Michael Donald Brown

Michael Brown
United States Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007 Serving with Paul E. Strauss
Preceded by	Florence Pendleton
Personal details
Born	August 5, 1953 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (Before 2014) Independent (2014–present)[1]
Alma mater	University of Maryland, College Park

Michael Donald "Mike" Brown^[2] (born August 5, 1953^[3]) is a shadow senator from the District of Columbia.^[4]

As a shadow senator, Brown receives no pay from the government,^[5][6] receives no budget from the government,^[7][8] and cannot vote on matters before the Senate.^[7] While he does not have an office in the United States Senate, the Government of the District provides the position with an office.^[7] Brown lobbies the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives on behalf of the citizens of the District in their attempt to gain full representation in Congress,^[9][10] self-determination,^[10] and eventually admittance to the Union as a state.^[10][11] As shadow senator, Brown also works with the District's delegate, mayor, and council to advance the interest of local residents on Federal issues. Brown was a member of the Democratic Party,^[11] until he changed his party registration to independent in 2014.^[1]

2006 election

Brown ran for the position of shadow senator in 2006, using campaign posters with the slogan "the last Shadow Senator you'll ever need" and registering the domain name "shadowsenator.com" for his website.^[12][13] Brown opposed a bill to give the District a full representative in the House of Representatives because it did not make the District a state.^[12] In the Democratic primary in September, he received 73 percent of the vote, defeating his opponent, Ward 8 activist Philip Pannell. Incumbent shadow senator Florence Pendleton was not on the primary ballot after Pannell challenged her nominating ballots. Of her required 2,000 ballots, only 1,559 were found to be valid. She campaigned as a write-in, but received only 2 percent of the vote.^[14] Pannell blamed his loss at least partly on voter confusion, since the better-known Michael A. Brown was running for mayor at the same time; others, including Michael A. Brown himself, agreed.^[15]

In the November general election, Brown received 86 percent of the votes, while Joyce Robinson-Paul, a member of the D.C. Statehood Green Party, received 14 percent.^[16] There was no Republican candidate running for the position.

2010 election

Brown was a candidate for at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia.^[17][18] Other Democrats running for the same position included Clark Ray and incumbent Phil Mendelson,^[17] who was comfortably re-elected.^[19]

2012 election

Brown sought reelection to his position as shadow senator in 2012. He had the endorsements of District progressive organizations ^[20] and local Democratic party groups.^[21] Brown was challenged by a wealthy District landlord Peter A. Ross who self-funded his campaign and outspent Brown by a more than 200:1 ratio. Ross' campaign had to overcome news reports noting a past conviction for federal tax fraud^[22] and reports that he failed to pay his District real estate taxes.^[23] Brown won reelection.

Election history

2006

2006 Shadow Senator, D.C., Democratic Primary Election[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael D. Brown	62,415	73
	Democratic	Philip Pannell	21,552	25
		write-in	1,363	2

2006 Shadow Senator, D.C., General Election[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael D. Brown	90,336	84
	D.C. Statehood Green	Joyce Robinson-Paul	15,352	14
		write-in	1,647	2

2012

2012 Shadow Senator, D.C., Democratic Primary Election[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael D. Brown	34,342	69
	Democratic	Pete Ross	14,568	29
		write-in	1,046	2

2012 Shadow Senator, D.C., General Election[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael D. Brown	206,911	80
	D.C. Statehood Green	David Schwartzman	26,614	10
	Republican	Nelson F. Rimensnyder	23,935	9
		write-in	1,896	1

Personal life

Brown was born in Newark, New Jersey, and moved to Montgomery County, Maryland, as a teenager.^[6][12] Brown received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in public policy from the University of Maryland.^[10][11] Brown has lived in the District since 1984,^[6] and he currently lives in the neighborhood of American University Park.^[11] Brown is also the president^[11] and founder^[10] of Horizon Communications Corp., which provides direct-mail services to political organizations and non-profit organizations.^[6]

References

1. Sommer, Will (June 13, 2014). "Shadow Sen. Michael Brown Declares for At-Large Race". Washington City Paper.
2. Jaffee, Harry (September 6, 2010). "Doggett comes back to sort out D.C.'s black, white, Brown problem". The Washington Examiner.
3. "Voters Guide 2006 Supplement" (PDF). The Washington Informer. 2006-09-24.
4. "DC Government Resource Center: Congressional Delegation (Shadow)". Government of the District of Columbia. Archived from the original on 2008-01-12. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
5. Chibbaro, Jr., Lou (2006-09-01). "Gay Pannell outpaces rival in race for shadow Senate seat". Washington Blade. Archived from the original on 2007-09-24. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
6. Ponder, Meredith (2006-09-27). "Shadow delegates: Emerging from the dark". The Georgetown Independent. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
7. Copeland, Libby (2007-01-16). "Shadow Delegation Toils in Obscurity for D.C.'s Day in the Sun". The Washington Post. p. C01. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
8. "Offices on the Ballot: United States Senator and Representative". District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
9. Williams, Mesha (2007-02-21). "D.C. voting rights: Will the District ever become a state?". American Observer. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
10. "Profile for Michael D. Brown". Vote USA.org. 2006.
11. "Election Profiles: Michael D. Brown". The Washington Post. 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
12. Holley, Joe. "The Race for November". The Washington Post. September 3, 2006.
13. "Another Michael Brown in DC Politics". DCist. 2006-08-30. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
14. Montgomery, Lori; Silverman, Elissa (2006-08-03). "Pro-Slots Group Is Sailing On". The Washington Post. p. DZ02. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
15. Woodlee, Yolanda (2006-09-16). "Two Michael Browns Stir Confusion at the Polls: Little-Known Candidate Wins Shadow Senator Race". The Washington Post. p. B01. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
16. "Election Profile: D.C. Shadow U.S. Senator". The Washington Post. 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
17. Chibbaro Jr, Lou (June 24, 1010). "Ray faces new opponent in primary race". The Washington Blade.
18. Orvetti, P.J. (August 6, 2010). "The Other Michael Brown". WRC-TV (NBC Universal, Inc.).
19. Mathis, Sommer (September 15, 2010). "D.C. Council Election Updates: Could Michael D. Brown beat Phil Mendelson?". TBD.com.
20. DC Primary Endorsements, DC for Democracy, March 2012.
21. Meeting endorsement votes, Ward Three Democratic Committee, March 2012.
22. DC Shadow Senate candidate convicted of failing to pay taxes, Farraguter, February 21, 2012.
23. Notice of Real Property Sale, Office of Tax Revenue for the Government of the District of Columbia, September 2010.
24. "Certified Results" (PDF). District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. September 12, 2006.
25. "Certified Results" (PDF). District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. September 12, 2006.
26. "Certified Results". District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. April 14, 2012.
27. "Certified Results". District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. April 14, 2014.