District three candidate Lee, a small business owner and the current member of the Carpinteria City Council, has served on the council since 2018. A longtime resident of Carpinteria – and a vocal participant on the council – Lee and his family also a local eatery.
Introduce yourself and tell the community why you are running for Carpinteria City Council. Speak to any experience you bring to the table.
My family and I have called Carpinteria our home for over 25 years and are proud to be owners and operators of Uncle Chen’s restaurant since 1993. I have been married to my amazing wife, Tina, for over 15 years, raising our three children, Taison, Madison and Ellie.
Our son Taison is a freshman at Carpinteria High School, our daughter Madison is a seventh-grade student at Carpinteria Middle School and our youngest daughter Ellie is a fourth-grade student at Carpinteria Family School. As a resident and business owner, I’ve always been a supporter of various local non-profit organizations, putting our respected business name behind local initiatives primarily dedicated to the youth.
I am seeking another term for the Carpinteria City Council because I want to contribute my experience to address the challenges facing our community, such as public safety, economic stability, ensuring our youth have access to quality education and community resources and establishing a community center.
The city has seen a number of hot-button issues in its community forums recently, related to crime and community safety, employment, and residential and commercial development, such as the Surfliner Inn project. What do you see as Carpinteria’s most pressing or important issue, and why?
Being a member of the Utilities and Transportation Committees has given me a great opportunity to focus on improving the quality of our infrastructure, streets, and walkways. Capital street improvements such as a new and safer lighted cross path at Carpinteria Middle School and Carpinteria High School will help ensure our youth arrive at school safer and gives parents peace of mind.
In addition, my focus has been on our pavement management plan, where our Public Works staff will be able to identify streets in dire need of street repair, prevent our streets from further deterioration, and pave roads for the whole city.
Mayor Wade Nomura and I have represented our city in a joint committee with the Water and Sanitation Districts to ensure our community will have enough water and necessities for our community. Looking ahead, our focus would be on reviewing projects such as solar energy/storage, underground power lines throughout our city and additional electric vehicle charging stations.
My goal is to continue to improve the quality of life for our community by ensuring that we will have clean water, clean streets, safe infrastructure, and power. I am confident to be able to accomplish these goals.
Reflect on a recent city council decision. Would you have made a different decision? Why or why not?
On Monday, March 14, 2022, the Carpinteria City Council unanimously approved the Skate Park project. Councilmember Gregg Carty led the charge with an incredible statement about the importance of having a skate park in our community. With five “ayes,” the room was filled with happy tears!
Reflecting back on this moment, it made me proud of our community, our council, city staff, and all the hard-working individuals/volunteers who made this dream come true. It showed what a strong united community can achieve, together no matter the difficulties and odds. It’s these kinds of moments that remind us why we love Carpinteria. Just as how we remember our first crouton at The Palms, we will remember the approval of the Skate Park!
The skate park will benefit generations of Carpinterians to come and I am happy I was able to support it. So, here’s to many more happy tears and croutons!
