Otto Lee
Supervisor • District 3
Term expires: 2029-01-08
Otto Lee is one of Silicon Valley's most uniquely credentialed public servants — an immigrant, decorated military veteran, patent attorney, former mayor, and now a two-term county supervisor whose life story spans Hong Kong, the Persian Gulf, the streets of Iraq, and the heart of Silicon Valley. He assumed office on January 4, 2021, representing District 3, which includes Milpitas, North Sunnyvale, and the Alviso, Berryessa, East Foothills, Evergreen, and Rosemary Gardens neighborhoods of San José. His current term ends on January 8, 2029, after winning reelection outright in the March 2024 primary.
Otto spent his childhood in Hong Kong. At the age of 15, his family made the hard decision to immigrate to California due to rising political upheaval. Like many immigrant families, his parents made drastic career changes in order to provide for the family. While his father was an attorney in Hong Kong, he became a restaurant owner in America. They taught him the value of hard work and service. As a teenager, Lee worked in the restaurant industry alongside his parents while pursuing his education.
As a result of his family's sacrifices, Otto was able to attend and graduate from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. in Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, and then earn his law degree from UC Hastings. He went on to specialize in intellectual property law, working for some high-profile clients — including the late musician Prince. He is the co-founder of an intellectual property law firm in San José, where he has served as lead attorney for more than twenty years.
His military record is among the most distinguished of any local elected official in the region. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who served during World War II, Lee joined the U.S. Navy, serving in active duty during the Gulf War. He then served for two decades in the Navy Reserves, until 2008, when he was recalled for active duty in Iraq. He is now retired and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his 28 years of honorable service. He also earned a Bronze Star for helping to lead the drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Lee's elected career began at the city level. He served on the Sunnyvale Planning Commission and was then elected to serve on the Sunnyvale City Council from 2003 to 2011, including one term as Mayor. As the self-described "Green Mayor," he passed the city's single-use plastic bag ban, installed solar panels on city buildings, encouraged commercial development projects to build with higher green LEED standards, and helped raise awareness on climate change. In 2008, he ran for the District 3 supervisor seat but lost narrowly to Dave Cortese, and in 2012, he mounted a long-shot congressional challenge against Devin Nunes in California's 22nd District, earning 38% of the vote. He finally won the District 3 supervisor seat in November 2020.
On the Board of Supervisors, Lee's record has been driven by a combination of public health urgency, innovation, and equity. He authored a proposal to provide Narcan at Santa Clara County Library District locations — making Santa Clara County the first county in the nation to offer the opioid overdose antidote at public libraries. He secured $40 million in county funding to jumpstart numerous unhoused housing sites, expanded the county's gun buyback program recovering hundreds of firearms, and introduced a sweeping set of proposals to combat anti-Asian hate crimes. He has also been a vocal advocate for mental health investment, co-declaring a public health crisis around mental health and substance abuse in 2022 and pushing for tens of millions of dollars in new treatment beds and behavioral health services.
Otto and his wife, Sally, reside in Sunnyvale with their three daughters. A man whose life has taken him from the kitchens of a family restaurant to the decks of Navy ships to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, Lee brings to county government a rare combination of technical expertise, military discipline, legal acumen, and deep immigrant roots.
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