Charlie Chong (October 13, 1926 – April 26, 2007) was a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

political figure and activist on behalf of the

Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront on Pu ...

and against the marginalization of

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest, and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an i ...

Biography

On 13 October 1926, Chong was born on the island of

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

, then part of the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

(now the

State of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

). Chong graduated from

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

's St. Louis High School, and after service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, studied at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, where he edited the Foreign Service News Letter before receiving (in 1951) a Bachelor of Science degree in Foreign Service. He served in the United States Air Force in the Philippines, Korea, and Japan, 1951–1954. After retiring from a varied career in public service positions and the canning industry, Chong came to public notice in the mid-1980s as an advocate of tenant rights at the Pike Place Market. From 1989 to 1993, he served as president of the

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Community Council and as West Seattle's representative on the Seattle Open Space Committee and Shoreline Parks Improvement Fund (SPIF). In 1995, he ran as a protest candidate for City Council, and though he lost, he gained citywide name familiarity which enabled him to win a seat on the City Council the next year. In 1997 he ran for mayor, coming in second in the primary but losing to

Paul Schell Paul E. S. Schell (born Paul Ervin Schlachtenhaufen; October 8, 1937 – July 27, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 50th mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1998 to 2002. Early life and education The oldest of six chi ...

in the general election. (Seattle city offices are officially nonpartisan.) He was again an unsuccessful candidate for City Council in 1999. Chong died in Seattle's

Providence Hospital Providence Hospital may refer to: *Providence Hospital (Columbia, South Carolina) *Providence Hospital (Mobile) in Mobile, Alabama *Providence Hospital (Southfield), Michigan *Providence Hospital (Washington, D.C.) in Washington, D.C. *Providence Al ...

on April 26, 2007.

References

External links

Obituary (Seattle P-I)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Charlie 1926 births Seattle City Council members American politicians of Chinese descent People from Maui Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Pike Place Market 2007 deaths 20th-century American politicians Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics