Olympia – The state of Washington officially has a third political party, and one of its leaders is a rock and roll legend.
The Cascade Party describes itself as “a centrist political association…for people tired of the polarized fringes dominating our politics.” The Chair of the party is Krist Novoselic, founding member of the Seattle grunge band Nirvana. He joined KONP’s Todd Ortloff this week to talk about how he got into politics and why he’s backing Washington’s new party.
“Democrats and Republicans, they’ve changed as parties. Washington State Democrats are basically Democratic Socialists of America, if you look at their local committees. And Republican party is MAGA. You know, I was an active Democrat in the 2000s. I was Chair of the Wahkiakum County Democratic Central Committee. I was a PCO and SCO. And then about 2009 I left the Democratic party to be an independent. And it was like, because I wasn’t connecting with the messages and the policies that were coming out of the party. And I wasn’t really connecting with Republicans either. So I became an independent voter, and I picked the person and not the party. To see who was best candidate.”
Novoselic, originally from Aberdeen and now living in Wahkiakum County in southwest Washington, says you will be seeing Cascade Party candidates and issues on your ballot in the upcoming election. And he believes our election rules actually favor their chances.
“You know, the election rules are…we don’t have plurality elections in Washington. We have this top two system, where there’s a two-stage election. You vote in the first election in August, and then the top two vote-getters advance to the general election. So, we’re going to try to break into the top two. Right? So, there’s no vote splitting. So, the rules matter, and the rules favor us. And there is an attitude, a moment right now, where people are looking for something different, and I really feel like the Cascade Party has something to offer.”
To see if you agree, go to cascadeparty.org and take a look at where they stand on issues such as housing, public safety, the environment, healthcare, taxes and more. And watch for their announcements of candidates coming sometime in March.
If you’d like to listen to the full interview with Krist Novoselic, go to our website at myclallamcounty.com and click on the Todd Ortloff Show under Radio Rewind.