Lee Brand

Lee R. Brand (born April 5, 1949) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 25th mayor of Fresno, California. He took office as the successor for Ashley Swearengin on January 3, 2017. Upon inauguration, Brand became the oldest to assume the mayoralty of Fresno beating the previous holder Dr. Chester A. Rowell by 3 years and 21 days.

Early life Brand was born in The Dalles, Oregon. His father was Archie L. Brand better known as ‘Brandy,’ of English descent, and his mother was Florence G. Trosi. His parents, his brother and he lived in a small motel room with no indoor bathroom. Archie and Florence worked for his grandfather Archie M. Brand better known as A.M. as dishwashers and general labor at the café, gas station, motel and small zoo A.M. operated.

Brand's mother was from Fresno, and his maternal grandfather and grandmother, Ralph Trosi and Pierina Trosi immigrated to the U.S. from Naples.

Business career Brand completed his M.P.A. at the University of Southern California in 1974 via a project instead of thesis.

Post-Political career Lee Brand concluded his term as Mayor of Fresno on January 5, 2021. After finishing his political career, he began researching his family ancestry finding surprising information about his father and grandfather.

This motivated him to write a book about family relationships through generations. His debut novel Discovering the Family I Never Knew, is a fictional book inspired by real people and events in his life.

In 2024, his second fiction book called The Emperor of California was published.

Votes % Votes % Susan B. Anderson

Ken Steitz

Lee Brand

John Mendoza

Write-ins

Total 49,533 100 64,924 100

2008 Fresno City Council District 6 election CandidateVotes% Lee Brand 8,601 70.92 Michelle Jorgensen 3,128 25.79 Matt White 378 3.12

2012 Fresno City Council District 6 election CandidateVotes% Lee Brand (incumbent) 11,074 98.33 Write-ins 118 1.67 Total 11,273 100 Voter turnout 28.85%

2016 Fresno Mayoral Primary election CandidateFirst roundRunoffVotes%Votes% Lee Brand 25,491 30.79 71,776 51.20 Henry Perea 37,006 44.70 68,053 48.54 H. Spees 15,089 18.23 Doug Vagim 2,910 3.52 Richard B. Renteria 2,090 2.52 Write-ins 199 0.24 363 0.26 Total 69,795 100 140,192 100