Ron Dellums
Ronald Vernie Dellums (November 24, 1935 – July 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 9th congressional district, in office from 1971 to 1998, after which he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
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 (1993–1998) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ronald Vernie Dellums November 24, 1935 Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 30, 2018 (aged 82) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| 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 |
Dellums was born into a family of labor organizers, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps before serving on the Berkeley, California, City Council. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Northern California and the first successful openly socialist non-incumbent Congressional candidate after World War II. His politics earned him a place on President Nixon's enemies list.
During his career in Congress, he fought the MX Missile project and opposed expansion of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber program. When President Ronald Reagan vetoed Dellums's Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, a Democratic-controlled House and a Republican-controlled Senate overrode Reagan's veto, the first override of a presidential foreign-policy veto in the 20th century.