Chris Lee

Christopher Kalani Cushman Lee (born January 28, 1981) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate.

Lee was born January 28, 1981, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

He graduated in 1999 from Iolani School.

Lee graduated with a BA in political science from Oregon State University.

Before getting involved in politics he worked at Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, and at the Hawaii State Capitol.

At 30 years old, Lee suffered a stroke while speaking at a community meeting.

He spent four days in the hospital and over the succeeding months made a full recovery.

Lee credits the stroke with "changing everything" for him.

He was the youngest member and only millennial serving in the Hawaii State Legislature when elected in November, 2008.

He currently serves as Majority Whip and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

He also serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations and commissions.

Lee is a supporter of addressing climate change and has authored laws making Hawaii the first state to mandate 100 percent renewable energy by 2045, the first state to commit to economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045, and the first state requiring all public schools and universities to upgrade and become net-zero facilities by 2035.

In 2008, when Democratic State Representative Tommy Waters retired and left the District 51 seat in the House of Representatives open, Lee won the three-way September 20, 2008, Democratic primary against Ikaika Anderson and Shaun Christensen with 2,292 votes (54.0%), and won the November 4, 2008, general election with 5,885 votes (61.9%) against Republican nominee Quentin Kawananakoa.

As a freshman legislator, he supported passing legislation legalizing civil unions in 2009 and 2011.

In 2009, his first year in office as a state legislator, Lee successfully authored an amendment to House Bill 2003, which prohibited state contractors from making political contributions.

In 2010, Lee was unopposed for the September 18, 2010, Democratic primary, winning with 4,102 votes, and won the November 2, 2010, general election with 5,626 votes (70.9%) against Republican nominee Maka Wolfgramm.

In 2010, following reports of aerial pesticide spraying impacting the health of children and families in Hawaii, Lee introduced the first of a series of bills to address the business practices of large pesticide companies and their impacts on public health.

This bill sought to protect small farmers from lawsuits routinely used by large pesticide companies to intimidate and threaten smaller farmers.

The bill failed to pass.

As a member of the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection, Lee questioned states officials on the large quantities of unreported pesticides being sprayed around the state.

In 2012, Lee was unopposed for the August 11, 2012, Democratic primary, winning with 5,120 votes, and won the November 6, 2012, general election with 8,550 votes (77.8%) against Republican nominee Henry Vincent.

Lee is a strong advocate in favor of LGBTQ+ rights.

On November 12, Lee delivered remarks on behalf of the House of Representatives at a ceremony in which Governor Neil Abercrombie signed the bill into law, making Hawaii the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

"It is never the wrong time to do the right thing," Lee noted in his speech.

He is an advocate for equal rights, serving as spokesperson for the campaign to pass the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act in 2013, and authoring two laws protecting transgender individuals.

Lee also successfully helped lead the campaign to expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument into the world's largest marine protected area, and successfully led the opposition to defeat a $4.3 billion takeover of Hawaii's electric utilities by Florida-based Nextera Energy.

In 2013 while serving in the State Legislature, Lee also served as spokesperson for the Hawaii United for Marriage campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Hawaii.

In the midst of the campaign leading up to a legislative special session to decide the issue, Lee received a death threat for his role frequently advocating for same-sex marriage in the media.

At the close of a contentious special session in October 2013, the Hawaii legislature passed the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act of 2013.

In 2013, Lee authored Act 112 which created a new law requiring super PACs to disclose their top donors in all elections advertising.

Lee has also been a strong supporter of improving publicly funded elections to ensure all candidates equal voice, and reduce the influence of money in elections, and has supported calls to overturn the Citizens United decision.

In 2014, Florida-based NextEra Energy launched a $4.3 billion bid to acquire Hawaiian Electric Industries, which includes 3 of Hawaii's major electric utilities serving over 90 percent of the state's households.

After months of investigation in which it became clear NextEra Energy Inc. would pass an excessive $30 billion in costs to consumers, Lee became the first Legislator to publicly oppose the acquisition.

Lee led the opposition amongst state legislators and county leaders, organizing support from over 40 other elected officials from both parties.

In 2015, Lee authored Act 226 allowing transgender individuals to change their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities as recommended by the American Medical Association.

In 2015 Lee passed a law to help farmers end their dependence on pesticides sold by large pesticide companies by creating the first tax breaks of up to $50,000 per year for organic farmers.

In 2016 he authored Act 135 barring health insurance companies from discriminating against transgender individuals by unfairly denying them medical coverage.

In 2018 Lee helped negotiate a deal between lawmakers to overcome strong lobbying and opposition by pesticide companies to pass a law setting a new precedent by making Hawaii the first state to ban the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos, requiring disclosure of pesticides being sprayed, and establishing 100 foot pesticide buffer zones around all public schools.

The following year, California, Oregon, New York and Connecticut introduced similar legislation following the success of the ban in Hawaii.

This political battle over pesticide regulation in Hawaii was the subject of a 2019 documentary Poisoning Paradise, produced by Pierce Brosnan and directed by Keely Shaye Brosnan.