Alex Tingming Lee is an Asian-American member of the California Assembly. In February 2021, he made history when he became the first-ever openly bi legislator in California. He was also the youngest to have been elected into office in over 80 years. Lee is a member of the Democratic party and represents the 25th District of California, which includes the Bay Area, San Jose, Santa Clara and Fremont.
Lee was born in San Jose, California, though both his parents were immigrants from Hong Kong. Growing up his family faced financial struggle, something which influenced Lee to advocate against wealth inequality within his political career. After graduating high school, Lee began studying at the University of California, Davis for a dual degree in political science and communications.
During his campaign for office, Lee was living with his mother and working part-time as a delivery driver to make ends meet. Though the odds were certainly stacked against him, Lee chose to see this as an advantage; "All of this combined will make me an effective advocate," he explained, "This [the issues faced] isn’t abstract for me. I don’t have to try to understand what it’s like for people who struggle to pay their bills or with housing insecurity, that’s something I live with".