By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Takayo Minakami Ederer
Longtime resident of Columbia City, Takayo Minakami Ederer says that she has “so many reasons” she’s decided to run for Seattle’s District 2 Seattle City Council (SCC) seat this November.
“It all comes down to a need that I want to fill,” Ederer told the Northwest Asian Weekly.
Former D2 Councilmember Tammy Morales resigned from her position on the SCC late last year. In January, the SCC appointed Mark Solomon to replace Morales through November.
Ederer was one of the 20 people who applied for the D2 seat, but was not one of the finalists the SCC picked.
Ederer is of Japanese, Chinese, Pacific Islander, Irish, and European heritage. She was born in the Columbia City neighborhood and attended Seattle University, where she received a degree in International Studies.
In addition to running her family’s commercial and real estate investment business, Ederer has also spent 20 years teaching karate at her father’s studio.
“Teaching karate classes helped people with self-defense, self-discipline, and teaching them to be their better self,” Ederer said.
Ederer was a part of the U.S. National Karate team from 1988-2000, and participated in national and international competitions. She noted that because she was one of the first members of the women’s national karate team, her very presence was met with some skepticism.
Ederer recalled that, when she taught karate, she had to train with men at the studio who did not believe she could fight. It was not until she sparred with them that they respected her abilities.
“You are a woman, and no one at the time believed that you could fight and you would have to prove yourself,” she said.
Now, Ederer sees the same similarities in her run for the D2 position. “Here’s this woman coming in from nowhere, trying to battle her way in,” she said.
But Ederer has been contemplating a run in politics for a while. She polled both neighbors and community leaders to gauge interest and see if they would vote for her. Even though this will be her first bid for public office, she has also prepared herself for the public scrutiny and criticism that comes with running for the position.
“I’ve been here the last nine years and raised my family here,” Ederer said of her ties to District 2. “I see what’s going on around the city and feel like we (District 2) are being left behind.”
Ederer believes that the primary concern in District 2 is public safety.
“I think there’s this area of Seattle where kids don’t have hope,” Ederer lamented. “We need to take care of our community.”
She said that public safety alongside homelessness are her primary concerns in the Chinatown-International District (CID), particularly around Little Sài Gòn.
“We’ve failed,” she said of the crime in the area. “Let’s just admit it and fix it. It’s the basic function of local government.”
Ederer believes that more police presence is important in fixing the issues, as is finding more shelter beds for the unhoused. She also pointed to nonprofits and private enterprises to fund these fundamental needs, if it does not fit within a governmental budget.
Ederer’s current campaign strategy is to get out to every little community within District 2 and meet her constituents, ahead of November’s election.
“We need representation as someone who will go out to every single community and give to them an ear,” she said, and added, “My number one goal is to get people engaged in local politics again and believe that your voice is going to be heard.”
Ederer also recognizes that there is a need for an Asian American on the SCC. Currently, there is no one from the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community on the SCC, even though “it’s the second largest growing party in the city of Seattle—how can you not have representation?” Ederer asked.
She pointed back to the safety issues in the CID as a reason why the neighborhood appears to lag behind in public safety. “If you have someone [on the SCC] who cares, who believes in it, and whose blood is actually a part of it, they fight a little harder for you.”
“There’s no representation,” she continued, “and I think that makes a big difference.”
Jason can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.org.