Los Angeles City Council District 12

Published October 1, 2026 · Updated October 2, 2026

John Lee is the Los Angeles City Council member for District 12, in office since August 30, 2019. The term ends in December 2028. Council District 12 is in the northwest San Fernando Valley and includes Northridge, Chatsworth, Porter Ranch, Granada Hills, North Hills, Sherwood Forest and West Hills (CD12). It had 178,267 registered voters on July 14, 2026 (City Clerk).

Latest as of October 1, 2026

On Sept. 30 the Council voted 14-0 on his item to re-establish a Business Tax Advisory Committee. On Sept. 4 it adopted his item on the after-action report on water service disruption in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch. Since Aug. 31 he chairs the Public Safety Committee (Council President letter).

Council member	John Lee
In office since	August 30, 2019
Term ends	December 2028
Registered voters (July 14, 2026)	178,267 (Source)

Council member: John Lee

Lee won a special election in August 2019 and a full term in March 2020; he attended Granada Hills High School and California State University, Northridge (CD12 bio). He took office August 30, 2019 and is in his second term, which ends December 10, 2028 (City Clerk).

Official office page

Committees

Public Safety Committee, Chair
Ad Hoc Committee on Unarmed Crisis Prevention, Intervention, and Community Services, Vice Chair
Government Efficiency, Innovation, and Audits Committee, Member
Planning and Land Use Management Committee, Member
Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, Member
Ad Hoc Committee for Boyle Heights Fire Recovery, Member

Recorded votes

Date	Item	Vote	Result
July 1, 2026	Grant application for the State Office of Traffic Safety Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, FY 2025-26 (Council file 25-1391)	Yes	Adopted 11-3
August 4, 2026	Scattergood Generating Station modernization: environmental impact report and CEQA appeal (Council file 25-1360)	Yes	Adopted 10-3
August 4, 2026	Fund transfers in the year-end Financial Status Report, FY 2025-26 (Council file 25-0600-S138)	Yes	Adopted 14-0
August 4, 2026	Fund transfers in the FY 2026-27 Annual Homelessness Funding Report (Council file 23-1022-S33)	Yes	Adopted 13-1
August 4, 2026	Ballot measure ordinance: Measure ULA exemption for Palisades Fire-damaged homes sold within five years (Council file 26-1100-S9)	Yes	Adopted 13-1
August 11, 2026	Report on legal and policy options to reduce the concentration of sober living facilities (Council file 25-1484)	Yes	Adopted 10-4
August 11, 2026	Resolution setting the Council committee structure (Council file 26-2000)	Yes	Adopted 13-1
August 12, 2026	Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Council file 15-0989-S68)	Yes	Adopted 10-4
September 1, 2026	Convention Center lease revenue bonds (MICLA), Series 2026-C and 2026-D (Council file 15-1207-S10)	Absent	Adopted 8-3
September 8, 2026	Fair Work Week Ordinance amendments covering fast food workers (Council file 19-0229-S2)	No	Adopted 10-2

Record in office

Motions. Lee has held the seat since Aug. 30, 2019. For council files received from Dec. 12, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2026, the Council File system lists him as a mover on 251 and as the seconder on 427. Of the files he moved, the Council adopted 211, 7 were filed or expired without adoption and 33 are pending in committee or awaiting a Council vote (Council File Management System; our count on Oct. 1, 2026 from each file’s mover fields and activity log).
Ordinances. Two of those files produced ordinances: a cannabis business tax relief program, effective Aug. 26, 2026 (CF 25-1126), and the price gouging ordinance for housing and lodging after the January 2025 fires, moved with Tim McOsker, Adrin Nazarian and Traci Park, effective Feb. 26, 2025 (CF 25-0006-S22).
Largest items. On July 1, 2026 the Council adopted, as amended, his motion for a November 2026 ballot measure to lower the Measure ULA transfer tax rate and change its bonding rules (CF 26-0782). It adopted his motion to prohibit electric bicycles on equestrian, hiking and recreational trails on May 1, 2026 (CF 26-0338) and his motion for a drone pilot program for fireworks enforcement on Sept. 10, 2025 (CF 25-0839). Pending: a ballot measure to widen the Section 41.18 zone around schools and day care centers (CF 26-0652) and an extra one percent rent increase for small landlords under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which the Council referred to committee on Dec. 2, 2025 (CF 23-1134-S1).
Committee chairs. Since Aug. 31, 2026 he chairs the Public Safety Committee (Council President letter).

Money behind the member

Officeholder account. John Lee for City Council 2020 Officeholder Account (ID 1420547) reported $88,395 in contributions and $73,493 in spending from Jan. 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026, and $7,430 in cash on June 30, 2026 (latest statement). Organizations giving $1,900 or more in that period include the California Apartment Association PAC ($2,000), United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, the Los Angeles Police Protective League PAC, the LCCC PAC and the California Real Estate PAC (City Ethics statement data).
Legal defense committee. John Lee Legal Defense Committee for EC No. 2020-019 (ID 1469082) reported $255,775 in contributions and $241,276 in spending from Jan. 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026, and $25,435 in cash and $67,961 in unpaid bills on June 30, 2026 (latest statement). Its statements itemize 203 donors. Organizations giving $3,700, the largest total from one donor, include the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 PAC, the Los Angeles Police Protective League PAC and the California Apartment Association PAC (City Ethics statement data).
2024 campaign. John Lee for City Council 2024 (ID 1453331) reported $445,423 in contributions and $698,834 in spending from Jan. 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026, and $5,136 in cash and $83,848 in unpaid bills on June 30, 2026 (latest statement). City data list 836 itemized contributions from 753 donors (LA Open Data, City Ethics contributions).
Behested payments. 32 payments totaling $256,100 from 21 payors, Nov. 6, 2024 to Feb. 23, 2026, all to the North Valley Family YMCA. The largest were Airbnb ($25,000, Dec. 14, 2025) and Northridge Toyota ($20,000 in November 2024 and $20,000 in November 2025) (City Ethics behested payment reports; Airbnb report).

Method: Totals add the contribution and spending lines (5 and 11) of each Form 460 summary page in the period; cash and unpaid bills are from the latest statement.

Ethics and court records

City Ethics Commission fine (2025). The City Ethics Commission found that Lee committed 10 violations of City ethics laws and ordered him to pay a $138,124.32 penalty (Case No. 2020-019). At its Dec. 17, 2025 meeting it adopted an administrative law judge’s findings on five counts of excess gifts and failure to disclose gifts, and its enforcement director’s findings on five counts of misuse of position or aiding Mitchell Englander’s misuse of position, which the judge had recommended dismissing (Statement of Findings and Order). The case concerned gifts Lee received in Las Vegas in June 2017 and at Los Angeles meals while he was Englander’s chief of staff, and Statements of Economic Interests he did not amend (enforcement director’s brief). Lee called the decision unfair and the investigation “wasteful and political” (LAist). He has sued to overturn the fine, arguing the statute of limitations had run and the gifts were overvalued; on June 24, 2026 the Council voted to hire Hecker Fink LLP to defend the Commission, with Lee recused (LA Times).
FPPC warning letter, behested payment report (2025). On July 16, 2025 the FPPC closed case 2025-00494 with a warning letter. It found that Lee filed late the behested payment report for a $10,000 payment Foxcorp Holdings made at his behest on Nov. 6, 2024 to the North Valley YMCA (FPPC warning letter).

No other FPPC case or complaint names him (FPPC portal) (searched Oct. 1, 2026).