Several Asian American candidates ran in Washington state’s elections on Nov. 4. Following are the results:
• Democrat Shari Song ran for state senator in Legislative District 30 (King and Pearce counties) and lost to Republican Mark Miloscia, 12,071 votes (44.04 percent) to 15,340 (55.96 percent). Song works in real estate at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services and is a board member of the Children’s Campaign Fund. The current senator, Democrat Tracey Eide, is retiring.
• In a race between two Asian American Democrats for state senator in Legislative District 37, Pramita Jayapal defeated Louis Watanabe, 21,139 votes (69.91 percent) to 9,099 (30.09 percent). They were top two finishers in the Aug. 5 primary. The district, which includes such Seattle neighborhoods as Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley, is currently represented by Democrat Adam Kline. Jayapal is the founder of OneAmerica, an immigrant rights group, and now works for the Center of Community Change. Watanabe founded Dynamical Systems Research and taught business and math at Bellevue College.
• Democratic incumbent Sharon Tomiko Santos won re-election to the Representative Position 1 seat in Legislative District 37 that she has held since 1998, far outdistancing Republican Daniel Bretzke, 26,860 votes (86.36 percent) to 4,244 (13.64 percent). Santos chairs the House Education Committee and serves on the House Business and Financial Services Committee.
• Republican Sarah Sanoy-Wright ran for Representative Position 2 in Legislative District 11 against Democratic incumbent Steve Bergquist and lost, 8,610 (33.22 percent) to 17,305 (66.78 percent). Bergquist also beat Sanoy-Wright in the last general election in 2012. Sanoy-Wright is a member of the Filipino Community of Seattle and Friends of Filipinos in America.
• Democrat Cindy Ryu ran unopposed for re-election to Representative Position 1 in Legislative District 32, receiving 27,513 votes. Ryu’s district includes Shoreline, where she was elected mayor in 2008, becoming the nation’s first female Korean American mayor. She was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 2010 and 2012.
• Democrat Mia Su-Ling Gregerson ran for re-election to Representative Position 2 in Legislative District 33 (part of King County, including Des Moines) and defeated Republican Jeanette Burrage, 13,532 votes (55.25 percent) to 10.962 (44.75 percent). Gregerson was appointed to the House of Representatives last year and previously served as a council member and deputy mayor of SeaTac.
• Jessica Spear of the Socialist Alternative Party ran for Representative Position 2 in Legislative District 43 against the Democratic incumbent, House Speaker Frank Chopp, and lost by a wide margin, 7,366 vote (17.14 percent) to 35,600 (82.86 percent). Spear helped lead the $15 minimum wage movement alongside Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant. The Seattle district includes Fremont and Madison Park.
• Linda Lau ran unopposed for Court of Appeals judge, Division 1, District 1, Position 5. She received 295,125 votes. She has served for over 20 years as a trial court and appeals court judge.
• Mary Yu ran unopposed for Supreme Court justice, Position 1, and received 1,257,081 votes. She served 14 years as a Superior Court judge, presiding over criminal and civil cases.
• Eddie Yoon ran for Supreme Court justice, Position 4, against Charles Johnson and lost, 401,987 votes (26.56 percent) to 1,111,408 (73.44 percent). The first Korean American attorney in the Northwest, Yoon is a professor at Ewha Women’s Law School in Seoul.
• Judge C. Kimi Kondo was retained for Seattle Municipal Court Position 2 with 119,746 votes (72.05 percent) to attorney Jon Zimmerman’s 45,832 (27.58 percent). Kondo has served on the court for 24 years and has been rated “exceptionally well qualified” by the King County Bar Association.
From reports by The Northwest Asian Weekly and Rafu staff