Sumner Mayor Bill Pugh Addresses Rise In Anti-Asian Hate Crimes

SUMNER, WA — Sumner Mayor Bill Pugh is the latest Washington elected official to speak out against the recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.

Over the past year, the United States has seen an increase in hate crimes targeting Asian communities and community members. Stop AAPI Hate, a watchdog group tracking anti-Asian hate crimes, says they received 3,795 reports of hate crimes between March 19, 2020 and February 28, 2021. Of those, 158 were reported in Washington, making it the state with the third highest number of anti-Asian incidents following New York and California.

Pugh released a statement Wednesday, saying he had recently decided it was important to say something — especially considering Sumner and Pierce County's history with anti-Asian hate.

"I was debating whether or not to address the growing reports of racism incidents against Asian Americans. The thing is, while we’ve been talking about racism as part of a national conversation, these actions hit far too close to experiences we’ve already had here in Sumner’s history," writes Pugh.

Pugh goes on to explain that, in the 1890s, Pierce County had about 2,500 ethnically Chinese residents, many of whom were forced out by anti-Chinese groups who raided homes and forced them from their towns — even if they had been born in Pierce County. Pugh also touches on the story of Ed Kiyohara, a Sumner resident who was placed in a Japanese American internment camp in Puyallup during World War 2.

"I share these stories here because true to form, history seems to be repeating itself," says Pugh. "It’s heartbreaking that we’re still struggling with the same demons in 2021. In both the incidents I describe above, there are nice stories of other Sumner residents protecting and helping their Asian neighbors. At the same time, no one should need help or protection from someone else in the first place."

Read Pugh's full statement on Facebook.

Pugh joins several other lawmakers from across the state in speaking out against hate. Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee joined several other legislators at Renton City Hall for a conference denouncing the rise in hate crimes, and proposing solutions to curb their spread.

"At the legislature, we are committing to breaking down systemic racism in Washington to build stronger democracy," said Rep. My-Linh Thai, (D-Bellevue).

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