Betty Tom Chu is an American lawyer, politician and banker. She is known for being the first

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

woman to pass the bar admission of

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

. She was also the first Chinese-American woman to be the chief executive of a bank. Chu served as mayor of

Monterey Park, California Monterey Park is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future". Mo ...

in 2006, and held two elected terms on the city council between 2003 and 2012. She ran for the 32nd Congressional district as a Republican in May 2009, and lost to

Judy Chu Judy May Chu (born July 7, 1953) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she has held a seat in Congress since 2009, representing until redistricting. Chu is the first Chines ...

Early life and education

Chu was born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California. Her father, Tom Kay Chu, owned a farm, and her mother, Yee Siu King, was an immigrant from

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

. By age nine, Chu wanted to pursue a career in law as a working class advocate, after witnessing one of the migrant workers on her father's farm be beaten. After graduating from Grossmont High School, she earned a BS degree from

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Chu earned a JD degree from

Career

In June 1961, Chu was admitted to the

. In 1961, Chu became the first Chinese-American woman lawyer in Southern California. As a pioneer in the legal field, Chu's career was supported by Hiram Kwan, founder of "Kwan, Quan, Cohen, and Lum", a law firm in

Los Angeles Chinatown Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a reside ...

. In 1973, Chu was one of the founding members of East West Federal Bank (now

East West Bancorp East West Bancorp is the parent company of East West Bank. It is a publicly owned company with $42.1 billion in assets as of April 18, 2019. The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, East West Bank, is the largest publicly traded bank headquarter ...

). Chu also co-founded Trust Saving Bank and served as its Chairperson and CEO; she was the first Chinese American woman to run a bank in the United States. She has taught classes at California College of Law and

Los Angeles Community College The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) is the community college district serving Los Angeles, California, and some of its neighboring cities and certain unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Its headquarters are in Downtown Lo ...

. In 1992, Chu was a member of the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

's Police Chief selection committee. Chu was an elected city council member of

from 2003-2007, and again 2009-2012. On March 13, 2006, Chu was sworn in as the mayor of Monterey Park. In May 2009, Chu campaigned for the 32nd Congressional district as a Republican, but she lost to

, her cousin by marriage. On June 11, 2012, Chu abruptly resigned from the city council and stated this was due to "philosophical differences" with other council members. According to the Pasadena Star News, she stated in a speech to the council: "Some other council members don’t spend adequate time reviewing staff reports and supporting documents … and it is evident from frequent 4-1 votes on key vital issues that facts don’t really matter because there is a deep political and philosophical divide." On June 5, 2014, the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

passed the Senate Joint Resolution 23 and 122, which is associated to formally apology for past California

anti-Chinese legislation Anti-Chinese sentiment, also known as Sinophobia, is a fear or dislike of China, Chinese people or Chinese culture. It often targets Chinese minorities living outside of China and involves immigration, development of national identity in ...

. This resolution passage is the work and request by The Apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act Committee, which Chu is one of the founding members. In 2016, Chu was an Alternate Delegate for the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

. In 2018, Chu partnered with John Gee and the

Chinese American Citizens Alliance Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.) is a Chinese American fraternal, benevolent non-profit organization founded in 1895 in San Francisco, California to secure equal rights for Americans of Chinese ancestry and to better the welfare of t ...

of Orange County to urge Congress to pass the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

for Chinese Americans who served in World War II. With the help of Congressman

Ed Royce Edward Randall Royce (born October 12, 1951) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California from 1993 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Royce served as Chairman of the Unite ...

, she was able to successfully garner bipartisan support and the bill was signed into law by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

on December 20, 2018. Today Chu is actively involved in local and national politics. She sits on the board of Asian Industry B2B which is founded by Marc Ang and the

of Orange County. She is also one of the key signers of the ballot argument against

2020 California Proposition 16 Proposition 16 is a California ballot proposition that appeared on the November 3, 2020, general election ballot, asking California voters to amend the Constitution of California to repeal Proposition 209 (1996). Proposition 209 amended the sta ...

and sits as an Honorary Co-Chair of Californians for Equal Rights alongside

Ward Connerly Wardell Anthony "Ward" Connerly (born June 15, 1939) is an American political and anti-affirmative action activist, businessman, and former University of California Regent (1993–2005). He is also the founder and the chairman of the American Civi ...

Tom Campbell (California politician) Thomas John Campbell (born August 14, 1952) is an American academic, educator, and politician. He is a Professor of Law at the Dale E. Fowler School of Law, and a professor of economics at the George Argyros School of Business and Economics, at C ...

Gail Heriot Gail L. Heriot is an American attorney and legal scholar serving as a Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. Since 2007, she has been a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Education Heriot earned a Bac ...

, and Manuel Klausner.

Personal life

She was married to Robert Chu until his passing. They share three children. She currently resides in Orange County, CA.

Awards

* 2005 Honoree of Los Angeles Chinese American Pioneers in Law. (Chinese Historical Society of Southern California)

References

External links