By Assunta Ng
Jim McDermott and Adam Smith shaking hands (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)
In case you don’t know, Congressman Adam Smith of the 9th district is now representing part of the Chinatown/International District, after redistricting. It used to only be Congressman Jim McDermott.
Since 1997, Smith has served in Congress. Now, he is one of the top Democrats on the House Arms Service committee. To introduce himself, Smith showed up on both Saturday to take part at the New Year Festival and Sunday at the Wing Luke Museum.
A father of two, Smith, 47, was born in the Year of the Snake. A Bellevue resident, Smith is praised by many to be thoughtful, smart, and for reaching to both Republicans and Democrats. Smith started his political career early, winning his first State Senate seat at 25. At the time, Smith was the youngest State Senator to be elected in the country.
Impressively, he took a job loading UPS trucks to put himself through college. He’s also a Husky, having gotten his law degree from UW. He has also studied at Western Washington University and did his Bachelor’s at NYU.
His staff is diverse, featuring two Asian Americans, four African Americans, one person of Hispanic descent. Two-thirds of his office is women. He has hired Linh Thai, who is of Vietnamese descent, to do his community outreach. (end)