Mrs. Chu was born and raised in San Diego, California. By the time she was nine years old, she knew she wanted to become a lawyer, because she had witnessed a great amount of gambling, corruption and prostitution. “I saw lots of people beaten up by corrupt, belligerent immigration and police officers. I resented that injustice, especially to minorities.”

Education and Career versus Gender and Ethnicity

After graduating from law school in the top 10% of her class, while many of her classmates busily lined up job interviews, “I didn’t get any job interviews. I had to get my own interviews and job opportunities. The university’s placement office staff said to me, ‘Look at you: you’re female and Asian. The doors aren’t even open for you, not to mention getting your foot in the door.’ ”

Despite his pride in his daughter’s academic accomplishments, Chu’s father cautioned against a legal career, because of his pragmatism. “He said I should be a nurse or secretary: certainly not a lawyer! The city [San Diego] was controlled by party politics, so a female, minority lawyer would be the last person to get a job!” said Chu.

Public Service

Being one of the founders of several banks is among many of her proudest accomplishments. Many Chinese Americans and other minorities faced discrimination when they tried to get a mortgage or business loan. According to Mrs. Chu, “The Chinese didn’t even have the privilege of being denied a loan, because they were denied the application form!” This is the main reason she worked with local business leaders establishing East West Bank, the first Chinese American-controlled savings bank in America. “East West Bank was analogous to a traditional Chinese ‘hwei’ or family association, which provided numerous social and financial support functions that many immigrants couldn’t get from mainstream American corporations or government agencies,” said Mrs. Chu. After establishing East West Bank, Mrs. Chu went on to start the Trust Savings Bank where she was the first female founding chairperson and CEO of a savings bank in America.

Now having served as a Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem of Monterey Park, Chu offers a Confucian sounding view on the frustrating challenges of politics: “When there is a need and a desire to help, there is mutual respect and love, from which you find a mutual language to solve difficult problems.”

Inspiration:

"My strength comes from the example of fairness set by my father. I also credit my kindergarten teacher who spent recess time reading with me. I think this was because she believed I could achieve."

"When I started practicing law, men didn't come to me. Whites didn't come to me. Women came to me to seek other business services but not legal advice because they were not in control of those issues. However, in addition to my father and my husband, I am especially grateful to four men who provided a consistent flow of legal work, when I found it difficult to find clients: David Lee, owner of the famous General Lee restaurant or "Man Jin Low" which was a popular watering hole for L.A. politicians; businessman Fung Chow Chan; John Larsen who got me hired at a L.A. county agency, despite that agency's commissioner refusing to hire women and minorities; and Max Greenberg who was Governor Deukmajian's personal attorney, who had offered me a job with his prestigious Beverly Hills law firm, which gave me great confidence in my legal talents, even though I declined his offer."

Recognition

Mrs. Chu has been a very successful leader in the legal, business, financial and political arenas. However, when asked about her most memorable accomplishment, she recalls, “A few years ago, a woman asked me, ‘Do you remember me? During the Watts riots in the 1960’s, you and your husband helped me and my parents by taking us in to live in your house, when we were being targeted by the violent riots. We have always been so grateful for your kindness.’ ” Mrs. Chu and her husband helped several other Chinese-American families who were store owners caught up in the chaos of the rioting areas. This illustrates the essence of her career: helping people in need, through public service, utilizing her business, legal and political skills, establishing financial institutions which in turn helped countless people overcome difficult societal obstacles.

The Future

“There were days when blacks voted for blacks, Hispanics voted for Hispanics and women voted for women. But today there are multiple candidates of the same background running against each other. This represents choice. We Chinese are late in joining the political system, but we are getting there. We need to focus on assimilation and working through the political process without losing sight of our heritage and who we are. Blacks and Hispanics maintain their language and culture while successfully working their way up the American political system.”

(c) by Jason Jem