Local Democratic National Committee member and Towson attorney Robbie Leonard returns on the Maryland Crab Cake Tour at Pizza John’s in Essex to discuss the emergence of Gavin Newsom as a credible foe in the next Presidential race and the current fascism being shown in Washington, D.C. by a lawless leader.
Nestor Aparicio and Robbie Leonard discussed political issues, including the impact of Donald Trump’s presidency and the rise of Gavin Newsom. Leonard highlighted the decline in crime in Baltimore, attributing it to increased resources and diversion programs. They also touched on the importance of community engagement, with Leonard emphasizing his role as a coach and community leader. The conversation included reflections on the 2024 election, the role of the Democratic National Committee, and the need for a clear policy platform. They also shared personal anecdotes, including Leonard’s experiences coaching youth sports and attending a Savannah Bananas game.
Discussion on Political Affiliations and Local Politics
- Nestor Aparicio introduces the show, mentioning the location at Pizza John’s in Essex and the Maryland crab cake tour.
- Nestor discusses his bipartisan approach on Baltimore Positive, mentioning recent guests like David Marks and JB Jennings.
- Nestor welcomes Robbie Leonard, a Democratic National Committee member and local attorney, to the show.
- Robbie Leonard humorously refers to himself as a “perennial loser” in elections, having received 49% of the vote twice.
Political Stances and Legal Perspectives
- Nestor and Robbie discuss the importance of nonpartisan issues, such as the protection of John Bolton from military police.
- Robbie emphasizes the importance of the rule of law and fairness in the judicial system.
- Nestor and Robbie critique Donald Trump’s actions, including his use of military force in Washington, DC, and his attempts to coerce election officials.
- Robbie highlights the economic impact of Trump’s presidency, including rising inflation and reduced spending by Americans.
Social and Economic Impact of Political Actions
- Robbie discusses the economic downturn experienced by companies like Walmart and Target due to rising prices under Trump.
- Nestor and Robbie talk about the militarization of Washington, DC, and its impact on local businesses and residents.
- Robbie mentions the decrease in homicides in DC due to the military presence, but notes the negative impact on local businesses.
- Nestor and Robbie discuss the broader implications of Trump’s actions, including the potential for future abuses of power.
Personal Experiences and Political Engagement
- Nestor shares his concerns about being mistaken for someone else and being detained by unidentified individuals.
- Robbie talks about receiving calls from people seeking legal advice before attending protests in DC.
- Nestor and Robbie discuss the importance of having legal representation and the challenges of dealing with unidentified authorities.
- Robbie shares his experiences of coaching youth sports and the impact it has on his community engagement.
Democratic Politics and Future Prospects
- Nestor and Robbie discuss the role of the Democratic National Committee and the upcoming 2028 convention.
- Robbie mentions Gavin Newsom’s strategic use of social media and his impact on the Democratic Party.
- Nestor and Robbie talk about the importance of having a clear platform and policy for the Democratic Party.
- Robbie highlights the success of grassroots fundraising and the importance of small dollar donations.
Crime and Safety in Baltimore
- Nestor and Robbie discuss the decline in crime in Baltimore under the current administration.
- Robbie attributes the decrease in crime to increased resources for youth programs and a better police chief.
- Nestor shares his observations of a cleaner and more vibrant Baltimore during his recent visits.
- Robbie emphasizes the need for continued support and resources for families and children in Baltimore.
Personal Reflections and Community Involvement
- Robbie talks about his involvement in community activities and the importance of coaching youth sports.
- Nestor shares his own experiences of coaching and the impact it has on his relationships with his players.
- Robbie discusses the challenges of balancing his legal practice with his community involvement.
- Nestor and Robbie reflect on the importance of giving back to the community and making a positive impact.
Sports and Personal Interests
- Nestor and Robbie discuss their interest in sports, including the Baltimore Orioles and the Ravens.
- Robbie shares his excitement about the Orioles’ recent contract with Adley Rutschman.
- Nestor and Robbie talk about their experiences attending sports events and the impact of music at games.
- Robbie shares his family’s experience attending a Savannah Bananas game and the fun atmosphere.
Final Thoughts and Future Plans
- Nestor and Robbie discuss their future plans and the importance of staying engaged in politics and community activities.
- Robbie mentions his ongoing involvement in the Democratic Party and his commitment to making a difference.
- Nestor reflects on the importance of having diverse and inclusive conversations on Baltimore Positive.
- The conversation concludes with Nestor thanking Robbie for his participation and discussing upcoming events and guests.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Democratic politics, Newsom, Trump, Baltimore, crime rates, Gavin Newsom, social media, election strategy, Democratic National Committee, Maryland lottery, Baltimore positive, crime reduction, community engagement, youth programs, political candidates.
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Robbie Leonard
Nestor Aparicio 00:00
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, am 15, 70,000 Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. We are positively in beautiful Essex, Maryland, where they allow a Dundalk guy to come in and eat delicious pizza. We are at Pizza John’s in Essex, 410-687-7733, I know the number because I call and I order down here back river neck Road, Ray Bachman has walked in unwittingly in all of this, so he will be eating some semblance of my Dundalk Hawaiian pepperoni pizza over there without pepperoni. He’s doing bacon. I don’t know what he’s doing. We’re here having the Maryland crab cake tour and pizza and cheese steaks and french fries and proper gravy and proper fried onions and proper provolone. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. I have some scratch offs to give away. Lucky sevens. Pressure luck. I swear the Ravens ones are on the street now. I will have those next week. We will be at Costas and Timonium. On Monday, we will be at cilantro. It Fells Point on Tuesday, and we’re wrapping things up with Coco celebrating their 40th anniversary on Wednesday, I have great guests. I’ve had a lot of Republicans lately. People think maybe, I mean, Wes Moore, thinks that maybe I’m changing him and Craig Thompson, but I am still very much a card carrying Democrat, despite the fact that I’ve had David Marks, had JB Jennings had a lot of Republicans. Had Julie jordano last week. But we’re gonna get back to democratic politics here in old Essex, where my father was married to my mother. Around the corner at Mount Carmel, East Side Mars estates, we welcome in Democratic National Committee. Member delegate, whatever member just member Robbie Leonard, back on the program here to school. House Rock us through delegates, delegations, local attorney in Towson. And, you know, I don’t want to compare you to through Vigna Raja, but off time political candidate, I don’t want to say that, but you have when Ray Bachman came in, he said, Who’s this guy? Said, Well, he’s run for office, and like 49% of the vote, what did you get in the for the attorney race like 4949
Robbie Leonard 02:04
I’ve gotten 49 two elections in a row. So, yeah, you can call me a perennial loser. That’s fine. I see where you’re going with this.
Nestor Aparicio 02:12
I’m going with this. Where is you have taken what Ted van tool has told me why didn’t even run. So you had a lot more stones than me. Dog. You ran. I mean, I you, you are Teddy Roosevelt would say you’re, you’re in, you’re in the race, but, but using what you have to your maximum potential, I try to do that with Baltimore positive by being bipartisan in whom I’m going to speak with about the issues, where I stand on the issues. It’s usually pretty clear to every Republican that sits next to me.
Robbie Leonard 02:44
Quite funny. You should do some time have a Democrat and a Republican sitting here together that
Nestor Aparicio 02:49
just turns into a fighter and Hogan into like, then I turn into like the judge or the and if I have the gavel, I’m always going to be on your side. They know that. They know that. I mean, really what I don’t I’m trying to think of Republican issues. I agree with death penalty. I’m good with that. You know, there’s some things that you would look
Robbie Leonard 03:11
at me, you I am looking at you.
Nestor Aparicio 03:16
So, I mean, that’s okay. I’m allowed to believe what I want, because it’s America. But apparently John Bolton’s not what do you think of
Robbie Leonard 03:22
that? It’s scary times, you know, when, when someone even like John Bolton, who I definitely agree with nothing about, I’m concerned about him, you know, and that’s where I feel like it’s nonpartisan. It should be nonpartisan that I want a guy as conservative as John Bolton to be protected from the fascist Military Police at Donald Trump’s call going through his house,
Nestor Aparicio 03:47
correct? I agree with that wholeheartedly. And you’re they were both Republicans in that, in that way, right? Like, literally, right? Yeah. I mean, because he’s an American and he is in the process, he has rights, and
Robbie Leonard 03:59
it’s like, when I do a jury trial. That’s what I love to do with my closing argument. When I’m talking to the jury and I say, you know, before I get into all this, you are a member of the jury today, and how awesome is that? That’s what makes America great. You know, something that Donald Trump would say talking about making America great again, having a jury, having the rule of law, having fairness being heard. Yeah, we don’t have that,
Nestor Aparicio 04:24
having the facts being presented, having the evidence be real, right? And it’s, it’s taking an oath, an oath.
Robbie Leonard 04:30
It’s the way that, you know Donald Trump, he really has created this narrative, because when he was running for president this last time, and he talks about the weaponization, that’s what they’re doing now, and he’s just going to act like he’s returning the favor to Democrats, but it’s he’s the one that’s doing
Nestor Aparicio 04:50
it the insurrection alone. I keep going back to that as being this incredible turning point for where truth got separated and. And it’s amazing to me, as I come in and I see Fox news on TV, he’s not here everywhere. The fact that everything about what they reported has been not only has it been proven false, they’ve been sued massively for millions and millions of dollars for dishonest reporting the election being thrown, but Trump on the phone with the Georgia election board trying to coerce them into turning and I mean, was mafia sort of tactics. We’re seeing what Jeb Bush, good Republican, said nine years ago, which is, you know, chaos candidate will be a chaos. President, Washington, DC, the streets have been militarized like I, I don’t even know what to make of that. If I were to go see a band at the Warner theater night, which I’ve done many times, or a hockey game down at the you know, just driving the DC being Hispanic, wondering like, oh, do I go down the wrong street, right? And wind up having to call you and have you be my
Robbie Leonard 06:03
lawyer? Literally? Yeah. I mean, I heard them to say that, you know, they went at least a week without any homicides in Washington, DC, now that the military’s on the street, that’s a wonderful thing that murder is down. It’s a wonderful thing if crime is down. Ask the business owners help businesses. Nobody’s going to restaurants, nobody’s shopping in DC, they’re staying away. Look, if you’ve got police and military uniform, and it’s every seems like every branch of police officers, and they’re coming in from other states to keep everybody off the streets and you can’t leave your house. Is that the way that you want to live? I don’t know, probably not. But
Nestor Aparicio 06:45
you’d also like to think that there’d be a basis for this in government if you live there, but they don’t have representation either. So it’s almost, you know, that there’s a textbook on how to do this and how to get away with it, right? I mean, I don’t know where the textbook was for running busses down to the capitol and storming the Capitol and getting away with it. But they’ve gotten away with it, and the people who did it got away with it, right? So I think that after seeing that the John Bolton thing is just part of the playbook, as abhorrent as it is, as alarming as it is to you and me today, as we sit here, there’ll be something else next week. The Epstein thing is, just now, we’re four, we’re four episodes gone, right? He sat with Putin. He sat with Zelensky. He started a war in DC, right? I mean, and now he’s investigating his former FBI executives, right? So that’s all gone on in about 12 days. That’s
Robbie Leonard 07:42
literally, that’s, well, that’s the thing about Donald Trump, is that you can’t even keep up, you know, you can’t figure out what am I supposed to be mad at today? I can’t remember what I was mad at four days ago because he’s got something new every day. And, you know, is he smart enough that it’s intentional? I don’t know. But here’s the real thing, inflation’s up, right? And we don’t even have time to talk about that. You know, the news doesn’t have time to cover that tariffs were last month. Except they’re here. Now, the tariffs are here now. Walmart’s earnings are down for like, the first time in years, like they’ve meet, they’ve missed their revenue expectations for like, the first time in years, target down couple percent, like the people who shop at Walmart, the people who shop every day at Target, they’re not spending money like they did when Biden was president, right? Because prices are up and job unemployment claims are up. These are the real issues that are affecting people. You know, Trump won, yes, because of racism, but also because things weren’t affordable. And, you know, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris didn’t focus on the economy the way they should have. You know, they said everything is fine, and the people said, No, prices are going up. Well, they’re going up way more now that Donald Trump is president, but we just don’t even have time to talk about it, but, but these are the real issues. You know, this is what I think that people go vote for. I don’t think it’s Cracker Barrel logo change. Do you know about that? Yeah, right. But like, that’s what the media wants us to think is like the main story today is that Cracker Barrel,
Nestor Aparicio 09:23
sure he is with 60 minutes and Paramount are getting broken up and Stevie Colbert is getting thrown off the air because the President wants him off the air. You know, I own an FCC license, so, you know, maybe I’m next. I don’t know, but you know, if I get thrown in a truck in DC because Ray drags me down to MGM National Harbor to see Kansas 38 special Jefferson Airplane. And we detour to some delicious barbecue at, let’s say, 250 barbecue. And we go through the district to get there. And somehow, when I get down right around New York Avenue, they look at me and say, Hey, he might be Venezuelan. And they throw me in a tank in a place, and I don’t even. I said to Chris Van Hollen last week, do you get a phone call Like, who do you what happens to you when guys who are unidentified, you’re not being thrown in, you’re not being arrested by a police officer wearing gear by Baltimore County. You’re not even being arrested by Federals at an airport, or TSA or that sort of thing. You’re being arrested by people in masks who are unidentified from a legal standpoint. You know attorney Robbie Leonard, What? What? What do you say to that? Because I don’t even know what to do with that. When Chris Van Hollen and Odette Ramos said to me last week down at the beach. They’ve gone to this holding tank down here in Baltimore, and they’re not, and they’re they’re breaking all sorts of laws in regard to who they’re holding, why they’re holding them, how they’re holding them. And the the, the overarching part of this, why it got elected, was we’re going to get the bad guys off the street, the MS 13, you know, because I know I look like MS 13 here, but that would the idea was to get the bad guys off the street. That’s not really what’s happening right now, and that’s not what’s happening with citizen cameras on the streets. But I don’t know what the rights of someone who cannot prove their citizenship upon demand. Somebody came into me right now, I’d say I was born to church from hospital, and I could tell them my life story, but if they’re five guys in a mask, and I start to resist, yeah, I don’t know whether I’m being kidnapped, right, or whether I’m being detained. I don’t know who’s detaining me. I don’t see any identification. I
Robbie Leonard 11:37
Well, one thing that I make of one thing that I tell people. I get a lot of calls from people saying, I’m going down in DC for a protest. Can I get your number? Can I call you right if something goes south? I even had a minister, a woman, who was going down to protest, like, with clergy, like, clergy, priests, rabbis, like, from across the country, they were going down to protest this administration. They’re like, this isn’t even a partisan issue. We’re just talking about how this goes against everything that we believe in. They ask for my number just in case something happens, but you’re right. Like, what do you do when they don’t care? Like, what do you do when they’re like, No, we’re just gonna lock you up. And not even just lock you up, but send you to alligator Alcatraz, right? Because that’s what they’re gonna know
Nestor Aparicio 12:23
here to beat it documented. No one will be here to to represent you in any way or to even represent what is happening to people. I mean, it reminds me the first scene in roots, where they’re just picking up slaves on the throwing them on a boat. And, you know, like, literally, what are we
Robbie Leonard 12:41
doing? What is this? But your point?
Nestor Aparicio 12:44
I thought we had laws here, Robbie. I mean, you know, as a lawyer, right? That’s what I would say. I thought we had laws here,
Robbie Leonard 12:49
dude. But your point about masked people just jumping out of a truck and grabbing you and they don’t have warrants and they’re not showing you badges or anything like that. Look, there was a time we went out in the 90s, when you would hear all the time about these second amendment folks, these anti government folks, you know, holed up in the house and having shootouts with the FBI. You know, there might be a time, right, right? You got Waco, you got Ruby Ridge. I mean, just a couple years ago, I think, up in Montana, where they’re fighting over land. You know, when are you going to see some private citizens using their Second Amendment rights? I don’t know. You know, if are they? Are they jumping out in open carry states, grabbing people off the street? I don’t know if they are. Because are you in your right as an American, you know, let’s not talk about Democrat and Republican. As an American who has a second amendment right, a right to self defense, and if somebody wants to just jack you up off the street with masks, and they’re not telling you why or anything, I don’t know. It’s not something that I’m advocating. I don’t even own a gun. I’m not into guns. But where are the Second Amendment folks right now. Where’s the NRA? About all this stuff? They were always against government overreach, so I don’t know where they are today.
Nestor Aparicio 14:09
Robbie Leonard’s here. He I know we are. We are in Essex right now, having, man, I had a cheese steak, dude, and it was divine. And I’m doing this 27 my tastiness thing, and the pizza here is fantastic. But pizza is subjective. You know, Ray got bacon and pepperoni, or, excuse me, bacon and pineapple and ham on his I would have told him, get the pepperoni here, because you’re at Pizza John’s, and the pepperoni is kind of great
Robbie Leonard 14:34
here. Now you add, you add jalapeno to that pizza, and that’s the best Sure thing. That would be it. You need it to be spicy. I need, I need jalapenos, pineapples, ham, bacon. That’s good,
Nestor Aparicio 14:46
right? You’re happy with that Ray. Ray’s good with that race. Take a slice. He wants her. Ray Bachman is just like walked in. Wendy Brown, fine from curio wellness, one of our great sponsors, coming by. You know, a lot of people on I. Would say your side of town, because you’re from Cockeysville, I’d say anything west of York Road would be the other side of town. If I’m delineating, I’m not taking 83 or just York Road, anything west of York roads the other side of town. They don’t know about some of the wonders over here on East Side. I mean, people like over in Catonsville tell me about this sorrentos place having a cheese steak I had. JB, Jennings here gave me place way north tambourinos. I don’t know about tambourine. Apparently, it’s out, you know, out in Harford County, so. But pizza John’s is an institution. But being a sort of Towson guy, has this been on your rotation? You’ve had pizza here before?
Robbie Leonard 15:39
It’s been years. I think I’ve got an eight year old and a six year old. I don’t think my six year old was alive when I took my eight year old here, when he must have been like, two or one, okay, last time I was here, the last time for being our guest. Tonight, we’re gonna send you home with a pizza. I will take it. My family would love it behind door number one, our last pizza was Domino’s. Don’t tell no, we’re
Nestor Aparicio 16:00
gonna upgrade your pizza dog, no, but
Robbie Leonard 16:02
cheese steaks in Towson, you go to the real thing. That’s the point. Yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 16:05
I went there. When the first guy opened it, I want to say his name was Larry. It was back in the in the house, you know, behind where, like, the crease, or not, the crease, where poor Dick’s was. It’s now probably the movie theater like it was, it was, there was that house back there that you pulled up. It was like a it had a porch, and he made the cheesesteaks behind. That was the original, real thing, black and white signs all that. Now, I know it’s down on York Road. Yeah, I’ve seen you post about their chest.
Robbie Leonard 16:37
You should go there cash only, so be ready. They have an ATM in there, but, you know, you got to bring cash.
Nestor Aparicio 16:42
It’s like South Philly’s all cash. Still,
Robbie Leonard 16:45
that’s good. It’s good. Now, the last time I was Essex was a few weeks ago. I took my kids out. My wife was out of town. I said, I want to go somewhere on the water. Nice, Carsons, Creekside. Okay, right down. Oh, right by the Mary Martin Marietta. It was great. My kids loved it. There was a band they were playing, like Steely Dan covers and all stuff like that. So anytime I can get out on the water, listen some music, get some steamed shrimp, that’s what I’m talking about. All right, well, bring me over here. More. Are you
Nestor Aparicio 17:13
done running for all I mean, I I’m not even kidding you about running, but like, I mean, you have run serious campaigns in a serious way, and come up really just this short, I would think that you’re still compelled to, maybe want to run, but maybe not with kids now and like, where you are.
Robbie Leonard 17:31
Yeah, I’m retired, especially with kids now, because I like to be home with my family. I coach baseball, I coach wrestling, I coach soccer. You know, whatever my kids are playing. I’m the coach. Yesterday we did like, a back to school night thing, and to be able to see, like, all of the elementary school kids run around and be like, Coach,
Nestor Aparicio 17:50
you know, like, and you only get this purity your life, yeah, that when your kids are this age, yeah, that’s great. And,
Robbie Leonard 17:55
you know, Dutch Ruppersberger used to talk to me about that all the time too. Is like, that’s how he started his political career, just like in the rec Council, just coaching and doing all that, you get to know everybody that is true, like you really get to be part of the community.
Nestor Aparicio 18:07
My dad was a rec Council leader, so, yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, you
Robbie Leonard 18:12
know the parents all know me, yeah. And I’m just coach to the kids. You really can’t beat that
Nestor Aparicio 18:18
dude. To this day, my dad’s birthday, march 5. My dad’s been dead 30 year. 32 years. When I put up my dad, everybody who ever played, literally, Mr. Mac. You know what I mean? Like, you know you, you, you keep that. That goes with you everywhere you go when be no ransom sees me. I coached him when he was a little boy, Maryland assistant coach. To this day, I’m still like, his coach, and it’s weird to me, You know what? I mean, he’s bigger than me, feels older than me feels, you know, but like you’re always be coached to these kids. Yeah, that’s important. Yeah.
Robbie Leonard 18:48
This past summer, one of my eighth graders from my wrestling team, he put me down as a reference so you can get a job at a snowball stand for this summer. Like, that was the coolest thing. You know, when he called me like, can I put you down as a reference so I can get a job at Snow aces said, Are you gonna give me some snow, right? Can I get some extra
Nestor Aparicio 19:09
marshmallow? I’m not a marshmallow guy, but, you know, I know, yeah,
Robbie Leonard 19:14
so, so that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m retired, but, um, you know, I’m still all over social media and and shouting out into the void. Well, more
Nestor Aparicio 19:22
important than that, you are DNC member. So I was trying to explain to Ray, who’s probably on the other side of political fence at this point, race agnostic. Ray, don’t believe anything anybody has to say except Van Halen, and then he buys that or poison maybe. But tell everybody about this Democratic National Committee, because I try to explain to Ray like, hey, you know when there’s that, when the when the Democratic National Convention, where is the next one? Do we know? We
Robbie Leonard 19:46
don’t know yet. We’re not gonna know for a while. It’s not done, okay, all right. Oh no, the convention, because that’s 28 so we’re 2025 right now. So 2028
Nestor Aparicio 19:54
is it just feels like Trump’s running the country three years, not three months. Oh, my God, no. I just
Robbie Leonard 19:59
saw like. 80 Vance yesterday, giving a speech, and it looked like he was giving a campaign speech, you know, because we know, we know that he’s the next Republican candidate. And it just felt like we’re already in the 2028, election cycle. And, you know, with the eyeliner, and I think everybody is looking at Gavin Newsom Right now, like he’s kind of dominated the conversation on the Democratic side. It does feel like we’re, he’s owning social media right now. He’s doing a great job, you know. Like, look, we a few months ago, the Democrats were all talking about, like, we need to be on podcasts, right? Like, Baltimore positive, sure. We need to be more Carter, hey, Wes, come on. Yeah, come with me. Next time, come sit with me. We’ll get a cheesesteaks and pizza. Yeah, because we got to get out here and talk to the people, and that’s who listens, you know, the bottomlesses, the Baltimore positive but Gavin Newsom early on, right after the election, he was going on conservative leaning podcasts, but now he’s just totally taking over the conversation. And he’s decided, you know, I’m going on social media, and I’m gonna talk like Donald Trump, you know, and he’s putting out statements like all caps, calling people names and all that. And, you know, God, can you imagine if, if Barack Obama did this kind of stuff back, then no one could talk like that. But then Donald Trump comes along, doesn’t give a shit, and and we allow him to do it, but when a Democrat talks like that, we say You can’t talk like that’s not presidential. And Gavin Newsom like, you know what I’m going to do, exactly what Donald Trump does. And if you think I’m crazy, look at him like it’s he’s making it.
Nestor Aparicio 21:38
It’s satire. He’s anytime
Robbie Leonard 21:40
someone from Fox News or somebody criticizes the way Gavin Newsom is on social media right now, he just comments like the joke, right? Like you’re you’re not getting it. You’re almost there. By calling me out, you’re almost there. Now, look at that guy, you know. So I love what he’s doing. I don’t think we’re gonna win an election based on bravado and tweets. I think, you know, we’re gonna have to have some policy at some point. And everybody’s wondering, what does the Democratic Party stand for right now? What are they going to be the issue?
Nestor Aparicio 22:14
Essentially, the Republicans had no policy, though, no, that’s that’s that
Robbie Leonard 22:18
they literally had nothing in the last convention, Donald Trump’s like, we’re just, we’ll just reuse the last one from 2016
Nestor Aparicio 22:26
or I was gonna run for mayor, my wife’s like, well, you know you have to have, like, a complete, you know you’re gonna have, right, 40 pages worth of documents to have your whole entire all your campaign issues. And I said, Jack Young’s running the city right now, like he doesn’t have one. Donald Trump’s running the country. There was no, well, there was, was project 2026, right? So I mean everything he said he was going to run on. They’ve done all the awful things they said they were going to do, in regard to Medicaid, in regard to social security, in regard to elections, and I mean, they’ve taken over one we’re 20 minutes into the conversation. We’ve taken on all of that, but the Democrats are still thinking like, well, we need to have issues, we need to have things, we need to have a platform. And I don’t know, I’m not even half kidding with you,
Robbie Leonard 23:21
right? No, I actually I think vibes are very important. You know, I think you can run an election on vibes, and that’s what Donald Trump does. You know, he’s got some issues. He yells about immigrants and brown people and the wall, and he gets the racists all excited. But it’s vibes, right? And I think we talk about the young males being lost and maybe going over towards Trump. And, you know, that’s where I think Gavin Newsom is, is looking strong in, you know, reaching out to males. The Michigan Senator Slotkin. Senator Slotkin, she would talk about like we need to be alpha, right? And I think Democrats are seen as beta, right? We’re wimpy, we’re sissies. We got to have some alpha. We got to have some muscle. And that’s what Gavin Newsom is doing good is just going right into the fight. He’s not bringing a pencil to a knife fight. He’s bringing a knife to a knife fight. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 24:20
Pete Buttigieg has done as good a job as anybody on social media, like the Democrats, needing a candidate for guys like you who are part of Democratic National Committee, who are going to you’re you’re a member, right? So you are going to go and hold one of those signs in 2028 to try to get somebody not named Trump or Vance elected, and you want to have some conviction about that. Yeah, this is the time where, hey, last time I was with you, you were like, hey, you know, Martin O’Malley wants to be, you know, the head of the and there’s a dozen other people, and you were a big, big part of that. You. Yeah, that stuff that people don’t know that goes on, quite
Robbie Leonard 25:02
frankly. So now Ken Martin won that election. I supported him. I cast my vote for Ken Martin. He’s from Minnesota. That’s why we’re going up to Minnesota. Is the DNC head, correct? That’s right, he’s the chair of the DNC, and he’s out there. He’s doing a good job. You know, he’s not going to be as known as a Bernie Sanders or, you know, Chuck Schumer. He’s, you know, when people are wondering who’s the leader of the Democratic Party, you know, people aren’t really looking at the chair of the National Party. Is like leading the conversation, like, right now we’re gonna, I keep mentioning Gavin Newsom, but from a strategy standpoint, yeah, it’s important what he’s doing. He’s doing a great job. He’s really been increasing our grassroots fundraising numbers, so our small dollar donations are up big time.
Nestor Aparicio 25:46
Text me and always want money, yeah, probably in
Robbie Leonard 25:49
sending you emails and doing all that stuff. But here, look, here’s the alter giving you no money. Here’s the alternative. Here’s the alternative. We go straight to the billionaires. We go straight to Elon Musk and say, Elon, we’re sorry, right? You you chose Donald Trump last time. We’re sorry. What can we do to get you back? What can we do so that you donate billions of dollars to us? So I’m not going to text grandma anymore for money. I’m not going to text your neighbor anymore for money because I don’t care about them. I just want to go straight to Mark Zuckerberg. I want to go straight to Jeff Bezos, because it’s it’s a whole lot easier doing it that way. It truly is right. If you want to raise money, get a whale running for office, you get a whale like when I ran for office before. You know how long it takes to raise $100,000 in $15 donation?
Nestor Aparicio 26:40
From montgomery county, who’s a can executive, and I would encourage anybody to go listen, because he’s much more of a socialist kind of different kind of cat. Really refused to take any money and ran a small money campaign and continues to win in montgomery county because of the diversity that and the level of education that exists there in regard to people there. Think, vote, read, pay attention, yeah, politically active, not I vote rd, or I vote black or white, or I vote, what you said? Mojo, whatever. Yeah. Vibes, vibes, yeah. Vibes, like, Hey, I like that guy. What do you like about him? I don’t know. I just like I had vibes on Wes Moore, and three years later, I can’t get them on my show. So, yeah, that changes my vibes.
Robbie Leonard 27:25
Rub your vibes the wrong way. Rub my vibes the wrong way. Yeah, but, but people do treat it
Nestor Aparicio 27:29
like a chump. Nobody, you know, you treat me like a chump. That don’t make me chump. Yeah? I mean, I like Wes, I like West. I like West too. I voted for Wes. I’m a West guy. Look, we
Robbie Leonard 27:40
Okay. Let’s, let’s say one thing that’s great about Wes okay. Because I don’t want you to be too upset that he hasn’t been on your show yet. He’s working hard. You know, Donald Trump’s taken over Washington DC with the with the police force, because he says crimes out of control. We’ve never had crime drop in Baltimore City like we’ve had over the last two, three years. It’s like shocking how much crime has dropped. Is there still crime? Yes. Are there still carjackings and robberies and all that? Yeah. Why do you think
Nestor Aparicio 28:11
that is? Why do I think they were not? Why do you think crime is down as an attorney, as someone that’s been in courtrooms, been in courthouses, seen it all, heard it all rubbed elbows with attorneys, legal, legal system you’ve been involved with forever.
Robbie Leonard 28:25
Yeah. Hey, listen. Today, the Daily Record announced their reader ranking winners of all their categories, Leonard and mclegget Law Group, my firm won, winner of the best criminal defense firm in the Baltimore area. So, yes, we defend crime. So when crimes down, my business is down. But that’s a good thing. I want that to happen. I’ll find something else to do. Why is crime down? Number one, it’s down nationally. So why is it down nationally? I don’t know. Why is it down in Baltimore. I think Brandon Scott’s been doing a great job in finding resources for these kids, doing really great diversion programs. You know, we got a great police chief down there now too. They’re all working together. But, you know, at the end of the day, I think we need to provide assistance and resources for families, for kids, but that’s what we got to be doing. But just imagine that we go, we went from like 330 murders a year, we’re going to be down less than 200 this year, right? That would never have happened. And what I said to somebody the other day who said, you have a crime still a problem, and Democrats can’t just say crimes down if Donald Trump took over the Baltimore police force three years ago and then showed up today and said, We dropped murders from 330 year to 100 something a year, he’d stand up and say, give me a Nobel Peace Prize for the work I did. Well, that’s what we’ve done here, right? We did that here in Baltimore already. The work’s not over. It’s still happening. Wes Moore has done a great job giving resources to our government employees, like parole. Probation when Larry Hogan was gutting government employees, we had so many vacancies in our government. So, you know, Westmore is funding those areas and making sure that we do have oversight and we’re monitoring safety. So we’ve done a really good job there.
Nestor Aparicio 30:18
Well, crone about the crime numbers of the city’s great. I mean, I think even better is when I as a citizen who left the city to go to the county, I drove took a friend of mine out to dinner, who works at the hospital at Johns Hopkins, and I drove through the city. I’ve driven north and south through the city four different routes, not 83 okay, so York Road, Howard I took last night. I went through Hopkins, 23rd street from Clavel over to lock Raven. I took lock Raven north. I’ve taken pairing south to north and then north over to Broadway in and just driving around. And the observation I made, these are nice spring spring days. Wind is down. I made this observation my friend at the hospital. I, you know, my wife was at, spent 155 nights at that hospital fighting for life. So driving in and out of there kind of gives me the not the vibes, the opposite of the vibes creeps. So when I drove through, my eyes were wide open about what had changed and what, because I had been down in a while. I mean, I haven’t called my wife to the hospital probably three, four years. So driving around, and my observation was, you know, the city’s getting better. And if Brandon Scott, we’re sitting here right now. And I I had Zeke Cohen on last week before I had that observation. This is over the last couple of days, I’ve been driving in and out in different ways. I feel like the city’s cleaner, like there’s been certainly the congestion at the bottom of President Street and squeegee. Like I drove through there today that just this morning I was in federal this morning. I just, I do feel like it’s getting better, visually, physically, trash, cleanliness, people, the lean, you know, all of these bad, stereotypical things. I feel like it’s getting better. And that’s my eyes, yes, my eyes, yeah, it is,
Robbie Leonard 32:21
you know, and we can’t hide the fact that there’s still so much room for improvement. Of course, you know, I
Nestor Aparicio 32:26
but these are the same streets I’ve gone by before. I was like it was dirty the last time. It’s clean now, yeah, it was boarded up. Now, now it looks like it’s something. Yeah, it, you know what I mean, I feel like I not when I drive by the mechanical and I went through that Z Cohen last week or harbor place or whatever. But I do sense, in a general sense, this thought of Donald Trump and Wes Moore saying, come to town, Don I’ll ride you around or whatever. I do feel like I could put a stranger in my car and drive them around Baltimore and show them without being too intentional, without being like, can’t turn here, can’t turn there, wouldn’t turn here. Just drive around and say, We got warts, we got problems, but the bones are clearly here. And I feel like we are in the middle of the beginning of some kind of Renaissance. I believe that. But
Robbie Leonard 33:18
you know, what else you have to do, though, is when you’re driving through. And so, you know, I used to be a public defender in Baltimore City for a long time. And so you’ve seen it all. I’ve seen it all. And then when I represented kids who were lead poisoned in civil cases for the next, like, seven years after I left the public defender’s office, I used to drive to the houses where the lead poisoning happened, and I would take my just makes you so liberal. Maybe it just Well, yeah, and that’s where I’m getting public. This is where I’m going with this is that I would take my legal assistance with me. You know, a kid, maybe right out of college, who grew up in Towson and only went to Oreo games and went down 83 and never veered off, right? I say, drive around this neighborhood. Now, look at this house here. Here’s a whole block of row houses. One of them is still up. The rest of them have trees growing through the roofs. You know? They’re vacant. I said, See that one house there, that someone lives there? Where does that kid go to school? Where’s his summer job gonna be? You know, what’s he what Park does he go play Little League baseball at? Where is his bus stop to go to school, where’s everything that you thought of as normal? Yeah, right, right. Like, right, right, right. Where’s the restaurant that his family would go to when he gets good grades versus pizza? John, yeah, so, you know. And you go nowhere, and you say, Well, how’s that kid gonna make it, you know? And so, what do you expect, right? And so that’s, that’s my mindset, if, like, That kid’s struggling. Now, what if His family says, let’s move to Baltimore County to give him a better life. Let’s go to Baltimore County School for that kid? Well, wherever he lands, some jerks going to say, Oh, he just came from this city. I don’t want he’s he made my neighborhood worse by coming here. But that family. Did everything they can to come out, to give their child a future, right? And so that’s just how I look at people. That’s, that’s how I view people of this is somebody who just needs a life, right? That’s where, the way I think about kids in Gaza, right? Now, you know, whatever you think about, like War in Middle East, I always think there are children there who’ve got nothing to do with this, right? They don’t make any decisions, but they’re just trying to live a life, right? So that that’s why I’m liberal, that’s why I’m progressive, that’s why I’m whatever. Because I’m always trying to think of, like, this is a kid, so going back to I’m just coaching right now, yeah, like I’m doing the best thing in the world right now, because I’m giving an outlet for some kids. I’m giving a resource to some kids. I’m giving, you, know, a couple hours a week so kids can have some fun.
Nestor Aparicio 35:46
So, yeah, teaching of teamwork, organization. What are you teaching? Oh,
Robbie Leonard 35:51
man, when you got like, six year olds trying to hit a baseball, yeah? So the next make sure they run to the right, not to the left. My kids, like, the only one who still runs to third base. You’d think like he, his dad wasn’t the coach. But no, we, we’re always good. So we’re starting left handed dyslexia. I don’t know. He just likes Pokemon, you know, all right, that’s, that’s where the kids are nowadays, Pokemon. But now I’m we’re starting soccer season on Monday. Imagine a
Nestor Aparicio 36:19
Pokemon would be more popular than last place baseball.
Robbie Leonard 36:23
You should see the Pokemon fights in my house between those two brothers. Where’s my one Pokemon card? You stole it? I’m like, we got 10,000 Pokemon cards all over the house, and you know that you’re missing one. It’s somewhere in
Nestor Aparicio 36:36
here. How does it work? Being a lawyer trying to negotiate with two kids, you can’t. You’re professionally trained for this
Robbie Leonard 36:44
look. You put one in isolation. That’s what you do. You separate them. You say, go upstairs and watch The Simpsons.
Nestor Aparicio 36:50
That’s how you get the truth. Separate them between both sides of the story. Well, we
Robbie Leonard 36:54
always know which one. We know which one’s telling the truth. Wendy
Nestor Aparicio 36:57
bronfines coming in a couple minutes from curio wellness, and I was their guest at the BMW, and they had a beautiful, you know, chalet over the 18th hole, like all that, and the drinks and the food, like all that, great people around. We had a good time. But at the end of the day, she brought her kids, her father, you know, is a member out there, the red jacket, the whole deal, and the kids were up the hill at dad’s house and came down like later in the day, and Wendy’s husband, John brought him, and she’s got, like, five and two. And I just watched 20 minutes of this, and I just was, I said, I feel like I saw a completely different side of all that you have to deal with when I don’t get a text
Robbie Leonard 37:39
return. Well, hey, that’s true. And and my hundreds of clients have my cell phone and texting me all night long and all weekend. So, but tell Wendy that you know she helps me get through the day. Because we we stopped by curio sometimes ourselves. And
Nestor Aparicio 37:59
Robbie Leonard is here. He is a good attorney here in the Towser. So, criminal defense. Why would, why would I call you?
Robbie Leonard 38:05
Yeah, we do criminal defense. We do personal injury cases, you know, everywhere from a fender bender too. We have a big case that was getting publicity in Harford County where a kids riding a motorcycle and a guy does a U turn, you know, doesn’t even look and and the kids just rides his motorcycle right into this illegal U turn. And he’s had many brain surgeries, and he’s been in the hospital. I mean, you know, his his medical bills will be way beyond any insurance policy there is. So we do that kind of stuff, adult guardianships, some business litigation. We really do everything. We’re a general practice trial attorneys. So, you know, a lot of attorneys send us cases when they say, I don’t know, who the hell does that kind of case call Robbie Leonard. All right, man,
Nestor Aparicio 38:49
I did that once with you. Robbie Leonard is here. He is run for office, but he is a recovering elected hopeful. Is that
Robbie Leonard 39:01
good? Yeah, sure. You know, I’m still in there. I’m still, you know, trying to make change every time you want to get away. And you’re like, hopeless. No, it’s like the mafia, they pull you back, yeah, you’re pulled back. But you’re like, I can’t give up, you know, I gotta still try.
Nestor Aparicio 39:15
I keep trying to get this radio thing right, and that’s why I’m down here pizza Johns and Essex. 27 years, our 27th anniversary, and I finally bought Ray Bachman a pizza here at Pizza John’s, my special guest, all brought to you by the Maryland lottery for being our guest. Today, you’re gonna get a pressure luck. That pressure luck. And I got lucky seven stubblers. And part of the problem here is that the Raven scratch offs are out now, and I’m going to be getting these in. I’ll be at Costas and Timonium on Monday, slash and Fells Point Tuesday, Wednesday at Coco’s in Laravel. And then we’re on to Buffalo. It’s football season. Yeah, man, you know, I didn’t even talk any Orioles with you, and you’re like an original free the birds guy originally,
Robbie Leonard 39:55
hey, I’m excited. And I will say you broke the news Baltimore positive. I got a text message this one. Morning that I Okay, yeah, I want to say it right besides, oh, we got a good deal, eight years for $67 million for that contract. I think that’s going to turn out a very good deal for us.
Nestor Aparicio 40:13
They got you on tape now, by the way, okay, well, bring
Robbie Leonard 40:18
me back in a few years and look, I’m not impressed with Adley right now. Well, you know, two years. Hey, I hope we’re happy with him. I think that we need to pay gun or whatever he wants. Get that done. I
Nestor Aparicio 40:33
looked at a failures yesterday. He’s trading off Adley rutschman In the offseason. We’re all down on cows. Are Now we’re not.
Robbie Leonard 40:38
I’m down on cows, or you’re down get rid of them. No, here’s who I’m got. The knife gunner is my only one who I say, you know, he’s going to be on the padres, you know, or the Dodgers or Yankees, if we want to be a serious contender, and say, you know, we love Baltimore. We want the Orioles to be in Baltimore forever. Rubenstein, you’ve got $10 billion it’s coming at you. Give gunner some money. What’s the point of having all that money if all you’re gonna do is make bobble heads of yourself? We don’t want your bobble head. We don’t want your baseball hat sign. Gunner Henderson, okay, next year, we’ll take a look at Holiday. We’ll take a look at westburg. But right now,
Nestor Aparicio 41:18
thank you. You’re the one. Yeah, she’s the one. I got one. I found her. I found her pizza, John’s Pete. People give me so much love in the real world, you know, good, no. I mean, it happens every day. Yeah, I’ve only hated on the internet. I’m only the black hat on the internet, you know.
Robbie Leonard 41:36
Forget about them, you know. Oh, I know about that.
Nestor Aparicio 41:41
I’m just saying. People are really kind to me when I’m out, so they make me blush. All right, Robbie Leonard, I’m gonna let him go. What are you getting? You get the pizza. I’m
Robbie Leonard 41:49
gonna get a piece. Look. I had a salad for lunch. I got to watch myself. But now that I’m here, you know, no, I gotta get pizza now and then I’m gonna feel bad about the rest of
Nestor Aparicio 41:58
the day. I do pepperoni. What do they do? Are they more?
Robbie Leonard 42:02
They’re cheese. You know, my older son, he’s so crazy. We’ll get a pizza, put a slice in front of him, and then he’ll just take all the cheese off and throw it on the plane. He won’t eat. Alan McCallum right there takes all the cheese. That’s why I’m gaining all this weight, because and then I walk over and then grab his cheese and I put it on my slice. Robbie
Nestor Aparicio 42:20
comes in here and I got a cheesesteak as big as my head. I got french fries. I got craving. I ate it all. And he’s like, dude, how do you stay skinny? And I’m like, man, it’s that hot yoga mat. It’s my friends at Planet Fitness. It’s my wife walking it off me, making sure that I’m right. I hydrate, drink a lot of water, yeah, but I’m down
Robbie Leonard 42:38
with that Cheesesteak. I’m gonna have to do some hot yoga.
Nestor Aparicio 42:41
All right. Well, Wendy’s here now. All right. He wants to meet the curio lady. I am Nestor. We are wnst. We are back for more. We will meet the curio lady, the foreign daughter. Lady, the mother, the banana. Mom, bananas. Her kids are the bananas. I went up talking banana ball with five year old, you get bananas. Your kids get the bananas.
Robbie Leonard 43:04
They don’t like bananas, but we went to banana bowl. We did go to the savannah bananas. It was like the best experience ever. Like, I’m not look Wendy now I’m eating into your time now, Nestor, you were posting on social media, like, I don’t get it. Someone explained banana ball. It’s it was like the greatest experience when you’re at that game and they just have, like, music blasting the entire game, you’re like, I don’t think I can go to an Oriole game without music. Like, when I come back, I’m gonna be sitting here, like, did you go to first night or second night? The second night? So you didn’t do Adam Jones. You had Matt leaders. We had Matt weiners and Nick Marquez. And I love Nick Marquez, but my kids love it. We even got a foul ball. Like, I don’t think I’ve ever got a foul ball in my entire life. We’re up in, like, upper deck. And I said to my brother, you think we can catch a foul ball from here? Because the rules are, if you catch the foul ball in the air, it’s an out. The batter is out. If a fan catches a foul ball. And he’s like, Nah, he gets up and leaves. I get a foul ball. I didn’t catch it, but it bounced off the wall, and I picked it up, and I got a great picture of my kid with a yellow ball. It was the best. Through Friday night,
Nestor Aparicio 44:13
my wife says, what we doing, you know? And I’m like, well, the bananas are on, so I put it on. And curio may have been involved in this as well as, you know? And I sitting there, I’m five minutes into this, and she came in in the middle, like, I’m five minutes in, she’s like, well, and I’m like, It’s goofy. It’s, it’s, it’s like, HR, Puffin, stuff, crazy. You know what I mean? Like, it doesn’t even make any sense. It’s nothing.
Robbie Leonard 44:39
They got a guy on stilts, pinch hitting, you know, this was about 10
Nestor Aparicio 44:43
minutes before Adam Jones came to bat. So my wife came, jumped in the we have a love sack, a big bean bag, and we sat there, and we actually had a couple drinks too. And when the the announcers play, it’s so straight, it’s kind of like old Vince McMahon wrestling, you know, like George the animal steals, like a real thing, you know, like. Yeah, and they, when they call you, said, Well, that’s two outs for the Nanners. And I’m like, I pissed myself. I think I won me over at that moment. I We just both looked at each other like manners, and we’re like, This is absurd. Somewhere out there, there’s a five year old boy and a six year old, an eight year old and a bunch of other people that think this is just great. You
Robbie Leonard 45:23
know, much money they’re making. I mean, that merch line, I bought myself a jersey. One of my kids got a jersey, the other kid got a hat. I mean, it’s insane.
Nestor Aparicio 45:32
I was in Coopers the next day that you went Saturday at lunch in there, watching the real Orioles on TV. And I’m in there, and all these older women came in and all this, man it up stuff. They had the jerseys, and they were getting there, they were pre gaming, like, four o’clock at Cooper’s north, take the light rail down for the Nana’s. Mm,
Robbie Leonard 45:50
hmm, I don’t Well, and they’re all dreamy. They’re dreaming. I mean, they got their shirts all on, done their chest, yes, they dance, if they do, like music videos, you know, like, my wife had no idea that
Nestor Aparicio 46:03
I thought it had, like, what was the Chippendales? Yeah? Little Chippendales, yeah, there is a little bit of that. Wendy’s, like, all right, we’ll take a break. We’re out of your pizza John’s in Essex. I’ve already had a cheesesteak as big as my head. I’ve had the crinkle fries. I’m watching. You’re gonna eat the whole pizza. The hell’s wrong with you. I prayed for you last year, when you ate cancer, that you would eat one slice of pizza. So eat the whole thing. Man, you feeling better. Clearly, you’re feeling better. You might not be feeling better. You just ate a whole pizza. Pizza John’s. We got customers everywhere here. He’s already plugged you. He said that you might get him through his day.
Robbie Leonard 46:44
Well, not through my day, through my night. Okay, all right,
Nestor Aparicio 46:49
we’re back for more. We’re here. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. It’s 27 years I had I had the Captain Crunch french toast this morning at Blue Moon. Good choice. That’s top 27 right?
Robbie Leonard 47:01
It’s been a long time since I been over there. Yeah, that’s pretty good.
Nestor Aparicio 47:05
I’m eating my face off back for more. Stay with us if I make it to September four.
