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Alex Lee (politician)

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For other people named Alex Lee, see Alex Lee (disambiguation).
Alex Lee
李天明
Member of the California Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 7, 2020
Preceded byKansen Chu
Constituency25th district (2020–2022)
24th district (2022–present)
Personal details
Born
Alex Tianming Lee

(1995-07-11) July 11, 1995 (age 29)
San Jose, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of California, Davis (BA)

Alex Tianming Lee (Chinese: 李天明; born July 11, 1995) is an American politician who has served as a member of the California State Assembly since 2020, having represented the 24th district since 2022 and the 25th district from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Lee's district includes Fremont, Newark, Sunol, Milpitas, and parts of western San Jose.

A Democratic Socialist, Lee is one of the most progressive members of the California legislature.[1] During his tenure, he has been a strong supporter of legislation to increase housing, in particular social housing.[1][2]

Early life, education, and career

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Lee was born on July 11, 1995, in San Jose, California.[3][4] His parents immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong.[5][6] His father is an engineer and his mother is a nurse.[7] After his parents divorced, Lee lived alternately with his father in Milpitas and his mother in North San Jose.[8]

Lee graduated from Milpitas High School in 2013. He became interested in filmmaking and eventually decided to pursue a dual degree in political science and communications at the University of California, Davis.[9] Lee ran for a seat on the student senate at UC Davis in 2014 and served as student body president in 2016.[10] He graduated with a bachelor of arts in 2017.

While attending college, Lee was an intern for several politicians including Mike Honda, Ed Chau, Evan Low, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, and Kansen Chu.[11] He began working for Henry Stern as a full-time legislative aide after graduating college.[8] Prior to running for office, Lee delivered food, and lived with his mother due to the high cost of living in his district.[12][13]

California State Assembly

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Tenure

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In June 2019, Lee announced he would run to succeed Chu in the 25th district upon Chu's retirement from the State Assembly.[14][15] He ran as a democratic socialist and was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.[16] In March 2020, Lee finished second in a field of nine candidates in the nonpartisan blanket primary; he split the vote with seven other Democrats and finished behind Republican Bob Brunton.[17] Lee defeated Brunton in the general election.[18]

Lee was sworn into the State Assembly on December 7, 2020. Taking office at age 25, he was the Assembly's youngest member, the first born in the 1990s, and the first openly bisexual member.[11][8]

On his first day in office, Lee introduced a bill that would ban corporate donations to political candidates.[19] Lee has since introduced legislation in favor of increasing social housing in California.[2][20][21] Lee has expressed support for a land-value tax as a potential way to increase housing supply and reduce inequality.[1] YIMBY Action, a pro-housing advocacy group, described Lee "as a strong supporter of every major pro-housing bill."[22] He has also secured $2.5 million in funding for bicycle infrastructure and services for unhoused people in Milpitas.[23]

In 2022, Lee was redrawn into the 24th district.[24] He placed first in the nonpartisan blanket primary ahead of Brunton, Chu, and two other Democrats, and defeated Brunton in a rematch in the general election.[25] He was sworn into his second term on December 5, 2022.

Lee is the chair of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.[26]

Electoral history

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2020 California's 25th State Assembly district election[27][28]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Brunton 19,612 20.8
Democratic Alex Lee 14,542 15.4
Democratic Anne Kepner 12,823 13.6
Democratic Anna Song 11,992 12.7
Democratic Natasha Gupta 9,778 10.4
Democratic Carmen Montano 9,672 10.2
Democratic Anthony Phan 6,780 7.2
Democratic Roman Reed 5,549 5.9
Democratic Jim Canova 3,623 3.8
Total votes 94,371 100.0
General election
Democratic Alex Lee 135,733 70.5
Republican Bob Brunton 56,775 29.5
Total votes 192,508 100.0
Democratic hold
2022 California's 24th State Assembly district election[29][30]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alex Lee 26,531 38.5
Republican Bob Brunton 14,730 21.4
Democratic Kansen Chu 12,683 18.4
Democratic Teresa Keng 9,721 14.1
Democratic Lan Diep 5,308 7.7
General election
Democratic Alex Lee 75,232 69.1
Republican Bob Brunton 33,662 30.9
Total votes 108,894 100.0
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ a b c "POLITICO Pro: POLITICO Q&A: California Assemblymember Alex Lee". subscriber.politicopro.com.
  2. ^ a b "Assemblyman Alex Lee's New 'Social Housing' Bill Would Put State in Development Business". San Jose Inside. 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  3. ^ "California State Assemblymember Alex Lee - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  4. ^ "Alex Lee". CalMatters. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  5. ^ 李, 榮 (6 November 2020). "25歲李天明 當選加州眾議員 史上最年輕". World Journal (in Chinese). Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Alex Lee". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  7. ^ Hampton, Caleb (11 November 2020). "UCD alum Alex Lee elected to Assembly". Davis Enterprise. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Whiting, Sam (9 November 2020). "At 25, California's youngest state legislator gets running start in San Jose". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. ^ Wong, Ashley (11 November 2020). "Asian American man just became California's youngest and first openly bisexual legislator". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  10. ^ Quinn, Kathleen (6 November 2020). "Aggie alumnus Alex Lee wins seat in California State Assembly". The California Aggie. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. ^ a b Geha, Joseph (9 November 2020). "Homegrown Alex Lee, 25, becomes youngest state legislator in decades". Mercury News. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  12. ^ Namkung, Victoria (17 November 2020). "Meet California's first Gen Z lawmaker". NBC News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  13. ^ Geha, Joseph (17 November 2020). "UC Davis grad Alex Lee, 25, becomes youngest state legislator in decades". Daily Democrat. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  14. ^ Shapiro, Eric (4 November 2020). "Alex Lee victorious in Assembly District 25 race". Milpitas Beat. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  15. ^ Geha, Joseph (14 February 2020). "Nine hopefuls vie for open Assembly District 25 seat". Mercury News. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  16. ^ Toledo, Aldo (13 November 2020). "Young Democratic Socialist, progressive candidates sweep into office across Peninsula". The Mercury News. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  17. ^ Thompson, Don (6 November 2020). "California elects 25-year-old lawmaker, youngest in 82 years". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  18. ^ Gutierrez, Melody (5 November 2020). "This Gen Z gig worker ran for office. Now he's California's youngest legislator". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  19. ^ Geha, Joseph (17 December 2020). "Bay Area Assemblymember Alex Lee pushing bill to ban corporate donations to candidates". The Mercury News. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Can 'social housing' help solve California's housing crisis?". The Mercury News. 2023-05-30.
  21. ^ "San Jose Assemblymember touts committee appointments". East Bay Times. 2024-01-07.
  22. ^ "Alameda County". YIMBY Action Voter Guide. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  23. ^ "Milpitas community briefs for the week of July 8". The Mercury News. 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  24. ^ Hase, Grace (June 2, 2022). "Four candidates challenge Alex Lee for redrawn Assembly 24 seat". Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  25. ^ Freimarck, Annalise (2022-06-08). "In heated Silicon Valley contest, Assemblymember Alex Lee leads the pack". San José Spotlight. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  26. ^ "Legislative Progressive Caucus". assembly.ca.gov. California State Assembly. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Presidential Primary Election - Statement of Vote, March 3, 2020 - State Assemblymember by District" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  28. ^ "November 3, 2020, General Election-State Assembly" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  29. ^ "June 7, 2022 Primary Election-State Assembly" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  30. ^ "Statement of Vote November 8, 2022 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved September 26, 2023.


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