Ron Dellums

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Ron Dellums
Ron Dellums
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 9th district
In office
1971-1998
Preceded by Jeffery Cohelan
Succeeded by Barbara Lee
Born November 24, 1935 (age 71)
Oakland, California
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse Leola "Roscoe" Higgs, Cynthia Lewis

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.

Dellums was the first African American elected to Congress from Northern California and the first openly socialist American Congressman since World War II.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Dellums was born in Oakland. His father, Verney Dellums, was a longshoreman. 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]

[edit] Political career

Dellums has been in politics for over thirty years. He has held positions on the Berkeley city council, in the US House of Representatives, and is the mayor-elect of Oakland, for the term beginning 1 January 2007.

[edit] Berkeley city council

Dellums was elected to the Berkeley city council, and served from 1967 to 1970.[7]

[edit] U.S. Congress

He 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]

[edit] Vietnam war crimes hearings

Victims of the My Lai Massacre
Victims of the My Lai Massacre

In January, 1971, just weeks into his first term, Dellums set up a Vietnam war crimes exhibit in an annex to his Congressional office. The exhibit featured four large posters depicting supposed atrocities 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. Dellums had called for formal investigations into the allegations, but Congress chose not to endorse these 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, but the proceedings were transcribed. A small number of other anti-Vietnam War congresspeople also took part in the hearings.

[edit] Anti-apartheid campaign

In 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.[11]

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. [12]

[edit] Cold War conflicts in southern Africa

As 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 the 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.[13] 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.[14]

[edit] Arms control

Throughout his career Dellums led campaigns against defense projects, saying that the funds would be better spent on peaceful purposes, especially in U.S. cities. Programs he opposed in particular included the Pershing and MX missiles, and the B-2 Spirit (popularly known as the "stealth bomber"). Dellums was committed to defense spending reductions although he did not oppose the closing the Naval Air Station Alameda in his own district.[15]

[edit] Opposition to the MX missile
The MX "peacekeeper" missile
The MX "peacekeeper" 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.

[edit] Opposition to the B-2 Stealth Bomber
The B-2 Stealth Bomber
The B-2 Stealth Bomber

The B-2 Spirit (popularly known as the "stealth bomber") is a long range strategic bomber. It was a major technological step forward over the existing B-1 Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress, featuring "stealth" technology that made it far less visible to radar. However, it was designed during the Cold War for scenarios that were less relevant following the collapse of the Soviet Union and, at over two billion USD per aircraft, enormously expensive.[16] Dellums opposed the B-2 project and worked to prevent procurement beyond 21 planes. Seven secretaries of defense, including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Casper Weinberger, signed a letter urging Congress to buy more B-2s, citing the difficulty in assembling a similar engineering team in the future should the B-2 be cancelled.[17] Ultimately, no more planes were purchased.

[edit] U.S. House Committee positions

Dellums served as chairman of the House Committee on the District of Columbia and the House Armed Services Committee. Dellums' rise to the Chairmanship of the Armed Services Committee was a result of a seniority system. He lost his Chairmanship after the Republican Party won control of the House as a result of the 1994 elections.

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.[18]

Dellums co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971.[19]

[edit] Dellums' last Congressional election

Dellums 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.[20]

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.[21]

[edit] Voting record

Dellums' 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.[15] He received 100% on consumer group Public Citizen's scorecard. [22]

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. [23][24]

[edit] Oakland mayoral election

Dellums 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[25]

Oakland by night
Oakland by night

In October 2005, reportedly after weeks of deliberation and speculation, Dellums announced that he would run for mayor of Oakland. The current mayor, former California Governor Jerry Brown, is term-limited and is the California Attorney General-elect.

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 — just 155 votes more than needed to avoid a runoff with City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. Dellums received 41,992 votes, about 10% of the city's population.[26]

Mayor-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.[27]

[edit] Party affiliations

Dellums describes himself as a socialist. In the 70's, 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)[28], 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.[29][7]

[edit] Drug use allegations

In 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.[30][10][31]

[edit] Family life

Dellums has been married three times. He married his second wife, attorney Leola "Roscoe" Higgs, in 1961. The two divorced in 1998.[28] He married his third wife, Cynthia Lewis, in 2000.

Dellums has seven children: Joshua, Alexander, Kimiko, Erik, Piper, Brandy, and Michael.

[edit] Grenada and Cuba controversies

In 1982 Dellums took a trip to the socialist nation of Grenada at the invitation of then leader 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:

...based on my personal observations, discussion and analysis of the new international airport under construction in Grenada, it is my conclusion that this project is specifically now and has always been for the purpose of economic development and is not for military use…. It is my thought that it is absurd, patronizing and totally unwarranted for the United States Government to charge that this airport poses a military threat to the United States’ national security.[32]

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."[13]

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 Fidel Castro.

Ron [Dellums] has become truly committed to Grenada, and has some positive political thinking to share with you…. He’s really hooked on you and Grenada and doesn’t want anything to happen to building the Revolution and making it strong. He really admires you as a person and even more so as a leader with courage and foresight, principles and integrity…. The only other person that I know of that he expresses such admiration for is Fidel.[32]

Additional information 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. [13]. Conservative journalist David Horowitz suggested Dellums' actions were treasonous.[32]

[edit] Criticisms of lobbying activities

Dellums has worked as a lobbyist, which has drawn criticism described in the East Bay Express, a local newspaper.[15] 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:

  • Dellums' firm lobbied for Rolls Royce, a company which manufactures military aircraft engines.
  • Dellums' company lobbies for the San Francisco International Airport in its attempts to build an additional runway, which has been vigorously opposed by environmental groups.
  • His company has been engaged in community relations work for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: the lab generates and stores radioactive waste and has long had a contentious relationship with its residential neighbors and the city government.
  • Dellums also works for Bristol-Myers Squibb, a multinational pharmaceutical corporation.
  • Dellums worked as a lobbyist for the nation of Haiti in 2001-2002. Dellums worked to support Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the overthrown former President of Haiti[33]

When running for mayor of Oakland, Dellums listed his most recent profession as "retired Congressman" in election filing forms.[34] When assistant City Clerk Marjo Keller informed the Dellums campaign that this description was unacceptable, the campaign elected to leave the occupation field blank.

Progressive journalist Doug Ireland wrote a column titled "Dellums for Dollars" criticizing Dellums' lobbying, and said of Dellums, "Ron has gone bad, I'm afraid. He talks the talk, but he doesn't walk the walk anymore."[15]

Speaking in defense of Dellums, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson said that, if asked, Dellums would likely say "just because of the fact that I'm advocating for a company that may be paying me consulting fees, I'm not selling out my beliefs." [15]

[edit] Congressional tribute

Upon his resignation, several members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi,[35] Jane Harman,[36] 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 Ron Dellums is revered on both sides of this aisle because of his integrity and his commitment to progressive ideas. He was always on the cutting edge of the issues. California will miss him in the ninth district, but the State has been enriched by Ron Dellums. While he towers above most of us physically, this attribute is matched by his intellect, faith in the process and optimism for peaceful resolution of conflict.[37]

Congressman Danny Davis of Illinois described Dellums:

A creative, piercing, probing, incisive, thought-provoking, inspiring, charismatic, careful, considerate and deliberative mind. The mind to stand up when others sit down. The mind to act when others refuse to act. The mind to stand even when you stand alone, battered, bruised and scorned, but still standing. Standing on principle, standing tall and standing for the people.[38]

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"

We are losing one of its finest Members, a Member that I have great respect for, because he always did his homework, was so articulate and eloquent on this floor. He always got my attention when he stood up and took the microphone. He would stop every Member in their tracks to hear what he had to say, and there are very few Members that have served in this body that can claim the respect that both sides of the aisle had for the gentleman from California. And the incredible reputation that the gentleman from California has brought to this House; he has elevated this House. He has elevated the distinction of this House by serving here, and this House will greatly miss him when he leaves.[39]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Maurice Isserman. "A Brief History of the American Left", Democratic Socialists of America.
  2. ^ "Mayor-elect Ron Dellums: Oakland ‘can be a great city’", People's Weekly World, June 24, 2006.
  3. ^ a b Jim Herron Zamora, Janine DeFao. "Dellums enters Oakland mayor race as favorite", San Francisco Chronicle, October 8, 2005.
  4. ^ "Ron Dellums, an Active Presensce from California", The African American Registry.
  5. ^ Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. Retrieved on October 24, 2006.
  6. ^ Alpha Phi Alpha's World Policy Council. Retrieved on October 24, 2006.
  7. ^ a b "Dellums, Ronald Vernie", Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  8. ^ "Jeffrey Cohelan Collection", The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center.
  9. ^ "List of White House 'Enemies' and Memo Submitted by Dean to the Ervin Committee", Watergate and the White House, vol. 1, Facts on File, pp. pages 96-97.
  10. ^ a b Megan Rosenfeld. "A 21-Gun Send-Off", The Washington Post, February 7, 1998, p. A06.
  11. ^ Lynn Norment. "How African-Americans helped free South Africa", Nelson Mandela and the New South Africa, Ebony, August, 1994.
  12. ^ http://www.starpulse.com/movie/The_Color_of_Friendship/V184737/0/0/
  13. ^ a b c Jay Nordlinger. "In Castro's Corner - African Americans' alleged affinity for Cuba", National Review,, March 6, 2000.
  14. ^ Jeffrey M. Elliot and Mervyn M. Dymally, Voices of Zaire: Rhetoric or Reality, p. 16
  15. ^ a b c d e Will Harper. "The Radical Insider", East Bay Express, April 3, 2002.
  16. ^ "B-2 Spirit", Federation of American Scientists, November 30, 1999.
  17. ^ "The B-2 Bomber", opensecrets.org.
  18. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r105:E04FE8-44:
  19. ^ http://utopia.utexas.edu/avoice/about/cbc.html
  20. ^ "November 1996 General Election: California 9th Congressional District", RAND Corporation.
  21. ^ http://www.evote.com/elections2000/results/NewStates/CA.asp
  22. ^ http://www.gsenet.org/library/10gov/lcv104th.php
  23. ^ "Immigration Profile of Rep. Ronald Dellums", Numbers USA, August 6, 2006.
  24. ^ http://www.psnw.com/~bashford/e-pp-ful.html
  25. ^ Heather MacDonald, "Ex-rep. thrills backers by entering Oakland mayoral race" Oakland Tribune, Oct 8, 2005
  26. ^ Christopher Heredia, Janine DeFao. "De La Fuente offers support to Dellums as mayoral winner", San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 2006.
  27. ^ Heather MacDonald,"Dellums Makes 4 Additions to His Staff." Oakland Tribune, February 27, 2007
  28. ^ a b http://www.nndb.com/org/694/000054532/
  29. ^ California election results online http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_elections.htm
  30. ^ "Historical Summary of Conduct Cases in the House of Representatives", U.S. House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, November 9, 2004.
  31. ^ Bernadette Malone. "Cajun butterknife - Rep. Bob Livingston - Interview", National Review, December 31, 1997.
  32. ^ a b c David Horowitz. "An Enemy Within", FrontPageMagazine.com, September 19, 2001.
  33. ^ Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross. "In Oakland, Dellums draws fire in mayor's race", San Francisco Chronicle, March 27, 2006.
  34. ^ Jim Herron Zamora. "Dellums to leave occupation line blank on ballot", San Francisco Chronicle, March 10, 2006.
  35. ^ Nancy Pelosi. "Tribute to Congressman Ron Dellums", February 3, 1998.
  36. ^ Jane Harman. "Tribute to the Honorable Ronald V. Dellums", February 03, 1998.
  37. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r105:H04FE8-643:
  38. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r105:H11FE8-235:
  39. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r105:1:./temp/~r1051D58xM:e45:

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Jeffery Cohelan		 United States Representative for the 7th Congressional District of California
1971–1975		 Succeeded by
George Miller
Preceded by
Pete Stark		 United States Representative for the 8th Congressional District of California
1975–1993		 Succeeded by
Nancy Pelosi
Preceded by
Pete Stark		 United States Representative for the 9th Congressional District of California
1993–1998		 Succeeded by
Barbara Lee
Preceded by
Jerry Brown		 Mayor of Oakland, California
2007-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent


Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus Seal of the United States House of Representatives
Diggs • Stokes • Rangel • Burke • Mitchell • Collins • Fauntroy • Dixon • Leland • Dymally • Dellums • Towns • Mfume • Payne • Waters • Clyburn • Johnson • Cummings • Watt • Kilpatrick
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