Wilson, Lionel J. (Lionel Joseph), 1915-1998

Lionel Joseph Wilson (March 14, 1915 – January 23, 1998) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first black mayor of Oakland, California, serving three terms as mayor of Oakland from 1977 until 1991.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Oakland, he was educated in Oakland public schools, graduating from McClymonds High School. Wilson attended UC Berkeley, graduating with an A.B. in economics in 1939. During 1939 to 1943, he was a semi-professional baseball player, pitching for the Oakland Larks club as part of the short-lived West Coast Negro Baseball League. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Sergeant. After his discharge, he continued his studies at University of California, Hastings College of the Law. In January 1950, he was admitted to the State Bar of California and began a private practice with George Vaughns. In 1953 and 1955, Wilson ran for the Berkeley City Council. He then formed the law firm Wilson, Metoyer & Sweeney (later joined by Allen Broussard). In 1961, Governor Pat Brown appointed Wilson a judge of the Alameda County Municipal Court (becoming the first African American judge in California); in 1964 Brown elevated Wilson to serve as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court.

In 1977, Wilson won the election for mayor of Oakland, defeating Oakland school board president, Dave Tucker. While mayor, Wilson addressed development in downtown Oakland, including extension of Bay Area Rapid Transit to the city, and one natural disaster: the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. In 1985, he helped celebrate Oakland as the hometown of the Pointer Sisters singing group, and named September 1 as "Pointer Sister Day." He lost the 1990 mayoral election to Elihu Harris after making an expensive and unsuccessful bid to return the then Los Angeles Raiders to Oakland. In 1991, Wilson nominated himself to serve on the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners, being appointed by the Oakland City Council after losing his mayoral bid. He served on the port commission for a year, working under his appointee and then-President Carole Ward Allen of the board of port commissioners. Elihu Harris had him removed from the port in 1992.

Wilson died of cancer in Oakland.