Barbara Parker (politician)

Barbara Parker is city attorney of Oakland, California.

Barbara J. Parker
City Attorney, Oakland, California
Assumed office
July 19, 2011
Personal details
BornSeattle, Washington
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic Party
Alma materUniversity of Washington
Harvard Law School
Websitewww.cityattorneyparker.com

Information

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. 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.[1]

Parker is the first and only 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.[2]

Prior to becoming City Attorney, Parker worked in the Oakland City Attorney's Office for about 20 years, including 10 years as second-in-command.[3] Parker's predecessor, John Russo, left the position to become City Manager of neighboring Alameda, California[4] and appointed Parker as Acting City Attorney in June 2011.[5] The Oakland City Council confirmed her as City Attorney on July 19, 2011.[6]

Parker Campaign Sign

In November 2012, Parker was elected to a 4-year term as Oakland City Attorney, defeating Councilmember Jane Brunner by 68 to 31 percent.[7]

Voters elected Parker to a second 4-year term in November 2016. She ran unopposed.

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.[2]

In December 2016, Parker was named a "2016 Champion of Choice" for her work on an Oakland ordinance that prevents anti-choice organizations from misrepresenting themselves as medical professionals or unbiased health care counselors.

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.[2] 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.[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] 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]

In 2016, Parker co-sponsored an ordinance that prevents anti-abortion activists from misrepresenting themselves as medical professionals or unbiased health care counselors.[19] Parker was named a "2016 California Champion of Choice" by NARAL Pro-Choice California for her work on the ordinance.[20] Also in 2016, Parker won a landmark victory in bankruptcy court that allowed the sale and rehabilitation of the notorious Empyrean Towers apartment building in downtown Oakland. The court's ruling was groundbreaking because it was based not only on compensation of creditors, but also recognized the principle of "social responsibility" in bankruptcy law, and guaranteed that the building will be maintained as affordable housing for at least 55 years.[21]

In 2017, Parker partnered with nonprofit Centro Legal de la Raza to sue an Oakland hotel for violations of the city's minimum wage ordinance.[22]

In September 2017, Parker and San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed lawsuits against the top five largest investor-owned oil and gas companies. The lawsuits ask the courts to hold these companies responsible for the costs of sea walls and other infrastructure necessary to protect Oakland and San Francisco from ongoing and future consequences of climate change and sea level rise caused by the companies' production of massive amounts of fossil fuels.[23] Oakland has appealed the trial court's dismissal of its lawsuit.[24]

In January 2018, the Alameda County Bar Association recognized Parker's Office with the Distinguished Service Award (Law Firm of the Year).[25]

In February 2018, Parker's Office filed an environmental justice lawsuit against a debris hauling company that projected dangerous dust into a residential neighborhood.[26] The court ordered the company to cease operations.[27]

In December 2018, Parker filed a federal antitrust and breach of contract lawsuit against the National Football League, Oakland Raiders and the 31 other NFL teams.[28] The lawsuit alleges that NFL owners violated antitrust laws by boycotting Oakland in the marketplace and ignoring the NFL's own policies for team relocation.[29]

Recent actions include: an ultimately successful challenge to the federal government's plan to add a citizenship question[30] to the 2020 census, a major tenant protection lawsuit[31] against the owners of an Oakland real estate empire, and an appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Oakland's climate change case[32] against major oil companies.

Education

She attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1975.[3]

Political importances

Parker is an advocate for the following:

  • civil rights
  • women's empowerment
  • children's issues

References
  1. "Public Lawyer of the Year". publiclaw.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  2. "Oakland City Attorney - About Us". www.oaklandcityattorney.org. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  3. "Barbara Parker Appointed Oakland's Acting City Attorney For John Russo". Hearst corporation. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  4. Nicole Jones (June 1, 2011). "Exit Interview: John Russo Reflects on His Time as Oakland City Attorney". Oakland North.
  5. "John Russo appoints Barbara Parker as Acting City Attorney". Oakland North. June 11, 2011.
  6. Steven E.F. Brown (July 21, 2011). "Oakland makes Barbara Parker its City Attorney". San Francisco Business Times.
  7. Artz, Matthew (June 11, 2012). "Barbara Parker wins big over Jane Brunner for Oakland city attorney". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  8. "Oakland City Council honors Black Adoption Placement & Research Center Nov. 19, 2013".
  9. "Oakland moves to shut down motel seen as crime hub". SFGate. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  10. "$15 million award in Oakland immigration scam". SFGate. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  11. "New tools help Oakland crack down on illegal dumping". InsideBayArea.com. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  12. "Oakland City Council Official Legislative Records (Government Ethics Act)".
  13. Martinez, Molly. "Oakland Reaches Settlements with Problem Landlords". KRON4.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  14. "Oakland Sues Feds To Block Harborside Forfeiture Attempt". East Bay Express. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  15. "Oakland City Attorney Newsletter October 2015".
  16. "Oakland sues Monsanto for 'long-standing contamination' of San Francisco Bay". RT International. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  17. "Oakland lawsuit accuses Wells Fargo of mortgage discrimination". Reuters. September 22, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  18. "Oakland takes steps to reduce gun thefts, violence". SFGate. January 7, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  19. "Oakland City Attorney - News Releases". www.oaklandcityattorney.org. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  20. Parker, Barbara (December 20, 2016). "NARAL Pro-Choice award" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2016.
  21. "Federal Court Approves Sale of Notorious Oakland Residential Property to Improve Conditions for Tenants and Maintain Long-Term Low-Income Housing". Oakland City Attorney. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  22. "Oakland City Attorney's Office Press Release March 2 2017". Oakland City Attorney's Office. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  23. "Oakland City Attorney Press Release Sept 20 2017". Oakland City Attorney's Office. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  24. "Oakland Climate Change Lawsuit". Oakland City Attorney. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  25. "Oakland City Attorney's Office - Distinguished Service Award » Alameda County Bar Association". January 18, 2018.
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. "City Attorney secures injunction against debris hauling company that blew dangerous dust into West Oakland neighborhood". Oakland City Attorney. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  28. "City of Oakland files federal antitrust and breach of contract lawsuit against the National Football League, Oakland Raiders and other 31 league teams". Oakland City Attorney. Archived from the original on January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  29. "Oakland City Attorney Newsletter December 2018".
  30. "Oakland will continue the fight against a citizenship question on the 2020 census". Oakland City Attorney's Office.
  31. "City Attorney files major tenant protection lawsuit against owners of Oakland real estate empire". Oakland City Attorney's Office.
  32. "Oakland, San Francisco appeal to 9th Circuit to Hold fossil fuel companies accountable in state court for costs of climate change". Oakland City Attorney's Office.
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