| Birthname: | Harold Brazil |
| Office: | Member of the Council of the District of Columbia at-large |
| Term Start: | January 2, 1997 |
| Term End: | January 2, 2005 |
| Predecessor: | John L. Ray |
| Successor: | Kwame R. Brown |
| Office2: | Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 6 |
| Term Start2: | January 2, 1991 |
| Term End2: | January 2, 1997 |
| Predecessor2: | Nadine Winter |
| Successor2: | Sharon Ambrose |
| Birth Date: | 13 December 1947 |
| Party: | Democratic Party |
| Education: | Ohio State University (BA, JD) Georgetown University Law Center (LLM) |
| Occupation: | Attorney, politician |
| Spouse: | Crystal Palmer[1] |
Harold Brazil (born December 13, 1947[2]) is a former attorney and Democratic politician in Washington, D.C.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio,[3] Brazil graduated from Bishop Hartley High School.[4] Brazil earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Juris Doctor from Ohio State University and an L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Brazil moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a law clerk for Robert M. Duncan, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.[4] [5] Brazil later served as a United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1978 to 1980.[6] Brazil worked in the office of Senator John Glenn between 1980 and 1984.[7] In 1984, Brazil began working as a lobbyist for Pepco.[8] [9] Brazil was a member of the D.C. General Hospital Commission in 1989.[10]
After resigning from his position at Pepco, Brazil announced his candidacy to represent Ward 6 on the Council of the District of Columbia in April 1990.[8] Brazil ran against Nadine Winter, the four-term incumbent.[11] Brazil supported increasing penalties for repeat offenders and violent criminals and increasing funding for law enforcement officers.[12] The editorial board of The Washington Post endorsed Brazil's candidacy.[13]
Brazil won the Democratic primary election, with 43 percent of the vote.[14] Brazil advanced to the general election, where he was on the ballot with the D.C. Statehood Party's candidate, R. Bradford McMahon.[15] [16] Brazil won the general election,[17] with 93 percent of the vote.[18] Brazil served from 1991 to 2005, first representing Ward 6 and then as an at-large member.[19] [20]
In 2004, Kwame R. Brown challenged Brazil's reelection campaign. Brown criticized Brazil for treating his Council position as a part-time job and serving as a rubber stamp for the Mayor. [21] Brown won the Democratic Party primary election with 54 percent of the vote, compared to Brazil's 32 percent.[22]
In October 2008, Brazil and two women entered a tattoo shop in Georgetown.[23] One woman went to the back to get a tattoo, but the shopkeeper said that rules prohibited the other woman to go with her.[23] According to Brazil, Brazil objected, and the shopkeeper became rude, cursed Brazil, called him a racial slur, and beat him so much that he required medical treatment for his injuries.[23] The shopkeeper said Brazil was the one who became belligerent, cursed the shopkeeper, and then urinated on the floor.[23] In May 2009, Brazil was convicted of assault.[24] The judge sentenced Brazil to 90 days of imprisonment, but the judge suspended the sentence on the condition that Brazil completes six months of unsupervised probation.[24]
On July 1, 2014, the District of Columbia Bar admonished Brazil for improperly safeguarding clients' property, failure to represent a client diligently, and failure to act with reasonable promptness in representing a client.[25] On January 18, 2018, he was disbarred by consent.[26]