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SHORELINE— State Sen. Jesse Salomon highlighted his legislative record on housing, climate policy, public safety, and social issues in a recent Lynnwood Times interview, emphasizing a pragmatic approach to lawmaking that he says prioritizes results over ideology.

Salomon pointed to his record on important issues throughout the race such as housing, environmental issues, gun violence, domestic violence, and more.

“Part of the reason of my success is that I’m progressive but I’m practical in my approach. So that means I build relationships within party lines across the Senate, I make sure to work together with Republicans, for example on a gun violence bill thar protects domestic violence survivors which gained seven Republican votes,” Salomon told the Lynnwood Times. “By being able to work with Republicans it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to change the bill, but it does avoid delays and allows you to get things done.”

Regarding housing, a key priority for Salomon, he was asked if he supported Government overriding local zoning authority to support housing density and, if so, where does he would draw the line.

Salomon, who previously served on Shoreline City Council for seven years, respects local governments and believes that it is “not always true that Olympia knows better.” However, he says he balances that respect by asking the question whether there’s a political crisis.

“It’s pretty clear there’s a housing cost crisis,” said Salomon. “And it’s pretty clear that a number of cities do respond with, well we don’t want to do it here. When those add up we have too many restrictions in zoning. So I have supported bills that override local governments. It’s not my preference but to solve this crisis I do consider those types of policies.”

When Salomon’s commercial zoning bill, SB6026 entered the floor last session, he shared, during his Senate speech, that he wished to balance, and weigh out, all the concerns brought forward. Concerns about losing commercial zoning revenue, for example. Ultimately, he wasn’t satisfied with the bill coming out of the Senate and wanted the House to work more on it, which his Chair counterpart, Representative Davina Duerr did.

“I guess my point is, as a lawyer I really look at the details of every policy and I do not approach it from an ideological perspective, but I do approach it from ‘we have to do better on creating housing supply which will reduce cost,” said Salomon.

A common criticism of how the state handles housing is that it often mandates housing growth while seldom providing support like funding infrastructure. Salomon was asked how, in his opinion, that gap could be closed.

“That is true to a certain degree. From a legislative perspective, you have to get through the policies that you have now because political windows tend to close. What I tell City Planners is that I understand you feel there is a lot being put on you right now – because there is. But we have this window,” said Salomon. “It’s just a fact we have these unfunded mandates and I’m not proud of it, but the legislature also has a revenue budget problem and we still have to fund things like healthcare, especially since the federal government cut $3 million from it. I do send funding when I can but we’re never going to fund 100% of it.”

As someone who also deeply prioritizes climate legislation, Salomon was then asked what he thinks is the most difficult trade-off between balancing environmental protection and economic development.

Salmon pointed to the Climate Commitment Act and the claims it drives up energy costs, which he said is a huge issue especially amid affordability concerns.

“Politicians try but they can’t please everybody. We do have a serious climate threat, and it’s a global threat from climate pollution. I think the main point of our climate policy is at the very least to provide an example that was a successful state regulatory system. I’m not claiming that it’s going to change climate change on its own but if you can get successful models, then other states can join, and other countries, then you can start bending the curve and you have to start somewhere,” said Salmon. “So yes, there’s a cost to transitioning to clean energy but there’s a bigger cost to not doing anything, from higher wildfires to shifts in agriculture.”

Prior to Salomon’s stint in politics, he served as a Public Defender and a Prosecutor. Given his resume, he was asked how Washington’s criminal justice system reforms have gone too far and where they have not gone far enough.

Salomon believes that E2SHB 1310 (passed in 2021) had “aspects that went too far,” for example during normal police procedure if you reasonably believe someone was involved in a crime – maybe a witness, maybe a suspect – you can briefly detain everyone involved. However, 1310 reformed that so that police could not detain until obtaining probably cause, but it made it difficult to ascertain probable cause without the ability to interview and investigate.

“I really advocated to go back to the old standard. Then there was the issue with drugs where I think the Supreme Court vastly overstepped their bounds and functionally decriminalized drugs and we effectively had no enforcement,” said Salomon.

Salomon’s enforcement approach was to say “you don’t need to go to jail but you do need to go to treatment. And if you don’t go to treatment then jail comes into play.”

Salomon also introduced a bill that would have reformed police arbitration but he received a lot of pushback from the police unions and it ultimately fell flat.

Speaking of controversy, Salomon also supports the use of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) for mental health treatment, which has been met with some criticism from his constituents.

He was asked what personal experience influenced his thoughts on this and what guardrails he believes are needed to implement something like this.

“I’m agnostic to the issue of decriminalization, but what I want to do is have a setting where you can have a really powerful experience and be in a safe place,” said Salomon. “If you’re taking it recreationally, and in high doses, you can have a negative experience so I’m just trying to create  legal framework in more of a medical model where clinicians, doctors, can authorize this. To me it’s the next innovation in healthcare. I have people that tell me that 10 years of VA therapy meant nothing in comparison to a psychedelic experience, which essentially took them through years of therapy overnight because it lowered their psychological defense mechanisms.”

Just ten days ago, on April 18, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that removed restrictions from experimenting with psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment.

Transitioning into tech and algorithmic pricing, Salomon was then asked how we would balance consumer protections with innovations in tech-heavy industries.

“It’s an anti-free market to have the price fixings that the algorithms were doing and my understanding is these companies were saying that if you join you have to commit to following the pricing scheme. That was a level of price coordination that prevented competition, but I think the economy is healthier when you have competition,” said Salomon.

Salomon also sponsored a bill that would put age restrictions on social media (like Facebook and TikTok), requiring parental permission for those 16 and younger, pointing to its close ties to mental health issues and anxiety.

Lastly, Salomon was asked what success looks like through his role in Senate and how can voters judge whether or not he delivers on his promises. Salomon replied that, specifically as it relates to housing, it’s setting up laws that allows homebuilders to adapt.

“Some of my constituents say ‘you’re working on affordable housing well it doesn’t look like it’s better now’, but it takes time. A lot of builders are specialized in large apartments, or specialize in single family. My definition of success is laying out the rules and regulations for change. Are they clear, are they objective, are they usable, is there less delay in the application process and less red tape so that we can get better housing built easier at less cost,” said Salomon. “Whether developers take it up in one year or five, that’s out of my hands, but I have to do my part.”

Salomon added that other indicators of success are completed projects that restore the environment (such as salmon runs), less domestic violence compared to other states that don’t have the same laws that he passed, and whether law enforcement and social workers have adequate tools to enforce public safety and help people off the street.

About Senator Jesse Salomon (from his website)

Since 2018, Jesse has worked tirelessly in the State Senate to ensure that every community in Washington has the resources it needs to thrive. He has led efforts to expand affordable housing, protect survivors of domestic violence, strengthen gun safety, and restore our natural environment—delivering real results for families across the state.

Jesse has fought back against federal overreach throughout his career. He has defended Washingtonians against Donald Trump’s attacks on reproductive care, public education, and other programs our families rely on, always prioritizing people over political pressure.

As Senate Local Government Committee Chair and a member of the Housing, Law and Justice and Rules Committees, Jesse pushes for practical solutions in Olympia. His experience spans public service and law—as a Shoreline City Councilmember and Deputy Mayor, a public defender, and a prosecutor protecting abused children—giving him the expertise and leadership to tackle the state’s toughest challenges.

Author: Kienan Briscoe