Betty C. Lieu was elected to the Torrance City Council for District 5 on June 2, 2026.
Prior to serving on the Council, Betty was the President of the Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) Board of Education. During her tenure, the readers of the Daily Breeze voted TUSD as the Best School District in the South Bay. Betty was elected to the school board in 2018 with 31,763 votes, the highest number of votes of any elected official in Torrance history.
Betty began her public service in Torrance as a City Commissioner, where she served for fifteen years. She was on the Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commission, and then on the Water Commission. Betty also served as a Commissioner on California’s Advisory Commission on Special Education.
Betty has a Juris Doctorate degree and Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Linguistics. She is a former Deputy Attorney General and prosecutor at the California Department of Justice. She started her legal career as a civil litigator. Betty also worked for both the California Appellate Court and the Federal District Court. Betty was recognized in Los Angeles Magazine as a Super Lawyer Rising Star for multiple years.
Betty has been involved with several community organizations. She is a board member of the Volunteer Center of South Bay - Harbor - Long Beach. She was on the board of the Coalition for Clean Air. She was also an officer on the Executive Boards of local Parent Teacher Associations and the Torrance Education Foundation.
Betty was named a South Bay Woman of the Year by the Switzer Center. She received the James Armstrong Leadership Award from the Torrance Education Foundation. Betty also received the Angels Award from the LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce.
Betty and her husband have been married for over 25 years and raised their two children in Torrance.