Ted Lieu
Encyclopedia
Ted W. Lieu (born March 29, 1969) is a Democratic Party
California State Senator
, who has represented the 28th Senate District
since February 18, 2011, after being elected to fill the seat of deceased Senator Jenny Oropeza
. Lieu is also a former California State Assembly
man, who represented the 53rd Assembly District
from September 2005 to November 2010 after being elected to fill the seat of deceased Assemblyman Mike Gordon
.
, Taiwan
, Lieu's family immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio
, where he grew up. Lieu graduated from Stanford University
in 1991 with a B.S. in Computer Science and an A.B. in Political Science and graduated magna cum laude with a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center
in 1994, where he was Editor in Chief of the Georgetown Law Journal
and received four American Jurisprudence awards.
He also served as a law clerk
to Judge Thomas Tang
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
.
in the United States Air Force Reserves. He served on active duty for 4 years as a member of the JAG corps. As a military prosecutor and adviser to commanders, he has received various awards and medals for his service, both abroad and locally, including the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Air Force Humanitarian Assistance Medal.
following the death of incumbent Mike Gordon
. Lieu defeated three Republicans, including businesswoman Mary Jo Ford and fellow Torrance City Councilman Paul Nowatka.
He was re-elected in November 2006 and again in November 2008.
Lieu was Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee. He was a member of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, Assembly Judiciary Committee and Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee. Lieu was also Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus and Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace.
In 2008, in a surprising twist of events in the LPGA
English language controversy, Sen. Leland Yee
of San Francisco and Assemblyman Ted Lieu of Los Angeles were able to help rescind the LPGA Tour Commission’s suspension-penalty policy. Both officials publicly challenged the legality and galvanized community attention to the LPGA’s policy in August 2008 when it was released, which resulted in revision of policy by the end of 2008.
Lieu is a strong supporter of expansion of public transit in West Los Angeles, LAX, and the South Bay.
Lieu also co-authored a successful bill to bypass environmental quality regulations to build a football stadium in Los Angeles
. The bill was intended to help the efforts of developer Edward P. Roski
persuade the National Football League
to return to the city. The bill was controversial with many environmentalists and legislators. Further controversy ensued when it was announced that Roski had given over $500,000 to political campaigns, including $13,000 to Assemblyman Lieu.
Some of his legislative achievements include the following:
following the death of incumbent Jenny Oropeza
. Lieu defeated four Republicans, one Democrat, and two independents.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
California State Senator
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
, who has represented the 28th Senate District
California's 28th State Senate district
California's 28th State Senate District is one of 40 Senate Districts. The 28th Senate district encompasses a part of Los Angeles County, including all of Carson, Del Aire, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Lennox, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Marina del Rey, Redondo Beach, Torrance, West Carson, and parts of...
since February 18, 2011, after being elected to fill the seat of deceased Senator Jenny Oropeza
Jenny Oropeza
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Oropeza was the California State Senator for the 28th district which includes the cities of Carson, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance; the Los Angeles communities of Cheviot Hills, Bel Air, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Lennox, Mar...
. Lieu is also a former California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
man, who represented the 53rd Assembly District
California's 53rd State Assembly district
California's 53rd State Assembly District is one of 80 districts in the California State Assembly. It is currently represented by Democrat Betsy Butler of Marina del Rey.-District profile:...
from September 2005 to November 2010 after being elected to fill the seat of deceased Assemblyman Mike Gordon
Mike Gordon (politician)
Mike Gordon was an American politician who served as a member of the California State Assembly. After his swearing in in December 2004, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March and died in June 2005. Prior to his time in the Assembly, he served as the mayor of El Segundo, CA from 1996 until 2004...
.
Education
Born in TaipeiTaipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Lieu's family immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, where he grew up. Lieu graduated from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1991 with a B.S. in Computer Science and an A.B. in Political Science and graduated magna cum laude with a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
in 1994, where he was Editor in Chief of the Georgetown Law Journal
Georgetown Law Journal
The Georgetown Law Journal is a student-edited scholarly journal published at Georgetown University Law Center.-Overview:The Journal publishes six issues each year. It also publishes the Annual Review of Criminal Procedure, a comprehensive practitioner's guide to criminal procedure.The first volume...
and received four American Jurisprudence awards.
He also served as a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
to Judge Thomas Tang
Thomas Tang
Thomas Tang was a federal judge in the United States and the first Chinese American appointed to the federal judiciary....
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
.
Military career
He holds the rank of Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
in the United States Air Force Reserves. He served on active duty for 4 years as a member of the JAG corps. As a military prosecutor and adviser to commanders, he has received various awards and medals for his service, both abroad and locally, including the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Air Force Humanitarian Assistance Medal.
Assembly
Lieu won a September 13, 2005, special election to fill the 53rd Assembly districtCalifornia's 53rd State Assembly district
California's 53rd State Assembly District is one of 80 districts in the California State Assembly. It is currently represented by Democrat Betsy Butler of Marina del Rey.-District profile:...
following the death of incumbent Mike Gordon
Mike Gordon (politician)
Mike Gordon was an American politician who served as a member of the California State Assembly. After his swearing in in December 2004, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March and died in June 2005. Prior to his time in the Assembly, he served as the mayor of El Segundo, CA from 1996 until 2004...
. Lieu defeated three Republicans, including businesswoman Mary Jo Ford and fellow Torrance City Councilman Paul Nowatka.
He was re-elected in November 2006 and again in November 2008.
Lieu was Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee. He was a member of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, Assembly Judiciary Committee and Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee. Lieu was also Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus and Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace.
In 2008, in a surprising twist of events in the LPGA
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
English language controversy, Sen. Leland Yee
Leland Yee
Leland Yee is a California State Senator in District 8 which represents the western half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County. Prior to becoming state senator, Yee was a California State Assemblyman, Supervisor of San Francisco's Sunset District, and was a member and President of the San...
of San Francisco and Assemblyman Ted Lieu of Los Angeles were able to help rescind the LPGA Tour Commission’s suspension-penalty policy. Both officials publicly challenged the legality and galvanized community attention to the LPGA’s policy in August 2008 when it was released, which resulted in revision of policy by the end of 2008.
Lieu is a strong supporter of expansion of public transit in West Los Angeles, LAX, and the South Bay.
Lieu also co-authored a successful bill to bypass environmental quality regulations to build a football stadium in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The bill was intended to help the efforts of developer Edward P. Roski
Edward P. Roski
Edward P. Roski, Jr. is an American real estate businessman in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:Roski was born in Oklahoma and raised in Southern California. He is a graduate of Loyola High School and the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, where in 1962 he earned a...
persuade the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
to return to the city. The bill was controversial with many environmentalists and legislators. Further controversy ensued when it was announced that Roski had given over $500,000 to political campaigns, including $13,000 to Assemblyman Lieu.
Assembly accomplishments
As an Assemblyman, he has authored laws in the areas of public safety, child sex offenders, domestic violence, the environment, education, health care, veterans’ issues and transportation.Some of his legislative achievements include the following:
- AB 1900 helps prevent convicted child sex offenders from working with children (Chapter 340, Statutes of 2006)
- ABx2 7, the California Foreclosure Prevention Act, requires lenders to operate a comprehensive home loan modification program or face a 90-day foreclosure moratorium. This is the first law of its kind in the nation (Chapter 5, Statutes of 2009)
- AB 2052 allows a victim of domestic violence to break a rental lease if the victim provides a police report or temporary restraining order to the landlord (Chapter 440, Statutes of 2008)
- AB 86 gives school districts the ability to discipline students who engage in cyber-bullying (Chapter 646, Statutes of 2008)
- AB 800 requires reporting of sewage spills, thereby allowing the local public safety officials to close down beaches and public areas affected by such spills (Chapter 371, Statutes of 2007)
- AB 236 mandates the state to prioritize the purchase of fleet cars to enhance fuel efficiency and carbon reduction, and requires alternative-fuel-capable vehicles to use alternative fuels (Chapter 593, Statutes of 2007)
- AB 392 requires employers to give spouses of Armed Forces members returning from deployment two weeks of unpaid leave if requested by the spouse (Chapter 361, Statutes of 2007) and
- AB 1150 bans health insurance companies from providing financial incentives to their employees for terminating health care coverage of patients (Chapter 188, Statutes of 2008).
Senate
Lieu won a February 15, 2011, special election to fill the 28th Senate districtCalifornia's 28th State Senate district
California's 28th State Senate District is one of 40 Senate Districts. The 28th Senate district encompasses a part of Los Angeles County, including all of Carson, Del Aire, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Lennox, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Marina del Rey, Redondo Beach, Torrance, West Carson, and parts of...
following the death of incumbent Jenny Oropeza
Jenny Oropeza
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Oropeza was the California State Senator for the 28th district which includes the cities of Carson, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance; the Los Angeles communities of Cheviot Hills, Bel Air, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Lennox, Mar...
. Lieu defeated four Republicans, one Democrat, and two independents.