00:09 - I'm joined by representative

00:10 - Danielle friel otten she's a

00:11 - democrat representing

00:12 - parts of Chester county.

00:13 - Can you describe some of the

00:14 - parts of Chester county that you

00:15 - represented what's

00:16 - distinctive about those areas.

00:18 - Yeah so I represent the

00:19 - central park Chester county

00:21 - and axton I would say like

00:23 - the Google and the brandy wine

00:25 - downingtown borough.

00:27 - Really the heart of the county

00:29 - and

00:30 - our district is very

00:32 - interesting because we have.

00:35 - An urban borough

00:36 - like downingtown

00:37 - which is like super working

00:38 - class and.

00:40 - You know goes back

00:41 - to the old mills and

00:43 - lots of workforce housing

00:45 - and then we also have a very

00:47 - the township which is one of the

00:48 - wealthiest Chester Springs as

00:50 - the wealthiest the current

00:51 - state of Pennsylvania and

00:53 - so We've got a large and.

00:55 - We have a large.

00:57 - Kind of continuum of.

00:59 - People and.

01:01 - Community here in

01:02 - the one fifty fifth and.

01:04 - In a big way we're kind of

01:06 - a little microcosm of what.

01:08 - The state looks like

01:09 - we have urban we have.

01:11 - Rural we have suburban

01:12 - all in one little district.

01:15 - And if you're

01:15 - recommending places

01:16 - for people to visit in your

01:17 - districts is there anything that

01:18 - you would say is a must see.

01:20 - Yeah I mean

01:21 - so we are the home of

01:23 - victory brewing company

01:24 - which is one of Pennsylvania's

01:26 - I'm proud to enjoy first

01:28 - and not the first but one of the

01:29 - first crapper breweries in the

01:31 - nation but also.

01:32 - In Pennsylvania

01:34 - and we are the headquarters of

01:36 - iron hill Murray and restaurants

01:38 - which is also one of the.

01:39 - Most award winning

01:40 - brewer he's in the state

01:41 - and we have lots of local.

01:44 - We have lots of local breweries

01:45 - popping up all over the district

01:47 - which is really fun because

01:48 - that's actually professionally

01:49 - my background and

01:50 - where I come from

01:52 - and.

01:52 - Professionally

01:53 - before the legislature

01:55 - and but we also

01:56 - have great dairy farms.

01:58 - Milky way farms is on

01:59 - the Pennsylvania ice tour

02:01 - and our community

02:02 - here in Yukon township.

02:05 - Was originally a dairy farming

02:06 - community and so we still have

02:08 - the rich history

02:09 - of dairy farming.

02:11 - In.

02:12 - In our community

02:13 - here in the one fifty fifth

02:15 - and it's just a

02:16 - it's a really great

02:18 - community and

02:18 - really great local vibe.

02:20 - Of downtown downingtown borough.

02:23 - Has lots of really great

02:24 - events from good neighbor day

02:26 - and the summer too

02:28 - we ever holiday.

02:30 - Christmas parade

02:30 - coming up this weekend.

02:32 - Just really good

02:33 - community and hometown.

02:35 - Feel.

02:36 - And when constituents are

02:37 - calling your office

02:38 - are there any

02:39 - common issues that you

02:40 - hear come up from them.

02:42 - Yeah we do well.

02:45 - I think similar to most.

02:47 - Areas.

02:48 - Verdes.

02:49 - The condition of the

02:50 - roads in Pennsylvania is the

02:51 - probably one of our

02:52 - number one issues.

02:54 - And so.

02:55 - You know regularly working with

02:57 - penndot to make sure that we

02:59 - are keeping the roads

03:00 - in good condition here.

03:02 - Also healthcare has been

03:03 - a big issue for the district.

03:05 - Over the last few years we are.

03:07 - Experiencing what many

03:08 - communities in Pennsylvania are

03:10 - experiencing with.

03:12 - You know corporate

03:13 - hospitals and consolidation that

03:15 - is impacting local communities

03:18 - and creating healthcare deserts.

03:20 - And so we have not

03:21 - been immune to that that.

03:23 - We recently have last spring my

03:24 - hospital in our community we're

03:25 - working really hard

03:27 - to find a alternative.

03:29 - To reopen that hospital.

03:31 - So we've had lots of

03:32 - issues in our district.

03:34 - Around access to health care.

03:36 - For senior citizens for

03:37 - folks with disabilities and.

03:40 - For just the everyday folks who.

03:42 - You know.

03:44 - I currently in one part of

03:45 - the district it takes forty five

03:46 - minutes to get to the

03:47 - closest healthcare facility

03:49 - and an emergency and so we're

03:51 - dealing with a

03:52 - lot of that locally

03:52 - and and you know of

03:54 - course the the regular

03:56 - unemployment.

03:58 - Roads and Bridges all the

03:59 - good stuff that everybody in the

04:00 - state is concerned about.

04:02 - That we were first elected to

04:03 - the legislature in two thousand

04:04 - and eighteen.

04:05 - When you were coming into the

04:06 - legislature and then you're in

04:07 - the time that you've been

04:08 - there what have been your your

04:09 - biggest legislative priorities.

04:12 - So

04:12 - My path was paved by way of the

04:14 - mayor's pipeline project which

04:15 - was a product.

04:17 - Of.

04:17 - Expansion of fossil

04:18 - fuel infrastructure.

04:19 - That goes from the western

04:21 - part of the state to Marcus hook

04:23 - and passes through Chester

04:24 - and Delaware county which are

04:25 - considered high consequence.

04:27 - Areas where we have high density

04:28 - of population and there's also

04:30 - high risk to the infrastructure

04:32 - and

04:33 - and

04:33 - so that's kind of what got

04:34 - me involved and really like.

04:36 - Interfacing with my government

04:37 - and talking to our state reps

04:39 - and learning more about.

04:40 - The process and what happens

04:42 - and why I ran for office and so.

04:43 - I you know that's been a

04:45 - big issue we had a huge spill.

04:47 - In two thousand nineteen.

04:49 - Marsh creek state park

04:50 - which is in our district.

04:51 - Also a place come and visit

04:53 - when you're here.

04:54 - And so

04:56 - one of the big

04:57 - priorities has been.

04:59 - Really taking on corporate

05:00 - power and government

05:02 - and and really

05:03 - holding corporations to

05:05 - do business in our

05:06 - community accountable

05:07 - and so we were

05:09 - and.

05:10 - You know it's the circumstances

05:11 - were not great but.

05:13 - Governor elect shapiro.

05:15 - Actually filed

05:16 - forty eight counts of

05:17 - environmental crimes.

05:19 - Against the company that was.

05:21 - Doing.

05:22 - The project through our

05:23 - community and you know

05:25 - falling water Wells and spilling

05:26 - into the lake and things like

05:28 - that and.

05:29 - That was in large part

05:30 - due to the activism and that

05:32 - advocacy of the people in

05:34 - our community and so that was.

05:36 - You know a huge accomplishment

05:38 - for our community.

05:40 - And recently another success

05:42 - story similar to this was

05:44 - and northeastern Pennsylvania.

05:46 - Endemic Pennsylvania was

05:47 - just announced this week where.

05:49 - The same companies are

05:50 - being held accountable to

05:52 - provide public law better access

05:53 - to communities where they've

05:54 - destroyed water access.

05:56 - To clean water and.

05:58 - Really protecting

05:59 - our resources for people

06:00 - who live here in Pennsylvania

06:02 - and holding

06:03 - corporations accountable

06:04 - to being good stewards of

06:05 - our environment

06:06 - of our communities

06:07 - has been a huge priority for me.

06:08 - As well as public education

06:09 - funding charter school reform

06:11 - healthcare access.

06:13 - Disability rights.

06:14 - And all the.

06:15 - You know good stuff that

06:17 - the democrats are doing

06:18 - across the country and here in

06:20 - Pennsylvania.

06:21 - Now you hinted

06:22 - at it earlier but.

06:24 - I read that

06:25 - prior to becoming a a legislator

06:26 - you worked at the executive

06:28 - level in the

06:28 - hospitality industry.

06:30 - How was that

06:30 - experience that kind of

06:31 - informed your your

06:32 - your experienced

06:33 - as a legislator especially

06:34 - coming out of the pandemic.

06:36 - Yeah I mean I've

06:37 - still I have a really unique

06:38 - experience in a couple of

06:40 - different ways in the moment in

06:41 - time that ran right so with the

06:43 - pandemic and how

06:43 - that has impacted.

06:45 - Business.

06:46 - I have a really.

06:47 - A pretty intimate

06:48 - understanding of how that has

06:50 - unfolded not just

06:51 - from the perspective of

06:53 - an executive.

06:54 - Who looks at pn owls and.

06:56 - You know profit margins

06:57 - and things like that but also.

06:59 - I started out like most people

07:01 - in the hospitality industry

07:02 - started out as a server in a

07:05 - restaurant and a

07:05 - bar tender and so.

07:06 - Also working with.

07:07 - Some minimum wage workers.

07:09 - Who rely on tips who often don't

07:11 - have access to health insurance

07:12 - and who then

07:14 - are impacted not just by.

07:17 - Playoffs and

07:18 - lack of hours and

07:20 - conflict and reliability of of

07:23 - of work but also impacted by.

07:26 - Tipping

07:26 - by being face to

07:28 - face with people

07:29 - and in a pandemic with masked

07:31 - mandates and

07:32 - people not wanting to

07:33 - wear masks and

07:33 - all of that and so.

07:35 - I you know I I feel like I had

07:37 - a really unique eek and an.

07:39 - Important perspective on how

07:40 - the pandemic impacted so many

07:42 - people especially.

07:44 - In that

07:45 - industry where the service

07:46 - industry which was one of the

07:47 - largest industries

07:48 - in Pennsylvania

07:49 - and where people are

07:51 - relying on tipped wages

07:53 - to make a living

07:54 - and I just recently

07:56 - had a friend who.

07:58 - As an hourly worker and she

07:59 - doesn't work she

08:00 - doesn't get paid

08:01 - and so

08:02 - that has been a big impact

08:04 - on workers in Pennsylvania

08:05 - and so the need for like

08:07 - paid family leave and.

08:09 - Making sure that we have a good

08:10 - social safety net for folks who

08:11 - are doing the work

08:12 - but when when things crisis

08:13 - happens that the

08:14 - first people will

08:15 - be impacted both in their health

08:16 - and in their echo anaemic.

08:18 - Health

08:19 - and

08:20 - and then also for businesses

08:21 - like the hospitality

08:22 - industry you

08:23 - know especially right now

08:24 - they have hospitality it's the

08:26 - first to go in a pandemic but

08:27 - then also with inflation.

08:29 - I would say like my former boss

08:31 - always used to talk about how

08:33 - the price of gas was

08:33 - the leading driver.

08:35 - For restaurant revenues and

08:37 - so when the price of Glasgow's

08:38 - above four dollars a gallon.

08:41 - Restaurant and the restaurant

08:43 - revenues are significantly

08:45 - impacted and so on

08:46 - So right now like these

08:47 - these restaurants

08:48 - these restaurant workers

08:49 - who have gone through

08:51 - two and a half three years of a

08:52 - pandemic are now also feeling

08:54 - and not feeling the recovery

08:56 - in the same ways that so many

08:58 - other people are

08:59 - bouncing back and seeing.

09:01 - It's still a real challenge

09:02 - for folks in the hospitality

09:03 - industry and so.

09:05 - It's really important for me.

09:07 - To have a voice here

09:08 - and a seat at the table

09:09 - be people to represent

09:10 - those folks and make sure that.

09:13 - You know it

09:13 - the pandemic maybe over in some

09:15 - people's minds but we're very

09:16 - much still in the crisis

09:18 - and this fallout from it.

09:20 - And you talked about

09:20 - your experience working

09:21 - on the issues regarding

09:23 - the pipeline but

09:24 - in your time serving as a on the

09:25 - house environmental resources

09:27 - and energy committee.

09:28 - In this most recent session and

09:29 - what kinds of bills and issues

09:31 - have been coming across

09:31 - the table in that committee.

09:34 - So.

09:35 - Most of the building

09:36 - issues have been.

09:38 - Trying to stand in the way

09:40 - of the work of both the biden

09:41 - administration and the

09:43 - wolf administration to work.

09:44 - Toward a clean

09:46 - energy future lots of

09:48 - legislation to

09:49 - kind of tie the

09:50 - hands of government

09:52 - tie the hands of regulators and.

09:53 - You know.

09:54 - The last

09:55 - piece of business we

09:56 - did before we left session.

09:58 - Was I go to on it but was

10:00 - to send a letter that would.

10:02 - I.

10:03 - Would disapprove.

10:05 - Pennsylvania complying

10:07 - with regulations

10:08 - at the federal level that were

10:09 - tied to transportation funding.

10:11 - So really just lots of.

10:13 - In my personal

10:14 - opinion obstructive.

10:15 - Unproductive.

10:17 - Legislation in the

10:18 - area committee and so.

10:20 - I'm actually really looking

10:22 - forward to kind of a new.

10:24 - A new session and.

10:25 - New leadership

10:27 - and and seeing what we can

10:28 - do to actually be proactive in

10:30 - Pennsylvania.

10:32 - To have those difficult

10:33 - conversations about how.

10:35 - I.

10:36 - You know we have

10:37 - a history of fossil fuel.

10:39 - Industry here in Pennsylvania

10:40 - where many families rely on that

10:42 - industry in many ways many many

10:44 - parts of the the

10:44 - state rely on that

10:45 - and how has that impacted

10:46 - by the need to move

10:47 - to a clean energy future

10:49 - and like that

10:50 - discourse is really

10:51 - important and we haven't been

10:52 - having those.

10:54 - Good faith conversations to

10:55 - try and work through some of the

10:57 - challenges in the past and so at

11:00 - least in my time

11:00 - in the legislature

11:01 - and I'm really looking forward

11:02 - to the opportunity to do that in

11:03 - a new statue and

11:04 - with new leadership.

11:06 - And you know a new

11:07 - new opportunity to kind

11:09 - of get things done here.

11:10 - For the environment for

11:11 - the people of Pennsylvania.

11:13 - And moving off of that as you

11:14 - mentioned with new leadership

11:15 - coming up in the next session is

11:17 - there any specific legislation

11:18 - or just issues that you're

11:19 - looking forward

11:20 - to addressing and

11:21 - not just in the

11:21 - environmental committee but.

11:23 - Just out in the

11:23 - legislature engine oral

11:24 - yeah I mean definitely

11:26 - I am the chair of the climate

11:27 - caucus the Pennsylvania

11:28 - legislative climate caucus

11:29 - in the house and so.

11:31 - I'm definitely looking

11:32 - forward to the opportunity to

11:34 - to.

11:36 - Have Pennsylvania being part of

11:37 - be a big part of the inflation

11:39 - reduction act and how we can

11:40 - implement those investments to

11:42 - move toward a

11:43 - clean energy future

11:44 - and a just transition

11:45 - for our workforce.

11:47 - Into that clean energy future.

11:49 - And you know talking about

11:51 - electric vehicles and how to

11:52 - make them more accessible to all

11:53 - people in Pennsylvania not

11:54 - just people who can afford.

11:56 - I'm to buy a Tesla.

11:57 - But like making

11:59 - making electric vehicles

12:00 - more affordable accessible.

12:02 - Charging infrastructure

12:03 - all that good stuff

12:04 - and now we have the funding from

12:06 - the federal government to be

12:08 - able to actually make those

12:09 - investments here in Pennsylvania

12:10 - and I am excited about that.

12:13 - But I would be remiss to not.

12:15 - Mention

12:16 - and prioritize

12:18 - what we all just saw

12:19 - in the last session

12:20 - and last year.

12:22 - Is the

12:23 - to me the

12:23 - existential crisis that

12:25 - we're facing as a country and

12:26 - definitely here in Pennsylvania

12:27 - and that is the threat to

12:28 - women's healthcare and

12:29 - women's right to reproductive.

12:31 - Freedom.

12:32 - And.

12:33 - So myself and a

12:34 - representative of the damage

12:36 - introduced a constitutional

12:37 - amendment that

12:38 - would enshrine the

12:39 - right to reproductive

12:40 - healthcare decisions for women.

12:43 - In the constitution

12:45 - and so I think like there is

12:47 - in my mind nothing

12:48 - more important

12:48 - than making sure that that

12:50 - threat that we

12:51 - all saw this year.

12:52 - Is.

12:53 - Is neutralized

12:54 - and I really look

12:55 - forward to two.

12:57 - Working in the new session

12:59 - to move women's

13:00 - healthcare forward

13:02 - and not just women's

13:03 - healthcare as an issue.

13:05 - Of healthcare but also.

13:07 - As an economic issue.

13:09 - And when we talk about

13:11 - women and motherhood and.

13:13 - How women.

13:15 - Are become equal citizen

13:16 - mr in in the state is not just

13:18 - about our ability to control our

13:20 - reproductive freedom but also.

13:22 - Having access to

13:23 - childcare having access to.

13:26 - To.

13:27 - Paid family leave you know I'm

13:29 - part of the sandwich generation

13:30 - I'm caring for young kids

13:32 - and parents

13:33 - and and so so many women.

13:36 - Face economic

13:37 - uncertainty because

13:38 - we don't have support systems

13:39 - in place that actually support

13:41 - families and support women and

13:42 - so to me.

13:44 - That has not that

13:45 - that has become

13:46 - so much more clear as a top

13:48 - priority in the last year and I

13:49 - feel like it's really important

13:51 - that women are driving

13:52 - and leading the way

13:53 - and not just just.

13:55 - Take a sigh of relief

13:56 - that week kind of.

13:58 - Dodged a bullet but that we

13:59 - we we need to make sure that our

14:01 - daughters aren't fighting this

14:02 - fight again and twenty thirty

14:03 - forty years.

14:04 - Alright representative Danielle

14:05 - friel otten democrat was in

14:07 - parts of Chester county thank

14:08 - you so much for your time.

14:09 - Thank you you have a great one.