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Merging Category:20th-century Asian-American women politicians to Category:American women of Asian descent in politics and Category:20th-century Asian-American politicians per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 June 22#Category:20th-century Asian-American women politicians

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{{short description|American politician (1920–2008)}}

{{family name hatnote|[[Zhou (surname)|Chow]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| office = Chair of the [[King County Council]]
| term_start = January 1, 1979
| term_end = January 1, 1982
| predecessor = Bernice Stern
| successor = [[Lois North]]
| office2 = Member of the [[King County Council]] from the 5th district
| term_start2 = January 1, 1974
| term_end2 = January 1, 1986
| predecessor2 = John T. O'Brien
| successor2 = [[Ron Sims]]
| birth_name = Mar Seung-gum
| birth_date = {{birth date |1920|06|06}}
| birth_place = [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2008|6|4|1920|06|06}}
| death_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Politician|restaurateur}}
| spouse = Edward Shui "Ping" Chow
| children = 5 Edward Chow Jr Shelton Chow [[Cheryl Chow]] Brien Chow Mark Chow
}}

'''Ruby Chow''' (June 6, 1920 – June 4, 2008; {{zh|t=周馬雙金|p=Zhōu Mǎ Shuāngjīn|j=zau1 maa5 soeng1 gam1|first=j}}) was a [[Chinese American]] restaurateur and politician in [[Seattle, Washington]]. In 1974, she became the first Asian American elected to the [[King County Council]] and served until her retirement in 1986.

==Early life==
Chow was born '''Mar Seung-gum''',<ref>{{cite news |last=Valdes |first=Manuel |date=June 8, 2008 |title=Ruby Chow, Seattle's Chinese-American matriarch, dies |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2008/jun/08/ruby-chow-seattles-chinese-american-matriarch-dies/ |work=The Spokesman Review |accessdate=November 23, 2016}}</ref> on June 6, 1920, on a fishing dock<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/2019/11/meet-the-women-who-fought-for-their-place-in-seattle-politics|title=Meet the Women Who Fought for Their Place in Seattle Politics|website=Seattle Met|language=en-US|access-date=February 18, 2020}}</ref> in [[Seattle]], to Chinese immigrant parents. Chow was a teenager during the depths of the Great Depression, which caused her to drop out of high school and start waiting tables for two dollars a day.<ref name=":0" />

==Career==
Chow and her second husband opened Ruby Chow's restaurant in 1948 at 1122 Jefferson Street (at the corner of Broadway & Jefferson) in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood. It was the first Chinese restaurant outside of Seattle's Chinatown. She rented the [[attic]] of the restaurant to [[Bruce Lee]].<ref>{{Citation |title=周露比與李小龍 Ruby Chow & Bruce Lee {{!}} 乜乜棠水舖 | date=September 23, 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA2zQUzbT8E |language=en |access-date=April 17, 2022}}</ref> Chow leveraged her resources as a restaurant owner and community organizer to help get [[Wing Luke]] elected to the [[Seattle City Council]] in 1962 by having all the Chinese restaurants print "It's wise to vote for Wing Luke" as their fortune cookie fortunes.<ref name=":0" />

Chow's political career started in 1973 when she decided to run for [[King County Council]] as a Democrat. She had an encounter with [[Ted Bundy]] (later known to be a serial killer) who, as a GOP campaign worker, tried to convince Chow, unsuccessfully, to go Republican. Chow stayed with the Democratic Party and served three terms as a [[King County, Washington|King County]] councilwoman in [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. She was the first [[Asian American]] elected to King County Council.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=8063|title=Chow, Ruby (1920-2008)|last=Chesley|first=Frank|date=January 18, 2007|work=[[HistoryLink]]|accessdate=July 16, 2008}}</ref>

The county council named Ruby Chow Park, at the corner of S. Albro Place and 13th Avenue S. near [[Boeing Field]], after Chow in 1985.<ref name="chowpark">{{cite press release |date=June 4, 2008 |title=Council expresses condolences on the passing of former King County Councilmember Ruby Chow |url=http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/news/2008/June/chow.aspx |publisher=Metropolitan King County Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108061039/http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/news/2008/June/chow.aspx |archive-date=November 8, 2014 |accessdate=October 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004458523_rubychow05m.html|title= Ruby Chow, first Asian American on King County Council, dead at 87|last=Eskenazi|first=Stuart|date=June 5, 2008|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203220003/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004458523_rubychow05m.html|archive-date=December 3, 2008|accessdate=July 16, 2008}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Chow had two sons with her first husband. Her second husband was Edward Shui "Ping" Chow (November 5, 1916 - June 29, 2011), who received U.S. citizenship after he was discharged from United States Army. Chow had five children. Chow's children are Edward Chow Jr, Shelton Chow, [[Cheryl Chow]], Brien Chow, and Mark Chow.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?pid=152442853| title=Legacy.com Edward Shui "Ping" Chow | website=[[Legacy.com]] |accessdate= November 23, 2016}}</ref>

Chow's daughter, [[Cheryl Chow]], served as a member of the [[Seattle City Council]] from 1990 to 1997.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2012/08/22/cheryl-chow-comes-out-while-dying-of-brain-cancer|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|title=Cheryl Chow comes out while dying of brain cancer|accessdate=October 19, 2014}}</ref>
Chow's son, Mark Chow, is a judge in King County District Court in Washington. He is the first Asian-American in the State of Washington to win election as a judge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/district-court/locations/chow.aspx | title= ''Judge Mark Chow, West Division'' kingcounty.gov |accessdate= December 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.judgemarkchow.com/about/ | title= ''Meet Judge Mark Chow'' judgemarkchow.com |accessdate= December 30, 2016}}</ref>

Chow's niece, [[Angie Mar]], is the chef/owner of The Beatrice Inn in Manhattan's West Village.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/09/dining/angie-mar-chef-beatrice-inn.html| title= ''Angie Mar's Menu: Red Meat and Respect'' | work= The New York Times | date= January 9, 2018 |accessdate= January 9, 2018 | last1= Rao | first1= Tejal }}</ref>

===Death===
Chow died on June 4, 2008, aged 87, from heart failure in Seattle. Chow was survived by her five children and her husband, Edward Shui "Ping" Chow.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nwasianweekly.com/old/2008270025/chow20082725.htm|title=A remembrance of Ruby Chow's extraordinary life|last=Lau|first=Betty|date=June 14, 2008|work=[[Northwest Asian Weekly]]|accessdate=August 15, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203202840/http://www.nwasianweekly.com/old/2008270025/chow20082725.htm|archivedate=December 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/366642_chow12.html|title=Hundreds pay final respects to Ruby Chow|last=Wong|first=Brad|date=June 11, 2008|work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|accessdate=July 16, 2008}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{C-SPAN|60670}}
*{{cite news |last=Clement |first=Bethany Jean |title=Women who ran Seattle: Ruby Chow, restaurateur, civic activist and first Asian American elected to King County Council |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/women-who-ran-seattle-ruby-chow/ |date=March 1, 2022 |ref=none}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chow, Ruby}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesswomen]]
[[Category:20th-century Washington (state) politicians]]
[[Category:American women of Asian descent in politics]]
[[Category:20th-century American women politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Asian-American politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:American politicians of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:American women restaurateurs]]
[[Category:American restaurateurs]]
[[Category:American women of Chinese descent in politics]]
[[Category:Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Seattle]]
[[Category:King County Councillors]]
[[Category:Politicians from Seattle]]
[[Category:Washington (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:Women in Washington (state) politics]]

Ruby Chow - Revision history