L.A. Times Report: L.A. Councilman Corrects City Website About College Degree

By EMILY ALPERT REYES

STAFF WRITER JAN. 20, 2020 2:15 PM

Until recently, the city website for Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee described him as a graduate of Cal State Northridge, one of several schools he attended in the San Fernando Valley.

But Lee stopped short of getting his degree, according to a CSUN spokeswoman. Lee confirmed last week that he was short of the needed credits to graduate, saying in a statement that after the Northridge earthquake hit and disrupted classes, “life happened, time got away from me, and I have not yet been able to finish that last class.”

The councilman said that, to the best of his knowledge, he had not represented or referred to himself as a CSUN graduate.

Lee said the biography on his website was posted by a staffer who “unknowingly changed the language she found” in an internal document describing his background, “which stated I had attended local schools.” The wording on his website has since been altered.

Lee was quoted in a Los Angeles Daily News article about a CSUN event roughly 4½ years ago, saying, “It’s events like this — and I graduated from CSUN — that led me to a life of community service.”

Click here to read the full report.

Become a Member to comment! Remember- your email will be displayed. If you want to remain anonymous, use one that doesn't have your name in it! Click here.