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Picture this: Rep Judy Chu (D) being sworn into office on July 16 by the first female House Speaker and fellow Californian, Nancy Pelosi. “And standing behind me while I was being sworn in” were her nieces, ages 7, 10 and 14.

            She never thought she would become a member of the U.S. Congress. “It was way out of reach,” she said in the interview. “Young girls today, they can see some role models.” Growing up, she never had any. That’s why the presence of her nieces meant a lot to her. “Those little girls could see me and think that it can be done.”

            From mayor to the State Assembly to the State Board of Equalization, to the primary and the run-off victory, confounding the naysayers: What a way to go!  

            Congresswoman Chu won in a special election to replace Rep. Hilda Solis, who left to join the administration as secretary of labor. In her eloquent speech at the 20th anniversary of the Conference on Asian Pacific Leadership (CAPAL) last month, she cited three lessons from the hard-earned victory to represent the 32nd district.

One is, build a coalition. When you forge a coalition based “on issues of common concern, your strength is multiplied.” Hers was a formidable coalition of Asian Americans, Latinos and labor. She also mentioned “being flexible” in supporting other lawmakers and reaching across party lines.

Her third lesson: Power is nice, but “power to help other people lasts until infinity.” The day after she won, she got a call from President Obama. The next day, she was sworn in as the first Chinese American woman to become member of Congress.

She hit the ground running. The day she was sworn in, she was having dinner when she was called to the debate on healthcare reform legislation–which lasted till 6 a.m. the following day. Colleagues later teased her, “We do this all the time.”

She has voted on several environmental bills and co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. She voted for the Matthew Shephard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. On July 30, she gave a speech on the House Floor on the importance of passing the America ’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. On July 31, she voted to increase funding for the “cash for clunkers” program encouraging Americans to trade in their old gas guzzlers for new fuel-efficient cars. On August 7, she hailed the Senate’s confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation’s newest Supreme Court Justice as “a giant leap forward not only for women and communities of color, but for the United States of America as a whole.”

            And so, she will be a role model–and on a bigger stage. She relishes the role. But she laughingly confessed being a junior lawmaker means waiting for your turn. Attending an education committee meeting, she recalled, “I had to sit way, way down in the front and I had to wait for two hours until I could ask a question.” She quickly added, “But it’s such an honor and a privilege to be here.”

            The former community college professor is a member of the Education and Labor Committee, the Subcommitee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education as well as the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.

            “Two days ago, I was appointed to the Judiciary Committee,” she said, adding she lobbied hard for it because she wanted to take a lead role in immigration reform. “Latinos and Asian Americans are both represented in my district,” she said. The committee also tackles civil rights and liberty issues.

Public Servant

Dr. Chu was a community college professor of psychology for 20 years. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology and a B.A. in mathematics. She was elected to the California State Board of Equalization (BOE) in November 2006. In January 2009, she was unanimously elected Vice Chair of the Board of Equalization. She previously served as BOE Chair in 2008. She also served as Chair of the BOE Legislative Committee.

Before joining the State Board of Equalization, she served three terms (2001-2006) as a State Assembly Member for the 49th District in the West San Gabriel Valley . She was Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which oversees all legislation that has a fiscal impact on the state.

She also served as Chair of the California Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes, and Assembly Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. She was also a member of the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, Labor and Employment Committee, and Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.

In 2004, she authored a landmark tax amnesty bill, estimated to bring in $300 million but actually brought in $4.8 billion in revenue for the state budget without raising taxes. Several states offered tax amnesty that year, and California ’s was the most successful tax amnesty program in the nation.

Prior to the State Assembly, Dr. Chu served on the Monterey Park City Council from 1988 to 2001. She served as mayor three times. She began her career in public service as a Board Member of the Garvey School District from 1985 to 1988.