Leland Yee
Leland Y. Yee is a California Assemblyman in the 12th district, which includes San Francisco, California. He was elected in 2002. Yee is the speaker pro tempore of the assembly, making him the second highest ranking Democrat in the California State Assembly. Leland Y. Yee is a California Assemblyman in the 12th district, which includes San Francisco, California. He was elected in 2002.
Early life
At the age of three, Leland Yee emigrated to San Francisco from Guangdong, China.
He was educated in San Francisco's public schools and received his bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and his master's San Francisco State University. Yee also holds a Ph. D. in Child Psychology from the University of Hawaii.
Dr. Yee met and married his wife Maxine during his studies in 1972. Together they raised four children and educated them in San Francisco's public schools.
School Board
Leland Yee was elected to the San Francisco school board in 1988, he served eight years including a term as Board President.
On December 19, 1992 Leland Yee was caught shoplifting a bottle of suntan lotion in Hawaii. After getting arrested, Yee fled the state. In 1993 the case was closed without prejudice. However the San Francisco Chronicle got hold of his mugshot and the situation was publicized all over San Francisco
District 4 Supervisor
After serving two terms on the School Board Leland Yee ran for Sunset Supervisor in 1997. On the board, he was appointed to chair of the Finance Committee. He was re-elected to the board of Supervisors in 2002.
In 1999, Leland Yee was stoped twice by San Francisco Police for suspicion of looking for prostitutes on Van Ness Avenue. Yee was stoped once around dinner time and the second time late at night by police who believed he was talking to prostitutes. He was stopped for questioning by police and then was let go. Yee claims that he temporarly moved to the Mission District and was walking home.
District 12 Assemblyman
Elected to the California State Assembly in November 2002, Leland Yee represents the 12th Assembly District. In his first year in the Legislature, he was appointed to the Speaker’s leadership team as the Assistant Speaker pro Tempore. In 2004, Assembly member Yee became the first Asian Pacific American to be appointed Speaker pro Tempore in California, the number two position in the California State Assembly. Speaker Pro Tem Yee was also elected President of the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators.
Yee is known as a critic of the video game industry, supporting free speech but believing that violent games should be kept out of children's hands at the point of sale. He is, however, a supporter of the video game industry's right to manufacture games that are aimed at a mature or adult market. In 2005 Yee lambasted the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) for not giving Rockstar Games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas an AO for Adults Only rating. This was because of the hot coffee mod created by "hackers"(claimed by Rockstar Games) who hacked Grand Theft Auto. Elements of the mod was in the earlier versions of the game but locked away by Rockstar Games. Rockstar later removed the elements in the later released versions of the game.
Yee is the author of California Assembly Bills 1792 & 1793 which was signed into law on October 7, 2005, which would prohibit the sales of "ultra-violent" games in California to persons under the age of eighteen. Judge Ronald Whyte issued a preliminary injunction against the law on December 22 2005. Judge Whyte will soon deliver his final opinion on the constitutionality of California Assembly Bills 1792 & 1793
State Senate Candidacy
In 2006, Yee is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the California State Senate, representing the 8th District.