(The following was originally published on the blog Cascadia Planet.)
The most vibrant young political movement to hit Seattle in years, the one that pushed the $15/hour minimum wage to the top of the agenda in Seattle and cities around the country, is making a bid in the local politics of global warming.
Jess Spear, a climate scientist active in the 2013 campaign that elected Kshama Sawant to Seattle City Council is a 2014 election candidate for Washington House Speaker Frank Chopp’s 43rd Legislative District seat. Like Sawant she is running on the Socialist Alternative ticket.
Now there’s a word that raises red flags. But maybe not so alarming in a city that just elected its first socialist city councilmember in a century. Personally I’m not so hung up on labels but instead judge candidates on the quality of their ideas. I sat down to talk with Jess lately, and took away three key ideas that ground her campaign.