S. B. Woo

Shien Biau Woo (born August 13, 1937) is a Chinese American professor and politician from Newark, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as the 21st lieutenant governor of Delaware.

S. B. Woo
吳仙標
Woo in 2015
21st Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
In office January 15, 1985 – January 20, 1989
Governor	Mike Castle
Preceded by	Mike Castle
Succeeded by	Dale E. Wolf
Personal details
Born	Shien Biau Woo (1937-08-13) August 13, 1937 (age 87) Shanghai, China
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Katy
Education	Georgetown College (BS) Washington University (MS, PhD)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	吳仙標
Simplified Chinese	吴仙标
Hanyu Pinyin	Wú Xiānbiāo

Early life and family

Woo's ancestral hometown is Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. He was born in 1937 in Shanghai.^[1] His parents fled the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 to Hong Kong with him, he studied at Hong Kong Pui Ching Middle School, and then he came to the United States at the age of 18. He received undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Physics from Georgetown College in Kentucky and his PhD in Physics from Washington University in St. Louis.

He married in 1963 and has two children. In 1966, he joined the faculty of the University of Delaware, where he became a professor of physics and astronomy. He retired in 2002 after 36 years.

Political career

Woo in 1984.

In his first attempt at public office, Woo was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1984. He won the Democratic primary election by defeating two veteran state senators, Nancy W. Cook of Dover and David McBride of New Castle. In the general election he narrowly defeated Republican Battle R. Robinson of Georgetown, who was the first woman to practice law in Sussex County and the assistant legal counsel to retiring Governor Pete du Pont. Woo thus became one of the highest ranking Chinese American public office holders in the nation and served one term from January 15, 1985 until January 20, 1989.

Woo narrowly won the Democratic primary election for U.S. Senator in 1988, defeating Samuel S. Beard, an heir to a railroad fortune and resident of Greenville, Delaware. In fact, the election appeared to be lost until an error in the tabulation was discovered, which changed the result. Nevertheless, Woo lost the general election to the incumbent Republican Senator William Roth. Likewise, in 1992, he was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House from Delaware's sole congressional district, but lost the election to retiring Gov. Mike Castle by twelve points.

Woo became an Independent in 2000 and announced his intention not to accept a federal appointment in order to advance public perception of his neutrality without any personal partisan benefit.^[2]

Professional career

Woo is a leader in the greater Chinese American community throughout the country from which his political activities dependably received strong financial backing. He is the former president of the 80-20 Initiative, a group that attempts to organize Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) into a swing bloc-vote in presidential elections, intending to induce both major political parties to take the interests of the APA community into consideration. He also serves as a Professor Emeritus of Physics^[3] and Trustee of the University of Delaware, and an Institute Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.

A life-sized picture of him is displayed in Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington D.C.^[4] Another picture of him is in an interactive display in the lobby of Asia Society in New York City. In 2000, A Magazine ranked him the 6th of the 25 Most Influential Asian Americans.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. The Lieutenant Governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and has a four-year term.

Public Offices
Office	Type	Location	Elected	Began office	Ended office	notes
Lt. Governor	Executive	Dover	1984	January 15, 1985	January 20, 1989

Election results
Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
1984	Lt. Governor	Primary		S. B. Woo	Democratic	14,131	42%		Nancy W. Cook David B. McBride	Democratic	10,590 9,260	31% 27%
1984	Lt. Governor	General		S. B. Woo	Democratic	121,095	50%		Battle R. Robinson	Republican	120,666	50%
1988	U.S. Senator	Primary		S. B. Woo	Democratic	20,225	50%		Samuel S. Beard	Democratic	20,154	50%
1988	U.S. Senator	General		S. B. Woo	Democratic	92,378	38%		William Roth	Republican	151,115	62%
1992	U.S. Representative	Primary		S. B. Woo	Democratic	28,732	74%		Ernest L. Ercole	Democratic	10,329	26%
1992	U.S. Representative	General		S. B. Woo	Democratic	117,426	43%		Mike Castle	Republican	153,037	55%

See also

• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States

References

1. Nakanishi, Don T.; Wu, Ellen D. (2002). Distinguished Asian American Political and Governmental Leaders. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 201. ISBN 9781573563253. OCLC 606937156. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
2. "S. B. Woo Not to Run or Accept Political Office". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
3. "S. B. Woo". University of Delaware Dept. of Physics & Astronomy. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
4. "Biography of Dr. SB Woo". Asian American Net. Archived from the original on February 21, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2017.

External links

• Delaware’s Lieutenant Governors
• 80-20 Initiative

Political offices
Preceded by Mike Castle	Lieutenant Governor of Delaware 1985–1989	Succeeded by Dale E. Wolf
Party political offices
Preceded by David Levinson	Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Delaware (Class 1) 1988	Succeeded by Charles Oberly