Cindy Ryu is an American politician. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, she represents District 32 in the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

. Ryu was the first

Korean-American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...

woman to be elected a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in the United States. She is the Chair of the Innovation, Community & Economic Development, and Veterans Committee and works on issues such as broadband deployment, catalytic converter thefts, consumer protection, outdoor recreation funding, increasing housing supply, tourism, and resilience of small businesses, communities, infrastructure and the environment.

Early life and education

Ryu has lived in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. She graduated from Centralia High School in Centralia, Washington and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

in operations management from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Career

While serving as a member of the

Shoreline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

City Council, Ryu was elected mayor in 2008, becoming the first female Korean-American mayor in the United States. Cindy was president of both th
Shoreline Chamber of Commerce
and its Dollars For Scholars Chapter. She helped create Shoreline's Green Business Program. Following a loss in her candidacy for Shoreline

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

, Ryu ran for a seat in the

for the 32nd

legislative district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

in 2010. She faced Republican Art Coday and won the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

with 61.02% of the vote, becoming the first Korean-American woman to hold office in that chamber. Ryu served on the Community and Economic Development and Housing Committee during her first term in office. In 2012, Ryu was re-elected, winning 69.9% of the vote against Republican challenger Randy Hayden. In her sophomore term as representative, Ryu was elected by her peers as the vice chair of the Business and Financial Services Committee. In 2014, Ryu ran unopposed. She was chair of the House Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee. In the 2016 election, Ryu defeated Republican challenger Alvin Rutlege, winning 76% of the vote. She was chair of the Members of Color Caucus and focused on increasing data privacy during her term as chair. In 2018, Ryu defeated Republican challenger Dio Boucsieguez, winning 75.8% of the vote. She was a member of the Appropriations committee. She also joined the Consumer Protection & Business committee. In 2020, Ryu defeated Democratic challenger Shirley Sutton, winning 72.8% of the vote. She chaired the Community and Economic Development Committee. In 2022, Ryu defeated Lori Theis, who was affiliated with the Election Integrity Party. Ryu won 82% of the vote. Ryu is the chair of the Innovation, Community & Economic Development, & Veterans Committee, as well as a member of the Appropriations and Consumer Protection & Business Committees. She is past Chair of Women In Government, a national organization of women state legislators. Ryu serves on the FCC Intergovernmental Advisory Committeehttps://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-24-231A1.pdf and is the President of PNWER.org

References

External links

House Democrats page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryu, Cindy American mayors of Korean descent American women of Korean descent in politics Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature Living people Women state legislators in Washington (state) Mayors of places in Washington (state) Women mayors of places in Washington (state) People from Shoreline, Washington 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians of Asian descent 1957 births Asian American state legislators in Washington