‘The money’s gone’: Nirvana’s Novoselic says a WA lawmaker steered $500K to her own employer and Olympia shrugged

Krist Novoselic, the Nirvana co-founder who now chairs the Cascade Party of Washington, said his centrist third party is stepping into a role neither Democrats nor Republicans will fill in Olympia: the opposition.

Novoselic joined “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio to discuss the party’s original reporting on a high-profile legislative ethics case, its endorsements in five contested Washington Supreme Court races, and why he believes both major parties have abandoned the political middle.

“We need an effective opposition party in Washington State,” Novoselic said.

Novoselic says the Cascade Party covered the case because no one else would step up

A Washington state lawmaker wrote a bill that funneled $500,000 to a nonprofit that paid her $120,000 a year, intervened when that money was at risk, and tried to silence the whistleblower who reported it. The project the money was supposed to fund is now sitting in storage, and neither party in Olympia has moved to strip her of her leadership post.

The Legislative Ethics Board ruled Aug. 14 that Simmons committed three violations of the Ethics in Public Service Act, levying the maximum $5,000 penalty for each. A final order dated Aug. 28 added $37,458 in state legal costs, bringing the total to roughly $52,000. Simmons has said she plans to appeal.

Novoselic said the Cascade Party sent reporter Megan Blackburn Friend to both days of the June hearing and published its findings on the party’s blog, The Summit. He described the reporting as a test case for the party’s role as an independent check on Olympia.

“So she funds this, and the legislature passes it, the contracts were signed, the money goes out,” Novoselic said. “And then the Equity Justice group, time goes by, and they’re like, ‘We’re not getting any performance here from our subcontractor.’ And about seven months go by, and they’re getting ghosted.”

Novoselic said the nonprofit’s executive director told state officials the money could not be returned.

“The executive director of the Equity Education Group comes to the meeting and says, ‘Well, I sure hope you don’t expect us to pay the $500,000 back because there’s a problem. Problem is the money’s gone,'” Novoselic said.

KIRO host John Curley asked why either major party would let a case like this pass without a public response. Novoselic said the silence itself is the evidence.

“Perhaps we are seeing the emergence of Cascade Party as the opposition,” Novoselic said.

Simmons remains in House leadership and is seeking a fourth term

Despite the ruling, Simmons has not been removed from her leadership role and is running for reelection in the 23rd Legislative District. Democratic leadership, Gov. Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown, have not publicly commented on the ethics board’s findings.

Simmons said in a statement after the August ruling that the fine was “unfair and excessive,” adding: “People shouldn’t be excessively punished when they actually prevail.”

Novoselic said the lack of consequences is why Washington needs a third option, and the Democratic Party no longer represents the working-class values that once drew him in.

“I don’t recognize Democrats anymore. They’ve just gone so far left, this DSA stuff,” Novoselic said. “That’s not the Democratic Party that I grew up with. I came out of the working class.”

He said the Cascade Party is not a Republican offshoot, either.

“We’re not Republicans. We’re not like Republican lite,” Novoselic said.

Novoselic described the party as pro-choice and supportive of LGBTQ rights, with a belief in a social safety net — but said Washington Democrats have failed to deliver on the basics.

“I believe there should be a social safety net, and that people shouldn’t be hungry or suffering on the streets, and we should treat drug addiction, and we’re just not getting that from Washington State Democrats,” Novoselic said.

Novoselic calls modern politics ‘conformist’ on both sides

Novoselic compared today’s political landscape to the mainstream culture Nirvana once rebelled against, saying both major parties run on “conformist narratives” rather than substance.

“If you look at politics now, it’s just a bunch of conformity,” Novoselic said. “I go to the closet, I find this socialist shirt. I’m an upper-middle-class kid. I put on my socialist shirt. Like, I’m a socialist, okay? And then the other side is just like this MAGA crankery stuff, and those are really conformist narratives.”

He contrasted today’s legislators with the late U.S. Sen. Warren Magnuson, who co-authored the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act.

“Today is just like, make sure you like and subscribe and share,” Novoselic said. “That’s what the legislators are about.”

KIRO host John Curley asked whether the Cascade Party has the financial resources to compete against union-backed Democrats. Novoselic acknowledged the challenge but pointed to cracks in labor’s political alignment, noting the Teamsters offered no presidential endorsement in 2024.

“These are polarized times, and even labor’s polarized,” Novoselic said. “Those guys with the lunch buckets and the pickup trucks, they’re voting for Trump because they’re not buying the other narrative.”

Novoselic said the Cascade Party has endorsed Dave Larson and Sean O’Donnell in the contested Washington Supreme Court races. He also said the party is working with Marcia Kelbon, an independent candidate for the State House in the 24th Legislative District.

The Cascade Party gained official recognition from Washington in August 2024 and publishes original reporting and analysis here.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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