Starting now.
Commonalities where guests find
common ground through uncommon
conversations, politics,
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all the topics your grandmother told
you not to discuss with friends.
And now your host, Matthew Dowling,
and today's guests on commonalities.
Well, thanks for joining us for
another episode of Commonalities.
I'm their host, Matt Dowling,
and my guest today is a friend
and former colleague of mine, um,
Eric Zo.
He's the state representative in the
lower half of West Morling County,
um, representative Devan.
So do we have you there?
Yep, I am here. Matthew.
Hey, thank you so much for joining us.
Uh, at the top of the program here.
I wanted to give you the opportunity to
do a little bit of a self introduction
and tell us a little bit about,
uh, your background and, uh,
and how long you've been in the house
and maybe the committees you serve.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Well,
fir well, first off, you know,
we do miss you out in the
house and, uh, you know,
thank you for this opportunity here. Um,
I know you introduced me as having
the lower or the southern portion of
Westmoreland County, but it is also the
better portion of Westmoreland County.
Um, so once again, state
representative Eric Zo, 58 District,
uh, my municipalities, we cover
men, Ross Traver, east Huntington,
south Huntington, Swickly
Township. I have, uh, Menen Burrow,
Scottdale Burrow, west Newton
Borough, hunker Borough.
We go into a little bit of Mount Pleasant
Township, I think for the most part,
that covers everything. Um,
and oddly enough, tomorrow,
March 17th would mark three years since
my special election that I became a
house member. So, you know, looking back,
it seems like I've been here forever,
but it also, at the same point in
time, it's like, wow, where did,
where did those three hours go? Or I
mean, those three years go, you know,
look how fast its went by.
Um, also in, in my past, I,
I come from the building trades I had
labored for, for roughly 10 years,
and then I had switched over to the
carpenter's union for about another 11
years. Uh, still carry my
card to this day. You know,
I'm still that blue collar worker.
I, I don't change my work ethics. Um,
and also the committees I'm
on are state government,
transportation and game and fisheries.
Well, you know, you, uh,
you mentioned your background having been
a union laborer and a union carpenter,
and I wanna start our conversation
off today. Um, kind of coming from,
uh, from that side of things, you know,
I was always a fan of the, uh,
of the trades unions. Uh, and,
and sometimes people look at us
as Republicans and say, you know,
Republicans that are, uh, a fan of
unions, you know, public sector unions,
I always, uh, took up some
criticism with, but, uh,
but those private sector
trade unions, I think is,
is one of the best ways for young
people to get the training they need,
the skills they need and to, uh,
get out into the workforce. But,
uh, I, I wanted to bring up, uh,
some labor issues that I know that
you're working on. Um, last session,
we had house Bill 1104, and, uh,
if you want to give a little bit
of background on that and, uh,
tell us what you're doing this
session to, uh, to try to, uh,
help out the building trades.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah.
But first I want to touch on
something you brought in, you know,
as Republicans supporting the, the
private sector unions. You know, you,
you kind of do get looked at funny,
but, but also, let's look at it as at,
at another angle here.
So you have a kid who could graduate
high school at the age of 18,
spend four to five years
in an apprenticeship, come
out of that apprenticeship,
you know, making,
making 30 th or I guess $30 an
hour plus you have benefits,
you have pension, uh, you have
a savings and annuity on that.
And these are good family sustaining jobs.
And also these people that come
out with these jobs, you know,
there's not a lot of government
money, if any, um, invested in,
in getting this job. You know, it's
a win-win. We're, we're teaching,
we're teaching people to, to be
American, right? Go out and get a job,
be self-sufficient, start a family,
um, don't be a burden on society,
you know, be self-sufficient. So
I just had to throw that in there.
But house Bill 1104 is, uh,
transparency on a construction site.
And all it does is right now in the state
of Pennsylvania on a building permit,
you just have to list the
crime contractors on a job.
What my bill does is it goes one
step farther and every subcontractor
on a job has to be listed. So, in a
sense, what this does is, you know,
you have some bad actors out there who,
who really participate
in misclassification. And
what misclassification is,
is you have a guy on a job who
you're paying him labor's wages,
but he's actually doing
carpenter work. Uh, you know,
he could be doing electrical work.
He's really performing a task and,
and really not earning
the wage that he should.
And we have numerous contractors
who repeatedly do this.
And this is just the way of, whether
it's a local code enforcement officer,
keeping an eye on a guy, um,
or even if you know someone
from the Department of Labor
and industry would come
out, you know, Hey, listen, how many
times are you on a job site? When,
whenever I would leave, um, and
you come back and there was,
there would be crews come in throughout
the night, you know, work's done,
things are done. You know,
it wasn't on the up and up,
and there was no questions
asked. And, you know, on this,
people don't look at it. But,
but what about the tax money that's
not being collected? You know,
these guys are paid cash under
the table when they get hurt,
they have no insurance. Uh, who foots
the bill for all that? And, and we do.
And, you know, I, I don't know that
1104 is necessarily the perfect answer.
It, it, it may not be the piece
that completely wipes this out,
but it's definitely an incremental
change in the, you know,
possibly the next step to, uh,
enforcing some of these things.
Sure. So where is that bill right
now? Has it been referred to a,
a committee this session? Um, you know,
when would that potentially
be taken up and how could, uh,
members of our trade unions that wanna
see this bill passed, uh, you know,
how can they help you out? Who should
they contact, uh, and and so forth?
Yeah, so right now, the, the bill still,
um, sits, I, I didn't introduce it yet.
You know, we had the, the turnover in the
house. The house wasn't organized. Um,
now that we have the house organized,
I'm just starting to look on it.
Probably gonna make a few tweaks on it,
um, to really get the bill out there.
You know,
maybe we put a dollar amount on it
because we know that these happened.
Like this instance really happens
on our hotels, condominiums, um,
anywhere there's a lot of stucco on a
building drive it, I should say the,
the correct term terminology for
that. Um, so, you know, maybe,
maybe we come ined, hey, any job under
10 million, it would be, you know,
maybe residential living or,
or something like that. Um,
just to try to get that pushed. Because
what happens is people look at this as,
Hey, listen, I've come from the
building trades. I support 'em.
This is a union backed bill.
They're just gonna go out and target
the non-union guys. And listen,
that is the last thing that, that we want.
And I'm actually working with three
non-union firms in Westmoreland County to
try to get this a win for
everybody, because this isn't
a union non-union issue.
This is really a construction industry,
uh, situation here. So, and, and,
and how we could help is, you know, um,
the building trades need to reach out to,
to the members that are supportive of
them and back them and say, you know,
listen, this is a, a piece of legislation
that we're looking for. You know,
it may not be perfect, but that
incremental changes is where it's at.
And I think if we would start it,
we could always tweak it, you know,
down the road.
Now as we're talking about, uh, you know,
what's going on on job sites, uh, I,
I can't help, but, uh,
but to think of, uh,
some of the illegal immigrants that
are actually working on job sites. And,
and some of them are, uh,
are being forced into working on
sites through labor exploitation
and labor trafficking. I
know we talk a lot about, uh,
human trafficking, or maybe
not even as much as we should,
but that's a little bit more of a
popular term. But I don't know that, uh,
that our listeners know a whole lot
about the labor exploitation and the
labor trafficking that's going on on
some construction job sites here in the
United States.
Yeah. You know, definitely. So, you
know, we have labor brokers out there.
They get ahold of these
illegals, they bring them in,
and they actually sell their services
to a labor broker. And, you know,
this labor broker could be no more
than than another illegal, um,
or they could be unlawful citizen that
has a, that has a form of transportation.
You know, they, they pick up these
illegals, they take 'em to job sites,
sell their services, but also, you
know, we're finding out that, you know,
it's not just the labor trafficking,
sex trafficking comes into it, you know,
it ultimately, they're both
human trafficking, but,
but also it comes with that is that
dark world of, of drugs and just,
just illegal activity,
you know? And it does,
it does exist in Westmoreland County.
You know, we have, uh, we have a, um,
some evidence of a construction
site here that is doing it. Um,
trying to work with some, some
local law enforcement, you know,
to try to get out there,
see what we can do with it.
One of the issues that we have though,
is right now, department of Labor,
labor and industry is lacking
enforcement officers. You know, I,
I think they have four for the state,
and it just really isn't enough. And,
and once again, this isn't
a union non-union issue.
This is a construction industry
issue. You know, once again,
these guys are here. One, they're here
illegally. Um, and I don't know, listen,
I don't support it, and I know you don't
support that anyway, um, but, you know,
moving the step forward, you know,
these guys are coming in, um,
it's not fair in the bidding process.
They're coming in underbidding, everybody.
Um, but the, the broker himself, he's
making the money, right? He's in,
then return pocketing all this money
and giving peanuts to the workers, the,
the guys that are here illegal
now for these illegals,
I'm sure it's a win-win situation,
because wherever they came from,
this is probably the most money that
they've ever seen, are, you know,
earned abso and, and if
Absolutely, I'm sorry, cut you off.
But if you think back to, I
wanna say last year at this time,
there was an execution south
shooting in Ross Traver, um,
that was over worker,
um, labor trafficking.
That's all that was about.
There was a guy there that was stealing
some other workers off somebody else,
and they didn't like it. And,
and you see how it ended. Um,
so whenever you're gonna go out and,
and you're gonna commit murder to
protect your investment, you know,
you better believe that there's huge
amounts of money here. And, um, you know,
I, they're not gonna stop sure
of protecting what they're doing.
Well, and,
and I think that's extremely concerning
to know that that's happening in our,
our varying neighborhoods. Uh, you know,
you have some evidence to it
happening in Westmoreland County,
I'm sure it's going on here
in Fayette County as well. Um,
and all through southwestern
Pennsylvania. So I,
I think we have to support the
Department of Labor and Industry. And,
and while I'm, you know,
not a, a huge fan, um,
being a conservative myself
of adding additional, um,
additional bureaucracy, I
think, uh, hey, as you stated,
you only have four people that are doing
that enforcement. So, uh, you know,
we have to give the tools to
the department so that, uh,
so that they can make sure that
these things aren't happening.
We have to get to our first break
today, uh, representative Zo.
But when we come back,
I wanna talk a little bit about the
state budget proposal that Governor Josh
Shapiro just rolled out. And you guys,
uh, heard about very different budget,
uh, proposal than what we heard
from his predecessor, Tom Wolf.
But I want to get your, uh, your
thoughts and feelings on that.
We'll be right back here on commonalities.
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You are listening to commonalities
where guests find common ground through
Uncommon Conversations.
Well, thanks for staying with us
here on Commonalities. I'm your host,
Matt Dowling. Uh, and before
we move on with additional, uh,
questions for our guests
today, I wanted to again,
make the public announcement that, uh,
we are willing to bring any candidate,
Democrat or Republican, uh, on
the program here before the, uh,
the upcoming primary election.
If you'd like to get scheduled as a
guest and you're running for any public
office that includes, uh, school
board, uh, judicial candidates,
uh, county commissioner candidates,
et cetera, um, reach out to me.
You can find my email and
all my contact information at
www.matthewdasindaviddowling.com. Uh,
that's kind of your starting place
for all things involving, uh,
commonalities and et cetera.
My guest today is Representative
Eric Zo from the Southern part of
Westmoreland County. And, uh,
representative Zo, this is your year off.
You don't have to, uh, have to run in
this year's election. I remember how, uh,
in those two year terms, that year in
between was, uh, was kind of a year to,
to breathe a little bit, but, uh,
you don't get to take too long of a
breath because before you know it, uh,
you'll be in reelection mode
once again. Um, so we, we,
before the break, we said we were gonna
talk about the governor's budget, and,
uh, I've done a, a fair amount
of reading and listening to, uh,
to the things that were,
uh, were provided to,
to the house and to the
Senate as ideas, uh,
to start off the budget by,
uh, governor Shapiro. And,
and I noticed that it was quite
different from some of the proposals, uh,
that Governor Wolf had given to us.
There were some good things in there,
and there were some bad things in
there. Wanted to get your take on, uh,
on all things Pennsylvania budget.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And
so this budget addressed,
it was more like the State
of the Union. Um, you know,
it was definitely the
way it was presented, uh,
the way Governor Shapiro come in,
definitely just a different demeanor,
just a different tone all the way around
it. But in his budget proposal, I,
I believe he was around 44 billion,
which was just about an 8%
increase in spending. Um,
which at the end of the day, we
could have all good things in it.
We can all want it, but we have to
remember that we cannot outpace our,
uh, money collected. Right.
Well, you know, and you know, and, and
I don't mean to cut you off there, uh,
Eric, but you know, when
I came into the house,
the first budget that I worked
on was below 32 billion.
So now we're talking about 44 billion.
And really it's only been seven years,
uh, you know, in that
period that we've seen, uh,
that state budget inflate. And I
just wanted to kind of make the,
the point for our listeners of how
fast that budget has grown and,
and we're talking billions
of dollars and, uh,
and not talking about what's kept off
the books because it's federal funding
that, uh, that gets passed through
the state, um, which makes our,
our state's annual, uh,
budget more like 80 billion if I
remember correctly. But, uh, I,
I apologize for cutting you off. I
wanna let you, your continue with, uh,
with your thoughts on this budget.
Yeah. And, and, you know, to, to,
to get to your point on in
inflating the budget, you know,
both parties do it because it, it seems
like now this will be my fourth budget,
uh, proposal process,
but it seems like as
we get closer to June,
as we get closer to that deadline,
we focus more on just
getting the budget done. And,
and I really think that
that's a mistake for us. Um,
and I also think in the
upcoming years, you know,
two to three years down the road, we're
gonna have to answer for that. Um,
and I don't think it's
gonna be a good answer. Um,
I do not support raising taxes. I,
I believe there's enough pork in
our budget that, you know, we can,
we can cut out multiple things here.
Um, but one of the issues that,
that Governor Shapiro had had
mentioned was he's gonna put
900 million in the state police fund.
They're gonna be funded separately,
cuz if I believe it right now, aren't
they funded through the, um, l cb?
Isn't there portion of money
that that comes into that?
There, there is,
there's also some funding for the
state police that comes out of the,
the gas tax, uh, that we
have here in Pennsylvania.
And I don't want to get off
on a tangent on that. Yeah.
But I know our listeners, um, definitely
have some complaints about, uh,
what is is the highest, or perhaps
the second highest at this point,
gas tax throughout, uh, the United
States. Um, and I, and I never agreed,
uh, this was done under a Republican
governor under Governor Corbit years ago.
Um, but you know,
that state police funding instead of
being a separate line item, was, uh,
was rolled into the gas tax with some
other revenues coming from other line
items. But I really think that we should
be supporting our law enforcement and,
and making them their own line
item, uh, which I believe is,
is what Governor Shapiro
was talking about.
Yeah. And, and you
know, that's, listen, I,
I agree a hundred percent with that
because one of the issues that,
that we hear, especially back home
right now, is we have lack of,
of just law enforcement officers.
And when you look at what's going on in
the city, Allegheny County, you know,
Harrisburg Philadelphia, they're not
prosecuting crimes. So what happens, uh,
it just keeps growing and growing and,
and it spews out into rural pa and,
and now it's starting to
really affect us. And,
and we don't have the law
enforcement officers to,
to really go out there and crack down
on it. So anytime we can support,
support our officers in, in gray,
you know, listen, uh, gladly do that.
Um, and I think that is, that
is truly needed. You know,
we can get them their own fund. Because
if you remember, um, it may have been,
I, I can't remember the bill, but one
of the bills we were going to, uh,
reduce the amount of spending and right
away the party from across the aisle,
Hey, listen, you guys are defunding
the police, and well, listen,
we are the last party that's out there
defending the police or defunding the
police, you know? Um, so yeah, so they'll
get their own, their own line item,
their own money. We, we can adjust it.
Uh, but 400 new state troopers, uh,
something that this
commonwealth needs. Um, another,
another good thing in
there, I think that what,
what Governor Shapiro did is he wants
to speed up the permitting process with
the D e P. You know, we get
lots of calls, um, Hey, listen,
we want come to Pennsylvania, we
come in, we can't get permits,
we can't get permits to even
move, move any kind of dirt. Um,
and let alone whenever you
get 'em, you get 'em back.
The issues that were on the permit are
resolved, and now there's 15 more. So,
you know, this fourth level of government,
this bureaucracy that we live in,
it needs addressed with, you know,
with our declining population,
our youth is leaving the state.
We need to create more jobs,
we need good businesses, we need
good family sustaining jobs here. Um,
which would be great for us, for us,
especially in our, in our region here. Um,
one thing that I think he did that I,
that I liked was, you know, my background,
I was outta high school. I went
to the building trades, you know,
him waving the, the, the college
requirement for, for state jobs was,
was great in there. Um, and on
the other hand, one thing that he,
he's trying to get in there is to raise
the minimum wage to $15. I don't know.
Listen, seven and a quarter
isn't a livable wage, but also,
isn't it supposed to be a, a baseline
wage so that you get a job, um,
you know, you learn a value of a dollar,
but you also, we, it, it's lower.
So you go out and through building
yourself up, you want to improve yourself,
you wanna move up to that better job,
and to raise that four to
$15 an hour, um, to me,
I'm not a fan of it. I, I think the
market should drive that minimum wage.
And I think right now, and, and I
could probably say that our region,
Fayette and West Morgan County, you know,
that that minimum wage is probably 11,
$12 an hour because you can see it
at, at your subways, your McDonald's,
your gas stations, you know, they're,
they're paying $15 an hour, if not more,
with a, with a $2,500 signing
bonus, right? So, hey,
you, you make it six weeks,
we'll give you 400 bucks. Um,
kind of keep going with that. And,
you know, like I said, I, I really
believe the market should drive it.
Yeah. I, I always thought
that minimum wage would, uh,
would most effectively
be, um, be linked to, uh,
an, an automatic increase
with, uh, with what the, uh,
the inflation rate was.
And very similar to how
COLA increases in, uh,
in the state government work, where
there's that automatic increase based on,
uh, you know, what the cost
of living actually is. Uh, it,
it would make sense that we
follow some format like that.
It would give businesses a, a chance
to plan, uh, for the future. But,
uh, but that's not what we're seeing.
We're seeing, uh, requests for these, um,
not incremental jumps, but for,
for some really huge jumps that could
really catch a small business, uh,
off guard.
Yeah. You know, definitely.
Um, and like I said, I, I,
I really think the market needs to drive.
But then, listen, if it's, you know,
seven and a quarter and you're
a small mom and pop shop and,
and you have a great employee that
comes to work on time, they're honest,
you're gonna, you're gonna pay them
more money naturally, you know, and,
and listen, anytime government gets
involved, set wages, you know, we,
in a government it seems like, how
many times do we get it right, <laugh>,
you know what I mean? So I,
I don't feel that that wage should be
set by the government. Um, and also,
you know, the other changes manufacturing,
cuz what happens whenever you have a
manufacturer worker who's making $20 an
hour, now all of a sudden somebody
at cheats is at 18. You know,
they're gonna go to their employee, get
their employer and say, Hey, listen,
I need a raise now.
Well, and, and, and you, you mentioned
Sheets and I, I love sheets. I,
I go and get an mto, uh, can, you
know, fill the car up with gas. Um,
I just pulled up their,
their jobs website and they have a
store entry level store team member,
uh, that they're hiring at, at one
of their Pennsylvania locations.
Starting rate is $16 an hour,
a dollar 50 extra per hour if
you work between 10:00 PM and
6:00 AM You know, so we're
already seeing, uh, you know,
at entry level store member
at sheets, that's, you know,
putting the bread on the shelves and and
so forth. They're making $16 an hour,
and if it's evening, they're making 1750.
Yeah. You know, it's just, um, like I
said, it just, it does need to raise the,
the market should drive it. Um, and
hey, listen, if inflation, you know, um,
recedes and, and comes down and then,
you know, hey, you know, in a few years,
you know, maybe they're paying 10, $12
an hour, I really think for our area,
you know, 11 to $12 an hour probably
is a true minimum wage here.
Well, uh, representative Banzo,
we have to get our second break for
the program in, when we come back,
we'll be talking, uh,
about some of the other things that
you have on your legislative agenda for
this, uh, this session.
As well as how, uh,
people who may be listening from
the West Morling County area,
people that are your constituents, uh,
how they can interact with your
office and contact you. But, uh,
we'll be right back after
this break with commonalities.
You're listening to commonalities
where guests find common ground through
uncommon conversations.
We'll be back after this brief
break to recognize our sponsors.
Is your business using analog
strategies in a digital marketing world?
If so,
then contact Matthew or Rebecca
Dowling at Coordinated 360 for a
professional consultation where we
bring in-depth knowledge and functional
expertise with a holistic perspective.
Coordinated 360 provides
digital marketing, paid ad
and media buying services,
web design, social media management,
video production, and more for businesses,
organizations, and political
campaigns with decades of experience.
Matt and Becky at Coordinated 360 can
help you craft your unique message and
share it with the world. For a no risk
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call 7 2 4 3 2 0 22 12,
or visit us online at
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Find us also on Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter,
or email
[email protected]
When it comes to buying a home,
what you see isn't exactly what you get.
That's why home buyers should call
Dave Dowling at Grandview Inspections
at 7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8.
You'll see colorful flowers, freshly
painted walls, granite countertops,
fleeing hardwood floors,
and other touches.
What you can't see is the
cracks, ancient plumbing,
dangerous wiring,
or broken appliances that might
be revealed when you hire a home
inspector. And when it
comes to home inspectors,
knowing yours has the qualifications
and experience needed should be your
number one concern.
Dave Dowling with Grand View
Inspections is an architectural engineer
with over 30 years of commercial
construction experience and hundreds of
inspections under his belt.
A home inspection is an opportunity
for you to hire an expert to walk
through the home and prepare a report
outlining the home's major components.
What needs immediate attention and what
will require maintenance after you move
in your home is one of
your biggest investments.
So make sure your invest is
everything you hoped it to be.
Call Dave Dowling at
Grandview Inspections at
7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8.
Are you enjoying the program?
You're listening to support commonalities
and help keep us on the air by making
a donation of five 10 or $25, or any
amount you feel comfortable sharing
[email protected] Again,
that is donate.commonalities.online
on the worldwide web.
Buy our host a cup of coffee or help pay
for airtime at donate dot commonalities
online.
Hey, Fayette County ready to give a
helping hand and have a lot of fun in the
process. Then come out to the
Uniontown Senior Center on Saturday,
March 25th from 11:00 AM to 6:00
PM for a Pirogi making party,
hosted by me Matt Dowling,
and my wife Rebecca.
As we make enough to feed
200 of our local seniors,
get all the details at
www.matthewddowling.com.
I'm Melinda de LaRose. As an
Assistant District attorney,
I've protected Fayette County families
and fought to uphold our constitutional
rights. As a prosecutor
and trusted local attorney,
I've provided victims of crime with a
strong voice and put criminals behind
bars. My pledge to you as
Judge is to follow the law,
always maintain the
highest ethical standards,
and to run a courtroom that's
respectful of your time and tax dollars.
I'm Melinda de LaRose asking
for your vote for Judge paid.
For by Friends of Melinda de LaRose.
You are listening to commonalities
where guests find common ground through
uncommon conversations.
Well, again,
I wanna make that public announcement
that anyone running for any public office,
regardless of Party, is
welcome to reach out to me.
Visit matthew d dowling.com
for my contact information.
We'd love to have you on the program so
that we can educate voters here in the
area, uh, what your thoughts
and opinions are and, uh,
and what you plan to do should you win
Election and Take Office. Uh, again,
that's matthew d dowling.com.
Uh, this is a public, uh,
invitation to anyone who's
running for public office. Also,
you heard the promo about our March
25th pierogi Making Party. And,
uh, representative Zo,
are you a fan of Pierogis?
Oh, love Pierogis.
Love, love the Pierogis.
If if you're from
Southwestern Pennsylvania,
you know that that Polish
and Slovak, uh, heritage has,
has really been in our
community for a long time.
And so we're gonna be making
Pierogis for 200 of our seniors that,
uh, that visit the Community Action
Senior Centers that week. Um, and it,
it's gonna be a lot of fun. We'll
have some pokas in the background, uh,
et cetera. So, uh, so we invite everyone
in the community to come out. Again,
visit matthew d dowling.com.
There's a banner that says, uh,
pierogi Party registration.
Click on that and you can
find all the details there.
My guest today is Representative
Eric Zo, and Representative Zo,
uh, is a state representative
in the West Morling County area.
Um, some big changes have happened
in the Pennsylvania House since, uh,
since my retirement. Uh, at
the end of November, uh, the,
the, uh, parties have switched,
the Democrats now have control
of the house. Um, you know,
so Representative Zo,
you've now, you know,
been in a situation where
you were serving, uh,
under Republican control and
now under the Democrats Control.
I wanted to kind of get some of your
thoughts and feedback about, uh,
about how that has, has
changed things. I know it,
it sometimes makes legislation a little
bit more difficult to get out of the
committee. Um, and, you know,
the majority leader now is,
is gonna be scheduling bills,
uh, with the speaker to, uh,
to get them run on the house floor.
So it may not be as easy as it was
during my time of service for a
Republican to move a bill.
Uh, but hopefully we're
working in tandem, uh, both,
both sides of the o uh, to move
important legislation. So I,
I wanted to give you a chance to
talk here a little bit about, uh,
what your legislative agenda is and if
you think it's gonna be more difficult
to, to move those bills this session.
Yeah. You know what? So I think
it's gonna be extremely difficult,
but, but one thing that I,
that I always try to do is I always try
to go to the other side of the aisle.
Um, the friendships over there, the
communications cause, cause listen,
there are things we agree on,
right? Um, and also with that,
at the end of the day, we we're
humans. Uh, we all have family, um,
and we're set here to go to work
for the people. I mean, I mean,
that's why we're here. Our ultimate goal
is, is to make everyday lives better,
uh, for the, for our constituents. So
people that put us here. So, you know,
if we're gonna go there and draw a
line in a stand and, and a St mate,
and listen, there are times we have to
do that. Um, but to do that every day is,
is a complete injustice for, for the
whole institution. And, and you know,
why we're here, and I think there's,
so there's 55 freshmen members
this year, so think about that.
A quarter of the house, the 2 0 3 members,
a quarter of them are, are freshmen.
And, and I remember when I come in,
in, uh, in, um, 2020 right after Covid,
um, or I should say right, right.
As Covid was kicking off, you know,
I remember the stories of other
members saying, you know, Hey,
I remember the night Ed ran Del come
in. He was trying to get a budget pass.
You know,
and those stories are non-existent anymore
because there's hardly anybody there
that has any, and I don't wanna say the,
the knowledge of it because there's a
lot of people that have the knowledge,
but that, that longevity there
just really isn't there. Um,
but I also think that that could open
up the, the door for some of us, um,
that are willing to go across the aisle.
You know, Hey, listen, we're here,
we're here ready to work,
willing to work. Um, you know,
Matt Bradford is the majority leader. Um,
I'd like to think I have a
decent relationship with him. Um,
but at the end of the day, you know,
he's loyal to his party. Um, and if the,
his speaker doesn't wanna run it
or the governor doesn't run it,
at the end of the day, he's not going
to. Um, so that's just part of being,
being in the majority
with the power, I guess.
Yeah. And, and like I said, that's, that's
a major, uh, change that we've seen.
Uh, but at least in the, um,
in the budget address that we were
talking about before the last break,
I did see, uh, governor
Shapiro kind of, um,
lay out some things that I think would
be more popular for the conservatives
that are in the house. Um, of
course, you know, like we talked, uh,
there were some things that
conservatives wouldn't like, um,
but I think there was a little bit of
an olive branch from the governor's
office, um, looking to, to
work with both parties. And,
and I think it is, uh, it's
good to remember the fact that,
uh, that Governor Shapiro was a
house member himself, and, uh,
and he kind of understands that process.
Yeah. You know, definitely, definitely
understands the process. And once again,
I think that helps, you know, cuz his
legislative aid, uh, is a Republican,
a lot of our leadership members have a
good relationship with, with Mike Burb.
Um, and, and listen, you gotta use,
you gotta pull every tool out of the
toolbox you can to get legislation moving.
Listen, it, it,
it's hard enough whenever you're in the
majority party and have the power to get
legislation moving, um, let alone what
we're up against now. But, you know,
governor Shapiro has, it appears to
show a willingness to work. Um, but,
but only time will tell, you know, his
his aspirations of maybe one day being,
being president. Uh, it may
help us. Um, and then again,
it it may come back to hurt us too.
Yeah. And, and you know, I've talked
with this with a number of guests, uh,
throughout the last couple months,
but, you know, we no longer have, uh,
on either side a, uh, you
know, a huge number of members,
uh, you know, a huge advantage, uh,
with members from one party or the other
and having those numbers a little bit
closer. You know, at one point in
time, I know we were at 2023, uh,
more Republicans than Democrats.
Now you're only separated by one
or two members, you know, and,
and my question to all
of my guests has been,
will this force the parties to, uh,
work more in tandem in together,
or will it really create
a stalemate where, uh,
where things aren't gonna
move at all? So, you know,
I I want to get your thoughts on that.
Yeah. So <laugh>, that's a
good question. You know, I,
I can see it, I can
see it where, you know,
you're gonna have some members of
both parties that are running for, uh,
magistrate judges, um, one's running for,
I believe county executor in Ahe
County and the natural process,
there's a good chance that, you know,
we could just by natural selection,
so to speak, um, as some
members move on, you know,
we could have the majority by
the end of the year, if not, um,
this time next year. Um, and also
it could swing the other way.
Um, but, but I think, I think
that it's, it's our job. It,
it's our duty to really come together,
focus on the people that put us here,
focus on the needs of the everyday,
um, individual here. You know,
we have to focus and make Pennsylvania
better. And in those lines, if,
if we have a chance to pick off
a member in an election, um,
and then that's when we do that. But,
but I don't want us to get into the,
the dirty politics of a one seat majority
setting traps for the other party,
for a member to take, um,
because truly the people
of the Commonwealth do not
benefit from any of that.
Yeah. And you know, I, I always
had the thought process that, uh,
that there's a campaign mode and that
that is a part of your job that's just
be frank about that. And, and then
there's a legislative side of things. And,
uh, and yeah, I think it,
it's bahoo of members in the house
or in the Senate to be able to flip
that switch and to leave that campaign
mode and go into legislative mode
where you're working
for every, uh, person,
all of those 68,000 people that
are in a house district, uh,
as your constituents, you're working for
every one of them regardless of party.
So you have to kind of turn
that campaign side off and, uh,
and be able to, to focus on the
legislative side. We have one more break.
We're gonna get in here
today, and when we come back,
we're gonna have final thoughts as
well as some contact information for
Representative Devan. So we'll
be right back on commonalities.
You are listening to commonalities
guests find Common Ground through
Uncommon Conversations.
We'll be back after this brief
break to recognize our sponsors.
Is your business using analog
strategies in a digital marketing world?
If so,
then contact Matthew or Rebecca
Dowling at Coordinated 360 for a
professional consultation where we
bring in-depth knowledge and functional
expertise with a holistic perspective.
Coordinated 360 provides
digital marketing, paid ad
and media buying services,
web design, social media management,
video production, and more for businesses,
organizations, and political
campaigns with decades of experience.
Matt and Becky at Coordinated 360 can
help you craft your unique message
and share it with the world. For a no
risk media evaluation and recommendations,
call 7 2 4 3 2 0 22 12,
or visit us online at
www.coordinatedthreesixty.com.
Find us also on Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter,
or email info coordinated three sixty.com.
When it comes to buying a home,
what you see isn't exactly what you get.
That's why home buyers should call
Dave Dowling at Grandview Inspections
at 7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8.
You'll see colorful flowers, freshly
painted walls, granite countertops,
gleaming hardwood floors,
and other touches.
What you can't see is the
cracks, ancient plumbing,
dangerous wiring,
or broken appliances that might
be revealed when you hire a home
inspector. And when it
comes to home inspectors,
knowing yours has the qualifications
and experience needed should
be your number one concern.
Dave Dowling with Grand View
Inspections is an architectural engineer
with over 30 years of commercial
construction experience and hundreds of
inspections under his belt.
A home inspection is an opportunity
for you to hire an expert to walk
through the home and prepare a report
outlining the home's major components.
What needs immediate attention and what
will require maintenance after you move
in Your home is one of
your biggest investments.
So make sure your investment is
everything you hoped it to be.
Call Dave Dowling at
Grandview Inspections at
7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8.
Are you enjoying the program?
You're listening to support commonalities
and help keep us on the air by making
a donation of five 10 or $25,
or any amount you feel comfortable sharing
[email protected]
Again, that is donate.commonalities.online
on the worldwide web.
Buy our host a cup of coffee or help pay
for airtime at donate dot commonalities
online.
Hey, Fayette County ready to give a
helping hand and have a lot of fun in the
process. Then come out to the
Uniontown Senior Center on Saturday,
March 25th from 11:00 AM to 6:00
PM for a pierogi making party,
hosted by me Matt Dowling,
and my wife Rebecca.
As we make enough to feed
200 of our local seniors,
get all the details at
www.matthewddowling.com.
I'm Melinda de LaRose. As an
Assistant district attorney,
I've protected Fayette County families
and fought to uphold our constitutional
rights. As a prosecutor
and trusted local attorney,
I've provided victims of crime with a
strong voice and put criminals behind
bars. My pledge to you as
Judge is to follow the law,
always maintain the
highest ethical standards,
and to run a courtroom that's
respectful of your time and tax dollars.
I'm Melinda de LaRose asking
for your vote for Judge paid.
For by Friends of Melinda de LaRose.
You are listening to commonalities
where guests find common ground through
Uncommon Conversations.
Hi, I am your host Matt Dowling,
and my guest today has been Representative
Eric Zo from Westmoreland County.
We have about 90 seconds,
representative Zo. So, uh, in that time,
give us your contact information
and how people can, uh,
can interface with interface with
your office, and if you have any, uh,
upcoming legislative events that,
uh, people may wish to attend.
Yeah, well first off, you know,
I'll just talk on Pirogis there.
You you got me hungry here, <laugh>.
So I'm gonna start googling some
things there, but, uh, yeah, so, uh,
my main office, my district office is in
West Newton, one 19 North Water Street.
Uh, phone number is (724) 929-2655. Uh,
my website is www.repdavan.com.
Email is zo pa house g.com. Um,
I have a Facebook page. Feel free to
go on there and, you know, like it, um,
and hey, listen, our, our
doors are always open. There's,
there's nothing here that we haven't
heard. And, and there's no such thing as,
you know, people would call
and say, listen, this is silly,
but what do you think about this?
Or, I need help with this. There's,
there's nothing too silly here. Uh,
we are here to help, uh, regardless.
So please feel free to reach out.
Well, we have to wrap things up. This has
been another episode of Commonalities.
Join us next Tuesday and Thursday where
we will have additional guests to talk
about their candid candidacy for
public office. Thanks for listening.
This has been Commonalities,
a show where guests find common
ground through uncommon conversations.
Copyright 2022 Coordinated 360.
All public rebroadcast should be done
with prior written approval from Matthew
Dowling. All requests should be sent
to
[email protected]
Thank you for listening to commonalities.