Kwame R. Brown

On June 6, 2012, Federal prosecutors charged D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown with one count of bank fraud in U.S. District Court. He resigned from the council later that day. The following day, Brown was charged with misdemeanor unlawful cash campaign expenditures for violating the District's election law that prohibits cash campaign expenditures in excess of $50.

On March 31, 2010, Brown announced that he would pursue the DC Council Chairmanship, one day after the current seat holder Vincent C. Gray announced his candidacy for Mayor for that year's election, making him ineligible to regain his office, which expired in January 2011. This eliminated earlier speculation that Brown would pursue the mayoral seat against incumbent Adrian Fenty.

On September 14, 2010, Brown won the Democratic primary for chairperson, receiving 55 percent of the vote to former Ward 5 Councilman Vincent Orange's 39 percent and school board member Dorothy Douglas' 6 percent. He faced no opposition in the November 2 general election, and Brown was sworn in as chairman of the DC Council on January 2, 2011.

2010 Council of the District of Columbia, Chairperson, Democratic Primary Election

2010 Council of the District of Columbia, Chairperson, General Election

Brown was up for reelection in 2008 and faced no opposition in the Democratic primary. When asked why no one was running against him, he stated, "People run because they're tired of elected officials not doing anything." Brown, who lives in Hillcrest, continued, 'No one's running, because I've done what I said I was going to do."

Brown authored the Creative Learning Program Act to require that all elementary schools are taught music, visual arts, and physical education each week effective the 2008-2009 school year. The Act requires the subjects to be taught weekly but does not specify the curriculum or guidelines of the educational programs.

2008 Council of the District of Columbia, At Large, Democratic Primary Election

2008 Council of the District of Columbia, At Large, General Election

Brown authored the Compliance and Enforcement Agency Establishment Act of 2007, which establishes a Compliance and Enforcement Agency in the District government. The Agency would be responsible to ensure that developers meet environmental standards, affordable-housing requirements, and laws involving hiring local employees.

Brown cosponsored the Small Business Commercial Property Tax Relief Act of 2007. The Act reduced the commercial and industrial property tax rate for properties assessed at less than $3 million. The Act also increased the amount of tangible personal property exempt from the personal property tax to $225,000.

In addition, Brown authored the Minority and Women-Owned Business Assessment Act of 2007 to determine how many minority- and women-owned businesses were receiving contracts from the District. The Act also authorized an assessment of whether the District government should increase the number of contracts awarded to such businesses and, if so, how to do so.

Brown co-introduced the School Modernization and Financing Act of 2005, which was to construct, renovate, and modernize public schools in the District. The Act also authorized the mayor to borrow $1 billion, which would be repaid with $60 million annual payments from revenue from the future District lottery.

Brown was first elected to the Council in 2004, winning 55.4% of votes citywide in the general election, after defeating incumbent Councilmember Harold Brazil in the primary with 54.09% of the vote.

2004 Council of the District of Columbia, At Large, Democratic Primary Election

2004 Council of the District of Columbia, At Large, General Election

Kwame R. Brown (born October 13, 1970) is an American politician in Washington, D.C., who was an at-large member of the council from 2005 to 2011 and chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia from 2011 until his resignation in June 2012.

Kwame R. Brown was born on October 13, 1970, at Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington, D.C. Brown graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School and participated in the Mayor's Youth Leadership Institute. Brown continued his education at Morgan State University in Baltimore, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing. Brown is a graduate of both the Minority Business Executive Program, & Advanced Business Executive Program at the Amos Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College and the Senior Executives in State & Local Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.