Update: Two New Lawmakers to Represent Arcadia

Incumbents managed to ward off any upsets in Tuesday's elections and Arcadia stands has two newly elected representatives.

27th Congressional District

Veteran Congresswoman Judy Chu is headed for a second term — this time in a new district — after soundly defeating challenger Jack Orswell (R-Monrovia), according to election results.

Chu (D-El Monte), the incumbent in the now-defunct 32nd Congressional District, took in 65 percent of the vote in the race for the newly created 27th Congressional district with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

Chu released her victory statement shortly before 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

"For 27 years, I have been privileged to serve the San Gabriel Valley in elected office. Tonight, voters from this region placed their trust in me again. I will honor that trust by fighting for their needs each and every day in Congress.  While my district has changed, my commitment to serve the people and my core values remain the same.

"I represented the cities of the 27th District while serving in the State Assembly and the Board of Equalization, and am excited to now represent them in Congress.  It has been a privilege to fight for the needs of the 32nd District over the past 3 years, and residents can count on me to continue my efforts to strengthen the entire San Gabriel Valley."

Chu's opponent, first-time political candidate and small business owner Jack Orswell (R-Monrovia), was resigned to defeat Wednesday morning.

"Obviously I'm not happy with the results but you have to accept what the voters did," Orswell said in a phone interview. "I'm real proud of the campaign."

Orswell said he has not yet decided whether he'll make another run at office.

"Right now I'm pretty tired as a result of the campaign and tonight is not the time to be making the decision," he said. "Give me 18 months to think aboutt it."

49th Assembly District

The Republican candidate for the 49th Assembly District, physician Matthew Lin, had not yet conceded the election as of 12:30 a.m., despite his Democratic opponent Ed Chau's solid lead.

"It's going to be a long night," Lin campaign spokeswoman Miryam Mora said at the time.

In the end, Chau took 56.6 percent of the vote to Lin's 43.4 percent, with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

Chau said he looks forward to working with the communities within the 49th District. Education and encouraging small business growth will remain at the top of his agenda during his term in the assembly.

"[Small businesses] form a major part of job creation and the economy," Chau said. "We do have a number of small business owners in the [49th] District. Also, there are many who would like to become business owners."

A flap over campaign mailers made for a contentious race between Chau and Lin.

Lin's wife won an injunction barring Chau's campaign from disseminating any materials imprinted with her social security number. Joy Lin filed a legal complaint Oct. 26 after Chau's campaign released several mailers displaying her full name, home address and social security number.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge E. Edward Simpson ordered Chau to appear Nov. 27 regarding the injunction.

Chu, a long-time Chau supporter, joined in the fray. She held a press conference Nov. 1 announcing that she would send a cease and desist letter demanding Lin stop using her image in his mailers, which she says implies her endorsement of his campaign.

The flyers in question feature a photo of Chu posing with Lin, along with copies of several awards and certificates the Congresswoman has bestowed upon the physician over the years.

Beneath the photo is the disclaimer, "endorsement is not implied."