Compiled by Staff
Northwest Asian Weekly
Cyrus Habib
Lt. Governor
State Sen. Cyrus Habib was born in Baltimore, Md., to parents who emigrated from Iran. A three-time cancer survivor, Habib lost his eyesight and became fully blind at age 8. Shortly afterwards, his family moved to Bellevue.
Habib, 34, is also a Rhodes Scholar, Yale Law School graduate, and intellectual property lawyer at Perkins Coie.
Steve Hobbs
Lt. Governor
Sen. Steve Hobbs is best known for his work on a state transportation bill passed by the legislature in 2015.
Hobbs, 45, was born in Everett and raised in Lake Stevens, where he lives with his wife, Pam, and their three sons. Hobbs’ mother was a Japanese immigrant and his father was a U.S. Air Force veteran.
He graduated from the University of Washington.
Phillip Yin
Lt. Governor
Phillip Yin, 41, the son of immigrants from Hong Kong, was born in Mesa, Ariz. He received his International MBA from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., an undergraduate business degree from the University of Washington, and completed a summer program at the Harvard Business School.
Yin launched CCTV America in Washington, D.C. and also worked for Bloomberg and CNBC.
KumRoon “Mr. Mak” Maksirisombat
Superintendent of Public Instruction
KumRoon Maksirisombat has been in education for over 30 years and was chosen as a Distinguished Educator of the State of Washington for three years.
Mr. Mak, as he prefers to be called, has a bachelor’s in Business and Psychology and a master’s in Counseling and Special Education.
He moved to Seattle from Montana in 1987 and worked for the Seattle School District for 10 years as a counselor in both elementary and middle schools.
He speaks nine languages and is a certified translator in Thai and Chinese.
Pramila Jayapal
US Representative Congressional District 7
Pramila Jayapal is a native of India. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C and an MBA from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Jayapal became a civil rights activist and served a stint in the nonprofit sector, including founding Hate Free Zone, a resource for immigrant communities after 9/11. In 2015, Jayapal won a seat in the state senate in Olympia, representing the 37th Legislative District.
If elected, Jayapal would be the first Indian American woman to be elected to Congress.
Arun Jhaveri
US Representative Congressional District 7
Dr. Arun Jhaveri has 40 years of experience in the private sector as a research engineer for Boeing’s 747 airplane program and the U.S. Corps of Engineers. He was also the first mayor of Burien. Jhaveri holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from the University of Washington, a master’s degree in Physics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a PhD in Educational Leadership from Seattle University.
Originally from India, Jhaveri is married and lives in Burien.
Bob Hasegawa
Washington State Senate, District 11
Bob Hasegawa is a lifelong resident of Beacon Hill in Seattle and is a longtime labor and social justice activist. He led many worker struggles to win top wages and benefits for working families and retirees, and collaborated in many social justice struggles to protect civil rights, democracy, the environment, and constitutional rights.
Hasegawa serves on the Boards of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington, the Japanese American Citizens League, and the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Kazuaki (Kaz) Sugiyama
Washington House of Representatives, District 1a
Kazuaki (Kaz) Sugiyama states that if elected, he will serve only one term. He said, “Politicians have become indebted to special interests and not the voters. … I am looking to make a political difference, not a political career.”
Sugiyama graduated from the University of Oregon. He is a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard Reserve and works as a social services specialist working with the mentally ill, elderly, and children.
Darshan Rauniyar
Washington House of Representatives, District 1b
Darshan Rauniyar is a longtime Bothell resident, businessman, and community organizer.
He has over 20 years of experience in the high-tech sector holding senior level positions in management, marketing, sales, and engineering. Rauniyar earned his bachelor’s from Oregon Institute of Technology and an MBA from Portland State University.
He is married with two sons.
Kyoko Matsumoto Wright
Washington House of Representatives, District 1b
Kyoko Matsumoto Wright has been a Realtor for over 30 years. She is currently a Real Estate Commissioner with the State of Washington and serves as a commissioner for the Snohomish County Housing Authority.
A graduate of the University of Washington, Wright resides in Mountlake Terrace and has been a member of the City Council since January 2008.
Mohammed Riaz Khan
Washington House of Representatives, District 21b
Born in India, Mohammed Riaz Khan lives in Mukilteo and works at Boeing as a manufacturing engineer on the Air Force Tanker program.
Khan serves as a Washington State Labor Council member and Snohomish County Labor delegate. He teaches in an after school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, and is a member of the budget committee for the Mukilteo School District.
Cindy Ryu
Washington House of Representatives, District 32a
Elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2012, Cindy Ryu represents the citizens of the 32nd Legislative District.
Ryu immigrated to Washington state in 1969 from Korea. She is married with three children.
Ryu holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and an MBA from the University of Washington.
While serving as a Shoreline Councilmember, Ryu was elected Mayor in 2008, becoming the first female Korean American mayor in the United States.
Mia Su-Ling Gregerson
Washington House of Representatives, District 33b
Mia Su-Ling Gregerson’s parents lived in Taiwan when her father was in the Air Force and they adopted her as an infant. She attended and graduated from the Tukwila School District, Highline College, and the University of Washington.
Gregerson started her public service career when she was elected to the SeaTac City Council in 2008 and served as Mayor of SeaTac. In December 2013, she was appointed to the State House of Representatives to serve the constituents of the 33rd Legislative District in 2013.
Sharon Tomiko Santos
Washington House of Representatives, District 37a
A community activist for more than 40 years, Sharon Tomiko Santos was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1998. Her key policy interests include civil rights, women’s rights, economic and environmental justice, affordable housing, and quality public education.
Rep. Santos has served on dozens of boards and foundations, including the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
A graduate of the Evergreen State College and of Northeastern University, Santos resides with her husband in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood.
Sameer Ranade
Washington House of Representatives, District 43a
Sameer Ranade was born in Kansas City, Mo. to parents who both emigrated from India.
Ranade got his first taste of politics working as an intern to Sen. Maria Cantwell.
Across both Washington D.C. and Seattle, Ranade did multiple environmental internships and campaign jobs — including working as a staff assistant to Sen. Patty Murray.
Ranade has a bachelor’s from Washington State University and Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Washington.
Dan Shih
Washington House of Representatives, District 43a
Dan Shih (pronounced “She”) was born and raised in the Seattle area. His parents were Chinese immigrants.
Shih is a partner at law firm Susman Godfrey, which defended the City of Seattle against a U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenge to the city’s $15 minimum wage.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton, and a master’s and a law degree from Stanford.
Shih is married with three daughters.
Mary Yu
Supreme Court Justice, Position 1
Mary Yu was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2014, after serving as a King County trial court judge for over 14 years. She was subsequently elected to a two-year term and is now running for a full term. She said the most important values as a trial judge are to treat everyone with respect and fairness, to approach each case with an open mind, and to decide cases impartially.
She is the first Asian, the first woman of color, and the first member of the LGBT community to serve on the Supreme Court.
Dean S. Lum
King County Superior Court, Position 12
Dean S. Lum was appointed to the King County Superior Court bench in 1998, and is currently assigned to the criminal department. After graduating from the University of Washington School of Law, he served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Criminal Division of the King County Prosecutor’s Office for seven years. He has been very active in local, state, and national bar association and civic activities, and was the President of the Asian Bar Association of Washington in 1992. He received the 2002 Trailblazer Award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Samuel S. Chung
King County Superior Court, Position 15
Samuel S. Chung earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History at Columbia University, then graduated from the George Washington University Law School with a full scholarship, even though he learned English only after moving from Korea at the age of 12.
Chung has numerous ties with the Korean American community. He has served at the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority. He also was the founding President of the Korean American Bar Association of Washington.
John H. Chun
King County Superior Court, Position 16
John H. Chun was appointed to the King County Superior Court bench in December 2013. He currently serves on the King County Superior Court’s Personnel Committee and Rules Committee, and he serves on the board of the Asian Bar Association of Washington Student Scholarship Foundation.
Chun graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and graduated from Cornell Law School, where he was an editor for the Cornell Law Review.
Susan Amini
King County Superior Court, Position 20
Susan Amini was born in Iran and graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law.
Four years after Amini started her legal career as a public defender in south King County, she opened her own law practice in Bellevue.
In 2010, Judge Amini was honored by the Northwest Asian Weekly as a Woman of Color Empowered. Judge Amini is the first judge of Middle Eastern descent in Washington state history.
Patrick Oishi
King County Superior Court, Position 24
Patrick Oishi was appointed to the King County Superior Court bench in 2011.
Oishi earned his bachelor’s degree in Education and law degree from Seattle University.
Oishi began his legal career with the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and currently serves as a board member of the Asian Bar Association of Washington, the Japanese American Citizens League, and the Seattle University Law Alumni Board.
Alicia H. Nakata
Chelan Superior Court, Position 3
Alicia H. Nakata was born and raised in East Wenatchee. She earned her Political Science degree from the University of Washington, and received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas.
Nakata served for 18 years as a district court judge on the Chelan County District Court. Previously, she worked as the chief criminal deputy prosecutor for Chelan County, an assistant city attorney for Seattle, and a King County public defender.
Staff can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.