Mary Cheh

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Mary Cheh in 2010

Mary M. Cheh (born 1950[1]) is a Democratic politician from Washington, D.C. In November 2006, she won a seat on the Washington, D.C. City Council representing Ward 3.

Background and family

Mary Cheh was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The first in her family to graduate from high school, Cheh is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Douglass College and has law degrees from Rutgers University and Harvard University.

Cheh has been a resident of Ward 3 since 1980. She has two daughters, Jane and Nora, who were born and raised in the District, attending Murch Elementary School and Georgetown Day School. Both are lawyers.

Professional experience

Upon graduation from law school, Cheh served as a law clerk to the Hon. Richard Hughes, chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Cheh then joined the Washington office of Fried, Frank, Shriver, Harris & Kempleman as an associate. In 1979, Cheh joined theGeorge Washington University Law School , becoming the Elyce Zenoff Research Professor of Law.[2] There, she has received teaching and service awards and serves as a member and former chair of the George Washington Law Public Interest Committee.

While on sabbatical leave in 1986, she served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. In an earlier leave in 1983, she did pro bono work for the Centre for Applied Legal Studies in South Africa. She has also served as a consultant to the National Institute of Justice and the President’s Commission on Organized Crime. She has been a frequent speaker and media commentator on legal affairs.

Cheh is also a supplemental lecturer in constitutional law at the Concord Law School.[3]

Cheh has a B.A. and a J.D. from Rutgers University, and she has an LL.M. from Harvard University. She teaches BARBRI bar exam review lectures during the summer months.

City Council

Cheh was first elected to the Washington, DC City Council in 2006, beating her Republican opponent, Theresa Conroy. Cheh replaced Kathleen Patterson, who unsuccessfully sought to run for Council of the District of Columbia Chair position. She was reelected in 2010 over Republican Candidate Dave Hedgepeth. Despite failing to get an endorsement from The Washington Post, a key endorsement in a DC local election, Cheh was reelected by a substantial margin.

Among Cheh's legislation passed through the Council is the DC Plastic Bag Tax,[4] which requires businesses that sell food or alcohol to charge five cents for each paper or plastic disposable bag.[5] The tax received criticism from some DC residents when it was enacted.[6]

Cheh is the author of the District of Columbia's Wildlife Protection Act of 2010. The Act was assailed by Republicans in neighboring Virginia and Maryland as encouraging pest exterminators to dump the District's rats into their states. She vehemently denied the allegations and insisted that the critics had misinterpreted the Act.

Cheh became the temporary chair of the city council after the resignation of Chairman Kwame Brown on June 6, 2012.[7]

Committees

Cheh currently sits on five committees:

  • Committee on Government Operations and the Environment (Chair)
  • Committee on Aging and Community Affairs
  • Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary
  • Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs
  • Committee on Health

References

  1. ↑ "The George Washington University Law School [profile]". Martindale.com. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
  2. ↑ http://www.law.gwu.edu/Faculty/profile.aspx?id=1715
  3. ↑ "Additional Law School Lecturers". Concord Law School of Kaplan University. Retrieved 25 February 2013. 
  4. ↑ Craig, Tim (May 14, 2010). "In D.C., 'Progressive' Isn't What It Used To Be". The Washington Post. p. B1. 
  5. ↑ Murray, Sara (January 25, 2010). "In Washington, A Lesson In Bureaucracy Comes In Every Bag". The Wall Street Journal. 
  6. ↑ Nakamura, David (February 24, 2011). "Shoppers, Stores Have Few Gripes With D.C.'s Bag Tax". The Washington Post. p. B6. 
  7. ↑ "Acting Chair Mary Cheh’s Statement on Future of Council". DC Council. Retrieved 7 June 2012. 

Further reading

External links

Council of the District of Columbia
Preceded by
Kathleen Patterson		 Ward 3 Member, Council of the District of Columbia
2007 – present 		Incumbent
Authority control
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