Kansen Chu 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.
Kansen Chu is a San Jose City Councilmember, representing District 4, which encompasses the communities of Berryessa, Alviso, and North San Jose. Elected in June 2007, Chu is the first Chinese-American to serve on the distinguished body. 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. Chu is a member of the City's Neighborhood Services and Education Committee and the County's Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission. He is also the liaison to the Airport Commission and the Human Rights Commission. Kansen 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.
In 2002, Kansen Chu was elected to the Berryessa Union School Board. As a school boardmember, he championed stronger curriculums, 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 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 and Asian Law Alliance. He continues to serve on the board of Vision New America, dedicated to advancing youth involvement in civics and government. Born 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.
Website: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/district4/
