The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.

On July 14th, Judy Chu was elected as a Representative from the State of California, becoming the first Chinese-American woman elected to U.S. Congress. She was born in 1957. Her mother was a Chinese immigrant, and her father was also Chinese but with roots stretching further into our country’s history. Judy Chu graduated from UCLA with a doctorate in psychology and practiced immigration law.

Her rise in politics was a gradual one, starting on the local school board and later on the Monterey Park City Council where she also served as Mayor for three terms. Then, she went into the state assembly. Chu was elected to the council in 1988 and, in 2001, won an Assembly seat after two unsuccessful attempts. When she ran for the state Board of Equalization after being termed out of the Assembly in 2006, her husband succeeded her to the 49th District seat.

She also served on various committees. She has been the “Chair of the California Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes, and Assembly Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. She was also a member of the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, Labor and Employment Committee, and Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.”

From there, of course, she went onto the national stage.

As with Patsy Mink and Elaine Chao who broke through racial barriers, so too did Judy Chu break through new racial barriers in her local demographic. According to the LA Times:

Judy Chu became a crossover candidate in the district traditionally represented by a Latino by building a multi-ethnic coalition and winning the backing of organized labor. She emerged in first place in a 12-way primary May 19 but fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

Already almost a month into her office, Judy Chu has co-sponsored eight bills among which is H.RES.686, which recommends that the United States Constitution be taught to high school students throughout the Nation in September of their senior year, and has voted on a number of significant issues such as Cash for Clunkers, Health Care, and environmental legislation. It will be exciting to see what Judy Chu will do in her tenure as Representative.

If you wish to learn more about this new politician, go here.