In October 2021, Brown announced that he would not seek reelection to the U.S. House in 2022 and would instead run for attorney general of Maryland.[8] He won the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022. He defeated Republican lawyer Michael Peroutka in the general election on November 8, 2022, becoming Maryland's first Black attorney general.[9]
Early life and education
Brown was born in 1961 in Huntington, New York, to immigrant parents. His father, Roy Hershel Brown, a physician, was born in Cayo Mambi, Cuba; was raised in Kingston, Jamaica; and later came to the U.S. to attend Fordham University.[10] Roy received his medical degree in Zürich, Switzerland, where he also met his future wife, Lilly I. Berlinger.[11] The couple married and Lilly moved with Brown to New York, where they had Anthony, his sister, and three brothers.[12]
Upon graduation, Brown received a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served on active duty for five years. He graduated first in his flight class at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and received his aeronautical rating as an Army aviator. He also completed airborne training, receiving both the Basic Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge. During his time on active duty, Brown served as a helicopter pilot with the Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in Europe.[15] During that period of active duty, Brown held positions as platoon leader for a target acquisition, reconnaissance and surveillance platoon, executive officer of a general support aviation company, a battalionlogistics officer, and the flight operations officer for Task Force 23.[citation needed]
Law school and legal career
After completing his active duty service, Brown returned to graduate school, entering Harvard Law School in 1989 and earning his JD degree. He attended Harvard Law School at the same time as future President Barack Obama, Artur Davis and actor Hill Harper. Brown was a member of the Board of Student Advisers. His third-year paper, written under the supervision of Professor Charles Ogletree, analyzed the scope of the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure in the military. Brown was chair of the Membership Committee of the Black Law Students Association.[citation needed] Brown graduated from Harvard Law, with a Juris Doctor in 1992.
Brown continued his military service transferring from the Army's Aviation Branch to the Judge Advocate General's Corps as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the United States Army Reserve. Brown began his service as a JAG with attending the JAG School at the University of Virginia and then the 10th LSO in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, where he held numerous assignments, including in the areas of international law and claims law.[citation needed] Brown ultimately attained the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve before reaching the point of mandatory retirement for a colonel with 30 years of commissioned service in July 2014.[18]
His assignments included commander of the 153rd Legal Support Organization in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where, in addition to supporting deploying service members and their families with legal services, he mobilized eighteen soldiers to Fort Hood, Texas, in support of the III Corps'Operation New Dawn mission to Iraq. Prior to his tenure with the 153rd LSO, Brown was the staff judge advocate for the 353rd Civil Affairs Command headquartered at Fort Wadsworth, New York.
Brown's political career began in 1998, when he was elected to serve in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing the 25th district in Prince George's County. Brown ran on a Democratic Party ticket with Senator Ulysses Currie, Delegate Dereck Davis, and Delegate Melony Griffith. He served two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates and rose to several positions of leadership. During his first term, Brown served on the House Economic Matters Committee. He was appointed vice chair of the Judiciary Committee in 2003. In 2004, Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch appointed Brown to the position of majority whip, the fourth-ranking position in the House.
Lieutenant governor of Maryland
In 2006, Brown was elected lieutenant governor on a ticket with Martin O'Malley, the former mayor of Baltimore.[19] The pair were the only challenging candidates to defeat an incumbent gubernatorial ticket in the 2006 election cycle.[20] On January 17, 2007, Brown was sworn in as Maryland's 8th lieutenant governor. Both Brown and O'Malley were reelected by a 56% to 42% margin on November 2, 2010. Brown was the first person elected lieutenant governor directly from the Maryland House of Delegates.
Governor O'Malley tasked Brown to lead the O'Malley-Brown administration's efforts on several policy fronts, including efforts to expand and improve health care, support economic development, help victims of domestic violence, increase access to higher education, and provide veterans with better services and resources.
As co-chair of the Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council and Maryland's Health Quality and Cost Council, Lt. Governor Brown led the O'Malley-Brown administration's efforts to reduce costs, expand access, and improve the quality of care for all residents of the state. In June 2012, Brown was named "Maryland's Public Health Hero" by the Maryland Health Care for All! Coalition.[23] He assisted in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which according to a "non-partisan" 2012 study using Obama administration numbers and various state agency projections, would save Maryland $672 million by 2020.[24][25] In both 2011 and 2012, Brown led legislation through the Maryland General Assembly to create a health insurance exchange.[26]
Brown was severely criticized for his leadership of the development of the health insurance exchange.[27] As of April 14, 2014, it had enrolled only 66,203 individuals (including family members on shared plans).[28] The O'Malley administration apologized for the "botched" launch of the web site and had to seek emergency funding legislation to make stopgap changes to the site.[29] The state paid a contractor $125.5 million to develop and operate the failed site.[30] Due to the failed rollout, the state incurred an estimated $30.5 million in unnecessary Medicaid spending.[31] The web site failure was the subject of a federal investigation into the costs associated with developing the exchange and the site's performance failures.[32] The state announced that it was considering scrapping its failed online health exchange altogether and hiring a new contractor to build a new online exchange using technology employed by the state of Connecticut, at an expected cost of tens of millions of dollars.[30] The Obama administration relaxed rules for residents of states like Maryland with dysfunctional online health care exchanges, allowing consumers to bypass the exchanges altogether to buy health insurance.[33]
Brown led efforts to address health disparities among racial and ethnic groups in Maryland. In 2012, he developed created Health Enterprise Zones,[34] which would use incentives to increase the number of primary care providers and other essential health care services in underserved communities. The goal is to reduce preventable diseases, such as asthma and diabetes.[35]
Economic development
Brown led the administration's economic development portfolio. He served as chair of numerous economic development initiatives, including the Joint Legislative and Executive Commission on Oversight of Public-Private Partnerships, the Governor's Subcabinet on Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), and the FastTrack initiative – part of Maryland Made Easy (www.easy.maryland.gov) – to streamline the state permitting process for businesses and developers.[36]
Public-private partnerships
Brown became one of the leading champions for the increased use of public-private partnerships to advance infrastructure projects in Maryland. Governor Martin O'Malley appointed Brown to serve as Chair of the Joint Legislative and Executive Commission on Oversight of Public-Private Partnerships. The fifteen-member Commission was established in 2010 under House Bill 1370 to evaluate the State's framework and oversight of public–private partnerships. Under Brown's leadership, the Commission worked to increase the potential for private investment in public infrastructure projects. The commission submitted its final report to the Governor and General Assembly in January 2012, which included assessing the oversight, best practices, and approval processes for public-private partnerships in other states; evaluating the definition of public-private partnerships; making recommendations concerning the appropriate manner of conducting legislative monitoring and oversight of public-private partnerships; and making recommendations concerning broad policy parameters within which public-private partnerships should be negotiated.[37]
Base realignment and closure (BRAC)
Brown was tasked by Governor O'Malley to lead the Base Realignment and Closure Subcabinet and the implementation of Maryland's BRAC Plan, which ensured the State of Maryland would be ready for the 28,000 households that came to the state as a result of the BRAC process. It was estimated that between and 45,000 to 60,000 jobs would be created in Maryland by 2016 due to BRAC.[38] Since 2007, the BRAC Subcabinet met regularly with BRAC stakeholders to coordinate and synchronize the State's efforts with public and private partners to address BRAC needs. The BRAC Plan set forth new initiatives and priorities to address the human capital and physical infrastructure requirements to support BRAC, as well as to seize the opportunities that BRAC presents, while preserving the quality of life already enjoyed by Marylanders. Several of the larger moves included the Army's Communications–Electronics Command (CECOM) to Aberdeen Proving Ground from Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey, and the Air National Guard Readiness Center at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington. The Defense Information Systems Agency was relocating to Fort George G. Meade from northern Virginia and Walter Reed Army Medical Center was moving to the Bethesda Naval Hospital to create the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda.
In 2011, the Association of Defense Communities recognized Brown as their Public Official of the Year for his leadership on BRAC.[39]
Domestic violence
In August 2008, his cousin Kathy was murdered by her estranged boyfriend.[40] Building on his legislative experience and personal perspective, Brown has championed reforms to fight domestic violence and provide improved support to victims.
In 2009, Brown led efforts to improve domestic violence laws and take guns out of the hands of domestic abusers by allowing judges to order the abuser in a temporary protective order to surrender any firearms in their possession.[41]
During the 2010 Legislative Session, Brown worked with the General Assembly to pass legislation allowing a victim of domestic abuse to terminate a residential lease with a copy of a final protective order.[42] During the 2012 Legislative Session, Brown gained the administration's goal of extending unemployment benefits to a victim of domestic violence who decides to leave employment because the abuser is a threat at the workplace.
Brown also led efforts to expand the availability of hospital-based Domestic Violence Screening programs at Maryland hospitals to help identify victims of domestic violence and connect them to support services. In 2010, he helped launch Maryland's fifth hospital-based domestic violence program at Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly. In 2011, Brown helped launch a sixth hospital-based program at Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, Maryland. Similar programs are in place in the Baltimore region at Anne Arundel Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center, Sinai Hospital, and Northwest Hospital.[43]
Education
Under the O'Malley Brown Administration, Maryland's students made dramatic improvements in nearly every statistical category,[citation needed] and Maryland's schools were ranked # 1 in the country for 4 years in a row.[44]
Brown lead the O'Malley-Brown administration's efforts to increase taxes to support education and other programs. They raised taxes over 40 times during their tenure. The administration took steps to make a higher education more accessible and affordable for all Marylanders, including making record investments in community colleges and working to keep an education affordable at four-year public colleges and universities. As a result, the number of STEM college graduates, number of associate degrees, and the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in Maryland all increased since the team took office in 2007.[44]
In 2010, Lt. Governor Brown launched the Skills2Compete initiative, which promotes programs and activities that lead to increasing the skill level of Marylanders though the attainment of a post-secondary credential, apprenticeship program or degree.[45]
Veterans affairs
Brown was the nation's highest-ranking elected official to have served a tour of military duty in Iraq[4][5] and he led the O'Malley-Brown Administration's work to improve benefits and services for Maryland's veterans.[citation needed]
In 2012, Brown announced the launch of Maryland Homefront: the Veterans and Military Family Mortgage Program, which helps qualified current and former military members find homes by giving them a discounted mortgage interest rate and help with closing costs.[citation needed] Also in 2012, Brown helped pass legislation that allows notation of 'veteran' status on drivers' licenses and identification card.[citation needed]
During the 2008 session of the Maryland General Assembly, Brown led the administration's successful efforts to pass a sweeping veterans package, including passage of the Veterans Behavioral Health Act of 2008. The legislation sets aside $2.3 million for the expansion of direct services to OIF/OEF veterans living with behavioral and mental health problem. The legislation also named Brown chair of the Maryland Veterans Behavioral Health Advisory Board.[46][47]
Other legislation passed as part of the "Maryland's Commitment to Veterans" package includes:
Expansion of state scholarship fund for OIF/OEF veterans and their dependents;
Protection of state-funded business loan program for veterans and service-disable veterans;
Creation of reintegration program for members of the Maryland National Guard returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan; and
Expansion of state veteran service centers in rural communities.
In July 2008, Brown was appointed to the Democratic National Committee's Platform Committee and served on the Platform Drafting Committee. Brown led the efforts to strengthen the Democratic Party's commitment to veterans and ensuring that the Chesapeake Bay be named as a "national treasure".[51] Brown was a "Party Leader/Elected Official" delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, in late August 2008 and cast his vote for then-Senator Obama, along with 98 members of the Maryland delegation.[52]
On March 12, 2015, The Baltimore Sun reported that Brown would run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat for Maryland's 4th district, which was being vacated by Donna Edwards, who was running for the US Senate.[58] He won a crowded six-way Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district—with 41 percent of the vote.[59]
Brown won the seat in the general election, taking over 73 percent of the vote.[60]
Brown said that he would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives on October 25, 2021, instead announcing that he would run for Attorney General of Maryland.[8]
In May 2022, an investigation from Time alleged that Brown violated state election laws by using funds from his congressional campaign account to bankroll his bid for attorney general.[72]
Brown won the Democratic primary election on July 19, 2022, defeating former First Lady of MarylandKatie O'Malley with 55.1 percent of the vote.[73] He defeated Republican lawyer Michael Peroutka in the general election on November 8, 2022.[9]
Tenure
Brown was sworn in on January 3, 2023, becoming Maryland's first Black attorney general.[74][75]
Before Brown took office in 2023, the Maryland Attorney General's office launched an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.[76][77] Brown inherited the investigation, and, in April 2023, released a 463-page report accusing the Archdiocese of covering up more than 600 cases of child sexual abuse against 156 Catholic priests over 80 years.[78] Following its release, he said that the Attorney General's office had ongoing investigations into sexual abuse allegations in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.[79]
In January 2023, ahead of his swearing in, Brown said he supported legislation that would allow him to sue companies and individuals for civil rights violations.[80] He also set out multiple goals for his time in office, including increasing salaries and employment in the Attorney General's office, enforcing environmental regulations,[81] and investigating police misconduct.[82] The Maryland General Assembly passed bills during its 2023 legislative session that gave the Attorney General's office the authority to prosecute police-involved deaths and civil rights violations in housing and employment,[83] which were signed into law in May 2023.[84]
Brown married Patricia Arzuaga in 1993, and they had two children, Rebecca and Jonathan, before their divorce in 2009.[86] Jonathan was adopted.[87]
Brown married Karmen Walker on May 27, 2012. She is the widow of Prince George's County police officer Anthony Michael Walker. He became the stepfather of Walker's son Anthony.[86][88][89] Both Anthony and Brown's son Jonathan were in the same grade at the same Catholic school in 2012.[89] Walker is a director of government relations with Comcast.[86][90] Brown is Catholic.[91]
^Montgomery, David (October 28, 2006). "A Demanding Race". The Washington Post. p. C1. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
^This is the official formatting of the brigade and division names, per "Lineage And Honors Information". United States Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
^ ab"A 'little hug thing' blossoms in Md". The Washington Post. May 30, 2012. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2012. Walker's son Anthony, 12, is a few months older than Brown's son Jonathan, and the two are in the same grade at the same Catholic school.
▌2 Unknown (2 territories) An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity. State abbreviations link to position articles.