Councilman Conway steps up and into race for Congress

It’s an election season and we’re welcoming plenty of political candidates and sitting elected officials onto the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. Councilman Mark Conway has told us about his challenges and triumphs in the 4th District of Baltimore City and now is focused on running for the current seat of Congressman Kweisi Mfume in the 7th U.S. Congressional District, encompassing large parts of the city and edges of the county.

Councilman Mark Conway discussed his candidacy for Congress, highlighting his focus on addressing housing affordability, energy prices, and opioid addiction. He emphasized Baltimore’s progress, noting the city’s lowest crime rate on record and his efforts to equip paramedics with buprenorphine to combat opioid withdrawal. Conway also proposed leveraging a Public Power Authority to use microgrids and battery technology to reduce energy costs. He stressed the importance of local representation and his commitment to improving Baltimore for future generations. The conversation also touched on personal anecdotes and the holiday season’s impact on the community.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Invite and book a mix of Republican and Democratic guests (including Harford County prospects) for upcoming shows and outreach events
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Distribute remaining Candy Cane Cash lottery tickets at Planet Fitness on Monday as a promotional giveaway
• [ ] Introduce and advance legislation to equip all city paramedics with buprenorphine so first responders can offer it after overdoses to manage withdrawal and provide 12–24 hours for follow-up care
• [ ] Work with state-level officials to pursue legislation enabling a Public Power Authority that uses microgrids and battery storage to reduce peak-hour energy costs for the city

Councilman Mark Conway’s Introduction and Holiday Cheer

• Nestor Aparicio welcomes listeners to WNST 1570 AM, highlighting the holiday cheer and the location at Gertrude’s at The BMA.
• Nestor mentions the Maryland lottery’s Candy Cane Cash promotion and his ongoing efforts to give away Ravens tickets.
• Nestor shares a light-hearted anecdote about a lucky ticket winner at the end of the bar.
• Nestor introduces Councilman Mark Conway, who is running for Congress, and reflects on their previous meeting in Ocean City.

Discussion on Baltimore’s Progress and Challenges

• Nestor and Mark Conway discuss the improvements in Baltimore, noting the city’s lowest crime rate on record.
• Mark emphasizes the need to uplift and laud the great work being done in the city while continuing to address ongoing issues.
• Nestor and Mark talk about the perception of Baltimore outside the city and the importance of having a clear message during the political season.
• Mark highlights the concerns of Baltimore residents, such as housing affordability and energy prices, and the need for elected officials to address these issues.

Nestor’s Perspective on National and Local Politics

• Nestor reflects on the national political landscape, mentioning figures like Trump, Biden, and Kamala Harris, and the broader impact on local politics.
• Nestor shares his observations on the city’s progress, noting improvements in various neighborhoods and the importance of local representation.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the significance of healthcare and the federal government’s role in providing necessary services.
• Mark explains his decision to run for Congress, driven by frustrations with the current federal administration and the need to protect Baltimore’s progress.

Mark’s Legislative Efforts and Energy Affordability

• Mark discusses his recent legislative efforts, including a resolution to equip paramedics with buprenorphine to help opioid addiction.
• Nestor and Mark talk about the challenges of addressing addiction and the importance of providing support for overdose survivors.
• Mark outlines his focus on energy affordability, noting the significant increase in energy bills and the impact on both individuals and businesses.
• Mark proposes leveraging a Public Power Authority to use microgrids and battery technology to reduce energy costs and buffer against rising rates.

Mark’s Background and Personal Motivation

• Mark shares his background, growing up in the Bronx, New York, and his parents’ careers as corrections officers.
• Mark explains his journey into politics, initially not having an interest but realizing the impact of government decisions on daily life.
• Mark expresses his commitment to making Baltimore a better place for his children and future generations.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the importance of participation in government and the need for responsible representation.

Mark’s Vision for Baltimore and the Future

• Mark talks about the generational differences in political concerns and his belief in bringing a fresh perspective to Baltimore’s representation.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the importance of addressing issues like housing affordability and energy prices to improve the quality of life in Baltimore.
• Mark emphasizes the need for responsible AI and data center development to avoid negative impacts on communities.
• Nestor and Mark reflect on the progress made in Baltimore and the ongoing efforts to address remaining challenges.

Holiday Reflections and Personal Stories

• Nestor and Mark share personal holiday stories, including their children’s Christmas wishes and the importance of family traditions.
• Nestor recounts a humorous anecdote about his wife’s watch and its unexpected features.
• Mark shares his children’s Christmas wishes, highlighting the evolving nature of holiday gifts.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the significance of the holiday season and the importance of community and family.

Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

• Nestor thanks Mark for joining the show and reflects on the positive impact of Gertrude’s at The BMA on the Baltimore community.
• Nestor shares a story about John Shields, the chef at Gertrude’s, and their unexpected connection through family.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the importance of local businesses and the unique charm of Baltimore.
• Nestor concludes the show with holiday wishes and a reminder of the importance of community and participation in government.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Councilman Mark Conway, Congress campaign, Baltimore progress, crime rate, housing affordability, energy prices, opioid addiction, buprenorphine, public power authority, microgrids, AI data centers, government representation, voter participation, Baltimore community.

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SPEAKERS

Mark Conway, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:00

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. I am surrounded by Yuletide cheer. And one of you know, when I come into Gertrude at the BMA, it is for everyone, but it really feels like it classes up Baltimore positive. When I’m here, folks come by. I’m always seeing people. We’re at an art museum. We’re next to Hopkins. We got great guests coming up. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. I have the candy cane cash, and I’ve been waiting weeks through my Ravens. Tickets that I still have left here, that I’ve been giving away cost us, and I’ll be doing it Planet Fitness on Monday at simonia, but they smell like candy cane. So I have a little Santa thing going on here. We had a very lucky ticket. Man at the end of the bar cost us one 100 bucks on the first batch of these. On Thursday, it’s now the end of the week. Here, we’re getting up on Christmas time, and I’m trying to visit with as many people as I can. Mark Conway was a visitor to my show during Mako in Ocean City. We’re now Gertrude here. It’s Christmas. I will last I was with you. There was sandals and outside and crabs and beer and all that stuff. We’re talking about. Your Council manic district here in the city, but you’re about to run. We’re getting into this political season here, and you’re running for Congress, and a lot of folks maybe don’t know a lot about you, or sort of new things and new to the party, it’s good to see you again, man. Always good to have you on. Always gonna talk to you a little bit and yeah, hear the issues out. So, first things, first.

Mark Conway  01:24

Happy holidays. Happy holidays. I, you know, getting

Nestor Aparicio  01:28

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things done in the city anytime I talk to any of you. And Odette is sad here, by the way, Odette was the one who said they had a vegan crab cake over here, and I came over, and we’re in her neck of the woods over here. But you know, every time I talk to council people, there’s always issues, and we have issues outside the city, and perception of the city, and all the things that outside the Beltway you would hear, but when I come into the city, and I drove through your district here today, by the way, and I feel like the city is getting better every every time I come it is and yet, the perception when I’m in certain factions outside the city, read the Baltimore Sun or Fox 45 there is this. We ain’t going back there anymore. And I’m just blown away by that. And I think part of your trail to Congress is having a message. It might be different to crisis. Message and crisis been no crisis for four decades. Everybody’s in town knows him. Yeah, you’re taking on new challenges, trying to get things done in the city. Things are complicated for you right now. I think when you’re running for things, you’re trying to get things done

Mark Conway  02:31

in the city, right, that they are, that they are. And, you know, I think two things can be true. We certainly have a lot of work to do, and I think we’ve made a significant amount of progress. We have the lowest crime rate on record, which is phenomenal. And I, you know, I want to take my hats off to all the folks that made that possible. And we still have a lot of work to do, and that’s okay. And I think, though we shouldn’t, we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to uplift and laud the great work that’s been going on law, the great people that have been doing great work and also continue the work and, you know, on the campaign trail, always talking to the pieces that are going to get us to the next level. I mean, Baltimore is a phenomenal city. It’s a great place, and a place I fell in love with, and I didn’t expect that to happen, because I see what we’re capable of, and I see what we can do, but that means we got to solve real problems. You know, as I’m talking to folks and the things that they care about, that they’re worried about, they’re worried about, you know, housing affordability and the ability to pay rent. They’re really worried about energy affordability, you know, and seeing energy prices go incredibly high, and trying to figure out what we as elected officials, whether it be your councilman, your your mayor, your governor or your congressman, can do to help address those issues. And so that’s where I’ve been focused. That’s what I’ve been

Nestor Aparicio  03:47

trying to resolve. I always think, and especially on a day like today, today we’re here a week before Christmas, Epstein files, New York Times story. I mean, it’s like there’s going to be an end to that to some degree. And I often think about how this point, this inflection point of having Trump nationally, Trump the first time covid Trump, the second time the Democrats putting Biden up, and it didn’t work, and Kamala up, which was it just was an utter failure of politics. I think in this country, the money coming in, and Elon Musk and what’s been done to all of this, there still is this point on the streets of town, here in our town, where there are local talking points to talk about. And I I’m Baltimore positive, but I’m Baltimore honest, and I drove through your district go way in here, it looks better than it did 10 years ago to me, and I’m a guy that has been driving around it for 57 years. Yeah, and I know what Memorial stadium’s area look like. I know what the Northwood like all of Morgan. I was at Koco’s the other day. I’m up and down all of these thoroughfares. And incidentally, I went down Argonne drive today. I’ve never done that my life. I’m gonna talk to Rogers because, like, I went to a place 20 minutes ago that I’ve. Never driven in Baltimore, and I was like, holy cow, this is a nice road, I mean. So I just see the city in the light of you come from an outside perspective to see it. When I drive through, I do see my childhood. I see periods of time. And there have been places I go where I say, Man, this place used to be nice. It’s falling apart. And I go to other places now specifically, and the more I get around, I have absolutely seen progress. And I yeah, I can say that honestly, I don’t know if it’s enough. And you know, the one thing that you didn’t talk about healthcare, right? Like that sits at the heart of all and we count on the federal government to do that. I just hope at some point that these bad things affect people enough to understand more about government representation. If there’s anything in the last 10 years, we should learn here is like, how important our vote is.

Mark Conway  05:47

I’ll say this. You know, I announced my candidacy for Congress about two months ago, okay? And I’ll tell you what brought me into the race was all the frustrations that I think we are all experiencing with what’s going on in DC right now, one with our president, one with our Congress not really getting anything done, and really the stripping away of all the basic necessities for basic life here in Baltimore, cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, education,

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Nestor Aparicio  06:14

they would take your Social Security away. If they could. They’ll take

Mark Conway  06:17

what they can. And I’m looking at what that then means for all the progress that we’ve made here in Baltimore, for the first time, we’re seeing that decline in crime. For the first time, we’re seeing excitement about the city moving the right direction. We’re seeing different conversations beginning to happen in the city, and I would hate to lose that, because we’ve lost control of what’s going on in DC. Now, normally we don’t have to think all that much about DC, but I would say right now, this is, this is, this is probably the highest priority, and making sure we get things right

Nestor Aparicio  06:44

down there. You’re not the only politician I’ve had on this week. I mean, I had two Baltimore County Executive prospects, one sitting, one on the like the Bridge sits at the middle of all of this, no matter you run for. You know, that’s part. That’s your bridge. If you’re it’s crisis bridge, and it’s, I saw Johnny, oh, last night, had him on a show Tuesday. I mean, I’m getting around. I mean, I’m inviting Republicans on Democrat. Anybody? Harford County? I’m coming to see you, yeah, so I just because we’re going into this. Are you okay with this? What’s the old line from Don Henley? So we get the government we deserve, to some degree, not to something to the

Mark Conway  07:20

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degree that is a fact, if you don’t participate, if you don’t vote, if you don’t participate in some way, you get what you deserve, and it is what everybody else picks. And so, you know, people have to step up. People have to be a part of government.

Nestor Aparicio  07:33

So for city government, for you, what are you trying to get done right now? You had a piece this legislation this week that didn’t go your way. I don’t know how all of that happens. Everybody’s trying to in the outside the city. The Smith boys are trying to, you know, condense the city government. I always think there should be more representation and more people at the table and more because there’s more diversity and more neighborhoods. I mean, I drove through six different neighborhoods. I mean, we’re in Guilford. There’s a whole different clientele in here that there is six blocks away. Yeah, you know, having a chicken box on a Friday afternoon as there’s something, and we got Hopkins students from all over the world, 50 feet away. We are incredible, not New York City, but we’re where I’m sitting here right now. We are, yeah, if you were to walk a mile that way, a mile that way and a mile that way, you would have 100 countries represented, 25 language literally, right, absolutely.

Mark Conway  08:23

And they live here, and some of the greatest arts and culture in the country, right here in Baltimore, right here in the BMA, right here in the BMA, I mean, a couple of feet away. So yeah, I think a couple of things can be true. And you mentioned some effort earlier this week a bill that I’ve been working on, you know, I talked a bit about how there’s a lot of great things going on, and there are still things, there’s still warts that we need to address. And I think the addiction issues around opioids is it continues to be one of the things that we need to resolve.

Nestor Aparicio  08:56

My friend Emily Keller agrees with you. Wholehearted, yes. She’s amazing, yeah. So Mara Hagerstown, Google

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Mark Conway  09:03

her, yes. So, you know, I put forward a piece of legislation that would equip our paramedics with buprenorphine, which helps people who are dealing with opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms. From that,

Nestor Aparicio  09:16

she taught me about the narco Narcan.

Mark Conway  09:19

You can use Narcan. So if someone overdoses and they are literally dying, if you give them Narcan, they will come back. Now, when they come back, they are immediately within withdrawal. They have a headache, a stomach ache, they’re going through all kinds of problems. It’s the worst day of their life in some ways, if you give that, they’re alive, but they’re alive if you give that person buprenorphine. One, it’ll deal with the issues of withdrawal, so they probably want that, but then two, buprenorphine will give them 12 to 24 hours to figure out what they do next, and it deals with the cravings, so that if they want to continue on a buprenorphine regimen, they can do that. So how do we how do we change systems so that we we address the addiction and not just the overdose? That’s what I’m trying to do here. Seeing what we’re seeing, unfortunately, and this is my experience. Since I’ve announced my candidacy for Congress, I’m seeing people do funny things now and kill good ideas or get in the way of good ideas. I can’t speak for why people do things like that, but I will tell you, the work never stops, and we still have to resolve

Nestor Aparicio  10:18

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these What were you trying to get done, and why didn’t it happen? Or people can reason with that, but What? What? What were you proposing? And what

Mark Conway  10:26

was denied? It was a resolution to equip our paramedics with buprenorphine. Okay, so if they have this medication and they offer it to someone who’s just overdosed, they almost died, we brought them back with Naloxone or Narcan and they’re having withdrawal symptoms. We give them buprenorphine. It deals with the withdrawal system symptoms, and they have 12 to 24 hours to figure out whether or not they want to continue. You’re trying to get that for the whole city. Nice, exactly, exactly. So we do this for one unit in the city right now. I want to give all paramedics the ability to do this so that we can start to get people on a road or

Nestor Aparicio  10:59

road to recovery. So in your for your council and your district, what are housings where your heart is right now for the most part, and obviously, taking what you’re doing in the city and trying to run for Congress, yeah, put a platform together.

Mark Conway  11:14

Hey, I’d say the big issue that we’re working on right now is actually energy prices, energy affordability. Many people don’t realize this, but your next energy bill is going to be the most expensive energy bill you’ve probably ever had, not to mention your health bill, which we’ve been talking about, to mention your health bill, which is going to go up in November after they cut subsidies. So we have these challenges in front of us, and the one that we all feel, not not just individuals, not just homeowners, not just renters, but also businesses, is that when energy prices go up, we all feel it. It makes everything more expensive. We have to make sure we keep the lights on.

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Nestor Aparicio  11:46

We talk about gas prices all the time. Besides that, the president, since Jimmy Carr, all with your lifetime, Oh, yeah. How much is gas? And I’ll tell you, brother, President, yeah. I mean the amount of money you spend on gas versus how much it would cost to heat your house, yeah, in the winter if your bill one up, 10% 12% whatever it would be, yeah, whatever your bill is. 200 300 800 add 10% to that the hell of a lot more than whatever you pay at a gas pump, getting from here to there, wherever you work. And most people don’t work so far from where they are. So the gas bill, car gas and yeah. I mean, if you’re really smart, you got a hybrid, you’re finding other ways to to not spend so much on that. This is an energy expense that it’s sort of insipid, right? I mean, it’s, you don’t feel it, you don’t know it, but it’s

Mark Conway  12:31

there, and it’s huge. Oh, you don’t know it until you’re boiling. This is the proverbial, you know, frog boiling in water. We’re here, and now it’s so expensive that we don’t really know what to do, and I’ve been working on a solution. The solution we’re working on is leveraging a Public Power Authority that could use micro grids to avoid peak hour pricing. That’s the simplest way to put it in the fewest amount of words, but essentially, we use battery technology to store energy when it’s cheap and to deploy that energy when it’s expensive, and that can reduce everybody’s bill. So we’ve been working with some folks at the state level to see if we can get some legislation passed that would allow the city to do that and help buffer us against some of the increasing rates that we see across the region, or really the country. Now we know this is going to be a big, big issue going into the future. It’s not going to go away. We see more and more data centers opening, and those data centers use a ton of energy.

Nestor Aparicio  13:22

I’ve been talking AI like a madman. AI is amazing. Yeah, that I know, but it

Mark Conway  13:29

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comes at a cost. Yeah, you know, I

Nestor Aparicio  13:30

have some Ultra liberal family members, and I can’t be believe anybody’s more liberal than me and Dundalk. They don’t believe that. But there, is the pushback on that. I’m thinking, well, that feels to me like it could be a solvable issue to reuse water. I mean, you know, we’re not reinventing the wheel here. We’re trying to embrace something that can move humanity forward or could get us all killed. I’m not sure. You know, it’s a Wonka Vader. I keep saying that. I’m not sure, but I mean, the depth Terminator needs to be embraced and used responsibly and not ignored or certainly subjugated when the rest of the world is going to pick it up anyway and it’s going to leave us. We don’t behind, as I sit here next to Johns Hopkins,

Mark Conway  14:16

so this is the thing for us. We we don’t want to be left behind. We certainly want to continue to lead as the, you know, world’s most advanced country, but, but, but, but we need to figure out how to do that responsibly, both from an environmental perspective, also from an energy perspective, also from a land use perspective. We can’t just put data centers everywhere. We have to think about how to do this the right way. And so, as I’ve been thinking about at the at the federal level, should I have the opportunity to serve as your next congressman? How to resolve those issues. It means thinking through all of those pieces. Are there ways that we can still meet the needs for AI with data centers and energy and water without having too, too bad of an impact on our communities? And I think there’s a way to do that. We have some ideas. I think we have some ways to buffer some of the effort energy considerations with a. Public Power Authority. But we have to solve a number of problems as we begin to expand AI across the country.

Nestor Aparicio  15:06

Mark Conway is our guest. He’s sitting city councilman right now, running for Congress. You know, I’ve had Johnny Oh, on, quite easy a full disclosure. Was my neighbor for many years at Harbor court. So I would all we were ships passing tonight. We’d say hello, and I had been on his television show, oh man, 30 years ago, or whatever. Bottom line at W, B, Al, hey, so you run against question and listen, Kwasi left the public space, went back in NAACP. I mean, I’ve had, I’ve known him through all of this. I don’t know how long he wants to serve. I you know you’re running in that space, in that place. Why? How? Why? Now? Why? For you, where is this your play, and you sound dissatisfied with your representation. So that you know part of running is that you think you can do it better or differently, that’s all.

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Mark Conway  15:56

Yeah, I think. Look, I’m a, I’m a, I’m a father of two small children. How old? Six and seven?

Nestor Aparicio  16:04

All right, Merry Christmas. You gonna be up on?

Mark Conway  16:07

Yeah, I still believe in Santa, so I’m using that to my vintage yep,

Nestor Aparicio  16:14

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I can’t have a candy cane lottery. Not allowed to give tickets to the kids. No, no, they do smell nice. But you know,

Mark Conway  16:20

I think you know, I’m, you know, in my 30s, in my late 30s now, and it comes with different perspective. The issues that people are talking about in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s are different than the things that they’re talking about in their 70s and 80s. How old

Nestor Aparicio  16:33

are you? How are you guess? I don’t know. Don’t make me guess on the radio, 30 something. You said 3737 that’s fine. I’m 50, so we’re 20 years apart. So you were born 8888 go God, I got, oh, no, come on. I mean, 88 good socks yesterday, wearing them, product of 88 Mike, my kid, was born 84 so you know I’m like with you. But it’s amazing, because I just thought for a sec you like your priorities are unlike you. Have no idea who I was at 37 who I’m at 57 and like, thinking about those 20 years and how different, you know, the wild thing, you know, the world is, quite frankly, I never thought somebody like I’d never thought racism would be cool again. Yeah, like this. I just didn’t think that. You know,

Mark Conway  17:14

here we are and here we are. Yeah, the world does change. Man, it does. And, you know, it’s interesting crisis. I think the highest of him. I actually think the highest of him of all politicians in Baltimore. But I think it’s time. And, you know, crisis been in office. He first came into Congress in 87 before I was born, I wasn’t even twinkling my mom’s eyes. So I think, you know, there’s, there’s this disconnect I believe in what, what young people are dealing with, what middle aged people are dealing with, that, I think I’m able to bring a different perspective here and look, I’m just looking. I’m looking to work the issues. I want to make sure that the Baltimore that my children inherit is better than the Baltimore that I came into when I moved here. And I don’t want

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Nestor Aparicio  17:53

my leadership to that people in the audience don’t know, where are you from? Give me, give me a little bio on elevator speech.

Mark Conway  17:58

So I grew up in in New York. I was around here. Yeah, I grew up in the Bronx, New York. My parents are corrections officers. They work for the city, middle class home. I, you know, have a mix of brothers, sisters and adopted kids that I grew up with. It was a full household. We didn’t want for anything. You know, we didn’t need for anything.

Nestor Aparicio  18:21

Number one guy that wanted to be a politician. No, I wanted to be a politics. No, I

Mark Conway  18:26

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didn’t get into politics and even have an interest in politics until I got to college, and I appreciated how every little thing that you deal with has some interaction with government or politics.

Nestor Aparicio  18:36

Man, if you don’t feel that right now, you know, I just paid my tax bill this morning. Yes, my county tax, I mean, for my business, and it’s just, you know, I mean, they’re hustling me for another $300 for the credit card, you know, it’s just, it’s just, it’s, it’s incessant, you know.

Mark Conway  18:49

And so, you know, I began to appreciate in college how important our elected officials are in the decisions that they make and how they affect you day to day. And if you want to make a change, if you want to make a debt in the world. If you want to improve people’s lives, one of the best ways to do that is through government or politics, or you get incredibly wealthy and you be a good guy and not not be a trillionaire, but, but that’s how you do it. And so I wanted to find a way to give back, and I didn’t know that it would be here in Baltimore, but I fell in love with Baltimore, and I felt that connection, and I met my wife here, and I bought my first home here and had my kids here. This is home for me. And you know, I want to make sure I do everything in my power to make it better. And I want to make sure that when I hand it off to my kids, they are proud to call Baltimore home. And want to raise my grandkids here so I don’t have to chase them across

Nestor Aparicio  19:35

the country. Yeah, what’s Santa bringing the kids?

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Mark Conway  19:38

So my oldest Oh, I don’t know. Maybe she’ll listen to your podcast.

Nestor Aparicio  19:43

Don’t tell what did they ask Santa for?

Mark Conway  19:46

So my oldest asked for a watch that she can play games on.

Nestor Aparicio  19:51

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Oh, okay, and my wife’s watch checks her sugar. Now she’s diabetic, just in a jet her watch. Is attached to the door where we live right now that if an intruder or a deer knocked on the door, she can tell the time she well, when somebody Amazon comes up. Mean, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, she knows that too. In a porch pirate came up, we’d have a video that sort of like on her, on her phone in real time, yeah. And I remember the first time somebody had an iPad, a business owner, and they showed me all the security cameras just in their in their business, yeah. And that was 1518, years ago. So I see technology like coming along that, like, when I think six or seven year old, I’m thinking like, he’s at pub, so be like Christmas story. I’m putting a bike together at three in the morning, or getting some, you know, old school stuff, you know. But your kids want, like, no, it’s digital equipment.

Mark Conway  20:45

They’re seven, you know what? It’s not even that fancy. It’s a very simple watch. It much like the game watches that you use. It’s not a watch, but like the little games used to play with your kids.

Nestor Aparicio  20:54

Girls were seven in my neighborhood, they got the little fake bait set where they made the little fake brownies, and, yeah, Legos, for crying out loud,

Mark Conway  21:01

yeah, and the other now my youngest want something which I didn’t even know existed until she asked. Oh, here we go. A remote control unicorn.

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Nestor Aparicio  21:11

Remote Control Unit. Does this unicorn fly?

Mark Conway  21:15

No, it doesn’t fly, just like whatever you know, Amazon, you’d be surprised. But yeah, yeah, that’s, that’s what they wanted for Christmas. So all right,

Nestor Aparicio  21:24

well, I hope Santa comes through

Mark Conway  21:26

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for you kids, Santa’s coming through.

Nestor Aparicio  21:28

Mark, always here, city councilman running for Congress, and it’s good visit with you, man, as always, I appreciate you coming over and being a part of this place classes me up so much. Oh yeah, I mean, yeah, that’s gingerbread house here, and we’re Gertrude. And this is the craziest thing, and I’m gonna tell the story a few times, because John might not be able to do the show today. He’s had a little complication here this week as the Gina shock, she’s gonna join me too. She feels bad about Costas yesterday we had, we’ve had a great week. Even John Hoey is gonna get on the show this year, because I got my table. We had two little older than me. People at this table last year I supposed to do the show, yeah, and they ordered soup, salad, starter, wine, dessert, bread. They were here three o’clock. John was my two o’clock. Yes, we couldn’t so John really had the cordon off the bar. Oh, wow. So John’s laughing over here because we had a hell of a meal at the bar, but we didn’t do any radio. We had a nice Christmas together, I think, as I remember it, but, but, you know, so just this place classes me up. But this is the greatest Baltimore story that I have, yeah? So I sort of know who John shields is for, being the cook guy and the fun guy on the internet that makes food, the Chesapeake guy, yeah, Odette forever told me he’s got a vegan crab cake. And you should go, like, for vegans, you should do that. And like Jamie Raskin is vegan. Like Calvin Ball is shellfish intolerant. I mean, I was worried about politicians when I invite them to the crab cake tour, they’re like, cheeseburger So Dan Rodricks was doing his show here the first time, which was just one of the great shows I’ve ever seen. And I can’t wait to talk about no mean city 1966 because Dan’s gonna be by saying, hey Dan. I’m like, Dan, why don’t we do the show, you know, around the BMA, because that’s where your gig is. He’s like, Oh, I know John shields. He’s a wonderful guy. I’ll get him in touch with you there. I’m like, so I got in touch with John shields. And John shields comes down, sits down on the show with me. He’s like, You do know that your son’s wife is my cousin, right? Oh, and I’m like, hold on, her mother’s maiden name, Cindy shields. John shields she he’s like, I’m from East Baltimore, hon, really? Yeah, he knew that before you did. Your son’s mother in law is my cousin. It’s been my cousin my whole life. She eats every meal my house I feed her. Sarah, Oh, wow. John is pretty good. John. So I found this out three Christmases ago that like John’s I’m so, yeah,

Mark Conway  23:56

that’s legit.

Nestor Aparicio  23:58

And this time of year we have, I don’t, because you ain’t from around here, neither. So you New Yorker guys. We like it down here. You love it. You came to the land of pleasant living. You never left, right, right?

8

Mark Conway  24:09

It has a way, man. It’s guys away. It’s the crab cakes. We kind of get more, definitely the crab cakes, I will tell you nothing like a Baltimore crap.

Nestor Aparicio  24:17

I put it up to John today that I had sauerkraut kobasa legit in my fridge right now I’m putting so he’s trying to put together a menu for me for Christmas that might not be the traditional the ham and the green bean casserole, whatever things that we do, but sauerkraut and kielbasa East Baltimore, that’s my jam. There we go. So that that’s that is this, that’s the centerpiece of a Christmas meal that’s proper in my family, and the woman that brought that to my life was a Polish lady. And my neighbor, my parents best friends. Her name was Gertrude, right? So there we go.

Mark Conway  24:51

Full Circle, full circle, all coming together.

Nestor Aparicio  24:54

8

Mark Conway, running for Congress, we’re here at Gertrude, the aforementioned. And I’m telling you, man, I had a bowl of. What the heck was? It was, it’s a super today, sweet potato and carrot soup. My wife’s gonna hate me. Top one roasted sweet potatoes

Mark Conway  25:09

to die for him.

Nestor Aparicio  25:11

Any candy cane cash. Are our giveaways here, Gertrude, a bunch of nice ladies come by. Should have given him some tickets. I’m gonna like go through and get everybody rich. You had $100 winner. She asked $100 winner. Cost us on Thursday. People really win, including the Ravens fans and what Cincinnati froze last week and got a 24 to nothing victory, that there was second chance for the from the Ravens. GBMC is also sponsoring our crab cake tour, and I am. I have my colonoscopy three weeks ago. They found a precancerous polyp. You’re of the age. You’re on the cusp. You already told me how old you are. Keep an eye out. Don’t get yourself sick. Yep, yep. Fair enough. They talked me into it. You think I wanted to go do this? No, for seven but there’s a reason I didn’t do it. You know? Why am dumb? I know, but I’m a sissy, right? Yeah, so don’t be dumb. Don’t be a

Mark Conway  26:00

sissy. I better get the bad news earlier than than later.

Nestor Aparicio  26:03

Money up and up with all that. So I have my first checkup of this century happening in March. It’s true at GBMC, really, these nice ladies are looking at me, and I got Hang on one minute. I’ll give you lottery tickets. I swear. Just hang on. They smell good too. They smell like Santa Claus. Worker, it’s back for more from the BMA, and we’re having some fun around here. Happy holidays. W NST in Baltimore, positive stay with us. You.