”’Judy May Chu, Ph.D.”’ (Chinese name: 趙美心) (born July 7, 1953 in Los Angeles, California) is the United States House of Representatives for CA 32, serving since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States).

Chu was previously Chair of the State Board of Equalization (California), representing the 4th District. She had also served on the [[Garvey School District|Garvey Unified School District]] Board of Education, the [[Monterey Park, California|Monterey Park]] City Council (with terms as mayor) and the [[California State Assembly]].

Chu ran in the [[California's 32nd congressional district special election, 2009|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. Chu was the top candidate running in the special election on May 19, 2009. She defeated Republican candidate Betty Tom Chu and Libertarian candidate Christopher Agrella in a runoff election on July 14, 2009. She is the first [[Chinese American]] woman ever elected to the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]]. Chu was reelected in the 2010 United States midterm elections, defeating Republican challenger Edward “Ed” Schmerling.

==Early life and education==
Judy Chu is the second of four children of Judson and May Chu, who were married in 1948 in their ancestral home of [[Xinhui District|Xinhui]], [[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]].

Chu graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in [[mathematics]] from the [[University of California, Los Angeles]]. She then earned a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[psychology]] from the [[California School of Professional Psychology]].

==Academic career==
She taught as a professor at the [[Los Angeles Community College District]] for 20 years, including 13 years at [[East Los Angeles College]].

==Early political career==
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, California|Monterey Park]], where she served as mayor for three terms. 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 J. Romero|Gloria Romero]].

Chu was elected to the State Assembly in a May 15, 2001, special election after Romero was elected to the [[California State Senate|State Senate]]. She was elected to a full term in 2002 and was reelected in 2004. The district includes [[Alhambra, California|Alhambra]], [[El Monte, California|El Monte]], [[Duarte, California|Duarte]], [[Monterey Park, California|Monterey Park]], [[Rosemead, California|Rosemead]], [[San Gabriel, California|San Gabriel]], [[San Marino, California|San Marino]] and [[South El Monte, California|South El Monte]], within [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]].

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.

Chu entered the special election for the 32nd District after Congresswoman [[Hilda Solis]] was appointed as Labor Secretary. She 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 garnered 31.9 percent of the vote — well short of the 50% + 1 vote needed to win outright. She easily defeated [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Betty Tom Chu (her cousin-in-law and a Monterey Park city councilwoman) and [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] businessman Christopher Agrella in the July 14 runoff. She had been heavily favored due to the district’s heavy Democratic tilt; with a [[Cook Partisan Voting Index]] of D+15, it is one of the safest Democratic districts in the nation.

==U.S. House of Representatives==
===Committee assignments===
*”’[[United States House Committee on Education and Labor|Committee on Education and Labor]]”’
**[[United States House Education Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education|Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education]]
**[[United States House Education Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities|Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities]]
*”’[[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|Committee on the Judiciary]]”’
**[[United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties|Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties]]
**[[United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law|Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law]]
**[[United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law|Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law]]
*”’[[United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|Committee on Oversight and Government Reform]]”’

{{Expand section|date=June 2010}}
Chu was sworn in to office on July 16, 2009.

Throughout the years, she has received ratings of 100 from all Pro-Choice affiliates including Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. That being accompanied by ratings of 100 from the NARAL pro-choice California in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Conversely, Chu has received very low ratings given by Pro-Life organizations in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Judy Chu’s number one priority as a new member of Congress is to work along side the Obama administration. 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. Chu believes that by making sure schools are strong, society is helping prepare students to live in the real world later on.

Judy Chu is focused on bringing [[Green-collar worker|“Green Collar” jobs]] to the [[San Gabriel Valley]]. 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.

==Personal life==
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 [[California State Assembly|Assembly]], and in 2006 he took Chu’s seat on the Assembly, when Chu left the Assembly.)

王清福这个名字对国人来说实在是太陌生了——虽然他在生存的那个年代，曾是“美国东海岸名声响亮的中国人”。近年来，我注意到侨史学界开始有了介绍，作为王清福的后裔，笔者自感欣慰。但，我似乎不能听听看看就完了，而应该为自己的高祖再多说点儿或写点儿什么。

“中国留美第二人”

在我们刚刚告别的上个世纪末，电脑网络为人们提供了跨区域自由发表见解的讲坛。在讨论中，一些美国华裔青年们流露出如是哀伤：“在美国历史上，少数民族曾 受到种族歧视的迫害，但是他们有不同的反应。我们都知道马丁·路德·金和马考斯·Ｘ等，都是黑人民权运动领袖。因他们同社会不公平作斗争而为人们所敬 慕……为什么华人里没有这样的人？为什么没有华人的马丁·路德·金？我们的英雄在哪里？”

提出这样的问题，发出如此的哀伤，和这些当今的美国华裔青年不太了解中国人移民美国的历史有关。好在还有美国纽约州立大学Ｐｕｒｃｈａｓｅ学院历史系主任 于仁秋博士、获得美国弗吉尼亚大学历史学博士学位的张庆松等学者，经过他们对19世纪70至90年代美国报刊的梳理，写出了《细节与记忆》、《美国百年排 华内幕》等著述，叙述了那段很少为人触动的历史，并披露美国的华人中确有马丁·路德·金式的人物。他，就是被这两位学者称为“中国留美第二人”的王清福。

据美国一所机构1954年的调查，在清政府1876年送出第一批官派留学生赴美前，曾有5位中国学子在美国的学校里得到学位。其中以促成清政府派出成批学童留美的容闳最为有名，被誉为“中国留美第一人”。

容闳获得美誉，与其学成归国后游说于晚清举足轻重的政治活跃人物之间，积极参与政治经济活动，在官家史书上留有较多记载不无关系。而其他人几乎不为国人所 知，则或许与他们和晚清的官方没有什么过往，甚至因为某些原因难以在国内立足有关。王清福就是5位留美中国学子中，属于后一种情况的一位。

从蓬莱到宾夕法尼亚

王清福是笔者的高祖，生于道光二十七年（1847年），他在国内用得更多的是王彦平这个名字，王清福、王缓祺均为别名，清政府通缉他时即以“王彦平”为 署。王清福出生于山东省即墨一富室，其父王方中乃是一个不善治家的懦弱纨绔。觊觎其家产的族人，借其一小妾自杀生事，将其家财剥夺净尽，王方中遂偕子乞 讨，流落辗转至蓬莱。

王家从此落在蓬莱。于此地布道的一位美国传教士，有记载称是一位女性，见王彦平孝顺仁厚、聪颖可塑，对其施予教化。若干年后，传教士送他越洋留学，入美国 宾夕法尼亚州一所学校就读。在美国，王清福取了一个西文名字Ｃｈａｒｌｅｓ。有记载说：“他读书勤奋用功，成绩优异，使老师十分喜悦和惊异。他在1872 年毕业，得到学校的表彰。”

毕竟是17岁的青年人，对迥异于祖国的文化和环境，他感到分外好奇，并由此产生了浓厚的了解欲望。毕业后，王清福耗时数月游走美国，考察社会制度、社团构建等状况，并在宣称对美国国情有所了解后，渡海回归。

被清廷缉捕的革新派

据自家的先人回忆，王清福回国后曾在镇江海关任职，张庆松博士《美国百年排华内幕》一书取在清政府的总理各国事务衙门当翻译之说似不确，因为总理各国事务 衙门署地在北京。公余时间，他常深入民间交际演讲，呼吁禁绝鸦片，组织社团，提升大众的道德水准。讲演中，他褒扬美国社会制度中可取之长，鼓励人民移风易 俗，学习美国的先进文明，倡导在中国进行社会和文化革新，同时难免对清廷帝制弊端有所指摘。

如此离经叛道言行，以清政府的一纸通缉为归宿是其必然结果。据美国记者当年的采访说，清政府悬赏一千五百两银子，要王清福的人头。王清福不得不四处流亡，以逃避缉捕，他的财物也损失殆尽。继而，他被迫抛妻别子，亡命美国，时在1873年末。

关于王清福二度赴美的说法有二：一是他在一名日本水手的帮助下，乘日本货轮先逃到日本，得到美国驻日本横滨总领事萨巴德的协助，登上了前往旧金山的轮船。 其间还有一段插曲：在船上，王清福发现人贩子拐带了一批中国少女，欲至美国旧金山贩卖。俟轮船泊碇，他即与旧金山当局联络，当局逮捕了人贩子，解救了那批 少女。人贩子因此必欲置之于死地，悬赏1500美元，购其头颅。

还有一说是他先逃到了香港，躲在英国人的教会里，可后来身份暴露了，被教会里的人抓起来，准备将其移交清政府。他设法脱身后，遂逃往美国。

无论是由日本，还是从香港再到美国，总之，从此以后，他就没有在中国留下什么记载。而他当时的年纪还未及“而立”。

面对排华浪潮拍案而起

与第一次赴美不尽相同的是，王清福不再是寒窗苦读的学子，他于1874年归化为美国公民，更直接地置身于美国社会。1873年，美国的经济萧条引发了整个 社会的危机，在种族主义势力的煽动下，这种危机随之被转嫁到了在美华人身上。王清福立即就感觉到了美国各地日渐炽涨蔓延的排华风潮：“报章杂志上充塞着侮 辱华人的言论和漫画，华人在美国的处境越来越艰难。” 他遂下定决心，为改善在美华人的处境而竭己所能。

“人人生而平等”这一神圣原则，在美国立国之初和以后很长一段时间，并不及于黑人和印第安人，也不及于华人和其他亚裔人。当时美国社会之所以会孳生反华情 绪，更有种种现实原因和文化背景。但依王清福的最初认识，一切皆源自美国民众对中国人、中国文化的无知和误解。王清福以自己的口和手中的笔为武器，宣传和 介绍中国文化，并对当时席卷泛滥于美国的庸俗社会进化论、白人种族优越论进行批驳。

他奋笔疾书，为各种报章杂志撰稿；他风尘仆仆，往来于美国的中部、东部、西部各大城市巡回演讲。仅1876一年，就演讲80余场。

王清福在东部各州的巡回宣讲在听众中产生了相当的影响，更带动了整个华人社会——在西部，加州华人通过他们的组织，即著名的六大会馆（中华会馆前身）也发 动了一场抵制排华浪潮的文宣活动。他们凑钱出版一些小册子，向报社投稿，向政府递交请愿书，并出钱赞助美国友好人士撰写编译介绍华人和中华文化的书籍。这 样，在东部和西部都有华人在协调努力，力图消除美国人对华人文化、传统和风俗习惯的误解及对华人移民的歧视。

但是，在汹涌的排华浪潮下，王清福和华人社会的努力显得是那样的力单势孤，美国国会在1882年通过了第一部《排华法案》。该法案规定在10年内，禁止华人移民美国，使许多长期在美国，并为其富强付出艰辛和血汗的华人，享受不到应有的权利。

美国媒体眼中的王清福

当时在美国已经相当著名的《哈伯周刊》，曾这样描写演讲时的王清福：“聪明、有教养的绅士，他很轻松，很有效地使用英语，而且能让听众听得津津有味。”（《哈伯周刊》1877年5月26日，第405页）

《纽约时报》在报道一场王清福的讲演时，对王清福的神态风度有如下描述：“他穿着一身黑色服装，样式同一般中国人穿的差不多，不过，料子和做工较为讲究。 ” “他给观众留下深刻印象：一个年轻的中国人，彬彬有礼，营养良好。他的外观让人觉得他善于思考，且富有表现力。他的一举一动都十分优雅，有着充分的自信， 而且自始至终显得从容不迫，言行举止完美得体，好像是一位早已成名的社会名流。”（《纽约时报》1877年4月30日）

王清福在文章和演说中反复强调：美国人应该了解和尊重中国文化及其道德价值；基督教文明和儒教文明在教人与人为善的道德原则上基本是相同的；基督教文化不应该有独霸心态，不应该排斥而应接纳其他文化。

“自从我开始在这个国家宣传关于我的祖国——中国的宗教、社会生活和政治事务后，在任何地方我都没有诽谤、胡言或欺骗。我想向基督徒们展示一个正当的中国 人的言行举止和精神状态。你们送传教士到中国，我们认真听他们讲演。现在我们要求你们听一听我们要说的话，这是不是很公平呢？”

他以典雅的英文，诚恳的态度，力图促进美国社会认识中国文化，消弭反华偏见与暴戾言行，但收效甚微。他的言行虽然受到美国当时主流媒体的关注并予以大量报道，但多数仍含有曲解和嘲讽的意味，甚至有文章称他为“来自中国的佛教传教士”。

向排华恶棍提出决斗

“当我读到王清福向恶棍挑战决斗的细节之后，我才觉得，我对美国历史上排华的记忆才不再残缺。”张庆松博士所说的故事发生在1883年夏季。

恶棍丹尼斯·坚尼的名字，是和排华运动连在一起的。坚尼出生在爱尔兰，早年来美国做发财梦。1876年股市崩盘，他破产了，于是便转向政治投机，组织了“ 加州工人党”，将经济衰退、失业率高涨归咎于“廉价的华人劳工”，呼吁“以合法的途径”将华人排斥于美国之外。他靠下流语言煽动排华，第一个在公开集会上 喊出“华人滚出去”口号，并且每次演讲结束时必声嘶力竭地重复叫喊这一口号。在加州，小混混坚尼的行径获得了越来越大的影响，并把反华浪潮从加州推向了全 美。

王清福应是很早就注意到他了。7月，坚尼来到王清福常住的纽约市访问。被美国媒体描写为“很有风度、中等身材的漂亮男子”王清福，出于对1882年排华法案和坚尼本人排华恶行的强烈义愤，派人向他提出决斗的挑战。

《纽约时报》记者风闻讯息，找到王清福的办公处所做采访，言谈间问他将用什么武器和坚尼决斗。身高不过1.7米的王清福坐在椅子上回答：“由他选择吧：筷子、爱尔兰土豆或克虏伯（德国著名兵工厂）手枪。”但那个政治流氓却没有勇气接过王清福抛出的“白手套”。

向美国人民发出呼吁书

由美国高等学府教育出来的王清福，敏锐地意识到《排华法案》之所以能在国会通过，关键在于在美国的华人缺乏政治影响力，华人只有积极参与美国的政治运作，才能改变这种状况，于是他便全力以赴投入争取在美华裔平等权利进行的斗争。

就在排华法案通过的第二年的2月，王清福在纽约创办了《美华时报》，该报的英文名称为《ＣｈｉｎｅｓｅＡｍｅｒｉｃａｎ》即华裔美国人，这个如今已在美国 广泛使用的概念，是他第一个创意和使用的。从此有了一小块为改善在美华人形象，争取自身应有权益而呐喊的阵地。可惜因为经费不足，这份以华文为主的报纸只 维持了不到一年。

1884年7月30日晚上，50多名有美国选民资格的华人和10多位旁听者，聚集到纽约市贝尔街32号开会。会议由王清福发起，主要议题就是要组织一个华人参政联盟。

王清福在会议上做了精彩的演讲：这是美国华人第一次积极参与美国政治活动的尝试，第一次团结起来集体维护自己作为美国公民尊严的努力，目的就是要在美国政治中得到表达意见的机会和主流社会的认同。

此后，王清福除了在美国各类媒体发表文章，介绍在美华人的境况，改善华人在一般美国民众心目中的形象外，更积极地活跃于美国的华人社会，劝说华人放弃陋习，团结起来，树立华人自重自尊的新形象，以推进华人进入主流社会。

然而，就在第一部《排华法案》推出10年之际，美国国会又通过了排华的《吉利法案》，其中条款比1882年法案还苛刻。为了反对这一法案，美国东岸华人在 纽约举行大会，成立了由150多名讲英语的华商和专业人士组成的“美国华人平等权利联盟”，王清福被推选为秘书长。

这个联盟向全美国人民发出一份呼吁书，指出：吉利法案“对来自不同国家的移民，实行不同的待遇，已经践踏和违背了公法的基本准则。”“我们要求在这个大家庭里，在生活的竞赛里，有平等的机会。我们当中很多人已经在这个国家度过了一生……”

据于仁秋博士推测，这份呼吁书是由王清福起草的，他那“我们坚信，如想成为美国公民，只要人品好，身体好，就够资格了。”同马丁·路德·金《我有一个梦》 的著名演说中“我梦想，有朝一日，我的四个孩子将生活在这样一个国度：人们评判他们，是看他们的人品，而不是他们的肤色。”从文字到内涵几乎如出一辙，而 王清福的表达，则比马丁·路德·金整整早了71年。

王清福之死及其他

鉴于王清福在美国以演说、撰文、创办报刊、集会请愿、组织民权团体等方式，为在美华裔争取和其他人种的平等权利而茹苦奔波，因而被美国当时的媒体称为华人 “卓越的领袖”，张庆松博士《美国百年排华内幕》一书为此作了极为翔实的旁征博引，我在此就不重复了。在本文结束前，再就张著中未涉及的有关王清福及其亲 属的情况，稍做补充。

王清福的妻子刘雨山，系山东省蓬莱人氏。王清福被迫亡命时，儿子尚在襁褓中。他曾于一封信中追述离别时的记忆：儿子“还只有12磅重”。他为儿子取名“复生”，寓意为中国将于满清帝制覆亡后获得新生。

妻子刘氏在王清福去国后，为躲避清廷缉捕，将儿子改随自己的姓，并取名慕义，更不敢作夫妻父子重聚奢想。但王清福在美国一直未放弃与妻儿联络的努力，或通 过中国赴美人员，或通过美国驻华机构。天道酬诚，他最终寻访到儿子的下落。1897年底，他赴香港为美国奥马哈世界博览会组织中国馆展览活动之际，曾致信 美国驻上海领事馆，请求办理自己儿子的赴美签证。

1898年6月，受王清福委托的美国友人约翰，在华与王清福之子王复生晤面。他函告王清福见面的情景，并得出其子在华无任何危险迹象的判断。显然是这封 信，促使王清福执意归国认子，他越洋而返。据自家先人和亲属回忆，他到蓬莱刚见到儿子，就闻清廷已发缇骑来缉，遂避往威海，不想竟在此突患急症，转瞬大限 弥留。

此时，他仍以儿子安危前程为念，因威海只有英国领事馆而无美国领事馆，他扶病修函英国领事馆，祈对其子给予庇护和照拂，随后方安然撒手人寰。此函原一直藏 于笔者父亲处，本可据此得知高祖辞世年月。然“文化大革命”初，父亲为单位重点审查对象，恐灾眚丛至，遂焚销该函。据家中现存1898年6月6日约翰致王 清福函，且参考《美国百年排华内幕》书云未见1898年后王清福行踪资料，我推想高祖辞世，约在1898年和1899年之交。

最后，笔者要作一点说明：在于、张两位博士的著述中，皆把“王清福”称为“黄清福”实属舛误。究其原因是由于他们看的均是美国的英文资料，名字都是用拉丁 字母拼写的ＷｏｎｇＣｈｉｎｆｏｏ估计是清际赴美者多粤、闽人士，而粤、闽口音“黄”“王”倒置，故许多人将此Ｗｏｎｇ转译为“黄”，而不取“王”。不 过，造成这种误译，高祖本人也要承担一定的责任，谁让他在美发表文章偶尔用中文签名时，总是只签“清福”两字，却不将“王”也写上呢？这也就为其名何以始 终准确无误，而姓氏则随了他人的最好注解。

“只有那忘不了的人和事，才构成我们真的生命”——最后我想以于仁秋先生的一段文字作为本篇的结束语：“作为一个族裔群体，我们华人没有华盛顿，没有杰弗 逊，也没有金博士。但是，我们有黄（王）清福。我们的黄（王）清福，儒魂侠胆，光照千秋。有了黄（王）清福，我华裔美国人以及我们的子孙后代再也不必自惭 形秽。”

Elaine Lan Chao ( 趙小蘭 born March 26, 1953) served as the 24th United States Secretary of Labor in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. She was the first Asian Pacific American woman to be appointed to a President’s cabinet in American history. Chao was the only cabinet member to serve under George W. Bush for his entire administration. She is married to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the current U.S. Senate Minority Leader.

Childhood and education

The eldest of six daughters, Chao was born in Taipei, Taiwan, to James S.C. Chao (趙錫成 Zhào Xīchéng), a powerful and well-connected Shanghainese entrepreneur, and Ruth Mu-lan Chu (朱木蘭 Zhū Mùlán), a historian. She attended Tsai Hsing Elementary School in kindergarten and first grade. Her parents had fled to Taiwan from mainland China after the Chinese Communists took over as a result of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. After her father settled in the U.S. and established himself in the shipping business, Chao came to the U.S. at age eight. Chao’s father started Foremost Shipping Corp in 1964 and capitalized on exponential growth in trade with China. She attended Syosset High School, an affluent public school in Long Island, New York.

Chao received her B.A. in economics from Mount Holyoke College in 1975 and her MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1979. Chao also studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College, and Columbia University.

Career

With a family background in the shipping business, in 1986 Chao became Deputy Administrator of the Maritime Administration in the US Department of Transportation. From 1988 to 1989, she served as Chairwoman of the Federal Maritime Commission.

In 1989, President George H. W. Bush nominated Chao to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation. From 1991 to 1992, Chao was Director of the Peace Corps. She was the first Asian Pacific American to serve in any of these positions. She expanded the Peace Corps’s presence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia by establishing the first Peace Corps programs in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, and other newly independent states of the former Soviet Union.
United Way and Heritage Foundation

Following her service in the government, Chao worked for four years as President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of America. She is credited with returning credibility and public trust back to the organization after an embarrassing financial mismanagement scandal involving former United Way of America president William Aramony. From 1996 until her appointment as Secretary of Labor, Chao was a Distinguished Fellow with the conservative Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank. She returned to the Heritage Foundation after leaving the government in January 2009.

Elaine Chao as Secretary of Labor.

During Secretary Chao’s tenure, the Department of Labor updated the white collar overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Complaints from the business community about overtime-related litigation spurred the Bush Administration to update the regulations.

In 2003, the Department achieved the first major update of union financial disclosure regulations in more than 40 years, giving rank and file members enhanced information on how their dues are spent.

After analyzing 70,000 closed case files from 2005 to 2007 the Government Accountability Office reported that the Department’s Wage and Hour Division inadequately investigated complaints from low-wage and minimum wage workers alleging that employers failed to pay the federal minimum wage, required overtime, and failed to issue a last paycheck.

A 2008 report by the department’s inspector general found that despite implementation of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act), mine safety regulators did not conduct federally required inspections at more than 14 percent of the country’s 731 underground coal mines during the previous year. The number of worker deaths in mining accidents more than doubled to 47. A 2009 internal audit appraising an Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiative under the Bush administration to focus special attention on problem workplaces revealed that OSHA employees failed to gather needed data, conducted uneven inspections and enforcement, and sometimes failed to discern repeat fatalities because records misspelled the companies’ names or failed to notice when two subsidiaries with the same owner were involved, resulting in preventable workplace fatalities.

The longest-serving Secretary of Labor since Frances Perkins, 1933-45, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Chao was the only original Cabinet member who remained in the Bush Administration in the same position to which she was appointed.

Timeline

* 1983: White House Fellow, Office of Policy Development, the White House
* 1986: Deputy Administrator, Maritime Administration, US Department of Transportation
* 1988–89: Chairwoman, Federal Maritime Commission
* 1989: Deputy Secretary of Transportation
* 1991–92: Director, Peace Corps
* 1992–96: President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way of America
* 1996-2001: Distinguished Fellow, Heritage Foundation
* 2001–09: U.S. Secretary of Labor
* 2009-Present: Distinguished Fellow, Heritage Foundation

Family

In 1993, Chao married Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican Leader of the United States Senate. She has three stepdaughters from her husband’s previous marriage to Sherrill Redmon: Eleanor (Elly), Claire, and Porter.

Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician. He is the current United States Secretary of Commerce and was the 21st Governor of Washington, serving from 1997 to 2005. Locke was the first, and remains the only, Chinese American to serve as governor of a state in United States history.

Family and education

Locke was born on January 21, 1950 in Seattle, Washington. A third-generation American with paternal ancestry from Taishan, Guangdong in China, Locke is the second of five children of James, a native of the United States, and Julie Locke from Hong Kong, which at that time was a dependent territory of the United Kingdom. His parents gave him the Chinese name of 駱家輝 (pronounced Lok Gaa-Fai in Cantonese). He did not learn to speak English until he was five years old.

He graduated with honors from Seattle’s Franklin High School in 1968. Locke achieved Eagle Scout and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.

Through a combination of part-time jobs, financial aid and scholarships, Locke attended Yale University, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1972. He then earned a law degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1975.

On October 15, 1994, Locke married Mona Lee, a former television reporter for the NBC affiliate KING 5 television in Seattle. Her father was from Shanghai, China and her mother from Hubei, China. The Lockes have three children: Emily Nicole, born in March 1997, Dylan James, born in March 1999 and Madeline Lee, born in November 2004.

Career

In 1982, Locke’s South Seattle district elected him to the Washington House of Representatives, where he served as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Eleven years later, in 1993, Locke made history by becoming the first Chinese American to be elected King County’s County Executive, defeating incumbent Tim Hill. In 1996, he won the primary and general elections for governor, becoming the first Chinese American state governor in United States history. His political committee was fined $2,500 by regulators in 1997 after admitting to state campaign finance law violations during his successful 1996 campaign. Locke easily won re-election in the 2000 governor’s race.

Democrats criticized Locke for embracing the Republican Party’s no-new-taxes approach to dealing with Washington’s budget woes during and after the 2001 economic turmoil. Among his spending-reduction proposals were laying off thousands of state employees; reducing health coverage; freezing most state employees’ pay; and cutting funding for nursing homes and programs for the developmentally disabled. In his final budget, Locke suspended two voter-passed, pro-school initiatives while cutting state education funding. That same state budget, though, had record-high allocations for construction projects.

Supported by the state’s political left, former Washington Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge announced his plans to challenge Locke in the 2004 Democratic primary. Talmadge ended his campaign early for health reasons.

On the national stage, Democrats saw Gary Locke as a rising star and a possible vice-presidential pick. He was chosen to give his party’s response to George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address. In 1997, Gov. Locke was a guest at that year’s State of the Union.

Leaving office

In a surprise move, Locke announced in July 2003 that he would not seek a third term, saying, “Despite my deep love of our state, I want to devote more time to my family.”

Susan Paynter, a columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, suggested that slurs, insults, and threats that Locke and his family received, especially the large number which came after his rebuttal to George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address, played a role in Locke’s decision to leave office after two terms. The governor’s office received hundreds of threatening letters and e-mails; others threatened to kill his children.

Locke left office on January 12, 2005. If the disputed 2004 election between Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi had not been resolved by then, Locke would, under Washington’s constitution, have remained in office until a successor qualified.

After leaving office, Locke joined the Seattle office of international law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, in their China and governmental-relations practice groups. During the leadup to the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Governor Locke signed on as Washington co-chairman of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s bid for president.

United States Secretary of Commerce nomination

Commerce Secretary, former Washington Governor Gary Locke with U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden

On December 4, 2008, the Associated Press reported that Locke was a potential candidate for Secretary of the Interior in then-President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet. Eventually, then-Colorado Senator, Ken Salazar, was nominated for that position instead.

On February 25, 2009, Locke was announced as President Barack Obama’s choice for Secretary of Commerce. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on March 24, 2009. Locke was sworn in March 26, 2009, by District judge Richard A. Jones. He was sworn in by President Obama on May 1, 2009. He is the first Chinese American Secretary of Commerce, and the third Asian American in Obama’s cabinet, joining Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the most of any administration.

Assembly member Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) grew up in Sunnyvale and was elected as the representative of the 22nd Assembly District in 2008. His district, located in the southern Bay Area, is made up of Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and portions of Santa Clara County, Santa Clara and San Jose.

Assembly member Fong is the Chair of the Elections and Redistricting Committee, which oversees all issues that relate to voting districts elections. He also serves as a voting member of the Banking and Finance, Higher Education, and Utilities and Commerce Committees.  In addition, Assembly member Fong serves on the Select Committees on Aerospace, Biotechnology, Community Colleges, Domestic Violence, and Innovation and the Bay Area Economy.

Assembly member Fong is a member of the Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, the Community College Caucus, and the Environmental Caucus.

Prior to being elected to the State Assembly, Assembly member Fong served on the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees and served consecutive terms as President of the Board. In addition, he was a member of the Foothill-De Anza Foundation Board of Directors and served on the Board of the California Community Colleges Trustees (CCCT). Assembly member Fong was also a political science professor at Evergreen Valley College.

Assembly member Fong is an activist for causes such as education, business, civil rights, affordable housing, and the environment. He is an avid supporter of making communities stronger through outreach and human services. He is a founding member of the Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), a community based organization that provides health services, youth programs and community service opportunities, as well as pathways for equality and social justice; Sacred Heart Community Services, an organization that helps working families fight poverty through community services and programs; and is President of the Board for the Community Housing Developers (CHD), a non-profit housing provider that helps low-and moderate-income persons; just to name a few.

For his commitment and leadership, Assembly member Fong has received many awards including: the 2009 Mover of Mountains Award from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley, the 2008 Human Relations Award, Santa Clara County; the 2007 Norm Mineta Lifetime Achievement Award; the 2007 Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute Civic Leadership Award, and the 2007 Mayor’s Award of Excellence amongst many others.

Assembly member Fong holds two degrees from San Jose State University; a B.A. in Sociology and a M.P.A. He also holds a MAEd. from the University of San Francisco. He and his wife, Grace, are owners of the Flower Cottage in Sunnyvale. Paul and Grace have three children, Sean, Nicole and Sydney.