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Revision as of 18:02, 30 June 2010 by 98.180.13.184 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Leland Yee 余胤良 | |
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| Member of the California State Senate from the 8th district | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Jackie Speier |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 12th district | |
| In office December 2002 – December 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin Shelley |
| Succeeded by | Fiona Ma |
| Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 4 | |
| In office January 1997 – December 2002 | |
| Preceded by | district created in 2000; prior terms were for city-wide seat |
| Succeeded by | Fiona Ma |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-11-20) November 20, 1948 (age 76) Guangdong, China |
| Nationality | United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | San Francisco, California |
| Alma mater | UC Berkeley San Francisco State University University of Hawaii |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Child psychologist |
| Website | dist08.casen.govoffice.com |
Leland Yee (Chinese: 余胤良; pinyin: Yú Yìnliáng, born November 20, 1948 in China) is a California State Senator in District 8 which includes the western half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County. Prior to becoming state senator, Yee was a California State Assemblyman, Supervisor of San Francisco's Sunset District, and was a member of the San Francisco School Board. In 2004 Yee became the first Asian American to be appointed Speaker pro Tempore, making him the second highest ranking Democrat of the California State Assembly.
Early life
Leland Yee immigrated to San Francisco from Taishan, Guangdong, China when he was three years old and later became a naturalized United States citizen. His father served in the U.S. Army. Yee attended San Francisco's Mission High School and earned a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley, a master's from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in Child Psychology from the University of Hawaii. Leland Yee met and married his wife Maxine in 1972 and together they raised four children who attended SF public schools. He currently lives in San Francisco's Sunset District.
Political career
School Board
Yee was elected to the San Francisco school board in 1988 and served two four-year terms on the School Board including one as Board President.
District 4 Supervisor
Leland Yee became supervisor in 1996. As District 4 supervisor Yee was appointed to chair of the Finance Committee where he helped establish the "Rainy Day" budget reserve and introduced General Obligation Bond Accountability Act. He was re-elected to the board of Supervisors in 2002. Yee also hired Ed Jew, who later became a supervisor, as his volunteer community liaison in 1996.
District 12 Assemblyman
Leland was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2002 to represent the 12th Assembly District.
In his first year in the Legislature, he was appointed to the Speaker’s leadership team as the Assistant Speaker pro Tempore. In 2004 Yee became the first Asian Pacific American to be appointed Speaker pro Tempore in the California State Assembly and was elected President of the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators.
State Senator
On June 6, 2006, Yee defeated his opponents Mike Nevin and Lou Papan to win the Democratic nomination for the California State Senate, representing the 8th District. In the final vote tally certified on June 27, 2006 by San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum, Yee gathered 51.9 percent, Nevin received 35.4 percent and Papan took 12.7 percent of the vote. Since Jan. 1, Nevin spent $887,562.80 of campaign contributions, Yee spent $673,372.59 and Papan ran a modest campaign, spending just $289,862.64. He was elected to the California State Senate in the November 7, 2006 election by a landslide of 77.5% of votes cast . With San Francisco and San Mateo County having a high Democratic base Yee was elected as Senator for the 8th District on November 7, 2006 . This was a notable election making him the first Chinese-American elected to the California State Senate in 156 years. Yee replaced Jackie Speier, who left office due to term limits . As State Senator, Yee passed 11 bills chaptered into law.
In 2008, in a surprising twist of events in the LPGA English language controversy, Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco and Assemblyman Ted Lieu of Los Angeles were able to help rescind the LPGA Tour Commission’s suspension-penalty policy. Both officials publicly challenged the legality and galvanized community attention to the LPGA’s policy in August 2008 when it was released, which resulted in revision of policy by the end of 2008. This resulted in Yee introducing SB 242, which prohibits businesses from denying services to customers that don't speak English. Yee received hate emails and messages in response to this legislation and the bill was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on October 11, 2009.
See also
References
- "CA June 6, 2006 Primary Results". 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|month=and|coauthors=(help) - "Lieu and Yee Help Rescind LPGA English Language Policy Penalty". AsianWeek. Retrieved on 2008-09-08.
External links
- Leland Y. Yee (Official California Senate Site)
- State Senate Campaign Site
- Leland Yee Political History
- San Mateo County Votes Tally Complete
- Yee’s biography on Asian Americans.net
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byElection was not district specific | Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 4 1997–2002 |
Succeeded byFiona Ma |
| Preceded by | Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore 2003-2006 |
Succeeded bySally J. Lieber |
- California State Senators
- Members of the California State Assembly
- American politicians of Chinese descent
- Chinese immigrants to the United States
- Taishanese people
- 1948 births
- Living people
- San Francisco Board of Supervisors members
- San Francisco State University alumni
- University of Hawaii alumni
- University of California, Berkeley alumni
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- California Democrats