March Fong Eu
March Fong Eu | |
|---|---|
United States Ambassador to Micronesia | |
| In office May 18, 1994 – July 5, 1996 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Aurelia E. Brazeal |
| Succeeded by | Cheryl Ann Martin |
| 24th Secretary of State of California | |
| In office January 6, 1975 – May 17, 1994 | |
| Governor | Jerry Brown George Deukmejian Pete Wilson |
| Preceded by | Jerry Brown |
| Succeeded by | Tony Miller |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 15th district | |
| In office January 2, 1967 – November 30, 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Nicholas C. Petris |
| Succeeded by | S. Floyd Mori |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March Kong March 29, 1922 Oakdale, California, U.S. |
| Died | December 21, 2017 (aged 95) [[Irvine , California]], U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | Chester Fong
(m. 1941; div. 1970)Henry Eu (m. 1973) |
| Children | 2, including |
| Occupation | Dental hygienist |
| Chinese name | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Yú Jiāng Yuèguì |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Jyutping | Jyu4 Gong1 Jyut6 Gwai3 |
March Fong Eu (
The daughter of
Early life and education
Eu was born March Kong on March 29, 1922, in
Eu earned a
Early career
She became a dental hygienist working in the Oakland Unified School District and served a term as president of the American Dental Hygienist Association. She served on the Alameda County Board of Education from 1954 to 1964.[6]
California State Assembly
In 1966, Eu was elected as a
California Secretary of State
Eu was elected
Innovations she introduced during her 19 years as Secretary of State included voter registration by mail; providing absentee ballots to anyone who requested them; posting results on the Internet; and including candidate statements in ballot pamphlets.[10] In 1976, she became the first woman to serve as Governor of California, serving as acting governor while Governor Jerry Brown was out of the state.[11]
Later career
In 1987, Eu was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, running against
Eu campaigned for her son Matt in the
Personal life and death
Eu resided both in California and Singapore with her second husband Henry Eu, a multimillionaire industrialist.[6] Eu was assaulted by a burglar who broke into her Hancock Park home in 1986.[17] Her adopted son, Matt Fong, was a Republican activist who served as California State Treasurer for a four-year term that began January 1995.[7] She also had a daughter, Suyin. Her hobbies in retirement included Chinese brush painting and calligraphy.[10] Eu died in Irvine, California, on December 21, 2017, following a fall; she was 95 years old.[6]
Recognition
In 2019 California's Secretary of State building in Sacramento was named after Eu (as the March Fong Eu Secretary of State Building); this made it the first state-owned building to be named for an Asian-American woman.[18]
The National Notary Association gives an annual March Fong Eu Award to "the individual who or organization that, in the judgment of the Association's Executive Committee, has done the most to improve the standards, image and quality of the office of Notary Public." Eu was the first recipient of the award in 1979, named after her "for her extraordinary leadership in spearheading enactment of progressive Notary reform legislation, despite opposition from powerful lobbies who preferred lower notarial standards."[19]
References
- ^ "March Fong Eu". Oakland.chapelofthechimes.com. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
- ^ a b "The Honorable March Fong Eu, Former California Secretary of State and Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia, Dies". California Secretary of State. December 22, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
- ^ Har, Janie (December 22, 2017). "California political trailblazer March Fong Eu dies at 95". Associated Press. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
- ^ "余江月桂" (in Chinese). City of Guangzhou. November 14, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 1576070980.
march fong eu guangdong.
- ^ a b c d Luther, Claudia (December 22, 2017). "March Fong Eu, pioneering Asian American politician who was longtime California secretary of state, dies at 95". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c "March Fong Eu". infoplease.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ March Fong Eu smashed a toilet to protest the inequity of pay toilets, mylifetime.com. Accessed February 9, 2024.
- ^ Gillam, Jerry (February 11, 1994). "March Fong Eu Quits as Secretary of State". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ^ a b Giasone, Barbara (November 4, 2006). "O.C. resident March Fong Eu left legacy of change for elections". Orange County Register. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ^ "For At Least A Few Hours, California Has Its First Gay Governor | HuffPost". M.huffpost.com. July 30, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ "Eu Drops Out of Senate Race". Los Angeles Times. October 29, 1987.
- ^ "Office of the Historian". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ^ Salladay, Robert (March 14, 2001). "Florida Made Her Mad / At 79, March Fong Eu wants to run California elections again". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ^ Salladay, Robert (March 6, 2002). "Shelley beats veteran Eu in secretary of state race / Assemblyman wins Democratic primary". SFGATE. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ "Shelley to be new Secretary of State". www.bizjournals.com. November 6, 2002. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ "Desert Sun 11 November 1986 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
- ^ "No, March Fong Eu Isn't The First Woman To Have A California State Building Named After Her (But It Was Close)". capradio.org. March 28, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ "Award Programs". National Notary Association. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
External links
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