Alex Lee

Alex Lee lived alternately with his father in Milpitas, where he graduated from high school, and his mother in North San Jose. Before running for the Assembly, he worked as a legislative aide, delivered food and lived with his mother because of the district’s high cost of living. He entered the Legislature in 2020 at 25, after a nine-candidate primary and a general-election campaign against Republican Bob Brunton. Redistricting moved him into Assembly District 24 in 2022, where voters elected him to a second term. His record since taking office has included housing, campaign finance and local funding for bicycle infrastructure and services for unhoused people.

HOME GROUND

Lee was born in San Jose on July 11, 1995. His parents immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong; his father is an engineer and his mother is a nurse. After they divorced, Lee alternated between his father’s home in Milpitas and his mother’s in North San Jose. He graduated from Milpitas High School in 2013.

At the University of California, Davis, Lee decided to pursue a dual degree in political science and communications. He ran for the student senate in 2014 and served as student body president in 2016. He graduated with a bachelor of arts in 2017.

While attending college, Lee interned for Mike Honda, Ed Chau, Evan Low, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Kansen Chu. After college, he became a full-time legislative aide to Henry Stern. Before running for office, he also delivered food and lived with his mother because of the high cost of living in his district.

THE PATH TO OFFICE

Lee announced his Assembly campaign in June 2019, running to succeed Kansen Chu in the 25th district upon Chu’s retirement from the State Assembly. He ran as a democratic socialist and received the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America.

In March 2020, Lee placed second in a nine-candidate nonpartisan blanket primary, finishing behind Republican Bob Brunton. He then defeated Brunton in the general election and was sworn into the State Assembly on December 7, 2020.

The election brought several firsts at once. At 25, Lee was the Assembly’s youngest member, its first member born in the 1990s and its first openly bisexual member.

The district lines changed before his next election. Redrawn into the 24th district in 2022, Lee placed first in the primary ahead of Brunton, Kansen Chu and two additional Democratic candidates. He defeated Brunton again in the general election and began his second term on December 5, 2022. He now chairs the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.

THE WORK

Lee used his first day in office to introduce a bill that would ban corporate donations to political candidates. Campaign finance therefore appeared at the start of his legislative record.

Housing has also been part of that record. Lee has introduced legislation in favor of increasing social housing in California and has expressed support for a land-value tax as a potential way to increase housing supply and reduce inequality. YIMBY Action, a pro-housing advocacy group, has described him as a strong supporter of every major pro-housing bill.

His district work has also included state funding. Lee secured $2.5 million for bicycle infrastructure and services for unhoused people in Milpitas. The documented funding covered both bicycle infrastructure and services for unhoused people.

Lee also chairs the California Legislative Progressive Caucus. That role sits alongside legislation he has introduced, policies he has supported and local funding he has secured.

THE POLICY SIGNATURE

Housing is prominent in Lee’s documented record. He has pursued social housing legislation, been described by YIMBY Action as a strong supporter of every major pro-housing bill and supported a land-value tax as a potential way to increase housing supply and reduce inequality. Those positions include proposed state legislation and support for a potential tax policy.

His record also includes funding for bicycle infrastructure and services for unhoused people in Milpitas. His first-day campaign-finance bill would ban corporations from donating to political candidates.

Taken together, Lee’s record includes housing legislation, social housing, a potential land-value tax, services for unhoused people, bicycle infrastructure and a proposed ban on corporate political donations. He took office as the Assembly’s youngest member and now chairs the California Legislative Progressive Caucus. During his tenure, he has been a strong supporter of legislation to increase housing, particularly social housing.