By Carolyn Bick
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Julie Kang
Julie Kang and her family were the first residents on Aurora and 132nd Avenue, living in a multi-use building in which her father-in-law ran the Seattle Korean Daily in the building behind, while she and her husband and their family members lived in apartments above.
“We’re Korean Americans and in Korea, multi-use buildings are very common,” Kang said. “For a young couple, it worked out well, but as we started our family, we realized that we needed to have a little bit of green space, and Aurora was not walkable.”
So, the young couple moved to a house in the Broadview neighborhood, where they have since lived for the last 20 plus years, raising a child and pursuing careers. Kang has held multiple roles in the education space, and currently serves as Seattle University’s director of professional and continuing education. Now, she’s throwing her hat into the ring to serve as Seattle’s District 5 councilmember.
In early June, outgoing Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore announced that she would step down, effective July 7, citing health struggles as her principal reason for her departure. With 16 months left to go before the next council election, the City is seeking candidates to fill Moore’s spot through appointment.
In addition to her career in education, for the past three decades, Kang has held different roles in several community and civic organizations, including as the president of the Korean American Coalition of Washington and a board member of the Dale Turner Family YMCA, where she focused her work on immigrants rights, early learning access, and language equity.
Kang is also the chair and co-founder of Pacific International Bank, which she co-founded in 2001 together with 53 other families and community leaders, after learning that their Korean American and fellow community members of color were not getting equitable rates for small business loans.
“I chose the location as 130th and Aurora with other board members, because we at that time wanted to help continue to grow the ethnic communities,” she said.
Kang led the bank’s growth to five branches and $200 million in assets. After a 2013 merger with BBCN Bank, it became Bank of Hope, and Pacific International Bank was renamed Pi Bank.
Kang also volunteers with Impact 100, a trust based philanthropy organization that puts 100% of its $1,000 membership fee towards yearly grants that support different nonprofits. This year’s recipients included Dignity for Divas, which supports unhoused and recently housed women, and Afghan Advantage, which serves Afghani women and girls by providing culturally relevant literacy and life skills.
Among Kang’s issue areas is public safety, particularly as it regards sex work along Aurora Avenue. Kang said that she would want to work with the community organizations that already provide outreach for sex workers, and bring them to the table to discuss how to make the area safer and get people out of sex work, if they so desire.
“Being an educator and a mother, I don’t think there is anyone who wants to see their daughters walking up and down Aurora as sex workers,” Kang said. “So as a result of that and many other variables related to safety, I think our vibrant city is no longer as safe as it used to be, no longer as vibrant.”
Kang said that she is not sure that the people who engage in sex work on Aurora Avenue “are all informed about other options.”
“Do they know that this is a choice and they’re able to get out of it, get job training, return to school and be able to do other things?” Kang said. “When your basic needs are not met, then you don’t have the luxury of dreaming … but at the same time, I think we need to also be equitable and provide some of those options for them.”
“I don’t want them to lose their dignity. Human dignity is something that everybody deserves,” she continued. “I think we just don’t engage them in a way we should be helping them. Yes, I’m all for that. But do we have a plan to get them out of that situation when they desire?”
When asked about people who don’t choose sex work, and are forced into it, either through trafficking or coercion from a boyfriend or pimp, Kang said again that she would work with outreach organizations that are already operating in that space.
“It’s really about going back with your findings and your data and having conversations about action items—that’s what I am interested in, moving along further than what has been done,” Kang said.
She also highlighted small business support as another one of her issue areas. She said that because of the safety problems in the area, many small businesses are struggling. She also said that she sometimes does not feel safe taking the bus to work.
“If the small business owners are not feeling like they can run their businesses and keep the doors open, if our public is not feeling safe to walk and live in the community, then we’re not addressing the problem,” Kang said. “So, I don’t have all of the answers, but at least I have some strategies, some of the problem-solving practices that really resulted in positive change.”
Kang said that since deciding to put herself forward for the appointment, she has talked with community members and business owners. She said that she has found that they don’t know of any comprehensive, concrete plans to stimulate growth.
“There are strategic plans, but I think education, civic engagement is not something that everybody takes time to go and seek out the information,” Kang said. “So, if that’s the case, we need to be able to disseminate [that information]. … I’m committed to really engaging with the community, because that’s what I’ve done in my volunteer work for the last 30 years organizing grassroots movements.”
Earlier this year, the Seattle City Council appointed Mark Solomon to fill former Councilmember Tammy Morales’ District 2 seat, after she resigned. The council passed over two AAPI candidates, who would have represented a district that includes the Chinatown-International District .
If appointed, Kang will be the only AAPI councilmember.