Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 25

Kansen Chu is a San Jose City Councilmember, representing approximately 100,000 residents from Berryessa, Alviso, and North San José. Elected in June 2007, Councilmember Chu is the first Chinese American to serve on the distinguished body. Testament to his dedication to the District 4 residents, he was re-elected without opposition to a four-year term in June 2008 and again in June 2012 for his final term on the San José City Council.

Councilmember 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. In addition,, Councilmember Chu worked with stakeholders to create the North San José Neighborhood Plan, established the Berryessa Business Association to help grow and support local businesses, helped to start the Berryessa Farmers Market to make it easier for residents to enjoy healthy and locally grown fruits and vegetables, and moved the long-awaited Commodore Park and dog park projects forward to provide additional opportunities for exercise and recreation.

Councilmember Chu serves on 21 local and regional governing committees and represents San José on the League of California Cities and Association of Bay Area Governments. He is a member of the City's Neighborhood Services and Education Committee and Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee and serves as the Council liaison to the Airport Commission and Human Rights Commission. Councilmember Chu also served as the Chair of the North San Jose Neighborhoods Planning Taskforce, a Council appointed body formed in July 2007 to address the growth of 32,000 residential units in North San Jose.

Kansen is an active community member, an engineer, an accomplished business leader, a dedicated father and husband who has dedicated his time to strengthening the bonds of community: improving our school system, protecting our youths, and improving the quality of life of our families.

In 2002, Kansen was elected to the Berryessa Union School Board. As a school boardmember, he championed stronger curriculum, better education materials, and improved public access to school board meetings.

Kansen's dedication to our community is reflected in his many community activities and civic services. He served on the 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 under the County Restorative Justice Program, the KNTV Channel 11 Community Board, and Asian Law Alliance.

Born in Taiwan, Kansen 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 35 years and they have two adult children, Ann and Walt, son-in-law Steve Blomquist, and newborn granddaughter Kimberly Chu Blomquist.