Willie Lewis Brown Jr. (born March 20, 1934) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of San Francisco from 1996 to 2004, the first African American to hold the office.
Born in Mineola, Texas, where he graduated from high school, Brown moved to San Francisco in 1951. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 1955 and earned a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1958, after which he began his career as an attorney and was involved in the civil rights movement. He was elected to the California Assembly in 1964, gaining popularity in San Francisco as one of the country's most powerful state legislators. As a legislator, Brown earned a reputation as a supporter of civil rights of gays and lesbians, and was able to manage colleagues and maintain party discipline. He served as the speaker of the California State Assembly from 1980 to 1995. His long tenure and powerful position was a focal point of the California ballot proposition limiting the terms of state legislators that passed in 1990. During the last of his three allowed post-initiative terms, Brown maintained control of the Assembly despite a slim Republican majority. Near the end of his final term, he decided to run for mayor of San Francisco.
During Brown's tenure as mayor of San Francisco, the city's budget was expanded, and real estate development, public works, city beautification, and other city projects saw a significant increase. Brown presided over the "dot-com" era at a time when San Francisco's economy was rapidly expanding. His administration included more Asian-Americans, women, Latinos, gays and African Americans than the administrations of his predecessors. Brown was reelected in 1999. Term limits prevented him from running for a third term, and he was succeeded by his political protégé Gavin Newsom. San Francisco Chronicle called Brown "one of San Francisco's most notable mayors", adding that he had "celebrity beyond the city's boundaries." He retired from politics after leaving the office in 2004, published an autobiography, and continued to fundraise and advise politicians.
Early life, education, and early career Brown was born on March 20, 1934, in Mineola, a small segregated town in East Texas marked by racial tensions,In the 1930s, the "tensions" were undoubtedly less than they would have been than if anyone had attempted to enforce integration. to Minnie Collins Boyd and Lewis Brown. He was the fourth of five children. During Brown's childhood, mob violence periodically erupted in Mineola, keeping African-Americans from voting. His first job was as a shoeshine boy in a whites-only barber shop. He later worked as a janitor, fry cook and field hand. He learned his strong work ethic at a young age from his grandmother. He graduated from Mineola Colored High School, which he later described as substandard, and left for San Francisco in August 1951 at the age of 17 to live with his uncle.
Although Brown did not meet the qualifications for San Francisco State College, a professor at the school facilitated his admission on probation. Brown adjusted to college studies by working especially hard to catch up in his first semester. He joined the Young Democrats and became friends with John L. Burton. Brown originally wanted to be a math instructor but campus politics changed his ambitions. He became active in his church and the San Francisco NAACP. Brown worked as a doorman, janitor and shoe salesman to pay for college. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He also joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) but later quit the ROTC and joined the California Army National Guard's 126th Medical Battalion, where he was trained as a dental hygienist. Brown earned a bachelor's degree in political science from San Francisco State in 1955.SFSU Public Affairs Press Release, May 28, 2001, "San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown challenges SFSU Class of 2001", accessed July 4, 2007
Brown attended University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he also worked as a janitor. He later said that his decision to attend law school was primarily to avoid being drafted. He befriended future San Francisco mayor George Moscone, for whom Brown later managed a campaign.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Brown was one of a few African-Americans practicing law in San Francisco when he opened his own business. He practiced criminal defense law, representing pimps, prostitutes and other clients that more prominent attorneys would not represent. One early case was to defend Mario Savio on his first civil disobedience arrest. He quickly became involved in the Civil Rights Movement, leading a well-orchestrated sit-in to protest housing discrimination after a local real estate office refused to work with him because of his race.
Brown began his first run for the California State Assembly in 1962 by having local African American ministers pass around a hat, collecting $700. He lost the election by 600 votes before winning a second election in 1964.
California State Assembly
Brown was one of four Black Americans in the Assembly in 1965. The other three were Mervyn M. Dymally, F. Douglas Ferrell and Byron Rumford. He continued to be reelected to the Assembly until 1995. In the 1960s, Brown served as chair of the Legislative Representation Committee, a powerful position that helped him climb the Assembly ranks. He became the Democrats' Assembly whip in 1969. Brown also served on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. In 1972, he delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention. He lost his bid for the speakership in 1972. In 1975, Brown authored and lobbied the successful passing of the Consenting Adult Sex Bill that legalized homosexuality in California, thus earning the strong and lasting support of San Francisco's gay community. Similarly, he voted against AB 607, which banned same-sex marriage in 1977, further building his reputation as a supporter of the civil rights of gays and lesbians. During the 1970s, Brown continued to expand his legal practice, including the representation of several major real estate developers. He won the Speakership in 1980.
Brown was California's first Black American speaker of the Assembly, and served in the office from 1981 to 1995. In 1990, he helped negotiate an end to a 64-day budget standoff. In 1994, Brown gained the vote of a few Republicans to maintain the Speakership when the Democrats lost control of the Assembly to the Republicans led by Jim Brulte. Brown regained control in 1995 by making a deal with Republican defectors Doris Allen and Brian Setencich, both of whom were elected speaker by the Democratic minority.
Brown's long service in the Assembly and political connections, his strong negotiation skills, and the Assembly's tenure system for leadership appointments combined to give Brown nearly complete control over the California legislature by the time he became Assembly Speaker. According to The New York Times, Brown became one of the country's most powerful state legislators. He nicknamed himself the "Ayatollah of the Assembly".
Brown was extremely popular in San Francisco, but less so in the rest of the state. Nevertheless, he wielded great control over statewide legislative affairs and political appointments, making it difficult for his conservative opponents to thwart his power. Partially to remove Brown from his leadership position, a state constitutional amendment initiative was proposed and passed by the electorate in 1990, imposing term limits on state legislators. Brown became the focus of the initiative, and raised just under $1 million to defeat it. The California legislature challenged the law, but the courts upheld it. California Proposition 140 also cut the legislature's staff budget by 30 percent, causing Brown to reduce legislative staff by at least 600. Under current California term-limits law, no speaker of the California State Assembly is able to have a longer tenure than Brown's.
Brown gained a reputation for knowing what was occurring in the state legislature at all times. In 1992, he gave $1.18 million to the Democratic Party to help with voter registration and several campaigns, some of which was from contributions from tobacco companies and insurance companies. As Speaker, he worked to defeat the Three Strikes Law. Critics have claimed Brown did not do enough to raise the legislature's ethical standards or to protect the environment. During his time in Sacramento, he estimates he raised close to $75 million to help elect and reelect state Democrats.
Brown led efforts in the Assembly for state universities to divest from South Africa and to increase AIDS research funding. He helped obtain state funds for San Francisco, including funding for public health and mental health funds. Brown held up the 1992 state budget for 63 days until Governor Pete Wilson added another $1.1 billion for public schools.
Brown had a reputation in the Assembly for his ability to manage people. Republican State Senator Ken Maddy of Fresno noted Brown's ability to "size up the situation and create, sometimes on the spot, a winning strategy." According to Hobson, "He was a brilliant daycare operator. ... He knew exactly how to hold the hand of his Assembly members. He dominated California politics like no other politician in the history of the state".
Peoples Temple
From 1975 to 1978, Brown supported the Peoples Temple, led by Jim Jones, while it was being investigated for alleged criminal wrongdoing. Brown attended the Temple perhaps a dozen times and served as master of ceremonies at a testimonial dinner for Jones where he said in his introduction, "[l]et me present to you a combination of Martin King, Angela Davis, Albert Einstein ... Chairman Mao."Tim Reiterman (1982) "Raven: The Untold Story of The Rev. Jim Jones and His People" p. 308Nancy Dooley & Tim Reiterman, "Jim Jones: Power Broker", San Francisco Examiner, August 7, 1977Layton, Deborah. Seductive Poison. Anchor, 1999. . p. 105.
Mayor of San Francisco In 1995, Brown ran for mayor of San Francisco. In his announcement speech, he said San Francisco needed a "resurrection" and that he would bring the "risk-taking leadership" the city needed. Brown placed first in the first round of voting, but because no candidate received 50% of the vote, he faced incumbent Frank Jordan in the December runoff. Brown gained the support of Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg, who had placed third in the first round of voting. He campaigned on working to address poverty and problems with Muni. He called Jordan the "inept bumbler" and criticized his leadership. Jordan criticized Brown for his relations with special interests during his time in the State Assembly. Brown easily defeated Jordan.
Brown's inaugural celebration included an open invitation party with 10,000 attendees and local restaurants providing 10,000 meals to the homeless. President Bill Clinton called Brown to congratulate him, and the congratulations were broadcast to the crowd. He delivered his inaugural address without notes and led the orchestra in "The Stars and Stripes Forever". He arrived at the event in a horse-drawn carriage.