Alvin Brown is an American politician from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

who served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, from 2011 to 2015. He was the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to be elected to that position. Brown succeeded John Peyton as mayor after winning the 2011 mayoral election.Gibbons, Timothy J. (May 18, 2011).
Alvin Brown makes history, becoming city's first African-American mayor
. ''The Florida Times-Union''. Retrieved on May 18, 2011. In the 2015 race, he lost his re-election bid to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Lenny Curry Leonard Boyd Curry (born July 19, 1970) is an American politician, accountant, and businessman serving as the 8th mayor of Jacksonville, Florida. He assumed office on July 1, 2015, after defeating incumbent Alvin Brown in the city's 2015 mayoral ...

Early life and education

Brown was born in

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

. He moved to Jacksonville in 1981 and attended

Edward Waters College Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) as a school to educate freedmen and their children. ...

and

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College u ...

, where he earned his

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

and

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degrees.

Career

Brown was an intern for Senator

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flor ...

while Nelson was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. He worked on the staff of the Clinton-Gore transition team in 1992 and 1993, and then began work in the Clinton administration as a member of

Ron Brown Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President of the United States, President Bill Clinton. Prior to this he was chairm ...

's staff at the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

. Brown was GU Politics Fellow in Spring 2016.

Government service

During the 1990s he served as an advisor to

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

who was the

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succe ...

, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, and Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

. In the Clinton administration, he served as deputy administrator for community development, rural business and Cooperative development services at the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

; executive director of the Office of Special Actions at the Department of Housing and Urban Development; executive Ddrector of the White House Community Empowerment Board; co-chair of the White House Task Force on Livable Communities; and senior advisor for urban policy and vice chair of the White House Community Empowerment Board. After serving in the Clinton administration, Brown worked as the executive-in-residence at

; president and CEO of the Willie Gary Classic Foundation; executive director of the Bush/Clinton Katrina Interfaith Fund; and chairman of the board of the

National Black MBA Association {{advert, date=May 2014 The National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) is a non‐profit organization founded in 1970 at the University of Chicago, dedicated to the enhancement and development of educational and economic empowerment for African Americ ...

. In November 2020, Brown was named a candidate for

United States secretary of housing and urban development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succe ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

Mayor of Jacksonville

Brown entered the race for

mayor of Jacksonville The Mayor of Jacksonville is the chief executive for the city of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Jacksonville currently utilizes the strong mayor form of government, in which the mayor has significant powers compared to the Jacksonville ...

in 2011. The incumbent Republican, John Peyton, was barred from a third term. Widely considered an underdog in the March primary election, Brown came in second in the six-person race to face the frontrunner, Republican

Mike Hogan Mike Hogan may refer to: * Mike Hogan (American football) (born 1954), former NFL running back * Mike Hogan (athlete) (born 1943), British Olympic hurdler * Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) (born 1973), member of Irish alternative rock band The Cranb ...

, in the runoff election. On May 17, Brown narrowly defeated Hogan by 1,648 votes in what was called the closest mayoral election in Jacksonville history. Brown became the first African American ever elected Mayor of Jacksonville, as well as the first Democrat elected since

Ed Austin T. Edward "Ed" Austin Jr. (July 15, 1926 – April 23, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 1991 to 1995. He also served as the first Public Defender for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circ ...

in 1991. The win was considered a major upset in light of the momentum gained by the Republican Party and the conservative

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

in the 2010 elections, and a significant victory for the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former mayor of Miami Manny Diaz Sr. is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial governor o ...

. Brown was sworn in as mayor on July 1, 2011. Brown lost his 2015 re-election bid to Republican

National Transportation Safety Board

In August 2022, Brown was nominated to serve as a member of the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

by President Joe Biden.

Personal life

While living in Washington, Brown met his wife Santhea. They have two sons, Joshua and Jordan.Gibbons, Timothy J. (May 5, 2011).
Wives on the Jacksonville mayoral campaign trail: Santhea Brown
. ''The Florida Times-Union''. Retrieved on May 20, 2011.

References

External links

Official Website of the City of Jacksonville, Florida - Mayor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Alvin 1961 births African-American mayors in Florida Florida Democrats Jacksonville University alumni Living people Mayors of Jacksonville, Florida People from Beaufort, South Carolina 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people