Ruby Chow

Ruby Chow (June 6, 1920 – June 4, 2008; ) was a Chinese American restaurateur and politician in Seattle, Washington. In 1974, she became the first and initially the only Asian American elected to the King County Council and served until her retirement in 1986.

Early life Chow was born Mar Seung-gum, on June 6, 1920, in Seattle to Jim Sing Mar and Wong See. Her parents were Chinese immigrants: Mar was from Hoi Yuen, Guangdong and moved to the U.S. to build railroads, later managing the San Juan Fishing and Canning Company dock in downtown Seattle. This was part of Seattle's first Chinatown, where many dock and cannery workers lived. Chow was born on a fishing dock there with the help of a midwife.

Chow was the oldest of three sisters and had seven brothers. Her family moved to Seattle's second and third Chinatown as they were established. She attended Bailey Gatzert Elementary, Washington Junior High, and Garfield and Franklin High. Ruby was a popular waitress, particularly among white customers. It was the first Chinese restaurant outside of Seattle's Chinatown. Ping cooked and Ruby was the hostess. Chow let Lee stay in exchange for working in the restaurant, but she clashed with Lee over work, and later over his choice to teach martial arts to Black students.

The Chows retired from their restaurant in 1979 when they leased it to a new business. She spoke to the Chong Wa Benevolent Association, which supported Chinese immigrants in Seattle, about starting a public relations campaign for the local Chinese American community. Chong Wa was run by men but appointed Chow as their public relations chair. Chow pushed many local organizations to integrate, including the Seafair Queen pageant, Pacific Northwest Bell, and government and school boards. In another approach, Chow and her husband appeared on local TV shows to share Chinese cooking, including hosting their own show for two years on KSTW-TV. They also published recipes from their restaurant.

In 1971, King County Executive John Spellman appointed Chow to the Board of Equalization and Appeals. He later stated that he chose her because he and many others knew Chow, and she was a leader in the community. Two years later, Chow helped free 75 Chinese Americans arrested for gambling during a Chinese New Year raid by the Seattle Police Department. Chow visited the mayor of Seattle and questioned how race was a factor in the arrests. She got all of the arrested children and elderly people released from jail and fundraised bail money for the rest, while ensuring people were only given tickets for the situation.

On the council, Chow advocated to add bus stops and tennis courts to the South End, which often was under-resourced compared to North Seattle. She also helped start bilingual programs in Seattle Public Schools. She was an advocate for maintaining the name and identity of "Chinatown" for the Chinatown-International District (CID) neighborhood. This led her to clash with activists like Bob Santos, who viewed the "International District" identity as a collaboration across different Asian American communities.

In 1979, Spellman proposed to remodel the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Building, located near the CID, into a work-release facility for up to 300 people. Chow visited Senator Warren Magnuson in Washington D.C. to lobby against the change on behalf of CID residents, who were upset that undesirably-viewed facilities were planned near their neighborhood. Her trip received major press attention and the proposal was discarded.

Chow mentored local politicians like Gary Locke and Ron Sims. The 8th floor of the King County Administration Building is also named after Chow.

Chow's daughter, Cheryl Chow, served as a member of the Seattle City Council from 1990 to 1997. 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.

Chow's niece, Angie Mar, is the chef/owner of The Beatrice Inn in Manhattan's West Village.

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.