Desley Brooks

Desley Brooks was a politician in Oakland, California. She served as a Councilmember on the Oakland City Council from 2002 to 2018. In January 2011, Brooks was also inaugurated as the vice mayor of Oakland, California.[1]

Desley Brooks
Member of the Oakland City Council
from District 6
In office
2002–2018
Preceded byMoses Mayne
Succeeded byLoren Taylor
Vice Mayor
Assumed office
Jan 2011
Preceded byIgnacio De La Fuente

Early life and education

Brooks was born in New Orleans, and she grew up in Los Angeles and Seattle. She holds a B.A. in political science from University of Washington and a J.D. from Seattle University.[2] Prior to her service on the city council, Brooks served Chief of Staff to Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson.[3]

Council career

Brooks was first elected to the council in 2002, taking the seat formerly held by Moses Mayne.[4][5]

In 2002, Brooks listed endorsements by a number of individuals, including sitting city council member Nancy Nadel and civil rights attorney Dan Siegel.

In 2008 Brooks sued San Francisco Chronicle for libel.[6] That case, Brooks v. San Francisco Chronicle, was ultimately dismissed.[7]

In 2010 Brooks spoke on the one-year anniversary of the BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant.[8]

In 2011 Council member Brooks was among the protestors sleeping in tents on the inaugural night of the Occupy Oakland encampment.[9]

In 2012, Brooks put forward a public safety proposal calling for, among other things, better lighting in high crime areas of the city.[10]

In 2017, with the pending adult use legalization of marijuana in California, Brooks lobbied equity amendments in the marijuana permit process that ensures half of all marijuana permits be given to individuals that were formerly convicted of marijuana related offenses or have lived in police beats that were disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs.[11] The new system would also encourage general applicants to partner with equity applicants and provide either free rent or real estate for better priority in the permitting process.[11]

In 2017, Brooks was found liable for $3.75 million for assaulting former Black Panther, Elaine Brown.[12]

In 2018, Brooks faced four challengers and was defeated by Loren Taylor, a biomedical engineer and management consultant,[13] who won with 64.3% of the vote after 5 rounds of ranked-choice voting.[14]

References
  1. "Oakland Inauguration: Larry Reid Is Council President, Desley Brooks Is Oakland's Vice Mayor". Blog.sfgate.com. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  2. Jonathan Wafer, Berkeley Daily Planet "10 Questions for Oakland Council member Desley Brooks", 2008-05-08
  3. Smartvoter.org Desley Brooks bio, 2002
  4. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross (2006-05-01). "Brooks' city funds helped spur Dellums run". Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  5. Fairvote Democracy and Instant Run-off Voting examines the 2002 Mayne-Brooks race
  6. Robert Gammon "Desley Brooks Versus Chip Johnson"
  7. First Amendment Coalition Brooks v. San Francisco Chronicle
  8. "Vigil honors Oscar Grant, BART slaying victim". Sfgate.com. 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  9. Maher, Sean (11 October 2011). "Council member camps overnight with Occupy Oakland protesters". Contra Costa Times. Oakland Tribune. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  10. "Oakland considers plan to light high crime areas". Kaplanforoakland.org. 2011-10-06. Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  11. "Oakland California City Council Member Desley Brooks successfully secured first-in-the-nation Equity Amendments - Press Release - Digital Journal". www.digitaljournal.com. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  12. "Former Black Panther leader awarded millions over dispute with Oakland councilwoman". eastbaytimes.com. 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  13. Debolt, David. "Longtime Oakland Councilwoman Desley Brooks loses in upset". The Mercury News. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  14. "Municipal elections in Oakland, California (2018)". Ballotpedia.


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