Former D.C. Councilman Michael A. Brown, who served a prison sentence for bribery, will make a run for Washington’s nonvoting delegate in the House of Representatives.
Brown pleaded guilty in 2013 and was sentenced in 2014 to three years in prison for accepting $55,000 in bribes from who he believed to be a businessman seeking preferential treatment on government contracts — the man was an undercover FBI investigator. He also admitted to accepting shadow campaign funds from businessman Jeffrey Thompson, who pleaded guilty to felony charges related to pouring millions of illegal dollars into political campaigns. Brown was released in 2016.
“Relative to my huge mistake, I paid the price; I took responsibility,” Brown told the Washington Post on Wednesday in announcing his bid for Congress. “I put myself in that situation, and I shouldn’t have. I will continue to make it up to the people I let down, and I apologize for it. I’m not perfect, but I’m perfect for this job.”
Brown is vying for the seat of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), which she has held for over three decades. Brown told the Washington Informer on Tuesday that while he respects Norton, having worked together while chairman of the legislature’s former statehood committee, he would take a tougher approach to pressing matters in the district.
“We need regular people to understand why statehood is important. Why shouldn’t young people understand our plight? One way of getting them involved is giving the advocacy community the resources to fight and build to get more people involved in that effort,” Brown said. He’s the son of the late Ron Brown, the former commerce secretary under President Bill Clinton and former Democratic National Committee chairman.
Many Washington residents have long fought to turn the district into the 51st state. In the House, there are six nonvoting delegates — including Norton, Washington’s only representative — from U.S. territories. As a nonvoting delegate, she can’t vote on the House floor, and unlike people in other territories, Washingtonians pay federal taxes while lacking representation in Congress.
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The D.C. Board of Elections shows several lesser-known congressional delegate candidates competing in the June primary for Norton’s seat: Kelly Mikel Williams, who ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2022, Rico Dancy, Kymone Freeman, Greg Maye, and LaQueda Tate.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Norton’s campaign for comment.