On the recordDecember 14, 2017
Mr. President, Californians and San Franciscans have lost a tireless champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Mayor Edwin M. Lee was the son of Chinese immigrants and the city's first Asian- American mayor. Mayor Lee grew up in public housing and moved from Seattle to the Bay Area to attend law school at UC Berkeley in the mid- 1970s. As a former civil rights attorney, Mayor Lee began his career in public service fighting for fair housing and went on to serve in five different city departments under four mayors before becoming mayor himself. As mayor of one of America's largest cities, Mayor Lee worked hard to transform San Francisco into a hub for innovation and technology while still upholding the city's longstanding values of equity and justice.





