Lily will forever be known as the first Chinese American female mayor, but her career succeeded beyond that in so many ways. Through her work, she learned from and helped many people—the API community, families in LA County, Democrat Party leaders, her fellow social workers of LA County, her family, and more. 

Today, Lily still resides in Monterey Park. Her goal in life now is simple and twofold: to be the happiest, healthiest, senior citizen she can be, and to uplift the next generation of API community leaders who will continue the work she and many others had done over fifty years ago. She finds solace in her favorite saying: “I’m a lifelong social worker. And a good social worker helps others to become leaders.”

During the pandemic, many new API community leaders have risen with the #StopAAPIHate movement to combat the increased hate crimes and violence against the community. Lily pays close attention to this movement; in many ways, it’s reminiscent of her experiences in Monterey Park in the ‘80s. 

Lily’s favorite thing about American democracy always remains the same: politics are bottom up. They begin at the grassroots level. It starts with something as simple as marching down to City Hall to advocate for tennis courts—a small issue in the grand scheme of things, but one that still impacts the community at large. 

—

Lily’s story will be told in an upcoming documentary, The Story of Lily Lee Chen. It has received an honorable mention from the World Distribution Award and is a winner in the International New York Film Festival. 

Lily’s legal and historical documents and photos are currently being placed in the Huntington Library and Gardens.