Wu, David, 1955-

WU, David, a Representative from Oregon; born in Taiwan, April 8, 1955; B.S., Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., 1977; attended Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.; J.D., Yale University, New Haven, Conn., 1982; lawyer, private practice; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Sixth and to the six succeeding Congresses until his resignation on August 3, 2011 (January 3, 1999-August 3, 2011).

<p>David Wu, who immigrated to America in the 1960s, had never held political office before he won a seat representing the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998. Described by one journalist as “an energetic fusion of gabby extrovert and musing intellectual,” Wu pursued an ambitious agenda during his House career and was not afraid to break with Democrats or businesses in his district on hot-button issues. “We have a certain bandwidth,” Wu said of Congress’s capacity to juggle multiple issues. “Education has always been a top priority. Human rights is a particular passion of mine. There hasn’t been a lot of legislation in Congress on that,” he said in 2008. “I’ve been outspoken. Health care and energy are things that are very, very important to Oregon and the district.”</p>

<p>David Wu was born on April 8, 1955, on the island of Taiwan off the coast of mainland China. When he was only an infant, his father, Keh Chang (K. C.) Wu left to study in New York, leaving Wu, his mother Helen, and his sisters back home. In 1961 Wu and the rest of his family immigrated to America, reunited with his father, and settled in southern California after K. C. took a job with a defense contractor.3 Wu learned to speak English in the first grade and was quickly drawn to classes in science, math, and technology. In 1977 he graduated from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, with a degree in biology before beginning medical school at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While training to become a doctor, however, Wu realized that he found policy more interesting than medicine. He left Harvard for Yale Law School, earning a JD in 1982.</p>

<p>Wu settled in Portland in his late 20s and, after clerking for a federal judge on the Ninth Circuit, began a successful career as a lawyer for the region’s technology companies. He was active in his community, serving on Portland’s planning commission for three years in the late 1980s, occasionally writing op-eds for his local paper and leading the drive to make Suzhou, China, Portland’s sister city. Wu had worked on Jimmy Carter’s and then Gary Hart’s presidential campaigns, but in Portland his political activities generally took place behind the scenes. Wu’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1992. He married his second wife, Michelle Maxine Wu, about four years later. They separated in late 2009 and later filed for divorce. Together they have a son and a daughter.</p>

<p>David Wu (born April 8, 1955) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.</p>

<p>As a child of immigrants from Taiwan, Wu was the first Taiwanese American to serve in the House of Representatives. Wu announced that he would resign from office following resolution of the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, days after an 18-year-old woman left a voicemail at Wu's campaign office accusing him of an unwanted sexual encounter. Wu acknowledged the encounter and said it was consensual.</p>

<p>Wu submitted his resignation on August 3, 2011. A special election was held on January 31, 2012, to fill the vacancy in advance of the regular 2012 election. Democrat Suzanne Bonamici defeated Republican challenger Rob Cornilles to win this special election.</p>

<p>Since his resignation, Wu has remained in the Washington, D.C. area. He has been raising money for local Democratic parties, and organizing student exchange programs between the Chinese and American space programs. According to a 2014 report, he still frequents the House offices, where he visits with friends, sometimes sits in on hearings and even goes onto the House floor.</p>