How Rittereiser aims to unify both sides of the Cascades

Fran is disabled and lives on $38 worth of food stamps a month. She gets help from Medicaid. But because she owns her own home in Ellensburg, she receives no other benefits.

“This is a woman who would actually get more benefits if she were homeless,” Jason Rittereiser told KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross. “Clearly, we have a system that is not taking care of people. It’s not putting them first. When we have a massive tax bill that shifts wealth to the tune of $1.8 trillion to the wealthiest among us and it is not taking care of Fran, that’s a problem.”

Rittereiser is among a handful of Democrats aiming to take over Washington’s 8th Congressional District as Congress member Dave Reichert leaves office. He references Fran when explaining the issues he wants to address as a politician. After all, she’s from his hometown of Ellensburg where he was raised in a “law enforcement family.”

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“This is not a Seattle suburb district,” he said. “This is a district in the shadows of a Seattle that has a growth problem and most folks I know in this district have been left behind.”

Since his time in Ellensburg, he has spent time as a prosecutor, and worked for Congress member Rick Larsen during his 2006 re-election campaign.

“I think that income inequality is one of the greatest threats to our democracy,” he said. “And  I think one of the greatest challenges for the next generation is to rebuild the middle class, a thriving middle class that can last.”

Jason Rittereiser vs. the Washington divide

Rittereiser said he is aware that there is a political gap between Eastern and Western Washington. But that doesn’t matter. He argues that old party lines are fading.

“I think people know that this time around it’s much less about Democrat and Republican and a heck of a lot more about standing up for what’s right,” he said. “And fighting for people again. Since I’ve had the right to vote in this country, we’ve been at war. We’ve gone through the greatest recession in 100 years. Our climate is rapidly deteriorating. And pretty much the only thing that has happened is that corporations and really, really rich folks have gotten ahead and everybody else has been left behind.

“I don’t see this big divide that I think people think is out there,” he said. “I see people who want representation that is authentic, that knows where they are coming from. These people don’t expect government to solve all their problems. But we sure as heck better understand them. I see an opportunity to unify the district – both sides of the cascades.”

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