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Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization with offices in San Francisco and Sacramento. Founded in 1971, its self-proclaimed mission is to “challenge the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing and transit equity." For over four decades Public Advocates has pushed for education equity, fair housing practices and transit reform on behalf of low-income communities and communities of color. The firm uses policy advocacy, coalition building, communication and legal strategies in collaboration with grassroots groups and other civil rights groups to advance social justice.

History
Originally funded through a grant from the Ford Foundation, Public Advocates Inc. is one of the oldest public interest law firms in the nation. It was incorporated in the fall of 1970 by lawyers and justice advocates Robert Gnaizda, J. Anthony Kline, Sid Wolinsky and Peter Sitkin, who opened its doors in September 1971. The firm subsequently opened a Sacramento office to work more closely with state law makers. Since its early days the firm has evolved and adapted to make more use of collation and community building, but has consistently sought to uphold its initial mission to protect basic civil liberties and empower disadvantaged communities.

Public Advocates has many distinguished alumni, including Angela Glover Blackwell founder of PolicyLink, Hon. J. Anthony Kline, a justice with the 1st District California Court of Appeal, Bryan Stevenson founder of the Equal Justice Institute, and Barry Scheck founder of the Innocence Project. Former president and CEO Jamienne S. Studley currently serves as the Deputy Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. Public Advocates has also served as an incubator for the launching of numerous other advocacy organizations, including The Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, the Greenlining Institute, HomeBase and Health Access.

The firm's current president and CEO is Guillermo Mayer, who rose to the position in November 2013 after serving for more than nine years on the firm’s legal team The firm's current staff also includes John Affeldt, a managing attorney and expert on California's education system. Affeldt was named a California Attorney of the Year twice, once by California Lawyer Magazine in 2005, and again in 2010 by the Recorder. Richard Marcantonio, also a managing attorney at Public Advocates, received the California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) Award in 2011 for his work enforcing affordable housing laws with Public Advocates.

In addition Public Advocates works with a wide range of organizations and groups in order to further common interests. These groups include the ACLU of Northern California, the ACLU of Southern California, Californians for Justice and Urban Habitat.

Education Equity
Since its founding, the organization has focused on the rights of all California students to a good education, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. Today that work encompasses school finance, teacher quality, college and career readiness, accountability through school and student data, English language learners, school-based health and higher education access. Past cases include the following.

Serrano v. Priest
In the 1970s Public Advocates represented the plaintiffs in Serrano v. Priest. The firm argued California's method of funding public education, because of district-to-district disparities, "fails to meet the requirements of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution." And "[as] a direct result of the financing scheme [Serrano and other local parents] are required to pay a higher tax rate than [taxpayers] in many other school districts in order to obtain for their children the same or lesser educational opportunities afforded children in those other districts." The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant saying that California students were entitled to equal education under the 14th Amendment.

Williams v. California
In 2000 Public Advocates, in conjunction with the ACLU and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, filed a class action law suit on behalf of all California public school students against the state of California. Public advocates argued that California students had unprepared teachers, were forced to attend schools that were in unacceptably poor states of repair and lacked adequate textbooks. In 2004 the case ended with a settlement that led to the enactment of several state laws. The Williams Settlement Legislation established new standards and accountability mechanisms to ensure that all California public school students have textbooks and instructional materials and that their schools are clean, safe, and functional. The ACLU conducted a study in 2013 on the effects of the Williams settlement and found that school conditions had improved as a direct result of the new laws.

Renee v. Duncan
In 2007, Public Advocates and Goodwin Procter, representing several parents and students, sued the United States Department of Education and the Secretary of Education for violating the teacher quality provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. Public Advocates alleged that students who attend low-income, high-minority schools in California are disproportionately taught by interns who are still in training and working toward full certification. Ultimately the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and said that trainee teachers had to be evenly distributed across California schools, and parents must be informed when their children have trainee teachers. However, a measure during the 2010 lame duck session of Congress classified trainee teachers as highly qualified through the 2012-2013 school year. When the measure expires in 2013, the judicial ruling will take effect, absent additional Congressional action.

Housing Advocacy
The organization also works to provide affordable housing for low-wage workers and families. Housing advocates currently work to remove exclusionary zoning policies in suburbs while protecting and nurturing low-income communities in urban areas. Public Advocates supports these efforts while finding and challenging unlawful policies and injustices in local planning.

Urban Habitat v. City of Pleasanton
In 2006 Public Advocates brought a lawsuit on behalf of Urban Habitat against the city of Pleasanton, California. The firm alleged in its claim that Pleasanton had failed to fulfill its legal obligation to provide affordable housing to low-income individuals and minorities. In 2010 the city agreed to a settlement requiring it to rezone for high-density housing and create at least 130 units of affordable housing.

Concord Military Base
In early 2008 Public Advocates joined the Community Coalition for a Sustainable Concord (CCSC), a broad group of housing, labor, faith-based, neighborhood, environmental and smart-growth organizations. The coalition pushed to re-purpose the land that housed the abandoned Concord Naval Weapons Station as a site for affordable housing with an eye toward quality jobs, transit-oriented development, green construction and open space. After more than three years of dialogue with Concord local government an agreement was reached in February 2012. The city agreed that more than 3,000 affordable homes would be built on the station for lower-income families, veterans, seniors and teachers, and nearly two-thirds of the land would remain open space. Throughout the process Public Advocates worked with community groups and offered legal counsel to help reach the deal.

Menlo Park
In 2012 Public Advocates filed a lawsuit on behalf of Youth United for Community Action, PIA, and Urban Habitat against the city of Menlo Park, California. Public Advocates argued that Menlo Park had failed to complete a state-mandated planning document called a "Housing Element," which ensures the city will make land-use and policy decisions that allow for more homes affordable to people of all income levels. In May 2012 the Menlo Park City Council approved a settlement that opened the door for future development of roughly 1,000 homes affordable to very low, low and moderate income families.

Transit Advocacy
Low-income urban communities rely on bus services and other public transportation to get to work, school, health services and similarly crucial destinations. Public Advocates works to obtain and ensure a fair share of funding for bus riders through a mix of legal and community actions.

Darensburg v. MTC
On April 19, 2005, Public Advocates and a coalition including bus riders, labor, and civil rights advocates filed a federal class action lawsuit against the Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on behalf of AC Transit bus riders of color. In the lawsuit, Public Advocates pointed out MTC’s disproportionate program funding. BART and Caltrain riders who are disproportionately white and affluent, receive a per passenger subsidy of $6.14 and $13.79, respectively, for each trip they make. AC Transit riders on the other hand (80% of whom are people of color and 60% of whom are transit dependent) receive a subsidy of $2.78. AC transit also serves many more people of color. In March 27, 2009 the U.S. District Court issued its decision. The Court found that MTC’s $13 billion transit expansion funding program (known as the Resolution 3434 “Regional Transit Expansion Program”) has a harmful impact that falls disproportionately on bus riders of color. However, the court also ruled that MTC had a sufficient justification for it's actions and therefore allowed the funding practices to stand.

BART Oakland Airport Connector
In September 2009 Public Advocates filed an administrative complaint against Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). In the complaint Public Advocates argued that BART's planned Oakland Airport Connector would provide little, if any, transit mobility benefits to the area’s overwhelmingly low-income and minority residents due to its prohibitive $12 roundtrip fare and its lack of intermediate stops along the job-rich Hegenberger corridor. The complaint prompted a federal review of the project, which led to a federal investigation of the project. The federal government found BART had never conducted equity analysis required under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to receive federal funding. The federal government pulled $70 million dollars in funding from the project and diverted the money to operating bus services in the Bay Area.

Bus Riders Union Administrative Complaint
Public Advocates assisted the Bus Riders Union in preparing a Title VI administrative complaint against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, alleging that the agency’s decision to eliminate over 387,500 hours of bus service – while making no cuts to rail service whatsoever – has a discriminatory impact on Latinos and low-income riders. On March 14, 2011, the FTA announced that it would launch an agency-wide probe into MTA’s Title VI compliance, which would include an investigation into the Bus Riders Union complaint. The FTA, after an investigation, required the MTA to redo the studies that had found the cuts had disproportionately impacted minorities. The FTA declined to order immediate action.

Environmental Advocacy
The firm’s environmental advocacy is focused around climate justice and uniting environmental and social goals. Traffic congestion and suburban sprawl were both spawned in part by social inequities. As a result many low-income individuals cannot afford to live in the communities where they work, while transportation funding is focused on freeway expansion and transit serving affluent communities. Public Advocates works to fight these inequalities and create a more just and healthy world.

Statewide SB 375 Implementation
Passed in 2006, AB 32 set statewide targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. SB 375 was passed two years later and mandated gas reductions through decreases in vehicle miles travelled. The law called for the integration of different land use and transportation plans in order to achieve these reductions. Public Advocates has launched a climate justice advocacy campaign to shape SB 375’s implementation and achieve equitable transit and affordable housing. The campaign combines advocacy, watch dogging and effective collaboration to ensure that SB 375 is implemented effectively.

Six Wins for Social Equity Network
Founded in 2010, the network is a group of social justice, faith, public health and environmental organizations. The group focuses on affecting regional planning decisions in order to advocate for low-income families. The “Six Wins” include the following: affordable housing, robust and affordable public transportation, investment without displacement, healthy and safe communities, economic opportunity and community power. Public Advocates helped found the network and is a leading member within the group.