Jessie Israel, the 35-year-old marketing manager at the King County parks department,

Jessie Israel, the 35-year-old marketing manager at the King County parks department, threw her hat in the ring against contrarian city council member Nick Licata this morning. Israel is a relatively unknown quantity in city politics–her last news coverage was a mention in the Seattle Times about a community effort to renovate a ballpark in White Center. But she’s ready to join the force of elected officials.Licata has more than $29,000 in his coffers to defend his seat, compared with the $6,225 Israel’s raised so far for her run. Of course, if Licata decides to launch his own long-shot campaign against Nickels, Israel stands a much better chance.