Third in a series. 

Re: “Daniel Lee Takes Aim at Environment”

Daniel Lee, who has less than three months to widen his profile across the community before the April 12 City Council election, said his “more varied background” distinguishes him from the rest of the field.

“My most recent background is in activism, organizing and advocacy. But along with one of the other candidates (Marcus G. Tiggs), I have a military background.

“I was in the Screen Actors Guild for 10 years, and I went to film school at USC,” said the soft-spoken Mr. Lee.

A 13-year resident of Culver City, Mr. Lee’s school loyalties are dual. “I am both a Trojan and a Bruin,” he said. At UCLA, he earned a master’s in social work, and that is his main form of employment presently.

“Here is why I like social work,” said Mr. Lee, a Southerner by birth. “I grew up in a family where there was a big focus on helping other people. Mainly because my family was focused on civil rights.

“I grew up in the South, in the country actually, outside of Tuskeegee, Al.”

With a smile, he says that “the place where I lived is not a place.

“But we were really steeped in the civil rights tradition, and very into helping people of all varieties.

“For me to be able to do that (social work) as a career, as an everyday thing, is incredibly fulfilling.

“It helps me, from a political perspective,” said Mr. Lee, “really know what is going on in communities, and not rely on article but have first-hand experience.”

(To be continued)