duties to file for position number 5 on the Seattle City Council. Running on the slogan "You are not electing a platform, but a Councilman," Luke maintained a pragmatic position on the issues. Despite having to defend against criticism of "fence sitting," accusations of communism, and racial slurs, Luke won the council seat with a landslide of 30,000 votes and was sworn in on March 13, 1962. He became the first Asian American to hold elected office in the Pacific Northwest as well as the first person of color to hold a Seattle City Council seat. Death and legacy On May 16, 1965, Luke was killed in a plane crash with two others on Merchant Peak in Snohomish County, while returning from a fishing trip in Okanogan County. The wreckage was not found in the Cascade Mountains for more than three years. Luke is the namesake of multiple institutions. Friends and other supporters of Luke who raised money to search for him started the Wing Luke Memorial Foundation. The money went to the founding of the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in 1966 to fulfill his vision of a place to present the histories and cultures of Asian immigrants and present-day issues of Asian Americans. The museum remains located in Seattle Chinatown-International District. The Seattle school South Van Asselt School was renamed the Wing Luke Elementary School in 1969. In 2015, the Washington State Attorney General's office created the Wing Luke Civil Rights Unit to investigate issues related to discrimination and civil rights. Politician Gary Locke has named Luke as an inspiration. Views Luke saw many of his contemporaries forced to live in racialized pockets of Seattle like Beacon Hill (largely Asian Americans) and the Central District (largely African Americans), and felt strongly that the ability to decide where one lived should be a basic right of all citizens. Having firsthand awareness of the effects of racial discrimination, Luke was instrumental in Seattle's passing of an Open Housing Ordinance in 1963 with punitive provisions against racial discrimination in the selling or renting of real estate. He also fought for civil rights, Indian fishing rights, urban renewal and historic preservation. Luke was particularly concerned with the preservation of Seattle's Central Waterfront, Pioneer Square, and Pike Place Market. He was affiliated with several community organizations, including the Urban League, Chinese Community Service Organization, Japanese American Citizens League, and