Wing Ong: Breaking Barriers as America’s First Chinese American in State Office

Growing Up

In 1946, Wing F. Ong was the first Chinese American to be elected to a state legislature in the United States when he won a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives. Born in China in 1904, Ong was a Chinese immigrant who entered the United States at fourteen years old and eventually settled in Phoenix Arizona with his family.

While he did odd jobs for his extended family’s various grocery and laundry businesses, Ong had other ambitions and decided to pursue an education despite his father’s wishes. He entered first grade at Grant Elementary School at the age of fifteen and finished elementary and high school just six years later. During high school, he also caught the attention of Governor Thomas E. Campbell who allowed Ong to work as a houseboy.

By age 20, Ong opened his first grocery store in Phoenix, Wing F. Ong Grocery, and eight years later married his wife, Rose Ong, with which he had 6 children. He also pursued opportunities in the insurance and restaurant business which led him to create the Phoenix Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1938. An active participant in his community, Wing Ong would start his political career to reach even higher goals.

Wing Ong, a member of the 1949 Arizona State Legislature

Decision to Run for Office

In 1940, he attempted to run for the House of Representatives in District 8. Even though he lost the election (by only 17 votes), that did not deter him from continuing to pursue his political goals (Tucson Citizen July 4^th, 1967).

After his initial election loss, Ong with the support of the Campbells decided to enter law school at the University of Arizona. He graduated third in his class in 1943 as one of only eight Chinese practicing lawyers in the United States at the time and was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona. Ong decided to open his law practice right next door to his grocery store. Now armed with a law degree, he ran for election again in 1946 as a Democrat in District 8. He defeated Republican Harry L. Woodly by a large margin with 1,100 votes to 693, thus becoming the first Chinese American to hold office at a state legislator level in the entire United States.

House of Representatives and Racial Challenges

After Ong was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives, he served two terms from 1947-1951 and one term in the Arizona Senate in 1967. While in office, he was an advocate for the underprivileged and he served on several standing committees including County and County Affairs, Judiciary, Commerce and Industry, and Labor and Management and was chairman of Constitutional Amendments and Referendum. For instance, he led a campaign to stop a housing tax from being passed that would increase income taxes for lower income communities and keep money in higher income pockets.

Despite winning the election and his work to better the community, he faced adversity and was questioned about his heritage, citizenship, and living situation. When he was first elected in 1946, the Arizona Republic made his citizenship clear in the announcement, a comment they did not make for other candidates. Furthermore, the 1950 election for District 8 was, “…one of Arizona’s most vigorous, if not the most vicious… and will involve everything from racial issues to backgrounds of candidates” (Tucson Daily Citizen, August 7^th, 1950).

*Tucson Daily Citizen,* August 7^th, 1950

The tension of this election is highlighted by the Arizona Sun newspaper which ran a series of articles investigating the rights of Wing Ong to run for another term in 1950. The newspaper, which supported candidates Hayzel Daniels and S.C. Boyer, wrote stories about the credibility of his residence, questioned his support of residents in the district, and called into question his views on race.

Despite the newspaper campaign against Ong, the results of the race were close, with H.B. Daniels winning with 437 votes followed by S.C. Boyer with 406 votes and finally, Wing Ong with 383 votes.

Winning the Senate and Gerrymandering

Still one not to give up, Ong ran once again, this time for Senate and won his seat against Republican Archie Ryan. He continued his work from earlier terms, advocating for underrepresented populations and equality under the law even against the majority opinion of the time. For example, he fought against a drunk driving bill that would subject individuals to breath and blood tests, believing that they were against a driver’s constitutional rights and could be used wrongly against many of the people he represented as a lawyer. Even though the bill passed, his concern demonstrated his dedication for people who could be taken advantage of with this bill.

In regard to running for a second term, Ong, along with other democratic senators and representatives, were subject to a gerrymandering plan by Republicans to keep democrats out of office. The district that Ong won in was redrawn so that he did not have a chance of running for Senate again, thus ending his congressional career.

End of a Political Career

Even at the end of his political career, Ong was respected and admired by the community for his accomplishments in business and politics. We believe that his career and life can be summed up best by American Magazine author Don Eddy, “Because he has optimism and a sublime faith in the American Promise of equality for all, he has made himself a living refutation of the defeatist doctrine which would have us believe there are no more opportunities in this country, and that members of minority groups cannot hope to rise above mediocrity” (Tucson Daily Citizen, August 7^th, 1950). Ong continued his community work until his passing on December 19th, 1977, when he was buried in Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery.