Bid for California 30th Congressional District
California Governor Pat Brown endorsed Lily to run for the 30th Congressional District in 1988. She ran against the incumbent Matthew Gilbert “Marty” Martínez, a former furniture store owner whose political experience included serving on boards, state assemblyman, and Monterey Park City Council.
To encourage political participation, Lily directed her campaign towards increasing voter registration by holding voter registration drives which carried over into other states. States as far as Texas and New York organized voter registration drives in conjunction with Lily’s campaign. These events brought Democrats and Republicans together under the nonpartisan goal of getting out the vote and raising awareness of U.S. voting procedures.
Ultimately, Lily lost the election. Martinez received 32,978 votes, or 73.7%, while Lily received 11,768, or 26.3% of the votes.
Nonetheless, people considered her campaign a “test run” that laid the groundwork for Hilda Solis to later beat Martinez in 2000, taking his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, which jump started her political career. In 2008, President Obama appointed her to be the U.S. Secretary of Labor. Solis is currently the Chair of the LA County Board of Supervisors.
Work with the Democratic Party
She was appointed by the chair of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and chaired the Platform Committee’s Peace and Security Task Force. There, she was able to work with other notable Democrats, such as Senator Chuck Schumer (NY).
Lily chaired the Asian Pacific Leadership Council for the 2000 DNC held in LA.
Lily also sponsored a mock DNC to encourage students to participate in the Democratic process.
Lily worked closely with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, when Lily was mayor and Sen. Feinstein was Mayor of San Francisco.
Asian-Jewish Coalition
In 1985, the leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, made a series of controversial remarks regarding Jewish people and Judaism. A well-documented anti-Semitic, he called Jewish people the “bloodsuckers of the poor.”
Lily spoke in a major press conference and joined Jewish American leaders and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in denouncing Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic remarks. In October of that year, the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League honored her for her advocacy on behalf of Jewish Americans.
Lily Lee Chen 