Ed Jew
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Ed Jew | |||||||||||
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.jpg) Official portrait, c. 2006–2007 | |||||||||||
| Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 4 | |||||||||||
| In office December 5, 2006 – January 10, 2008 Suspended: September 25, 2007 – January 10, 2008 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Fiona Ma | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Carmen Chu | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | 1960 (age 65–66) | ||||||||||
| Party | Democratic | ||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Republican Independent | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Lorene (Lisa) Jew | ||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||
| Education | San Francisco State University Golden Gate University | ||||||||||
| Profession | Businessman Politician | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 趙悦明 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 赵悦明 | ||||||||||
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| Criminal information | |||||||||||
| Born | 1960 (age 65–66) | ||||||||||
| Conviction | Guilty | ||||||||||
| Criminal charge | Bribery Mail fraud Extortion Perjury | ||||||||||
| Penalty | Bribery/extortion: 64 months in prison and $10,000 fine Perjury: 12 months in jail, 3 years in probation and $2,000 fine | ||||||||||
Edmund Jew (born 1960) is an American former politician and businessman, who was convicted of extortion, bribery, and perjury in 2008.
He graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in economics and later earned a master's degree in business administration at Golden Gate University. After spending several years as a businessman managing his family enterprises, he entered politics in 1980s and went on to serve in various community organizations. In 1996, he was the volunteer liaison for then District 4 supervisor Leland Yee. In 2002, Yee successfully ran for a seat in the California Assembly, and Jew ran for Yee's seat on the Board of Supervisors in the 2002 election, but was defeated. When Yee's successor Fiona Ma in 2006 ran for state assembly, Jew again ran for supervisor in District 4, which comprises most of the Sunset District. After winning a highly competitive election decided by instant-runoff voting, he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Six months after he took office, the FBI raided his office and homes for allegedly extorting money from small business owners in his district. Shortly after the raid, the city attorney began investigating Jew for violating residency requirements necessary to hold his supervisor position. In September 2007, he was suspended by Mayor Gavin Newsom and later resigned in the face of extortion and perjury charges. In late 2008, he pleaded guilty to both charges. He was sentenced to 64 months in federal prison for extortion, and a year in county jail for perjury.[1][2]
Edmund Jew was born in San Francisco, California in 1960. The Jew family emigrated from China around the start of the 20th century. His grandfather James Jew, who arrived to the city in 1913, established an employment agency in 1925 and the Canton Flower Shop in Chinatown in 1927. He became a distinguished leader in the Chinese community after serving many local Chinese American associations.[3][independent source needed]
Jew was raised in Chinatown. After graduating from McAteer High School, Jew attended City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University, where he earned a degree in economics. In 1984, he also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University.[3][independent source needed]
Before entering politics, Jew was an entrepreneur. Among other enterprises, he managed his family's flower shop and owned a local taxi company named Howard Mock Jew, Inc.[3][independent source needed] In addition, he invested in real estate. He bought his first property in San Francisco at the age of 21 and, as of 2002, he had a real estate portfolio (including properties in the Bay Area and Arizona) worth as much as $5 million.[3][4]
As of 2007[update], Jew's wife Lorene and their daughter Cammie live in Burlingame, California.[3][5] He also has a brother named David Jew.[4]
Political career
Jew began his political career in the 1980s, establishing the Chinese Neighborhood Resource Center, which helped to clean up alleyways in Chinatown. He was then appointed by the mayor to serve on the Ten Year Plan Council to End Chronic Homelessness and the Office of Aging Advisory Council, the later oversaw the city's senior services. Like his grandfather, Jew was heavily involved in local Chinese-American politics, serving as president of the Jew Family Benevolent Association, the Yeong Wo Benevolent Association, the Hay Sen Benevolent Association, the Hip Sen Benevolent Association, and the Lung Kong Benevolent Association. He was also an active participant of numerous other community organizations, such as the Northeast Community Federal Credit Union, the Chinese Holocaust Museum, the Sunset Residents Association, and the Sunset Parkside Education and Action Committee.[3] Jew once served as vice chairman of the San Francisco County Republican Central Committee before re-registering as an Independent and then as a Democrat.[6][7]
From 1996 to 2001, Jew was District 4 then-supervisor Leland Yee's volunteer community liaison.[8] Jew first ran for Yee's District 4 seat in 2002 when Yee ran for the California State Assembly. Despite Yee's endorsement, Jew finished third, missing the runoff election.[9] In 2006, Jew again ran for same supervisor seat when Fiona Ma ran for the California Assembly.[10] Jew led other candidates including his top challenger Ron Dudum in the first round with 26% first-place votes. He eventually won the closely fought election after securing a 52% majority.[11][12] In December 2006, Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Jew to serve out the remainder of Ma's term; he took office in January 2007.[10]
