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Q&A with Judy Chu
by Alex Chan
Politics. Just what exactly is it and why should we care? Politics is the most influential source of power in America. If you don't believe me, go research how much money is wheeled around ever year in Washington D.C.
Well, I'll tell you what politics mean for Asian-Americans. It will mean empowerment for the community. If we don't have Asian-American politicians on the scene then we won't have any one to watch our backs.
My next guest is dedicating her life to accomplishing just that. She is bringing a voice to the Asian-American community on a level that will be heard. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Honorable Assemblymember representing the 49th District, Judy Chu.
RT: What exactly is an Assemblymember and what are your duties?
JC: I represent seven cities that have 423,000 people and their interest in Sacramento. My duties are to make legislation, vote on other people's legislation, to work on the state budget and represent the people on all state issues.
RT: Did you always have aspirations for holding public office or did you dream of another career growing up?
JC: I thought I would be in computer science because I was very good at math. I was extremely studious in school. But I would say that in my time, there were no Asian-American models. Actually, I didn't see too many Asian-American role models in anything. I remember seeing Hop Sing, the waiter on 'Bonanza' and 'Flower Drum Song', the musical. But I don't remember seeing many Asian-Americans in serious positions, let alone political positions. I never thought it was a possibility, so I never had aspirations for holding public office.
RT: What was it like for you to come up in politics as an Asian-American woman?
JC: I think I had an advantage as a woman during the time period in which I was running. The American people had become increasingly suspicious and disenchanted with their traditional politician. They have seen examples of corruption and the old-boys network. So, when I was first running, I think people saw women as a better alternative because they weren't in the old-boys network. However, as an Asian-American, it was difficult being in politics. I was running in the city of Monterey Park and we have a large Asian-American population here, mostly immigrants. The old timers were suspicious of me because they had stereotypes of me, they thought I was connected to developers, they thought I was running to increase development in the city and they thought I could not speak English. So there were many stereotypes about me when I first ran for office.
RT: From my view point, I don't think there are enough Asian-Americans becoming involved in politics. From your perspective, do you think we are properly represented in government?
JC: There definitely are not enough Asian-Americans in politics or in government. We are very much under represented on the state level. There are 40 senators, there are 80 assemblymembers and for a period of 13 years there were no Asian-Americans at all in the California state legislature, yet California has the largest number of Asian-Americans out of all the states. I do have to say that recently things have looked up. With my election, there was a historical high of four in the state assembly and because of the November 5th [2002] election, we now have six. That is more than we ever had in the whole history of the California state legislature. I do think it shows that Asian-Americans are running for office and that they are getting elected. We have a maturing Asian-American population that is actually voting for Asian-Americans. So, it is a positive time.
RT: I know my parents have a general distrust of politicians. Do you feel that most Asian-Americans have a negative attitude towards politics?
JC: I think that many of our immigrant population have either a negative attitude or are unfamiliar with politics. Immigrants who come from countries with repression of some sort has a tendency of staying away from politics. Some countries in Asia may never have had democratic elections so there is never the expectation to get involved in politics. So the expectations we have here is a new one for many immigrants. I do have to say however, that once you educate the Asian-American population here they are pretty responsive. Once they see that American democracy is really quite a different thing, they are much more open. I have had people get quite excited about being involved in my campaign and supporting me. I have had immigrants coming to my office and saying, "Tell me what to do to vote. I really want to vote and I want to make sure my family votes for you." I was very encouraged by the excitement and level of support.
RT: What is your feeling about racism towards Asian-Americans? Do you think it is getting better or is racism being repackaged in more subdued ways?
JC: There are still examples of racism out there, but the good thing today is the Asian-American community combats it. For instance, there was the Halloween costume that portrayed the wearer as the worst stereotype of an Asian immigrant with buck teeth and the whole nine yards. The Asian-American community protested it and there were thousands of emails that went out which lead to the company taking the costume off the shelf. I was just amazed!
RT: I know Asian-Americans did an email campaign for Abercrombie & Fitch and they didn't have the same effect or response as the Halloween costume.
JC: No, they did not have that response. Here we have an example where it was not a success. But on the other hand, I bet you that Abercrombie & Fitch will not do that again. Imagine the backlash they will have if they do.
RT: Do you think mainstream America will ever vote for an Asian-American Presidential candidate?
JC: Certainly, I think it is possible for it to happen. But, first, I do think that Asian-Americans will have to be in some state-wide position. They will have to be more of them represented as governors, congressional senators and representatives. Look where most of the Presidential candidates come from; they are either governor of their state, they are senators or they are congressional members. If you look in those areas, Asian-Americans are very much under represented in all those positions. We only have one Asian-American governor, Gary Locke [Washington]. With regards to senators, we have two and they are both from Hawaii and with congressional members, we have four. So, we are very much under represented on the national scene.
RT: You must be quite busy with your current role as an Assemblymember. Who cooks dinner at night, you or your husband?
JC: Neither. My husband [Mike Eng] is running for Monterey Park City Council so he is out every night at some function and I am out every night at some function. My life is like this; I might go to three or four dinners in a night and not have a single thing to eat, then I'll come home and have some ramen. I may be at all those dinners but I am always running around and I actually never sit down.
RT: What is your favorite movie of all time? I like to ask this question because I believe it gives insight to your personality.
JC: I'm a huge movie fan and I love talking about movies. I just had a huge discussion with someone about 'Farewell My Concubine'. It's an epic sweep of Chinese history which is about two Chinese opera stars who had a gay relationship and got caught up in the Cultural Revolution. It's just the most amazing movie. I also liked 'Saving Private Ryan' because it was immensely moving. I thought it brought a huge historic moment to American and World history down to a personal level. I thought it was an amazing achievement and that Tom Hanks was robbed [Tom Hanks was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and lost to Roberto Benigni]. With this film, you felt that you were truly there on the beach as these men were being slaughtered. You saw the true tragedy of it but it wasn't over done.
RT: Do you have any pointers for Asian-Americans who want to get into politics and what type of avenues they should take?
JC: I always feel that they should get involved in the local community. There are many opportunities for involvement. For instance, you can be appointed to a local commission and you can join a local group. I would recommend doing that before running for a local office. Running for local office is a good way to be involved but you don't start with that. You start by getting to know your local community. You see what the issues are and giving your time to the community. Those things to me are much more important than the office itself. That is what politics is all about which is to improve the life of the people.
RT: What is life going to be like for you after public office?
JC: I'm currently on leave from my job as a college professor so I could go back to that. I did enjoy teaching and the human interaction quite a bit. I most definitely will still be involved with the community groups. I have a passion for working on different issues. I even thought about one day being involved with a non-profit group that was doing some kind of work involving the community.
For more information about Judy Chu, please visit the link below.
Judy Chu - Official Website
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