Marilyn Strickland | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's10th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Denny Heck |
| 38th Mayor ofTacoma | |
| In office January 5, 2010 – January 2, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Baarsma |
| Succeeded by | Victoria Woodards |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-09-25)September 25, 1962 (age 63) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Patrick Erwin |
| Education | University of Washington (BA) Clark Atlanta University (MBA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Strickland supporting her amendment to the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021. Recorded February 5, 2021 | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 순자 [1] |
| RR | Sunja |
| MR | Sunja |
Marilyn Strickland (born September 25, 1962) is an American politician who is theU.S. representative fromWashington's 10th congressional district. The district is based in the state capital ofOlympia, and also includes much of easternTacoma.
A member of theDemocratic Party, 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 theUnited States Congress of bothKorean andAfrican-American 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 asRepublicansYoung Kim andMichelle Park Steel.[2]
Strickland was born on September 25, 1962, inSeoul, South Korea, the daughter of Inmin Kim, a Korean, and Willie Strickland, an African-American serviceman.[3][4] She and her family moved toTacoma, Washington, in 1967 after her father was stationed atFort Lewis. She was raised in Tacoma's South End neighborhood and attendedMount Tahoma High School.[3] Strickland earned aBachelor of Arts degree in business from theUniversity of Washington and aMaster of Business Administration fromClark Atlanta University.[5] She is married to Patrick Erwin.[3]
After graduating from theUniversity of Washington, Strickland took a job at Northern Life Insurance doing clerical work. At a luncheon, she was introduced to Seattle MayorNorm Rice, who suggested that she further her education.[citation needed]
After earning aMaster of Business Administration fromClark Atlanta University, Strickland joinedStarbucks as a manager of its online business. She then moved on to help launch the City of Tacoma's public broadband cable serviceClick!, working with an advertisement agency to help grow public support.[6]
After years in the private sector, Strickland was elected to theTacoma City Council. She served as a council member for two years before being selected to serve as mayor from 2010 to 2018.[7][8]
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 PresidentXi Jinping's visit to Tacoma.[9]
In May 2010, the Tacoma Board of Ethics sanctioned Strickland for acceptingfrequent flyer miles 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.[10]
After her mayoralty, Strickland was approached by the pro-businessSeattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to serve as its president. During her tenure as president of the chamber of commerce, she opposed theSeattle head tax.[11][12]
Strickland has been described as apolitical moderate orcentrist.[13][14][15]
Strickland left the Chamber in early 2020, declaring her candidacy forWashington's 10th congressional district in the2020 election, a seat being vacated by incumbentDenny Heck.[16][17][18] She was endorsed by several politicians and newspapers.[19] In the August 4jungle primary, Strickland placed first in a field of 19 candidates. She and the second-place finisher, Democratic State RepresentativeBeth Doglio, advanced to the November general election.[20][21][22]
In the November general election, Strickland defeated Doglio. She assumed office on January 3, 2021.[23] As a member of the117th United States Congress, Strickland is thePacific Northwest's first Black U.S. Representative and one of the first three Korean-American Congresswomen, along withMichelle Steel andYoung Kim, who began their terms on the same day.[24] She wore a traditionalhanbok to her swearing-in ceremony to honor her mother.[25]
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Strickland voted with PresidentJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[2]
Strickland is a Protestant.[32]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor ofTacoma 2010–2018 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's 10th congressional district 2021–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 282nd | Succeeded by |
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
