Ron Dellums
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Categories: 1935 births | Living people | Members of the United States House of Representatives from California | Congressional opponents of the Vietnam War | People from Berkeley, California | People from Oakland, California | Mayors of Oakland, California | United States Marines | Congressional scandals | Recipients of the Thomas Merton Award | African Americans in the United States Congress | Non-South African anti-apartheid activists | Members of the Democratic Socialists of America | Watergate figures
Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums (born November 24, 1935), U.S. Democratic Party politician, is the Mayor of the City of Oakland, California. He was a U.S. Representative from California from 1971 until his resignation on February 6, 1998 and following that, a lobbyist until his election as mayor. He is the third African American mayor of Oakland. Dellums was the first African American elected to Congress from Northern California and the first openly socialist Congressman since World War II.[1] Early lifeDellums was born in Oakland. His father, Verney Dellums, was a longshoreman. His uncle, C.L. Dellums, was one of the organizers and leaders of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He attended Oakland Technical High School and McClymonds High School.[2] He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1954 to 1956. Dellums later received his A.A. degree from the Oakland City College in 1958, his B.A. from the San Francisco State University in 1960, and his M.S.W. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1962.[3] He became a psychiatric social worker and political activist in the African American community beginning in the 1960s.[3] He also taught at the San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley.[4] Dellums is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.[5] He is a member of the fraternity's World Policy Council, a think tank whose purpose is to expand the fraternity's involvement in politics, and social and current policy to encompass international concerns.[6] Political careerImage:Dellums.jpg
Ron Dellums' official portrait
Dellums has been in politics for over forty years. He has held positions on the Berkeley city council, in the US House of Representatives, and is the mayor of Oakland, for the term beginning 1 January 2007. Berkeley city councilDellums was elected to the Berkeley city council, and served from 1967 to 1970.[7] U.S. CongressHe was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1970 after being recruited by anti-Vietnam War activists to run against the incumbent, Jeffery Cohelan, a white liberal close to organized labor who had not opposed the war early enough to win reelection in the district. Dellums defeated Cohelan in the Democratic primary and won the general election, serving without interruption for 27 years.[8] His politics earned him a place on the so-called Nixon's Enemies List, where his notation stated Dellums "had extensive EMK-Tunney support in his election bid."[9][10] Vietnam war crimes hearings
In January, 1971, just weeks into his first term, Dellums set up an exhibit of Vietnam war crimes in an annex to his Congressional office. The exhibit featured four large posters depicting atrocities allegedly committed by American soldiers, embellished with red paint. This was followed shortly thereafter by a series of hearings on alleged war crimes in Vietnam, which began April 25, 1971. Dellums had called for formal investigations into the allegations, but Congress chose not to endorse the proceedings. As such, the hearings were ad hoc and only informational in nature. As a condition of room use, press and camera presence were not permitted; however, the proceedings were transcribed.[11] A small number of other anti-Vietnam War congressional representatives also took part in the hearings. Anti-apartheid campaignIn 1972, Dellums began his campaign to end the racist, apartheid policies of South Africa. Fourteen years later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Dellums's anti-apartheid legislation, calling for a trade embargo against South Africa and immediate divestment by American corporations. The bill, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, had broad bipartisan support. It called for sanctions against South Africa and stated preconditions for lifting the sanctions, including the release of all political prisoners. Ronald Reagan called for a policy of "constructive engagement" and vetoed the bill; however, his veto was overridden. It was the first override in the 20th century of a presidential foreign policy veto.[12] Dellums' fight against apartheid in South Africa was the subject of a Disney Channel made-for-TV movie, The Color of Friendship, released in 2000. The role of Congressman Dellums was played by actor Carl Lumbly in the movie.[13] Cold War conflicts in southern AfricaAs part of the Cold War struggle for influence in southern Africa, the United States joined with the apartheid government of South Africa in support of UNITA, led by Jonas Savimbi, against the ultimately victorious Angolan forces of the MPLA supported by the Soviet Union and the Cuban armed forces. Dellums was criticized for his support of Fidel Castro's involvement with the MPLA in Angola and was called a "Castroite congressman" by the conservative press.[14] He also introduced legislation (which was unsuccessful) in September 1987 to prohibit economic and military assistance to Zaire, citing poor human rights, corruption, and alleged collaboration with South Africa.[15] Military budgets and arms controlThroughout his career Dellums led campaigns against an array of military projects, arguing that the funds would be better spent on peaceful purposes, especially in American cities. Programs he opposed included the Pershing and MX missiles, and the B-2 bomber (popularly known as the "stealth bomber"). Because of his commitment to the closing of unneeded military bases, Dellums did not oppose the closing of the Alameda Naval Air Station in his own district.[16] Opposition to the MX missile
The MX missile was a "third-generation" inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM). One of its advantages over earlier missiles was its greater survivability. Unlike previous missiles, the MX was mobile. The design was for fifty missiles to be placed on trains that would be shuttled between numerous hiding sheds around a railroad loop located in remote Utah. Another advantage was that the MX was a MIRVed missile — each missile had up to ten nuclear warheads. Dellums argued that constructing the MX would only propel the ongoing arms race and cause the Soviet Union to construct more weapons. He also argued that the issue of survivability of existing missiles was a red herring; the Soviet Union could not expect a first strike to go unpunished — U.S. nuclear-equipped submarines, bombers and cruise missiles would inflict devastating damage even if all American ICBMs were disabled. As part of the campaign, Dellums met with the Mormon church in Utah. The MX project was eventually cancelled and the last missile decommissioned in 2005 as part of the START II treaty. Opposition to the B-2 Stealth Bomber
The B-2 "stealth bomber" is a long range strategic bomber. Featuring "stealth" technology that made it far less visible to radar, the B-2 was a major technological advance over the existing B-1 Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress bombers. However, it was designed during the Cold War for military scenarios that some argued were less relevant following the collapse of the Soviet Union and, at over two billion dollars per airplane, critics considered it enormously expensive.[17] Although Dellums opposed the B-2 project from the start, Congress approved initial funding for production of 135 bombers in 1987. However, with the winding down of the Cold War, total B-2 production was reduced to 21 aircraft in the early 1990s. But in 1997, seven former Secretaries of Defense signed a letter urging Congress to buy more B-2s, citing the difficulty of assembling a similar engineering team in the future should the B-2 project be terminated.[18] Dellums, citing five independent studies consistent with his position, offered an amendment to that year's defense authorization bill to cap production of the bombers with the existing 21 aircraft. The amendment was narrowly defeated;[19] nonetheless, Congress never approved funding for additional B-2 bombers. U.S. House Committee positionsDellums served as chairman of the House Committee on the District of Columbia and the House Armed Services Committee. Dellums also served on the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Select Committee to Investigate the Intelligence Community.[20] Dellums co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971.[21] Dellums' last Congressional electionDellums easily won his next eleven elections in the traditionally Democratic 9th District. In his last House election race, in 1996, Dellums bested his opponent, Republican Deborah Wright, by a 77%-18% margin.[22] In 1997, Dellums announced that he was retiring from Congress in the middle of his term and a special election was called — which created a series of five special elections in 12 months as various East Bay politicians ran for different political office. For more detailed information, see Special election musical chairs. Dellums' successor, Barbara Lee won the 2000 election by an even larger, 85%-9% margin.[23] Congressional tributeUpon his resignation, several members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi,[24] Jane Harman,[25] William Coyne, Nick Rahall, Ike Skelton, Juanita Millender-McDonald and Tom DeLay gave speeches on the floor of the House in honor of Dellums. Millender-McDonald described Dellums as a "distinguished, principled [and] educated man." Her tribute went on:
Congressman Danny Davis of Illinois described Dellums:
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay described Dellums as "...one of the most giving, open and stalwart, a real stalwart man when he was Chairman"
Voting recordDellums' voting records in Congress were "almost without exception straight As" from groups such as the Sierra Club, the National Organization for Women and the AFL-CIO.[16] He received 100% on consumer group Public Citizen's scorecard.[29] In contrast, he received an 'F' from NumbersUSA, a group dedicated to limiting immigration, and a score of seven out of a possible 100 from the League of Private Property Owners, a property rights organization.[30][31] Oakland mayoral electionDellums was recruited to run for Mayor of Oakland by an informal committee called "Draft Dellums," which collected 8,000 signatures and presented them to the former Congressman at a public meeting at Laney College, chanting "Run, Ron, Run"[32] Image:Oaklandatnight02192006.JPG
Oakland by night
In October 2005, reportedly after weeks of deliberation and speculation, Dellums announced that he would run for mayor of Oakland. The previous mayor, former California Governor Jerry Brown, was ineligible to run for another term, and ran (successfully) for the position of California Attorney General. On June 16, 2006, after nearly two weeks of ballot-counting and a dispute over whether votes for unqualified write-in candidates such as George W. Bush and Homer Simpson counted towards the total, Dellums was unofficially declared the winner in the Oakland mayoral race. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters said Dellums garnered a 50.18 percent majority — 155 votes more than needed to avoid a runoff with City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. Dellums received just 41,992 votes, about 10% of the city's population.[33] Mayor of OaklandMayor-Elect Dellums' transition to office involved 800 Oaklanders who joined 41 task forces to make recommendations on issues ranging from public safety to education and affordable housing.[34] Notwithstanding the significant pay and benefits received by Mr. Dellums as a result of his congressional service, an early priority as mayor was his own compensation[35] and staff budget[36]. Since his election, there has been criticism of the secret nature of the task forces Dellums established, despite having repeatedly vowed to restore "transparency" to city government, and criticism of disarray among the task forces.[37] Within a few months of Dellums' election, Oakland voters were already rating him poorly on key issues. On a scale of 1-10, Dellums scored a 3.7 on improving education, a 3.8 on crime, 4.3 on ecomic development and a 4.3 on providing housing.[38] According to local media, Dellums "frittered" away his first year in office, making no significant policy initiatives in those areas of concern to average citizens, beyond a smoking ban at bus stops[39]. Meanwhile, crime in the city increased dramatically, with Oakland being declared the 4th most dangerous city in the nation. Dellums resisted calls to increase the police force, claiming citizens did not want an oppressive police force, but local reporters expressed skepticism. Multiple "recall Dellums" websites have appeared.[40] Elise Ackerman, a reporter for the Bay Area News Group and a resident of Oakland bought the domain recallmayordellums.com and sent an open letter to Dellums that was covered in the local press, saying to Dellums, "African Americans and Latinos live in fear in Oakland because of your lies. Middle-class residents working two jobs live in fear because of your lies. Nurses, teachers and social workers live in fear because of your lies." Near the end of the message, she continues "You are not effective, you are not honest, you have no integrity and you should step aside." When faced with an irate crowd at a town hall meeting, Dellums declared "I'm giving it everything that I have. If that's not enough, that's cool. Recall me. and let me get on with my private life."[41] Party affiliationsDellums describes himself as a socialist. In the 1970s, Dellums was a member of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC), an offshoot of the Socialist Party of America. He later became vice-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA),[42] which was formed by a merger between the DSOC and the New American Movement, and which works within and outside the Democratic Party. As of 2006 Dellums is no longer a vice-chair of the DSA. While running for mayor of Oakland, Dellums was registered as a member of the Democratic party, and has run as a Democrat in all his congressional races.[43][7] On October 1 2007 Dellums endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. He was named national chair of Clinton's Urban Policy Committee.[44] Drug use allegationsIn 1983, Dellums and his aide John Apperson were investigated for cocaine and marijuana use by the House of Representatives, based on allegations from a House doorkeeper. After eight months, the investigation closed, having found no basis for the charges.[45][10][46] Support of Black Muslim BakeryRon Dellums was a well known supporter of Your Black Muslim Bakery, an organization accused of numerous violent acts over the years, include the August 2007 public assassination in downtown Oakland of journalist Chauncey Bailey. Dellums, even after the death of Mr. Bailey, refused to disavow a letter he sent in support of the Bakery.[47] Family lifeDellums has been married three times. He married his second wife, attorney Leola "Roscoe" Higgs, in 1961. The two divorced in 1998.[42] He married his third wife, Cynthia Lewis, in 2000. Dellums has three grandchildren and seven children: Sydney Ross, Dylan Ross, Olivia Dellums, professional actor Erik, Piper, Brandy, and Pam and Michael(Michael is his step-son), serving a life sentence for murder. Grenada and Cuba controversies, treason allegationIn 1982 Dellums took a trip to Grenada at the invitation of the Prime Minister of the People's Revolutionary Government, Maurice Bishop. Grenada was building an airstrip that U.S. administration officials claimed could be used for Soviet military aircraft. Dellums traveled to Grenada on his own fact-finding mission and described his findings before Congress:
A U.S. Marine invasion of the island later obtained the diary of the former Grenadian defense minister. One entry in it read: "The Revo has been able to crush counter-revolution internationally. Airport will be used for Cuban and Soviet military."[14] Soon after the invasion, members of Dellums's staff traveled to Cuba and allegedly broadcast anti-American statements over Radio Havana.[49] The invasion also recovered a letter from Dellums' chief of staff Carlottia Scott to Maurice Bishop, describing Dellums' feelings towards Bishop and, presumably, Cuban President of the Council of State Fidel Castro.
Another document was recovered showing that Dellums had sent a draft copy of his report on Grenada to Bishop for editing before presenting his report to Congress, stating
Conservative journalist David Horowitz suggested Dellums' actions were treasonous.[50] Criticisms of lobbying activitiesDellums has worked as a lobbyist, which has drawn criticism described in the East Bay Express, a local newspaper.[16] Shortly after leaving office, Dellums began consulting for an international health-care company, Healthcare Management International aimed at starting HMOs in third-world countries. The move was seen as controversial by some as the company stood to profit from Dellums' continuing advocacy of aid for Africa. Dellums also continued to work in Washington, D.C., as a lobbyist for clients such as the East Bay Peralta Community College District and AC Transit, the organization that runs bus service in much of Dellums' old district. Others of his clients are more controversial:
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