Ron Dellums facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Ron Dellums


48th Mayor of Oakland
In office January 8, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Jerry Brown
Succeeded by	Jean Quan
Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee
In office January 3, 1995 – February 6, 1998
Preceded by	Floyd Spence
Succeeded by	Ike Skelton
Chair of the House Armed Services Committee
In office January 20, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Les Aspin
Succeeded by	Floyd Spence
Chair of the House District of Columbia Committee
In office January 3, 1979 – January 20, 1993
Preceded by	Charles Diggs
Succeeded by	Pete Stark
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
In office January 3, 1971 – February 6, 1998
Preceded by	Jeffery Cohelan
Succeeded by	Barbara Lee
Constituency	7th district (1971–1975) 8th district (1975–1993) 9th district (1993–98)

Personal details
Born	Ronald Vernie Dellums (1935-11-24)November 24, 1935 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died	July 30, 2018(2018-07-30) (aged 82) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia
Political party	Democratic
Other political affiliations	Democratic Socialists of America
Spouses	Athurine Dellums (m. 1955; div. 1959) Roscoe Higgs (m. 1961; div. 1998) Cynthia Lewis (m. 2000)
Children	5, including Erik and Piper
Relatives	C. L. Dellums (uncle)
Education	Merritt College San Francisco State University (BA) University of California, Berkeley (MSW)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1954–1956
Rank	Private first class

Ronald Vernie Dellums (November 24, 1935 – July 30, 2018) was an American politician. He served as the Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. Before that, he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 27 years. He represented California's 9th congressional district from 1971 to 1998.

Dellums came from a family involved in labor movements. He joined the United States Marine Corps before becoming a politician. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Northern California. He was also the first openly socialist non-incumbent to win a Congressional seat after World War II. His political views even put him on President Nixon's enemies list.

In Congress, he worked against big military projects like the MX Missile and the B-2 stealth bomber. He also played a key role in ending Apartheid in South Africa. When President Ronald Reagan tried to stop Dellums's Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, Congress voted to overrule the president. This was the first time in the 20th century that Congress overrode a president's veto on a foreign policy issue.

Early Life and Family

A statue of Dellums's uncle, labor organizer C. L. Dellums at the Oakland Amtrak station.

Ronald Dellums was born in Oakland, California. His parents were Verney and Willa Dellums. His father worked as a longshoreman. His uncle, C. L. Dellums, was a famous labor organizer. He helped create the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Ronald went to Oakland Technical High School and McClymonds High School. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1954 to 1956. After his military service, he went to college. He earned degrees from Oakland City College (now Merritt College), San Francisco State University, and the University of California, Berkeley. He became a social worker and activist in the 1960s. He also taught at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Dellums was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was also part of their World Policy Council. This group helps the fraternity get involved in politics and global issues.

Ronald Dellums was married three times. He had six children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Serving on the Berkeley City Council

Dellums was elected to the Berkeley City Council. He served there from 1967 to 1970. He was encouraged to run by Maudelle Shirek.

Time in the U.S. Congress

Dellums was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1970. Anti-Vietnam War activists asked him to run against the person already in office. Dellums won the election and served for 27 years.

In 1972, he was reelected to Congress. His political views were so strong that he was put on Nixon's Enemies List. This list included people President Nixon saw as political enemies.

Foreign Policy Work

During his time in Congress, Dellums often spoke out against U.S. military actions abroad. He believed that money should be spent on peaceful goals instead. He supported limiting aid to African governments that were unfair to their people.

Fighting Apartheid

Dellums in the 1970s

In 1972, Dellums began working to end Apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and discrimination. Fourteen years later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed his anti-apartheid law. This law called for trade limits against South Africa. It also asked American companies to stop investing there.

The law was called the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. It had wide support from both major political parties. President Reagan tried to stop the bill, but Congress voted to override his veto. This was a big moment in U.S. history. It was the first time Congress overrode a president's foreign policy veto in the 20th century.

Dellums's fight against apartheid was even featured in a Disney Channel movie. The film, The Color of Friendship, came out in 2000. Actor Carl Lumbly played Congressman Dellums.

Military Spending and Arms Control

Dellums often argued against large military projects. He felt the money could be better used for communities in American cities. He opposed projects like the Pershing II and MX missiles. He also spoke out against the B-2 bomber, also known as the "stealth bomber."

The B-2 Stealth Bomber was a very advanced plane. It used stealth technology to avoid radar. It was designed during the Cold War. The cost for each plane was very high, over $2.2 billion in 1997.

Dellums opposed the B-2 project from the start. Congress initially approved money for 135 bombers. But as the Cold War ended, the number was cut to 21 planes. In 1997, Dellums tried to stop more B-2s from being built. His effort was almost successful. Congress never approved money for more B-2 bombers after that.

Supporting LGBTQ+ Rights in the Military

In 1993, Dellums was the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He believed that gay and lesbian service members should be allowed to serve openly. He supported efforts to allow them to serve their country.

Committee Roles in Congress

Dellums led two important committees in the House. He was chairman of the U.S. House Committee on the District of Columbia. He also chaired the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services.

He was also a member of other committees. These included the U.S. House Committee on International Relations and the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Dellums helped start two important groups in Congress. He co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971. He also co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 1991.

Dellums's Last Congressional Election

Dellums's official portrait in the 103rd Congress, 1993.

Dellums was reelected 11 times from his district in Oakland. The district number changed twice during his time in office. In his last election in 1996, he won by a large margin.

In 1997, Dellums announced he would leave Congress before his term ended. This led to a special election to fill his seat. His successor, Barbara Lee, won the next election.

Tributes from Fellow Congress Members

When Dellums resigned, many members of Congress praised him. They gave speeches honoring his work. Nancy Pelosi and Tom DeLay were among those who spoke. They described him as a "distinguished, principled" and "stalwart man."

Voting Record in Congress

Dellums in 1996

Dellums's voting record in Congress was highly rated by many groups. He received top scores from environmental groups like the Sierra Club. Women's rights groups like the National Organization for Women also gave him high marks. Labor unions like the AFL-CIO supported his votes. He earned a perfect score from the consumer group Public Citizen.

Presidential Nominations

In 1976, Dellums was suggested as a candidate for president. This was by the National Black Political Assembly. But he said it was "not my moment." That year, he received 20 votes for Vice-President at the Democratic National Convention.

Four years later, he was again nominated for president. This time it was for the Independent Freedom Party. He turned down this nomination too. In that year's Democratic National Convention, Dellums received three votes for president.

Mayor of Oakland

Dellums as Mayor, 2009

2006 Oakland Mayoral Election

After his time in Congress, Dellums was asked to run for Mayor of Oakland. A group called "Draft Dellums" gathered 8,000 signatures. They presented them to him at a public meeting. Crowds chanted "Run, Ron, Run."

In October 2005, Dellums announced he would run for mayor. The current mayor, Jerry Brown, could not run again due to term limits.

On June 16, 2006, Dellums was declared the winner of the Oakland mayoral race. He won with just over 50 percent of the votes. This was enough to avoid a second election.

Transition to Office and Community Involvement

When Dellums became Mayor-Elect, he involved many Oakland residents. About 800 people joined 41 special groups. These groups made suggestions on important issues. Topics included public safety, education, and affordable housing.

Many of these ideas helped shape Dellums's plans as mayor. For example, they suggested focusing on zoning for job-creating businesses. This idea was adopted in 2007. They also recommended hiring more local residents. The city council created a group to work on this.

The groups also suggested focusing on the "green economy." Mayor Dellums helped create the Green Jobs Corps. This program helps people get jobs in environmentally friendly industries. By the end of 2009, about two-thirds of the suggestions had been put into action.

Public Safety Efforts

Crime rates were high when Dellums took office in 2007. In 2008, he called for hiring more police officers. By November 2008, the police department had 837 officers. This was the highest number in the department's history.

Dellums also proposed Measure NN in 2008. This was a tax to hire 70 more police officers. While 55 percent of voters supported it, it needed two-thirds support to pass in California.

His administration also worked out a new police contract. This contract allowed the police department to hire non-uniformed staff for desk jobs. This freed up uniformed officers for street patrol and investigations. In 2008, Dellums promised to lower the crime rate by 10% in 2009. The crime rate actually went down by 13%.

Education Initiatives

Dellums wanted to help teachers stay in Oakland schools. He also wanted more teachers to come from the local community. He started a program to create more diverse local teachers. He held teacher recruitment events at City Hall. He helped the Teach Tomorrow in Oakland program get federal funding.

In 2009, Dellums started a program to prevent students from dropping out of school. He held "back to school" events. He worked with the school district to reduce student absences. He also joined a national effort called America's Promise. As part of this, he started Oakland's Promise. This program aims to cut Oakland's dropout rate in half.

Promoting Oakland

As Mayor, Dellums had an idea for Oakland to be a "Model City." He believed Oakland was "big enough to be significant and small enough to get your arms around." He thought the federal government could test new urban policies in Oakland.

From 2008, Dellums worked to bring federal funding to Oakland. He used his connections in Washington D.C. and his "Model City" idea. By the end of 2009, Oakland received $65 million in stimulus funding. This included the largest police grant for any city in the country.

Dellums decided not to run for a second term as mayor in 2010. Jean Quan became the next mayor.

Death

Ronald Dellums passed away on July 30, 2018, at the age of 82. He died from complications related to cancer. He was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Political Affiliations

Dellums at 78, in Washington, DC for the United States Conference of Mayors annual meeting.

Dellums ran as a Democrat and worked with the Democratic group in Congress. However, he described himself as a socialist. He was the first person to openly call himself a socialist in Congress since Victor L. Berger.

In the 1970s, Dellums was a member of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC). He later became vice-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). This group works both within and outside the Democratic Party.

When he ran for mayor of Oakland, Dellums was officially a registered member of the Democratic Party.

In 2007, Dellums supported Hillary Clinton for president in the 2008 Democratic primary. He was named the national chair of Clinton's Urban Policy Committee.

Autobiography

In 2000, Dellums wrote a book about his life. It was called Lying Down with the Lions: A Public Life from the Streets of Oakland to the Halls of Power. He wrote it with H. Lee Halterman.