Elihu Harris

Elihu Mason Harris (born August 15, 1947[5]) is a retired American politician and college administrator. A member of the Democratic Party, Harris served as the 46th Mayor of Oakland, California from 1991 to 1999; he previously served for 12 years (1978–1990) as a member of the California State Assembly. He was the Chancellor of Peralta Community College District from 2003 to 2010.[6][7][8]

Elihu Harris
Chancellor of the Peralta Community College District
In office 2003–2010
Succeeded by	Wise E. Allen[1][2]
Member of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
In office March 15, 2000[3] – 2003
Appointed by	Gray Davis
46th Mayor of Oakland
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Lionel Wilson
Succeeded by	Jerry Brown
Member of the California Commission on Uniform State Laws
In office 1981–1990
Member of the California Law Revision Commission
In office 1987–1990
Member of the Judicial Council of California
In office 1981–1988
Member of the California Assembly from the 13th district
In office December 4, 1978 – December 3, 1990
Preceded by	John J. Miller[4]
Succeeded by	Barbara Lee
Personal details
Born	Elihu Mason Harris August 15, 1947 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Shelia Wells-Harris
Education	California State University, Hayward (BA) University of California, Berkeley (MPP) UC Davis School of Law (JD)

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, Harris moved to Berkeley, California during childhood and graduated from Berkeley High School in 1965.[5]

Harris earned a B.A. in political science from California State University, Hayward, where he served as student body vice-president.[5][9] Harris received a Master of Public Policy from University of California, Berkeley in 1969 and a J.D. degree from University of California, Davis School of Law in 1972.[5]

Career

Harris was the Mayor of Oakland from 1991 until 1999. He has also served as a California Uniform Law Commissioner since 1981.[10]

From 1992 to 1997, Harris co-owned Oakland, California radio station KDIA along with former California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.[11][12] Harris also co-owned Fresno radio station KFIG with Mark A. Lindquist until it was sold in 2005 and disbanded on Jan 16, 2008.[13]

Harris was the first major party politician to lose a state legislative race to a Green Party candidate. He ran in a 1999 special election in hopes of regaining the California State Assembly seat he previously held from 1978 to 1990, but lost to Green challenger Audie Bock.[14] In the 1999 election, Harris, an African-American, sent targeted mailers to households in selected precincts, mostly African American, urging voters to vote for him and receive a fried chicken meal if they presented a voting stub at selected supermarkets. There was voter backlash because of the perception of vote buying and had a subtext of racism.[15] In his losing effort, Harris outspent Bock better than 16 to 1 ($550,000 to $33,000).[16]

His legacy in Oakland includes the naming of the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building after him, which was built in downtown Oakland near the pre-existing Federal Building and City Hall. The three proximate structures form a large triangle of massive government buildings in a larger business redevelopment area.

From 2003 to 2010, Harris was Chancellor of Peralta Community College District. He had been interim chancellor from 2003 until receiving the post on a permanent basis.[17] Following news coverage that raised questions about Harris' leadership, his contract was not renewed by the Board of Trustees when it expired on June 30, 2010.[6]

Harris and his wife also run a Berkeley funeral home that his parents once owned, according to county records listing him as its owner.[13]

FBI investigation

In March 2011, Harris was investigated by the FBI in relation to a no-bid contract awarded to his business partner, Mark A. Lindquist of 1701 Associates, Inc, for $948,796 back when Harris was still Chancellor of Peralta and Lindquist was still President of the district’s foundation, serving as a boardmember on its Board of Trustees.[13] There were complaints about Lindquist's work and Harris did not disclose his business relationship with Lindquist until after the contract was awarded. Harris also declared his Piedmont partnership with Lindquist and three other partners in 2008 after Lindquist won the contract. But Harris and Lindquist signed real estate documents in August 2007 when the business bought a Piedmont property from Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Records show the deal had been negotiated for more than a year.[13]

References

1. Welcome from Chancellor Allen
2. Announcement from the Chancellor
3. Elihu Harris, Board Member
4. John J. Miller - Democratic
5. California State Archives. "Inventory of the Elihu Harris Papers". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
6. Krupnick, Matt. Elihu Harris to leave Peralta district, Contra Costa Times, January 13, 2010. Archived March 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
7. Peele, Thomas (July 13, 2010). "Judge will reconsider previous ruling that kept Peralta colleges document secret". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2010.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
8. Felsing, Sam (July 22, 2010). "CoA in Turmoil". Alameda Sun. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
9. "CSUEB Department of Political Science Alumni". Archived from the original on 2012-07-08.
10. Ron Kelly Medical Act Archived 2006-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
11. "Willie Brown, Mayor Buy Radio Station". Los Angeles Times. 13 November 1992. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
12. Evenson, Laura (December 24, 1997). "Disney Radio Station Aims at Young Listeners". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
13. Matier, Phillip and Andrew Ross. Elihu Harris investigated over college contract, San Francisco Chronicle, March 27, 2011.
14. Salon.com article on 1999 campaign race Democratic Party and Green Party for California 16th District
15. Kaplan, Sunny (April 16, 1999). "Green's California Assembly Victory: Anomaly or Start Of Trend?". Stateline. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
16. New York Times article on Victory by California Assembly Candidate Is First for Greens
17. "Peralta picks Elihu Harris as chancellor", San Francisco Business Times, April 30, 2004.

External links

• Peralta Community College District website
• Chancellor Puts the “Community” Back In the Peralta Colleges