Readying herself for the 2018 midterm elections, District 25 Congressional Candidate Jess Phoenix sat down with Afternoon Drive host Kyle Jellings and station owner Carl Goldman to discuss her transition from volcanoes to politics, and the issues she’s addressing.

Phoenix, a geologist and horse rider, wound up just outside of Santa Clarita in Acton after living in several parts of the country, saying she “hated the cold.”

“I was born in New Jersey, lived in Virginia, went to high school in Colorado, and then college in Massachusetts,” said Phoenix. “I actually came out here to go to grad school at Cal State LA in 2007.”

“I fell in love with it,” Phoenix continued.

After meeting the man that would eventually be her husband, Phoenix moved to Simi Valley, but soon found herself in Acton to continue with her work in horse rescue.

Researching everything from volcanoes to climate change, Pheonix saw a need for more scientists in Congress, and stepped up to run for a seat as District 25’s representative.

“I’ve been running a nonprofit that does science research, and I communicate Science to the public,” said Phoenix. “It seemed liked it wasn’t enough.”

“What I see as the biggest threat coming down the pipeline for the next several decades is climate change,” she continued. “So I think I can address this. I actually have credible expertise and I’ve done climate change research.”

Along with ensuring more funding for scientific research, Phoenix hopes to increase funding for education, specifically to help schools around District 25.

“We’re really lucky here in Santa Clarita. We got some really great schools,” said Phoenix. “In other parts of our congressional district some of the schools need more help… If we don’t have a strong education, then we don’t have a strong country.”

For Santa Clarita, Phoenix believes that the affordability of housing is one of the primary issues impacting the community.

“The cost of living and affordability is a huge thing, and it’s going to become more of an issue as more people move here,” Phoenix said.

Phoenix is running against two other democratic candidates, Bryan Caforio and Katie Hill. Congressman Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) currently holds the house seat for District 25, and is running for reelection in 2018.

Although Phoenix explained that politics was not one of her life goals while studying Geology, she believes that issues such as climate change are her calling to step forward and run for Congress in 2018.

“I don’t want to be a career politician,” said Phoenix. “My calling is to do science and to discover more about the world around us, but I see problems, and I want to go in there, and solve them.”

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