Michael A. Brown (Washington D.C. politician)

For other people of the same name, see Michael Brown (disambiguation).

Michael Arrington Brown (born March 4, 1965)^[1] is a politician in Washington, D.C. In 2008 he was elected an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia. He is also an alternate member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Brown lives in Chevy Chase and works as a lobbyist for the firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge.^[2][3][4] His father was former United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.^[5]

2006 mayoral candidacy

Brown polled at 3 percent in August 2006 and was considered a long shot at best to become mayor in the election held that year. A Washington Post article on September 4, 2006, highlighted his candidacy; according to the article, Brown said at the age of 9 that he "wanted to be mayor" someday.^{[citation needed]}

After consistently trailing the pack of mayoral candidates, Brown dropped out of the race September 7 and announced his support for another candidate, council chair Linda W. Cropp, saying "I cannot watch a political novice, a man without the courage and strength required to run the city, attempt to steal this race from someone who has seen the city through its worse times."^[6] Cropp lost to Adrian Fenty 57 to 31 percent in the Democratic primary five days later.^[7]

2007 council candidacy

Brown ran to represent Ward 4 on the Council of the District of Columbia. The seat was vacated by Adrian Fenty when he became mayor. Brown lost the May 1 special election in a field of 19 candidates to Muriel Bowser after she received the mayor's endorsement, receiving 27 percent of the vote to Bowser's 41.^[8]

2008 council candidacy

In 2008, Brown ran for a seat as an at-large member of the council.^[4][9]

Unlike Brown's previous candidacies, when he ran as a Democrat, Brown ran as an independent candidate.^[9] District law allows only three of the five at-large Council seats, including Chair, to be affiliated with the majority party, currently the Democratic Party. Chair Vincent Gray and Phil Mendelson, both Democrats, were not up for reelection in 2008, so only one of the seats up for reelection could be won by a Democrat. Democratic incumbent Kwame R. Brown was running for reelection and was likely to win, which made it nearly assured that the other seat up for election would go to a non-Democrat.

Results

As certified by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics:^[10]

	Name	Party	Votes	Percentage
	Kwame R. Brown	Democratic	172,272	47.66%
	Michael A. Brown	Independent	71,720	19.84%
	Write In	(including Carol Schwartz)	39,493	10.93%
	Patrick Mara	Republican	37,447	10.36%
	David Schwartzman	Statehood-Green	18,596	5.14%
	Mark H. Long	Independent	14,603	4.04%
	Dee Hunter	Independent	7,311	2.02%

Note

Michael A. Brown is not to be confused with Michael D. Brown, who is the District's shadow senator.

Committees

• Special Committee on Statehood and Self-Determination - Chairperson
• Finance and Revenue
• Housing and Workforce Development - Chairperson
• Aging and Community Affairs
• Human Services
• Public Services and Consumer Affairs

References

1. ^ "2006 Voter's Guide Supplement". The Washington Informer. 2006-09-24. Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20080625021251/http://www.washingtoninformer.com/Voters+Guide+REVISED+06.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
2. ^ Woodlee, Yolanda; Silverman, Elissa. Hopefuls Begin Staking Out Fenty's and Gray's Seats. The Washington Post. 2006-09-20.
3. ^ Silverman, Elissa; Woodlee, Yolanda. Fenty's School Takeover Plan Gets Rough Reception. The Washington Post. 2007-03-02.
4. ^ ^{a b} DeBonis, Mike. Brown Officially Enters At-Large Race. Washington City Paper. 2008-04-29.
5. ^ Woodlee, Yolanda. Top Fundraisers Feel the Heat in Ward 4. The Washington Post. 2007-04-27
6. ^ Woodlee, Yolanda (2006-09-08). "Brown Pulls Out, Endorses Cropp". The Washington Post: p. B02. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/07/AR2006090700597.html. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
7. ^ District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics (2006-11-21). "Election Year 2006: General Election Results". Archived from the original on 2008-07-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20080730225441/http://www.dcboee.org/information/elec_2006/general_2006_results.shtm. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
8. ^ "Results: Washington, D.C. Special Election May 1". The Washington Post. 2007-05-01. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/elections/2007/results/general_dc.html. Retrieved 2008-07-26. 
9. ^ ^{a b} DeBonis, Mike. Finally! Schwartz Announces Re-Election Bid. Washington City Paper. 2008-06-09.
10. ^ "General Election 2008: Certified Results". District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. November 24, 2008. http://www.dcboee.org/election_info/election_results/election_result_new/results_final_gen.asp?prev=0&electionid=2&result_type=3. 

Council of the District of Columbia
Preceded by Carol Schwartz	At-Large Member, Council of the District of Columbia 2009 – present	Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Brown, Michael A.
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Date of birth	1965-03-04
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