Series:

Interviews not in a series, part two

Topic:

Politics and Government

Asian American History

Biographical Note:

Los Angeles City Council member for the 13th district from 1985 to 1993. Member, Los Angeles City Planning Commission. Dean, College of Environmental Design, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Interviewer:

Parker, Caitlin

Interviewee:

Woo, Michael K.

Persons Present:

Woo and Parker

Place Conducted:

Sessions 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were conducted at Michael Woo’s office at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Sessions 2 and 7 were conducted at Woo’s home in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by Caitlin Parker, interviewer UCLA Center for Oral History Research; C.Phil., U.S. history, UCLA; lecturer, Department of History, California State University, Long Beach. Parker’s dissertation focuses on urban policy in Los Angeles during Mayor Tom Bradley’s administration.The interviewer prepared by reading articles from the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Sentinel, and the California Journal, as well as conducting research in the Mayor Tom Bradley Administrative Papers at UCLA and the Mayor Richard J. Riordan Administration Papers, Joel Wachs Papers, and Which Way, LA? Collection at Loyola Marymount University.

Processing of Interview:

The transcript is a verbatim transcription of the recording. It was transcribed by a professional transcribing agency, and the interviewer reviewed the transcript to make sure all proper names and specialized terminology were correctly spelled. The interviewee was then given an opportunity to review the transcript and made a number of corrections and additions. Those corrections were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research staff. The transcript may thus differ slightly from the audio recording because of the changes the interviewee made at the time of their review. In addition, the interviewee requested the deletion from both the text and the audio of two brief comments that could not be substantiated.

Length:

12 hrs.

Language:

English

Copyright:

Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.

Audio:

Citizenship status of father, Wilbur Woo--Grandfather’s political involvement with the Kuomintang--Father’s childhood between Los Angeles and Guangzhou, China--Grandfather’s wholesale produce company--Founding of Cathay Bank--Mother’s childhood in Stockton--Parents’ meeting in Guangzhou--Mother and sisters’ experience during Japanese invasion of China--Father works as a mail censor during WWII--Parents reunite in Los Angeles following WWII--Father’s experience at UCLA--Living in the Crenshaw neighborhood--Father’s political and civic activities--Family moves to Monterey Park--Sense of ethnic and political identity growing up--Status of the Chinese community in Los Angeles in the 1960s--Working on political campaigns and for California assembly member David A. Roberti and Wisconsin senator E. William Proxmire--Academic interests during college at University of California, Santa Cruz and graduate school in urban planning at University of California, Berkeley--Master’s thesis on regional government institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Researching youth unemployment in California--Working for Senator Roberti’s Sacramento office--Working on bills related to county healthcare funding, group homes, diversion for mentally disabled individuals in the criminal justice system, and community design centers--Rent control, affordable housing, and landlord-tenant issues--Description of Roberti as a politician--Deciding to run for the L.A. City Council and making contacts in the 13th district and city government--1981 campaign against Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson--Returning to work for Senator Roberti in his district office--1985 campaign against Councilwoman Stevenson--1985 election night victory

Transition into city council seat and hiring staff--Relationship with other members of the city council--Working on Hollywood redevelopment and downzoning--Homelessness in Hollywood Developing affordable rental housing for families--Major redevelopment projects in Hollywood--Building the Metro Red Line through Hollywood--Historic preservation in Hollywood

Sanctuary city resolution--Addressing constituent complaints--Resolution to legalize street vending--City council redistricting--Considering a run for mayor--Involvement with Asian American groups and causes--Serving on the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee and supporting Proposition U--Convening the Family Diversity Task Force--1989 reelection to the city council

Addressing the affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles--Attitude towards the Los Angeles Police Department--Decision to call for Chief Daryl Gates to resign--Ethics investigation into Mayor Tom Bradley and implementing Cowan Commission reforms--Notifying Bradley of Woo’s decision to run in 1993 mayoral race and preparing campaign--Experience during the 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion--Impressions of Rebuild L.A.--Building support among African Americans and Latinos--Participating in trade trips to develop Pacific Rim connections--Media coverage of his candidacy

Balancing council responsibilities with campaign for mayor--Key advisors in mayoral campaign--Fundraising for mayoral campaign--Mayoral campaign platform--Strategy in primary election and runoff campaign--President Bill Clinton’s endorsement--Los Angeles Times endorsement--Economic issues in the runoff campaign--Richard Riordan as a candidate--Election night loss--Leaving city council office

Fellowship at Harvard University--Running for California secretary of state--Serving as the Western States director of the Corporation for National Service in the Clinton administration--Attempts to start a fiber optic business--Working as a general manager of Flexcar in California--Working on affordable housing with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation--Running for the 13th District City Council seat--Serving on the Los Angeles City Planning Commission in the Antonio Villaraigosa mayoral administration--Changes in how cities approach urban planning--The impact of phasing out redevelopment agencies in California--Chairing the board of Smart Growth America--Becomes dean of the College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona--Challenges in position as dean--Designing and teaching courses in the College of Environmental Design