MILPITAS, Calif. — Alex Lee, a 25-year-old from the Bay Area, will soon become the state’s youngest lawmaker. Nobody this young has served in the California state legislature in over 80 years.
It was only seven years ago when Lee decided to pursue a career in politics, and this November, he was voted to represent parts of the Bay Area in California’s Assembly District 25.
As a former college student at UC Davis, Lee majored in political science and was student body president. Three years later, he made the leap into state politics as California's first Gen Z Assemblymember.
“I’m happy to say I’m going to be making a lot of firsts in this California State Capitol,” Lee said.
He’s the youngest Asian American ever elected to office in California and the first openly bisexual legislator in the state’s history.
“It feels incredibly surreal. I mean it’s been a whirlwind of excitement right now,” Lee added.
Lee spent the past year connecting with his community by campaigning and knocking on more than 30,000 doors throughout his district. The Assemblymember-elect was endorsed by political heavyweights like Andrew Yang and Bernie Sanders.
“We were discounted as underdogs. We were outraised 15 to 1 by one other democratic candidate and yet we overcame all those odds by a really strong grassroots campaign,” Lee said.
Lee has previous experience working in the State Capitol for Assemblymember Evan Low and Senator Henry Stern, two millennial members of the legislature.
“I learned from them how important it is to have compassionate, effective legislators for our community,” Lee noted.
On his first day as an Assemblymember, Lee plans on introducing a bill to get corporate money out of politics. He’s also dedicated to fixing California’s housing crisis, which is something he says he’s experienced first-hand.
The soon to be lawmaker still lives at home with his family and doesn’t plan on moving out anytime soon with the ongoing pandemic.
“I’m neither a renter nor a property owner and that informs my decision making to be working for working-class families in California,” Lee added.
Lee is committed to never taking money from corporations, the fossil fuel industry, or police unions.
“I really critically depend on the support of individuals and people in the community and that's how I think democracy should be,” Lee said.
Even though he’ll soon be the youngest member in the legislature, he says he’s not letting his age define his work.
“There will always be detractors that doubt young people, but it is our job to work ten times harder to prove them wrong,” Lee said.
He hopes in the future he’ll only be the first of many in his generation to lead in California.