Dear friends and neighbors,
Happy Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander American Heritage Month! Celebrating the heritage and cultural background of the tapestry of individuals in our communities is a wonderful way to learn more about each other and discover how we can best support one another to make Washington a great place for everyone.
I’m proud of the work our eight Asian American representatives have done to support the AANHPI community and make our state more equitable, including bills like Rep. Vandana Slatter’s HB 1155 that protects deeply personal health information from being sold without our consent. Or Rep. Cindy Ryu’s HB 2153 that helps protect consumers by strengthening regulations on catalytic converter transactions to curb theft and keep property safe.
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Mexican American heritage
Cinco de Mayo is another great example of celebrating cultural heritage. Almost 20% of our country’s population identifies as Latino and more than 37 million Mexican Americans live in the United States.
Interestingly, Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated in the U.S. than it is in Mexico, with events around the country paying homage to Mexican American tradition and culture.
The holiday comes from a decisive military victory by the Mexican army over French forces on May 5, 1862 at the Battle of Puebla. Napoleon III was aiming to establish an empire in Mexico to favor French interests and invaded Mexico in late 1861.
The significance of the Battle of Puebla is notable because 4,000 Mexican soldiers were able to defeat the 8,000 strong French army that were better equipped and had not lost a battle in over 50 years. The French defeat on May 5 may also have played a role in the destiny of the United States. Some scholars argue that if the French had been victorious, it would have freed up resources for them to become an ally to the U.S. in the American Civil War.
Instead, the French continued fighting and were able to claim a short-lived victory from 1864-67. By then, the American Civil War had ended and the United States began supporting Mexican resistance efforts, eventually prompting Napoleon III to withdraw from Mexico.
I’m grateful that history played out the way it did because today we have a vibrant Mexican American community in our state. In the legislature, Representatives like Sharlett Mena and Julio Cortes, both proud first-generation Mexican Americans, work to increase quality of life for Washingtonians through bills like Rep. Mena’s HB 1047 that passed last year to become the strongest bill in the country banning harmful chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products.
Last session Rep. Cortes passed HB 1406 that protects runaway youth and youth experiencing homeless in our communities by extending the time they can remain in a shelter while a parent or guardian is contacted and providing reconciliation services to reconnect families.
2024 Holidays and observances
While election year restrictions prevent me from sending out any more communications between filing week (5/6) through the certification of the election in November (you can read more about that below), I’ll be celebrating the contributions of our diverse communities all through the year.
Budget wins for the 30th District
The mailer I sent out last month (you can read it here) gave an overview of the investments we made in this year’s supplemental budget, including funding to address some of our most pressing statewide issues like affordable housing, the opioid/fentanyl crisis, and childcare.
Advocating for projects that make our district a better, healthier, more affordable place to live is one of my priorities in Olympia, and I’m proud of the funding secured for the 30th District, including:
- $309K for EV Chargers at the Federal Way Community Center
- $77K for the South King County Public Market project planning phase
- $600K for the Algona Wetland Preserve Interpretive Trail to reduce flooding
- $750K for El Centro De La Raza to help pay off their land acquisition loan
- $100K for the African Community Housing Development for wraparound social services and to expand and maintain existing education and family engagement programs
- $1 million for the Retail Theft Taskforce to address retail theft and crime
- $750K for the Equitable Recovery and Reconciliation Alliance to provide culturally relevant support to small businesses in South King County
Election year communications restrictions
There are certain restrictions on legislator communications to prevent the use of state resources for election purposes every election year. These restrictions include a freeze on my legislative Facebook account and my legislative webpage beginning Monday, May 6, 2024, until after the general election in November.
However, I am still here to help you! Even during the election year freeze, you can still reach out to my Legislative Assistant Preeya Williams or email me if there’s anything I can do to assist you or your family. You’ll also be able to find loads of information and access to state & local resources on my website → housedemocrats.wa.gov/Taylor.
