Where is Desley Brooks? An Oakland councilwoman’s pre-election vanishing act

Where is Desley Brooks? That’s the question I began asking last week because the Oakland City councilwoman, who is trying to retain the District Six seat she’s held since 2002, has missed consecutive council meetings and candidate forums over the past month. Brooks was absent from council meetings on Sept. 17, Oct. 2 and Oct. 16. She’s the chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, but the last two public safety meetings — Sept. 25 and Oct. 9 — were canceled.