On the side he writes a column for The Californian on government and politics. He’s been reading and admiring the paper since he was a kid; he used to compete in a community contest at Beale Library that tested who had read its pages most thoroughly.
He describes himself as right of center, but approaching issues from the angle of “what’s the best thing for us?”
“I think Justin wants to be seen as thoughtful and fair-minded,” Adams said. “Frankly, one of the crises of our time is that public service does not always attract the most thoughtful and sober minds, which is what Justin has.
“… Justin is more David Brooks than Donald Trump. He believes in the power, majesty and allure of powerful ideas because they can lead to movements that transform society. He wants to be a part of that process.”
Last December, Bakersfield talk radio host and former Californian CEO Richard Beene included Salters on a list of young, engaged citizens he hopes will consider running for office. Salters said he’s happy to add his voice to the conversation but doesn’t have any desire to run for office.
Salters’ mother believes him.
“We’ve asked him that also,” she said. “With working in politics, he definitely sees the negative aspects of that. And so he’s like, ‘You know, I don’t want my family to go through that.’”
ASSUMING THE PRESIDENCY
As alumni board president, Salters wants to increase the number of “touch points” between alumni and the university, including developing events that involve not only alumni but their families.
He also wants the Alumni Association to become more of an advocate for its 50,000-plus graduates and 10,000-plus students.
“I want to see us leverage (those numbers) and be advocates in Sacramento for funding to make sure the CSU has the funding it needs, to make sure the CSU continues to be a vehicle for upward mobility for the students and to serve this region.
“Another opportunity is we have a significant population of Dreamers. How can we push our representatives to enact meaningful reform that serves our students, that serves our peers in the alumni community?”
While he’s doing all this, Salters is also growing a family.