Desley Brooks
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Desley Brooks
| image =
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| office1 = Member of the Oakland City Council
from District 6
| successor1 = Loren Taylor
| term_start1 = 2002
| term_end1 = 2018
| predecessor1 = Moses Mayne
| office2 = Vice Mayor
| term_start2 = January 2011
| term_end2 = January 2018
| predecessor2 = Ignacio De La Fuente
| successor2 = Rebecca Kaplan
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| education = University of Washington (BA)
Seattle University (JD)
}}
Desley Brooks is 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.{{cite web|url=http://blog.sfgate.com/abraham/2011/01/03/oakland-inauguration-larry-reid-is-council-president-desley-brooks-is-oaklands-vice-mayor/ |title=Oakland Inauguration: Larry Reid Is Council President, Desley Brooks Is Oakland's Vice Mayor |publisher=Blog.sfgate.com |date=2011-07-15 |accessdate=2012-02-07}}
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.Jonathan Wafer, Berkeley Daily Planet [http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-05-08/article/29943?headline=10-Questions-for-Oakland-Councilmember-Desley-Brooks--By-Jonathan-Wafer "10 Questions for Oakland Council member Desley Brooks"], 2008-05-08 Prior to her service on the city council, Brooks served Chief of Staff to Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson.Smartvoter.org [http://www.smartvoter.org/2002/03/05/ca/alm/vote/brooks_d/bio.html Desley Brooks bio], 2002
Council career
Brooks was first elected to the council in 2002, taking the seat formerly held by Moses Mayne.{{cite web|author=Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/01/BAG4AIIF6N1.DTL&ao=all |title=Brooks' city funds helped spur Dellums run |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=2006-05-01 |accessdate=2012-02-07}}Fairvote [http://archive.fairvote.org/oaklandirv/webarchive/democracy.html Democracy and Instant Run-off Voting] examines the 2002 Mayne-Brooks race
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 the San Francisco Chronicle for libel.Robert Gammon [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/desley-brooks-versus-chip-johnson/Content?oid=1176970 "Desley Brooks Versus Chip Johnson"] That case, Brooks v. San Francisco Chronicle, was ultimately dismissed.First Amendment Coalition [http://www.firstamendmentcoalition.org/tag/brooks-v-san-francisco-chronicle/ Brooks v. San Francisco Chronicle]
In 2010 Brooks spoke on the one-year anniversary of the BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant.{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/01/BAQ01BCGFO.DTL |title=Vigil honors Oscar Grant, BART slaying victim |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=2010-01-02 |accessdate=2012-02-07}}
In 2011 Council member Brooks was among the protestors sleeping in tents on the inaugural night of the Occupy Oakland encampment.{{cite web|last=Maher|first=Sean|title=Council member camps overnight with Occupy Oakland protesters|url=http://www.contracostatimes.com/my-town/ci_19087485|work=Contra Costa Times|publisher=Oakland Tribune|accessdate=22 November 2011|date=11 October 2011}}
In 2012, Brooks put forward a public safety proposal calling for, among other things, better lighting in high crime areas of the city.{{cite web |url=http://kaplanforoakland.org/2011/11/oakland-considers-plan-to-light-high-crime-areas/ |title=Oakland considers plan to light high crime areas |publisher=Kaplanforoakland.org |date=2011-10-06 |accessdate=2012-02-07 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713153105/http://kaplanforoakland.org/2011/11/oakland-considers-plan-to-light-high-crime-areas/ |archive-date=2012-07-13 |url-status=dead }}
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.{{cn|date=September 2023}} 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.{{cn|date=September 2023}}
In 2017, Brooks was found liable for $3.75{{nbsp}}million for assaulting former Black Panther Elaine Brown.{{cite web|url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/12/22/former-black-panther-leader-awarded-millions-over-dispute-with-oakland-councilwoman/ |title=Former Black Panther leader awarded millions over dispute with Oakland councilwoman |publisher=eastbaytimes.com |date=2017-12-22 |accessdate=2017-12-22}}
In 2018, Brooks faced four challengers and was defeated by Loren Taylor, a biomedical engineer and management consultant,{{cite news |last1=Debolt |first1=David |title=Longtime Oakland Councilwoman Desley Brooks loses in upset |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/07/sjm-l-oake/ |accessdate=24 July 2020 |publisher=The Mercury News}} who won with 64.3% of the vote after five rounds of ranked-choice voting.{{cite web |title=Municipal elections in Oakland, California (2018) |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Municipal_elections_in_Oakland,_California_(2018) |website=Ballotpedia}}
References
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External links
- [http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/council/coun_mem/brooks/ Bio at Oakland City Council Website]
- [http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-05-08/article/29943?headline=10-Questions-for-Oakland-Councilmember-Desley-Brooks--By-Jonathan-Wafer 2008 profile of Brooks]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Desley}}
Category:Oakland City Council members
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Category:Women city councillors in California