Elihu M. Harris, Esq.

OF COUNSEL

Elihu Mason Harris is a former U.S. Democratic Party politician and college administrator. He served as mayor of Oakland, California from 1990 to until 1999. He served as Chancellor for 12 years (1978 through 1991) as a member of the California State Assembly before his election as Oakland mayor. He is currently the Chancellor of Peralta Community College District. Harris received a Master of Public Policy from University of California, Berkeley in 1969 and law degree from UC Davis School of Law in 1975. From 1979 until 1991 he served as a named partner in the law firm  of Harris, Alexander and Burris. He has also served as a California Uniform Law Commissioner since 1981.  In 2000 Elihu was appointed by Governor Gray Davis to the California Unemployment Appeals Board where he served until 2003.

Harris co-owned Vallejo, California radio station KDIA along with former California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. His legacy in Oakland includes the naming of the Elihu M. Harris State Building after him, which was built downtown 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. Harris is the owner of the Harris Funeral Home in Berkeley, California with his wife Dr. Shiela Wells Harris.