By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“Make It Make Sense” is the slogan of Elle Nguyen, Republican candidate for legislative district 41. District 41 comprises Mercer Island, Newcastle, and parts of Bellevue, Renton, Issaquah, and Sammamish. Janice Zahn is currently sitting in Position No. 1, which is Nguyen’s objective. Nguyen is strong on issues of parental rights and citizen control of government. She spoke on Rainier Avenue Radio on Oct. 12 about her campaign, her concerns, and her intentions.
“The government is really trying to take over in every area of our life,” Nguyen said at the start of the interview, which ran about 30 minutes. “Government is supposed to be working for the people.” Nguyen believes that politicians in the state of Washington have been failing the people for the past three decades. She proposed that, during her tenure, she would hold rallies similar to those of President Donald Trump, in which she would poll the true needs of the people.
Nguyen explained that she is not a politician, but a person who believes in common sense. In response to questions posed by former Seattle City Councilmember, Tanya Woo, she detailed what instigated her to run for public office. First, she said that she was very much impacted by witnessing the news of the attempted assassination of former President Ronald Reagan. Nguyen was in high school at the time. She is part of a family of Vietnamese immigrants; particularly, Nguyen’s father was involved in politics as the legal counsel to the president of South Vietnam.
The mother of two boys, Nguyen grew up in Tacoma. An incident in her son’s school was a second catalyst that spurred her to run for this district seat. When one of her sons was in elementary school, he was reprimanded by school officials for requesting that another student that identified as male use the bathroom at the same time. “My son wasn’t comfortable with the girl going in the bathroom while he’s standing up, going to the bathroom,” Nguyen said. She believes that the school was very harsh on her son, while advocating more for the rights of the other student. “That really shaped me,” she said. For this reason, Nguyen supports a “Yes” vote for Initiative 26-001, which is titled, “Restoring Parents’ Rights.”
Nguyen believes that presentation of the initiation might appear deceptive to voters who might not understand the totality of the initiative. A layperson might believe that the initiative intends to take away parental rights, but that is not the case, she said. She pointed out that the bill gives parents the right, for instance, to examine textbooks and curriculum that will be used in their child’s classroom. Also, parents will be able to receive a copy of their child’s public-school record within 10 days of a request. The initiative also states that parents may opt their children out of surveys, assignments, and questionnaires. “This really protects the children, and really protects the parents’ rights,” Nguyen insisted. According to her, parents should know what is going on at their children’s schools and the government should not have a say as to how parents raise their children. A “No” vote on 26-001 would remove parental rights, she believes.
Nguyen emphasized her Christian faith and, at the same time, said she is someone who respects “the liberty” of all faiths. She promises to work together smoothly with individuals in Olympia and in her potential constituency who may come from diverse backgrounds. Nguyen mentioned that she had studied the Quran in college, but that she did not want our state or country to succumb to sharia law. According to Ngueyn, Islamic citizens of the United States are in the process of attempting to “dominate the entire political, social, economic, healthcare [system]. “They want to implement sharia law, and I believe that that conflicts with our constitution.” While she acknowledges that everyone, of any faith, should have a say, she does not believe that any “political ideology or law” should supersede the U.S. Constitution.
“We just need to work together as just children of God,” Nguyen said, hearkening back to her slogan that whatever happens needs to just make sense. “I’m very pragmatic,” she said. If voted in, and she were to disagree with a Republican proposition, she would say so, she said. “We need to work together and forget all this political ideology—whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Libertarian…I believe I can work on both sides of the aisle.”
Community Conversations on Rainier Avenue Radio is designed to allow voters to get to know candidates. “We might not always agree on all the issues, but understanding different perspectives, asking thoughtful questions, and having conversations are essential to a healthy democracy,” said Woo. In her segment, Nguyen was also strong on a need for affordability (i.e. gas, retail, housing) and public safety. While she empathizes with those who are unhoused, she believes residents in her district have a right to voice their opinions on homeless encampments. In a nutshell, Nguyen seems to believe in individual rights, while also following what she terms a “common sense” viewpoint. “We should not be fighting over common-sense issues,” she said.
One of these “common sense issues,” for Nguyen, goes back to her son’s experience in the school bathroom. There are only two genders, she said, male and female. If you want to identify as something, that’s fine, she said. But “you don’t have a right to your pronouns. You can’t force me to identify you and call you a girl if you’re not a girl,” she explained. “Don’t throw it down our throat.” To Nguyen, the issue of gender is a “natural” issue that is “fundamental.”
Nguyen ran previously for Mercer Island School Board. At that time, due to catching a severe case of COVID-19 (she was hospitalized), she was unable to campaign to the full extent that she wanted. She lost to her competitor, Dan Glowitz. Nguyen also ran for a District 41 position in 2022 and lost in the primary to My-Linh Thai and Al Rosenthal, placing third. “I ran originally because of what happened to my child,” she said. “That really triggered me.”
Other voter issues that Nguyen spoke on included immigration—which to her should be legal only or “through the front door,” as she described it; and taxes, which need to be lowered. Nguyen describes herself as grassroots and says that she is not “owned” by any political interests. “I just want to see Washington state do better,” she said.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
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