A big freaking deal. 2 Black women’s 2020 campaigns got traction in the South Sound
It would take just a moment to be connected by phone with “the congresswoman elect,” her campaign communications director promised.
She was coming straight off a call with a high-ranking member of the caucus she’ll soon join in Washington D.C. and, well, the last several days had been hectic.
Then, as promised, Marilyn Strickland’s voice came through loud and clear on the other end.
I’ve spoken to Strickland many times over the years, though this formal introduction was a first. During her years as an elected official in Tacoma, Strickland was always straight-shooting and approachable. While we’ve disagreed on policy issues from time to time, her drive and unflinching purpose long ago earned my respect.
Strickland was a fast-rising City Council member, a successful two-term mayor and a whip-smart Mount Tahoma High School grad who mourned the death of Prince.
Now, as her new title suggested, Strickland is heading to the other Washington, set to become the first Black representative from Washington state and the first Korean American woman elected to Congress in the country.
It’s a big freaking deal, I told the Democrat, borrowing the language then Vice President Joe Biden used to congratulate Barack Obama when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law back in 2010. It just happens to be the kind of center-left achievement Strickland has built her brand on.
I asked Strickland what she made of her historic accomplishment, and what it meant.
“I think what I make of it is that it has been far too long. On the one hand, you’re excited and you’re honored to be the first African American member of the Washington state delegation and the first Korean American woman elected to Congress. And on the flip side of that, you’re kind of sad about it, because what took so long?” Strickland said.
Strickland said she was reminded of a piece of advice the late Harold Moss, Tacoma’s first Black mayor, bestowed upon her.
“It’s an honor to be the first, but you never want to be the last,” Strickland recalled Moss often saying.
“With that comes a lot of responsibility,” the newly elected congresswoman offered.
Strickland’s recent win in the 10th Congressional District — which has been noted by the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and numerous other media outlets across the globe — might be the biggest barrier-breaking accomplishment to come out of the 2020 election, but it might not be the only one with ties to Pierce County.
In the 28th Legislative District, Democrat T’wina Nobles has held a modest but not insignificant lead over incumbent Steve O’Ban since the first batch of Pierce County election results were released Tuesday night.
If Nobles holds on, she’ll become the first Black state senator in a decade, since Tacoma’s Rosa Franklin served in Olympia.
On Thursday, Nobles said that throughout her campaign Strickland had been a tireless supporter, sounding board and ally.
Nobles, the current president and CEO of the Tacoma Urban League and a mother of four, said the fact both women appeared poised to make history wasn’t lost on her.
They had both waged hard-fought campaigns and faced criticisms.
Throughout it all, both had sought to stay above the fray and on point, knowing that — as Black women vying for office — nothing would come easy.
Nobles said she learned about the realities of running for office while Black by watching mentors like Strickland and Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards before her.
The shaping experience gave her confidence, she said, and also prepared her for what was to come.
Nobles said she knew her race would be an issue. She also knew her relative youth and her background as a young mother and a renter, or the experiences of her youth, including homelessness and time spent in the foster care system, were likely to be used by some to question her readiness for office, not that it made it any easier when it happened.
Still, she was confident she could do it, she said, because of role models like Strickland.
“I have seen Black women run for office and win,” Nobles said. “I have listened to their challenges and listened to their successes. … I had a clear view of what this was going to be like or could be like.”
Strickland faced her own challenges over the course of her congressional campaign.
In a race that ended up pitting two Democrats, Strickland — who served as president and CEO of the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce after her two terms as Tacoma’s mayor — regularly saw her bonafides as a “progressive” questioned.
Like Nobles, it was something she was prepared for, Strickland said.
“As a woman who is Black and Korean, people have been trying to label me my entire life,” Strickland said. “Whenever I run for office, I run authentically. I am proud of my work experience.”
Asked about the criticisms, Strickland said she believes her victory is proof she’s a good fit for the 10th District, which includes parts of Pierce, Mason and Thurston counties.
“We’re in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crisis and social unrest because of racial injustice. That’s what people were really focused on,” Strickland said. “Even though there were attacks being lobbed here and there, I don’t think that they stuck because people were more concerned about my vision and what I wanted to do and my history of delivering results.”
In election results released Friday afternoon, Nobles maintained a lead over O’Ban of roughly 1,000 votes. She feels confident about her chances but said she’ll wait until the votes are counted before declaring victory or defeat.
Regardless of the outcome, Nobles said there’s power in what candidates like Strickland and her have already accomplished.
Policy and politics aside, Nobles said, the true impact will be felt for generations to come.
Just as she took inspiration from role models like Strickland, people need to be able to “see themselves” in those running for office and, ultimately, in the halls of power, Nobles said.
“When you don’t see yourself, you can’t even imagine the steps it would take to get there,” Nobles said.
“I think it gives people hope and joy and pride at a time when we’re feeling so much despair.”
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
