CAUCUS LEADER EYES PUBLIC OFFICE
San Diego woman influenced ouster of state NAACP head
She’s one of the local leaders of a political uprising that recently ushered out a controversial long time president of the California Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP.
Now Taisha Brown has fixed her sights on elective office.
Brown, an Alaska transplant who migrated to San Diego a dozen years ago, is among the driving forces who recently called out statewide NAACP President Alice Huffman for accepting at least $1.7 million in consulting fees from political interests that did not necessarily align with the NAACP.
Huffman announced her resignation after 20 years last Friday, citing health reasons and Joe Biden’s win in the presidential election.
“I can say ‘mission accomplished’ and take a well-deserved rest,” Huffman said.
But the announcement came amid sharp criticism of Huffman by Brown, president of the California Democratic Party’s Black caucus and a former vice chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party.
Brown, and several other NAACP and political leaders, accused Huffman of framing opposition to certain ballot measures as racial justice issues.
They noted Huffman or her consulting company received money to oppose a plan to abolish cash bail in California, to side with ride-hailing companies to keep drivers independent contractors, and to oppose a rent control measure and a measure that would have raised business property taxes.
“Alice Huffman is really a symptom of a larger problem: people just not doing the right thing, taking advantage of a community that didn’t know she was doing this,” Brown said. “She was using her position and standing in the Democratic Party to stand as a gatekeeper for all Black people.”
Huffman has denied allegations of conf licts of interest.
Meanwhile, Brown’s criticism of Huffman has elevated her local and statewide profile.
Brown has been in public service for years — she now does employment work for the state of California — but she joined the political fray later in life than many.
She was born 52 years ago in Anchorage, Alaska. “I’m the Black girl who skis,” she said off hand.
The daughter of two unionmember parents, Brown
moved south to attend Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in behavioral science.
Later, she married and started a family that eventually included three children. But 12 years ago, her teenage son was killed in a car accident. Soon after, Brown traveled to San Diego to spend time with her extended family — and stayed.
“I needed to change my environment; I needed to give myself time to grieve,” said Brown, who now makes her home in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego. “You never expect to lose a child, but I am a woman of faith and I believe my steps are ordered by God.”
Brown took an interest in politics after realizing the authority elected officials and policymakers had over her and her sisters and brothers in the Service Employees International Union. She won a seat on the Local 1000 board and set to work honing her skills in collective bargaining and political lobbying.
“I learned that decisions were being made in Sacramento over my life and other state employees,” she said. “That’s what piqued my interest in lobbying and what’s really going on.”
Brown also grew active in
the local Democratic Party, assuming the chairmanship of the Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club and reinvigorating it by boosting membership and revenue. Later, she became chair of the Black caucus of the county Democrats.
In 2012, she was named a delegate to the Democratic National Committee for President Barack Obama, which included an opportunity to meet first lady Michelle Obama.
Since then, Brown has served on the city of San Diego Equal Opportunity Commission and graduated from Emerge California, an Oakland nonprofit that runs programs designed to equip women to seek — and win — public office.
“She is one of a number of Black women who have been working together to change the political landscape of San Diego,” said Clovis Honore, a longtime activist in the San Diego social-justice community.
Honore cited other Black women politicians, including Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez, San Diego Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe and more broadly known leaders.
“When I look at Stacey Abrams and Kamala Harris, and recognize that Black women are a significant force in the Democratic Party, I think of these women who have strategically moved through the hall of politics in California and are on top of not a few things,” he said.
San Diego County Democratic Party Chairman Will Rodriguez-Kennedy said Brown is committed to forthrightness and is fearless in confronting what she considers wrong.
“Taisha is someone who calls it like she sees it,” he said. “She is unafraid to take on the people in power and has been one of the most visible voices for the empowerment of the Black community in the Democratic Party.”
Brown is not shy about tapping her political clout.
In an extended interview with The San Diego UnionTribune, she mentioned three times that Gov. Gavin Newsom should appoint a Black woman to succeed Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate. She specifically promoted Rep. Karen Bass of Los Angeles and Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland as worthwhile candidates.
Harris is the vice president-elect of the United States. The California governor is responsible for appointing a successor.
“The notion that Gov. Newsom would even think about appointing a man to that position is sad,” Brown said.
Brown said her political career is only just beginning. She already is planning to run for public office and has her eyes set on the California Assembly seat now held by her friend and mentor, Dr. Shirley Weber, once she leaves the statehouse.