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View Winners → Jason Lee to Run for Arcadia City Council
Arcadia Weekly Jan 04, 2010
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Local Attorney Expresses Campaign Goals at Press Event
Jason J. Lee, an Arcadia resident, announced at a press event on Friday, December 18th that he would be running for the Arcadia City Council in the upcoming April elections. Mr. Lee, attorney and founder of a law firm based in Pasadena, was supported at the event by Walnut Mayor Mary Su, Monterey Park Mayor Mitchell Ing, Alhambra Vice Mayor Stephen Sham, and City Council Members David Lau, Anthony Wong, Laura Lee, Vincent Yu, Philip Reyes and former West Covina Mayor Mr. Bradley McFadden. Four other members of area city councils were also present to endorse his campaign for Arcadia City Council. They were Mr. Peter Yao of Claremont, Mr. Richard Sun of San Marino, and Ms. Polly Low of Rosemead, and E. Thomas Chavez of Temple City.
In a speech prepared for the evening, Lee named his reasons for joining the Arcadia City Council race as four-fold.
“First, I am running because I love Arcadia, because I care about Arcadia. Arcadia is where my home is. Arcadia is where my two daughters are going to school. Arcadia is where I live now and Arcadia is where I will live after I retire. I love Arcadia because of its natural beauty, because of its open space, because of its quality of life and quality of education for my children, and more importantly, because of its people, its residents, my neighbors.” Mr. Lee stressed that he would work to keep Arcadia a “garden city” and preserve its desirability as a residential city.
Jason Lee is surrounded by well wishers and local dignitaries at the special dinner and press conference he held to kick off his campaign for Arcadia City Council. – Photo by Terry Miller
His second reason involved his experience and qualifications, both in legal matters and in civic duty. “With my legal experience, I am prepared to take on the city council job. I can hit the ground running. The learning curve will not be as steep… the city gets a pro bono attorney working for the city for free.” Mr. Lee holds two B.A. degrees from Beijing Foreign Studies University, one in English literature and the other in cross-cultural communication studies. Mr. Lee has an M.A. in journalism from The University of Alabama and worked for the BBC as a radio program producer based in London. He then received his J.D. from The University of Iowa College of Law, which consistently ranks among America’s top 25 law schools according to The U.S. News & World Report’s “Annual Rankings of American Graduate Schools.” Jason Lee’s third reason for running, according to his press statement, is to better represent the Asian majority present in Arcadia.
“About half of the population in Arcadia is Asian-American. In the schools, more than 60% of the students are Asian-American,” he said. “But currently there is only one Asian-American City Council Member, whose term is expiring.” Mr. Lee determined that he would work to support the interests of the Asian-American population of Arcadia, and “bridge the gap” between all races.
Jason Lee’s final reason involved keeping Arcadia “safe and green,” and working to better benefit business and development. According to distributed literature, his campaign platform includes the following planks:
Put Education First
Attend to Senior Citizens’ Needs
Protect the Environment and Keep Arcadia a Garden City
Preserve Arcadia’s Rich History and Cultural Heritage
Pro-Business and Well-Planned & Measured Development
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