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From City Hall to Clean Energy: Mike O’Brien’s Journey From Climate Legislator to Clean Energy Installer

by Alex Garland


It wasn’t an extremely hot day, but Mike O’Brien was sweating as he climbed up a ladder at a home in Georgetown, carrying hoses for heat pump installation. Trading bow ties and button-ups for faded flannel and Blundstones.

O’Brien is still the affable, friendly, and chatty guy from City Hall. At 55, and four years retired from politics, O’Brien’s youthful enthusiasm carries him through a job requiring more manual labor than his role on the Seattle City Council. “Yeah, it’s hard work. It’s exhausting, but good exhausting.”

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