Chris was adopted by local residents Gary and Connie Lee.  He grew up playing in the sand at Kailua beach, learned to bodyboard at Bellows, and paddled in Waikiki.  His family lives in a small house behind Lanikai Elementary School where they still reside today.

The Lee family traces its roots back to the plantations. In 1940 Chris’ grandfather earned a job as a pipe-fitter at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, and his grandmother worked as a nurse at Queen’s Hospital.  Growing up after the war, Chris’ dad stacked cans of pineapple at Dole Cannery before finding work at an insurance company.  He and Chris’ mom, a legal assistant downtown, worked long hours to earn the tuition to send Chris to Iolani.

“I can’t begin to thank my parents for the education they worked so hard to give me. Our family has come a long way, and I couldn’t have come this far without them.”

Long before he ever had to manage his own staff at the Legislature, Chris’ first job was working the grill at the Enchanted Lake McDonald’s. He went on to haul baggage for Hawaiian Airlines, and then left for college at Oregon State University where he majored in Political Science.

“Going away to college was a fantastic experience. It’s hard to appreciate what we have here in Hawaii until we live somewhere else. I think having that bigger perspective really provides a better understanding of the global issues that affect us here in the islands.”

When he returned home from college, Chris chose to work in State Government to help make Hawai’i an easier place to live and raise a family.

“Returning from college I was fortunate to be selected for an internship at the State Capitol. My very first day I found myself questioning the First Deputy Attorney General about the exploitation of youth at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility in Olomana. It turned into a full-scale investigation of abuse and corruption at the facility that I was proud to be a part of.”

When our local House Seat opened up, Chris jumped at the chance to really do something positive to change the direction the state is heading.

“Even though many of my friends have good jobs as teachers, doctors, and small business owners, we all still struggle with the high cost of living. The high price of paradise and lack of good jobs has to change if we are going to stop the exodus of talent from the islands and give our kids a chance to find work and raise their own families in Hawaii. We have to start addressing these issues, and it begins with new leadership and direction in our State Government.”

Today Chris continues to dissect state policy and push his colleagues to think beyond the end of their two and four year terms. In his spare time he has been working to establish a new non-profit organization focused on eradicating graffiti and vandalism in our area.