North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble

Zae Brewer, Gen Z Democratic Activist / President KSU Young Dems / NAACP Student Chair

December 14, 2022 Fannin Co. GA Democratic Party Season 2 Episode 47
North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble
Zae Brewer, Gen Z Democratic Activist / President KSU Young Dems / NAACP Student Chair
Show Notes Transcript

The North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble podcast covers democratic politics in North GA, the 9th Congressional District, and across the state of Georgia. The podcast is in Q&A/Interview format with various democratic politicos including county chairs, democratic operatives, politicians, and more. It is our mission to deliver crucial information to our listeners in a timely manner as we fight for community values and principles in the 3rd most Conservative district in the state. Our website is: https://www.fcdpga.com/podcasts

Our guests highlight democratic activities and actions to work toward a Blue Georgia. The 9th Congressional District spans 20 counties across the region and covers a good deal of northern GA including Blue Ridge, Morganton, Fannin, Union, Banks, Athens/Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, and White counties. 

Our democratic party podcast also disseminates information and interviews powerful Democrats across the state of GA working to overthrow the suppression tactics of the GOP and ensure democracy and our values, grassroots efforts, and goals remain intact. 

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Meral Clarke:

Hello and welcome back to the North Georgia Blue Podcast produced and distributed by the Fannin County Democratic Party. I'm your host Meral Clarke and we're getting into some good trouble today with our guest Zae Brewer Gen Z democratic activist in metro Atlanta. Welcome to the show, Zae. We're so happy you're here.

Zae Brewer:

Thank you. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. And I'm really honored to be here actually.

Meral Clarke:

Well, terrific. We're honored to have you. So let's let our listeners know a little bit about you. A Georgia native Zae attends Kennesaw State University or KSU, where he is a junior majoring in political science. He is a student leader, writer, activist and advocate for a better Georgia and America. In 2020, he served as a fellow for the Georgia Democratic Party and is currently serving as president and chair of the KSU Young Democrats student representative for the NAACP chancellor of students president of the American Red Cross on campus and also sits on KSU Student Activities Budget Advisory Committee. Goodness, Zae when do you have time to study?

Zae Brewer:

I get that question from everybody. I find time when

Meral Clarke:

Well, you've also received the United States I can. Senate youth program scholarship while still in high school and is one of two high school students represent Georgia and was awarded the AJC cup in high school. And that was in 2021, I believe, yes, they served as an intern for the Gwinnett County Democratic Party and campaign intern for Congresswoman Carolyn Bordeaux. He currently has plans to attend law school after graduation and continue serving his country as an officer in the armed forces. Thank you for your service and Zae hopes to be a public servant in our state one day, we should be so lucky. So let's dive right in how and when did you decide to become an activist? And what sparked your interest in politics?

Zae Brewer:

Well, I remember 2016. And this is kind of how I got involved in politics. In particular, my parents were watching one of the Democratic debates and I was just fascinated by the clashes between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. And I also watched the Republican side. And I think that was definitely a interesting and a year that changed our country forever in the direction of it. So seventh grade me that I think I was about 12, or 13. And 2015 2016. I watched the election, and I ended up bawling my eyes out when Secretary Clinton lost. And then for two years after that, I watched where the country was going under President Trump. Then in 2018, after Stacey Abrams was defeated, the first time I said, You know what, I'm going to try to get involved the next election cycle in 2020. And then COVID happened. And while COVID was a very horrible thing, and you know, it really affected me during my senior year, me being a person who loves school and loves learning and is an extrovert. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have gotten my real entry into politics. Because at the time, you know, I was still a minor. I couldn't drive yet. And so having all that campaign stuff online, it really helped me get involved. And it was the first time I volunteered for campaigns and the dems. And yeah, that's pretty much how I got into it. And then like you said, in my intro in 2022, this election cycle, I ended up doing a lot more yet. Last year, when I came to KSU. I actually started out serving as the event Secretary Before being elected president this year. And you know, I was a campaign enter for Congresswoman Bordeaux. And I've gotten so much experience working as chair at KSU. And it's really been life changing. And the interesting thing about it is I didn't even want it at first, how I even got it was kind of a big, I wasn't expecting it, but it happened anyway. Yes. Essentially, what happened is I was the youngest officer in the Dems last year at KSU. And I was the youngest I was 18. Just got here. And I also served as the youngest associate justice on the case of the Supreme Court in history, all the officers were like, Hey, so we're graduating, or we're not going to run again. So it's just yours. And I ended up having to run and I got it. And I first remember thinking when I was taking that oath to serve as a party chair here, what have I gotten myself into, but I've grown to really like it. So many opportunities have come from serving just in this year alone. So I'm really grateful for it. But that's pretty much how I got into it.

Meral Clarke:

Fantastic. Well, I'm happy to hear it. And they're lucky to have you there. So I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on the midterms and why none of our candidates broke 50% of the vote your personal thoughts in your thoughts as a student activist and what needs to change for Democrats to get statewide candidates elected?

Zae Brewer:

I think obviously, it was a big disappointment for Democrats considering what happened in the midterms with their statewide candidates. You look at that ticket. There was so much talent, so much diversity and so much experience in so many qualified candidates. I met most of them because we actually hosted the most of them here at KSU. And I ended up meeting a few others elsewhere, but so much talent. And I think the party needs to do a reevaluation of what is going wrong on our statewide and in particular with the down ballot races. Now, I think the Senate race was an interesting thing, because I think what we're seeing is that Senator Warnock has some that natural appeal that people say that President Obama had, I think he has that and people just trust him naturally. And so while he came so close to hitting that 50, against Herschel Walker, I think a lot of Republicans came out that day to vote against Stacey Abrams, and just checked off Walker in My interpretation is that there were just a lot of frustrated Republicans who really approve of Kemp and they wanted to keep him there. And a lot of them just also voted for Walker. I don't think that will be the case for the runoff, though.

Meral Clarke:

Right. And this will actually air after the runoff, just so you're aware. But yes, it's very exciting to have Senator Warnock go back to the Senate. It's just so important. It really is. And we need that extra padding, especially with the divided Senate. So it would be 50 plus one, that would make a huge difference. So let's chat about your work with Georgia Democrats. Tell us about your experience working with state representative elect Lisa Campbell for Georgia House District 35, your internship with Congresswoman Bordeaux and what you're doing now for the Warnock campaign. Tell us about that.

Zae Brewer:

Well, first off for my friend Lisa Campbell, it was a real honor working with her and helping her get elected. The first time I spoke with her was over the summer because of the Dems at KSU we want to prepare a series of forums. So we had a congressional one which featured Marcus Flowers, Antonio Daza and bought Christian. We also had a statewide one which featured Ginny Slavs, Robinson, William Bodie, and Nikita Hemingway, ginger in and being wind sent representatives. But we also had a state legislature forum and we basically invited about seven candidates from around Cobb, Marietta, Kennesaw, a little bit of Cherokee out and we did that to help the students get a perspective on why local races are important. Lisa likes to emphasize that the seat that she just won was lost two years ago by I believe about three 400 votes to Ed Sessler who by the way, is the author of the heartbeat bill,

Meral Clarke:

Yes I'm very familiar with Ed Sessler unfortunately,

Zae Brewer:

but Lisa's District House District 35 at KSU actually lies in that district. So like had an I said, we're going to work with Lisa, we're going to help her win the seat. The seat is newly drawn, it favors her. And if she wins, she will ultimately be the one to represent KSU. So we attempted to host a debate about two weeks before Election Day for her and her Republican opponent Robert trim. And what essentially happened was they both agreed to do it on campus and like a week before trim said he wanted to move the location for what reason we don't really know because the location was actually a very big auditorium. But he ended up canceling and Lisa debated an empty podium and that made a lot of news stories. And it was a lot but I canvassed a lot for Lisa she ended up winning that seat. We had her out here just a couple days ago for the Warnock rally on KSU campus. And it's just been a real honor working with her on glad to call her my friend and I look forward to working with her for KSU his best interest and for Democrats. Now the Bordeaux campaign back in the spring. That was a tough race. As you know, Lucy Macbeth defeated her in that primary. And that was a tough primary because the whole situation about it was just really it was an uncomfortable thing. Because you know, here you had these two great women who flipped to historically conservative districts and Georgia pitted against each other largely because of Republican gerrymandering. And so it was a hard environment. Congresswoman Bordeaux kept her positivity up. She still had her spirits. But unfortunately, she lost that primary. But I don't think that she's done in politics at all. I think she has still has a big future ahead of her.

Meral Clarke:

Terrific, and what are you doing now with the Warnock campaign?

Zae Brewer:

So we actually just had him on campus a couple of days ago on Monday, actually for a rally and meet and greet. It was our third attempt to get him here in I guess three times was the charm. Because we got him here. And he gave a rousing speech. It was between two and 400 students came out. It was amazing. It was an honor hosting him. I handed him my memoir and my Sena you certificate before he left, his campaign said they'll get it back to me. I think the rally really energized students. And the reason why is because what I heard from a lot of students was they felt like by him coming it showed and it proved that he was Is there and if he's reelected, he's going to represent the students and have our best interests at heart. You talked a lot about his time at Morehouse in what he calls the full faith scholarship. And I think that really resonated with a lot of students here.

Meral Clarke:

I would have to agree that he's always been here for the people of Georgia and will continue to be here for the people of Georgia. So I have to backtrack for just a moment. You have a memoir?

Zae Brewer:

No, I had Senator Warnock's memoir, and I handed that and my United States Senate you certificate, because typically, in that program, both of your Senators sign the certificate. It's kind of a tradition, but the thing that happened was our program year was virtual because of hope.

Meral Clarke:

Okay, that makes more sense. Do you happen to have any numbers on how many Gen Z folks voted in the midterms?

Zae Brewer:

I do not know off the top of my head. I know in Cobb County alone in the general it was up over 10%. But I don't think it was exceptionally high. But I think that overall, they did turn out. And the problem that I saw with KSU, with our voter turnout, what it's kind of hard on our end for both parties, really, but really for the Dems because of SB 202, is that KSU was largely a commuting school. So essentially, most students who go here live in Georgia, and they come here and some weekends, you know, they'll go home. But anyway, the most of them live in Georgia. And what will happen is they will keep their voter registration in their home counties. And for a lot of students who live let's say Albany, or Savannah, getting back a couple of hours on a weekend, not only just in the fall semester, but even with this runoff in a week, that's going to be really hard for a lot of them. And I even realized that myself, you know, thankfully, I'm registered in DeKalb. So Snellville is a Gwinnett city, but it's one small part of it. That's still in DeKalb County. But I live in that part that's in the cab, and I was luckily able to vote Sunday morning, right before I came back to campus. But I realized that it's really hard for a lot of students because again, to make a, let's say, three hour trip home during the first week of finals, that's really tough.

Meral Clarke:

I'm sure that makes a lot of sense. So turning our attention to the Georgia NAACP, how are you working to get young students of color involved in the political process?

Zae Brewer:

The interesting thing is, is that right after we finish this, I have a KSU NAACP meeting where I'll be essentially talking about what happened during the midterms, a big part that I've been focusing on in the KSU. NAACP, during my time as political action chair has been education. And I find going on with only a high school, which is largely a majority minority school, black and brown students there, I found that a lot of students didn't really care to get involved, and they didn't want to get involved. One, because they felt politics doesn't affect anybody, or two, because they simply just didn't know. And that's the sentiment I get from a lot of students here at KSU as well is that a lot of students just don't know. Thankfully, many do win the Dems

Meral Clarke:

Do you think it's apathy on the part of students? on behalf of the dems, when I hosted a voter registration drive, most people that we talked to were already registered when they were planning to vote. So I think that it's improving. But I've been focusing a lot on education, and why these races matter what each office does. And what I'm going to be talking about tonight is what are the consequences of these midterms for the next two years for minorities, such as black people, Hispanic and Latinos, Native Americans and Asians? I'm going to be talking about that tonight. But education is something I've strongly been focused on.

Zae Brewer:

I think that the big reason why is because a lot of young people feel like there isn't anybody for them in government, I'm pretty sure you know, I'm political not. So I'll just randomly talk about, let's say, the Senate with my friends, or the House of Representatives, and a lot of them will be like they are so old they say things like nothing really gets done for us, because we don't have anybody representative of us. And that same message. I don't only get from just young students in general, I get from students of color. And that's one big reason why I was largely impressed in 2018 and 2020. Because House of Representatives is more diverse than ever. And I think that it's just gonna take a lot of students and young people to realize that they matter. And that they can make change happen and even possibly run for office themselves. Or, you know, just get involved just get out and canvass or talk to people, the candidates win the elections, but they win because of small volunteers. Because of people like me, and people like a six year old, retired volunteer, the ground game is talking to people. And I think tying into that that is why we largely have lost ground and rural America in rural Georgia as well, because a lot of those people feel forgotten.

Meral Clarke:

And can you blame them? Because representation matters and when you do have octogenarian is running the country, it does present a problem for younger generations. Now, at the time of this recording representative Hakeem Jeffries was just elected Minority Leader of the House going into 2023, which is very exciting. He's the first black leader to be elected into that position. What are your thoughts on that? And he's a younger guy. He's active, he's progressive, he's energetic. Do you think that might kickstart some young folks into getting involved?

Zae Brewer:

Yeah, very inspiring. And I think honestly, he was the best pick to succeed are great champions, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And I have great respect for Speaker Pelosi, because I think she realized that it's time to pass the torch. And I think that's what we need more of in the country is people need to come to their senses and realize that when it's time for them to let a new generation lead, I think Hakeem Jeffries, you know, for years now, they've been saying he was going to be Nancy Pelosi successor. I'm glad he is a fresh face, young. And so I think that this new team is definitely going to inspire people, because the thing is about them is that not a lot of people know about them. I'll be honest, I know who Hakeem Jeffries is, but I haven't really done my research into, you know, his life. And in a way, I think that's refreshing. Because now we learn about these people. You know, for years, people knew who Nancy Pelosi was. They knew her as the first woman speaker, the one who won the house back after, I believe 14 years because of George W. Bush's unpopularity. And so I'm really excited for his leadership in the House. And this new set of party leaders have

Meral Clarke:

Let's drill down to Georgia to our state, what's it going to take for us to win the state on the statewide level with the General Assembly and statewide offices, etc. From your perspective as an experienced and active Gen Z, Politico? What are your thoughts?

Zae Brewer:

I think that would Georgia Democrats have been focused on really since the 2016 election. I think that they've been focused on winning suburban voters, right, Cobb, Gwinnett, Rockdale counties like that. counties that historically have been red, and we're again a big contribution to President Biden and winning the state senator Warnock, Senator Ossoff winning Congresswoman McBath, Congresswoman Bordeaux winning, they have flipped, therefore, it's now and in most of those statewide races, the Democrats won by comfortable margins in those counties. And also on the state legislature side, we're starting to win more and more, you know, including House District 35, or Lisa Campbell just flipped a big scene. I think now, what the goal should be is to touch the rural voters because the rural voters are the reason why Donald Trump was president for four years, the rural voters felt heard by him. And what's interesting about it is that he never lived a day like them in his life, but made them feel heard. They felt heard by him. And they've had somebody for the first time in a long time that made them feel like he's for us. We need to start campaigning in rural counties, we need to start trying to contest rural house districts, rural senate districts. And ultimately, that's how the Democrats are gonna take back that state, they have to keep the strength in Atlanta in the suburbs of Cobb Gwinnett. And they have to start contesting Royer is if the Democrats want any chance of taking back the state, you don't have to win these rural counties. But you can't keep getting blown out 80 to 20 in these rural counties,

Meral Clarke:

and that's what's happening. So it's distressing to say the least. And

Zae Brewer:

you need both you need to keep the urban support and the suburban support high. But you have to contest rural areas, right,

Meral Clarke:

because there are more rural areas than there are Metro Atlanta, correct. I mean, we have a very big state, it's 159 counties. And it's one of the larger states in America, in our nation. And it seems that a lot of the metro Atlanta folks are not concentrating on the rest of the state, which is where all the support comes from, oh, I wouldn't say all the support, but where a lot of support comes from for Republican policy. So being in a rural area ourselves up here in the ninth congressional district, I completely agree with you. And I'm hoping that the Democratic Party of Georgia is listening to this podcast because it's so important to concentrate on other areas of the state. So moving on, can you elaborate a bit on your writing background and future plans after you graduate?

Zae Brewer:

Yes. So I actually just became a guest contributor with KSU Sentinel, which is our school newspaper.

Meral Clarke:

Congratulations. That's exciting.

Zae Brewer:

Thank you so much. So I've been contributing actually how to interview by the case. You sent an email recently regarding the American Red Cross and blood donations, but I just wrote my first opinion piece talking about why Republicans flopped the midterms. And I've been writing those I write for a friend of mine, her organization called Lau women, which talks about empowering women. And I tend to give my perspective on how young men can help empower women politically and socially. So I do a little bit of writing there. And I am working on an op ed for Senator Warnock's government office.

Meral Clarke:

Fantastic in all your spare time, right? Yes.

Zae Brewer:

But I enjoy it actually,

Meral Clarke:

What led you to get involved with the American Red Cross? And thank you for all you do? I'm a regular blood donor. So I believe strongly in their mission. Tell me about that.

Zae Brewer:

So interesting story with this as well. Over the summer, I realized KSU was one of the only colleges in the state without a Red Cross chapter. And I was a little frustrated about that. I was asking why. And so I contacted people and student activities and all of that. And they were like, we actually had one, but it's been inactive for four years. But if you want to restart it, you can go ahead and congratulations. You're the president. Now. I was like, Oh, okay.

Meral Clarke:

So you have your mandate? Yes.

Zae Brewer:

Right. So I took it, it's been a little hard getting it all restarted. It's hard restarting an organization in general, it's been really hard, especially with the midterms this year. And also just kind of some bureaucratic stuff with getting the organization re registered on campus. So we didn't really get to do much this semester, unfortunately. But I really am looking forward to getting it up and running strong. Next semester, we've already been making plans to do collaborations with other organizations on campus, such as some of the Greek organizations, other organizations, so I'm really excited for it. I actually got involved in the Red Cross for the first time when I donated blood in high school. And I just am really fascinated by what the Red Cross does. And I like to help the world politically. But the Red Cross helps me help the world just in general, in a way I can just help people with basic things,

Meral Clarke:

and also saving lives. There's a lot to be said for that. So pre show, we had talked about your vision for a new blue south. What does that mean? And how will that come to fruition?

Zae Brewer:

What it's going to take is, again, we have to use the strategy that I stated earlier, in the sense of every one of these states have to start touching rural voters. I think it's very clear North Carolina and Georgia and Texas, even that we have made crucial ground and southern suburban areas. But we're not going to win unless we start contesting rural areas and having the Republicans have a run for their money in these rural areas.

Meral Clarke:

And when you say contest, it's not in the traditional form of contesting an election result. You're talking about actually presenting the real contest. Exactly. In the rural areas. Okay. I just wanted to make that clear. Go ahead. Yes.

Zae Brewer:

And so I think a lot of these states are flippable. I mean, you look at the demographics, the southern region is probably if not first, second, I'm not for sure. But it's a very diverse region, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Louisiana. These are all diverse states, states that the Democrats should be doing a lot better in in a lot of these in states like Louisiana and North Carolina, they have Democratic governors. So Democrats can win there. It's just taking the strategy and competing with the Republicans putting serious challenges against them. You got to think about a lot of these states like Louisiana eight years ago, in 2014, they had a Democratic senator and Mary Landrieu. And in 2014, North Carolina had a Democratic senator and Kay Hagan. So I think what's happened is, especially since the Trump era after 2016, when we saw how much Trump won by I think the national party just gave up on and don't get me wrong. I think that this has been the result of a long time of rural areas being feeling forgotten by Democrats, because we saw this trend happening over the decades. But I think that that's what has to happen.

Meral Clarke:

So demographically. And I will say this, and I'll just be perfectly blunt about it. Demographically, rural areas are vastly different than metropolitan areas. So is it going to take a conservative Democrat, a moderate Democrat? How do we talk to and I'll be blunt, older, white, rural voters who consistently vote against their own self interest? How do we fix our messaging in that arena? I

Zae Brewer:

think that Democrats need to be talking about the right issues with older white seniors. And what I mean by that is not ignoring the other critical issues that affect everyone else in the entire country, but talking about issues that pertain to them such as health care, such as the economy, you know, a lot of these seniors are living on retirement pay, and not only just rural white, older seniors, rural whites in general, overwhelmingly vote Republican and So I think that it's just about, again, not only making your presence known, but talking about things that they are actually going to care about. So kitchen table issues, kitchen table issues,

Meral Clarke:

bread and butter. Yep. And that's something that we don't tend to do. Yes, I agree with you that needs to change. And I'm hoping, again, that the Democratic leadership in the state is paying attention. Right,

Zae Brewer:

then Senator Warnock, I think, since the race got called for a runoff. He's been doing exactly that. I actually went to one of his rallies in Cherokee County. So I think the Georgia Democrats in general are starting to understand that you need to start going to these areas, I mean, Cherokee County, red red County, but that visit, it could energize a lot of people. But I think we need to go beyond that. And not just doing one or two rallies, we need to consistently be everywhere in the state

Meral Clarke:

agreed. It takes a lot of resources, though, again, yeah.

Zae Brewer:

And if you even look at Georgia, 14th, Marjorie Taylor green one, and by a big margin, with Marcus flowers shifted that district five points to the left,

Meral Clarke:

that's helpful, I believe he garnered a bit over 30%. So we're slowly making

Zae Brewer:

inroads, right and slowly just take that strategy, just gradually keep chipping at it. If you keep chipping at it, let's say over the next 1020 years, you're going to be competitive in these places, you're going to even win a lot

Meral Clarke:

right? Well, we recently held an election panel, of these places, which that episode is now available across all platforms. But the election panel was with three Democratic leaders, including our own Doug DeMoura, chair of the Fannin County Democrats talking about this very subject and how statewide Democrats tended to ignore the number one issue which was inflation. For most voters in Georgia, and they never discussed it. They never talked about it. I've never heard them talk about it. So that is definitely a strategy deficit, I would say that we need to work

Zae Brewer:

on Yeah, I think that the Democrats need to start talking about issues like that more, a lot of these issues that Republicans are winning on our education, economy and crime. And these are three issues that the Democrats have a better perspective on. I mean, it's largely known that the Republicans economic beliefs are very unpopular. That's just been known for decades. But what the Republicans have been doing is taking the shift to social issues as well. And so the Democrats, we do really good on campaigning on the social issues, but stuff like inflation, we need to really be talking about our plans for that, how we're going to fix it, we need to be talking about crime, talking about education a lot more,

Meral Clarke:

I would have to completely agree with you on all of those points, because we do tend to discuss overarching social issues and not get down to the nitty gritty with us voters. Yeah,

Zae Brewer:

because we are not competing with Republicans in a lot of these areas. And Republicans are just telling a lot of these rural voters a bunch of baloney a bunch of nonsense, and they believe it and you know why is because we're not there to say well hold on a minute. That's not the case. This is what we want for you. This is what we're trying to do for.

Meral Clarke:

Right, we should take every talking point they have and dispute it. You know, it's all disputable. So that definitely needs to be done. Well, Zae could talk to you all night are just so damn lucky to have you. That's all I can say. And

Zae Brewer:

I appreciate it. I'm really honored to be here. I'm glad you all invited me here. And I'm only 19, 20 in January. But I really look forward not only now but throughout my life to helping others and making this country and state better.

Meral Clarke:

Well, you're definitely the one to do it. And we'll definitely have you back on the show as well. So if someone wants to learn more about you volunteer or just get to know you better, where would you send them to have a website or where can people go?

Zae Brewer:

I do not have a website yet. I have a LinkedIn I have a Twitter have an Instagram.

Meral Clarke:

Okay, I'll share with our listeners that Zae is spelled Z A E. So people can at least find you online with an E not a y right? That's a great name.

Zae Brewer:

My Instagram is just at zae brewers zae Brewer ber ew er my Twitter is the ze Brewer and my LinkedIn is a brewer so you can find me pretty easily.

Meral Clarke:

Okay, terrific. And finally and I asked all my guests this question they tell me it's the hardest question to answer but tell us a fun fact about yourself something not necessarily related to your political work or even your work with the Red Cross which we thank you for immensely but tell us something fun and interesting. Just about Zae.

Zae Brewer:

I really love doing stuff like painting I like to paint but I don't have a lot of time to do it anymore. But I love to paint when I can I do all this political work but I'm still a college kid. I do stuff like play games still. You know, I hang out with my friends all the time. And I always make time for I don't know how I do it. A lot of people ask me that all the time but I have A lot of hobbies I like to paint. I like to play video games when I can. I like to do little projects, you know, like make Christmas cards or in the holidays and stuff. Yeah, you are truly a Renaissance man say but one thing that's definitely kept me going is running. I love to run.

Meral Clarke:

There you go. Yes. endorphins. Endorphins really make a difference. So thanks. Well, thank you, Zae, for joining us today and sharing more about your critical work to advance democratic goals and policy. I'm Meral Clarke and on behalf of our team, I'd like to thank everyone for listening to the North Georgia Blue Podcast. To learn more about us and the work that we're doing. Visit us online at Fannin County, Georgia democrats.com. Share the North Georgia Blue Podcast with your friends and family be sure to subscribe and follow and if you enjoy our podcasts be a founding patron and friend of the show at North Georgia Blue Podcast podcast.com/patron with three different giving levels to choose from offering cool swag recognition on the show and website and valuable gift cards to help us continue getting into more good trouble.