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Lily Mei
Lily Mei was the Mayor of Fremont in California. She assumed office on December 13, 2016. She left office on December 10, 2024.
Mei (Democratic Party) ran for election to the California State Senate to represent District 10. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Mei completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Mei joined the Democratic Party in 2019.[1][2] Previously, she was not affiliated with a political party.[3]
Biography
Mei was born in Chicago, Illinois. She received a bachelor's degree in business administration with majors in marketing and international business from Drexel University. Her career experience includes working in marketing analysis, product and channel management, sales operations, and as executive director of the Alliance for Gray Market & Counterfeit Abatement.[4][5][6]
Elections
2024
Lily Mei was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2022
See also: California State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for California State Senate District 10
Aisha Wahab defeated Lily Mei in the general election for California State Senate District 10 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Aisha Wahab (D)  | 53.7 | 114,997 |
 | Lily Mei (D) | 46.3 | 99,011 | |
| Total votes: 214,008 | |||
| = 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 California State Senate District 10
The following candidates ran in the primary for California State Senate District 10 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lily Mei (D) | 33.1 | 47,149 |
| ✔ | | Aisha Wahab (D) | 30.0 | 42,731 |
| Paul Pimentel (R) | 21.6 | 30,742 | ||
 | Jamal Khan (D) | 7.3 | 10,424 | |
 | Raymond Liu (D) | 4.9 | 6,932 | |
 | Jim Canova (D) | 3.1 | 4,391 | |
| Total votes: 142,369 | |||
| = 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
- Jaime Zepeda (D)
Campaign finance
2020
See also: Mayoral election in Fremont, California (2020)
General election
General election for Mayor of Fremont
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Fremont on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lily Mei (Nonpartisan) | 49.7 | 44,038 |
 | Justin Sha (Nonpartisan) | 25.5 | 22,617 | |
| Chris Hampton (Nonpartisan) | 8.7 | 7,726 | ||
 | Vik Bajwa Singh (Nonpartisan) | 7.9 | 7,023 | |
 | Naz Mahika Khan (Nonpartisan) | 5.3 | 4,688 | |
 | Marlene Santilli (Nonpartisan) | 2.7 | 2,405 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 155 | ||
| Total votes: 88,652 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
The city of Fremont, California, held elections for mayor and city council on November 8, 2016. Two city council seats were up for election.[7] Lily Mei defeated incumbent Bill Harrison in the Fremont mayoral general election.[8]
| Mayor of Fremont, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Lily Mei |
53.70% | 37,834 |
| Bill Harrison Incumbent | 45.96% | 32,381 |
| Write-in votes | 0.33% | 236 |
| Total Votes | 70,451 | |
2014
The city of Fremont, California held elections for city council on November 4, 2014. The candidate filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was August 8, 2014.[9][10]
Rick Jones and Lily Mei defeated incumbent Raj Salwan, Syed Iqbal Ahmed, David Paul Bonaccorsi, Marty Froomin, Nancy Liu, Dirk R. Lorenz and Rakesh Sharma.[11]
| Fremont City Council, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Lily Mei |
20% | 13,490 | |
| Rick Jones |
18.2% | 12,296 | |
| Raj Salwan Incumbent | 16.9% | 11,428 | |
| Syed Iqbal Ahmed | 1.7% | 1,147 | |
| David Paul Bonaccorsi | 10.4% | 7,024 | |
| Nancy Liu | 6.9% | 4,681 | |
| Dirk R. Lorenz | 14.7% | 9,905 | |
| Rakesh Sharma | 8.6% | 5,778 | |
| Marty Froomin | 2.5% | 1,719 | |
| Write-in | 0.2% | 106 | |
| Total Votes | 45,385 | ||
| Source: Alameda County Board of Elections - 2014 Official Election Results | |||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lily Mei completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mei's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I'm proud to be the first elected woman and Asian American mayor in Fremont’s 65 year history. Learn more: www.LilyMei.org
- Focus on solutions to housing & homelessness
- Create more high-paying jobs and support small businesses
- Make neighborhoods safer for every family
At a time when fierce political division threatens meaningful progress, my approach is to bring people together across party and ideological lines to solve our region’s toughest challenges.
I’ve led efforts to increase affordable housing in Fremont by record numbers; created thousands of local good-paying jobs, including clean-energy jobs; and secured millions of dollars to create navigation centers to house the homeless and provide counseling and job training services. During the pandemic, I helped lead the COVID response and increased access to life-saving vaccines, so we could get back to work and our kids back to school. As a result, Fremont is one of the most highly-vaccinated cities in the country.
I’m proud to be endorsed by local law enforcement and firefighters because they know making our neighborhoods safer is a top priority.
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.
2020
Lily Mei did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Mei's campaign website listed the following themes for 2016:
| “ |
Fremont needs CHANGE! As a longtime resident, I’ve seen development grow rampantly, contributing to standstill traffic and school overcrowding. Fremont needs to listen to citizen concerns and take a responsible approach to development. I am running to lead this change as a city leader who hears and understands your frustrations and concerns. Before considering ANY new developments, we must ensure that they won’t overload city resources and infrastructure. I will not accept money from developers. In the past eight years as your elected public servant, I have actively engaged Fremont citizens. As the first Fremont Unified School District Board Trustee to go on to serve as a Councilmember, I have bridged the gap to ensure that our award-winning schools are a legislative priority. On City Council, I have thoroughly evaluated each issue and was not afraid to challenge questionable projects. I have championed the protection of open space and our beautiful hillsides. As your full-time Mayor, I will amplify YOUR voice. I will maintain Fremont’s fiscal accountability, strengthen public safety, and bring new jobs and economic growth. Together, we will make Fremont a hometown we can be proud of.[12] |
” |
| —Lily Mei (2016)[13] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ East Bay Citizen, "Fremont’s top political prospect becomes a Democrat, party leaders are ambivalent," June 13, 2019
- ↑ Lily Mei 2022 campaign website, "About Lily," archived May 29, 2022
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email communication with Patrice Jamison, executive assistant to the city manager," April 15, 2019
- ↑ City of Fremont California, "Lily Mei, Mayor," accessed January 2, 2022
- ↑ Joint Venture, "Meet Mayor Lily Mei, City of Fremont," accessed January 2, 2022
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Lily Mei 高敘加," accessed January 2, 2022
- ↑ City of Fremont, "Election Information," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ City of Fremont, California, "Election Information," accessed August 15, 2016
- ↑ City of Fremont, "Election Information," accessed March 10, 2014
- ↑ City of Fremont, "Basic Steps In Running For Office," accessed May 16, 2014
- ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "2014 Unofficial General Election Results," accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lily Mei for Mayor, "Home," accessed September 19, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Mayor of Fremont 2016-2024 |
Succeeded by Raj Salwan |
| Preceded by - |
Fremont City Council 2014-2016 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Fremont Unified Board of Education (Historical) 2008-2014 |
Succeeded by - |
