Desley Brooks is a politician in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. She served as a Councilmember on the

Oakland City Council The Oakland City Council is an elected governing body representing the City of Oakland, California. Since 1998, Oakland has had a mayor-council government. The mayor is elected for a four-year term. The Oakland City Council has eight council me ...

from 2002 to 2018. In January 2011, Brooks was also inaugurated as the vice mayor of Oakland.

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 The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and a J.D. from

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

. Prior to her service on the city council, Brooks served Chief of Staff to Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson.

Council career

Brooks was first elected to the council in 2002, taking the seat formerly held by Moses Mayne. 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. That case, '' Brooks v. San Francisco Chronicle'', was ultimately dismissed. In 2010 Brooks spoke on the one-year anniversary of the

BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant Oscar Grant III was a 22-year-old black man who was killed in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009 by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit ...

. In 2011 Council member Brooks was among the protestors sleeping in tents on the inaugural night of the

Occupy Oakland Occupy Oakland refers to a collaboration and series of Demonstration (people), demonstrations in Oakland, California, Oakland, California, that started in October 2011. As part of the Occupy movement, protesters have staged Occupation (protest), ...

encampment. In 2012, Brooks put forward a public safety proposal calling for, among other things, better lighting in high crime areas of the city. 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. 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. In 2017, Brooks was found liable for $3.75million for assaulting former Black Panther

Elaine Brown Elaine Brown (born March 2, 1943) is an American prison activist, writer, singer, and former Black Panther Party chairwoman who is based in Oakland, California.Wheaton, Sarah (December 12, 2010)"Inmates in Georgia Prisons Use Contraband Phones ...

. In 2018, Brooks faced four challengers and was defeated by

Loren Taylor Loren Manuel Taylor (born July 26, 1977) is an American politician who served a member of the Oakland City Council from the 6th district from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he ran for List of m ...

, a biomedical engineer and management consultant, who won with 64.3% of the vote after five rounds of ranked-choice voting.

References

External links

Bio at Oakland City Council Website

2008 profile of Brooks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Desley Living people Oakland City Council members Year of birth missing (living people) University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni Women city councillors in California Seattle University School of Law alumni 21st-century American women