It has been a longstanding tradition of the Pista sa Nayon festival to honor and recognize a local Filipino American couple for their service and dedication to the community and for their support of the annual event. This year Pista is proud to honor David Della and Odette Polintan as the 2008 Hermano and Hermana Mayor. Both were activists in the Filipino community in the 1980s, and are now esteemed community leaders who truly exemplify the spirit of Pista and the idea of community.
David Della was born and raised in Seattle. His father came to the U.S. from Santa Maria and his mother from Hawaii to seek new opportunities and live the “American Dream.” David and his family first settled in what is now the industrial area of Seattle, moving to Beacon Hill in 1965 when I-5 was expanded into the area.
David attended St. George Catholic School and then went to public school at Asa Mercer Middle School and Cleveland High School. A native Seattleite at heart, David decided to stay in Seattle for college, enrolling at the University of Washington after high school and then the Bastyr Leadership Institute.
Like many Filipino immigrants of his time, David’s father began as a cannery worker. Following his father’s footsteps, David and his brother also worked in the canneries in Alaska. David soon began his career as a labor organizer to fight for the rights and wages of these poor Filipino cannery workers. Years later, David become something of a legend when his activism in union reform for cannery workers became the landmark case for the Supreme Court decision that launched the Civil Rights Act of 1990.
His passion for activism, human rights, and anti-discrimination work led him to hold numerous leadership positions at a very young age. Within the Filipino American community David works to inspire the younger generation to get involved in local politics as well as politics in the Philippines. It was through his activism work that David became acquainted with a woman by the name of Odette Polintan.
Odette Polintan is a first generation immigrant who came to Seattle with her mother in the 1970s. Odette attended Catholic school in the Philippines before moving to the U.S. Odette lived on the East Coast for seven years moving between Washington, D.C., New York, and the Boston/Cambridge area before moving to the West Coast. While working full time, Odette also attended school full time and received her B.A. in Political Science at the University of Washington. She went on to receive her Juris Doctor at the UW Law School while simultaneously pursuing her Masters in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she was a member of the Asian American Policy Journal. Upon completing her degrees in 1995, Odette joined Davis Wright Tremaine as a commercial transaction lawyer.
Odette’s road to law school rose from her passion for human rights and anti-discrimination values. She was a might force in politics through her grassroots lobbying work and activism both locally and globally beginning in the early 1980s. It was during theses demonstrations and conferences that Odette became acquainted with David Della, who was becoming a familiar face in mainstream politics.
In 1990, David served under Seattle Mayor Norm Rice as Deputy Chief of Staff and Liaison for Labor Issues. He later ran for the Washington State Commission on Asian American Affairs, building a statewide network for advocates for the Asian Pacific Island communities as well as supporting programs for at-risk youth, providing welfare reform support for immigrant/refugee families, promoting diversity in state government and increasing trade between Washington Stat and Asia. In 1999, he moved back to Seattle and served as the Community Affairs Director at United Way of King County allocating millions of dollars to community based programs to help those in need.
In 2003, David ran a successful campaign for Seattle City Council, and at the time was the only City Councilmember of color and the first Filipino American on the council since Dolores Sibonga in the early 1990s. The International Examiner featured Odette in the article “The Woman Behind David Della” to showcase her work in running David’s successful campaign to beat his challenger with almost $100,000 less in funds. David’s election was a triumph for the Filipino community and David’s campaign helped the Filipino community come together.
“The good part about David’s last two campaigns was that it really united the Filipino community,” said Odette. “It really showed that the community can galvanize behind a project, a cause.”
Aside from tirelessly serving the Filipino community in Seattle, David and Odette have been great supporters of Pista. David has been to “every Pista sa Nayon except for three since it began in the Rainier Valley.” He still remembers it as a “small summer festival that grew to be part of Seafair before it eventually moved to Seward Park.”
“Pista is sort of now an institution in the community,” said Odette. “Pista shows the metrication of the Filipino community. It no longer views itself as insular and parochial. Pista showcases some of the pieces and aspects of our culture.
“There’s a lot going on in the community and Pista sa Nayon is just one element of the community coming out in the mainstream and really getting known and getting young people active in the community,” said David. “I hope that as we continue with Pista sa Nayon and those activities the younger generations will continue to be involved.”
Two decades after their ardent activism in the Filipino community, Odette and David continue to empower the community with their activism. They reside in Queen Anne with daughters Silahis, a 2002 Washington State University graduate, 21 year-old Jade, and the “son they never had” - their dog Oreo.