by<\/i> Lindsay Fujimoto, MPA Student Ambassador<\/b><\/p>\n
April 7, 2021<\/p>\n
\u201cI care deeply about the future of our City \u2013 the land and its residents,\u201d writes Y\u1ebfn Hu\u1ef3nh \u201919, an MPA alumna appointed in January 2021 to serve on the Olympia City County in Position #2 (filling the seat recently held by newly appointed Representative Jessica Bateman MPA ’12.<\/i>)\u00a0 After being selected from 29 candidates, “Huynh now becomes the only person of color on the council and the youngest member. Hu\u1ef3nh will serve until the November 2021 election, when the seat will be up for election; … she intends to run for the seat at that time.\u201d – The Olympian, BY BRANDON BLOCK JANUARY 06, 2021 05:45 AM, UPDATED JANUARY 09, 2021 03:32 PM<\/a><\/p>\n On her website, Y\u1ebfn dives deeper into her motivations for seeking appointment to the City Council. \u201cI believe wholeheartedly that government at the local level has the most impact on peoples\u2019 daily lives and I feel a genuine civic responsibility to contribute my skills and experiences to Olympia\u2019s long-term growth and success,\u201d she writes. As a young woman of color, daughter of Vietnamese refugees, first-generation college student, a state employee and renter with a multicultural upbringing, Y\u1ebfn\u2019s background informs her approach to governing. She recalls that her experience \u201chelped me to understand the importance of recognizing, welcoming, and celebrating differences.\u201d Looking ahead to her work on the City Council, she writes, \u201cProviding more diversity within the Council should encourage more robust conversations, creative solutions, and more informed decision making.\u201d<\/p>\n When describing her vision, Y\u1ebfn writes, \u201cI see a future where Olympia has thriving small businesses and transformative art, in a diverse community that is accessible and welcoming for all to enjoy.\u201d Her priorities include \u201cpublic health and safety,\u201d \u201ceconomic recovery and sustainability as we grow,\u201d and \u201cclimate justice\u201d and plans to move these initiatives forward by \u201cleading with diversity, equity, and inclusion,\u201d \u201csupporting our small businesses,\u201d and \u201cstrengthening our arts and cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n In recognizing Y\u1ebfn\u2019s achievement, we recognize the journey it took to get there. Y\u1ebfn writes, \u201cPeople who come from backgrounds like mine are often told by society to keep their heads down, be grateful for what we have, work hard, don\u2019t make any waves, and rarely see ourselves represented in public office.\u201d Y\u1ebfn intends to work to change this narrative and aims to \u201caddress these barriers at the city level\u201d and \u201cgovern with empathy for Olympians of all backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n Congratulations, Y\u1ebfn!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Lindsay Fujimoto, MPA Student Ambassador April 7, 2021 \u201cI care deeply about the future of our City \u2013 the land and its residents,\u201d writes Y\u1ebfn Hu\u1ef3nh \u201919, an MPA alumna appointed in January 2021 to serve on the Olympia… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9454,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1894"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1895,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894\/revisions\/1895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mpanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}