Rebecca Saldaña

American politician

Rebecca Saldaña

Member of the Washington Senate from the 37th district
Incumbent
Assumed office December 12, 2016
Preceded by	Pramila Jayapal

Personal details
Born	Rebecca Jae Saldaña (1977-04-01) April 1, 1977 (age 47) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	2
Education	Seattle University (BA)
Signature
Website	Official

Rebecca Jae Saldaña^[1] (born April 1, 1977)^[2] is an American politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate from the 37th district, representing parts of Seattle and Renton, Washington. She was appointed by the King County Council to the office to replace Pramila Jayapal after she was elected to the United States House of Representatives.^[3]

Early life and education

Saldaña was born in Seattle and raised in the Delridge neighborhood. Saldaña earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology and humanities from Seattle University.^[4]

Career

After graduating from college, Saldaña began her career as an organizer with Oregon's farmworkers union, PCUN. She served as a Union Organizer with Service Employees International Union Local 6 in Seattle and as the community liaison for U.S. Representative Jim McDermott.^[5] At the time of her appointment, Saldaña was the executive director of Puget Sound Sage, a progressive advocacy group.^[3] Saldaña gave her first speech from the Senate floor on January 16, 2017, in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr.^[6]

Saldaña currently serves on the boards of Rainier Beach Action Coalition, Alliance of Clean Jobs and Energy, The Fair Work Center, and the Washington Environmental Council. She is a former board member of the Latino Community Fund of Washington.^[5]

As of April 2021, Saldaña is the vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. In April 2021, Saldaña answered a question and was seen on video in a transportation hearing while driving her vehicle. She later apologized.^[7]^[8]

References

^ "Notice of Appointment" (PDF). City of Seattle. November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
^ "Legislative Manual 2021-2022" (PDF). Washington State Legislature.
^ ^a ^b Gutman, David (December 12, 2016). "Rebecca Saldaña to fill senate seat vacated by Pramila Jayapal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
^ sdcadmin. "Biography". Sen. Rebecca Saldana - Washington State Senate Democrats. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "People for Rebecca Saldana". People for Rebecca Saldana. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
^ "Senate Floor Debate January, 16 12PM". TVW. TVW. January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
^ Lindblom, Mike (April 6, 2021). "Seattle state senator apologizes for joining a Zoom hearing while driving". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
^ "Seattle senator appears to break multiple laws during live committee hearing". MyNorthwest.com. April 6, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.