On Verge of Retirement, City Attorney Reflects on 33 Years (Part II)

[Editor's Note: This is Part II of a two-part series, describing the life and work of soon-to-retire city attorney Robert Zweben, told from the perspective of family friend Tony Leonard. See Part I, published Friday, here.]

At a certain point in his young adult life, Robert Zweben decided to start taking school more seriously. He graduated from Brandeis and applied to a few law schools, including George Washington University in Washington, DC.

He began classes at George Washington in the fall of 1967, just as the Vietnam anti-war protests were becoming massive.

In addition to his classes, Robert got incredible job experience in DC. He worked closely with Michael Tigar, a leading provider of legal representation to protesters of the Vietnam War and an authority on Selective Service law.

From this connection, Robert also worked with Ralph Nader as a Nader Raider, a group of idealistic college students and lawyers who volunteered at Nader's Center for Study of Responsive Law. Nader’s Raiders worked on a variety of consumer advocacy issues. (Robert was a second-wave Nader’s Raider, not one of the original seven who testified in front of the Federal Trade Commission in 1968.)

After graduating from law school, Robert was accepted into a federal program for young lawyers working in poverty law and moved to Ann Arbor, MI. After a road trip to California through Lake Tahoe, which ended in Berkeley, Robert could not resist the California allure.

Upon returning to Ann Arbor, he negotiated a transfer, moved to Albany and started working for Contra Costa Legal Services. When his contract ended, Robert decided to go out on his own. About a year later he and another young lawyer opened an office in El Cerrito.

He said, of these first days, “I did the classic solo practitioner diet of law—you take anything that walks in the door, and you pray you do it right.” His partnership ended after he was elected city attorney. In 1985 he moved to an office on Solano Avenue in Berkeley, where he still practices law today.

CAREER SNAPSHOT: NEW CHALLENGES ARE DRIVING FORCE

Robert said he decided to run for city attorney because it gave him the opportunity to take on new cases continually; gain experience in various aspects of the law; and act on constantly-changing issues. The work was always evolving, current and directly connected to the welfare of the residents of the city.

As Robert put it, “Cities are … the most pure form of democracy and the closest to their constituents. So people can come down there [to City Hall] and rail the hell out of the City Council or the city staff, and they complain about stuff that makes a difference in their lives.”

Robert is an intense person, but there is also a balance and calm that runs through his life and is evident when speaking with him. As he said, “there’s no use making a stable full of enemies.”  

When a group of environmentalists attacked him in 1990 for not supporting Measure C, which was eventually approved by voters and constrained the allowable uses on the Albany waterfront, Robert took it in stride.

Even though he was upset, because he said he had supported environmental measures on many occasions previously, he remained calm and professional and, like so many other contentious issues, it passed.

ON THE INSIDE

Robert has a genuine confidence. He shares very little of my own (and Hamlet’s) tendency toward constant questioning. Once he makes up his mind he doesn’t “sabotage” himself, as he puts it, with self-doubt or ambivalence.

When we spoke about his memories it was clear to me that, once he makes up his mind, there is clarity of purpose and follow-through.

For all the balance and calm, Robert is still an attorney at heart.

Even during our friendly, informal conversation he showed a tendency for re-phrasing things I said if they could be put in a more positive light.

For example, after Robert described how he taught himself to drive at age 14 without his parents having the vaguest idea, I said, “So you learned to drive without adult supervision.”

Robert thought for a moment and then said with a smile, “I would like to call it self-initiated.”

A THOUGHTFUL COACH

One of the reasons Robert kept running for the city attorney position was the flexibility it offered in his schedule. In addition to coaching my first baseball team, Robert also coached many of my youth soccer teams.

Robert was never the kind of coach who would yell instructions or chew a kid out if he screwed up. When he spoke, he spoke directly, but without any need to unsettle a young person.

If he was setting up a new drill, he would speak clearly: “Pass the ball with the instep of your foot. When it arrives, move your foot back a bit to receive it, trap it, make sure it stops moving, then sweep it back, pass it to your partner.” I partnered with Robert's son Seth a lot during these passing drills.

I remember, when we were about 13, Robert showed up at practice and told us he had watched a soccer video on how to pass in triangles. So we spread out began learning the new system. Later he taught us "the weave."

A SUPPORTIVE PARENT

In our early 20s, Seth and I and our other friends would congregate at Robert’s house on Marin Avenue in Albany. He and Seth’s mom Ellen had divorced by then, and we would drink to our heart’s content. He had pretty incredible tolerance for the drunken behavior of our often rowdy group.

He wasn’t oblivious to the partying, quite the opposite. I believe he preferred to have the revelry take place in the safety of his home. When we drank, we would almost always end up just crashing at his house, and Robert never let anyone drive home after they had been drinking.

We could party at night, wake up the next morning hung-over and be greeted by Robert, smiling, enjoying our headaches just a bit.

I think that’s one way Robert expresses his love: he allows you to be who you are. It’s a quality that meshes well with his intensity. I’ve always felt loved and supported by Robert. I’ve always felt that he believes in me. Even today, writing this piece for Albany Patch, I have the sense that he is behind me 100 percent.

I’m sure the combination has served him well as city attorney, where he has often had to represent the city’s best interest, even when it conflicted with his own view of things.

As he told me, if someone really crossed the line, he would express himself, but in most cases, especially publicly, the best thing to do was be diplomatic and keep your opinions to yourself.

ON RETIREMENT

In thinking about retirement, Robert is weighing the options with the same intellectual curiosity and open-mindedness that has served him as city attorney.

He spoke of all the possibilities retirement offered: One can focus on grandchildren or traveling or gardening or any number of things in any number of combinations. With people living longer now, retirement can also lead to a career change or doing something part time in a new field.

As he talked about retirement, Robert’s intellectual and creative mind really showed. He is open to changes, new adventures and new challenges. He is also willing to continue serving Albany in some capacity.

This ability to weigh different options and stay open to the possibilities is something I greatly value, not just in Robert, but in anyone. It shows an openness to be changed by life’s events, while simultaneously having the moxie to change one’s self and one’s environment.

In anticipation of Robert’s retirement, last year Albany voters approved a change in the city charter to make the attorney position one that is appointed by City Council, rather than elected. Robert supported this decision and assisted with the transition. ( will begin as Robert's replacement in January.)

During his time as city attorney, Robert won an unprecedented nine elections. With the change how the city attorney is selected, it’s a record that will likely never be broken.

OVER THE YEARS

Since moving to Albany in 1971, Robert said he has seen many changes. Albany built a community center, created many new bike lanes, reconfigured Marin Avenue to eliminate four traffic lanes, took over the Bulb, and improved the Little League fields.

He currently spends some time in Monterey, CA, with his wife Elaine (who lived and worked in Monterey County when they married in 1999) and lives in their home on Marin Avenue in Albany. The couple plans to continue spending time in both cities.

Thirty-three-plus years of public service, and more than 25 years supporting and guiding me. Robert is deserving of the medal he will receive from the City of Albany.

Actually, I don’t know if the city , but they should. If they don’t, I would like to give him a medal.

It would read, I love you, thank you for a lifetime of service to Albany, and thank you for a lifetime of personal support, encouraging me to keep going even when I want to stop.

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.