John Lee (California politician)

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For other people named John Lee, see John Lee (disambiguation).

John Lee
Member of the
Los Angeles City Council
from the 12th district
Assumed office
August 30, 2019
Preceded byGreig Smith
Personal details
Born
John S. Lee

(1970-06-29) June 29, 1970 (age 51)
Political partyIndependent (2020–present)
Other political
affiliations		Republican (until 2020)
ResidencePorter Ranch, California[1]
EducationCalifornia State University,
Northridge
OccupationPolitician

John S. Lee[2] is an American politician, serving as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 12th district. Formerly a Republican, Lee is now an independent and is the only non-Democrat currently on the city council. Multiple groups have called on Lee to resign due to his alleged involvement in the Mitchell Englander corruption scandal.[2][3][4][5]

Personal life[]

Born in 1970, Lee is the son of South Korean immigrants.[1] He graduated from Granada Hills High School and attended but did not graduate from California State University, Northridge.[6] Lee's website misrepresented his level of education until the 2020 campaign.[7][8] He lives in Porter Ranch, California with his wife Sheila and their two children.[9]

Political career[]

Lee was a chief of staff for previous councilman Mitchell Englander. Englander pled guilty to federal charges related to the on-going Los Angeles City Hall corruption probe and began serving a 14-month sentence in federal prison in June, 2021. Lee joined David Ryu as the second Asian American on the council, being sworn in on August 30, 2019.[9]

Policies[]

John Lee is registered as No Party Preference, and City Council elections are officially non-partisan. He is the sole independent on the City Council. Before January 12, 2020, he was a registered Republican.[10][11][12]

Homelessness[]

Lee has advocated for Neighborhood Safety Teams, that would increase the number of police patrols in business corridors, specifically dedicated to stopping crime stemming from homeless encampments. Lee has also advocated for the creation of a Housing Task Force to build housing that focuses on job training programs.[13]

Environment[]

Lee has committed to supporting the California Clean Energy Commission's proposal to close down the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility. In 2019, Lee proposed a resolution urging Governor Gavin Newsom to make good on the promise of shutting the facility down.[13]

Transportation[]

Lee supports allowing companies like Uber and Bird to provide e-scooters in his district; however, he stated that it should be limited and not encompass the entire district. He referenced California State University, Northridge as an example of an appropriate location for the scooters.[14]

Controversies[]

Corruption allegations[]

Lee accompanied Englander as his Chief of Staff along with José Huizar staffer George Esparza on the June 2017 Las Vegas trip that led to Englander's corruption charges and guilty plea.[3] Huizar and Esparza were both later charged with racketeering stemming from a related FBI investigation, to which Esparza plead guilty.[15] [16] According to the indictment in the Englander case, a top Englander staffer referred to as "City Staffer B" was given some of the same perks as Englander.[15] Englander sent antedated checks for himself and the unnamed staffer to the businessmen who provided the perks after he was contacted by the FBI.[15] Lee has declined to state whether he is "City Staffer B" repeatedly and claimed that he did "everything in his power" to reimburse expenses for the trip.[15] Multiple groups have called for John Lee's resignation on the assumption that he is the unnamed staffer.[2][3][4][5]

Sexual harassment lawsuit[]

Lee and Englander were accused of sexual harassment and discrimination by a former aide in a 2013 lawsuit.[17] They both denied the allegations.[18] Lee was dismissed as a defendant and the lawsuit was settled by the city for $75,000.[19]

Electoral history[]

Election[]

Special general election for Los Angeles City Council District 12, 2019[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan John Lee 16,724 52.1%
Nonpartisan Loraine Lundquist 15,395 47.9%

References[]

  1. ^ a b Elizabeth Chou (May 20, 2019). "LA CITY COUNCIL ELECTION: For John Lee, public service starts with an immigrant's story and City Hall experience". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Mitch Englander scandal spurs calls for John Lee to resign". Los Angeles Daily News. March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "San Fernando Valley group calls for Councilman John Lee's removal from planning committee". Los Angeles Daily News. November 13, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Green Party of Los Angeles County calls for resignation of Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee". Green Party of Los Angeles County. March 18, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "John Lee faces new calls to resign after his former boss pleads guilty in corruption case". Los Angeles Daily News. March 27, 2020.
  6. ^ "L.A. councilman corrects city website about college degree". Los Angeles Times. January 20, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  7. ^ "JOHN LEE". Council District 12. August 29, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Reyes, Emily Alpert (January 20, 2020). "L.A. councilman corrects city website about college degree". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 10, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b "Northwest Valley's John Lee is sworn in on the LA City Council". Los Angeles Daily News. August 30, 2019.
  10. ^ Reyes, Emily. "Same candidates, new race. Could turnout change the results of this L.A. council rematch?". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ "Former L.A. Councilman Mitchell Englander reports to prison - Los Angeles Times".
  12. ^ "Republican John Lee Named LA City Councilman-Elect; First Time Asian Americans To Serve Simultaneously". August 14, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Newsource, City (October 23, 2019). "4 years later still no Aliso Canyon shutdown. But activists, residents are still demanding it". dailynew.com. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  14. ^ "Q&A: John Lee, LA's newest city councilman, talks about his priorities". Los Angeles Daily News. September 4, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d "Former L.A. Councilman Mitchell Englander pleads guilty in City Hall corruption case". Los Angeles Times. July 7, 2020.
  16. ^ "Cash, casinos and a sexual harassment payout: Former Huizar aide agrees to plead guilty". Los Angeles Times. May 27, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  17. ^ "Ex-aide to Councilman Mitchell Englander files harassment suit". Chicago Tribune. October 18, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  18. ^ "Sex harassment suit filed against chief of staff to Los Angeles Councilman Mitch Englander". Los Angeles Daily News. October 18, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  19. ^ "John Lee was accused of harassment. Will that sway Valley voters?". Los Angeles Times. April 1, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  20. ^ "John Lee (California)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 25, 2019.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by Los Angeles City Council
12th District
August 30, 2019 - present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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