Jesse Lee Young (born 1976) is an American politician who served as a member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

for the 26th district from 2014 to 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Born in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, Young was raised in the Hilltop neighborhood of

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, where he spent some of his childhood homeless. Young eventually graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School and was accepted to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. In college, Young competed on the track team as a pole vaulter and worked in the dining hall to pay his tuition. In 1999, Young earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management information systems from the

Mendoza College of Business The Mendoza College of Business is the business school at the University of Notre Dame, a private research university in Notre Dame, Indiana. Founded in 1921, it offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Apart from its main campus, it also ...

at the

Career

Young began his career as an IT consultant for major corporations before entering state government. Young was appointed to the

on January 17, 2014, succeeding

Jan Angel Janice E. Angel (born 1946) is an American politician who served as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the Washington's 26th legislative district, 26th district from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States ...

following the latter's election to the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Washington State Capitol, Legis ...

. He ran for a seat in the Washington State Senate in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, losing to incumbent Democrat

Emily Randall Emily Elissa Randall (born October 30, 1985) is an American politician and activist who is a U.S. representative for Washington's 6th congressional district and a former member of the Washington State Senate.Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

that he was being restricted from interacting directly with his legislative assistants and was no longer eligible to have a district office for the period of one year. The letter stated that the actions were taken as a result of "credible and serious" allegations of a "pattern of hostile and intimidating behavior." Legislative aides and other colleagues alleged that this behavior included "screaming fits," "meltdowns," and "crude references to the female anatomy." The letter further stated that the restrictions might be removed if Young were to complete an anger management training program, a management training program, and respectful workplace training. In October 2017, Young was fined $1,000 by the Washington Legislative Ethics Board for campaigning on state resources and utilizing a legislative state-employed assistant to aid in his election campaigns. Young was fined an additional $500 in June 2018 for again using state resources for his campaign activities. One of his more controversial bills was to create an Aircraft Carrier Bridge spanning from Port orchard to Bremerton. In 2020 during a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Gig Harbor, Washington, Jesse Young was joined by counter-protestors wearing rifles, other firearms and ammunition.

Awards

* 2014 Guardians of Small Business award. Presented by NFIB. * 2020 Guardians of Small Business. Presented by NFIB.

Personal life

Young's wife is Jennifer Young. They have six children. Young and his family live in

Gig Harbor, Washington Gig Harbor () is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. The population was 12,029 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Gig Harbor bills ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Jesse Living people Republican Party members of the Washington House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature People from Gig Harbor, Washington 1976 births