Charles Djou

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This article is about the U.S. politician. For the senior Chinese politician, see Zhou Yongkang.
Charles Djou
周永康
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Hawaii's 1st district
In office
May 22, 2010 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by Neil Abercrombie
Succeeded by Colleen Hanabusa
Member of the
Honolulu City Council, District 4
In office
2002–2010
Member of the
Hawaii House of Representatives
from the 47th district
In office
2000–2002
Preceded by Iris Ikeda Catalani
Succeeded by Colleen Meyer
Personal details
Born August 9, 1970 (1970-08-09) (age 41)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Stacey Kawasaki Djou[1]
Children 3 children[1]
Residence Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania (B.A., B.S.)
University of Southern California Law School (J.D.)
Occupation Attorney
Religion Christian[1]
Military service
Service/branch United States Army Reserve
Rank Major

Charles Kong Djou (Chinese: 周永康, Pinyin: Zhōu Yǒngkāng; born August 9, 1970) is an American politician who served as U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district in 2010.[2] As a member of the Republican Party, Djou won his congressional seat in a special election in May 2010, but was defeated in the general election in November.[3] Djou, who previously served in the Hawaii House of Representatives and the Honolulu City Council, is the first Thai-American and the first Chinese-American Republican to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Contents

[edit] Early life, education and career

Born in Los Angeles, California, to a Chinese-American father and a Thai-American mother, Djou grew up in Hawaii. He graduated from the same high school as President Barack Obama, Punahou School, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Bachelor of Science in finance from the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania graduating magna cum laude. He earned his law degree at the University of Southern California Law School.

Djou is a major in the United States Army Reserve.[4] He has taught as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Hawaii.

Djou served as the Vice Chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party from 1998 to 1999. He was named legislator of the year by Small Business Hawaii in 2002, 2004, and 2006. In 2006 he was selected as one of the 40 most promising leaders in Hawaii under age 40 by Pacific Business News, and in 2005 was named by Honolulu Weekly as the "Best Politician" in the state.

[edit] Hawaii House of Representatives

Representative Djou

As a member of the State House of Representatives, Djou served one term in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2000 to 2002 and was the Minority Floor Leader. Djou launched a successful campaign to open the State Budget worksheets to the public after being told he could look at the budget worksheets in the committee room but was not allowed to take any notes or make copies of them. The documents detail the budget for various state departments and agencies. He opposed the state "van cam" program launched in 2002 to catch speeders using automated cameras instead of police officers, and successfully campaigned for its elimination.[5]

[edit] Honolulu City Council

In 2002, Djou was elected to the Honolulu City Council, representing District 4 (Waikiki to Hawaii Kai). He was re-elected in 2006 and served until his election to Congress. On the City Council he was the Chairman of the Executive Matters & Legal Affairs Committee, Vice Chair of the Planning Committee and as a member of the Transportation and Public Safety & Services committees.

[edit] U.S. House of Representatives

[edit] Committee assignments

[edit] Political positions

Earlier photo of Djou

[edit] Civil unions and gay marriage

Djou opposes Hawaii House Bill 444, a bill to legalize civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples, and supports the federal Defense of Marriage Act. He stated that lawmakers "ignored the will of the people" who enacted Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2.[6]

[edit] Don't ask, don't tell

Djou voted in favor of an amendment to the 2011 Department of Defense Authorization Bill that would repeal the "Don't ask, don't tell" law.[7]

[edit] Immigration

Djou was one of eight Republicans who voted for the Dream Act.[8]

[edit] South Korean free trade agreement

On May 28, 2010, Djou spoke on the floor of the House in support of Congress passing the South Korean Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by former President George W. Bush on June 30, 2007, currently awaiting approval of the Congress.[9]

[edit] Political campaigns

[edit] 1998

Djou ran as a Republican for the Hawaii State House of Representatives District 47 seat. He was unopposed in the primary election,[10] but lost to Iris Ikeda Catalani in the general election by a margin of 190 votes.[11]

[edit] 2000

In 2000, he again ran for the Hawaii State House of Representatives District 47 seat. Unopposed in the primary, he faced incumbent Democrat Iris Ikeda Catalani in the general election. Catalani faced controversy in the campaign, with allegations that she broke a promise to the Outdoor Circle by posting yard signs.[12] Djou won the race, gaining 52.5 percent of the vote to Catalani's 44.2 percent.[13]

[edit] 2002

In 2002, Djou announced he would run for the Honolulu City Council. He also announced he would move to East Honolulu (City Council District 3) from Kaneohe (City Council District 4) to avoid running against fellow Republican Stan Koki.[14] Honolulu City and County elections are officially non-partisan, and any candidate who wins a majority of the votes in the primary election can win outright. However, no candidate received a majority of the votes in the primary election,[15] and Djou and opponent Robert Fishman faced each other in a run-off in the general election. Djou won with 51.3 percent of the vote, to Fishman's 39.2 percent.[16]

[edit] 2006

Djou ran for reelection to the Honolulu City Council. He was unopposed and won the seat by default.[17] Djou subsequently served as the Hawaii co-chair of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaign for President in 2008.

[edit] 2010 special

Main article: Hawaii's 1st congressional district special election, 2010

In March 2010, Djou announced he would run for U.S. Congress, seeking a seat in Hawaii's 1st congressional district.[17] The seat was vacant because Neil Abercrombie had resigned to run for Governor of Hawaii.[18] Djou was endorsed by former Massachusetts Governor and Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.[19] Djou subsequently endorsed Romney's campaign for president in the summer of 2011. [20] Former Hawaii Congresswoman Patricia Saiki, whom Djou had once volunteered for as a teenager, served as Djou's campaign chair.

The election was held in May, with Djou receiving 39.4 percent of the vote. He defeated five Democrats, four Republicans, and four independent candidates.[21][22] Among the candidates Djou defeated were former Congressman Ed Case and State Senator Colleen Hanabusa, two Democrats who together polled over 58% of the vote.[23] Djou served the remainder of the 2010 term and ran for a full term in November 2010.[23]

Djou was sworn in three days later. He is the first Republican to represent the district in 20 years.

There has been some controversy over the use of robocalling by the Djou campaign, both before the election and afterwards.[24][25][26][27] At issue was the use of public funds for automated calls seeking campaign funding, as well as the allegedly high frequency of calls.[27] One individual receiving multiple calls reported that a campaign worker refused to remove him from the calling list.[27] However, as with all official mass communication between Members of the House and their constituents, the phone survey conducted on behalf of Congressman Djou's office was approved by the bipartisan Franking Commission as an appropriate use of official resources for the purpose of communicating with constituents.[27]

[edit] 2010 general

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii, 2010

Djou was defeated by Democratic nominee State Senator Colleen Hanabusa.[3] Djou was one of only two Republican incumbents (Joseph Cao was the other) to lose in the 2010 general election on November 2, 2010.

[edit] 2012

Major Djou serving with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan

Djou announced on August 17, 2011, that he will challenge Colleen Hanabusa in Hawaii's 1st congressional district in 2012. He is currently deployed to Afghanistan as a mobilized Army Reserve soldier with the 10th Mountain Division, expecting to return in spring 2012. He stated he would not campaign while on active duty.[28]

[edit] Personal life

Charles Djou and Family

Djou is married to Stacey Kawasaki Djou, a Japanese-American. They have three children. His surname "Djou" is a French transcription of his Chinese surname "Zhou" (周).

Djou served on the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association and was a member of the Neighborhood Board. He is currently a member of the Young Business Roundtable, the Rotary Club, and the Hawaii Telecommunications Association.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Charles K. Djou (R-Hawaii))". Who Runs Gov. The Washington Post. http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Charles_K._Djou. Retrieved November 21, 2010. 
  2. ^ U.S. Rep. District 1 Special Vacancy Election - State of Hawaii - Statewide May 22, 2010. Accessed May 22, 2010
  3. ^ a b Goodin, Emily (November 3, 2010). "Dems pick up Hawaii seat". The Hill. http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/127401-dems-pick-up-hawaii-seat. 
  4. ^ About Charles Djou
  5. ^ Pappas, Alex. Hawaii congressional candidate Djou warns against "the nutcase in Pyongyang" The Daily Caller (March 10, 2010)
  6. ^ Posted: 5:58 pm EDT March 19, 2010 (2010-05-09). "What he's Djou-ing here". Honolulu Weekly. http://honoluluweekly.com/story-continued/2010/05/what-hes-djou-ing-here. Retrieved 2010-09-24. 
  7. ^ "House Vote 317 - Allows Repeal of Ban on Gays in Military". New York Times. http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/111/house/2/317?ref=politics. Retrieved 2010-09-24. 
  8. ^ http://www.therightperspective.org/2010/12/08/dream-act-passes-congress/
  9. ^ Djou, Charles. "Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI) calls for South Korea free trade agreement," The Hill (May 28, 2010)
  10. ^ "file:///C:/ELECTIONP98/pirmary4/elec4.TXT". Hawaii.gov. http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/1998/primary/98swpri.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-23. 
  11. ^ "1998 General Elections Precinct Report". Hawaii.gov. 1998-11-03. http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/1998/general/98swgen.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-23. 
  12. ^ Kua, Crystal. Outdoor Circle says candidate broke yard-sign pledge. Honolulu Star-Bulletin (October 31, 2000)
  13. ^ Hawaii 2000 election results, race between Djou and Catalani
  14. ^ Pang, Gordon Y. K. Exodus enlivens Council races. Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
  15. ^ http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/2002/primary/02swpri5.pdf
  16. ^ "General Election 2002 - STATE OF HAWAII - STATEWIDE" (PDF). http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/2002/general/02swgen4.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-23. 
  17. ^ a b Boyland, Peter (March 22, 2008). "Charles Djou to run for Congress in 2010". The Honolulu Advertiser. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Mar/22/ln/hawaii803220350.html 
  18. ^ "Special mail election to fill Abercrombie seat is May 22" ([dead link]). The Honolulu Advertiser. March 3, 2010. http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20103030351 
  19. ^ "Romney wades into Hawaii special election, raises $1.5 million for PAC". The Washington Post. April 12, 2010. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/20100412-romney-endorse-hawaii.html. 
  20. ^ "Mitt Romney wins Charles Djou primary". Politico. August 30, 2010. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62253.html. 
  21. ^ State of Hawaii Office of Elections (February 24, 2010). "FACTSHEET 2010 SPECIAL ELECTION U.S. House of Representatives, District 1". http://hawaii.gov/elections/factsheets/fsbo145.pdf. Retrieved March 15, 2010. 
  22. ^ U.S. Rep District I Special Vacancy Election - State of Hawaii - Statewide
  23. ^ a b "GOP's Djou wins Hawaii special election for Congress". The Honolulu Advertiser. May 22, 2010. http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100522/BREAKING01/100522028/1352. Retrieved May 23, 2010. 
  24. ^ "Hawaii governor's 'robocall' urges vote for Djou". The Honolulu Advertiser. May 17, 2010. http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010305180011. Retrieved June 16, 2010. 
  25. ^ "Lingle 'robocall' urges voters to choose Djou". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 17, 2010. http://www.starbulletin.com/news/breaking/94015654.html. Retrieved June 16, 2010. 
  26. ^ "Djou camp marshals radio, TV and phone". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 18, 2010. http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20100518_Djou_camp_marshals_radio_TV_and_phone.html. Retrieved June 16, 2010. 
  27. ^ a b c d "Tax Dollars Paid For Djou's Robo-Calls". KITV. June 16, 2010. http://www.kitv.com/news/23928538/detail.html. Retrieved June 16, 2010. 
  28. ^ "Djou announces run for Congress, will deploy to Afghanistan". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. August 17, 2011.

[edit] External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Neil Abercrombie		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Hawaii's 1st congressional district
May 25, 2010-January 3, 2011		 Succeeded by
Colleen Hanabusa
One At-large seat
(1959–1963)
United States House of Representatives Seal
Two At-large seats
(1963–1971)
Districts
(1971–present)
Mink · Akaka · Mink · Case · Hirono
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