Norman Yee

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

Norman Yee
余鼎昂
President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byMalia Cohen
Member of the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
from District 7
Assumed office
January 8, 2013
MayorEd Lee
London Breed
Preceded bySean Elsbernd
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

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

  • History of the Chinese Americans in San Francisco

References

  1. Thadani, Trisha (January 8, 2019). "Norman Yee elected president of SF Board of Supervisors amid some public dissent". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  2. Eskenazi, Joe (21 January 2019). "The weaker people think Norman Yee is, the stronger he becomes". Mission Local. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  3. Loarca, Ellie (5 December 2012). "Norman Yee named District 7 supervisor after close race". Golden Gate Xpress. Retrieved 15 April 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. (1 May 2014). More Than Shelter: Activism and Community in San Francisco Public Housing. University of Minnesota Press. pp. Ch 4, Ref 124. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  6. Lagos, Marisa (25 December 2012). "'Role player' Norman Yee off to SF board". SFGate. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  7. Aleaziz, Hamed (7 June 2018). "SF Prop C.: child-care tax still not decided". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  8. Bishari, Nuala Sawyer (8 Jan 2019). "Norman Yee Elected Board President After Contentious Vote". SF Weekly. Retrieved 15 April 2020.


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