Lionel Joseph Wilson (March 14, 1915 – January 23, 1998) was an American political figure and a member of the Democratic Party.

[4] In January 1950, he was admitted to the State Bar of California and began a private practice with George Vaughns.

[3] While mayor, Wilson addressed development in downtown Oakland, including extension of Bay Area Rapid Transit to the city, and one natural disaster: the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

He lost the 1990 mayoral election to Elihu Harris after making an expensive and unsuccessful bid to return the then Los Angeles Raiders to Oakland.

He, along with Allen Broussard, was also part of the coterie that used to gather at the pharmacy of William Byron Rumford, another important African American in Northern California politics.

His brothers include Harold, Kermit, Julius and Warren Barrios Wilson, who was also an attorney in Oakland.