Otto Lee

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Otto Lee
Law profile portrait.jpg
Santa Clara County Supervisor from District 3
Assumed office
2020
Preceded byDave Cortese
Mayor of Sunnyvale, California
In office
2006–2007
Member of the Sunnyvale City Council
In office
2003–2011
Personal details
Born (1967-07-29) July 29, 1967 (age 54)
British Hong Kong
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUC Berkeley (B.S.)
UC Hastings College of the Law (J.D.)
Leiden University (LL.M.)
OccupationPatent attorney
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1989–1991, 2003, 2009–2010 (active)
1991–2018 (reserve)
RankCommander
UnitNavy Supply Corps
Battles/warsGulf War
Operation Noble Eagle
Operation Iraqi Freedom
AwardsBronze Star
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese李洲曉
Simplified Chinese李洲晓
JyutpingLei5 Zau1 Hiu2

Otto Oswald Lee (born July 29, 1967) is a Hong Kong-born American politician, attorney, and military veteran who was a Sunnyvale, California city council member from 2003 to 2011,[1] before which he was on the Planning Commission, which he chaired from 2000 to 2001. From 2005 to 2006 he was vice mayor, and from 2006 to 2007 he was the 57th mayor of Sunnyvale.[2] He is a patent attorney, and a co-founder and partner of the Intellectual Property Law Group LLP.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Lee served in the U.S. Navy as a supply corps officer. He was a commander in the United States Naval Reserve and the executive officer of a Naval Aircraft Carriers Reserve unit based in San Diego.[3]

Early life and education[]

Lee was born in Hong Kong, then a British colony, in 1967. He moved to the U.S. state of California at age 15.[4] He received a B.S. in chemical engineering and nuclear engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and an LL.M. in Public International Law from Leiden University, The Netherlands.[3]

Military career[]

Lee joined the United States Navy in 1989 as an ensign.[5][4][6] During the Gulf War in 1991, Lee served aboard the USS Harry E. Yarnell as treasurer, disbursing officer, and assistant supply officer.[6] After this initial active duty he continued to serve in the Navy Reserve, recalled to active duty for Operation Noble Eagle in 2003 and again in 2009 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.[7][6] Lee also supported the defense of the Republic of Korea under the Commander Naval Forces Korea.[6] Most recently holding the rank of commander, Lee retired from the Navy in 2018.[8]

Political campaigns[]

2008 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors election[]

In 2008 he qualified in the June primary to compete to represent District 3 on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, but lost to David Cortese in the November general election, receiving 45.2% of votes cast to Cortese's 55.8%.[9]

2012 U.S. House of Representatives election[]

On March 27, 2012, Lee announced his candidacy for California's 22nd Congressional District seat to challenge incumbent Representative Devin Nunes, Republican of Tulare.[10] This district covers areas of Fresno and Tulare counties, both located in California's San Joaquin Valley.[10]

Lee and Nunes were the only candidates in the June 6 nonpartisan primary, in which Lee placed second with 30.1 percent to Nunes's 69.9 percent.[11] On November 6, Nunes won the general election with 132,386 votes (61.9 percent) to Lee's 81,555 votes (38.1 percent).[12]

2020 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors election[]

In 2020, Lee was among four candidates for the open District 3 seat of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to replace the termed-out Dave Cortese.[13] In the March 3, 2020 top-two primary election, Lee finished in second place with 29 percent of the vote behind Kansen Chu, who had 31.5 percent.[14]

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Election, 2020[15]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Kansen Chu 24,557 31.5
Nonpartisan Otto Lee 22,560 29.0
Nonpartisan Magdalena Carrasco 20,227 26.0
Nonpartisan John Leyba 10,548 13.5
Total votes 77,892 100.0
General election
Nonpartisan Otto Lee 85,663 60.5
Nonpartisan Kansen Chu 55,946 39.5
Total votes 141,609 100.0

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors[]

At the March 23, 2021 Board of Supervisors meeting, Lee made recommendations relating to a work plan and timeline regarding the implementation of an anti-hate community outreach and education campaign in response to the recent spike of Anti-Asian hate crimes and violence.[16]

At the April 20, 2021 Board of Supervisors meeting, Lee brought forth a proposal to have the County review legislative proposals and how they may impact immigrants locally, including HR 6, HR 1603, and HR 1177. U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s Citizenship for Essential Workers Act (S 747) was included as part of the staff’s review and analysis of federal legislative proposals relating to immigration. The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed Supervisor Lee's referral.[17]

In 2021, Lee created the D3 URJGENT (Unhoused, Racial Justice, Green, Equity, Neighborhoods & Transparency) Grant Program, which is open to registered 501(c)3 non-profit entities or organizations with 501(c)3 fiscal agents that provide services in Santa Clara County.[18]

References[]

  1. ^ "Otto O. Lee". Intellectual Property Law Group - Otto O. Lee. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Otto Lee's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b Otto Lee Bio at IPLG LLP, http://www.iplg.com/attorney_profiles/otto_lee.html accessed November 18, 2008
  4. ^ a b https://www.ottolee.org/about
  5. ^ "Otto Lee" (PDF). ChineseAmericanHeroes.org. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d https://ottoleednc.com/aboutottodnc
  7. ^ Kraatz, Cody (December 10, 2008). "Sunnyvale councilman Lee called up for one-year tour of duty in Iraq". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Editorial: Elect Simitian, Chavez and Lee to Board of Supervisors". The Mercury News. San Jose. February 2, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  9. ^ Cody Kraatz, "Things ran smoothly at Sunnyvale polling places," Sunnyvale Sun November 12, 2008, p. 11
  10. ^ a b Ellis, John (March 26, 2012). "22nd District congressional hopeful to kick off campaign -- in Cupertino". The Beehive. FresnoBee.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  11. ^ "U.S. Congress District 22 - Districtwide Results". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  12. ^ Haas, Karen L. (2013). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 2012" (PDF). Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 5. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  13. ^ Hase, Grace (February 28, 2020). "Election 2020: Four Veteran Public Servants Vie for Santa Clara County's Open Supe Seat". San Jose Inside. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  14. ^ https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Santa_Clara/101316/web.245375/#/detail/34
  15. ^ https://ballotpedia.org/Municipal_elections_in_Santa_Clara_County,_California_(2020)#Supervisor
  16. ^ http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=13209&MediaPosition=&ID=105224&CssClass=
  17. ^ http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=13212&MediaPosition=&ID=105483&CssClass=
  18. ^ https://district3.sccgov.org/d3urjgent
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