Alex Lee, 24, would bring youthful vision to the state Assembly
When three-term Assemblyman Kansen Chu broke the news he would run for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors this year, it was no surprise that nine candidates sought to replace him in Sacramento representing parts of Santa Clara and Alameda counties.
Nor was it a surprise that, with eight Democrats in the race, perennial candidate Bob Brunton, the only Republican, walked away as the top votegetter in the March 3 primary with 24% of the vote.
The eye-opener was when 24-year-old Alex Lee emerged as the second-place finisher, defeating a field of Democratic candidates with more political experience and more financial backing.
Brunton is an old-school Republican whose views on issues are not in sync with the majority of voters in District 25, which includes portions of North San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Fremont and Newark.
It’s a district where threefourths of voters backed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and only 15% are registered Republicans. It’s little wonder that Brunton failed to garner a third of the vote in his failed bids for the same Assembly seat in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
On the other hand, Lee’s inexperience gives us pause. So much so that we recommended Milpitas City Councilwoman Carmen Montano in the primary election. But we also recognize that 20-somethings are underrepresented in the Legislature.
We recommend Lee to voters in the Nov. 3 election, hoping his youth provides added diversity to the Legislature.
For his age, he brings substantial political experience. Lee is a Milpitas High School graduate who was student body president at UC Davis. He served as an intern for former U.S. Rep. Mike Honda and then worked in the offices of state Sen. Henry Stern, D-Canoga Park, and Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell.
He lists affordable housing and improving the state’s lagging schools as his top priorities. Lee is a self-proclaimed progressive who backs universal health care, the Green New Deal and tuition-free college for Californians. But he also recognizes that those changes can’t happen overnight, and that prudent financial plans are needed for them.
His lack of experience as an officeholder is troubling, but his passion for politics and the district is obvious. Sacramento politics can be vicious. Lee will need to grow into the job quickly if he is to become an effective legislator.
As for Brunton, his warm, engaging personality is a plus. But his policy positions would make him largely a nonplayer in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Brunton promises to do everything he can to cut taxes and oppose new ones. He calls himself a “progressive” Republican. When asked earlier this year to elaborate, he sounded like a disciple of former President George H.W. Bush’s thousand points of light, advocating limiting government and encouraging charity to step in as a safety net for those in need.
Brunton, 62, works in electronic sales, manufacturing and financial management. He served 12 years as a trustee on the Ohlone Community College Board, but trustees in 2006 voted to remove him as board president after receiving a faculty senate resolution calling for him to step down.
Lee will be a better representative for District 25. Voters should elect him on Nov. 3.