by Lauryn Bray

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Democratic State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, who represents South Seattle, announced her candidacy for the public lands commissioner Wednesday at a press conference at Seward Park. She followed the announcement with a mile-long walk-and-talk through the park.

The walk marked the beginning of a statewide tour that will take place over the next six weeks with Saldaña stopping in several cities including but not limited to Yakima, Spokane, Vancouver, and Forks.

“It’s important for me to join this race because I think that the people of Washington deserve a public lands commissioner that will come with a fresh approach of co-governance with our tribes and local communities, deep relationship building, and mutual accountability,” said Saldaña.

Saldaña, who has a background working with and in organizations that advocate for environmental justice, believes her experiences as a grassroots organizer and a state senator set her apart from other candidates.

“My years of coalition building and organizing make me unique in being able to not only have a good platform and policies, but [also to] be able to have the capacity to build a team of Washingtonians [who can bring forth] real change,” said Saldaña.

Before she was elected to represent District 37 (parts of Skyway, Rainier Beach, Columbia City, Beacon Hill, Central District) in the Washington State Senate, Saldaña was the executive director of Puget Sound Sage, a nonprofit organization that promotes racial and economic equity through data, research, and reports.

And even before that, Saldaña was a college student at Seattle University. “I did community organizing as a student at Seattle University, building multiracial coalitions to tackle everything from supporting Farmworker Housing Trust Fund and leading rallies down in Olympia to being able to actually support boycotts and organizing,” explained Saldaña. “All of that was always multiracial, multi-sector organizing.”

As a State senator, Saldaña has continuously championed legislation supporting workers’ rights and environmental justice. Saldaña sponsored SB 5614, a bill that, if passed, would have legalized the sale of alcohol in Washington strip clubs. The recent movement to legalize the sale of alcohol in strip clubs came about after grassroots organizers from Strippers Are Workers, and other activists working in the adult entertainment industry, began advocating for improvements to legislation impacting adult entertainers.

Saldaña also sponsored SB 5141, or the Healthy Environment for All Act (HEAL Act), which allowed seven government agencies to incorporate environmental justice into their strategic planning to prioritize the needs of vulnerable communities most affected by climate change.

As Saldaña prepares for the rest of her campaign, she says she is most excited about the diversity on her team and in the communities she visits.

“We are running a bilingual, bicultural campaign, and as we build our team, we will expand the languages that we’re able to speak and do organizing in,” explained Saldaña. “This campaign for me is about making sure when we talk about rural communities and when we talk about timber-dependent communities, that we’re actually talking about everyone in that community, and not just big timber — not just agribusiness.”

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📸 Featured Image: Sen. Rebecca Saldaña expresses her support for the passing of the Philippine Human Rights Act during a rally on July 31, 2021. (Photo: Ronnie Estoque)

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