Ed Lee sees the government in an incentivizing role, working to get people and programs on their feet and then stepping back to let them flourish. As Mayor of San Francisco, Lee has worked to keep the economic recovery on track and maintain the things that support a thriving economic climate like transit, housing, and public safety. Previously he served as the Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission and Managing Attorney for the San Francisco Asian Law Caucus.

Lee graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bowdoin College in 1974 and from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, in 1978.