About Brian
Why I'm running
for the Tam District
School Board.
In trial courts, state supreme courts, and matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, I've advocated for fair process, equal justice, and government accountability. Now with two kids in our district schools and a family rooted in this community, I want to bring that experience and commitment to our school board.
I am running because school boards are where community values become decisions. And in the Tam District, we face hard decisions about budgets, staffing, student programs, and how we prepare students for an uncertain future. Those decisions should be made fairly, openly, and with students at the center.
I am also running because many families are worried that the old bargain is breaking down — the basic promise that each generation will have a better future than the one before it. AI is changing the future of work. Phones and social media are changing attention, relationships, and learning. Our schools need to protect strong academics, critical thinking, creativity, and independent judgment, so students can use technology instead of technology using them.
As a board member, I will listen carefully, communicate clearly, and work to earn the community's trust. I want every student in this district to graduate prepared, supported, and excited about their future.
Sound judgment. For a better board. So every student can succeed.
The role
What a board member actually does.
A board member's job is to set priorities and policy, allocate resources, hire and hold the superintendent accountable, and maintain the community's trust. I will do this by asking good questions, listening to the students, teachers, other board members and the community and by insisting on clear reasoning and transparent tradeoffs.
That's the kind of work I do every day as an appellate lawyer: I read complex records carefully, separate evidence from assertion, listen to competing arguments, explain a difficult decision clearly, and advocate effectively for the right outcome. I will bring those skills and habits to the board.
Background
A Little More About Brian
I was raised in Iowa and attended the same public school system from kindergarten through high school. My mom was a junior high English teacher, and I loved high school. I still look back on those years with gratitude, and I want every student in our district to have a high school experience they can look back on the same way.
I attended the University of Iowa, where I studied Economics and Spanish, and began my career in tech consulting before moving to the Bay Area. After September 11, I felt called toward government service and went to law school at NYU. I served as a law clerk to two federal judges with very different backgrounds and perspectives — an experience that deepened my respect for careful listening, fair process, and principled decision-making.
Since then, much of my work has focused on democracy, fair process, civil rights, and government accountability. I served as deputy director of voter protection in Iowa during the 2008 presidential campaign, worked at WilmerHale, and later served as an assistant solicitor general in the New York Attorney General's Office, where I helped defend campaign finance laws after Citizens United and state-level education funding decisions. After moving back to California, I worked on pro bono public-interest cases involving partisan gerrymandering, the census, campaign finance, immigration enforcement in state courthouses, and other issues involving public institutions and constitutional rights.
I have argued more than 65 appeals and briefed dozens more in complex commercial and government disputes. Much of my work has been about strengthening public institutions and holding government accountable under law, whatever party is in power. A highlight of my legal career was successfully challenging legislative district maps as an unlawful partisan gerrymander in the Ohio Supreme Court. Another highlight was representing veterans who wanted to tell the U.S. Supreme Court that politicizing our military makes us weaker, not stronger. My work on funding freeze litigation, on behalf of members of Congress, aimed to broaden bipartisan accountability for spending. I helped unions, including the American Federation of Teachers, challenge a DOGE-led effort to obtain social security data, in the U.S. Supreme Court and back again.
Debbie and I moved back to California in 2014, when our boys were young. Today, Isaac and Leo both attend Tam High (Isaac will be a junior and Leo will be a freshman). Outside of work, I love spending time with my family, mountain biking, playing pickup basketball when not injured, and hiking with friends.
Want to help bring better judgment to the board?
Paid for by Brian Sutherland for School Board 2026.