Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

DR. Ruth Uy Asmundson, who reelected to the Davis City Council in 2006, is currently serving as City of Davis Mayor until her term expires in 2010.

A native of Gamu, Isabela, Philippines, Ruth was successful in her first bid for the City Council in 2002, garnering the highest number of votes among the candidates. She served as Mayor Pro-tem from 2002 to 2004, and as Mayor from 2004 to 2006. Ruth is one of three people to serve two terms as Mayor of Davis.

Ruth Asmundson, who was named Davis Citizen of the Year in 1989, is actually the widow of Vigfus Asmundson, himself a former Mayor of Davis. So far, the Asmundsons are the only recorded instance where both the husband and wife have held the mayoral seat in Davis.

Before the City Council, Dr. Ruth Asmundson was the first Asian American elected to the school board in Davis in the early 1990s.

During her stewardship, Davis residents have claimed that their city took big steps in economic development as big businesses opened shop in Davis, and that there have been improvements in the promotion of arts and culture.

Mayor Asmundson, while having shown her leadership and commitment as Mayor of Davis, has also demonstrated an appreciation for her roots by making regular visits to the Philippines and providing assistance to projects in her hometown. Her family is responsible for building and furnishing a community library in Barangay Mabini, Gamu, Isabela in 1998.

For her alma mater, Adamson University, from where she got her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Ruth Asmundson has provided annual scholarships for needy students and supported faculty scholarship chairs. She has been conferred the Outstanding Alumni of the Year twice (2002 and 2003) for her contributions to the university and her achievements in public office, and was the recipient of the Adamson Award for Outstanding Alumna in 2007 during the university’s 75th Jubilee Anniversary.

Mayor Asmundson is a 2006 Pamana ng Pilipino Award recipient (given by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines), and was also named in October 2007 as one of the "100 Most Influential Pinays in the US."

Among other awards Dr. Asmundson has received include a Distinguished Service Award and Golden Apple Award as Outstanding School board Member (given out by the Yolo County School Boards Association and Yolo County Association of School Administrators), a Women of Distinction Award from Soroptomist International of Davis, a Commendation for Outstanding Service to the Filipino Community in the Greater Sacramento Area in 2004 from the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco,.

Ruth Asmundson earned her Master’s in Chemistry at Wilkes Uniiversity in Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. in Agricultural Chemistry at UC Davis (both as a Fulbright scholar). Ruth and her late husband Vigfus have six children: Alinia, Irena, Wilfred, Vigdis, Jonas and Sigrid.

(Information obtained from Wikipedia and DavisWiki)

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( Published on April 23, 2009 in Asian Journal Northern California p. B1 )