Ahead of the Aug. 6 primary election, the My Neighborhood News Network submitted a list of questions to candidates running for election. We are publishing responses as we receive them.

Cindy Ryu is seeking reelection to the Washington State House of Representatives in the 32nd Legislative District. She has held the Position 1 seat since 2011 and is currently serving her seventh term.

A graduate of the University of Washington, Ryu began her political career as a Shoreline City Councilmember before being elected as the city’s mayor. She was the first Korean-American woman mayor in America.

Ryu served as president of both the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce and its Dollars For Scholars Chapter, and helped improve numerous public parks, build its first City Hall and create Shoreline’s Green Business Program.

She is the chair of the House Innovation, Community and Economic Development, and Veterans committees and is a member of both the Appropriations and Consumer Protection and Business committees.  She is the vice chair of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, a nonprofit organization with a goal of promoting economic well-being and quality of life for all citizens of the region.

Tell voters about yourself. How long you’ve lived in the district you’re hoping to represent/represent, what platforms/issues you’re running on and how your experiences benefit the position you are running for.

I have lived in four of the six cities in the 32nd Legislative District since the mid-1970s, including Seattle, Shoreline, Lynnwood and Edmonds.

The issues I am running on are reducing crime, protecting consumers, expanding broadband access, supporting economic development and investing in infrastructure such as broadband and emergency preparedness.

How do you plan to stay in touch with constituents while you are in office?

My office has a staff of one dedicated legislative assistant and myself. We respond to inquiries and concerns, especially paying attention to replying to all emails and calls from constituents of the 32nd Legislative District in a timely manner. We also do annual newsletter mailers to registered voters as well as conduct virtual or telephone town halls.  Constituents may also sign up to receive e-newsletters for brief updates during each Legislative Session here.

What are the top three priority areas you would focus on as a lawmaker?

Disaster Preparedness and Resiliency

As a former insurance agent, I proposed standing up a statewide Office of Resilience and I am now working on ramping up our state’s disaster preparedness, response and resiliency, including recovery and rebuilding, alongside my colleagues and the Military Department’s Emergency Management Division.

Affordable Broadband and Digital Equity

I will continue to work on affordable broadband and digital equity, as we work with the private and public sectors over the next few years on a successful implementation of the BEAD Broadband infrastructure funding – we’re eligible for $1.23 billion in federal funds!

Tourism and FIFA 2026 World Cup

As the chair of the committee responsible for tourism the past eight years and as the incoming president of Pacific Northwest Economic Region, I helped form and co-chair a two-nation Regional Tourism Council with the upcoming FIFA 2026 World Cup games in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

What are the priority areas of your legislative district?

Affordable housing, affordable utilities and infrastructure such as transportation and broadband, and good schools.

What do you think the state’s top three budget priorities should be?

Funding public schools is a constitutional mandate, transportation infrastructure funding has been a challenge, and we must address the housing affordability crisis which has led to homelessness challenges.

Recent state legislation has focused on housing initiatives to increase housing supply and the construction of middle housing. Do you support these initiatives? Why or why not?

Yes, we must increase housing supply and construct more middle housing. We’ve been blessed to be an attractive state in which to live and work. Unfortunately, we are short of housing supply in the hundreds of thousands of units which has led to increased housing costs. Increasing numbers of families and the elderly facing homelessness is destabilizing and very expensive for the state and local governments.  It is much more humane and more sustainable to prevent Washingtonians from entering into a spiral of homelessness.

With rent rising, does the state have a responsibility to cap rent increases? Do you have ideas for supporting struggling renters?

Yes, there’s a responsible way of regulating rent increases. I supported a much more reasonable proposal out of the House Appropriations Committee, which also received a favorable vote off the House floor. Timely small assistance such as with utility payments and allowing portability of background checks for future tenants can go a long way to support struggling renters. Increasing housing supply much faster than in the past will also ease upward pressures on rental rates.

Is there more that lawmakers could be doing to address behavioral health issues related to mental health and substance abuse? What about homelessness?

Yes, I support the work of Rep. [Lauren] Davis and others to stand up programs to help Washingtonians with mental health and substance use issues. Homelessness, which is closely tied to these issues, in addition to the housing affordability challenges need a lot more resources and coordinated work.

What responsibility does the state have in mitigating the impacts of climate change?

Mitigating the impacts of climate change should be done much more at the federal level, but it falls to the state. Not acting will cost us a lot more with more frequent and much more expensive disasters such as conflagrations, wildfires and extreme weather conditions.

What is your opinion on a state income tax?

We have the most regressive tax system and with an increasing population and higher needs, we must have a more progressive way of taxing ourselves than through sales tax, property tax, utility tax and B & O taxes. A state income tax or something that is more focused on the net income of individuals and corporations will be much more fair and yet not discourage economic development as the current taxes on gross activities of businesses do.

School districts are facing drastic budget cuts, which many say is due to the Legislature’s failure to fully fund basic education. Is this a fair criticism? If so, how would you propose addressing it?

The Legislature has limited options in revenue and so we have not been able to fully fund basic education. We’ve worked hard to address pressing needs such as homelessness, public health, public safety and mental health in addition to infrastructure funding and basic education. A more robust state revenue would go a long way toward addressing school district budgets including special ed.

What role should the state play in supporting underrepresented groups?

State has the responsibility to support underrepresented groups that have been underserved or bore the brunt of environmental and social impacts.

The Legislature failed to pass several police accountability bills during the last session. Would these be a priority for you in 2025?

We were able to pass HB 2153 Deterring Catalytic Converter Theft bill, which I sponsored. We added new crimes for trafficking in stolen catalytic converters. Enhancements apply if the crime was conducted using social media, which could be extended to other crimes. I would support other reasonable public safety and police accountability bills.

How can we increase civic engagement among younger age groups?

I would like to engage young people through issues they’d be interested in, such as financial literacy, social media, climate change, and AI.

— By Jasmine Contreras-Lewis