Oakland city councilwoman files defamation lawsuit against SF Chronicle columnist

San Francisco Chronicle East Bay columnist Chip Johnson has had in recent years a field day covering Oakland City Hall. For a politics and government opinion-maker, the beat yields an embarrassment of journalistic riches. 

However, one Oakland City Councilwoman, Desley Brooks, says Johnson's aggressive and critical columns crossed some line in 2006 when he wrote about how she allegedly mishandled certain city funds and received kickbacks from friends and family members who she arranged city jobs for. Brooks announced late last week that she has filed a defamation lawsuit against both Johnson and the Chronicle

According to this small write-up, it would appear that Brooks is trying to get around her "public figure" status as an elected official (which is most cases makes elected public figures powerless to file defamation suits) by accusing Johnson and the paper of knowingly printing false information about her. This is also known as acting intentionally with malice or reckless disregard for the truth.

Chronicle Editor Ward Bushee had a ‘no comment' comment on Wednesday: "We have only just received a copy of the complaint and have not had time to do a complete review of its contents."