Making the transition from activist to policy-maker is not always an easy road. With at least one local example to look to, Daniel Lee is hoping that he— with a little help from his friends and new voters— can become one of the next generaation of leaders in Culver City.
A 13-year resident, Lee is seeking one of the three seats on the Culver City Council this spring. He has been involved in national political action campaigns but is a newcomer to local politics, where ideology and finances are less important in a campaign, but who you know and what- have- you- done –here- lately can often make the difference between winning and losing.
Lee said he has been considering seeking political office for some time and decided the time was right this year. While serving on the city’s Martin Luther King Committee, he has met several active Culver City residents who have at times expressed their disappointment with the current city council on certain matters.
“There are a lot of people whose voices don’t seem to be heard,” he said, specifying one of his reasons for seeking office.
Learning that Culver City has never had a black person on the council was another factor in Lee’s decision to see public office. “In 2014, [Councilwoman] Meghan Sahli-Wells came to our MLK Committee and she said there had never been an African-American person elected [on the city council]. I was a little surprised to hear that,” Lee admitted. “There have only been five women elected and that surprised me, too.”
A social worker and a budding filmmaker who also studied community organizing, Lee is on the national board of Move to Amend, a political movement that hopes to overturn the controversial landmark decision Citizens United that allowed unlimited sums of money to be donated to political campaigns with virtually no disclosure.
“What you learn in activism is how to campaign. But what you learn in organizing is base building,” explained Lee, who also worked with the nonprofit group the Community Coalition, whose former executive director is Rep. Karen Bass (D- Culver City). “Having experiences in both gives you experience in learning how to listen to people. But people also want to know that you’re going to follow through, so it can’t be just about listening. You have to have focus, a direction that you want to go in and you have to have priorities.”
Civil rights and political activism is part of his family history. Lee’s grandmother took part in the Montgomery Ala. bus boycotts of 1954 and growing up in Pensacola Fla., he saw the vestiges of the “Old South” at times and has made equity and tolerance a main plank of his platform. “There’s a greater story about our country around changing things,” he said.
Lee’s background is steeped in social and political activism, which greatly appeals to his supporters. Rebecca Rona- Tuttle says she admires Lee because he is, in her words, “a person of conscience, of conviction, of purpose. He’s intelligent, and knowledgeable and articulate. He’s hardworking. And when he says he’ll do something, you know you can count on him,” said Rona –Tuttle, who met Lee while serving on the King committee.
Lee backs some of the topics that matter most to Rona-Tuttle: combat climate change, hydraulic fracturing, and homelessness.
“During the campaign, Daniel has spoken out about the great need to provide more affordable housing in Culver City, to protect renters from unfair rent hikes, and to provide more services for the homeless. He’s spoken out about the need to protect residents from fracking and other dangerous drilling practices that occur on the Inglewood Oil Field. These matters are all very important, and I’m glad Daniel shares my concerns,” she said.
“I’m very impressed with Daniel Lee’s grasp of the issues. And I think he would bring an important perspective to the city council,” added Sahli-Wells, who is not endorsing anyone in the race.
The topic of hydraulic fracturing in the nearby oilfield is one that has united Culver City residents from disparate political factions and Lee said taking on fracking, as the oil extraction procedure is commonly called, will be one of his priorities if he is elected.
“I think that we could set a precedent in Culver City is we impose really strict regulations or call for an all-out ban on the wells in our city. If we set a precedent with a ban because of slant drilling, we could potentially affect a larger region beside Culver City if we stuck to our guns,” Lee asserted.
Oil drilling is an approved use in Los Angeles County and only 10 % of the wells are in Culver City. City leaders have no jurisdiction over the wells in the county and are not empowered an approved use. And at the state level two attempts— including one by then- Assemblywoman and now state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D- Culver City) — have failed.
Asked how a ban could happen under these circumstances, Lee replied, “I think there’s a much wider awareness about fracking at the current moment and there’s been a number of reports that fracking does contaminate groundwater. I feel like there’s more of a general awareness among the public about the dangers of fracking and there are much better alternative, like solar energy.”
While Sahli-Wells has expressed her concern about escalating rents in Culver City and supports exploring ways to protect renters from what some feel are exorbitant rent increases, Lee has been the most outspoken about the need for rent stabilization. After making the case for rent stabilization at a campaign forum nearly two weeks ago, Lee and his roommates received a 10 % increase to their rent.
“I’m not sure if there was any causality there,” Lee said with a smile. “This issue has become resonate with people who don’t always agree with me politically. For a lot of people, this is getting ready to pop.”
Regarding creating more affordable housing, which Culver City been very lax in doing over the last 15 years, Lee said, “It’s an issue of both will and priority [for a city council.] I feel sometimes that other candidates in the race want to pass a lot of things off as ‘regional issues’ when there are things that could be done local.”
If he is elected, Lee will likely need all of his organizing skills to bring his priorities to the forefront.
And the last candidate who ran for public office in Culver City as a community organizer? Councilwoman Meghan Sahli-Wells.
Gary Walker contributed to this story.
