Gwen Hosea-Mimms, for Renton City Council Position 1

Marla Beaver
Jul 31
2 min read

Ph.D. Madison University, Human Resource Management, Antioch University Seattle Master’s degree, Whole Systems Design, Evergreen State College Tacoma Compass, Liberal Arts degree Seattle University, TESL.

My Journey and Why I’m Running

My Parents moved to the Northwest in the Forties, from Texas. My Mother pregnant with my sister and my father station at Fort Lewis was headed to Korea. My mother, accustomed to hard work, got a job as a maid. Those first years were very hard. My Dad returned home very damaged from the war. So, my mother became a single mother that worked two jobs and spent most of her time away from home. My mother discovered that people loved her cooking. She opened her first restaurant the Hi-Ho Café in 1956, Which was my steady job after school and on the weekends. My mother was an entrepreneur, that passed her work ethic to me and all her grandchildren.

My sister, two brothers, and I were raised in the Redlined District in Seattle so for many years I didn’t understand racism because everyone in the community was a person of color. Then I went to Texas in 1957, Rosa Parks was sitting on the bus Martin Luther King was rallying, and marches were happening. It was the early sixties as a young mother that felt the sting of racism and discrimination in housing, food, education.

I’ve spent over four decades serving underserved communities, from welfare-to-work parents to individuals reentering society after incarceration. My path has carried me from a drop-out teenager to a Ph.D. holder, each step fueled by a fierce belief in fair chances and collective uplift.

I’m running for Renton City Council Position 1 because our city deserves leadership rooted in experience, empathy, and unshakable commitment. I want to bring wisdom forged in community rooms, courtrooms, and kitchen tables to every decision we make.

I am currently a Life Coach, Quality Thinking by Design Business Solutions, my website, drhosea-mimms.com