At his kickoff event for next year’s election cycle, Dr. Chao Wu used a throwback to look toward the future. Eight years ago, Wu, a Chinese-American data scientist, kicked off his campaign for a seat on the Howard County Board of Education. Three years ago, after serving four years on the school board, he won a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. This month, almost a full decade later, Wu kicked off his re-election campaign for his second term as a state delegate in the Maryland General Assembly.

The two kickoff events had distinctly different scales, especially in terms of diversity and attendance. Dr. Chao Wu began his career in public service as a member of the Columbia Association’s Board of Directors. In 2018, Wu ran for the Howard County Board of Education. It was a grassroots campaign, mainly supported by friends, neighbors, and other community members.

Wu’s kickoff attendees in 2025 demonstrate the impact that Wu has made throughout his decade of public service is clear. At his recent kickoff, community members were not the only group present. Rather, many officials, including Maryland Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, Maryland State Comptroller Brooke Lierman, State Senators Katie Hester and Clarence Lam, as well as State Delegates Jessica Feldmark, Natalie Ziegler, Terri Hill, and Vanessa Atterbeary, Joe Vogel, Luke Clippinger, County Council members Deb Jung and Liz Walsh, Board of Education member Linfeng Chen, among many others, were also present for the event.

However, the increased official attention on his event did not detract from Wu’s community focus at all. Rather, one speaker at Wu’s kickoff, Richard Li, Board Chair of Howard County Chinese School, made it clear. He stated how Wu brought politics “into his living room,” making it accessible.

Indeed, after Wu became the first Chinese-American on the Howard County Board of Education in 2018, he inspired many other Chinese-American community members to participate in the community. After his initial victory, many other Chinese-American members have stepped into public service, including Drs. Yun Lu and Linfeng Chen, who were both elected to serve on the Board of Education in  2020 and 2022 respectively. 

Even this year, Chinese-Americans are stepping out to run in Howard County. These include Dr. Lanlan Xu, who is running for the Board of Education — check out The AAPI Angle’s journalist, Melinda’s, earlier article about her — Dr. Linfeng Chen, who is now running for County Council District 4, and Dr. Kevin Chin and Jean Xu, who are running for County Council District 1, Clarence Lam possibly running for reelection as State Senator.

Wu’s kickoff this month is a reminder of the past seven years of effort by the Chinese-American community to involve itself in Howard County politics. As a result of Wu’s first step into public service, more Chinese-American immigrants were inspired to run for office. In addition, more community engagement opportunities have arisen for the younger generation, as well.

All in all, Wu’s story exemplifies the powerful transformative effect an individual can have on a whole community. It is a promising sign when more Chinese- and Asian-Americans across the United States take steps toward public policy and civic engagement, and when previously minority or ignored voices demonstrate their presence.