Sean Chu | |
---|---|
City of Calgary Councillor | |
Assumed office October 21, 2013 | |
Preceded by | Gael MacLeod |
Constituency | Ward 4 |
Personal details | |
Born | Wen-Hsiang Chu 1962or1963(age 59–60) [1] Taiwan |
Residence | Calgary |
Alma mater | Mount Royal College |
Website | Official website |
Sean Wen-Hsiang Chu [2] (born 1962 or 1963) is a municipal politician who currently serves as councillor of Ward 4 in Calgary,Alberta. He was elected in the 2013 municipal election.
Chu first entered Canadian politics in 2008 with an unsuccessful run to represent Calgary Buffalo at the provincial level. Running as a member of the PC party,Chu finished second.
His next attempt at office was an unsuccessful run to represent Ward 4 in 2010. During that election,he came in second to Gael MacLeod with 21% of the vote,to her 25%. [3]
Chu was elected to represent Ward 4 by capturing 43% of the votes,defeating incumbent Gael MacLeod,who took 40%. [4]
Chu was re-elected to represent Ward 4 in 2017 by capturing 48% of the votes (16,327) while the closest rival was Greg Miller with 41% (13,965) followed by Blair Berdusco and Srini Ganti. Total votes cast 33,721. [5]
Chu was re-elected to represent Ward 4 in 2021 by capturing 43% of the votes (12,422) defeating rival DJ Kelly with 42% (12,370) by a small margin. [6]
In November 2021,comments Chu made on Facebook in 2011 resurfaced. His comment is listed below:
"Here’s my cheapest solution to air travel security:every airplane carries a cute live pet pig on board. Almost all terrorists will not die together with pigs." [7]
In October 2021,news broke that Chu had been found guilty of professional misconduct in relation to sexual contact with a minor while he was a police officer with the Calgary Police Service by his own admission. Chu says he was unaware of the victim's age. The incident took place in 1997,when Chu was 34,and the victim was 16. Chu was investigated for two allegations:one for bringing the victim into his home in the "early morning hours" and the other for sexual misconduct in his actions with the victim. Following a hearing,Chu was convicted on one count of misconduct. The victim pursued the matter for nine years,before a publication ban was lifted. [8]
Investigative reporting by CTV News uncovered that Chu had been asked to drop the girl off at her house at the request of another officer,but instead took her to his house. Chu's claim that he had met the minor at an establishment that was an "18-plus licensed establishment" was called into question,as the location was a public restaurant. Allegedly,the victim was then sexually assaulted in Chu's home,with Chu allegedly pulling out his Calgary Police Service handgun to coerce the victim. Reports following the incident's internal investigation stated that:“disturbing in the evidence presented by Constable Chu was his readiness to use police business cards,police pagers and his police appeal to enhance his off-duty personal life.” [9]
Calls for Chu's resignation rose following these allegations,with #ResignSeanChu trending on Twitter. Bipartisan calls from both the UCP's Leela Aheer and the NDP's Janis Irwin called for his immediate resignation as a Calgary city councillor,following his reelection with a majority of 52 votes. Their calls were later joined by Premier of Alberta Jason Kenney,Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver,and MP Michelle Rempel Garner. Fellow Calgary city council member Kourtney Branagan stated in a social media post that she herself was a victim of sexual assault and that "[we] cannot send a signal to the women of this city that those in leadership positions who are guilty of offences against women and minors are allowed to hold power." [10] Chu has faced calls to resign from all members of Calgary's city council including newly elected mayor Jyoti Gondek. [11]
Gondek stated she will refuse to swear Chu in as a city councillor,requesting that the provincial government intervene due to Chu's refusal to step down. Gondek particularly emphasized the recall provisions within the Municipal Government Act and the Local Authorities Election Act,or Bill 52. [12] [13]
On October 24,2021,two protests in support and opposing Chu's resignation occurred at Olympic Plaza. Incoming mayor Gondek attended the rally to push Chu to resign. [14] [15]
Chu is a frequent user of Twitter and has made several statements on the platform for which he has later apologized.
Chu has made numerous claims over the Green Line and its lack of progress in coming to North Calgary.
In April 2015 Chu's former campaign manager,Amanda Wilkie,launched a lawsuit for $275,000 alleging that Chu made defamatory comments about her when he spoke to a mutual acquaintance in November 2013 and on other occasions. [24]
In 2008 Chu was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife,where police were called and a firearm of his was removed from the house. [25]
Eli El-Chantiry is an Ottawa City Councillor and chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board.
Richard "Rick" Chiarelli is a politician in Ontario,Canada. He was an Ottawa City Councillor,and the second cousin of former Ottawa mayor and 2022 mayoral candidate Bob Chiarelli. He represented the College Ward covering part of Nepean and Ottawa's west end. On council,Chiarelli was known for being an "independent voice,often voicing dissent on issues his fellow councillors support" and now for "offensive and disreputable behaviour" and "incomprehensible incidents of harassment" against staff. He was for a time the longest serving municipal politician on Ottawa's city council.
Janet Harder is an Ottawa City Councillor representing the ward of Barrhaven. She is the appointed chair of the Ottawa Public Library board,which sets policy and has the ultimate say in decisions affecting the library system.
Carol Anne Meehan is an Ottawa City Councillor and former news anchor at CJOH.
AndréChabot is a Canadian politician who served as the councillor for Ward 10 of the Calgary City Council. He was elected in a 2005 by-election after Incumbent Margot Aftergood resigned after allegations of a vote rigging scandal surfaced involving mail in ballots from the 2004 Calgary municipal elections.
Mike Nickel is a Canadian politician who served as an Edmonton city councillor from 2004 to 2007,and then again from 2013 to 2021.
Kent Hehr is a Canadian politician from Alberta. He was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Calgary Centre in the 2015 federal election. Hehr was named Minister of Veterans Affairs in the federal Cabinet,headed by Justin Trudeau,on November 4,2015,and was shuffled to be Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities in August 2017. Hehr resigned from cabinet on January 25,2018,after allegations of workplace misconduct surfaced from when he was the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Buffalo. He lost his seat in the 2019 Canadian federal election.
Amarjeet Sohi is a Canadian politician serving as the 36th and current mayor of Edmonton since October 26,2021. Sohi previously sat as a member of Parliament (MP) and served in the federal Cabinet from 2015 to 2018 as the minister of infrastructure and communities,and from 2018 to 2019 as the minister of natural resources. Sohi was born in India and is the first visible minority to serve as mayor of Edmonton and is one of Canada's first mayors of Punjabi descent.
Diane Marie Colley-Urquhart is a former municipal politician from Calgary,Alberta,Canada. She was a member of Calgary City Council and served as the representative for Ward 13.
Naheed Kurban Nenshi is a Canadian politician who was the 36th mayor of Calgary,Alberta. He was elected in the 2010 municipal election with 39% of the vote,and is the first Muslim mayor of a large North American city. He was re-elected in 2013 with 74% of the vote. He was again re-elected in 2017 to a third term with 51% of the vote. After serving three terms as mayor,he did not seek re-election in the 2021 Calgary municipal election,and was succeeded by Jyoti Gondek.
Druh Farrell is a municipal politician who formerly served as Councillor for Ward 7 in Calgary,Alberta. She was first elected in 2001.
George Darouze is the Ottawa City Councillor for Osgoode Ward. He was elected for the first time in the 2014 Ottawa municipal election.
The 2018 Toronto municipal election was held on October 22,2018,to elect a mayor and city councillors in Toronto,Ontario,Canada. Registration for candidates for the office of mayor,councillor,and school board trustee opened on May 1,2018,and initially closed on July 27,2018. John Tory won the mayoral election with over 60% of the vote.
Gian-Carlo Carra is a municipal politician who currently serves as Councillor of Ward 9 in Calgary,Alberta. He was first elected in 2010 and subsequently re-elected in 2013 and 2017.
Jeromy Farkas is a Canadian politician who was elected to Calgary City Council in the 2017 municipal election,and a candidate for mayor in Calgary's 2021 municipal election. From 2017 to 2021 he represented Ward 11 on council,comprising the neighbourhoods of Acadia,Bayview,Bel-Aire,Braeside,Britannia,Cedarbrae,CFB Currie,CFB Lincoln Park PMQ,Chinook Park,Eagle Ridge,Elbow Park (part),Elboya,Haysboro,Kelvin Grove,Kingsland,Lakeview,Lincoln Park,Mayfair,Meadowlark Park,Mission,North Glenmore Park,Oakridge,Palliser,Parkhill/Stanley Park,Pump Hill,Rideau Park,Roxboro,Rutland Park,Southwood,Willow Park and Windsor Park.
The 2021 Edmonton municipal election was held on October 18,2021,to elect a mayor and 12 councillors to the city council,the nine trustees to Edmonton Public Schools,and the seven trustees to the Edmonton Catholic Schools. It was held in conjunction with the 2021 Alberta municipal elections.
The 2021 Calgary municipal election was held on October 18,2021,to elect a mayor and fourteen councillors to the Calgary City Council.
Harnirjodh "George" Chahal is a Canadian politician who is the Member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Before entering federal politics,he was a Councillor for Ward 5 on the Calgary City Council from 2017 to 2021.
Prabjhote Kaur "Jyoti" Gondek is a Canadian politician serving as the 37th and current mayor of Calgary since October 25,2021.
The 2022 Ottawa municipal election was held on Monday,October 24,2022,to elect a mayor,city councillors,and trustees to the English and French public school boards and the English and French Catholic school boards in Ottawa,Ontario,Canada.
However, information obtained by CTV News indicates that the girl was not at an 18-plus licensed establishment, but that she was at a restaurant called the Husky House and Chu was only there at the request of another officer to drive the girl home when he touched her leg. CTV News has learned that instead of dropping her off at her home, he took her to his home where the girl alleged he sexually assaulted her, and where she alleged Chu pulled out his Calgary Police Service handgun.