Ed Lee
San Francisco's first Asian American mayor, a pragmatic bureaucrat who steered the city through a tech boom and profound social change.
1952–2017 (age 65)·43rd Mayor of San Francisco·Birthday: May 5·Baby Boomers
Biography
Ed Lee was a quiet revolutionary. A civil rights lawyer turned city administrator, he was never supposed to be mayor, initially accepting the role as a caretaker after Gavin Newsom became Lieutenant Governor. But the unassuming bureaucrat, born to immigrant parents from China, connected with a city feeling the tremors of rapid gentrification. Lee won a full term in his own right, becoming San Francisco's first Asian American mayor. His tenure was defined by the explosive growth of the tech sector; he famously brokered a deal to keep Twitter from fleeing the city, a move credited with revitalizing the Mid-Market area but also criticized for accelerating displacement. He championed affordable housing measures and a higher minimum wage, even as the inequality gap widened. Lee died suddenly in office, leaving a complex legacy as the steady hand who governed during a period of dizzying transformation.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Ed was born in 1952, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ed Was Born
The biggest hits of 1952
#1 Movie
The Greatest Show on Earth
Best Picture
The Greatest Show on Earth
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Ed's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1952Born
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1957Started school
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1965Became a teenager
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Could drive
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1970Could vote
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Turned 21
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1982Turned 30
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1992Turned 40
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 50
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 60
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2017Died at 65
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
Key Achievements
- Became San Francisco's first elected Asian American mayor after initially serving as an appointed caretaker.
- Negotiated a tax break to keep Twitter headquartered in San Francisco, catalyzing the revival of the Mid-Market neighborhood.
- Oversaw the passage of a $310 million affordable housing bond in 2015, then the largest in city history.
- Raised the city's minimum wage to $15 per hour, one of the highest in the nation at the time.
Did You Know?
He was a tenant rights lawyer with the Asian Law Caucus before entering city government.
He served as the city's Director of Public Works for six years, overseeing infrastructure projects.
He was a fan of the San Francisco Giants and was often seen wearing their gear.
““I’m not a politician. I’m a public servant.””
