Latest news with #OfficeoftheSecretaryofState
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
New book honors 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian refugees arriving in WA
'New Land: Southeast Asian Refugees Finding Home in Washington' written by John C. Hughes and Edward Echtle Jr. (Photo Courtesy of the Secretary of State) Fifty years ago, Washington welcomed the first of thousands of Southeast Asian refugees fleeing war and conflict in their home countries. A new book captures 15 stories of first-generation refugees and their descendants and how they rebuilt their lives in Washington state. 'New Land: Southeast Asian Refugees Finding Home in Washington' touches upon topics such as the challenges people faced fleeing war and oppression, the heartache of displacement, the process of building new lives in the state, and hopes for a more just and inclusive future. It was written by John C. Hughes, chief historian for the Office of the Secretary of State, and Edward Echtle Jr., a historian for Legacy Washington. ''New Land' provides a window into the origins of Washington's diverse Southeast Asian communities through the stories of individuals,' Echtle said in a statement. 'Arriving as refugees, many endured profound hardships as they started over.' After the fall of Saigon, on April 30, 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War, the first 34 refugees arrived at Camp Murray, the National Guard Headquarters near Tacoma, on May 20, 1975. By the end of that year, roughly 4,000 refugees had settled in Washington with the assistance of state agencies, community organizations, and churches. Evans Nguyen was one of the 34 families who fled their home country 'with only the clothes on their backs' and arrived in Washington on May 20, 1975. He said his family, whose story is featured in the book, had to choose between leaving their home country behind or risking getting captured and being sent to a concentration camp. After deciding to flee, he describes how he still remembers the generosity he received from people in the state. 'I remember my mom and my dad, particularly we're having difficulties setting up doctors' appointments, getting jobs, buying houses, even grocery shopping,' Nguyen said. 'There were people to help us.' Nguyen is now an engineer who is working to help cure cancer. 'If we didn't escape back then, I really can't imagine where we'd be,' he said. Kayla Somvilay, originally from Laos, came to the U.S. in 1981 when she was 5 years old. 'As a child holding tightly to my family, as we left behind our homeland, seeking refuge from the war in hope of a better life,' Somvilay said. 'Like so many Lao and Southeast Asian families, we arrived with almost nothing except the will to survive and the dream of the future.' She said the extraordinary resilience her community has shown is living proof that out of displacement comes not only survival but also strength, unity, and leadership. Savong Lam is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia. She was 3 years old when she was carried to the Thai border by her aunt to flee. To Lam, the book is more than just ink and paper but rather represents the memory, courage, and spirit of her community. She said the seeds of the Khmer heritage were 'watered by tears, of loss, and nurtured by sunlight of hope.' 'Look all around you, see how those seeds have blossomed, how our communities have flourished,' Lam said.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP's Heintzeman wins Senate District 6 special election to replace Justin Eichorn
The Brief Republican Keri Heintzeman has defeated Democrat Denise Slipy in a special election for Senate District 6 in Minnesota, representing areas such as Brainerd and Grand Rapids. The special election was held to fill a seat left vacant by Sen. Justin Eichorn after his prostitution arrest. BRAINERD, Minn. (FOX 9) - Republican Keri Heintzeman will represent Minnesota's Senate District 6 after a special election was held to replace the spot resigned by Justin Eichorn. According to Minnesota's Office of the Secretary of State's results, Heintzeman has edged challenger Denise Slipy (the DFL's candidate) by a 60.27% to 39.59% margin - or 12,751 to 8,376 votes. Dig deeper Heintzeman is the wife of Rep. Josh Heintzeman, the Minnesota House rep for the Brainerd area. She previously worked as a district director for the Trump 2024 campaign and owns a recreational rental business in Nisswa. The backstory The two candidates faced off for the seat left vacant by Sen. Justin Eichorn, who resigned after being charged as part of a prostitution say Eichorn attempted to solicit a teen girl for sex but was really texting with an undercover police officer in Bloomington. He was arrested when he allegedly showed up to meet with the girl and is now facing federal charges in the case. He resigned days after his arrest. By the numbers Before Eichorn, the Senate District 6 seat was held by DFLer David Tomassoni for more than two decades until his death in 2022 after being diagnosed with ALS. Senate District 5, which previously covered much of the new District 6, was last won by a Democrat in 2012. Eichorn won the seat in 2016 by a narrow margin and easily earned re-election in 2020.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clash in WA Legislature over proposal to add rules for initiative signers
These boxes of petitions are for two of the six initiatives submitted to the Office of the Secretary of State in Washington in late 2023. Initiative 2111 was adopted by the Legislature and voters rejected Initiative 2109 in 2024. (Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard) A push by Democratic state senators for greater scrutiny of those circulating and signing initiative petitions advanced in the Washington Legislature on Tuesday over the objections of Republicans and the secretary of state. Opponents of the legislation argue it would impede voters' ability to engage in the initiative process, which allows citizens to propose changes in law on the ballot or to the Legislature. The bill would require those gathering initiative signatures to sign a declaration under penalty of false swearing that information written by signers is accurate and they were not paid for their signature. Senate Bill 5382 also directs the secretary of state, in validating signatures, to verify the address listed by a person on an initiative or referendum petition is the same as the one that is on their voter registration card. It passed the Senate State Government and Tribal Relations committee on a party-line 5-4 vote. Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, chair of the committee and the bill's prime sponsor, said it will bolster accountability and reduce the potential for bad actors to improperly influence the initiative process. Amendments approved Tuesday, he said, will bring Washington in line with California and Idaho in the declarations it requires signature-gatherers to sign. Republican lawmakers said the bill is a reaction to the seven citizen initiatives challenging Democratic policies that qualified for the ballot last year. The Legislature adopted three while voters rejected three and approved one. 'It's absolutely chilling,' said Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, a member of the Senate committee. 'I think it's a really sad day when we start taking away the ability of those who disagree with us and make it harder for them to initiate something to do about it.' Brian Heywood, founder of Let's Go Washington, which led signature-gathering for the seven measures, blasted the bill's approval. 'The legislature is showing what they really think about 3 million voters engaging in citizen advocacy,' he said in a statement. 'This bill is politically motivated to solidify the power of the majority and silence anyone who questions their authority. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, added his voice to the opposition on Tuesday. In a statement, he said anything that adds barriers or impediments to the initiative process 'is not helpful to Washingtonians.' 'Adding a voter's residential address to the process of validating voters' eligibility to sign an initiative petition is unnecessary and won't help voters in any demonstrative way,' Hobbs said. Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said changes envisioned in the bill won't disenfranchise 'people from expressing their views.' He said the state has a rigorous process for verifying a registered voter is the one who actually casts a ballot. That isn't the case with determining the validity of hundreds of thousands of signatures submitted on petitions by people paid to collect them. 'What could possibly go wrong when you're paying people dollars per signature to bring them in,' he said. 'I think this would provide not the same level of accountability that we have generally in the election system, but at least a step up to be sure.' Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, and House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, railed against the bill at their weekly meeting with reporters on Tuesday. 'This is a bill we refer to as the 'initiative-killer',' Braun said. 'It's not clear this bill is even constitutional.' The secretary of state is responsible for verifying and canvassing the names of registered voters who have signed an initiative or referendum petition. It uses statistical sampling to determine if enough signatures are submitted to qualify a measure for the ballot. In August, the state Supreme Court rebuffed a bid by an alliance of unions and progressive groups to force the secretary of state to redo its certification of last year's measures by reconfirming that the hundreds of thousands of people who signed petitions were legal voters. But justices left the door open for lawmakers or the secretary of state to amend the process and in a unanimous ruling in October said the state constitution 'does not require any particular signature verification procedure.' 'Whether more thorough procedures including checking of addresses should be required is a question for the legislature by statute or the secretary by rule,' then Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez wrote. The court rejected two related challenges that could have kept the four initiatives from getting on the November ballot. Those measures sought to repeal the state's capital gains tax, end its cap-and-trade program, make participation in a state-run, long-term care program optional and bar restrictions on natural gas in new construction. All but the gas measure were defeated Valdez's bill faces a difficult path from here. Because it will cost an estimated $1.2 million in the next budget, it must be considered and passed by the Senate Ways and Means Committee. With a projected $6 billion shortfall in the next budget, there may not be an appetite for this new expense. Pedersen said it is not 'a major caucus priority.' 'But then we'll pass several hundred bills that are not major caucus priorities,' he said. 'So I'll look forward to the discussion in our caucus about that.
