Congressional Meet and Greet with Marilyn Strickland (WA-10-D)

Marilyn Strickland was elected to represent the 10th congressional district of Washington in the November 2020 election. The 10th congressional district primarily consists of the state capital Olympia and portions of Thurston, Pierce, and Mason counties. 

Strickland was born in Seoul, Korea, the daughter of a Korean mother and African-American father. Strickland and her family moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1967 after her father was stationed at Fort Lewis. Strickland earned a degree in business from the University of Washington and an MBA from Clark Atlanta University. 

After years in the private sector, Strickland was elected to the Tacoma City Council. She served as a council member for two years before being selected to serve as Tacoma, Washington mayor from 2010 to 2018. During her term as Mayor Strickland used connections in China and Vietnam to draw foreign investors, culminating in the visit to Tacoma of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Following the end of her mayoral term, Strickland was approached by the pro-business Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to serve as the organization's president. During her tenure as president of the chamber of commerce, Strickland opposed the Seattle head tax. Strickland has been described as a political moderate or centrist. When she is seated as a member of the 117th United States Congress, Strickland will be the Pacific Northwest's first Black U.S. Representative and the first Korean-American woman to be seated in Congress.

Please submit questions in advance to Kristen Hughes.