Sharon Lee (politician)

Sharon Lee
20th Borough President of Queens
In office
January 1, 2020 – December 2, 2020
Preceded byMelinda Katz
Succeeded byDonovan Richards
Personal details
PartyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison

Sharon Lee is an American Democratic former politician from New York City. From January 2020 to December 2020, she served as the acting borough president of Queens during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2] She was the first person of Asian descent to serve as a borough president in the City of New York.

Early years

Lee grew up in California, and attended the University of Wisconsin, where she heard John Liu, a member of the New York City Council, speak at a student conference, and was inspired to go into politics. She applied for an internship in his office, which brought her to Queens.[2]

Political career

Lee served as policy director and press secretary for Liu in 2006, and became his senior advisor and press secretary when he was elected New York City Comptroller in 2009. She helped implement priorities such as the pension investment reform proposal[3] of 2011 between Liu and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Retirement Security Initiative NYC in 2011 between Liu and the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis.[4] Lee helped develop and execute strategies for transparency initiatives such as Checkbook NYC in 2010[5] that launched access to information about the city's expenditures, and MWBE (minority and/or women-owned business enterprise) Report Card NYC in 2021, a performance measurement tool to publicly track city agencies' progress in achieving their MWBE goals.[6] She was also a member of the team that identified and exposed the fraud and mismanagement in the CityTime payroll scandal in 2010, which led to the recoupment of $500 million for the City of New York.[7][8]

Lee became communications director for Queens Borough President Melinda Katz in November 2014, and Katz appointed her as deputy borough president in November 2018.[9][10] When Katz was elected Queens County District Attorney in November 2019, Lee served as executive director of her transition committee, and then took over as acting borough president in January 2020.[11] Lee had been expected to be acting borough president for a relatively short period, only until a special election, which had been scheduled for March 24.[2] However, voting became impossible and was postponed because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,[12] so she served for 11 months, until the votes in the regular scheduled November were certified, and oversaw the borough's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.[13][14]

As the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the borough, Lee managed[13] the distribution of tons of pounds of food and support for small businesses,[15] a dozen virtual job fairs[16] for out-of-work New Yorkers, 2020 presidential election amidst the pandemic, funding for hospital services including doubling the number of sexual assault nurse examiners in Queens hospitals,[17] championed racial justice[18] in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, and helped boost Queens County's count in the 2020 United States Census.[19]

Some of her public investments included a $1 million allocation to fully fund the New York City Fire Department's Decontamination Specialization Unit[20] in Queens to purchase and install new equipment necessary for cleaning firefighters' equipment, and a $5.4 million allocation to fund cancer treatment technology at the oncology unit of Elmhurst Hospital, one of Queens' two public hospitals.[21] Lee also weighed in on land use issues, including a recommendation opposing the 2020 Flushing Waterfront rezoning plan.[22]

Lee was an early outspoken leader amidst the rise in anti-Asian hate,[23] especially in the wake of the Atlanta spa shootings.[24][25] Lee also opposed cuts in healthcare spending.[26] She did not run for election in 2020.[27]

After serving nearly a year as acting borough president, Lee left politics, and as of 2025, she is a partner at Eve & Co., an investment advisory company.[28]

References

  1. ^ Maisel, Todd (April 6, 2020). "Acting Queens Borough President in an unexpected battle due to COVID-19 crisis". QNS.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c McGowan, Clodagh (January 15, 2020). "Sharon Lee's Unlikely Path to Interim Queens Borough President". www.ny1.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  3. ^ Greenhouse, Steven (October 28, 2011). "Mayor and Comptroller Seek Joint Management for 5 Pension Plans". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Saad-Lessler, Joelle; Ghilarducci, Teresa; Schmitz, Lauren (November 2011). "Are New Yorkers Ready for Retirement" (PDF). Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. New York City Comptroller’s Office Budget & Policy Bureau.
  5. ^ DeJesus, Juan (July 1, 2010). "New Web Site Opens New York City's Books".
  6. ^ Pascus, Brian; Sim, Shaun (October 22, 2021). "'Depressing, to be sure': Few signs of progress on MWBE contracts".
  7. ^ Gonzalez, Juan (September 29, 2010). "Controller John Liu orders firm to fix disastrous CityTime payroll system – or else!".
  8. ^ Chen, David (March 28, 2011). "Behind Troubled City Payroll Project, Lax Oversight and One Powerful Insider". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Parry, Bill (November 17, 2018). "Katz appoints Sharon Lee as deputy borough president". QNS.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  10. ^ Brand, David (November 14, 2018). "Katz Names Spokesperson Lee New Deputy Borough President".
  11. ^ Solomon, Rebecca (January 7, 2020). "Melinda Katz sworn in as new Queens district attorney". WPIX. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Mastrosimone, Peter C. (March 16, 2020). "Queens borough president election on hold". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Brand, David (December 1, 2020). "Queens' acting borough president Lee concludes unlikely 11-month run". Queens Eagle.
  14. ^ Griffin, Allie (August 11, 2020). "Queens Electeds Call for Full Rebate of August Electricity Bills for Thousands of Customers Who Lost Power". LIC Post. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  15. ^ "'Fuel the Frontlines' initiative will support Queens hospital workers". QNS.com. March 27, 2020.
  16. ^ Acevedo, Angelica (April 20, 2020). "Queens Virtual Recruitment Fair will connect job seekers with essential industries". QNS.com.
  17. ^ Vick, Rachel (October 29, 2020). "Queens hospitals will increase number of nurses specializing in sex assault care, with funding from Lee".
  18. ^ Vick, Rachel (June 4, 2020). "Queens leaders call on state to repeal 50-a at Borough Hall rally".
  19. ^ Parry, Bill (March 11, 2020). "The 2020 Census begins March 12, and every Queens resident needs to be counted".
  20. ^ Kaye, Jacob (March 18, 2020). "Acting borough president allocates $1 million towards FDNY decontamination unit".
  21. ^ Parry, Bill (November 12, 2020). "Elmhurst Hospital receives full funding for cutting-edge cancer treatment technology".
  22. ^ Brand, David (March 13, 2020). "Acting Queens BP rejects Flushing Creek rezoning in advisory role".
  23. ^ "New Yorkers rally to support Asian American community". WABC. March 20, 2021.
  24. ^ Kim, CeFaan (March 18, 2021). "Queens vigil mourns victims of Atlanta spa shootings, Asian hate crimes".
  25. ^ Yensi, Amy (March 25, 2021). "Growing Number of Violent Attacks Against Asian Americans Sparks Community Concern and Action from NYPD".
  26. ^ Vick, Rachel (September 15, 2020). "NYC nearly doubled senior meal delivery during Queens' COVID crisis". Queens Daily Eagle. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  27. ^ Coltin, Jeff (June 16, 2020). "Who's endorsing who in the Queens borough president race". CSNY. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  28. ^ "Sharon Lee". eve-co.com. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
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