A group of elected officials and community leaders sent a message of solidarity to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities March 22 in response to a series of hate crimes around the county.

“Renton is a welcoming and inclusive city,” said Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone. “Our primary goal is to protect and promote mutual respect and appreciation for all people within our community.”

Pavone, along with every member of the Renton City Council, welcomed Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and other elected officials as they stood together in support of Asian-American communities and against hate of any kind.

“This scourge of harassment, intimidation, and outright violence against Asians and Pacific Islanders in our state is totally unacceptable,” said Inslee. “It has to end, and I am calling on every Washingtonian to wrap our arms around this threatened community.”

Joining Mayor Pavone and Gov. Inslee were Toshiko Grace Hasegawa, Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs; State Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-37th District); State Rep. My-Linh Thai (D-41st District); King County Executive Dow Constantine; Renton City Councilmember Kim-Khánh Văn; Tanya Woo, community leader; and Noriko Nasu, a high school educator that was assaulted in Seattle.

Nasu said she believes she was a victim of a hate crime despite the fact that her attacker is not being charged with a hate crime.

“A hate crime against any one of our communities is a crime against all of us,” said Mayor Pavone. “Individuals who commit these crimes must be held accountable.”