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Daniel Lee (California)
Daniel Lee (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 37th Congressional District. He lost in the primary on June 7, 2022.
Lee completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Daniel Lee was born in Opelika, Alabama. Lee served in the U.S. Air Force from 2002 to 2008 and in the California Air National Guard. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California in 2000, a master's degree in social welfare from the University of California at Los Angeles in 2015, and a doctorate from the University of Southern California in 2021. Lee's career experience includes working as a project director with the James Lawson Institute, a filmmaker, and an actor. He has served as a mayor and as a board member of Move to Amend, Backbone Campaign, Mockingbird Incubator, and Clean Power Alliance.[1][2]
Elections
2022
See also: California's 37th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 37
Sydney Kamlager-Dove defeated Jan Perry in the general election for U.S. House California District 37 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D) | 64.0 | 84,338 |
 | Jan Perry (D) | 36.0 | 47,542 | |
| Total votes: 131,880 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 37
The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 37 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D) | 43.7 | 42,628 |
| ✔ | | Jan Perry (D) | 18.5 | 17,993 |
 | Daniel Lee (D) | 17.9 | 17,414 | |
 | Sandra Mendoza (D) | 8.2 | 8,017 | |
 | Chris Champion (R) | 5.6 | 5,469 | |
 | Baltazar Fedalizo (R) | 3.6 | 3,520 | |
 | Michael Shure (D) | 2.5 | 2,469 | |
| Total votes: 97,510 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jamaal Gulledge (D)
Endorsements
To view Lee's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
2021
See also: California state legislative special elections, 2021
Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 30
The following candidates ran in the special primary for California State Senate District 30 on March 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D) | 68.7 | 48,483 |
| Daniel Lee (D) | 13.4 | 9,458 | |
 | Joe Lisuzzo (R) | 6.3 | 4,412 | |
 | Cheryl Turner (D) | 5.4 | 3,799 | |
| Tiffani Jones (R) | 2.3 | 1,611 | ||
 | Ernesto Huerta (Peace and Freedom Party) | 2.2 | 1,570 | |
 | Renita Duncan (Independent) | 1.8 | 1,244 | |
| Dealphria Tarver (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Total votes: 70,577 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ron Bassilian (R)
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Daniel Lee completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lee's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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If, as so many politicians have said, a budget is a statement of values what then is a donor list? A campaign’s donors should reflect the values that the campaign represents. Too often politicians speak the words of the people while doing the bidding of corporations and moneyed interests.
Daniel is a true progressive who believes in aggressively addressing Environmental Racism and the Climate Crisis with a Just Transition for workers and a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, Reproductive Justice, Diplomacy Focused Foreign Policy, Ending Qualified Immunity, Comprehensive Immigration Reform and implementing a Universal Basic Income.- We must aggressively address the Climate Crisis while making sure that the legacy of decaying fossil fuels and fossil fuel infrastructure does not endanger the lives of our family, friends and neighbors. Addressing the Climate Crisis should be our #1 priority. Failing to do so will make issues around housing, immigration, income inequality and other issues more difficult to deal with.
- Reproductive Justice (RJ) means the human right to control our sexuality, our gender, our work, and our reproduction. That right can only be achieved when all women and girls have the complete economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about our bodies, our families, and our communities in all areas of our lives.
- Decades of deliberately racist immigration policies by Republicans and Democrats alike have resulted in an utterly broken system that consistently fails asylum seekers and immigrants, both documented and undocumented. We need comprehensive immigration reform NOW.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Lee's campaign website stated the following:
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Diplomacy Focused Foreign Policy
Diplomatic Primacy Diplomacy should always be the first priority in any conflict even those that may have begun with violence. This includes war, natural disasters or manmade disasters. Sanctions Sanctions have been used for decades on nations such as Cuba and Iran and instead of pressuring leaders in these countries they often instead make life harder for the inhabitants of those nations. Especially, those people who are at the bottom of the totem pole. The Military Budget Our Current military budget is not a peace or a peace time budget. It is a self perpetuating by product of the military industrial complex. In 2020 the United States spent more than the next 11 countries on our military. Our Air Force is unequaled as is our stockpile of destructive conventional and nuclear weapons. Our Department of Defense is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. The #ClimateCrisis is a national security issue. We are already seeing climate refugees around the world. In order to promote peace, diplomacy and to aggressively decrease our GHG emissions as a country we must start by bolding reducing our military budget. Africa The African continent in undergoing a wave of neo neocolonialism. Western corporations are making deals with governments that strip country’s inhabitants of the rights to the resources beneath their feet. Along with the United States, China and Russia are guilty of making a play for the resources in various countries on the African continent while not treating those countries as equal players whose inhabitants deserve human rights and governments free of corruption. The US must re-engage on the continent of Africa treating each country as an equal and not merely a set of resources or a market. Israel and Palestine We must address the conflict between Israel and Palestine with new eyes and refocus on a long term goal of ending it. The periodic talks common in past administrations have come to a halt more recently. When two bodies are not actively communicating there is no hope of resolution. Despite the pandemic the economy in the United States is still going strong overall (while people at the bottom continue to suffer) and our USAID programs and others continue to provide support to allies. In order to jumpstart talks we should withhold aid to countries that refuse to come to the table or those that come to the table in an insincere manner. The emissions produced in warfare. Federal Aid to Foreign Nations Any nation receiving foreign aid from the United States should be free of human rights abuses and violations of the Geneva Conventions. We cannot critique horrific practices in some nations and look the other way at the atrocities perpetrated by friends and allies. The Power to Declare War Congress must reclaim its authority as the sole political body through which wars can be authorized. For over two decades the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs (Authorization for Use of Military Force) have been used to unilaterally bomb countries around the world with murky justifications. We must revoke them both and deploy our military only as a last result and with the goal of minimizing the loss of US, opponent and civilian life. The War on Drugs The War on Drugs has not only disproportionately targeted Black and Brown communities here at home but it has also been used as a justification for military actions in Central and South America. The US must end the policy of destabilizing democratically elected administrations which has led to an increase in migration to the US from these countries.
Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Reproductive Justice (RJ) means the human right to control our sexuality, our gender, our work, and our reproduction. That right can only be achieved when all women and girls have the complete economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about our bodies, our families, and our communities in all areas of our lives. At the core of Reproductive Justice is the belief that all women have the right to have children; the right to not have children and; the right to nurture the children we have in a safe and healthy environment.
COVID-19 and Inequality The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare and exacerbated the inequalities produced by our existing economic system. Many of us are struggling to survive and living paycheck to paycheck. California has the 4th worst income inequality in the nation, and Senate District 30 is ground zero of income inequality. 55.9% of households in the District are rent or mortgage burdened. In Sacramento, I will fight for economic justice and people centered economic development to address these issues. As a candidate for City Council in Culver City I strongly advocated for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. We do need a higher minimum wage in the state of California, but our goal should be a living wage for all employees. As State Senator, I will sponsor living wage legislation. To ensure a just recovery, I will support worker retention and rehire legislation. We can capitalize on the shift to virtual work to make jobs and opportunities more accessible to people who have physical impairments. A hybrid virtual workplace can also provide flexibility for employees transitioning back into work after maternity or paternity leave, and parents with children who require more attention to continue working while taking care of children with greater needs. California’s unemployment insurance system is in need of overhaul. Both the Employment Development Department’s delay in sending out payments at the onset of the pandemic and recent revelations of billions in fraudulent payments are unacceptable, and we must demand better. As a State Senator, I will support legislation to address these failures and build an unemployment system that works for Californians. A Green New Deal and a Just Transition A Green New Deal for California means the state finally living up to its reputation. It means immediately phasing out fossil fuel production, increasing state subsidies for clean energy development, and exploring the purchase of private power companies to hasten the transition to renewable power generation. A Green New Deal, of course, also includes a just transition for workers currently employed in dirty fuel industries to either clean energy jobs or good union jobs in other fields where we can provide cross-training and utilize existing skills and expertise. At the state level, we can work to ensure that jobs generated through a just transition have local hire provisions to employ people directly impacted by the prior dirty fuel use and/or union jobs. A just transition must not be limited to only clean energy jobs. In Culver City we are taking steps to close down the Inglewood Oil Field, and I led the way in promoting a just transition by employing union workers for remediation of the field so that it can be used for other purposes (I envision a solar and wind farm). Some workers in the petroleum industry can use those skills to help build the 600,000-700,000 units of affordable housing units needed in Los Angeles County. The building trades alone will not be able to fill this gap with currently-employed workers. Why not use the skills that people have learned in other trades to address our housing crisis? Worker Protections Further, allowing more workers that are in need of representation to join a union gives them a voice and a place to feel supported & heard. They know that in numbers there is strength. This is why I fully support, and will do anything I can to always support, workers organizing in the workplace. I will attend and speak at any forum, rally, or protest to support workers’ organizing efforts. I will lead & sponsor any type of legislation to form or bolster unions. I will stand and walk the picket line when asked or when needed. I have always stood with workers and have never crossed a picket line. As a current student and a person that loves to learn, I believe our schools need educational programs to inform the public about, and build support for, the right of workers to organize. Many Americans remain unaware of the impact organized labor has had on American progress. I am fully against mandatory overtime, as it forces workers and their families to live their lives at the whim of their employer. People have a right to earn a living wage working 40 hours per week. Increasing the premium for overtime from time-and-a-half to double time is one way we can encourage fair compensation and reasonable workloads from employers.
I’m running because decades of deliberately racist immigration policies by Republicans and Democrats alike have resulted in an utterly broken system that consistently fails asylum seekers and immigrants, both documented and undocumented. If the United States is to live up to the promise in the Constitution and the poem scrolled on the Statue of Liberty we must pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Asylum seekers must be treated humanely. Those who have been granted asylum must be supported by California's institutions, allowing them to live their lives fully and have their rights protected. In addition, I support a number of other progressive immigration positions. These include California’s status as a Sanctuary State, which prevents local law enforcement from assisting ICE, and continuing to protect and expand DACA. Ultimately, we must abolish ICE and redistribute subsidies for private ICE detention centers to services - such as housing, English language training, employment - that support immigrants on their path to success.
We cannot address our healthcare crisis without addressing our housing crisis. If people are rent-burdened, they are more stressed, they have more mental and physical health issues. In short, they are unhealthy. Health begins with housing. This is not to say that our unhoused brothers and sisters and non-binary people are not able to have robust mental and physical physiques without being housed. But, for long term physical and mental health, being housed should be the minimum that we require. Health begins with housing. Instead of suggesting policy innovations that would provide nuance, prevent displacement and support a just transition, our leadership in California has instead given us flowery words and lackluster policy initiatives that assume that any housing will solve the crisis when the crux of the problem is around affordability. We need action and we need to elect representatives that will sponsor bills and propose legislation that improves not only the amount of housing available but makes sure that working class Californians can afford it.
I believe wholeheartedly that healthcare is a human right. We must push to bring Medicare for All to all residents of the United States. I believe that California can take the lead by passing AB 1400, CALCARE. Federally, we can follow California’s example and continue the quest for health equity and dignity on the federal level. I don't take money from insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, medical device companies or suppliers. The pandemic exposed the health inequities endemic in our system with Black, Brown Indigenous and Immigrant communities dealing with the brunt of infections and deaths. Even outside of the pandemic context people continue to suffer and die unnecessarily. Many have to pick between heart and insulin medication, go bankrupt, or can’t cancer treatments. Others must choose between paying for their prescriptions and paying for rent. This is wrong. We need a comprehensive single-payer system that includes coverage for hearing vision, and dental NOW. Daniel Lee is fighting for:
Our state legislature has mostly talk the talk, but have mostly failed to walk the walk on helping out communities color and having justice for all. Our entire criminal justice system and policing systems need a fundamental change where humane restorative and rehabilitative justice as well as effective public safety are prioritized. As a black man who currently serves on the Culver City Council, I am all too familiar with the immoral and unethical disparities of the criminal justice system in communities of color. I support Black Lives Matters’s demands for reallocation of police funding to creative and effective alternatives, and I have advocated for this approach while serving as a council member. Our entire criminal justice system must be fair and humane to all people in our own local communities. If elected to congress, I will commit to the following:
The environmental crisis is the greatest challenge of our lifetimes. Because of land, air, and water pollution as well as human made climate change, food and water scarcity, seasonal weather conditions, droughts, and sea level rise will continue to further worsen, especially in poor and struggling working class communities of color. Incrementalism will not save us and our planet. We need a fully comprehensive and inclusive Green New Deal that will transition all of us towards renewable energy and union paying green jobs. If elected to the congress, I will commit to the following:
The Climate Crisis is the combined result of countless actions and decisions. It’s Up To Us to do something about the climate crisis in our personal lives, but especially to support a candidate like Dr. Daniel Lee, who has a proven track record of putting the environment and the health of his constituents ahead of fossil fuel profits.
I’m running to halt the practice of using pension funds that working class and middle class workers have paid into to fund their displacement. We must stop funding our own banishment. This summer I began the Divest from Displacement campaign to work towards pressuring funds like CAPERS, CALSTRS, LACERA and others to divest from corporate landlords like the Blackstone Group who use investments from those pension funds to gentrify the neighborhoods of pension holders. In Sacramento I will continue to make sure that the hard earned money that California workers pay into their retirement plans does not also work to push them out of the place where they live.[3] |
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| —Daniel Lee's campaign website (2022)[4] | ||
2021
Daniel Lee did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 3, 2022
- ↑ Dr. Daniel Lee for Congress CA-37, "About Daniel," accessed June 9, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Dr. Daniel Lee for Congress CA-37, “Issues,” accessed May 24, 2022
