Judy Chu:
Leadership is a Winding Road
by Carol Caley

Dr. Judy Chu was elected on July 14, 2009 to the 32nd District seat in the U.S. Congress. She is the first Chinese American woman to serve in Congress. Chu was honored at the Leadership California Legacy of Leadership Awards on May 4, 2009 in Los Angeles, receiving the State Leader Award. The following article is from an interview in May 2009:

Q: Dr. Chu, you have worked on many pieces of legislation in your career that benefit women, particularly victims of abuse and violence. How did you become a champion of these women? What specific experiences did you have that inspired you to take action?

A: First, I never thought I would become an elected official. I did not have role models to make that possible for an Asian-American woman. Before I ran for public office the first time, there was an English-only movement in the San Gabriel Valley—old residents resented hearing Asian

“I had a male opponent who belonged to the old boy network in Sacramento. It was tough.”

languages spoken. I joined a coalition of others who believed as I did, that there needed to be a better dialog of cultural understanding, and we got thousands of signatures.

Out of that I ran for Monterey Park city council, and won. There, I made it a goal to bring about a dialog of diversity. The League of California Cities awarded us their Grand Prize for innovation in diversity.

Then I ran for State Assembly. That was a very different race. I had a male opponent who belonged to the old boy network in Sacramento. It was tough. There didn’t seem to be a way in for me. The turning point was when Hilda Solis endorsed me. Hilda had run against an incumbent and knew what it was like—being a Latina and a woman, up against an institutionalized system that favored insiders.

I began to appreciate the need for women to help other women. That’s why I go out of my way to support groups that support women. For example, I did an internship as a rape crisis counselor for a year. I saw firsthand the violence perpetrated against women and became aware of the problem of campus violence against them. Also, I authored a bill to protect the financial assets of domestic violence victims after a constituent from my district came to see me. This woman was hiding a terrible secret. Her husband had badly abused her, beating her almost to death. But even though he was convicted of the crime, he was still entitled to share her retirement money in their divorce settlement. This bill—AB 2018—put an end to that.

Q: If you’re elected to serve in the nation’s Capitol, how will your leadership make a difference for the San Gabriel Valley?
 
A: I have deep roots here in the community. I’ve been elected nine times to serve here, and I know I can be a great advocate for the people here. I’ve served on the Monterey Park City Council, advocating tolerance and diversity. In the State Assembly, I held hearings on hate crimes and promoted a bill to encourage tolerance in grades K-12.

“I learned not to overreact, to keep my bearings.”

This is a very diverse district. People have learned to live together. It’s a working-class district as well, with 40,000 union members. I’m a 20-year member of the AFT local 1521, having taught psychology at East Los Angeles Community College for 13 years. I grew up in a union family: my mother was a Teamster who worked in a cannery; my father was also a union member.

Q: What qualities do you think it takes to be a good leader? How does being a female affect leadership?
 
A: Good leadership is not about IQ, it’s a matter of EQ, Emotional Quotient. Good leaders are people who can sense what others are feeling, can address their concerns, can read body language, and who are considerate. Women have higher proportions of EQ than men.

“This was the ‘Golden Age of Women’ in the legislature, during my time there.”

I saw this in the legislature. Women who serve there have both IQ and EQ. They have integrity, respect from the community and respect for the community. Senator Fran Pavley has this quality. She has authored two bills on global warming. [AB 1493 made California the first state in the U.S. to reduce auto greenhouse gas emissions. The "Pavley Bill" was later adopted by 11 other states. Pavley also authored AB 32, the "Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.”] Sheila Kuehl also has EQ, supporting a single-payer healthcare bill. [Kuehl, D, 23rd Senate District, served from 2000-2008.] This was the Golden Age of Women in the legislature, during my time there.

Q: What is your passion in life?

A: Passion is having the ability to have an impact on people, to make a difference in their lives. For example, I promoted a bill that prevents immigrants from being cheated in contract negotiations. Car dealers would make a sale in Chinese, but when they presented the contract to the customer, it was in English. It was classic bait and switch. The contract terms were totally different when customers sat down to sign. One woman in Alhambra discovered the scam and asked for a refund. She was refused. She picketed the auto dealership wearing a white sheet and carrying a sign that said “Cheaters.” That led others who had been cheated to step forward. Now contracts have to be in the customer’s language.

Q: Have you had any mentors, or been a mentor?

A: Hilda Solis has been a great mentor to me. We’ve been friends for 20 years. We first worked together on redistricting. We decided our interests were the same, and that if we made a coalition of both Asian and Latino interests, we could win. She supported me in Sacramento. In this current race, of course, she can’t endorse me. But she’s been a good friend.

I’ve been a mentor to my staff. My goal is to make sure they attain their dreams. I get them to stretch their abilities. One young woman was so sharp, so wonderful. She worked on one of my bills to prevent heat-related illness in farm workers. She went on to become National Vice President of United Farm Workers. That’s Merlyn Calderon.

Q: What was the hardest lesson you learned in your career?

“Good leaders are people with a high EQ, who can sense what others are feeling, can address their concerns, can read body language, and who are considerate.”

A: I learned not to overreact, to keep my bearings. It’s very tough to do in these elections. You have opposition that’s maneuvering. I had that kind of race for my Board of Equalization seat. I was having a very difficult time. My staff would bemoan all the twists and turns of the campaign. One day my chief of staff came in with a turtle figurine and presented it to me. “Go steady ahead, don’t let it get to you” was the message. I keep that turtle in my office as a reminder.

Q: What advice would you give to the women of Leadership California?

A: My advice is: remember to develop your EQ as well as your IQ, and remember “steady as you go.” There can be setbacks, moments when it seems that you’re not getting anywhere. Keep your eyes on the prize.