Community Remembers Organizer, Activist, “Old Bum” Mayor Candidate, Mike Lee

Mike Lee not long before his passing early last week. Photo courtesy of Derrick Soo.

Activist and former Berkeley mayoral candidate Mike Lee died at age 64 of complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sometime early last week. Housing activists and many people experiencing homelessness across Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco reported sadness at his loss and admiration for him in the wake of the news.

“He was an incredibly compassionate yet strong individual” said Paul-Kealoha Blake, who has done homeless advocacy work in Berkeley for over two decades.

Starting in the mid 2010s, while Lee himself was unhoused, Blake would meet with him and unhoused people regularly at the McDonald’s on Shattuck and University Avenues in Berkeley to strategize about how to advocate best for unhoused people’s rights in general and to help them access services. Many of the people Lee met were unhoused youths. He would help them secure shelter through local non-profits and city programs.

“All of the kids knew him,” said Blake. “He knew the ropes and provided them with realistic inspiration. It’s one thing to talk to a kid and tell how they’re gonna have housing but it’s another to talk to a kid and say ‘It may be months before you get housing. It doesn’t matter. We’ve gotta do it anyway.’”