to win the governorship and to serve two terms. He also endorsed Bobby Jindal for governor in 2003, his bid for Congress in 2004, 2006 reelection and again for governor in 2007. Lee, one of the best-known politicians in the Greater New Orleans Area, was known as a zealous crime fighter. He also gained a reputation as an anti-corruption reformer while serving as the Parish Attorney for Jefferson Parish. Lee was a political insider in Louisiana, and had close personal contacts with former Governor Edwards and the Boggs family in New Orleans. He often made controversial statements to the local media. He showed unwavering loyalty to his deputies during allegations of police brutality in Jefferson Parish. He had also shown support for other Louisiana politicians during several federal investigations of government corruption, including the investigation and eventual conviction of Edwards. Many of these politicians were personal friends of Lee, but Lee himself was never accused of corruption. Lee's family is affiliated with the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Kenner. Since his death, unused funds totalling more than $250,000 from his campaign war chest have been donated to the church in accordance to his will. Lee and his wife Lai have one daughter, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng, and two grandchildren. Hurricane Katrina Sheriff Lee maintained a strong presence during Hurricane Katrina. Most memorably, the morning before Katrina hit New Orleans, Lee appeared on emergency radio, with a message for those who had not yet evacuated: "You better haul ass! Y'all should have left yesterday." The previous evening, he had let the community know that his birthday party had been cancelled. Lee was one of the few New Orleans politicians to maintain his pre-Katrina popularity. During the storm, Parish President Aaron Broussard evacuated all parish personnel directly under his control to St. Tammany Parish on the Northshore, including the drainage pump operators. This is widely considered the primary cause of flooding on the Eastbank of Jefferson Parish. However, the Sheriff's Office in Jefferson Parish is independent of the Parish President and operates directly under an elected sheriff. When storm conditions dissipated, Jefferson Parish deputies immediately began patrolling all major commercial roads and even individual neighborhoods in the Parish. Most of the Parish at this time had been evacuated, and communications were nearly non-existent. Parish deputies were the only form of security in the Parish in the first week after the storm.