David Wu
From dKosopedia
Categories: 110th Congress | Oregon Democrats
| David Wu | |
|---|---|
| U.S. Representative – OR-01 | |
| |
| Party | Democratic |
| Assumed office May 21, 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Ron Wyden |
| Committees | |
| Born | April 8, 1955 |
| Spouse | Michelle Wu |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
David Wu is the Oregon Congressional representative for District 1 the House of Representatives
Contents |
Background
David Wu was born on April 8, 1955 in Hsinchu, Taiwan to mainland Chinese parents who had settled in Taiwan due to the Chinese Civil War. He moved to the United States with his family in October 1961, at six years of age, after President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order updating unfair immigration quotas. His family spent their first two years in the U.S. in Latham, New York where his family were the only Asian Americans in town. He was educated in public schools, and earned a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University in 1977, He then attended Harvard Medical School but changed directions, and instead received a law degree from Yale University in 1982.
Congressman Wu's distinguished legal career included a clerkship with a Federal judge in Portland. In 1988, he co-founded the law firm of Cohen & Wu. For a decade, the firm successfully served the high technology industry and numerous small businesses across Northwest Oregon.
Congressman Wu counts among his proudest accomplishments his work to help build scores of new businesses that have thrived and provided well-paying jobs for Oregonians. His fifteen years of experience in the Portland business and high technology communities has made him uniquely qualified to represent the "Silicon Forest" district in Congress.
He and his wife, Michelle, have two children, Matthew and Sarah.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University, 1977
- Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School, 1982
Poltical Career
David Wu, Democrat, was first elected to the Oregon First Congressional District seat in the 1998 election cycle and is the first and only Chinese-American to serve in the House of Representatives. Rep. Wu has amassed a progressive voting record, including votes against the USA Patriot Act, both Bush tax cuts, and against the war in Iraq. He faced his first strong re-election challenge in the 2004 elections by well financed Republican candidate Goli Ameri. It marked one of the most vicious smear campaigns in Oregon's congressional races in the modern era.
Activities in Congress
"Klingons in the White House" speech
On January 10, 2007, Wu made a speech on the House floor referring to people in the White House as Klingons. Wu, an admitted fan of Star Trek, said he was making a sardonic reference to title of James Mann's recent book Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet (ISBN 0670032999), which takes its title from the term the President Bush's 2000 campaign team used for their own foreign policy team and some of Bush's advisers. Bush's advisors had begun using the term based on the large Vulcan statue depicting the Roman god Vulcan, in Birmingham, Alabama where Condoleezza Rice grew up. Rice was brought into the Bush campaign to instruct him on the basics of foreign policy. The term was then expanded as she was brought into the administration as National Security Advisor to the President and grew to become an insider term for most of the Bush's foreign policy advisor team.
Making a sardonic play on terms Wu stated that instead of Vulcans (i.e. the Star Trek ones) who "make decisions based on logic and fact", "there are Klingons in the White House," but that unlike "real Klingons," those in the White House "have never fought a battle of their own," concluding, "don't let faux Klingons send real Americans to war."[1]
Governmental Experience
- Commissioner on the Portland Planning Commission
- Judicial Clerk to Judge Alfred T. Goodwin
- Staff to Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Education and Welfare
- Executive Office of the President
- U.S. Congressman representing OR-01.
Affiliations
While David Wu was an early supporter and endorsed Howard Dean in the primaries, Wu is also a member of the Democratic Leadership Council whose head, Al From actively sought to undercut Dean's candidacy. He currently is a member of the Executive Board for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and served as Chair from January 2001 to January 2004. Congressman Wu is also a member of the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), a group of moderate Democrats in the House.
Resources
Contact
Washington DC Office
1023 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-0855
Fax: (202) 225-9497
Portland Office
620 SW Main, Suite 606
Portland, OR 97205
Phone: (503) 326-2901
Toll Free: (800) 422-4003
Fax: (503) 326-5066
Sources
- This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "David Wu".
- Where no congressman has gone before - The Oregonian - Saturday, January 13, 2007
External Links
|
Diaries and stories tagged as |
- Oregon First Congressional District - Office of David Wu - official site
- David Wu for Congress Campaign Headquarters - campaign site
- Rep. David Wu's House website bio page (U.S. Congress)
- WU, David, (1955 - ) (Biographical Directory of the United States Congress)
- David Wu, U.S. Representative (GovTrack)
- Rep. David Wu On the Issues (On the Issues)
- Rep. David Wu [D, WA-2] (Open Congress)
- Rep. David Wu (Open Secrets)
- Oregon District 1: Wu, David (Progressive Punch)
- Interest Group Ratings of Rep. David Wu (Project Vote Smart)
- Rep. David Wu (Washington Post Votes Database)
- Oregon CD-1 (U.S. Census: Fast Facts for Congress)
- David Wu (Wikipedia)
- Signed 2000 Letter Demanding ABM Test Inquiry
![[Main Page]](../../../../upload/banner-blue-135.jpg)