Green Party candidate will challenge state Rep. Stan Lee in November

FRANKFORT — A member of the Green Party filed Monday to run against Republican state Rep. Stan Lee in Lexington's 45th House District race.

Geoff Young, a retired engineer who worked on energy policies for the state, joins fellow challenger Breck Withers, a businessman who filed in July as an independent, on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Lee defeated challenger Chris Tyler in the Republican primary in May. There is no Democratic candidate in the race.

Young worked for 13 years as an assistant director in what is now called the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence. He has a bachelors degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

Young, 56, later received a master's degree in agriculture economics from the University of Kentucky.

Young said he is seeking office because he thinks the two-party political system is broken. He plans to campaign on several energy issues, including ending the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining, promoting alternative energy forms and energy efficiency, and legalizing industrial hemp.

"I feel like a third party is needed in Frankfort," Young said. "We can and will propose ideas that the two other parties are not willing or able to discuss."

Lee has represented the southern Lexington district since 2001.

This story was originally published August 6, 2012 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Green Party candidate will challenge state Rep. Stan Lee in November."