Elected in November 2004, Commissioner Paula Brooks serves as 2006 President of the Franklin
County Board of Commissioners. She has had a long career in both public service and the business world including
eight years as a City Council member.
Brooks actively served the community in a leadership capacity, including the Franklin County Board of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, WOSU Friends, the Columbus Urban League and the Private Industry
Council. She is President-Elect of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, and a director of the Ohio Bar Liability
Insurance Corporation.
In private law practice since 1990, Brooks has represented clients in healthcare, employment matters, and was
Special Counsel to the FDIC and the Ohio Attorney General.
Brooks is proud of her involvement beginning in the early 1980's, in economic development. Serving as Upper
Arlington's first Community Improvement Corporation President Brooks provided leadership for over a decade there
expanding the tax base by millions of dollars. This helped stabilize the City's budget and ensure quality services.
Commissioner Brooks served on Upper Arlington City Council from 1996 to 2004 and as its Vice Mayor from 1998 to
2002. In this role, she worked to forge strong collaborations with businesses, schools, and city staff. As Chair,
she led efforts to institutionalize economic development, create youth and family programs, and create a fair and
equitable employee compensation system. When term limits ended her tenure, Upper Arlington enjoyed a stable, tax
efficient city budget with quality services.
|
