Washington is a state thirsting for new sources of clean energy. Where will the electricity to charge electric cars, heat homes and power the future economy come from? To figure it out, Olympia needs savvy state lawmakers who understand the complexities of the electricity grid and can help craft public policy that unleashes the new infrastructure necessary to meet this daunting challenge.
State Rep. Chris Stearns fits that bill. Now running for his third House term in the 47th Legislative District, the former Auburn City Council member has worked to pass bills easing clean energy siting bottlenecks. His background includes a stint at the federal Energy Department, where President Bill Clinton appointed him to serve as its first-ever Indian Affairs director.
He’s earned another chance to represent his district, which includes parts of the cities of Auburn and Kent, and Covington.
Stearns speaks boldly of a new generation of nuclear power, at a time many of his fellow Democrats remain hesitant to do so. He sees the technology as safe and a necessity in an era when power planners are saying the four-state Northwest region including Washington requires 11 new gigawatts of electricity — roughly the energy needed to power 10 Seattle-sized cities — by 2032. He has shown a willingness to work across the aisle to advance the technology’s development in Washington state, including a small modular reactor site at Energy Northwest near Hanford.
“It’s an uphill battle,” he acknowledged to the editorial board.
Stearns, born in the Navajo Nation, is an attorney who’s practiced federal Indian law for decades. He sees tribes as key partners in developing new clean energy sites and believes the state has done a poor job in consulting them prior to planning, siting and construction. He’s working on a bill for the next legislative session aimed at giving tribes more regulatory pathways to construct their own clean energy projects.
“I think they’re willing partners,” Stearns said. “We just have to involve them from the very start.”
Stearns believes lawmakers should return to a focus on economic development. In his own district, he’s enthusiastic about space industry players including Boeing, Blue Origin and Stoke. He worries the state might lose them if the Legislature fails to provide streamlined permitting and environmental reviews that allow them to test new technologies.
Though he voted for the state’s novel income tax on millionaires this year, Stearns told the editorial board he doesn’t favor new forms of taxes, including a payroll tax.
For his work with tribes, focus on the electricity grid and a mindset toward growing the state’s emerging space industry, Stearns deserves another term in Olympia.
