Oakland

Opinion: Councilmember Desley Brooks is a Passionate Advocate for Oakland

Published

7 years ago

January 19, 2018

Oakland Post

By Darin T. Wesley

In Oakland, most electeds claim to play nice. But with whom? At whose expense?

As rents skyrocket and affordable housing becomes a distant dream, local politicians make nice with big developers, venture capitalists and rich tech companies – partnerships that leave residents literally outside in the cold.

As more families lose their homes, the representatives they elected to represent them smile widely while cutting deals with deep pocket investors responsible for making the Bay Area the most expensive place to live in America.

Those who dare question the game are framed as contentious. They are ostracized from political power circles and smeared outside of them. This is politics as usual—a game of life or death for many, and one that Oakland’s public servants happily play by the rules.

Not Desley Brooks.

Brooks is a politician who has always been a passionate advocate for our community. Anyone who has witnessed her hold court during a City Council meeting could not deny her vocal, unyielding approach to her legislative duties.

A licensed attorney, Brooks was in-house counsel for several departments at both federal and state levels before being elected to represent District 6 in East Oakland. It’s a sound bet that those around during her trial days would describe her pursuit of justice back then in a similar way.

No matter the role, throughout her career Brooks has been a staunch advocate for the interests of those she represents, bravely challenging those that oppose.

She doesn’t often seem concerned with nice—that much is true. Her focus is lasered in on what’s right. During her 16 years on the Council, Brooks has challenged City Hall from within, refusing to play politics in an arena of closed door deals.

Instead, she’s worked to foster an open-door policy with residents.

She has a long list of accomplishments:

Backing legislation to keep tenants and homeowners safe from eviction and foreclosure;
Organizing free legal assistance at Eastmont Mall for Oakland residents;
Backing Oakland’s Prompt Payment Policy ensuring nonprofits are paid on time;
Sponsoring the new Department of Race and Equity, created to end systemic racism in the City of Oakland;
Helping pass an historic Cannabis Equity Ordinance, winning rights for those from neighborhoods most devastated by War on Drugs to participate in legal cannabis industry;
Backing measures to increase police accountability;
Sponsoring concerts, food giveaways and other activities in neighborhoods that get little attention from City Hall.

When decisions are made that affect people’s livelihoods, she makes sure the community pays attention and participates. She extends her political power beyond the walls of City Hall, attending local meetings to hear concerns directly from the community.

These methods have helped make Brooks’ reputation as an advocate well known in Oakland.
What’s lesser known is how those efforts often find her pitted against the interests of other Council members and government officials.

Big developers and others set to gain from rampant speculation see Brooks’ adherence to the needs of her base as an obstacle, and Brooks herself as a contentious nuisance rather than a valued voice.

District 6, full of Black and Brown families with little economic power, don’t often figure in political big money games, even as a bargaining chip.

As most government representatives reach up for the next rung on the political ladder, Desley Brooks has time and time again chosen to reach back to her community.

Brooks has consistently risked political gain in favor of public good.

She has sacrificed personal comfort for good public policy and taken plenty of hits along the way.

Despite big opposition, Brooks continues to fight for her district, granting her constituents exactly what they voted for: a seat at the table.

D. Wesley is a freelance writer and native Midwesterner who loves hiking, cooking and living somewhere it doesn’t snow.

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Oakland Awarded $28 Million Grant from Governor Newsom to Sustain Long-Term Solutions Addressing Homelessness

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program. This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Published

18 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program.

This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Oakland City Administrator’s Office staff held a press conference today to discuss the grant and the City’s successful implementing of the Mayor’s Executive Order on the Encampment Management Policy.

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Pamela Price Appoints Deputy D.A. Jennifer Kassan as New Director of Community Support Bureau

On Monday, District Attorney Pamela Price announced Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan as the new director of the Community Support Bureau. Kassan has over 25 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises including benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies, nonprofits, cooperatives, hybrid organizations, investment funds, and purpose trusts.

Published

18 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

On Monday, District Attorney Pamela Price announced Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan as the new director of the Community Support Bureau.

Kassan has over 25 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises including benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies, nonprofits, cooperatives, hybrid organizations, investment funds, and purpose trusts.

Working in the DA’s new administration since 2023, Kassan was most recently assigned to the Organized Retail Theft Prosecution team.

Kassan has a master’s degree in City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. She received a National Science Foundation Fellowship from Yale Law School, and graduated from Yale Law School in 1995. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor emphasis in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.

Kassan’s education, extensive legal background, list of notable accomplishments and impressive resume includes helping to found and lead multiple organizations to support community wealth building including:

Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization that promotes locally-based community economic development,
the Sustainable Economies Law Center, a nonprofit that provides legal information, training, and representation to support sustainable economies
the Force for Good Fund, a nonprofit impact investment fund
Crowdfund Main Street, a licensed portal for regulation crowdfunding
Opportunity Main Street, a place-based ecosystem building organization that supports under-represented entrepreneurs and provides education about community-based investing.

In addition, Kassan served as an elected member of the City Council of Fremont, California from 2018 to 2024, and on the Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies.

In 2020 she was named to the list of World-Changing Women in Conscious Business by SOCAP Global.

“We are excited to see Jenny accept the role as the new leader for the Community Support Bureau,” said Price. “She brings a wealth of talent, experience, and a vision to expand our office’s engagement with community groups and residents, that will level-up our

outreach programs and partnerships with local organizations with the aim of promoting crime prevention.

“We thank Interim CSB Director Esther Lemus, who is now assigned to our office’s

Restitution Unit, for her hard work and a great job fostering positive relationships between the DAO and the community.”

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s Open Letter to Philip Dreyfuss, Recall Election’s Primary Funder

Oaklanders Defending Democracy, a group opposing the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, shared an open letter she wrote to Philip Dreyfuss of Farallon Capital, a coal hedge fund. According to Thao’s supporters, “Dreyfuss is the primary funder of the recall effort to remove her from office. He has not explained his motivations or answered one question about why he’s funding the recall or what his agenda is for Oakland.

Published

18 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Special to The Post

Publishers note: Oaklanders Defending Democracy, a group opposing the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, shared an open letter she wrote to Philip Dreyfuss of Farallon Capital, a coal hedge fund.

According to Thao’s supporters, “Dreyfuss is the primary funder of the recall effort to remove her from office. He has not explained his motivations or answered one question about why he’s funding the recall or what his agenda is for Oakland.

“All we know about him is his firm has invested over $2 billion in coal since 2022. Farallon Capital is a global hedge fund with $39 billion capital under management, headquartered in San Francisco, the supporters say.

The effort to recall Mayor Sheng Thao was built on top of an argument about a crime wave, pinning the blame for it on a newly elected Mayor. Now that crime has dropped massively, recall proponents are left with no compelling argument.

Oct. 30

Dear Philip Dreyfuss,

We haven’t met. As you know, I’m the Mayor of Oakland, elected in 2022 to serve and protect this city. Since stepping into office, I’ve tackled rising crime, homelessness, and budget challenges head-on, working tirelessly for Oakland’s future.

You are a hedge-fund manager and coal investor who doesn’t live in Oakland who is trying to buy our city government. But the people didn’t elect you, they elected me to protect them from people like you.

Shortly after my term began, you launched a campaign to remove me from office, pouring in nearly $500,000 of your own wealth. We’ll know the outcome of your campaign on Nov. 6, but let’s be clear about what’s at stake.

Since I took office, crime has dropped over 30%—we’re on track for less than 100 homicides for the first time since 2019, with 15,000 fewer crimes overall.

We’ve invested hundreds of millions into affordable housing, modernized our 911 system, streamlined construction permitting, and are fighting to make Oakland a safer and cleaner city.

If your recall succeeds, Oakland will see four mayors in just five years, another election for mayor the following year and a whopping $10 million cost to taxpayers. In other words, chaos. None of this will impact you because you don’t live here.

Oaklanders deserve to know who you are. I looked into your record and found that the hedge fund you help manage, Farallon Capital, has invested over $2 billion in coal since 2022.

For years, Oakland has stood tall against coal money threatening the health of West Oakland, Chinatown, Jack London and downtown.

Did you know that life expectancy in West Oakland is 7.5 years lower than the County average? Or that our children suffer from asthma at a rate twice as high as the rest of the County?

Philip, instead of trying to use your wealth to hijack our democracy and create chaos in our city you could have put your money where your mouth is.

Instead of investing in coal you could have invested in our young people—created scholarships for our college-bound kids, funded apprenticeships for those who want to learn a trade or helped rid our schools of lead.

Instead, you chose to divide us while you try to buy us. But I’m here to tell you, Philip, on behalf of the 450,000 residents of my city that Oakland is not for sale. NO to coal. NO to chaos. And NO to your selfish and self-serving recall.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, City Hall, Oakland