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R. Rex Parris
Parris in 2011
Mayor of Lancaster, California
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 2008
Personal details
Born
Raymond Parris Jr.

1952 (age 71–72)[1]
Lancaster, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCarrol Parris
Children4
EducationSouthwestern School of Law (JD)
OccupationAttorney
Websitehttps://www.parris.com/

Raymond "Rex" Parris Jr. is an American attorney and the current mayor of Lancaster, California.[2]

Early life and education

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Raymond "Rex" Parris Jr., the third of four boys, was born in 1952 to Raymond Parris and Jeanne Powers in Palmdale, CA. His parents separated in 1963 after Raymond lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. Finding his mother's income as a waitress to be insufficient, Rex Parris began working at age 14 while still in school. He left high school in 10th grade to work full-time as a busboy.[3]

Parris attended Antelope Valley College before eventually transferring to the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he was accepted into the Scholar's Program and majored in Law & Society. He went on to receive his Juris Doctor from Southwestern School of Law in 1980.

He has been a member of the California State Bar since 1980.[4]

Career

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Law

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In 1985, R. Rex Parris founded the PARRIS Law Firm with his wife Carrol in Lancaster, California. Today the firm's practice covers most areas of personal injury law, including car accidents, workplace injuries, premises liability. It also handles toxic torts, environmental law and employment class actions.[5]

In 2009, Parris was lead counsel in obtaining a $370 million jury verdict against Georges Marciano, founder of Guess.[6]

In 2021, he obtained a $120 million verdict in a traffic accident case.[7]

PARRIS Law Firm, together with Panish, Shea & Boyle and other plaintiffs’ counsel, represented the residents of Porter Ranch, CA, following the Aliso Canyon gas leak. In 2021, Southern California Gas Company and its parent company Sempra Energy settled for $1.8 billion.[8]

Parris regularly speaks at trial lawyer associations and continuing legal education (CLE) seminars throughout the United States. He frequently is the keynote speaker at events sponsored by the Trial Lawyers University.[9]

Philanthropy

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R. Rex Parris High School in Palmdale, California is named for the philanthropy of Parris.[10]

In 2014, Parris and his wife Carrol established the Parris Institute for Professional Excellence at Pepperdine University with a gift of $2.2 million.[11][12]

Rex and Carrol are significant donors for longevity research at USC.[13]

Other business interests

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R Rex Parris is the chairman of the board for CarthroniX, a biotech firm working to develop several drugs that treat arthritis, pulmonary fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions.[14]

Mayor of Lancaster, California

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Elections

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R. Rex Parris was first elected mayor of Lancaster, California in April 2008. He was subsequently re-elected in April 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2020.[15] In 2020, Parris won a fifth term as mayor with 69 percent of the vote.[16]

Tenure

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As mayor, Parris in 2010 launched an economic development division that attracted manufacturing company BYD (makers of electric buses and advanced battery technology).[17]

Parris was involved with many city initiatives, including the Lancaster Wellness Homes[18] and YOLO Lancaster.[19]

Supported by a unanimous 2021 vote by the City Council, Parris led efforts to start a public health agency specifically for Lancaster. These efforts came after a vote of no confidence was issued against the LA County Department of Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

Green energy

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Since his election, Parris has taken steps to make Lancaster a "Net Zero City." In 2015, Lancaster became the first city in the world to generate more clean energy than it consumes and require all new housing to be net zero.

In July 2010, the City of Lancaster partnered with SolarCity to launch the Solar Lancaster program, a solar financing program for homeowners, business owners and nonprofit organizations.[21] In 2015, Parris and the City of Lancaster launched Lancaster Choice Energy, a nonprofit locally-run energy company for Lancaster businesses and residents.[22]

Lancaster's Antelope Valley Transportation Agency is the first public bus agency with 100% of their fleet electric buses.[23]

Parris is a frequent keynote speaker on climate change at conferences throughout the world, such as Verdical Group's annual Net Zero Conference in 2017.[24] The United States Environmental Protection Agency awarded the city of Lancaster in 2019 with its Greenpower Leadership Award.[25]

Controversies

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Throughout his tenure, Parris has been known for a history of controversial remarks.[26][27]

  • He once proposed a $32 million, 10-story Buddha statue complex to help welcome Chinese companies.[28]
  • In 2011, with the city shouldering a disproportionate share of Section 8 housing, Parris accused the Los Angeles County Housing Authority of using the city as a dumping ground for the poor and homeless.[29]
  • He has strong views on mask wearing and advocacy of mandatory COVID-19 vaccines.[30]
  • He told Vice magazine in 2017 that increasing the Asian population and members of the LGBTQ community can help bring down crime rates and increase education levels.[31]

President Donald Trump visited the city of Lancaster on February 18, 2020, accompanied by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.[32] Parris met with Trump, and described him as "incredibly charming" and having a "magnetic personality". After the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Parris reflected on the experience, describing himself as being "horrified" and his view of the Capitol as "almost sacrosanct."[33]

Personal life

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Parris is married to his wife Carrol, with whom he has four children. They have six grandchildren.[1] Two of their sons, Khail and Rutger, continue to work at PARRIS Law Firm. Parris’ brother, Robert Parris, a former CHP officer, has been an attorney with the firm since 1992.[34]

Parris purchased a home previously owned by Lee Iacocca in Laguna Beach, California in April 2020 for $6.6 million.[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hometown Values". Our Rex, Our Mayor.
  2. ^ "Contact Your City Council | City of Lancaster". www.cityoflancasterca.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  3. ^ "Politically correct, he isn't". Los Angeles Times. 2009-09-20. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  4. ^ "R. Rex Parris # 96567 - Attorney Licensee Search". apps.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  5. ^ "Practice Areas | Parris Lawyers". www.parris.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  6. ^ "$370 million verdict goes against Guess co-founder". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  7. ^ "Calif. Driver Gets $120M In Trial Marred By 'Discovery Abuse' - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  8. ^ "SoCalGas agrees to pay up to $1.8 billion in settlement for 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak". Los Angeles Times. 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  9. ^ "Trial Lawyers University - Bizzabo". events.bizzabo.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  10. ^ "Home". R. Rex Parris High School.
  11. ^ "Parris Institute for Professional Excellence". Pepperdine University. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  12. ^ "Parris Institute Founder, Mayor R. Rex Parris, Swears in Rutger Parris (JD '16) to California State Bar". Pepperdine Surf Report. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "USC arthritis researcher Denis Evseenko receives $50,000 donation from Rex and Carrol Parris". USC Stem Cell. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  14. ^ "CarthroniX President/Chairman of the Board R. Rex Parris and Carrol Parris Donate $50,000 in Support of Life Extension Research". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Parris Law Firm. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  15. ^ "Mayor R. Rex Parris". City of Lancaster, CA. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  16. ^ "Lancaster semi-final election results: Parris, Mann, Dorris prevail". The Antelope Valley Times. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  17. ^ "BYD (Build Your Dreams) Motor Factory - Lancaster, CA". lancaster.chamberofcommerce.me. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  18. ^ "Lancaster's Holistic Approach to Healthy Neighborhoods". Western City Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  19. ^ "YOLO Lancaster is back for its second year". avdailynews. 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  20. ^ "Unhappy with L.A. County COVID-19 response, Lancaster to form its own public health agency". Los Angeles Times on Yahoo!.
  21. ^ "Alternative Energy | City of Lancaster". www.cityoflancasterca.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  22. ^ "About LCE". Lancaster Choice Energy. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  23. ^ "4 Lessons From a California Transit Authority's Bus Electrification Rollout". www.greentechmedia.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  24. ^ hello@verdicalgroup.com (2023-09-29). "Honoring Past Keynote Speakers and Trailblazer Award Winners". Net Zero Conference. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  25. ^ US EPA, OAR (2021-05-14). "Green Power Leadership Awardees". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  26. ^ "Mayor's remarks spark outrage". Antelope Valley Press.
  27. ^ Magnier, Mark. "Mayor R. Rex Parris delights in rattling cages, putting Lancaster, California, on the map in China and beyond". South China Morning Post.
  28. ^ "Mayor R. Rex Parris delights in rattling cages, putting Lancaster, California, on the map in China and beyond". sg.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  29. ^ Medina, Jennifer (2011-08-10). "Subsidies and Suspicion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  30. ^ Stallworth, Leo (2021-07-13). "Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris wants to require city employees be vaccinated". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  31. ^ Sheehan, Matt (2017-05-31). "A California mayor hopes China will save his town from meth labs and neo-Nazis". Vice News. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  32. ^ "Trump greeted by Lancaster mayor during visit to Los Angeles area". The Antelope Valley Times. 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  33. ^ "Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris reflects on meeting President Trump". Daily News. 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  34. ^ "Robert A. Parris | Attorneys | PARRIS Law Firm". www.parris.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  35. ^ Flemming, Jack (April 2020). "Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris drops $6.6 million on Laguna Beach home". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
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