need to fight for these veterans benefits.

Especially the younger veterans, you know, we have a conflict right now that's gonna produce a whole new set of veterans. And so, you know, it needs to be a democratic value, not just a talking point. I think that, you know, it's the other side has has made it. I mean, they're literally gutting the VA benef like all of this stuff. Like,

I know.

right. So like for me, I'm like, how could anybody, but at the same time,

you know, veteran veteran like Democrats need to be like pounding the podium about these cuts, right? Instead of

Right.

not being heard on it. Because if if they don't hear a Democrat advocate for it, it's almost interpreted

Right.

a as silence, you know. So I I think it's an important population in general. I mean, I'm my three of my grandparents were World War Two veterans. my my uncle is a veteran. I have two cousins. So like I get it, but not not everyone has that in their family. But

You know, during the I the data center proposal in my own township would have been, it's now in court, four hundred feet from a state-run veterans long-term care facility. This is where these people live. And

Yeah.

so, I've never been prouder in my whole life than to have six veterans get standing in that hearing, prepping them with questions. and you know, they're still serving their country, right? Like they're fighting for their community and their health and well-being

Right.

of the people that live.

where they live that can't show up for these hearings because they're medical condition. So I for me, I'm like, that's a population that I'm I will be ride or die for because they just they deserve it. And it's and it's

whether we're in the trifecta or not or whatever's in Washington, those have to be fought for. Those are benefits we can't

Allow to be cut.

Katie, Governor Josh Shapiro has been begging the legislature to send a bill to his desk to allow victims of sexual assault as a minor seek justice as adults. as a survivor of sexual assault, it must be very difficult for you to see this kind of legislation stall in your chamber.

Yeah, it was the first bill I ever introduced when I got into office to eliminate abolish the statute limitations. And our bill was actually for victims of all ages, not just youth. And so that has passed ret like prospectively f up to the age of twenty-five. and but the the retroactive portion for the people that have already been harmed and have been time barred by the statute limitation has been completely just

Fucked up. And so from not get I'm just I mean, like, sorry for people listening with children.

No, it's okay.

I mean, it's just the best way to describe the failure of it, not getting on the ballot when Republicans constitutionality is really defined by the in the eye of the beholder in Harrisburg. So, you know, we can have a late budget and screw the constitutional deadline. then suddenly we care about the constitution at like we're all concerned when it comes to the statute of limitations or

I mean, some of my Democratic colleagues will say the moratorium on data centers is unconstitutional. I'm like, well, you tell that to Texas and New York. But so it's it's a very interesting like use of of you know legal terminology, but it didn't happen on the ballot and it didn't happen legislatively.

And so for me, it is one of the hardest things that's not yet accomplished, just from

You know, meeting with so many of these survivors and just hearing the heartbreak and some of them,

some of these people that I mean, there's two I can think of that have committed suicide. and so like it and

like to not take action on this is just it to me is just like gr again, gross and cruel. and I would hope that's something that would change immediately should the the powers of the B shift in Harrisburg, because

There are people waiting desperately for for this window to justice and and they deserve it. and the insurance federation, big lobbying arm, has been the the sole blockade to passing this. And so they are, you know, very friendly with the Republican caucus and the Senate, along with the Catholic Church. But there's plenty of institutions that unfortunately have allowed this kind of abuse to happen and and misconduct. So

How do you correct? How do you make sure it never happens again if the people that did it in the first place are never held accountable? So

Right, right. I mean justice

justice we shall pursue. And I r

Right.

really hope that when we get the trifecta, that's one of the first bills that gets sent to Josh Shapiro's desk because it's an abomination when victims are out there and predators are still out there not answering to justice. And so I I really hope that for you and any victims in Pennsylvania listening or watching this.

Katie, what has been your proudest accomplishment as state senator?

That's a hard question. I think that it's a it's two things of

I've challenged a lot of systems that are in place that

I mean I I'm still suing I'm I'm still suing the state employees school employees retirement pension fund. I'm a trustee. there's a lot of investments that are risky and and things that occur there. I've stopped a lot of bad environmental projects, you know, but

industrial development,

and and helped some a lot of workers that were exposed to radioactive waste. These aren't bills that get passed, but they're they're things you know, that I've stepped into and and realized that there's a lot of loopholes that allow for harm. And so one of those is now in front of the attorney general for a criminal investigation.

So I I think what I'm most proud of is is showing up to take on these on these fights and these things that most people would not want to show up for and challenging those systems in government to work as they were intended to. And and I'm grateful that there's residents and workers and and people that have supported me in that and been a part of that battle. So I'm most proud of of fighting alongside those people that are are trying to make government make it, you know, what it's supposed to be.

I mean, I hope I give you a lot of accomplishments you're proud of with the trifecta, because that's I'm hope I'm really hoping we get that for you this November third. But yeah, you ha you're gonna keep finding the good fight. And I hope by the end of your career, you're gonna have a really difficult time choosing your proudest accomplishment. But you're doing a you're doing great work, Katie. You really are.

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

That's what the the powers be want you to be sitting at home not participating. So don't don't let them hold don't let them take away your one single power, which is showing up and participating either just by voting or or voting and coming out and learning how to do public comment, doing public comment at state agencies at the PUC for rate increases. Like, don't let these and they expect they expect to have zero participation. They want zero participation. So,

they they wouldn't try so hard to take it away from you if it didn't mean something. So I think that and if you're if you don't like who's in charge, then step in and,

you know, put yourself out there or or support someone who supports your values.

Yeah,

Katie,

what gives you hope?

people. I love people. I love talking to people. I love

just like learning from them and just the people's live struggle makes me a better policymaker. makes me a better human. but you know, the regular people that I talk to every day that I meet in this line of work, whether I represent them or not, I'm just grateful that I've met so many amazing human beings that care. and that

you know, do all sorts of things in this world to to make it what it is. And so those those people give me hope and they keep me fighting, keep me brave, right? When I feel like it's a losing battle that,

you know, we all have to show up and and fight for the change we want. And so I the people give me hope. I love people.

People like you give me hope. It's hard not to have hope when we're people like you running all over Pennsylvania fighting for the little guy, for the people that need help the most. So, so

Right.

you give me a lot of hope, Katie. You really do.

Katie, my last question for you is, what plans do you have to get you through these next few years in America?

I try really hard to not wake up and be like, I just have to get through the day because that's a really hor like, but it's a norm to think like that when things are stressful. So

I look at this as this is our battle for our livelihoods and our democracy right now. So I what gets me through is like I just said like organizing with these great people that I've met or that I know or that I've just met.

all across the state fighting for the same things and knowing that, you know,

this is our state, this is our country, and it doesn't belong to billionaires. And that even though it feels like it does, that there we're not yet an oligarchy. And I I will die on the hill of fighting the oligarchy because I think that

we as people that live here deserve to be happy and thrive and be healthy and and not be

under siege. So worthy battle in my opinion.

Absolutely. my God. I'm so happy that you came on the show.

Katie Muth, state senator running for re-election in Pennsylvania. the Trifecta people, Katie rounds out my playbook for the midterms this November 3rd. Okay. I have what I believe are the most competitive races at the state level.

Katie, what is your website?

So Katie Muth for PA

Senate F O R, not a letter or number, PA Senate.com.

Right. Well, if you live in Chester, Montgomery, and Berks counties, get off your ass and go to Katie's website, sign up to Door Knock, Phone Bank, make a donation. This is gonna be our year. I it has to be our year, Pennsylvania. 30 years is way too long. We need the trifecta, and Katie Muth is a part of that process. Let's get her a third term and allow her to get some real good shit done in Harrisburg and deliver for all Pennsylvanians. Katie, I can't vote for you. God damn it, I wish I could.

But I'm gonna be there cheering for you on the sidelines and do

Ha ha.

everything I can to make sure that you win this November third again.

Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Absolutely.

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.