by Kay Curry
Northwest Asia Weekly
State Senator Joe Nguyen serves in the Washington State Legislature. (Source: WA Legislative Support Service)
It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since the scrappy, young, and ebullient Joe Nguyen ran and won for Washington State Senate’s 34th District. Since then, the United States has been embroiled in a pandemic, rising crime against Asian Americans, a climate crisis and international conflict. Meanwhile, with re-election looming, Nguyen won a commendable 83 percent of the vote in the August primary, beating out his rivals, one of whom happened to be at the same coffee shop where Weekly first interviewed him. boss.
Nguyen is a little older, a little wiser, or bored. His gritty jaw remains, but its character has undergone subtle changes.
Now it’s a person’s character that has encountered obstacles and learned how to get around them.
“It’s frustrating to me if it’s just for us to keep doing the right thing and prioritizing everyone who needs to be prioritized, but that’s not the case.” Nguyen admits that when he entered the political scene, he was a Purists. He has dreams and the will to make them happen, but the ins and outs of the structure are holding him back.
“You have to pay attention to some of the dynamics in the political system. I see myself hitting a ceiling…I’m fighting for something that’s not necessarily popular, even if they’re right. I’m going to hit a wall…I Wondering why I hit that wall.”
No one tells you what to do in this environment where personality and power reign supreme.
“You have to figure it out sometimes and say, um, what’s more important? Make sure our communities have access to funding and meet their basic needs? Or my ego?”
The dream is still there. Nguyen is now focused on turning those dreams into results. How does he get results for his community?
Among the outcomes he has sought so far include Bill 6478, which affects families in the WorkFirst and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and helps alleviate homelessness; or 5126, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for climate change Promise Law.
Every victory requires compromise, which often confuses the public.
“People are frustrated… It’s mostly because we’re pushing progress. Progress requires frustration and tension. It needs change… You have to make decisions like this, we may not get 100% of what we want, but we can get 80 %…Climate policy could be one of the main ones. How strict should the length be?”
Nguyen acknowledges that there are more desirable options, but getting them may come at the expense of some other important factors, such as, “Have I passed the toughest building standards bill in the country without rent control?” So you try to have both have to.
Now, with the Democratic majority in Olympia, Nguyen has support not only in his party but also in the Republican Party.
“84 percent of the bills we passed last year were bipartisan,” he noted. He is proud to “reflect the increase in elected leaders in the areas they serve.” It’s not an accident…not just me. This has always been the goal. Along with this fiery, diverse team of elected officials (think Toshiko Grace Hasegawa, Sam Cho or Girmay Zahilay), Nguyen proved that it is possible to get things done.
“I fundamentally believe that if we have the right leaders in the right places, we can change our entire political system…if you work hard, you can create a lot of positive change.” Nguyen recalls his first One piece of advice from the campaign: “If you don’t care about being re-elected and you don’t care about getting honors, you can get a lot done.”
That’s why it will be important for him, if re-elected, to keep a close eye on the implementation of the changes that have been made, which means a lot of work needs to be done behind the scenes.
“One of my main concerns is making sure the money we invest, the programs we implement, the policies we pass are actually implemented and benefit the people we expect to benefit… We need leaders who are willing to do work that no one notices. No one will notice that my office will help people implement a project well. It will only do well… A lot of the work I do will have a big impact on our community, but probably not just because I want to make the headlines by making the government better. I want to make sure the government works for the people.”
That’s not to say Nguyen won’t make headlines. He caused an uproar last year when he challenged incumbent Dow Constantine to become King County’s chief executive. Such a bold move, when Nguyen had not yet completed his first term as state senator, was neither expected nor approved by those accustomed to the political machine a certain way. For Nguyen, the King County game is almost more about what he can prove than winning. It’s about “showing that you don’t have to be tied to a political establishment in order to succeed…I want to give hope to those who are not involved in the political process.” Specifically, “people from marginalized communities, people of color, women.” And he’s done well, coming in about 45 percent of the way in a race in which an incumbent president has spent the most money in the race for the seat in history: $3.2 million. “They were scared,” Nguyen noted.
“It was very difficult,” Nguyen admitted for the past four years. He gave up his previous position at Microsoft because of his Senate commitments. He remains committed to fighting for rights and acknowledging what Joan Didion once called the “invisible city” minority. In his private life, as in the legislature, Nguyen has to “balance and prioritize. Sometimes I miss family events…and sometimes I miss important meetings…there’s a huge need in the community.” Encouraged by the number of longtime lawmakers his example and other new officials have learned, if you do the work, reform will happen.
“There are a lot of people who have been there for a while and don’t even think it’s possible themselves,” he said, his tone changing. “I think a paradigm shift is coming.”
When asked why he should be re-elected as the 34th delegate, Nguyen’s answer was as confident as ever: “You don’t just sit down and say, yes, everything is fine…it comes down to me making a change. “I’m here, I’m here…I want to show people there’s a better way…There’s value in fighting for what we believe in, even if it’s going to cost you politically. That’s why I’m here. “
Kay can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
