Otto Lee Is Candidate for Sunnyvale City Council
April 28, 2003, World Journal
After having served on Sunnyvale's Planning Commission for the past five years, Otto Lee is
running for election to City Council, open seat #5, which is currently served by Manny Valerio.
Another Chinese American, Dean Chu, is also running for City Council, but is running for open seat
#4, so they are not running against each other. Sunnyvale's registered voters may vote once for
each open seat on the Sunnyvale City Council. The person who obtains more than 9000 votes wins the
seat.
Otto Lee immigrated to the United States with his parents from Hong Kong when he was 18 years old.
He speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, English, and Spanish. After he earned Bachelor's of
Science degrees in Chemical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering from the University of California
at Berkeley, he also attended the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and
Rijksuniversiteit Leiden, the Netherlands, to receive his J.D. and LL.M. degrees, respectively.
Currently, he is a registered Patent Attorney. In February, Otto Lee was called up to serve at the
U.S. Naval Air Force Pacific Command Headquarters in San Diego. He is expected to return from
service this June or July. He has already been interviewed by a Sunnyvale newspaper regarding his
service.
Otto Lee said, "I have served on the Sunnyvale Planning Commission for the past five years. I
witnessed Sunnyvale going through a lot of changes. I look forward to working with everyone on the
various wonderful projects in Sunnyvale that we take pride in."
He continued, "I hope that more and more Chinese Americans will participate in serving the
community. Participation in the community can take various forms, such as joining city council
commissions, family clubs, schools, etc. Chinese Americans are always proud of their tradition of
getting into good schools, finding good jobs, and raising good families. However, this is not
sufficient participation. I suggest all of us take an active part in serving the community, and
have our voices and views heard in today's many ethnically and culturally diverse communities."
Otto Lee also is the managing attorney of a law firm in San Jose. In February of this year, he was
called up to serve the U.S. Navy in San Diego. During his time on active duty, he returned to
Sunnyvale every other week to attend Planning Commission meetings and to prepare for the City
Council election.
Those endorsing Otto's candidacy include California State Assemblyman Manny Diaz, Sunnyvale Mayor
Julia Miller, and five other City Councilmembers.
