Judy Chu
Judy May Chu Traditional Chinese 趙美心 Simplified Chinese 赵美心 Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Měixīn Transcriptions Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Měixīn Wade–Giles Chao4 Mei3-hsin1 IPA [tʂɑ ʊ me ɪɕi n] Cantonese Jyutping Ziu6 Mei5 sam1 Yale Romanization Jiuh Méihsām Canton Romanization Jiu6 Méi5 sem1 Judy May Chu (Chinese: 趙美心, born July 7, 1953) is the U.S. Representative for California's 27th congressional district, serving in Congress since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Chu was previously Chair of the California Board of Equalization, representing the 4th District. She had also served on the Garvey Unified School District Board of Education, the Monterey Park City Council (with five terms as mayor) and the California State Assembly. Chu ran in the 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. 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 U.S. Congress. Chu was redistricted to the 27th District in 2012, but was still re-elected to a third term, defeating Republican challenger Jack Orswell.