A different approach to politics.

Sen. Saldaña’s parents chose a vibrant, inviting Washington state to make a home for their family. Her father was a Mexican immigrant farm worker turned machinist. Her mother was a social worker who came from a long line of white Midwest farmers. They bought the family house in the Delridge neighborhood of Seattle two years before she was born. It had a giant Maple tree in the front yard and backed into a giant green strip in the back. She learned the value of conservation through being careful with our resources because the family didn’t have all that much. They learned to never take what they had for granted—that what they had in each other and for each other was precious.

They also lived on a super fund site. The kids played on Longfellow Creek before it was restored. Her dad worked in Georgetown—employed by the biggest polluter in the city. After decades of work, her dad was diagnosed with cancer and forced to retire early. Like so many in her community, Saldaña and her family felt the health impacts of pollution but, only as an adult, came to realize that those living along the Duwamish River and near airports suffer higher rates of asthma and shorter life spans.

Sen. Saldaña’s career is shaped by challenging the notion that politics has to be done a certain way. In college, she studied theology and feminist philosophy, organized farm workers in Oregon as a part of MEChA, and learned first-hand how multi-racial organizing is the only path towards fulfilling the promise of our democracy. Through labor organizing and later at Puget Sound Sage, they brought impacted people into policy making—a model that has since been popularized by progressives across the state.

As a state Senator, Saldaña successfully sponsored dozens of other bills that prioritize the well being of workers, families, and everyday Washingtonians. Some highlights include the HEAL Act, the first statewide law to address the disproportionate exposure Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color face, along with low-income communities, to environmental hazards, as well as the Washington Voting Rights Act, which removes barriers and expands access to our democracy for historically marginalized and underrepresented communities; and dozens of other bills that prioritize the well being of workers, families, and everyday Washingtonians.

The stakes are too high to not rethink how we manage public lands. Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is the only popular, progressive elected official in this race with a proven record of bringing people together. She’s a proven leader who has delivered for workers and working families across the state and changed the way politics gets done. She’ll bring that same people-first stewardship, shared responsibility, and innovative resilience to the role of Commissioner of Public Lands.