The First Asian-Raised CA Assemblyman Kansen Chu

By Crystal Tai (Star Patcher)

While more and more Asian Americans have been elected to public office, the overwhelming majority of them were born or at least raised in the United States. Few adult immigrants have run for office, and even fewer have won elections at the state level, but Kansen Chu just did. He is the first Chinese American assemblyman who immigrated to the US as an adult.

Born in 1952, Chu grew up in Taiwan and first came to California in 1976 with a green card obtained through family ties. Soon after his arrival, he entered Northridge State University to study for a Master’s degree in electrical engineering.

Stereotypically, engineers are a quiet group, and foreign-born engineers may be even quieter. Chu admits that he’s no exception. He says he doesn’t really like to talk very much, though he has taken many English communication classes and worked hard to conquer his language barrier as an adult immigrant. He only speaks up when it’s necessary.

While serving on the San Jose City Council, Chu led the campaign for the city’s plastic bag ban, and championed citywide green building standards.

“I’m an environmentalist,” said Chu. “I want California to be as beautiful as it was when I first came here in 1976. I want my granddaughter to grow up in a clean and green environment.”

With two grown children, Chu and his wife Daisy welcomed the birth of their first grandchild nearly two years ago. The baby is mixed. The Chus have a Caucasian son-in-law. They believe interracial harmony is key to America’s better tomorrow.

“I’m proud of my Chinese heritage, but I care about people of other ethnic backgrounds just as much. I’m here to serve everyone,” Chu said.

In California’s 25th Assembly District, which Chu represents, only 12% of the population is Chinese. Apparently, many of Chu’s supporters don’t share his ethnic background. He has won over voters from all racial groups, with his proven track record.

The San Jose Mercury News endorsed Chu during his campaign for the state assembly for his accomplishments in environmental legislation and the increase of neighborhood associations.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith attended most of Chu’s fundraising dinners during his campaign last year. She gave speeches at some of those events, raving about Chu’s solid personality, clear vision and strong abilities.

Among Chu’s supporters, quite a few have commented that his engineering background serves him well in public affairs, because he applies an engineer’s pursuit of precision to government issues, and that gets things done very efficiently.

Chu himself compares government work to engineering, too.

“What the city government does is like hardware, mostly dealing with infrastructure,” said Chu. “What the state government does is more like software, providing services.”

In the state assembly, Chu is not only a member but also chair of the Human Services Committee, overseeing California’s child welfare services, foster care, child care, adoption assistance, CalWORKs, CalFresh, developmental disability services, In-home Supportive Services (IHSS), community care licensing, adult protective services, and SSI/SSP.

Chu worked for the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) from 1978 to 1996. In 1989, he joined two of his IBM colleagues to run a Chinese restaurant in San Jose. In the restaurant, he first met numerous local government officials and became interested in public affairs.

Chu was elected to the Berryessa School Board in 2002. He served on the San Jose City Council from June 2007 through November 2014.

Leaving San Jose for Sacramento, Chu said, “I will work to ensure all Californians have access to a quality education, good job opportunities, transportation and affordable health care.”