"Let's put it this way -- my focus on that race was my two endorsed candidates," said Judy of the race that involved three council seats. "She was telling everybody that I was related to her."
But everything was ratcheted up in this last race. Betty said she got into the contest after taking a look at the perceived front-runners -- Cedillo and Judy -- and concluding, "I did not want them to represent me in Washington."
The woman identified as Betty Tom Chu on the Monterey Park city website condensed her name on the ballot to Betty Chu -- an attempt to confuse voters, according to Skelton. Betty insists she ran as Betty Tom Chu only one time -- to distinguish herself from "a woman down the street from me named Betty Chu."
Furthermore, said Skelton, the characters for Betty Chu's and Judy Chu's Chinese names are similar. Monterey Park has large numbers of Chinese American voters, many of whom use ballots printed in Chinese. "Betty Tom Chu has always had characters that don't look like Judy Chu's characters. She changed her name characters," said Skelton.
Not so, contends Betty, whose Chinese name means "Beautiful Born in America."
"Believe me, my name has been around a lot longer than hers. I was born with that name," Betty said. Judy Chu's Chinese name means "Beautiful Heart."
"We also had to focus on party," Skelton said. "Vote for the one of the beautiful whatevers who's the Democrat."
But the names weren't the only thing. Judy chafed at the mailer that Betty sent out titled "How to Spot a Loser," which featured a photo of Judy with suspicious-looking spots on her face.
"Well, I wouldn't draw moles on people's faces," said Judy of her opponent.
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carla.hall@latimes.com
