Candidate for
United States Representative; District 15

Dr. Robin Parker has a public service record of leadership and accomplishment in Silicon Valley. She is a former Mayor and Councilmember in the City of Sunnyvale, California, having been first elected in 1988 with more than sixty percent of the vote. During her tenure on the Sunnyvale City Council, Dr. Parker established a track record on issues important to the region, including education, housing, child care, transportation, technology, and the environment. She has been and continues to be involved in local and regional economic development issues, including business retention, workforce development, and new industries like commercial space. Dr. Parker also continues her commitment to increasing diversity and citizen participation in government.

At the state level, Dr. Parker served as President of the Peninsula Division of the League of California Cities. She chaired its Housing, Community, and Economic Development Committee, in addition to chairing its Leadership Academy Task Force and serving as League liaison to Governor Wilson's Cal/EPA Base Closure Environmental Advisory Group. She also served on State Controller Gray Davis's Santa Clara County Child Support Advisory Task Force. An active supporter of Silicon Valley's space and economic development communities, Dr. Parker currently serves on the Board of the California Space and Technology Alliance and chaired its statewide Infrastructure Working Group during the organization's strategic planning process.

At the national level, Dr. Parker served as Vice-Chair, then Chair of the Community and Economic Development Committee of the National League of Cities. She was a member of NLC's Renewal Task Force reporting on local government implications of federal policy changes triggered by the 1994 elections. She was also a member of the National Black Caucus of Locally Elected Officials and Women in Municipal Government. An active League participant, Dr. Parker participated in national discussions on key issues in many areas, including emergency preparedness and economic competitiveness. She also attended the sixtieth Joint Civilian Orientation Conference sponsored by the Department of Defense.

Robin Parker combines both a Ph.D. and M.A. from Stanford University, and B.A. with Distinction, Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Boston University. She is a manager at Hewlett-Packard Company, where she has worked for more than eighteen years. She is married and has lived in Silicon Valley for over twenty-five years. Dr. Parker was Sunnyvale's first African-American elected official and the first African-American mayor in Santa Clara County. Her great grandfather was the first African-American to have his name on a ballot running as a "colored independent candidate for congress" from Maryland's fifth district in 1898.