In December 2025, after 25 years of service, long time Board member Arlene Oki, announced her retirement from the International Examiner. Arlene’s contributions and hard work helped pave the way for our voices to be heard in the Chinatown-International District, Seattle City Hall and far beyond, and for us to have a seat at the tables where decisions affecting our lives are being discussed. We wanted to share some of her rich and important history with our readers. Her life and legacy trace a journey in which Arlene was called into service through her work in healthcare, she shared that at times stood alone. She was a pioneer Asian American speaking up and bringing more Asian American voices into the national and local discourse and in making sure that we were informed.
Arlene came to the IE first as a writer, then serving on the board. Originally drawn into public service through her experiences in public health, she applied her commitment toward the wellbeing of the collective to a diverse group of populations and organizations including the IE, JACL and the political campaigns of several prominent national and local figures.
Arlene shared a bit about her life and path with the IE through the Q & A exchange that follows. In putting together this article, we’ve had the honor to witness and contemplate the deep commitment Arlene has placed toward a better life for all of us. We will miss her!
International Examiner: What year did your join the Board? What brought you into serving on the IE board?
Arlene Oki: I believe I joined the Board around 1990 and retired from the Board in December, 2025. I was a news junkie for many years and was grateful that the International Examiner covered news about the AANHP community – news that was rarely covered in mainstream news publications, television and radio. I admired the work of many local Asian Pacific American leaders and was happy to read news about their numerous accomplishments to address injustice and improve the lives of many in our community.
IE: I understand you wrote for and supported the IE before you joined the Board. Can you tell me about that? What drew you to write for the paper and what was meaningful about being involved with the paper back then?
AO: I was working for Mayor Charles Royer at that time and used my Japanese name as my byline. I felt it was important to inform the community about legislation passed in the state legislature and city government which might of interest to them. I also wanted to see more Asian Pacific men and women in political offices and leaders in government and corporate offices.
IE: In what ways were you involved in the CID when you first came to the IE?
AO: Actually, I organized a couple of campaign events in the CID/ID to help Charles Royer win his election to become mayor of Seattle. I became friends with those who helped me in the campaign.
IE: As you reflect on the time you served on the IE what are some ways the paper made positive contributions to the community? To the City? To the AANHPI community?
AO: The news that the IE published was a key catalyst in informing the community about acts taken by government leaders which would impact the Chinatown International District. As the paper started writing articles about and by a more diverse AANPH community it fostered a greater understanding about the broad community, its history and current issues.
IE: Would you care to share more about your career and professional path? I understand you worked in health care then onto the Mayor’s office and the city of Seattle. I would guess it influenced your role as a Board member at the IE?
AO: I graduated from the Deaconess School of Nursing and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Whitworth College. I was a registered nurse with experience in emergency room, intensive care and the cardiac care unit. I felt great satisfaction in my work as a nurse and it convinced me that providing public service was important. However, something more important came into my life when I married and had three beautiful children. They became the center of my life and it wasn’t public service but a joyful and truly important part of my life.
I began to watch television news and was inspired by speeches made by President John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. I was devastated when President Kennedy was assassinated.
Later, I volunteered to work for Robert Kennedy’s campaign for president. Sadly, my first experience volunteering on a presidential campaign ended tragically. My assignment included calling Democratic National Convention delegates to urge them to vote for Robert Kennedy to become the Party’s nominee for president. Again, I was shocked and devastated when I watched what I thought would be a celebration of his success in California and he was shot at his campaign party in Los Angeles.
Feeling it was important to continue volunteering to help the best candidates, I decided to volunteer for Jimmy Carter’s successful campaign for president. It was fun to work on Gary Locke’s first campaign for the State Legislature at meetings held in Ruth Woo’s house with lots of Kentucky Fried chicken at each meeting! I later worked to help elect Jan Drago, owner of a local Haggen Dazs ice cream parlor, to the Seattle City Council. She won and served many years in that and other positions in local government. She is a lifelong friend who I admire greatly. Later, I was chair of the Bob Santos campaign for a seat on the King County Council. Sadly he lost but was happy when he was selected to hold a major position in the Bill Clinton administration.
After my daughters entered school, I became concerned about public schools and began to see gross inequities in the quality of schools in Southeast Seattle. I joined the Committee for Quality Integrated Education and when members wanted to find an editor for its newsletter we hired a recent graduate of the University of Washington we all know and love … Ron Chew! I later joined the District-wide Advisory Committee for Desegregation which successfully developed and implemented a plan, but dropped a few years later.
After I wrote an article about desegregating Seattle Public Schools in another community newspaper Asian Family Affairs, I received a phone call from Charles Royer. He supported the desegregation plan in his commentary on KING TV News and he asked me to support his campaign to become Seattle’s next Mayor. My children were in junior and senior high school so I decided to work for him after he won his race.
I did a variety of work in the Mayor’s office which included answering constituent mail, writing briefing papers, speeches and later was assigned to work with the City department building the Beacon Boulevard project. I was happy the Mayor developed great friendships with leaders in the CID/ID community such as Tomio Moriguchi and Bob Santos. Doug Chin was hired in the Department of Community Development and helped spur the development of housing for Asian Pacific elderly in the CID/ID.
When I was assigned to the City of Seattle Human Services Department, I concentrated on advocacy for anti-poverty services and the Southeast Asian refugee community, developed Requests for Proposals for a variety of human services, and developed contracts with nonprofit service agencies. I was honored to join Governor Booth Gardner’s Transition Committee where I advocated for refugee services, food banks, emergency shelters and early childhood education. During this period, I developed great respect for the tireless and strong work of leaders in the Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese Vietnamese, and Laotian communities. Much like Japanese Americans like my family who were unlawfully incarcerated in U.S. concentration camps during World War II, they came with nothing and created strong, viable communities. I joined the Seattle JACL and Japanese Cultural and Community Center Boards to address this gross injustice.
IE: You were on the Board during a very tenuous recent time in the paper’s existence – the pandemic years and consequently a startling and dramatic rise in hate crimes against Asians.
AO: The pandemic brought deep concerns about maintaining good health for many elderly members of the CID/ID community and preserving the economic vitality of its businesses. The IE provided key information about the crisis in the CID/ID community.
Hate crimes to members of our community and AANPH throughout the nation is a deep and rising concern. Also the presence of homeless people in the CID/ID continues to be a concern although steps have been taken to address their needs.
IE: How have you left your imprint on the IE Board and/or paper? Are there people or causes in particular that you are happy to have contributed to?
AO: The only imprint I have left for the IE Board and/or paper is that I am someone who cares deeply about accurate news and coverage that provides a service to our community. The lifelong service of our hero Ron Chew is appreciated greatly by everyone, especially me. My long tenure on the Board is largely due to his presence to inspire and guide those of us who care about sustaining excellent journalism delivered by the IE staff.
IE: What are some ways you have benefited from being on the IE Board?
AO: I guess my involvement on the IE Board fulfilled my desire to be involved with journalism and helping people to be informed about actions taken by government and others.
IE: If you could offer the current board and staff some words of wisdom moving forward.
AO: I have witnessed IE staff who give all of themselves to produce an excellent newspaper. They work long hours in one tiny, crowded room. They deserve a well-furnished, comfortable office with access to the best equipment and other aids to support their work.
I have been encouraging the staff and Board to find ways to receive recognition for the newspaper and staff the paper deserves. Hopefully, such recognition would result in the financial assistance and improved environment they need and deserve.
