Kansen Chu
| Kansen Chu | |
|---|---|
| 朱感生 | |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 25th district | |
|
Assumed office December 1, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Wieckowski |
| Member of the San Jose City Council from District 4 | |
|
In office 2007–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Chuck Reed |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 27, 1952 Taipei, Taiwan |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Daisy |
| Residence | San Jose, California |
| Alma mater | California State University, Northridge (MS) |
| Profession | Computer programmer |
Kansen Chu (Chinese: 朱感生; pinyin: Zhū Gǎnshēng) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat representing the 25th Assembly District, which encompasses parts of the South and East Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2014, Chu was a San Jose City Councilmember representing District 4. He is a member of the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. He was the first Chinese-American elected to the San Jose City Council.
2000 Council
In 2000, Chu was defeated by now Mayor Chuck Reed for the District 4 council seat.
In his first year on the council, Chu initiated landmark legislation to require citywide green building standards, ban the use of plastic bags, and mandate the installation of automatic heart defibrillators across San Jose.
2002 Berryessa Union School Board
In 2002, Kansen Chu was elected to the Berryessa Union School Board. As a school board member, he championed stronger curricula, better education materials, and improved public access to school board meetings.
Chu has served on the Berryessa Union School Board for 5 years, Santa Clara Valley Metro YMCA, Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation, Shin Shin Education Foundation, and Advisory Board of Californians for Justice. Kansen has also served on the Santa Clara County Mental Health Board, Private Industry Council under Job Training Partnership Act, Neighborhood Accountability Board of Berryessa, the KNTV Channel 11 Community Board, Asian Law Alliance, and many other advisory commissions and boards. He continues to serve on the board of Vision New America, dedicated to advancing youth involvement in civics and government.
2014 California State Assembly
| California's 25th State Assembly district election, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary election | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Kansen Chu | 16,672 | 30.6 | |
| Republican | Bob Brunton | 12,699 | 23.3 | |
| Democratic | Armando Gomez | 9,218 | 16.9 | |
| Democratic | Teresa Cox | 9,104 | 16.7 | |
| Democratic | Craig Steckler | 6,835 | 12.5 | |
| Total votes | 54,528 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Kansen Chu | 57,718 | 69.4 | |
| Republican | Bob Brunton | 25,441 | 30.6 | |
| Total votes | 83,159 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2016 California State Assembly candidacy
| California's 25th State Assembly district election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary election | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Kansen Chu (incumbent) | 61,980 | 75.5 | |
| Republican | Bob Brunton | 20,146 | 24.5 | |
| Total votes | 82,126 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Bob Brunton | |||
| Democratic | Kansen Chu (incumbent) | |||
| Total votes | ' | ' | ||
Personal life
Born in 1952 in Taiwan, Mr. Chu moved to the United States in 1976. Professionally, Kansen has a Master's in Electrical Engineering from Cal State Northridge, and worked as a Microdiagnostics Microprogrammer at IBM for 18 years. Kansen and Daisy have been married for 30 years and they have two children, Ann and Walt.
