Mariko Yamada (born October 23, 1950) is a Japanese-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

social worker who served as the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

assemblywoman from

California's 4th Assembly district California's 4th State Assembly district is one of 80 California California State Assembly, State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by California Democratic Party, Democrat Cecilia Aguiar-Curry of Winters, California, Winters. D ...

from 2008 to 2014.

Personal

Both of Yamada's parents were held in Japanese internment camps during World War II. Yamada grew up attending inner-city schools and later became the first member of her family to complete college and graduate school. She lives in Davis with her husband, Janlee Wong. They have two children — Meilee and Midori.

Education

Yamada received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and received her master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California.

Political career

Prior to serving in the Assembly, Yamada represented the city of

Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...

on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors from 2003-2008. She was elected in 2008 after defeating West Sacramento Mayor

Christopher Cabaldon Christopher L. Cabaldon (born November 12, 1965) is a Filipino-American politician from California who served as mayor of West Sacramento. He is the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. He also represents the State of California on the W ...

in a competitive Democratic primary, a victory that many considered an upset for Yamada. She was the third consecutive woman from

to be elected to this seat, following in the footsteps of

Helen Thomson Helen MacLeod Thomson is a former member of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and a former Democratic assemblywoman from California's 8th Assembly district. Thomson was first elected to the assembly in 1996 and served three two-year terms. ...

and Lois Wolk. In 2016, Yamada lost the election for the seat representing California's 3rd State Senate district to Bill Dodd.

Career

Yamada's experience includes a decade in Washington, D.C. in federal service, first with the U.S. Census Bureau working on the undercount reduction campaign of the 1980 Census. She later worked as an

investigator Investigator may refer to: Occupations Government and law * Detective, a person who investigates crimes, can be a rank and job in a police department, state or federal employee, or a civilian called a private detective * Inspector, a police rank ...

with Civil Rights division of the United States Department of Commerce. She also co-produced and co-hosted "Gold Mountain, D.C.", a jazz and information show on

WPFW WPFW (89.3 FM) is a talk and jazz music community radio station serving the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by the Pacifica Foundation, and its studios are located on K Street Northwest. History WPFW launched at 8 p.m. ...

89.3 FM.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamada, Mariko 1950 births Living people American social workers Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly California politicians of Japanese descent County supervisors in California People from Davis, California Politicians from Denver University of Colorado alumni USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work alumni Women state legislators in California American politicians of Japanese descent American women of Japanese descent in politics 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians