Brian Colbert, Marin County’s first Black supervisor, was sworn into office this week after the supervisors were serenaded by a trio of gospel singers.
The singers were there at Colbert’s request. “Some of you are probably wondering why a gospel choir,” Colbert said after he had taken the oath of office.
He said it had to do with trips he took as a child to visit his mother’s father, who lived in Savannah, Georgia. It was during a time when rigid racial segregation was enforced through a so-called “separate but equal” system.
“I remember going with him to a Baptist church and finding the joy that he had,” Colbert said.
Colbert said he found himself talking about his grandfather during his campaign because, despite that joy, his grandfather’s face still bore the marks of disappointment from so many opportunities denied him.
Colbert said he shared his grandfather’s story with voters as a means of articulating his own concern for the vulnerable and needy of all races.
“It’s not simply focusing on the challenge that African Americans faced during segregation,” Colbert said. “I don’t want to see that look on the face of anyone.”
Colbert grew up in Bethel, Connecticut, a small town about 60 miles from New York City. His father worked as an accountant, and his mother was a homemaker until he and his sister were older, later becoming an administrative assistant.
“I spent a lot of time in New York City,” Colbert said in a video he posted on his campaign website.
Colbert earned bachelor’s degrees in theater and political science from Oberlin College in Ohio, a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of Chicago.
“I did corporate law, junk bonds, public and private offerings,” Colbert said on his campaign video. “From there I ran a chocolate company in western Rhode Island. I lived in southern California. I ran a Voice over Internet Protocol company.”
Colbert and his wife Nihal Elrayes lived for three and half years in Turkey, where they taught at a university, then returned to the United States in 2007. Their daughter was born in 2010, and they settled in San Anselmo in 2013.
Colbert defeated Heather McPhail Sridharan in a Nov. 5 runoff election, garnering just over 51% of the vote. Prior to that Colbert had served on the San Anselmo Town Council since 2017, including one term as mayor. He also serves on the boards of the Transportation Authority of Marin and the Marin Transit District.
Colbert said his three priorities as supervisor would be mitigation of and preparation for wildfires, housing creation for working families and “community vitality, which provides opportunity for all.”
Colbert has worked as the director of business development and patient experience at Savant Wellness, a medical practice, since 2011.
“I’m just doing a little bit for them now,” Colbert said Wednesday. “I’m still in a transition phase.”
Regarding whether he will continue working for Savant while serving as supervisor, Colbert said that is still to be determined.
“I’ll have to see how this settles up, but I would like to stay connected to the private sector,” he said. “I never intended and have no desire to be a lifelong politician. That was never my goal.”
Noah Griffin, an African American civic leader who ran for District 3 supervisor unsuccessfully in 2004, said race played a different role in Colbert’s bid than it did in his.
“I think it made it easier for him,” Griffin said. “There were certain assumptions I’m sure that were made about how he would conduct himself and what his priorities were that didn’t turn out to be true.”
Griffin contends that Colbert has shown a lack of enthusiasm about promoting diversity and equity efforts in the county.
Regarding racial equity, Colbert said Wednesday that “I go back to de Tocqueville.”
“I think the long-term trajectory of this country is one based on opportunity for all,” he said.