Barbara Parker (politician)

Barbara Parker is city attorney of Oakland, California.

Information

Barbara Parker Inauguration 2013
Barbara Parker Inauguration 2013

Barbara J. Parker is the elected City Attorney of Oakland, CA and the recipient of the 2015 Public Lawyer of the Year award from the State Bar of California.[1] The Ronald M. George Public Lawyer of the Year Award recognizes public attorneys who have provided outstanding service to the public and possess an exemplary reputation in the legal community and the highest of ethical standards.[2]

Parker is the first African American woman elected to citywide office in Oakland. She and her siblings are the first generation in her family’s history to go to college.[3]

Parker is a native of Seattle, Washington, where her parents migrated to escape legalized oppression and sharecropping in the rural, segregated South. Parker earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Washington, and she was one of the very few African American women accepted at Harvard Law School in the early 1970s. She graduated from Harvard in 1975 determined to use the law as a tool to help underrepresented communities.[3]

In a legal career spanning four decades, Parker has worked at all levels of government – federal, state and local – including more than 10 years as Chief Assistant of the Oakland City Attorney’s Office and more than five years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California. As an Assistant US Attorney, she represented the United States in federal court litigation involving complex matters, including but not limited to medical malpractice, civil rights and breach of contract. Parker also has worked in the private sector for several major law firms and corporations, including the law firm of Pillsbury Madison & Sutro (now Pillsbury Winthrop), Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, Kaiser Aluminum Chemical Corporation and Kaiser Hospitals. In 2005, the State Bar Board of Governors selected Parker for an appointment to the prestigious State Judicial Council. The constitutional agency chaired by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court oversees the California courts and is responsible for ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial and accessible administration of justice.[3]

Prior to becoming City Attorney, Parker worked in the Oakland City Attorney's Office for about 20 years, about 10 of those years as second-in-command.[4] Parker's predecessor, John Russo, left the position to become City Manager of neighboring Alameda, California[5] and appointed Parker as Acting City Attorney in June 2011.[6] The Oakland City Council confirmed her as City Attorney on July 19, 2011.[7]

City Attorney Barbara Parker Logo
City Attorney Barbara Parker Logo

In November 2012, Parker was elected as Oakland City Attorney defeating Councilmember Jane Brunner by 68 to 31 percent.[8]

As City Attorney, Parker has sued numerous hotels and motels for allowing and profiting from prostitution/human trafficking; the Court has closed two hotels for one year, the maximum amount of time allowed by state law.[9]

Barbara Parker in the California Office of Criminal Justice Planning with Martin Luther King, Sr. (seated)

In 2013, Parker won a record $15 million judgment against an immigration consulting business that preyed on and defrauded immigrant families seeking legal residency in the U.S.[10]

Parker's office spearheaded a campaign to crack down on illegal dumping in Oakland using videos and other evidence submitted by the public.[11]

Parker co-authored a comprehensive ethics reform act adopted by the City Council in 2015,[12] and her office has forced slumlords in Oakland to fix substandard and inhumane living conditions.[13]

Major cases include a lawsuit against the federal government to uphold Oakland's right to regulate and license medical cannabis dispensaries,[14] and an antitrust action against big banks that has recovered more than $1 million from financial institutions including Wachovia and JPMorgan.[15]

In 2015, Parker sued the giant chemical company Monsanto to hold it accountable for years of contamination of Oakland's storm water system and the San Francisco Bay.[16] Parker's office also filed a federal lawsuit against Wells Fargo to recover damages caused by predatory and discriminatory mortgage lending practices by the bank against African American and Latino borrowers.[17]

Parker co-sponsored a gun safety ordinance to reduce theft of firearms from vehicles. The law makes it a crime to leave firearms, magazines or ammunition unsecured in unattended vehicles on city streets and in other public places.[18]

Parker also served as Board President of the Black Adoption Placement and Research Center, which for more than 30 years found permanent homes for children, the majority of whom were in California’s foster care system.[19]

Education

Barbara Parker 1970s (unknown date)

She attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1975.[4]

Political importances

Parker is an advocate for the following:

References

Barbara Parker
City Attorney, Oakland, California
Assumed office
July 19, 2011
Preceded by John Russo
Personal details
Born Seattle, Washington
Nationality American
Political party Democratic Party
Alma mater University of Washington
Harvard Law School
Website www.cityattorneyparker.com
  1. ↑ "Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker named public lawyer of 2015". Chip Johnson. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  2. ↑ "Public Lawyer of the Year". publiclaw.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  3. 1 2 3 "Oakland City Attorney - About Us". www.oaklandcityattorney.org. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  4. 1 2 "Barbara Parker Appointed Oakland's Acting City Attorney For John Russo". Hearst corporation. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  5. ↑ Nicole Jones (June 1, 2011). "Exit Interview: John Russo Reflects on His Time as Oakland City Attorney". Oakland North.
  6. ↑ "John Russo appoints Barbara Parker as Acting City Attorney". Oakland North. June 11, 2011.
  7. ↑ Steven E.F. Brown (July 21, 2011). "Oakland makes Barbara Parker its City Attorney". San Francisco Business Times.
  8. ↑ Artz, Matthew (June 11, 2012). "Barbara Parker wins big over Jane Brunner for Oakland city attorney". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Oakland moves to shut down motel seen as crime hub". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  10. ↑ "$15 million award in Oakland immigration scam". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  11. ↑ "New tools help Oakland crack down on illegal dumping". InsideBayArea.com. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  12. ↑ "Oakland City Council Official Legislative Records (Government Ethics Act)".
  13. ↑ Martinez, Molly. "Oakland Reaches Settlements with Problem Landlords". KRON4.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  14. ↑ "Oakland Sues Feds To Block Harborside Forfeiture Attempt". East Bay Express. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  15. ↑ "Oakland City Attorney Newsletter October 2015".
  16. ↑ "Oakland sues Monsanto for 'long-standing contamination' of San Francisco Bay". RT International. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  17. ↑ "Oakland lawsuit accuses Wells Fargo of mortgage discrimination". Reuters. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  18. ↑ "Oakland takes steps to reduce gun thefts, violence". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  19. ↑ "Oakland City Council honors Black Adoption Placement & Research Center Nov. 19, 2013".

External links

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