King County Council Chair Girmay Zahilay pauses to take a selfie outside last month’s Hometown Heroes Awards.
Courtesy of Girmay Zahilay
Girmay Zahily celebrated the best of Seattle at his third annual Hometown Heroes event last month at the Paramount Theatre. Zahily was re-elected as Madison Park’s representative on the King County Council in 2023 and is now the Chair of King County Council.
At this year’s celebration, he began by recognizing the many audience and community members that make the world a better place and continued to stress the need to acknowledge the people lifting others up instead of tearing them down.
In the spirit of lifting others, Zahily would like to see King County lead the nation in economic mobility, safety, innovation and inclusivity. Citing his childhood, he says he has seen this firsthand. Zahilay was born in a refugee camp, and his family came to King County when he was just 3 years old. “This county gave us a second chance – public housing, strong public schools, a thriving private sector that provided jobs and opportunity.”
He went from public housing to graduating from Stanford University, from experiencing poverty as a child to now representing our community in public service. He is now running for King County Executive to make sure that every child and every family in King County can have the same opportunities for a better life.
His plan will be to focus on the Three B’s: Bringing people together, Building, and Boots on the ground. By creating spaces for people to come together, he aims to foster a collaborative environment that ensures the people of King County will benefit from the brilliance that is already here in our communities.
He plans on building the county’s infrastructure that includes more housing, more businesses, and more childcare. And employing a boots on the ground strategy that fosters relationships, deploys resources, cleans up our communities, and makes visible improvements in people’s lives.
Zahilay said, “This is how we bring back that feeling of forward motion. We restore hope through real connection and collaboration, by being visible and solving problems in our communities, and by building things that truly improve people’s lives.” And he went on to pay tribute to some of the many talented changemakers in that theater.
First up was Gary Payton – the Seattle Supersonics legend who has given so much to the city, both on and off the court. “Gary Payton wasn’t just one of the greatest basketball players to ever wear a Seattle SuperSonics jersey – he was the heart and soul of the team,” Zahily said.
The Gary Payton Foundation is committed to fostering personal growth, leadership skills, and academic success. Payton was quite the team player, hanging around to talk to fans and taking the time to sign jerseys and basketballs.
The second award was for Mujer al Volante, which translated means “woman behind the wheel” and they do just that. They believe that empowering low-income immigrant and refugee women and mothers with access to transportation also provides access to opportunities in the community. They are putting women in the driver’s seat, literally and figuratively, and offer their services in eight languages.
Luna Crone-Barón was the third honoree. She is one of the first student members of the Seattle School Board and made history as its first openly transgender member, using her platform to push for stronger mental health resources and comprehensive sexual health education.
Crone-Barón used the spotlight to honor all the transgender youth in King County, saying, “This moment, for me, symbolizes recognition and honor for the bravery, sacrifice, and resilience of trans youth in living our truths each day.” While recognizing the dark time for the trans community, she vowed to fight against the federal administration’s efforts to attack and erase their existence and to work to uplift the beauty and dignity of trans existence.
Toyia T. Taylor is the executive director of Speak With Purpose who “helps young people find their voice and inspires them to become changemakers in their community,” Zahilay said. Taylor said her organization is dedicated to amplifying the voices of our region’s young scholars and is the only public speaking program embedded into classroom curriculum across King County. She calls her work sacred, in that it’s a calling to remind the youth who they are. She said, “That no matter what this world hands them, they are not alone. They belong to a community that sees them, believes in them, and will rise with them.”
And the last award of the day was a legacy award for Frank Chopp, a long serving Washington State representative from the 43rd District. His wife Nancy was in attendance to accept the award on his behalf, and she shared beautiful words to remember and honor his lifetime of service.
It was a moving close to an uplifting program. Each year, Girmay Zahilay uses his spotlight to illuminate the work of others in the community. More information can be found at www.electgirmay.com.