WHY I’m RUnning

I’m running because science needs a stronger voice in Congress

This past summer, my apartment reached 93 degrees, and that’s with my AC on! Our state saw all-time high temperatures surpassing Tucson, AZ, Austin, TX, and all of Florida. Hundreds died. Roadways melted, cable cars shut down—it was a disaster. Each year, the skies are filled with wildfire smoke. The pandemic rages on, with its ever-increasing death toll, in part because a critical mass of folks have been convinced by anti-science conspiracy theorists that microchips are in the highly effective vaccines (they aren’t). Millions remain out of work, and our democracy teeters in the face of sustained sedition and erosion.

These are challenges that can’t be ignored. And unfortunately, we know that we can’t count on current members of Congress to address them. We know because they haven’t and they haven’t because many of them don’t understand these subjects. Congress is filled with lawyers and lobbyists; some of them are great, but very few can tell you how to integrate an iron battery into a wind farm. Or explain the changes in microchip processing that allowed Taiwan to leapfrog American semiconductor manufacturing. Or even read a basic statistical study on gun crime and know whether the results are statistically significant.

I’m a progressive. I believe that we must act to stop climate change, that the wealthy need to pay their fair share in taxes, that women have a right to choose what happens to their own bodies, that healthcare is a right, and that Black Lives Matter. I believe in the utility and importance of science to determine how best to implement policies that achieve progressive aims. I believe that the follow-through is just as important as the intention.

I’m running because science needs a stronger voice in Congress. There are too few scientists and too much misinformation in our government today. I’m proud of the work I’ve done in renewables research, microprocessing technologies, and decentralized finance—but if our government doesn’t understand the nature of that work, we’ll never get as much out of it as we could. That’s just not acceptable. With the right understanding of the tools, Congress is capable of making our nation greener, healthier, fairer, and more economically competitive. Join me, and let’s bring that understanding to government together.