John Brooks

1923 - 2015

John Brooks

September 16, 1923 - April 16, 2015

John "Jack" Brooks, a long-time leader in California business, politics, and community service, died on April 16, 2015 of heart failure at the age of 91. One of the Bay Area's most successful real estate developers, Brooks was active in California Democratic politics for many decades, and a co-founder of the Oakland Raiders. "Jack Brooks was an extraordinary man, successful in business, faithful to his family and utterly committed to his community and the state of California," said Governor Jerry Brown. "Everything he touched was better because of his generosity." The son of a Navy engineer, Brooks was born in 1923 in East Oakland, where he attended local schools before getting his first job as a welder in the Alameda shipyards. Brooks entered the U.S. Maritime Academy at King's Point, Long Island in 1940, but left there immediately after basic training, when he was assigned to a liberty ship sailing into the South Pacific war zone, followed by tours of duty that took him to North Africa, the Persian Gulf, and India. After graduating from King's Point in 1944, Brooks entered the US Navy for a four-year stint as chief engineer officer and was assigned to the U.S.S. Allandale, an assault transport serving in the Pacific. In 1945 Brooks married his middle-school sweetheart, Barbara Mathews, and took up residence in San Leandro, where the couple raised two sons, William Mathews Brooks and John Brooks. When they married, Barbara Brooks was already a well-established business owner, running the real estate insurance company started by her father, the Wm. Mathews Agency. "I decided that being a naval officer and being married were a little inconsistent." says Brooks, who returned to school to earn a second degree in engineering, then switched fields again and decided to go to law school, earning an LLD degree from Lincoln University Law School. "I had no desire to practice law, " Brooks says, "I just thought it made good business sense. You begin to combine experiences to take advantage of the next opportunity. "Near the end of his studies, Brooks took a part-time real estate sales job. By the time he finished law school, he'd bought out his partners and found his true calling as a real-estate developer. Just six years later, Brooks with his partners established Besco, which quickly became one of the state's leading homebuilders, specializing in affordable housing throughout Northern California during the 1950's and 1960's. Later Brooks merged Besco with the Singer Company and became president of the newly formed Singer Housing Company. Brooks said his business philosophy was simple, "Find out what the average person needs, and find the best way to provide it. "Over the course of four decades, Brooks built thousands homes, condominiums and apartment units, as well as shopping centers and industrial parks throughout the Bay Area and the five western states. In Fremont, Brooks built one out of every four homes. An original member of the committee that incorporated the City of Fremont in 1956, he held the first building permit issued under the Fremont name. Fellow developer and former Oakland Athletics co-owner Steve Schott described Brooks as a legend in the real estate industry, a multi-talented man who was "a master negotiator, shrewd business investor and a prime example of an entrepreneur. "Innovative land use was a hallmark of Brooks' development philosophy. In 1966 he was the first developer in the Bay Area to allocate space for public parks under the Planned Unit Development program. Brooks' mixed-use development model became a nationally recognized example of excellence in moderately priced housing. Brooks was also the driving force behind California's first public-private development agreements, helping to pass legislation that enabled local government entities to enter into development contracts with private parties, opening the door to countless planning and development projects across the state. After his official retirement in 1976, Brooks continued to develop properties, most notably the Ardenwood Forest New Town in Fremont, a billion-dollar development on 850 acres that includes 1,800 homes, public spaces, hiking trails, and the 283-acre Ardenwood Forest Technology Park. "His goal was to develop a city within a city," said Herb Epstein, Fremont's former planning director. "He wanted a place where people could live and work at the same time. "Brooks' work in California politics won him fans on both sides of the aisle. "People who are extremely liberal in their ideology think as highly of Jack as people who are extremely conservative," said Justice Anthony Kline, presiding justice on the California State Court of Appeal. A lifelong Democrat, Brooks was California State Treasurer for the Democratic Party in 1970 and its Northern California Chair the following year. Then Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the influential Commission on Judicial Performance. "Jack was an original," said Governor Jerry Brown. "He was quick to act and quick to help. What a real pleasure it was to work with him in so many campaigns over so many decades. " Both political friends and foes described Brooks as tenacious, thorough, and stubborn, a man who did his homework and was willing to consider every course of action on its own merits. "I would describe him as a very smooth, diplomatic lobbyist and an all-around gentleman," says former Fremont Mayor Jack Perry. While they might disagree on policy, Perry says he never lost his respect for Brooks. "Our political disagreements were always associated with how we should develop the City. He never lost his cool. "Despite his long-term involvement in politics, Brooks never had a desire to run for office. "Most successful people I know have intensely specialized in one career. He is quite different." said Bill Lockyer, retired State Senator and Attorney General. "Similarly, his private life and political concerns show a scope that is quite broad. "In 1960 Brooks became a co-founder of the Oakland Raiders, and remained the team's single largest stakeholder over a period that included three Superbowl championships. In 1995 he played a key role in the negotiations that brought the franchise back to Oakland, after thirteen years in Los Angeles. Friends describe Brooks as a generous man who supported a wide range of community causes: drug counseling programs, gun buy-backs, civic parks, schools, and medical research. Brooks served on the boards of many community organizations, including Fremont Bank, California Anti-Litter League, Ohlone College Foundation, Boy's Clubs of America, Fremont Experimental Housing Commission, and the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. Brooks was responsible for the dedication 210 acres of farmland first tilled during California's Gold Rush to the East Bay Regional Park District, property that is now operated as the Ardenwood Historic Farm. Brooks and his wife Barbara also donated the historic Casa Peralta to the City of San Leandro in 1972. After retiring from his real estate development business, Brooks moved to San Francisco and continued to work in public service. In 2011 Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun. Brooks also served on the advisory board of Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, and was elected to their hall of distinguished graduates. In 2006, Brooks' service to the nation was recognized by a commission to the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Merchant Marine, a high honor granted by President George W. Bush. He wore the two stars accorded this rank with great pride. While he lunched with several U.S. Presidents and was a guest on Air Force One, Brooks found time to serve food to the homeless at St. Anthony's kitchen in San Francisco. "It's something I enjoy doing," he said of his occasional stints at St. Anthony's. "It makes you realize how fortunate you are. A few changes in the road of life, the positions could have been reversed. "Jack Brooks was predeceased by his younger brother William (Bill) Brooks, a long-time resident of Sunnyvale who retired to San Diego after working as a nuclear scientist assigned to the US atomic test programs of the 1940s and 50s. Brooks is survived by his wife of 70 years, Barbara Mathews Brooks, his sons, William Mathews (Matt) Brooks and John Brooks, and three grandsons, William (Bill), Stuart, and John (Jack). Funeral services will be held on April 22, 2015 at 1:00 P.M. at the Santo-Robinson Mortuary 160 Estudillo Avenue in San Leandro. Interment Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery, Hayward.