Marilyn Strickland (born September 25, 1962) is an American politician who is the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Washington's 10th congressional district. The district is based in the state capital of Olympia, and also includes much of eastern Tacoma. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

, Strickland took office on January 3, 2021. She served as the 38th mayor of Tacoma from 2010 to 2018. She is the first member of the United States Congress of both Korean and

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensla ...

heritage, and the first African-American member elected from Washington. Strickland is also one of the first three Korean-American women elected to Congress, beginning her term on the same day as Republicans

Young Kim Young Oak Kim (; born October 18, 1962) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the U.S. representative for California's 39th congressional district. Her district includes northern parts of Orange County. In the 2020 United Sta ...

and

Michelle Steel Michelle Eunjoo Steel ( Park, born June 21, 1955) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 45th congressional district since 2023, previously representing the 48th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A ...

Early life and education

Strickland was born on September 25, 1962, in Seoul, South Korea, the daughter of Inmin Kim, a Korean, and Willie Strickland, an African-American serviceman. She and her family moved to Tacoma, Washington, in 1967 after her father was stationed at Fort Lewis. She was raised in Tacoma's South End neighborhood and attended Mount Tahoma High School. Strickland earned a degree in business from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle ...

and an MBA from

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Foun ...

Career

After graduating from the

, Strickland took a job at Northern Life Insurance doing clerical work. At a luncheon, she was introduced to Seattle Mayor

Norm Rice Norman Blann Rice (born May 4, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 49th mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving two terms from 1990 to 1997. Rice was Seattle's first elected African-American mayor. Early life Rice graduated from th ...

, who suggested that she further her education. After earning a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

, Strickland joined

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...

as a manager of its online business. She then moved on to help launch the City of Tacoma’s public broadband cable service

Click! ''Click!'' (former ''Averea'') is a Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Ser ...

, working with an advertisement agency to help grow public support. After years in the private sector, Strickland was elected to the

Tacoma City Council The Tacoma City Council is the major governing body in the city of Tacoma, Washington. The City Council has one mayor and eight council members, who are elected to serve four-year terms. The City Council has the power to write the laws of the city, ...

. She served as a council member for two years before being selected to serve as mayor from 2010 to 2018. Strickland was the first Asian-born elected mayor of Tacoma, as well as the first African-American woman in that office. She used connections in China and Vietnam to draw foreign investors, culminating in Chinese President

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, si ...

's visit to Tacoma. In May 2010, the Tacoma Board of Ethics sanctioned Strickland for accepting

frequent flyer miles A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...

from a local businessman for an official trip to Asia. She accepted the sanction and returned the value of the frequent flyer miles to the businessman. After her mayoralty, Strickland was approached by the pro-business

Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is a private, membership-based organization that represents economic development and the economic interests of its corporate members in the metro region of Seattle, Washington. Its members include most ...

to serve as its president. During her tenure as president of the chamber of commerce, she opposed the Seattle head tax. Strickland has been described as a

political moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In America ...

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Strickland left the Chamber in early 2020, declaring her candidacy for Washington's 10th congressional district in the 2020 election, a seat being vacated by incumbent

Denny Heck Dennis Lynn Heck (born July 29, 1952) is an American entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th lieutenant governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 10th cong ...

. She was endorsed by several politicians and newspapers. In the August 4

jungle primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party ...

, Strickland placed first in a field of 19 candidates. She and the second-place finisher, Democratic State Representative Beth Doglio, advanced to the November general election. In the November general election, Strickland defeated Doglio. She assumed office on January 3, 2021. As a member of the

117th United States Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

, Strickland is the Pacific Northwest's first Black U.S. Representative and one of the first three Korean-American Congresswomen, along with

and

, who began their terms on the same day. She wore a traditional

hanbok The (; term used in South Korea), also called () n North Korea and China, is an umbrella term which is used to refer to traditional ethnic Korean clothes, including the traditional clothing of the (Korean Chinese), an officially recognized ...

to her swearing-in ceremony to honor her mother.

Tenure

Committee assignments

* United States House Committee on Armed Services *

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

Caucus memberships

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is a caucus consisting of members of the United States Congress who are Asian American and Pacific Islander ( AAPI), and who have a strong interest in advocating and promoting issues and c ...

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...

* New Democrat Coalition

Personal life

Like many of her fellow Korean Americans and most other African-American Christian members of the U.S. Congress, Strickland is a Protestant.

References

External links

Representative Marilyn Strickland
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Strickland, Marilyn 1962 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American mayors in Washington (state) African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American people in Washington (state) politics American mayors of Korean descent American women of Korean descent in politics Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics Clark Atlanta University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) Female members of the United States House of Representatives Living people Mayors of Tacoma, Washington Asian-American members of the United States House of Representatives People from Seoul Women mayors of places in Washington (state) University of Washington alumni Women city councillors in Washington (state) African-American city council members African-American Christians American Protestants Christians from Washington (state) South Korean emigrants to the United States 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women African-American women mayors