Charles Djou

Charles Djou 周永康
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office May 25, 2010
Preceded by	Neil Abercrombie
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 47th district
In office 2000–2002
Preceded by	Iris Ikeda Catalina
Succeeded by	Colleen Meyer
Personal details
Born	(1970-08-09) August 9, 1970 Los Angeles, California
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Stacey Kawasaki Djou
Children	3
Residence	Honolulu, Hawaii
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania (B.A., B.S.) University of Southern California (J.D.)
Occupation	Attorney
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Reserves
Rank	Captain

This article is about the U.S. politician. For the senior Chinese politician, see Zhou Yongkang.

Charles Kong Djou (Chinese: 周永康, Pinyin: Zhōu Yǒngkāng; born August 9, 1970) is the U.S. Representative from Hawaii's 1st congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Djou served one term in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2000 to 2002 and was the Minority Floor Leader. In 2002, he was elected to the Honolulu City Council, representing District 4 (Waikiki to Hawaii Kai). He was re-elected in 2006. 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. Djou announced in March 2010 his candidacy for the Congressional seat vacated by the resignation of Neil Abercrombie, who resigned to seek the Democratic nomination for governor of Hawaii. In the Hawaii special congressional election on May 22, Djou won the all vote-by-mail election with 39.4 percent of the vote, defeating two Democrats. He was sworn in three days later. Djou is the first Republican to represent the district in 20 years.

Early life and education

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

File:Family photo 9-21-08.jpg.jpg

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 is a captain in the United States Army Reserve. He teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Hawaii.

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

Djou 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.

Political positions

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.

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.

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.

Entry into politics

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

Djou served as the Vice Chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party from 1998 to 1999.

Hawaii House of Representatives

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

Representative Djou

As a member of the State House of Representatives, 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.

Djou 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.

Honolulu City Council

In 2002, Djou announced he would run for the 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. 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, 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.

In the 2006 election season, Djou ran for reelection. He was unopposed and won the seat by default.

U.S. House of Representatives

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. The seat was vacant because Neil Abercrombie had resigned to run for Governor of Hawaii. Djou was endorsed by former Massachusetts Governor and Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

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. Among the candidates Djou defeated were former Congressman Ed Case and State Senator Colleen Hanabusa. Djou will serve the remainder of the 2010 term and will run for a full term in November 2010.

There has been some controversy over the use of robocalling by the Djou campaign, both before the election and afterwards. At issue is the use of public funds for automated calls seeking campaign funding, as well as the allegedly high frequency of calls. One individual receiving multiple calls reported that a campaign worker refused to remove him from the calling list. 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.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats
• Committee on the Budget

External links

• Official House website
• Charles Djou for Congress

• United States Congress. "Charles Djou (id: D000611)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.