MEET TOSHIKO
I serve as your Port Commissioner because I have the values and experience to meet the dire needs of this moment. I believe that we can rebuild our economy to be better than it was before. We can build a sustainable blue economy, support workers and families, address issues of mobility and livability around the Port - but it will require strengthening our connections. The Port is uniquely positioned to be a leader in bringing together industry, business, workers and communities to build us back stronger. I bring the sense of urgency to the Port to answer to the regional challenges of our time.
Growing up in Seattle
A fourth-generation Japanese American and lifelong Seattle resident, I am a product of the community that raised me. Three generations of the Hasegawa family have lived in my home on Beacon Hill. The same halls where my father grew up are the halls where my newborn daughter will learn to take her first steps. I grew up walking along the piers, buying salmon at the docks of the Duwamish River, and watching whales in the sound.
A daughter of the labor movement, I was raised in a household that was always bustling with activity - neighbors and colleagues always around our dining table, planning their next action or sharing a meal. My father was Secretary of the Teamsters Local 174, one of the largest truckers’ unions in the country. Being a labor household instilled in me that it’s through solidarity, - linking ourselves together - that we achieve our greatest victories. My mother is a mental health professional who dedicated her career to helping vulnerable people. From her I learned to listen to people’s stories, to hear them, and to learn from their experiences.
I was shaped by my parents and community to value working in service to others, and to feel a strong sense of civic duty. It’s those early experiences holding a picket line in solidarity with workers fighting for fairer wages, or marching alongside my mother at a Take Back the Night rally, that informs the lens with which I approach issues - one of civil rights and social justice for all people. This conviction led me to pursue my B.A. and M.A. in Criminal Justice from Seattle University.
Lil’ Teamsters holding the picket line with our father
Speaking on behalf of King County’s Office of Law Enforcement Oversight
Career
My career has been dedicated to working with communities to amplify the voices of those in need, and create policy that serves us all. In 2018, I was appointed Executive Director of the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) - becoming the youngest member of Governor Inslee’s cabinet, and the youngest ED in CAPAA’s history. With CAPAA, I advise the Governor, State Legislature and other agencies on issues impacting marginalized communities in our state. We reach across geographies, races, cultures and barriers to advocate for community needs and interests. Part of that work has involved coordinating with our Port on contract opportunities for women and minority owned businesses, and helping to expand awareness and legislation addressing human trafficking.
Outside of my role at CAPAA, I am proud to have worked with various city, county and national offices and organizations, including:
King County Office of Law Enforcement Oversight
King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles Office
Japanese American Citizens League - National office
Managing under the pandemic
As a member of the the Governor’s subcabinet on business diversity, I witnessed first hand the devastating impact of Covid-19 on our communities. Small, disadvantaged minority and women-owned businesses were hit hard, and API businesses were hit first. Prejudice and misinformation caused incidents of hate crimes and vandalization to rise while foot traffic and revenues for Asian businesses dropped. As the virus spread, our office worked tirelessly to provide immediate support to families and businesses across the state; and to raise up their needs to the Governor’s office. And we got results: millions of dollars in relief support to community based organizations and small businesses across the state; technical support to business owners through the Department of Commerce; creation of the Washington State Language Access Plan so english language learners can access vital information; a community-based hotline to report hate crimes; and strong political statements from the state’s highest office denouncing hate and bias. As we chart a path forward from this crisis, it’s going to take strong leadership across all levels of government to ensure we build back stronger, and that no one gets left behind.
At home, my own perspective shifted monumentally. I became a mom during the pandemic. As my husband and I prepared for our daughter’s arrival, the health and economic crises we’re facing became more acute, and, our impending climate crisis felt more tangible. I wonder if my daughter will have the same freedom as I did to enjoy our natural landscapes, to watch marine life along the piers, or be captivated by the activity of ships moving through our canals. I can’t lay the burden of climate change solely on her shoulders - it starts here, now, with us. And I’m determined to work for her, and for all of us, to build a stronger future for our region.
With one of the largest ports of entry in the country, Seattle is in a perfect position to think locally and act globally. Our rich diversity of cultures, customs and experiences give us the remarkable opportunity to work across differences and be a part of real, inclusive and collaborative solutions. And the Port of Seattle plays an integral role in this - as a large employer, as a system that brings in goods and services, as a hub of tourism and economic activity - in deciding what our future will look like.