By Assunta Ng
Northwest Asia Weekly
Evil award
Recall that Sawant’s supporters held signs at the three corners of South Jackson Street and Rainier Ave. S. in Little Saigon on November 20. From left: Roberta Wood and A. Amundson (Photo: Assunta Ng)
In the past four years, I have never met the most destructive city council member in my publishing career. Kshama Sawant led a protest against the city and former mayor Jenny Durkan in front of her house.
She encouraged all kinds of protests. She told people to go to CHOP and opened the entrance to the city hall for protesters during COVID. However, all her bad behaviors went unpunished, including the removal campaign to remove her.
The most sneaky award
Andrew Lewis
Seattle City Council Member Andrew Lewis secretly joined a bill to “expand the power of the council over the city’s attorney’s office.” The bill passed before the city attorney Ann Davison took office.
Hiding behind the guise of creating more transparency is a sneaky and misogynistic act.
extreme weather
Photo taken by Assunta Ng
Seattle rarely sees two snowstorms in a year. February and December 2021 brought two heavy snowstorms to Seattle. Climate change has caused a double blizzard and extreme heat to Seattle, with temperatures as high as 106º.
Champion Award
Bruce Harrell, of Japanese and African descent, won the election of the first Asian American and second black mayor in Seattle’s 152-year history. He defeated all 14 candidates and won the grand prize with 59% of the votes.
Frontline CEO Award
Uwashimaya CEO Denise Moriguchi Bags of groceries (Photo: Assunta Ng)
Uwajimaya CEO Denise Moriguchi packed groceries on December 31, when the store was crowded with customers. What role model did she do! This is not the first time she has worked with hands in a store, because she grew up in a family business. The same is true for other Moriguchi family members.
Biggest loser
Lorraine Gonzalez
Lorena Gonzalez ran for mayor, but was severely beaten despite the union’s donation of more than $900,000 and misleading advertising about Bruce Harrell. But voters are much smarter, they see through false information.
Unexpected loser
Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
Nikita Oliver
City attorney candidate Nicole Thomas-Kennedy and Seattle City Council candidate Nikita Oliver were strongly promoted by progressives during the election. Although they all won the primaries, they lost quite a lot of votes in the general elections.
Unexpected winner
Steve Hobbs was sworn in on November 22 (Image source: Office of the Secretary of State of Western Australia)
Governor Jay Insley appointed Steve Hobbs as the new Secretary of State in November last year. Among the six candidates. Former senator, Hobbes of Japanese descent is the first person of color in Washington State to serve as Secretary of State. He was surprised that he was selected.
Welcome back to organizer award
Nora Chan at the CID Welcome Back Event (Photo: Assunta Ng)
Nora Chan, Benjamin Lee and David Leong organized two welcoming back events in the International District of Chinatown. These two different activities have brought many families and tourists to the neighborhood.
Savvy political fundraising
Tony Au and City Attorney Ann Davison running for CID.
Tony Au organized as many as eight fundraising events for multiple candidates, including Dow Constantine, Bruce Harrell, Toshiko Hasegawa, Jimmy Mata, Ann Davidson, Sara Nelson, etc.
Bruce Harrell and James Huang (Photo by George Liu)
James Wong and his team were the main organizers of the Mayor Bruce Harrell’s fundraising dinner and raised more than $20,000 for his campaign.
Rising Star Award
In the off
Nella Kwan recently won a two-year term on the International Regional Special Review Committee. Kwan graduated from the University of Washington School of Business, is a board member of Kin On, and an active volunteer for the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce for many years.
Guan is also a popular master of ceremonies for community activities, including politics, activities for the elderly and children.
Most Politically Mind Award
Elaine Co
As a leader and activist, Elaine I Ko is one of the most politically mature organizers in the Asian community. She understands the connections and specific details between Asian and non-Asian politicians. She doesn’t make noise when doing things, and has won the respect of many people.
Dedicated patrol
Fifteen members of the community organization Night Watch stood in different positions on their ID cards to guide the protesters away. From left: Susan Lee, Brian Nguyen and Tanya Woo (Photo: George Liu)
CID Night Watch and Susan Lee Woo’s Chinatown block watchers volunteered their time to keep the community safe. This is not a fun voluntary experience, as these groups have to deal with homeless people, potential criminals and challenges during patrols.
Elderly Contribution Award
Anna Hou and Dow Constantine (Photo: Assunta Ng)
The founder of the Elderly in Action Foundation, Chen Nuola, and the current president, Anna Hou, worked tirelessly for the elderly in Chinatown International District. Chen drove the elderly to the vaccination point. Mr. Hou organized the Mid-Autumn Festival and presented about 500 boxes of moon cakes to the elderly residents.
Best Newcomer Role Award
Matt Chen
Matt Chen has been appointed by Mayor Bruce Harrell as the Special Advisor for Public Participation. Chen’s job is to deal with the media. These days, fake news has caused a lot of trouble to government officials. He will be very busy.
Grounded
Yamaguchi Kendy
Kendee Yamaguchi was elected as the new deputy mayor of Mayor Bruce Harrell. Yamaguchi’s dazzling career includes serving as executive director of the Asian American Affairs Committee, attorney general Bob Ferguson and executive director of Snohomish County. She is very excited about this new job.
National Pride Award
The Asian American stamps of Wu Jianxiong, one of the most influential nuclear physicists of the 20th century, and the Go for Broke stamps about Japanese American soldiers in World War II, are now on sale.
Actress Anna May Huang’s star will become the spokesperson of the United States Mint in 2022. She will become the first Chinese American movie star in Hollywood to receive this honor. Her film career spans the United States and Europe.
Best Intercultural Female Athlete Award
On September 11, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez (left) and Britain’s Emma Raducanu took a group photo after Raducanu defeated Fernandez in the women’s singles final of the US Open. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Emma Raducanu won her first US Open at the age of 18. She has Chinese and Romanian descent, was born in Canada, and her family immigrated to the UK. Her reputation makes all these countries and continents proud.
Best Asian Hollywood Rising Star Award
Simu Liu
Simu Liu, who appeared in the blockbuster “Shangzhi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, is hailed as Marvel’s first Asian superhero.
The movie earned US$432 million in box office worldwide, making it the eighth-highest box office movie in 2021.
Worst corner of the block
Overflowing trash bins at Little Saigon Bus Station (Photo courtesy of Patricia Fong)
12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street, abandoned by government officials, have been going downhill for so long. Crime and health issues are full of crime and health issues. CID is dazzling. Why is this allowed in our backyard?
The most resilient neighborhood
The company boarded the board on South Weller Street in ID. (Photo: Assunta Ng)
The Chinatown International District suffered losses during the pandemic and even before the COVID. Prior to the emergence of this unfortunate virus, CID experienced the Wah Mee massacre in 1983, Amazon’s escape from the community, and the Black Lives Matter separatist group. Since 2020, car wandering, theft, and destruction have continued to increase, leaving the company in trouble. .
A few companies have not survived the new crown pneumonia epidemic, but most of them are still strong. Its extraordinary resilience is unmatched by many other communities.
Best community event
Bruce Harrell’s AAPI Solidarity Dinner was held on December 10th at Joyale Restaurant. More than 400 AAPIs from different Asians participated in the celebration.
Assunta can be reached assunta@nwasianweekly.com.
