Gordon Quan (Chinese: 關振鵬,[1]) is a Chinese-American immigration lawyer,[2] and former Houston City Council member. He was the second Asian American ever elected to Houston City Council.[3] He was the first Asian American to ever be elected to an at-large position in the Houston City Council.[4] Quan also once served as the Houston Mayor Pro Tem.[5]

Gordon Quan
Traditional Chinese關振鵬
Simplified Chinese关振鹏

History edit

Quan was born in China, and he and his family later fled from China.[6] Quan's father was William K.Y. Quan, a native of Guangdong province and a cofounder of the Asian American Bank of Houston.[7] Since, at the time of Quan's birth, his father was a U.S. servicemember, Quan received U.S. citizenship by birth.[8] Quan's younger brother is Rick Quan, a sportscaster in San Francisco.[9] When Quan was growing up, his family was the only Asian American family on his block.[3] He attended Milby High School.[10]

Gordon Quan founded his immigration firm, Quan, Burdette & Perez PC, in early 1980.[11] Quan began serving as City of Houston Mayor Pro-Tem in 2002.[12] Quan once served as a Houston City Council member.[11] He served in the at-large Position 2. Quan's final term was scheduled to end after the November 8, 2005 city council election; as he was term-limited, he was unable to run again.[13] As a council member, Quan urged Asian Americans to become more involved in politics.[14] Quan had been elected president of the board of directors of the Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials organization.[15] After Hurricane Katrina occurred in 2005, Quan's office organized relief for Asian American businesses, community groups, professional associations, and churches.[16] In 2005, Quan's firm was one of the largest immigration law firms in the U.S.[4] In 2007, Quan's firm and Tindall & Foster PC merged, becoming Foster Quan LLP.[11] In 2014, FosterQuan split, becoming Quan Law Group.[17]

As of 2009, Quan lives in an area near Memorial Park.[18] As of 2010 he lives in the Memorial area.[8]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "關振鵬指 艾彌特捐款欠透明." (Archive) World Journal. July 22, 2010. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  2. ^ "Political vulnerability eyed in DeLay district." Associated Press at the Boston Globe. April 10, 2005. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Luo, Michael. "Athlete increases profile for Asian-Americans." Associated Press at the Telegraph Herald. Sunday February 9, 2003. National 10A. Retrieved from Google News (10 of 90) on July 28, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Colley, Jenna. "Councilman Quan exploring bid for Congress." Houston Business Journal. Friday May 6, 2005. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  5. ^ Longman, Jere. "NBA's cultural exchange." The New York Times at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. December 22, 2002. Retrieved on July 28, 2012. "[...]said Gordon Quan, a Chinese-American who is the city's mayor pro tem"
  6. ^ "http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ST&s_site=dfw&p_multi=ST&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=102EFA134E0985FD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Asian American Pacific Heritage[...]]." Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 29, 2004. Retrieved on July 28, 2012. "Gordon Quan, 56 Birthplace: China Texas ties: Quan and his family fled China"
  7. ^ Villafranca, Armando. "OBITUARIES / Quan, bank co-founder, father of councilman." Houston Chronicle. Friday December 16, 2005. B5. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Moran, Chris. "Democrats Quan, Hassan vie for Harris County judge." Houston Chronicle. Friday February 12, 2010. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  9. ^ Lin, Sam Chu. "Houston Waits to Help APA Evacuees Archived 2013-01-17 at archive.today." AsianWeek. September 16, 2005. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  10. ^ "Distinguished HISD Alumni." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on November 3, 2015.
  11. ^ a b c Gunter, Ford. "Houston law firms to form immigration powerhouse." Houston Business Journal. Sunday October 19, 2008. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  12. ^ Apodaca, Gene. "Former Mayor Pro Tem Gordon Quan reacts." KTRK-TV. Tuesday March 14, 2006. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  13. ^ Mack, Kristen. "5 contenders seek Quan's Position 2 seat." Houston Chronicle. Monday October 24, 2005. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  14. ^ Zheng, Chunhua Zen. "Quan urges Chinese-Americans to become more active in politics." Houston Chronicle. Thursday June 28, 2001. ThisWeek 2. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  15. ^ "APAMO elects new board of directors.(Asian Pacific American[...]" Nation's Cities Weekly. July 1, 2002. Retrieved on July 28, 2012. "Gordon Quan, mayor pro tem of Houston, Tex., was recently elected as the president of the 2002 Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Municipal"
  16. ^ Zheng, Zen T.C. "Asian residents aid victims." Houston Chronicle. Thursday September 15, 2005. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  17. ^ "FosterQuan is splitting as top Houston immigration lawyer forms new law group - Houston Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2014-11-01.
  18. ^ Moran, Chris. "Quan enters race for Harris County judge." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday December 29, 2009. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.

External links edit