On Monday (Oct. 14), BET published an interview with Jason Lee, who recently made headlines after winning the primary for an upcoming city council election in Stockton, CA. He is running for the District 6 seat, a position currently held by Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley.
“It’s very different from being in the media and covering pop culture to being in politics. When I talk on Hollywood Unlocked, people are going to like my opinion or not,” Lee explained to the publication. “But when you're in the streets trying to tackle homelessness, trying to make the streets safer for kids, making sure people live in market-rate housing, and have a community that can thrive again, it’s a very different experience.”
The former reality show star continued, "Running for office took me back to my days of working for the union, which I did for 11 years at [the Service Employees International Union]. This is real purposeful work. I'm not saying the work I do at Hollywood Unlocked isn't purpose-driven, but being able to help people in my community where I grew up, where my family still lives, [and] where I've moved back to is where the heart is. It’s my passion."
As far as his initial reason for diving into politics, that credit went to Christina Fugazi, a candidate for Stockton mayor. “[She] was the vice mayor when I returned home years ago and she supported me as a philanthropist to return to the community," Lee stated. "She transitioned back to her work as an educator and when the new city council came in, they were... much more business and politics focused, [as well as] youth and community focused." He also revealed that he previously "tried to find somebody to run to help change the landscape of what the city council looked like because there was so much apathy in the community."