Liz Lee: Politics was a Natural Path
By Macy Yang
News
Hmong Women in Leadership is a series of articles highlightinginspirational and influential Hmong women breaking barriers in politics.
MINNESOTA—Representative Kazouapa Elizabeth ""Liz"" Lee embracesmany historical ""firsts” as the firstwoman and Hmong legislator to serve as the Representative of Minnesota’s District 67A,. Rep. Lee was elected in 2022 and is fulfilling her first term in office.
Rep. Lee sits on several committee assignments and serves asthe Assistant Majority Leader of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).
District 67A encompasses northwest St. Paul and portions ofMaplewood. The district is one of the most diverse—both socially andeconomically, with the lowest voter turnout and the highest concentration ofHmong residents, according to Rep. Lee.
Her parents, Chao and Thao Lee, are Hmong refugees whoemigrated to the U.S. following the communist occupation of Laos in 1975. Born andraised in St. Paul, Rep. Lee is the eldest of five children.
""I don't think it'd be unfair to say I grew up in poverty. Igrew up in a big family. There wasn't a lot of money, to be honest,” sheexplained. Rep. Lee attended St. Paul’s East Side Public Schools and graduatedfrom Yale University where she earned her BA in Political Science.
Rep. Lee credits her parents in many ways for her success—hermother provided unconditional support and her father was her primary role model.
Advocacy and politics run deep in the Lee family. Rep. Lee’sfather, Chao Lee, has served the state’s 4th Congressional District for morethan two decades as a Senior Aide to Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum.
""It was really intuitive that I would start so young and beso interested in supporting my community,” said Rep. Lee. ""Politics was anatural thing to get involved with. Even before I could vote, I was registeringpeople to vote.” Since the age of 10, she has helped to register voters.
Rep. Lee ""felt lucky” having grown up when former CongressmanBruce Vento introduced the HmongVeterans’ Naturalization Act of 2000 that would grant honorary citizenshipto Lao and Hmong veterans who served the U.S. during the ‘Secret War’ in Laos. Herfirst inclination was to help Hmong veterans register to vote once they gainedcitizenship.
Deeply Rooted Leadership
Rep. Lee recalled interpreting, at six years old, for aHmong student’s grandmother who had attended a parent-teacher conference at herschool. Afterward, the school changed its policy on using student interpretersand provided interpreters for non-English speaking Hmong parents.
She also understood, at an early age, that ""policies thatadversely affected people didn’t make sense” when her aunt was mandated to goto work under the ""welfare reform” program. Her aunt provided care for her andher siblings while both the representative’s parents worked. The welfare reformera was a contentious period for many Hmong families. Rep. Lee realized her auntwould be pushed into greater poverty, never make enough money to pay forchildcare, and afford basic housing and food if she were to work.
As a member of the youngest, most diverse legislature inMinnesota, Rep. Lee believes that she is the product of her community. She recognizesthe social and economic disadvantages of her district. As a leader, she feels that she is merely ""carrying on and leveraging thework that other Hmong leaders before her have begun whether it is at the cityor state level.”
Before running for her seat, Rep. Lee worked as acongressional aide for Senator Amy Klobuchar and then Barbara Lee and State AttorneyGeneral Keith Ellison when he was a representative.
First-Term Highlights and Reflections
One thing Rep. Lee is passionate about is making sure thatschool kids have access to coding and computer science advancement.
""It’s what kids will do in their jobs in the future,” sheadds. ""In my lifetime, technology has changed a lot, so we want to make surethat our kids are prepared. In Minnesota, we are last in the country in providingcomputer science to our students in K-12.”
""I wanted more money for the computer science bill that Iintroduced. It was $4 million, and I got half a million—it's ok, but it shouldbe more,” Rep. Lee said with disappointment. Next year, she hopes to be able toget at least $1 million or more.
Rep. Lee is also proud to serve on the tax committee and hasmade some great strides on that front.
""We were able to just make it easier for people to stay intheir homes,” she said about passing a bill to lower the tax interest rate.
""In Minnesota and, maybe in other parts of the country too,”Rep. Lee explained, ""people's property tax rates have increased a lot, and thishas negatively impacted a lot of seniors and people who are poor like those on afixed income, and people who may [have] already paid off their home. They maynot have income coming in but now they have to pay these really high propertytaxes that they didn't anticipate.”
Lowering the interest rate for back taxes and giving people additionaltime to pay, allows them to ""plan ahead” so they can keep their homes.
Another tax measure that she’s proud of is passing a taxbill that will cut child poverty by one-third in Minnesota. ""I think it is areally big deal,” she adds.
Despite everything she’s been able to do in her first term, Rep. Lee said, ""Insome ways, I feel like I'm still like a normal kid,” stating that she likes to winddown by catching up on the latest Korean drama.
On the current political front, Rep. Lee is midway through hertwo-year term and is working on raising funds for her re-election campaign in 2024.
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Follow the Hmong Women in Leadership series. Read about Senator Susan Pha's refugee success story and historic win in her bid for office.