Judy Chu
| Judy Chu | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 27th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Brad Sherman |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 32nd district |
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| In office July 14, 2009 – January 3, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Hilda Solis |
| Succeeded by | Grace Napolitano |
| Member of the California State Board of Equalization from the 4th District | |
| In office 2007–2009 |
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| Preceded by | John Chiang |
| Succeeded by | Jerome Horton |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 49th district |
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| In office 2001–2006 |
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| Preceded by | Gloria J. Romero |
| Succeeded by | Mike Eng |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Judy May Chu 趙美心[1] July 7, 1953 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mike Eng (m. 1978) |
| Residence | Monterey Park, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.) California School of Professional Psychology (PhD) |
| Profession | Politician Professor |
| Judy May Chu | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 趙美心 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 赵美心 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Zhào Měixīn | ||||||||||||||||||
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Judy May Chu (Chinese: 趙美心, born July 7, 1953)[2] is the U.S. Representative for California's 27th congressional district, serving in Congress since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Chu was previously Chair of the California Board of Equalization, representing the 4th District.[3] She had also served on the Garvey Unified School District Board of Education, the Monterey Park City Council (with terms as mayor) and the California State Assembly.
Chu ran in the 32nd congressional district special election for the seat that was vacated by Hilda Solis after she was confirmed as Barack Obama's U.S. Secretary of Labor in 2009.[4] She defeated Republican candidate Betty Tom Chu and Libertarian candidate Christopher Agrella in a runoff election on July 14, 2009.[5] She is the first Chinese American woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress.[6] Chu was redistricted to the 27th District in 2012, but was still re-elected to a third term, defeating Republican challenger Jack Orswell.
Contents |
Early life, education, and academic career [edit]
Judy Chu is the second of four children of Judson and May Chu, who were married in 1948 in their ancestral home of Xinhui, Jiangmen, Guangdong. After getting married, they moved to Los Angeles, near 62nd Street and Normandie Avenue, where Chu was born and grew up until her early teen years, when the family moved to the Bay Area.[7][8]
Chu graduated with a B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She then earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology.
She taught as a psychology professor at the Los Angeles Community College District for 20 years, including 13 years at East Los Angeles College.[3][9]
Local politics [edit]
Chu's first elected position was Board Member for the Garvey School District in Rosemead, California in 1985. In 1988 she was elected to the city council of Monterey Park, where she served as mayor for three terms.[3][9] She ran for the California State Assembly in 1994, but lost the Democratic primary to Diane Martinez; in 1998, she lost the primary to Gloria Romero.
Chu was elected to the State Assembly in a May 15, 2001, special election after Romero was elected to the State Senate. She was elected to a full term in 2002 and was reelected in 2004. The district includes Alhambra, El Monte, Duarte, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino and South El Monte, within Los Angeles County.[10]
Barred by term limits from running for a third full term in 2006, Chu was elected to the State Board of Equalization from the 4th District, representing most of Los Angeles County.
U.S. House of Representatives [edit]
Elections [edit]
- 2009
Chu decided to run for the 2009 special election for the California's 32nd congressional district after U.S. Congresswoman Hilda Solis was appointed to become President Barack Obama's U.S. Secretary of Labor. Chu led the field in the May 19 special election. However, due to the crowded nature of the primary (eight Democrats and four Republicans filed) she only got 32% of the vote, well short of the 50% vote needed to win outright.[11] In the run-off election, she defeated Republican Betty Chu (her cousin-in-law and a then-Monterey Park City Councilwoman) 62%–33%.[5][12]
- 2010
She had been heavily favored due to the district's heavy Democratic tilt and with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+15, it is one of the safest Democratic districts in the nation. She won re-election to her first full term with 71% of the vote.[13]
- 2012
In August 2011, she decided to run in the newly redrawn California's 27th congressional district.[14] The district has the second highest percentage of Asian Americans in the state with 37%, behind the newly redrawn 17th CD which is 50% Asian.[15] Registered Democrats make up 42% of the district. Obama won the district with 63% in the 2008 presidential. Jerry Brown won with 55% in the 2010 gubernatorial election.[16][17]
Tenure [edit]
Chu was sworn into office on July 16, 2009. Judy Chu’s number one priority as a new member of Congress is to work along side the Obama administration.[18] She wants to quickly bring in money to help the economy, protect public services from dramatic cuts, and bring funding into communities to help with the economy.[18] Chu believes that by making sure schools are strong, society is helping prepare students to live in the real world later on.[18]
Judy Chu is focused on bringing “green collar” jobs to the San Gabriel Valley.[18] This includes jobs in public transit, alternative energy, and conservation. She believes that the San Gabriel Valley should be the nation’s solar capital with its climate, work force, and research facilities.[18]
- Abortion
Chu cosponsored the Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Act of 2010 which authorizes the President of the United States to support measures providing abortions and other reproduction assistance to women in developing countries. In 2010, Chu voting against measures proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives to strip government funding to Planned Parenthood, and opposed restricting federal funding of abortions.[19][20] Chu has received ratings of 100 from all Pro-Choice affiliates including Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.[21] She has also received ratings of 100 from the NARAL pro-choice California in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 [21] while receiving very low ratings given by Pro-Life organizations in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.[21]
- Budget
In 2010, Chu voted to increase the debt ceiling to $14.294 trillion. In 2009, Chu voted to increase the debt ceiling to $12.394 trillion. In January 2011, she voted against a bill to reduce spending on non-security items to fiscal year 2008 levels. In 2011, Chu voted against the Budget Control Act of 2011, which incrementally raised the debt ceiling.[22]
- Terrorism
Chu opposed the "See Something, Say Something Act of 2011," which provides "immunity for reports of suspected terrorist activity or suspicious behavior and response." She said, "if a person contacts law enforcement about something based solely on someone's race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin, they would not receive immunity from civil lawsuits."[23][24]
- Internet policy
In 2011, Rep. Chu became a co-sponsor of Bill H.R.3261 otherwise known as the Stop Online Piracy Act.[25]
- Apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act
On June 18, 2012, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution, introduced by Congresswoman Chu, that formally expresses the regret of the House of Representatives for the Chinese Exclusion Act, which imposed almost total restrictions on Chinese immigration and naturalization and denied Chinese-Americans basic freedoms because of their ethnicity. This was only the fourth time that the U.S. Congress issued an apology to a group of people.[26]
Committee assignments [edit]
Caucuses [edit]
- American Sikh Congressional Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Congressional Progressive Caucus (Vice-Chair)
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Chair)
Personal life [edit]
Chu married Mike Eng in 1978. (Eng took Chu's seat on the Monterey Park City Council in 2001, when Chu left the council after getting elected to the Assembly, and in 2006 he took Chu's seat on the Assembly, when Chu left the Assembly.)
Chu's nephew, Lance Corporal Harry Lew, a US Marine, committed suicide while serving in Afghanistan on April 3, 2011, allegedly as a result of hazing from fellow Marines after Lew repeatedly fell asleep during his watch. Chu described her nephew as a patriotic American and said that those responsible must be brought to justice.[27]
References [edit]
- ^ 美首位华裔女国会议员赵美心回广东省亲 – See image (Archive)
- ^ "California Births, 1905–1995". Familytreelegends.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- ^ a b c "Vice Chair Judy Chu". California Board of Equalization. 2007. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
- ^ Larrubia, Evelyn (2008-12-23). "Solis' House seat draws interest of prominent politicians". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
- ^ a b Blood, Michael P. Democrat captures US House seat in LA county, Huffington Post, 15 July 2009.
- ^ Merl, Jean. "Judy Chu trounces rivals in congressional race", Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2009.
- ^ "趙美心是心理學博士". Singtaousa News. 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ Merl, Jean (July 16, 2009). "Judy Chu becomes first Chinese American woman elected to Congress". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Chu, Judy (2002). "Political Philosophy for Judy Chu". SmartVoter.org. League of Women Voters of California Education Fund. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
- ^ Biography at California Assembly website (archive from 2006)
- ^ "CA District 32 – Special Election Race – May 19, 2009". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "CA District 32 – Special Election Runoff Race – Jul 14, 2009". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "CA – District 32 Race – Nov 02, 2010". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ Galindo, Erick (August 8, 2011). "Judy Chu announces plans to run for new San Gabriel Valley congressional district". Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "Demographics of the new congressional districts – Spreadsheets". Los Angeles Times. 2011-07-29. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "Final 2011 Congressional Spreadsheet". Redistricting Partners. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "Final 2011 Congressional Spreadsheet 2". Redistricting Partners. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Issues at Chu's campaign website
- ^ "Political Positions of Judy Chu". The Political Guide. The Political Guide. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ "Rep. Chu Continues Fighting to Protect the Health and Lives of Women". Congresswoman Judy Chu. Congresswoman Judy Chu. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d Issue Rating at votesmart.org
- ^ "The Political Positions of Judy Chu". The Political Guide. The Political Guide. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ Kamboj, Kirti. "H.R. 963: The 'See a Minority, Report a Terrorist' Act of 2011?". Hyphen Magazine. Hyphen Magazine. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ Dye, Shawn (August 8, 2011). "Watch Rep. Judy Chu Argue for Protections against Racial Profiling". Unfinished Business.
- ^ Bill H.R.3261; GovTrack.us;
- ^ 112th Congress (2012) (June 8, 2012). "H.Res. 683 (112th)". Legislation. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 9, 2012. "Expressing the regret of the House of Representatives for the passage of laws that adversely affected the Chinese in the United States, including the Chinese Exclusion Act."
- ^ McAvoy, Audrey. 3 Marines will go to trial for alleged hazing, Associated Press, 26 October 2011.
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Judy Chu |
- Official campaign website
- Official website at US House of Representatives
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance (federal office) at LegiStorm.com
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
- Voting record at The Washington Post
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hilda Solis |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 32nd district 2009–2013 |
Succeeded by Grace Napolitano |
| Preceded by Brad Sherman |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 27th district 2013–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Michael Quigley D-Illinois |
United States Representatives by seniority 265th |
Succeeded by John Garamendi D-California |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Matthew G. Martinez |
Monterey Park City Council 1988–2001 |
Succeeded by Mike Eng |
| Preceded by John Chiang |
California State Board of Equalization Member 4th District 2007–2009 |
Succeeded by Jerome Horton |
| California Assembly | ||
| Preceded by Gloria J. Romero |
California State Assemblymember 49th District 2001–2006 |
Succeeded by Mike Eng |
- 1953 births
- Living people
- American politicians of Chinese descent
- American women of Asian descent in politics
- California Democrats
- California city council members
- California School of Professional Psychology alumni
- Female members of the United States House of Representatives
- Members of the California State Assembly
- Members of the United States Congress of Asian descent
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
- People from Los Angeles, California
- University of California, Los Angeles alumni
- Women state legislators in California
