Steven Brooks

Steven Brooks
Nevada State Assembly, District 17
Former member
In office
February 7, 2011 - March 28, 2013
Party	Democratic
Compensation
Base salary	$146.29/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	6 terms (12 years)
Education
Bachelor's	University of California, Riverside
Personal
Profession	Civic management analyst
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Steven Brooks is a former Democratic member of the Nevada State Assembly, representing the 19th District from 2011 to 2012, and the 17th District from February 4, 2013 to March 28, 2013. Brooks became the first lawmaker to be expelled from the Nevada State Legislature following two arrests that called his emotional health into question.

Issues

Campaign themes

2012

Brooks told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he is "a fiscal conservative and liberal democrat."

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Brooks served on the following committees:

Nevada Committee Assignments, 2013
• Health and Human Services
• Transportation
• Ways and Means

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Brooks served on these committees:

Nevada Committee Assignments, 2011
• Health and Human Services
• Judiciary
• Transportation

Elections

2012

See also: Nevada State Assembly elections, 2012

Brooks ran in the 2012 election for Nevada State Assembly, District 17. Brooks ran unopposed in the June 12 primary election and defeated Len Marciano (R) in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.

Nevada State Assembly, District 17, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Steven Brooks Incumbent	68.5%	13,607
	Republican	Len Marciano	31.5%	6,247
Total Votes				19,854

2010

See also: Nevada State Assembly elections, 2010

On November 2, 2010 Brooks won election to the Nevada House of Representatives. Brooks defeated Meghan Smith, Scott Hafen, Brandon Casutt, and Piange Jackson in the June 8 primary election. He defeated Jerry Wang (R) and James Rhodes (Independent American) in the general election.

Nevada House of Representatives, District 19 General election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Steven Brooks (D)		4,596
Jerry Wang (R)		2,399
James Rhodes (I)		433

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, a year in which Brooks was up for re-election, he collected $131,249 in donations.

Listed below are the four largest contributors to Brooks's 2010 campaign.

Donor	Amount
Gino Mauriello & Co	$19,000
Shropshire, Jacqulyn	$5,000
Laborers International Local 872	$5,000
Nady, C J & Laurie	$3,000

Controversies

Arrests in 2013

On Saturday, January 19, 2013, North Las Vegas police arrested Brooks, booking him on one count of intimidating a public official with physical violence. Sources told the Las Vegas Sun that Brooks had allegedly threatened to shoot Speaker-elect Marilyn Kirkpatrick (D) that afternoon because he was unhappy with his committee appointments for the upcoming legislative term. Brooks was taken into custody without incident at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. According to the Sun, Brooks "had told lobbyists and other lawmakers that he had expected to become chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, a powerful committee that oversees changes to the governor's proposed budget." However, the leadership had instead chosen Maggie Carlton as committee chair. The Nevada Assembly's Democratic caucus had recently been divided by the recent leadership contest between Kirkpatrick and William Horne, triggered by the narrow defeat in November 2012 of Majority Floor Leader and expected speaker Marcus Conklin in his re-election bid.

Brooks was released after posting his $100,000 bail on January 20, a little more than 24 hours after being taken into custody. If convicted of intimidating a public official, a felony charge, he could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. When announcing Brooks' release on Monday, police declined to confirm or deny whether the assemblyman had been arrested with a firearm. On January 21, 2013, Brooks told Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Steve Sebelius, "I'm innocent. Marilyn wants to kill me." The city of Las Vegas, where Brooks works as an analyst, placed him on unpaid leave on January 22.

On January 22, 2013, after announcing that Brooks had been hospitalized in Las Vegas for digestive bleeding, possibly due to a pre-existing condition, Brooks' attorney Michael Posin informed the press that "there are a lot of things going on here that will put things in a different light than it appears right now." That same day, North Las Vegas police Sgt. Tim Bedwell confirmed that Brooks had a gun in his car at the time of his arrest at a traffic stop but declined to say its caliber and whether it was loaded. According to a law enforcement report obtained by the Las Vegas Sun, the police had been warned that Brooks was "willing to have a shootout with police." Officers found a .357 Smith and Wesson and 41 rounds of live ammunition in Brooks' vehicle at the time of his arrest.

The January 28 initial court date for Brooks was delayed as the assemblyman underwent a mental evaluation. No charges have been filed yet. Following his prior release from the hospital after his stay for internal bleeding, Brooks had "reportedly exhibited bizarre behavior, including leaving the Legislative building in Carson City in a hood and appearing shirtless on the front page of the Jan. 25 Las Vegas Review-Journal." In his January 24 interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Brooks maintained his innocence, admitted to having a gun with him at the time of his arrest, and claimed that he was in danger from Kirkpatrick. After undergoing the mental evalualtion, Brooks was released from the hospital on January 31.

Brooks was sworn in on February 4, 2013, at the start of the new legislative term but was expected to take a leave of absence for medical purposes. Speaker Kirkpatrick told the media that she intended to form a select committee to examine the Brooks case and to make recommendations for how to deal with similar situations in the future. Brooks apparently backed away from an agreement to take a leave of absence, so Kirkpatrick appointed her investigation panel on Thursday, February 7. Majority Leader Horne (D) was appointed to chair the 7-member panel, whose other members included Democrats Richard Carrillo, Jason Frierson, and Dina Neal and Minority Leader Pat Hickey (R) and his fellow Republicans Wesley Duncan and Lynn Stewart. Brooks then announced he was taking a 3-week leave of absence. He had already been removed from the Assembly's Democratic Caucus on February 6.

Police arrested Brooks again on February 10, 2013, after his wife called 911 from a neighbor's house. Brooks allegedly had grabbed his wife by her hair and pushed her, causing her to go to the neighbor's house. When police arrived, the legislator allegedly attempted to punched an officer and then struggled to grab the officer's gun before being subdued with the assistance of a second officer. Brooks was arrested for obstructing the police and domestic battery. After being released on a $4,000 bond, Brooks claimed on Monday, February 11, that the police had attacked him before the arrest. Also on February 11, the Nevada legislature banned Brooks from its premises and placed him on leave for the duration of the ongoing investigation by Kirkpatrick's panel. Brooks' next court date is April 11, 2013.

Brooks' behavior in the legislature apparently triggered one of the legislature's employees to file a complaint to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about "an unstable and dangerous employee." Although OSHA district manager Chris Davies' February 4 letter to legislative staff did not reveal the names of the employee who filed the complaint or its subject, staff and the media assumed it referred to Brooks. Although OSHA did not plan any investigation, the Davies letter was one more piece of evidence likely to be considered by Horne's special panel's investigation into Brooks' behavior. If the panel recommends expelling the legislator, two thirds of the Assembly would need to support the measure.

Expulsion

On the night of March 26, 2013, a special bipartisan committee voted 6-1 to recommend the expulsion of Brooks from the Nevada State Assembly. The person to vote against recommending expulsion, Dina Neal, said she preferred suspension over expulsion. The full chamber needed to pass a measure by a two-thirds majority in order to officially oust Brooks. The last time this procedure was used on a member of the Assembly was in 1867, though the assembly never voted on the matter.

On March 28, 2013, the Assembly expelled Brooks by voice vote, with few 'no' votes.

Following the expulsion, Brooks was again arrested after leading police on a high-speed chase for 15 miles. He was charged with forcefully resisting an officer, evading arrest, throwing objects from a motor vehicle, and harming a police dog. Police statements said that Brooks had refused to pay a tow truck operator, who reported unusual behavior. A report from the Barstow Police Department said further that after his vehicle was disabled, Brooks failed to heed orders, and that he choked and hit a police dog, which required veterinary attention. Brooks was taken to a hospital before being jailed with bail set at $100,000.

Scorecards

Nevada Policy Research Institute

See also: Nevada Policy Research Institute's Legislative Session Review & Report Card

The Nevada Policy Research Institute, a Nevada-based conservative-libertarian think tank, releases a "Legislative Report Card" evaluating members of the Nevada State Legislature on "each lawmaker's voting record on legislation impacting the degree of economic freedom and education reform." Bills determined by the Institute to be of greater significance are weighted accordingly. According to the Institute, "a legislator with a score above 50 is considered to be an ally of economic liberty".

2011

Brooks received a score of 30.89% in the 2011 report card, ranking 52nd out of all 63 Nevada State Legislature members.

Recent news

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This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term "Steven + Brooks + Nevada + Assembly"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Steven Brooks News Feed

• Brooks' ouster from Assembly cost Nevada taxpayers $94000 - Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Brooks Ouster Cost Taypayers Thousands - CBS Local
• Cost of Brooks mess grows by almost $10000 - Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Brooks' replacement likes Assembly job, will try to keep it - Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Poll ranks best, worst legislators in Nevada - Las Vegas Review-Journal
• The Final Days Of The Nevada Legislative Session - KNPR
• Chief counsel in lawsuit against IRS: top Democrat Cummings' claim is 'ridiculous' - Daily Caller
• Governor Calls Special Session of NV Legislature - KLAS-TV
• It only took 121 days for lawmakers to ignore tax reform , be good to gays and ... - Las Vegas CityLife
• Legislative guide reprinted to remove Brooks - Nevada Appeal

External links

Suggest a link

• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page
• Campaign Twitter page
• House Site
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2010

References

Political offices
Preceded by Kelvin Atkinson (D)	Nevada State Assembly District 17 2013	Succeeded by Tyron Thompson (D)
Preceded by Jerry Claborn (D)	Nevada State Assembly District 19 2011–2012	Succeeded by Cresent Hardy (R)