Seattle Mayor-Elect Bruce Harrell has announced that Snohomish County Executive Director Kendee Yamaguchi will be appointed as Deputy Mayor of Seattle. A former CAPAA Executive Director, Yamaguchi will bring a legacy of public service to the position.
“Following the footsteps of notable community leaders before me, I hope to carry on the legacy of AAPIs who have served our City,” Yamaguchi said on the announcement. “I am honored and excited to take this shining city forward alongside Seattle’s first mayor of Asian ancestry.”
CAPAA Executive Director Toshiko Hasegawa celebrated the announcement, saying, “Kendee Yamaguchi is a true servant to the people with a lifelong dedication to advancing equity for Asian, Native Hawai’ian, and Pacific islander communities. This appointment comes at a critical juncture where the equity gap has deepened, and the need for both representation and service has never been greater.”
Yamaguchi is a 3.5 generation Japanese American and homegrown Washingtonian. She was appointed as Executive Director of CAPAA in 2009 by Governor Christine Gregoire, and led the Commission for continued service under Governor Jay Inslee until her departure in 2013. She joined Snohomish County as Executive Director in 2016, where she managed cabinet-level departments and helped create an Office of Economic Recovery Resiliency to ensure a diverse, inclusive local economy of minority-owned businesses.
Join us in congratulating Kendee Yamaguchi as she steps into her new role at the helm of the City of Seattle, the largest city in Washington State.
Read more about this and other major appointments via this story by Northwest Asian Weekly.
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