The Sunnyvale Sun

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Lee eager to implement ideas he's collected

By JASON GOLDMAN-HALL

When Otto Lee campaigned for his seat on the Sunnyvale City Council in 2003, he was joined walking precincts by his then-girlfriend Sally Wu.

Today, Wu and Lee are married and have spent the past 20 months raising their daughter, Aubrianna.

His law firm, Intellectual Property Law Group LLC, has grown, while his penthouse view of the east foothills from his downtown San Jose office has been blocked by a few new buildings.

But aside from a few new gray hairs, the 39-year-old commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve is still as enthusiastic about serving Sunnyvale as he was when he was a planning commissioner. On Nov. 21, after a year as a councilman and a year as vice mayor, Lee took the center seat as the new mayor of Sunnyvale.

His enthusiasm is most apparent in the binder and folder he has marked "Mayoral Agendas," which includes ideas and programs he has been collecting in his three years on the council dais. Some of them are his own personal interests--like environmental issues--or things he has seen work in other cities.

"I'm very shameless about copying good ideas from other cities," he said.

One of the most important items--that he was already pushing as vice mayor--is the idea of environmentally friendly building practices and materials.

On Nov. 14, Lee pressed local developer Jay Paul to look for ways to better protect the environment from harmful emissions and generate power using photovoltaic cells at the proposed Moffett Towers project in northern Sunnyvale.

"I've always been interested in green issues; I'm a lifetime member of the Sierra Club," Lee said. "We have more and more opportunities to educate the builders and architects that they really can save money in the long run doing this."

Former Mayor Ron Swegles said the council is ready to help Lee with his goals because it will take more than just one vote to get policies set.

Swegles, who made shorter, tighter-run meetings a priority, said he also hopes Lee's military background--like his own--will help him run smooth, regimented meetings.

Lee said his military background also makes him very sensitive to the needs of the military families in Sunnyvale, and he wants to see the city can do more to support soldiers and their families before and after they serve.

"Regardless of what people feel about the war in Iraq, there is no question in my mind that our troops need to be supported," Lee said.

Because he only has a year as mayor, Lee said he's ready to get his ideas going as soon as possible.

He's optimistic about achieving his goals because he says Sunnyvale is an exciting place right now. Since the economic downturn has ended, the city is actively preparing for the next technology boom.

"In many ways, I think the future looks very good for Sunnyvale," Lee said.