Promising to be a bold progressive, Sen Pramila Jayapal announces campaign for Congress

Seattle, Washington - 

Pledging to fight against a system that is rigged for corporations and the wealthy, State Sen. Pramila Jayapal announced her bid for the congressional seat from the 7^th District being vacated by long-time US Rep Jim McDermott.

“I’m a bold progressive fighter who will stand up for Seattle’s values,” Jayapal said in her announcement speech. “I’m running for Congress because our system is rigged for corporations and the wealthy. The time has come to tackle this inequality: we need to raise the minimum wage, expand Social Security and Medicare, and ensure debt-free college for young people across America.”

When she was 16, Jayapal’s parents put together all the money they had to send their daughter here from India. For the last 25 years, Jayapal has focused on giving back to the community that has given her so much, by founding an immigrants’ rights organization, helping to lead the charge for Seattle’s groundbreaking $15 minimum wage, and passing meaningful legislation in Olympia.

Speaking to a packed room at Seattle Central College filled with supporters, labor leaders and progressive activists, Jayapal said she would stand up for women’s healthcare.

“With Planned Parenthood under attack, with clinics burning, we can’t settle for being on defense. I will fight to expand access to women’s health care, and that includes access to abortion care,” Jayapal said.

Jayapal also took a swipe at the hateful rhetoric coming from the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

“People like Donald Trump are whipping up hate and fear across the country, resulting in a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Latino violence. Like I have always done, I will lead in laying out a different vision because I know, like you do, that America's diversity is our biggest strength,” Jayapal said.
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See an item when she was elected as state senator two years ago

When Pramila Jayapal came to the US as a student when she was 16, her father wanted her to become the CEO of IBM one day. True to his wishes she worked in Wall Street after earning her MBA at Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

“But I felt dissatisfied soon. Making money did not attract me. I wanted to work for people and social justice. After two decades, I feel that I made the right decision,” Jayapal, who won to the Washington State Senate from the 37th District with 66.3 percent of the vote, said.

All these years, she said, she never thought of running for elected office. “I found that it is another vehicle to carry out changes in society and work for the causes dear to me.”

She is the first Indian American elected to the state legislature and will be the only woman of color in the state Senate.

Jayapal founded OneAmerica, Washington state’s largest immigrant and refugee advocacy organization, and is a leading national advocate for immigrant, civil, and human rights.

A White House Champion for Change, Jayapal, 48, is an outspoken advocate on issues related to immigration, women’s rights and social justice. When dealing with these issues she says she is a radical.

Yet she was endorsed by the extreme left as well as the leaders of the establishment and Seattle Times. She said it shows her ability to work with all without compromising on principles. “I am a progressive thinker, but also understands demands from different levels. I have worked with people who disagree with me. I take it as a challenge to fix problems rather than leaving it,” she said. “I am an organizer and don’t have a give-up bone in my body! I am relentless in finding solutions, organizing people and communities around those solutions, and moving to resolution.”

She is an ardent supporter of immigration noting that immigrants made this country.

She says the opposition against President Obama is pure racism, which is still strong in America. “When President Obama was elected some Republicans made it their number one priority to prevent him from accomplishing things. They were successful to block progressive legislations like immigration reform. Not all Republicans, but a small group in the House made it a point to block any progress.

“Voters were tired and confused and it benefited the Republicans. During the first term, Obama tried to compromise. In the second term, he tried to do things. It is depressing to see where we are now.”

In spite of all of this, she expects Obama to act on issues like immigration soon. The president can do much through executive action for undocumented like expanded deferred action. He can also take action to end the backlog for family immigration.

Since she is a nationally known activist, she could have chosen to contest for Congress, but she preferred the state politics. “Things are stalled in the US Congress for quite some time. Nothing is happening there, but changes are made in state level for issues like minimum wages, education etc.”

She said the need for education reform is a priority for her as a state senator. Currently the state is in the 41st place as regards spending for school children, which affects the quality of education. College education too has become unaffordable for many.

Another major thing she wants is to make the system accessible to minorities and women so that they too can come forward to stand for public office. She advocates for higher taxes for the rich and promises to bring more jobs to district and held small businesses.

She is currently the Distinguished Taconic Fellow at the Center for Community Change and a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Washington Law School.

She was co-chair of the committee to select a new Seattle Police Chief and member of Mayor’s Committee on income inequality, enacting a path to a $15 minimum wage.
He was in the committee which recommended $15 as minimum wage in Seattle. She wants to increase the minimum wage statewide, though it need not be same as in a major city like Seattle.

‘I’m proud to represent the most racially and economically diverse district in Washington State,’ Jayapal told a packed room of supporters at her campaign party at the Royal Room in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle. â€˜Our district represents the future of this state and country. As I’ve said all along, this campaign isn’t about electing me, it’s about electing us. Given the scale of the change we seek we have to prepare ourselves to what amounts to a permanent campaign. And this is just the beginning.’

During the campaign, she walked with volunteers knocking on 25,000 doors, making 12,000 phone calls, and registering hundreds of new voters.

Jayapal was endorsed by elected leaders, including US Senator Patty Murray, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, former King County Executive Ron Sims, and State Representative Cyrus Habib. 

Endorsing her in the primary, the Seattle Times noted, ‘In a crowded contest for Seattle’s 37th Legislative District state Senate seat, Pramila Jayapal stands out for the breadth and depth of her civic involvement,’ it said. It also advised her to ‘strive for independence on issues that might not always appease the many liberal and labor groups that have endorsed her, including Fuse Washington, four separate SEIU unions and the Washington Education Association.’

She is the author of a book, Pilgrimage: One Woman’s Return to a Changing India, and many articles.

She lives in Columbia City with her husband Steve and her son Janak, 17, a junior in the Seattle Public Schools.