Democracy and Men’s Criminal Convictions: Kong Lefeau, Iris Guzman, and a SeaTac City Council Race

Washington Initiative for Boys and Men wants to see greater societal empathy for boys and men and less gender-based prejudice against them.

This blog post is about a man, Kong Lefeau, and a woman, Iris Guzman, who are running for political office against each other. The man is a convicted felon. In sharing the three series of facts below, we are not endorsing any candidate.

About convicted felons in Washington state

1. Men vastly outnumber women among people with felony convictions in their pasts. (There are statistics about this at the bottom of this post.)
   
   
2. People with felony convictions are not restricted from running for and holding public office. The State of Washington restores their voting rights immediately when their imprisonment ends.

About Kong Lefeau

1. When Kong Lefeau was 19 years old, he shot and killed someone. A jury sentenced him to 28 years in prison for the crime of murder. He expressed remorse during the trial.
   
   
2. Kong completed his prison sentence in 2016. He received job training and started a career.
   
   
3. Kong is running for SeaTac City Council Position 6 against Iris Guzman and incumbent Pam Fernald.
   
   
4. A post on Kong’s campaign website [no longer active] acknowledges his past, saying, in part, “I just want all to know that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel a deep sense of sorrow from my actions. But in the same breath I want to express that I am no longer that misguided kid. I have grown up and now have a second chance to show the world that change is possible and that there is a certain amount of redemption after a life of incarceration.”
   
   
5. Kong Lefeau is American Somoan.

About Iris Guzman

1. Iris Guzman is running for SeaTac City Council Position 6 against Kong Lefeau and incumbent Pam Fernald. She is a social worker who says she “sees firsthand the needs of BIPOC…families in SeaTac”. (BIPOC = Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
   
   
2. In a public Facebook post promoting her campaign, Iris referred to Kong as a man who “murdered someone in cold blood for which he spent 25 years in prison.” (screenshot provided below)
   
   
3. A different public Facebook post by Iris features a photo of two signs promoting political campaigns. One sign is for her campaign and the other is for the campaign of Shukri Olow, a woman running for King County Council. Iris’s caption for the photo says, “Sisterhood!” (screenshot provided below)

Read related WIBM post: Chairperson of King County Council rejects idea of a Men’s Commission: ‘Men don’t face systemic discrimination, Women do’

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Washington state criminal justice statistics

Statistics about juvenile offenders in Washington:

• Boys are 78% of people sentenced in criminal courts as juvenile offenders (2020, Washington State Caseload Forecast Council)
• Boys are 91 % of admissions to juvenile rehabilitation centers (2018-2020, Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families)

Statistics about imprisoned people in Washington:

• Men are 87% of people in city and county jails (2020, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs)
• Men are 94% of people in state prisons (2021, Washington State Department of Corrections)
• Washington State courts issue 80% of felony convictions to men (2020, Washington State Caseload Forecast Council)