Born in Germany, Eli Ferran is the oldest son of two United States Army veterans, with his father being from Utah and his mother from New Orleans, Louisiana. Eli grew up in New Orleans, where he graduated from St. Augustine High School, a parochial school for young Black men that successfully challenged the desegregation of high school athletics in Louisiana.
Eli then attended Tennessee State University (TSU), a historically Black college in Nashville, Tennessee, where he studied Sociology and developed his passion for social justice and community service. While attending TSU, Eli co-founded Generation of Educated Men, a community service group of positive male role models who serve as prominent pillars at TSU and its surrounding community.
With hopes of becoming an attorney, Eli returned to New Orleans to attend Loyola University New Orleans, where he met his wife, Pamela, a law student and aspiring public servant. During his final year of law school, Hurricane Katrina devastated Eli’s community, his childhood home destroyed by ten feet of water when the levees broke.
After evacuating New Orleans, Eli was determined to complete his legal education and drove 28 hours straight to the Bay Area where he was able to attend the fall semester at the University of San Francisco. In the spring of 2006, Eli returned to New Orleans to complete his final semester of law school.
After graduating law school, Eli moved to East Oakland where he studied for the California Bar Exam, passing in 2007. During this time, Eli became the District 6 Representative for the Oakland Measure Y Oversight Committee to provide citizens’ oversight and accountability over the allocation of funds towards violence prevention among Oakland youth, children and families.
In 2008, Eli began working as a Deputy City Attorney with the Oakland City Attorney’s Office. Within the Oakland City government, Eli advised Oakland Police Department’s Alcohol Beverage Action Team (ABAT) and the City of Oakland’s Code Enforcement team, represented the City at administrative hearings for Cabaret (nightclub) permits, Extended Hours permits, and Deemed Approved Status for Motels due to nuisance activity. In his role as Deputy City Attorney, Eli also worked with community members to find solutions to sex trafficking, illegal gambling, and problem liquor stores in East Oakland.
A life-long public servant, Eli has a long track record of fighting on behalf of underserved communities in Oakland, many of whom do not have a voice in City Hall. Eli is a proven, hands-on leader, who actively engages with neighborhood groups, small businesses, city officials, the legal community, and community leaders to create meaningful solutions and move Oakland forward. Over the course of his career, Eli built a solid base of knowledge and expertise in civil law, criminal law, code enforcement law, building code, and matters concerning quality of life issues. Eli believes deeply in the power of progressive lawyers to be a force for good and will continue to champion Oakland values as your next City Attorney.
Eli is married to Pamela Ferran and has three daughters: Lauren (8), Lisa (5) and Leila (2) all of whom attend (or will attend) Oakland schools. Eli and his family reside in District 6.
