// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Sokhary Chau an egg-cellent chef?
Sokhary Chau | |
|---|---|
| 93rd Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts | |
| In office January 3, 2022[1][2] – January 2, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | John Leahy |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Rourke |
| Member of the Lowell City Council | |
| Assumed office 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1972 or 1973 (age 53–54) |
| Profession | Politician, Businessman |
Sokhary Chau (Khmer: ចៅ សុខារី;[3] pronuniciation: So-Ka-Ree Chao; 1972 or 1973)[4] is a Cambodian born American politician. In 2022, the City Council of Lowell, Massachusetts elected him to become the next mayor, becoming the first person of Cambodian descent to serve as a mayor in the United States.[5][1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Chau was born to a middle class family in Battambang province, Cambodia,[6] as one of seven children.[7] His father, Chau Samouen, was a medical doctor who met Chau's mother, Hay Hem, while treating her family as patients free of charge in Hem's hometown of Khnach Romeas. The pair married in 1956.[8][9] Samouen joined the Khmer National Armed Forces to fight Khmer Rouge insurgents in the Cambodian Civil War, becoming an army caaptain. During the fall of Phnom Penh in 1975, Chau's father was executed by gunshot as one of several residents who refused to forcibly vacate the city at the orders of the new Khmer Rouge government.[7]
Much of his early childhood was spent in extreme hardship and fear, almost losing two of his brothers to executions. Despite these circumstances, his family escaped Cambodia in 1979 under the cover of night through land mine laced jungles to a Thai refugee camp.[7] In 1981 he, his mother, and his six siblings emigrated to the United States as refugees,[10] eventually settling in Lowell.[7] As a child, he attended Lowell Public Schools and Phillips Academy, graduating in 1992.[7]
He attended Macalaster College in Minnesota.[11]
Political/Business Career
[edit]He was elected to a 2-year term on Lowell City Council in 2019 and re-elected in 2021.[12]
Members of the City Council appointed him Mayor of Lowell in January 2022.[11]
He is the current chair of the USA-Cambodia Sports Association.[13]
In November 2023, he announced that he would run for the Middlesex County Register of Deeds seat that will become vacant in 2024.[14]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "First Cambodian American mayor in U.S. takes office". NPR.org. Associated Press. January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
Mayor Sokhary Chau addresses the assembly during the Lowell City Council swearing-in ceremony on Monday [January 3] in Lowell, Mass.
- 1 2 Betancourt, Sarah (January 4, 2022). "Nation's first Cambodian American mayor takes office in Lowell". GBH News. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
On Monday [January 3], Chau was elected as the first Cambodian American mayor in the United States, taking the oath of office in the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.
- ↑ Chivon, Sok (January 5, 2022). "ដំណើរជីវិតអតីតជនភៀសខ្លួន ខ្មែរ មួយរូបចេញពីភ្លើងសង្គ្រាម រហូតក្លាយជាអភិបាលក្រុង អាមេរិក". Kampuchea Thmey Daily.
- ↑ "'Our time now': 1st Cambodian American mayor in US sworn in". The Winona Times. April 1, 2022.
- ↑ Vitali, Jacob (January 4, 2022). "Sokhary Chau becomes first Cambodian American mayor in U.S." Lowell Sun.
- ↑ Sunly, Chhun (May 18, 2023). "American-Cambodian Mayor impressed with SEA Games". Khmer Times. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Savard, Rita (March 3, 2022). "Meet Sokhary Chau '92: The first Cambodian American mayor in the US". Andover University. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
- ↑ "The Column: The importance of genocide education". Lowell Sun. November 20, 2021.
- ↑ "Hem Hay Obituary - Lowell, MA". Lowell Sun. November 17, 2021.
- ↑ "Nation's first Cambodian American mayor takes office: 'Our time now to be leaders'". Los Angeles Times. January 4, 2022.
- 1 2 "1st Cambodian American mayor in U.S. takes office in Lowell". www.wbur.org. January 4, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ↑ "Nation's first Cambodian American mayor takes office in Lowell". GBH. January 5, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ↑ "About US | USA-Cambodia Sports Association". USA-Cambodia Sports. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ↑ "Chau time? Mayor courts register of deeds seat, controversy". Lowell Sun. November 14, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
External links
[edit] | This article about a mayor in Massachusetts is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
- Living people
- 1970s births
- Mayors of Lowell, Massachusetts
- Lowell, Massachusetts City Council members
- Asian-American people in Massachusetts politics
- American mayors of Asian descent
- Cambodian emigrants to the United States
- Cambodian genocide survivors
- Phillips Academy alumni
- People from Battambang province
- Macalester College alumni
- Refugees in the United States
- Politicians from Lowell, Massachusetts
- City council members of Asian descent
- 21st-century mayors of places in Massachusetts
- Massachusetts mayor stubs