Sharon Tomiko Santos (née Miyake, , born July 5, 1961) is an American politician serving as a member of 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 ...

for the 37th legislative district.

Early life and education

Santos was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Santos earned a bachelor's degree from

Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a ...

and earned a master's degree from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

Career

Santos was first elected to the

in 1998, the first Japanese-American woman to serve in a state legislature on the mainland. She serves on the Education; Finance; Insurance, Financial Services & Consumer Protection; and Rules committees. In 2019, Santos sponsored legislation to amend Washington's

wrongful death Wrongful death is a type of legal claim or cause of action against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as authorized by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are ...

law to remove a requirement (dating to 1909) that family members who sue on behalf of a decreased victim live in the U.S. and be economically dependent on the victim.

Bob Hasegawa Robert Alan Hasegawa (born September 22, 1952) is an American labor leader and politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 11th Legislative District since January 2013. Hasegawa is a lifelong resident of Seatt ...

sponsored the companion bill in the state Senate. The 1909 law, whose passage was attributed to early 20th-century xenophobia, gained attention in 2015, after five people were killed, and 69 injured, when a "

duck tour Duck tours (or, more formally, amphibious tours), are tours that take place on purpose-built amphibious tour buses and (modified) surplus amphibious military vehicles, like DUKWs (''"Ducks"'') and LARC-Vs. They are often offered as tourist at ...

" vehicle crashed into the

Aurora Bridge The Aurora Bridge (officially called the George Washington Memorial Bridge) is a cantilever and truss bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States. It carries State Route 99 ( Aurora Avenue North) over the west end of Seattle's Lake Union an ...

, striking a bus carrying

international student International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

s. The bill passed the Legislature.

Personal life

Santos lives in the

Rainier Beach Rainier Beach ( ) is a set of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington that are mostly residential. Also called Atlantic City, Rainier Beach can include Dunlap, Pritchard Island, and Rainier View neighborhoods.Wilma (21 March 2001, Essay 3116) Th ...

neighborhood of Seattle. She was married to activist Bob Santos until his death in 2016.

References

External links

Official Biography

Contact Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Sharon Tomiko 1961 births Living people American politicians of Japanese descent Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Northeastern University alumni Evergreen State College alumni Women state legislators in Washington (state) Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics American women of Japanese descent in politics 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature American women of Asian descent in politics 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians of Asian descent Politicians from San Francisco 20th-century American women politicians Asian American state legislators in Washington 20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature