Brenda J. Council (born 1953 or 1954) is a politician and a disbarred

labor law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

yer from

North Omaha, Nebraska North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ea ...

. She represented the 11th District in the

Nebraska State Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the small ...

from 2009 to 2013, succeeding longtime state senator

Ernie Chambers Ernest William Chambers (born July 10, 1937) is an American politician and civil rights activist who represented North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature from 1971 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2021. He could not run in 2 ...

, who was

term-limited A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of Term of office, terms an Incumbent, officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and semi-presidential system ...

. She lost her 2012 reelection bid to Chambers, who was able to run for the seat again after sitting out one term. The same year, she pleaded guilty to misuse of campaign funds, for which she was disbarred in 2014.

Political career

Council has served on the Omaha School Board and the

Omaha City Council The City Council of Omaha, Nebraska, is elected every four years on a nonpartisan basis. The next election will occur in 2025. Omaha has a strong mayor form of government. Members are elected by district. Currently seven city council districts a ...

, and ran for mayor in 1994 and 1997, losing both elections by slim margins. She was formerly western regional president of the National Caucus of Black School Board Members. She was featured three times in ''

Ebony Magazine ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...

'' due to her prominence as an Omaha leader, and was a permanent roundtable member of the Omaha

KETV KETV (channel 7) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Hearst Television, and has studios on 10th Street in the historic Burlington Station, which carries the address of 7 Burling ...

television Sunday morning talk show, ''Kaleidoscope''. In February 2008, Council filed to run for the seat in the

being vacated by Senator

, who had been a state senator for 38 years but was barred from seeking reelection due to a new

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

law. In November 2008, she was elected to the Nebraska Legislature. Council ran for reelection in 2012 but lost to Chambers, who was able to run for the legislature again after sitting out one four-year term.

Personal life

Council was born in Omaha, attended

Omaha Central High School Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, is a fully accredited public high school located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is one of many public high schools located in Omaha. As of the 2015-16 academic year, ...

and the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

(class of 1974). She received a J.D. degree from

Creighton University School of Law Creighton University School of Law, located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is a component of the Jesuit Creighton University. According to Creighton's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 75% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-t ...

in 1977. She is married to Otha Kenneth Council.

Awards

Council received numerous awards and honors including the Urban League of Nebraska's National Prominence Award, selection as the Nebraska Outstanding Young Woman, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Teachers College Alumni Award of Excellence, the African American award of the

Durham Western Heritage Museum The Durham Museum (formerly known as the Durham Western Heritage Museum) is located at 801 South 10th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The museum is dedicated to preserving and displaying the history of the United States' western region. The m ...

and installation as the 62nd Face on the Floor of the Omaha Press Club.

Campaign fund violations

On September 12, 2012, Council pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges that she misused campaign cash at casinos and filed false reports concealing that. She withdrew $63,000 at casinos over several years and deposited $36,000 in cash. In December 2013 she was sentenced to probation and fined $500 for felony wire fraud. Council was subsequently charged in federal court with wire fraud and pleaded guilty, receiving three years' probation along with fines and assessments of $600. On September 12, 2014, the Nebraska Supreme Court disbarred Council for misusing campaign funds. A referee had recommended a one-year suspension followed by two years of probation, but the Court held that harsher discipline was called for. The court noted that since the 1990s, it had disbarred all but two attorneys in cases of conversion and found that those two cases were distinguishable from Council's case. In both of those cases, the attorney had self-reported the misconduct, a factor not present in Council's case. The court held that the conversion of campaign funds is as serious as converting client funds and warranted disbarment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Council, Brenda Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska Creighton University School of Law alumni African-American state legislators in Nebraska African-American women in politics Omaha City Council members Women state legislators in Nebraska Nebraska lawyers Democratic Party Nebraska state senators Living people African-American life in Omaha, Nebraska American gamblers Disbarred American lawyers School board members in Nebraska Women city councillors in Nebraska Year of birth missing (living people) Nebraska politicians convicted of crimes Omaha Central High School alumni 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women