Cindy Ryu (born 1949) is an American politician serving as a member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from the 32nd district. She was the first

Korean-American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian Americans ...

woman to be a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in the United States. She is the Chair of the Community and Economic Development Committee and works on issues such as broadband deployment, catalytic converter thefts, consumer protection, outdoor recreation funding, increasing housing supply, and resilience of small businesses, communities, infrastructure and the environment.

Early life and education

Ryu has lived in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in operations management from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Career

While serving as a member of the

Shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

City Council, Ryu was elected mayor in 2008, becoming the first female Korean-American mayor in the United States. Cindy was president of both th
Shoreline Chamber of Commerce
and its Dollars For Scholars Chapter. She helped create Shoreline's Green Business Program. Following a loss in her candidacy for Shoreline

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, Ryu ran for a seat in the

for the 32nd

legislative district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

in 2010. She faced Republican Art Coday and won the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

with 61.02% of the vote, becoming the first Korean-American woman to hold office in that chamber. Ryu served on the Community and Economic Development and Housing Committee during her first term in office. In 2012, Ryu was re-elected, winning 69.9% of the vote against Republican challenger Randy Hayden. In her sophomore term as representative, Ryu was elected by her peers as the vice chair of the Business and Financial Services Committee. In 2014, Ryu ran unopposed. Ryu was chair of the House Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee. In 2016, Ryu defeated Republican challenger Alvin Rutlege, winning 76% of the vote. Ryu was chair of the Members of Color Caucus and focused on increasing data privacy during her term as chair. In 2018, Ryu defeated Republican challenger Dio Boucsieguez, winning 75.8% of the vote. Ryu was a member of the Appropriations committee. She also joined the Consumer Protection & Business committee. In 2020, Ryu defeated Republican challenger Shirley Sutton, winning 72.8% of the vote. In 2020, Ryu chaired the Community and Economic Development Committee. In 2022, Ryu defeated Lori Theis, who was affiliated with the Election Integrity Party. Ryu won 82% of the vote. Ryu is the chair of the Innovation, Community & Economic Development, & Veterans Committee, as well as a member of the Appropriations and Consumer Protection & Buissness Committees. She is Chair of Women In Government, a national organization of women state legislators.

References

External links

House Democrats page
American mayors of Korean descent American women of Korean descent in politics Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Living people Women state legislators in Washington (state) Mayors of places in Washington (state) Women mayors of places in Washington (state) People from Shoreline, Washington 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 1957 births {{Washington-politician-stub 1949 births