John A. Russo (politician)

John A. Russo (politician)

John A. Russo (born February 6, 1959) is a U.S. politician and a member of the Democratic Party. In September 2000, he became the first elected city attorney of Oakland, California after a little-debated aspect of Jerry Brown's strong-mayor initiative, Measure X, changed the city attorney post from an appointed to an elected one.

Russo was a member of the Oakland City Council from 1994–2000, where he served as finance committee chair and became a leading advocate for fiscal accountability and government reform. In 2007, During his second term as city attorney, Russo ran unsuccessfully for the California Assembly 16th District seat in 2006. In June 2008, Russo was re-elected to a third term as city attorney, running unopposed.

In February, 2011, after clashes with new Oakland mayor Jean Quan, Russo applied for a job as city manager for neighboring Alameda, California. Russo became Alameda city manager on June 13, 2011.

Russo served as the president of the League of California Cities from 2002–03, serving a total of nine years on the board.