If you’re lucky, the only time you’ve been looking up at bassist Joe Escalante on a raised platform is when you getting crushed in the pit at a Vandals show. If you’re unlucky, it’s been in small claims court when he declares you guilty for vandalism charges. Escalante currently serves as a temporary judge, presiding over small claims, traffic, unlawful detainment, limited civil, and limited criminal matters.
Escalante now seeks to be a permanent county-paid judge, and to do so must run in an upcoming June 5th election. For more information on the race/his campaign, check out the official Escalante For Judge Facebook Page.
While it certainly isn’t commonplace, it’s not absolutely unheard of for a punk musician to run for public office. Jello Biafra of The Dead Kennedys ran for mayor of San Francisco, Joey Keithley of Canadian punk band D.O.A. has run for office three times in his hometown of Burnaby, British Columbia, and many other punk and rock musicians have fought for public office as well.