SEATTLE — Editor's note: The above video is from 2018.
Former Tacoma Mayor and current Seattle Chamber of Commerce President Marilyn Strickland is running for Congress.
Strickland is vying to replace outgoing Congressmember Denny Heck who represents Washington's 10th District, which includes parts of Pierce, Thurston, and Mason counties.
Heck would be up for re-election next year, but announced he will retire at the end of the 116th Congress in January 2021.
According to her campaign website, Strickland has a "proven record of local and regional leadership, deep roots in the South Sound, and the ability to build broad-based coalitions that deliver results." As mayor of Tacoma, she attracted more than $1 billion in investment into housing, office, and retail space; boosted high school graduation rates; and invested millions in infrastructure, according to her campaign.
Strickland was the second female mayor in Tacoma and the first black female mayor.
"Mayors get things done, and I’ll take that same focus and energy to represent the 10th District in the other Washington,” Strickland said. “The South Sound is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. We need a forward thinking representative in Congress to solve the challenges that come with growth – from transportation and housing to health care and climate change.
“In Congress, I will fight for an economy that works for everyone, lower health care costs, clean air and water and the ability to both send your kids to college and retire with dignity. Mayors answer to the people and that’s how Congress should operate too. It’s time to put government back into the hands of the voters.”
Strickland’s early endorsements include two-term Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, Sumner Mayor Bill Pugh, Fircrest Mayor Hunter George, Tacoma Port Commissioner John McCarthy, environmental leader Gene Duvernoy, former Washington State Democratic Chair Paul Berendt, and educator Nate Bowling, the 2016 Washington State Teacher of the Year.
