My-Linh Thi Thai (; born January 18, 1968) is an American politician and pharmacist who serves in the

Washington State 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 dis ...

representing the 41st district in

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

. Thai, a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

immigrant who lives in

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

, served as a

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

member prior to her election in 2018, replacing retiring legislator

Judy Clibborn Judith R. Clibborn (born 1943) is an American politician who is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. She is a former member of the Washington House of Representatives, where she represented the 41st district from 2 ...

Early life and career

My-Linh Thai was born in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and raised by her grandparents on the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

. She immigrated to the United States in 1983 as a

war refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

and reunited with several family members who had fled earlier. She arrived in the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

area at the age of 15 and enrolled at

Federal Way High School Federal Way High School is a public high school located in Federal Way, Washington. It was originally built in 1938. A new campus opened in the fall of 2016. Academics * Advanced Placement courses: Calculus, Statistics, and Photography. * Pre-AP ...

despite not knowing the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

. Thai graduated from the

University of Washington School of Pharmacy The University of Washington School of Pharmacy is the pharmacy school of the University of Washington, a public research university in Seattle, Washington. The school was founded in 1894 and included four women in its inaugural class of students ...

and worked as a practicing

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

, before moving with her family to

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...

, in 2008. She has also worked as a medical interpreter for Vietnamese immigrants and returned to the country to teach one of the first graduate nursing programs in Vietnam. She became involved in the Somerset parent teacher student association (PTSA) shortly after moving to the city, during a sabbatical from her work as a pharmacist. Thai was appointed PTSA president, earning an advocacy award from the state PTA, and was elected to the

Bellevue School District Bellevue School District No. 405 (BSD) is a public school district in King County, headquartered in Bellevue. As of October 1, 2016, the district has an enrollment of 19,974 students. The Bellevue School District includes 28 schools: 15 eleme ...

in 2013. During her first term as a school board member, Thai advocated against racial inequality and campaigned to hire a racially-diverse set of teachers to reflect the demographics of the Bellevue school body. She was re-elected to a second term in 2017 and was appointed as the board president. Thai also served as the vice president of the Washington State School Directors' Association.

Political career

Election

2018

Thai filed her candidacy for the 41st district seat in early April 2018, shortly after incumbent

announced her retirement. Running on a platform centered around education and healthcare reform, she received the endorsement of the 41st District Democrats, the

Washington Education Association The Washington Education Association (WEA) is the statewide teachers' union for the state of Washington, United States. It was founded on April 2–3, 1889 as the Washington State Teachers Association. The WEA was the defendant in Davenport v. Was ...

, the

Washington State Labor Council The Washington State Labor Council is the Washington branch of the AFL–CIO. It represents all AFL–CIO affiliates in state politics, and its major interest group, particularly for Democratic politicians. The organization was split when several n ...

, and ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'', and '' The Stranger''. Thai took 43 percent of the vote in the primary election, advancing to the general election alongside Republican Michael Appleby. Thai was elected in the general election on November 6, 2018, winning 65 percent of the vote over Appleby's 35 percent. She became one of the first two Vietnamese American legislators to be elected to the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the State of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, w ...

, alongside Joe Nguyen from the 34th district. Additionally, she was Washington state's first refugee legislator. Thai announced her resignation from the school board the following day. She was sworn in on January 14, 2019, wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress. Thai served as Washington's representative during the roll call at the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtual ...

, recording a message from Seattle.

2022

Thai ran for re-election. She faced Republican and aircraft engineer Al Rosenthal. Thai won re-election with 68.43% of the vote.

Committee assignments

During the 2021-2022 legislative session, Thai was assigned to the Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee and the House Finance Committee.

Personal life

Thai's husband is Don Thai, a

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

at the Valley Medical Center in Renton. They have two children and reside in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thai, My-Linh School board members in Washington (state) Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature Living people American women of Asian descent in politics 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians of Asian descent Women state legislators in Washington (state) People from Bellevue, Washington University of Washington School of Pharmacy alumni 21st-century American pharmacists American women of Vietnamese descent in politics Vietnamese emigrants to the United States American women pharmacists 1968 births American refugees Asian American state legislators in Washington Pharmacists from Washington (state)