Raphael Sonenshein

Raphael J. Sonenshein (born 1949) is a professor of political science at California State University, Fullerton. Teaching at the college since 1982, Sonenshein holds a bachelor's in public policy from Princeton University and a doctorate in political science from Yale University. His books, Politics in Black and White: Race and Power in Los Angeles and The City at Stake: Secession, Reform, and the Battle for Los Angeles detail the political history of Los Angeles in the last fifty years.

He was executive director of the Los Angeles Appointed Charter Reform Commission, which, along with the Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission that operated simultaneously and with the same mandate, created a "unified charter" proposal for the ballot that provided the first successful and comprehensive update to the city's 1925 charter. The charter measure achieved a 60 percent approval at the polls in June 1999. It boosted's the mayor's power and led to the creation of neighborhood councils and area planning commissions.

He is a nephew of retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Nathan Sonenshein.[1]

Books

• Politics in Black and White: Race and Power in Los Angeles. Princeton University Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-691-02548-3
• The City at Stake: Secession, Reform, and the Battle for Los Angeles. Princeton University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0-691-12603-6