Norman Yee

Norman Yee (Chinese: 余鼎昂; pinyin: Yú Dǐng-áng, born July 29, 1949) is a former American elected official and educator in San Francisco, California. He has served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing Supervisorial District 7 from 2012 to 2021 and was elected president of the Board in January 2019.[1]

Norman Yee
余鼎昂
President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
In office
January 9, 2019 – January 8, 2021
Preceded byMalia Cohen
Succeeded byShamann Walton
Member of the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
from District 7
In office
January 8, 2013 – January 1, 2021
MayorEd Lee
London Breed
Preceded bySean Elsbernd
Succeeded byMyrna Melgar
Personal details
Born (1949-07-29) July 29, 1949
San Francisco, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceSan Francisco, California
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley (BS)
San Francisco State University (MA)
OccupationPolitician
WebsiteBoard of Supervisors
District 7 website
Norman Yee
Chinese余鼎昂

Early life and education

Yee was born in Chinatown, San Francisco and grew up working at his parents' grocery store in Noe Valley, San Francisco. As a child, he had a speech impediment and would often get into fights when teased.[2]

Yee attended Galileo Academy of Science and Technology. From there, he attended City College of San Francisco from 1967 to 1971. He later transferred to University of California, Berkeley, where he received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering and subsequently completed a master's degree in education from San Francisco State University.[2][3][4]

Career

Yee taught ESL and citizenship at City College from 1984 to 1994.[4]

Yee served as the executive director for Wu Yee Children's Service, an advocacy group supporting child services in San Francisco, for 18 years.[4][5][6]

Yee was a founding member of the Alice Fong Yu Alternative School, the country's first Chinese immersion public school.[4]

San Francisco Board of Education

Yee began his political career in 2004 by serving as a commissioner for the San Francisco Board of Education and was re-elected in 2008. During his second term, he served as president of the Board of Education.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors

After Supervisor Sean Elsbernd termed out of office, Yee narrowly defeated F. X. Crowley to become supervisor in the 2012 election with 135 votes.[3]

One of Yee's key issues has been education. In 2018, he co-authored a universal child care proposition which passed as Prop C..[7]

He co-authored Proposition W, which made City College free for San Francisco residents with an increase on the property sales tax on sales that exceeded $5 million dollars.[4]

In the 2016 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election, Yee was re-elected with about 40% of the votes.[4]

In 2019, Yee was elected as president of the Board of Supervisors by a vote of 10-1.[8]

Personal life

Yee is married to Cathy Chung, an ESL teacher at City College's Chinatown campus. They have two daughters.[4]

See also

References
  1. Thadani, Trisha (January 8, 2019). "Norman Yee elected president of SF Board of Supervisors amid some public dissent". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  2. Eskenazi, Joe (January 21, 2019). "The weaker people think Norman Yee is, the stronger he becomes". Mission Local. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  3. Loarca, Ellie (December 5, 2012). "Norman Yee named District 7 supervisor after close race". Golden Gate Xpress. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  4. Horowitz, David (2016). "Yee-Haw: Former City College student and teacher re-elected to board of supervisors". etc Magazine. No. Fall 2016.
  5. Howard, Amy L. (May 1, 2014). More Than Shelter: Activism and Community in San Francisco Public Housing. University of Minnesota Press. pp. Ch 4, Ref 124. ISBN 9781452941783. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  6. Lagos, Marisa (December 25, 2012). "'Role player' Norman Yee off to SF board". SFGate. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  7. Aleaziz, Hamed (June 7, 2018). "SF Prop C.: child-care tax still not decided". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  8. Bishari, Nuala Sawyer (January 8, 2019). "Norman Yee Elected Board President After Contentious Vote". SF Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.