Anthony Brown | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2023 | |
| 47thAttorney General of Maryland | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Governor | Larry Hogan Wes Moore |
| Preceded by | Brian Frosh |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's4th district | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Donna Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Glenn Ivey |
| 8thLieutenant Governor of Maryland | |
| In office January 17, 2007 – January 21, 2015 | |
| Governor | Martin O'Malley |
| Preceded by | Michael Steele |
| Succeeded by | Boyd Rutherford |
| Member of theMaryland House of Delegates from the 25th district | |
| In office January 14, 1999 – January 14, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Brenda Hughes |
| Succeeded by | Aisha Braveboy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anthony Gregory Brown (1961-11-21)November 21, 1961 (age 63) Huntington, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | United States Military Academy (attended) Harvard University (BA,JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1984–2014 |
| Rank | Colonel (retired) |
| Unit | 3rd Infantry Division (active)<>10th LSO (reserve) 353rd CACOM (OIF) 153rd LSO (reserve) |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War |
| Awards | Legion of Merit Bronze Star |
Brown supporting the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. Recorded November 21, 2019 | |
Anthony Gregory Brown (born November 21, 1961) is an American politician and lawyer serving as theattorney general of Maryland since 2023. He previously served as theU.S. representative forMaryland's 4th congressional district from 2017 to 2023 and as the eighthlieutenant governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was its nominee forgovernor in the2014 election, losing to RepublicanLarry Hogan in a close race.
Brown served two four-year terms in theMaryland House of Delegates, representingPrince George's County from 1999 to 2007.[1][2] He was elected to the lieutenant governorship in2006 on the Democratic ticket withGovernorMartin O'Malley; both were re-elected in2010.[3] He is a retiredcolonel in theUnited States Army Reserve, having served in the U.S. Army for over thirty years. While lieutenant governor, Brown was the highest-ranking elected official in the nation to have served a tour of duty in Iraq.[4][5] In2014, Brown ran unsuccessfully for the governorship, losing toRepublican nomineeLarry Hogan.[6] In 2016, Brown was elected to the U.S. House. His district covered most of the majority-black precincts inPrince George's County, as well as a sliver ofAnne Arundel County.[7]
In October 2021, Brown announced that he would not seek reelection to the U.S. House in2022 and would insteadrun forattorney general of Maryland.[8] He won the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022. He defeated Republican lawyerMichael Peroutka in the general election on November 8, 2022, becoming Maryland's first Black attorney general.[9]
Brown was born in 1961 inHuntington, New York, to immigrant parents. His father, Roy Hershel Brown, a physician, was born inCayo Mambi, Cuba; was raised inKingston, Jamaica; and later came to the U.S. to attendFordham University.[10] Roy received his medical degree inZürich, Switzerland, where he also met his future wife, Lilly I. Berlinger.[11] The couple married and Lilly moved with Brown toNew York, where they had Anthony, his sister, and three brothers.[12]
The family lived inHuntington, New York, in Suffolk County on Long Island, where Anthony attended public schools, graduating fromHuntington High School in 1979. In his senior year, Brown became the first African American to be elected president of Huntington High School's student council.[13] After high school, Brown started at theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, where he had an appointment. He quickly switched toHarvard College, where he majored in government and resided inQuincy House.[14] At Harvard, Brown served on the Student Advisory Committee atHarvard Kennedy School'sInstitute of Politics. Since Harvard did not offer ROTC at the time, in his second year, Brown enrolled in theArmy Reserve Officer Training Corps program atMIT and earned a two-year scholarship.[1] In 1984, Brown graduated with an A.B.cum laude, and as aDistinguished Military Graduate.
Upon graduation, Brown received a commission as asecond lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served on active duty for five years. He graduated first in his flight class atFort Rucker, Alabama, and received his aeronautical rating as anArmy aviator. He also completed airborne training, receiving both theBasic Parachutist Badge and theAir 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, abattalionlogistics officer, and the flight operations officer for Task Force 23.[citation needed]
After completing his active duty service, Brown returned to graduate school, entering Harvard Law School in 1989 and earning his JD degree. He attendedHarvard Law School at the same time as future PresidentBarack Obama,Artur Davis and actorHill Harper. Brown was a member of theBoard of Student Advisers. His third-year paper, written under the supervision ofProfessor Charles Ogletree, analyzed the scope of theFourth 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 aJuris Doctor in 1992.
After graduating from law school, Brown completed a two-year clerkship forChief Judge Eugene Sullivan of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. In 1994, he joined the Washington, D.C. office of the international law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering (nowWilmerHale). Brown practiced law with the lateJohn Payton,[16] a renowned civil rights attorney and former president of theNAACP Legal Defense Fund, andStephen H. Sachs, who was theUnited States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 1967 to 1970 and was the 40thAttorney General of Maryland. In 1998, Brown received Wilmer'sPro Bono Publico Award for his work in representing indigent clients. In 1999, Brown worked for Merrill Lynch for five months.[17] Brown joined the Prince George's County land use and zoning law firm Gibbs & Haller in 2000, after having been elected to theMaryland General Assembly.[citation needed]
Brown continued his military service transferring from the Army's Aviation Branch to the Judge Advocate General's Corps as aJudge Advocate General (JAG) in theUnited States Army Reserve. Brown began his service as a JAG with attendingthe JAG School at theUniversity of Virginia and then the 10th LSO inUpper Marlboro, Maryland, where he held numerous assignments, including in the areas of international law and claims law.[citation needed] Brown ultimately attained the rank ofcolonel in theU.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 inNorristown, Pennsylvania, where, in addition to supporting deploying service members and their families with legal services, he mobilized eighteen soldiers toFort Hood, Texas, in support of theIII 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 atFort Wadsworth, New York.
In 2004, Brown, then a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, was deployed toIraq as part ofOperation Iraqi Freedom. Brown served inBaghdad,Fallujah,Kirkuk, andBasra with the353rd Civil Affairs Command as senior consultant to the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration. Brown received theBronze Star for his distinguished service in Iraq.
Brown's political career began in 1998, when he was elected to serve in theMaryland House of Delegates, representing the 25th district inPrince George's County. Brown ran on a Democratic Party ticket with SenatorUlysses Currie, DelegateDereck Davis, and DelegateMelony 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 HouseMichael E. Busch appointed Brown to the position ofmajority whip, the fourth-ranking position in the House.
In 2006, Brown was electedlieutenant governor on a ticket withMartin O'Malley, the formermayor 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 ofdomestic violence, increase access to higher education, and provide veterans with better services and resources.
In July 2010, Brown was elected chair of theNational Lieutenant Governors Association,[21] a position he served in for a term of one year.[22]
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 theAffordable 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 theMaryland General Assembly to create ahealth 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 unnecessaryMedicaid 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] TheObama 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 addresshealth 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]
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 onBase 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]
Brown became one of the leading champions for the increased use ofpublic-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 forpublic-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]
Brown was tasked by Governor O'Malley to lead theBase 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) toAberdeen Proving Ground fromFt. Monmouth, New Jersey, and the Air National Guard Readiness Center atJoint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington. TheDefense Information Systems Agency was relocating toFort George G. Meade from northern Virginia andWalter Reed Army Medical Center was moving to theBethesda Naval Hospital to create theWalter 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]
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]
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 ofSTEM 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]
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:
Despite being a classmate ofBarack Obama, in September 2007, Brown initially endorsedHillary Clinton forPresident in the2008 election.[48][49] He campaigned for her in several states, includingSouth Carolina andGeorgia.[50] In June 2008, Brown subsequentlyendorsed Obama.
In July 2008, Brown was appointed to theDemocratic National Committee's Platform Committee and served on the Platform Drafting Committee. Brown led the efforts to strengthen theDemocratic Party's commitment to veterans and ensuring that theChesapeake Bay be named as a "national treasure".[51] Brown was a "Party Leader/Elected Official" delegate to the2008 Democratic National Convention inDenver, Colorado, in late August 2008 and cast his vote for then-Senator Obama, along with 98 members of the Maryland delegation.[52]
Brown was named co-chair of theObama/Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for theDepartment of Veterans Affairs on November 14, 2008.[53]
Anthony Brown announced his candidacy forgovernor of Maryland in the2014 election on May 10, 2013, at Prince George's County Community College. He choseKen Ulman, county executive ofHoward County, Maryland, as his running mate in June 2013.[54] Brown was endorsed byGovernorMartin O'Malley,U.S. SenatorBarbara Mikulski, U.S. CongressmanSteny Hoyer,Maryland Senate PresidentThomas V. Miller Jr., andBaltimore MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake. Brown facedAttorney GeneralDoug Gansler andDelegateHeather Mizeur in the Democratic primary.[55] Brown won the June 2014 Democratic primary[56] and became the Democratic nominee for governor but was defeated by Republican nomineeLarry Hogan in the general election on November 4, 2014.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Larry Hogan | 847,280 | 51.45% | +9.66% | |
| Democratic | Anthony Brown | 771,242 | 46.83% | −9.41% | |
| Libertarian | Shawn Quinn | 23,813 | 1.44% | +0.68% | |
| Write-ins | 4,265 | 0.25% | |||
| Turnout | 1,655,375 | 45%[57] | |||
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 byDonna 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]
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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]
During the primary, Brown received endorsements from U.S. SenatorsCory Booker[66] andElizabeth Warren,[67] and U.S. RepresentativesSteny Hoyer,[68]Kweisi Mfume, andDavid Trone.[69] He also received endorsements from theMaryland Sierra Club[70] and theMaryland State Education Association.[71]
In May 2022, an investigation fromTime 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 formerFirst Lady of MarylandKatie O'Malley with 55.1 percent of the vote.[73] He defeated Republican lawyerMichael Peroutka in the general election on November 8, 2022.[9]
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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 theRoman 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 theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and theRoman 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 investigatingpolice 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 was an at-large delegate to the2024 Democratic National Convention, pledged toKamala Harris.[85] During thesecond presidency of Donald Trump, he filed numerous lawsuits against the Trump administration.[86][87]
Brown married Patricia Arzuaga in 1993, and they had two children, Rebecca and Jonathan, before their divorce in 2009.[88] Jonathan was adopted.[89]
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.[88][90][91] Both Anthony and Brown's son Jonathan were in the same grade at the same Catholic school in 2012.[91] Walker is a director of government relations withComcast.[88][92] Brown isCatholic.[93]
Brown's personal awards include:[1]
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| 1st row | Legion of Merit | Bronze Star Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd row | Meritorious Service Medal | Army Commendation Medal with twooak leaf clusters | Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster |
| 3rd row | Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters | National Defense Service Medal with bronzeservice star | Iraq Campaign Medal |
| 4th row | Global War on Terrorism Service Medal | Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal | Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Hourglass (not shown) and "M" devices |
| 5th row | Army Service Ribbon | Army Overseas Service Ribbon | Army Reserve Overseas Training Ribbon withaward numeral 2 |
Brown was also awarded theArmy Aviator Badge, and theArmy Superior Unit Award. He isAirborne andAir Assault qualified, and is authorized to wear oneOverseas Service Bar.
having spent 10 months in the country in 2004
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)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.
Committee member Anthony G. Brown (D-Prince George's), who is Catholic
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Maryland 2007–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Maryland 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forAttorney General of Maryland 2022 | Most recent |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's 4th congressional district 2017–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Maryland 2023–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
Statewide political officials ofMaryland | ||
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