By Williamena Kwapo | OBSERVER Staff Writer
In the dynamic world of media and entertainment, Jason Lee stands out as a multifaceted personality and entrepreneur with a bold approach to storytelling. As the founder of Hollywood Unlocked, a popular media platform, Lee has carved a niche for himself as a host and commentator on pop culture. After years of success in media, he has his eyes set on a new venture that will have him splitting his time between the glitz and glam of Hollywood and Stockton city council politics.
Lee, 46, is one of the candidates in the running for Stockton’s District 6 City Council position in the upcoming March 5 election. Jason is running against incumbent District 6 councilwoman Kimberley Warmsley, longtime politician and former councilman Ralph White, and three others.
Lee was born to an Italian mother and African American father in Stockton, CA, and experienced an early life marked by challenges and adversity. While being raised in south Stockton, his mother was on drugs during the majority of his adolescent years, landing him in the foster care system at the age of seven. As a teenager, he witnessed the murder of his older brother and survived gun violence in the city. All of this served as his motivation to pursue a career in entertainment, thinking that it was his path out of the tough streets of south Stockton. He details all of this in his 2019 autobiography “God Must Have Forgotten About Me”.
“When I was a foster kid, I always wanted to be in that celebrity world,” Lee told The OBSERVER. “After having lots of different careers that gave me lots of skills, I used all those skills to become an entrepreneur in the media world.”
While making his mark in Hollywood, Lee was also involved in community organizing around social and political issues. His past work in Stockton involves advocating for workers’ rights and criminal justice reform. He worked for a labor union for 11 years as well as within the probation department with hopes of helping youth get out of the criminal justice system. He also utilized his platform to help contribute to the release of Donte Westmoreland, who faced unjust charges related to marijuana possession and conspiracy. Lee says his years of organizing have prepared him to return home to address critical issues surrounding youth empowerment, city revitalization, and ushering in more accountability from city officials.
“I have this love for the south side area,” he said. “I realize that if people don’t start stepping up, particularly people that look like us, we’re going to be in trouble. After looking for people whose campaign I could help finance and really support, I didn’t find anyone who wanted to do it. So I decided to step up and be that person.”
Lee has raised over $100,000 for his campaign since his announcement in December. According to the campaign reports, he’s received a total contribution of $112,900 as of February 17, significantly more than any of his opponents. Many of these contributions are made from himself and others coming from supporters like Tiffany Haddish, Donte Westmoreland, and local Stocktonians.
Lee has some big dreams of changing the lives of Stocktonians. He wants to rebuild trust between community members and leadership, address crime in a way that tackles poverty elimination, and create communities that Stocktonians can be proud of.
A huge part of his platform focuses on youth development. He’s recently created the “I am Ready” initiative with his non-profit, Hollywood Cares, which was launched in 2022. Through community workshops and organizing, the initiative is focused on providing youth with skills necessary to prepare them for both opportunities and challenges that will impact their livelihood. If elected, Lee plans to donate his salary as a city councilmember to an athletic commission that invests in young people who have a passion for playing sports.
“For me, it’s not about taking money from the city, it’s about pouring it back into the city,” he said.
When asked about how his celebrity status may impact his campaign, he said “I am not a politician. And I think that’s the thing that actually makes me the most qualified. People are over the status quo. They want real people, real people that they can touch, real people that they can see have already been in their shoes.”
Lee says that unlike some of his opponents, he has no aspirations for running for mayor and neither would he run again for city council if he doesn’t win this term; though his work with the youth in Stockton will continue despite what happens in this election.
