Amen Brown

Amen Brown (born c. 1987[2]) is an American politician. He is currently a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, represnting the 10th District since 2023.[3] Brown previously represented the 190th District from 2021 to 2022 before redistricting moved him to the 10th District.

Amen Brown
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Assumed office
January 5, 2021 (2021-01-05)[1]
Preceded byG. Roni Green
Constituency190th District (2021-2022)
10th District (2023-present)
Personal details
Bornc. 1987
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationCommunity College of Philadelphia

Early life and education

Brown was born and raised in West Philadelphia.[4] He grew up in a single parent household with his eight siblings.[2] His mother was addicted to drugs and his father was incarcerated.[5] At age 12, a gunman shot him and a friend in the back near his family home at 56th and Market.[6] In high school, Brown was arrested during a police raid at a corner store.[6] He was in jail for 45 days before the charges of felony drug-dealing were dropped.[6]

After graduating from Overbrook High School, in 2006, he attended the Community College of Philadelphia with the intention of becoming a school principal.[7] He left college early to pursue his business career.[6]

Business career

At age 22, Brown co-founded the Education Nation Learning Academy, a child care facility in Frankford. A few years later, he opened a second facility. Brown left the partnership and founded the Overbrook Beacon Community Center in Overbrook.[6]

Brown is the founder and CEO of Overbrook Beacon Community Empowerment. He has also worked as the coordinator for the University of Pennsylvania Sayre Community School Beacon.

Political career

In March 2019, Brown ran in the special election held to fill the 190th state house seat vacated after Vanessa L. Brown resigned.[8] He ran as a member of the Amen Brown Party and won 20% of the vote in a four-way race, losing to Democrat Movita Johnson-Harrell.[9]

State Representative

In June 2020, Brown ran as a Democrat, defeating incumbent G. Roni Green in the Democratic primary, winning 43% of the vote.[10][6] Brown campaigned during the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering masks and hand sanitizer.[11]

Brown was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in November 2020, winning 95% of the vote and defeating Republican Wanda Logan.[12][13]

Following redistricting in 2021, Brown successfully ran for the 10th District seat.[14]

PACs linked to Jeff Yass, a businessman, who supports school choice, have given Brown at least $62,500 since the start of 2021, which is roughly 40% of his total donations of his state house campaign in that same time period.[15]

2023 Philadelphia mayoral election

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on December 5, 2022, Brown was planning to declare his candidacy as a Democratic candidate for the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election.[16] He announced his candidacy on December 16, 2022.[17] His platform is centered around fighting crime and improving the city's standard of living.[11]

Political positions

Criminal justice

According to Axios, Brown is known for being hard on crime, and has pushed for mandatory minimum sentences.[18] He angered progressive members from the Democratic Party after pushing for mandatory minimums for gun-related crimes.[19] During the 2021–2022 Pennsylvania State House session, Brown introduced House Bill 1587, which would increase and add new mandatory minimum sentencing requirements and deny bail under some circumstances. It was co-sponsored by representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties.[20] However, some Democratic representatives later dropped their support.[21]

Education

Brown supports charter school.[11] He was the only Democrat in the State Assembly to support the Lifeline Scholarships bill, which would guarantee school choice to students in failing public schools.

Illegal dirt bikes and ATVs

He has been outspoken in his opposition to illegal dirt bikes and ATVs on the streets of Philadelphia.[22] He has said that they terrorize pedestrians, drive recklessly and cause noise pollution. Brown has called for legislation to be passed that will permit the police to capture and destroy illegal dirt bikes.[22]

LGTBQ+ Rights

Brown is a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights.[23] As a member of the Pennsylvania State House, he voted against legislation that would require transgender youth to use the bathrooms of their assigned gender.[23] He expressed support for gender affirming care conducted at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.[23]

Policing

Brown has argued for more policing to "provide much needed support in Philadelphia in addressing [the] gun violence crisis." He has called on Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to deploy the Pennsylvania National Guard to help police the streets of Philadelphia.[24]

Personal life

Brown has two children.

In 2014, Brown was implicated in deed fraud when he purchased a property at 2312 Reed Street for $15,000 cash from owner Norman Johnson who had been deceased for over a decade. Johnson's rightful heirs reacquired the property in court after a judge nullified the forged deed.[25] He faced criminal charges, which were eventually dropped.[11] Brown defended his actions saying he was a victim of a Craigslist scam.[25]

A year later, Brown was sued for $26,000 in a breach of contract lawsuit. Brown signed a contract to renovate a house in North Philadelphia but "completely failed to perform certain aspects of the work or performed the work negligently" according to the lawsuit.[25] In 2021, the City of Philadelphia sued Brown for $30,000 in unpaid taxes and liens.[11]

In a 2023 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jeffrey Brooks Jr., a former business associate of Brown, accused him of only paying back $23,000 of a $50,000 loan.[11]

References
  1. "SESSION OF 2021 205TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY No. 1" (PDF). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania House Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania General Assembly. January 5, 2021. pp. 2, 4–6. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  2. Levy, Jordan (December 14, 2022). "What to know about Amen Brown, the state rep running for Philly mayor". Billy Penn. WHYY. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  3. "Representative Amen Brown". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  4. "Rep. Amen Brown's Biography". Pennsylvania House Democrats. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  5. Waring, Tom (2022-10-25). "Oh explores mayoral race". Northeast Times. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  6. Armstrong, Jenice. "May I please get an 'amen' for Amen Brown, poised to win this House seat in West Philly? | Jenice Armstrong". Inquirer. Retrieved 2021-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Amen Brown". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  8. Michael D’Onofrio. "Rundown of candidates in Tuesday's 190th district special election". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  9. "March 2019 Special Election Results Announced". www.philadelphiavotes.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  10. "POLS ON THE STREET: 3 State Reps Fall in Fierce Philadelphia Primaries | Philadelphia Public Record". Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  11. "Philly mayoral candidate Amen Brown's business dealings left a trail of debt, lawsuits, and jilted partners". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  12. "Philadelphia Vote Shows Winners, Losers as Monster Vote Count Nears End | Philadelphia Public Record". Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  13. Roebuck, Jeremy. "Pennsylvania Supreme Court tosses GOP congressman's suit seeking to throw out all ballots cast by mail". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2021-05-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. Allen, Taylor (April 15, 2022). "Pennsylvania Rep. Amen Brown gets to stay on the primary ballot". Axios Philadelphia. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  15. "Pa.'s richest person has spent at least $18 million on the 2022 primary — mostly to influence one issue". Spotlight PA. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  16. Orso, Anna (December 5, 2022). "At Pennsylvania Society, a mayoral candidate emerges from a smoke-filled room and Republicans rethink mail ballot rhetoric". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  17. Orso, Anna (December 17, 2022). "And then there were nine: With Amen Brown officially in, the Philly mayoral field could be the largest in years". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  18. Allen, Taylor (April 15, 2022). "Pennsylvania Rep. Amen Brown gets to stay on the primary ballot". Axios Philadelphia. Axios Media. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  19. Brennan, Chris (July 18, 2022). "Amen Brown met with Mehmet Oz and progressives are circulating pictures of their chat". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  20. "Bill Information - House Bill 1587; Regular Session 2021-2022". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  21. "A West Philly Dem is going tough on crime. Progressives say his bill is 'terrifyingly awful'". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  22. "Pa. State Rep. aims to end illegal dirt bike, ATV riding in Philadelphia". 6 ABC. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  23. "WHO IS AMEN BROWN?". tHE Philadelphia Citizen. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  24. "Why Rep. Amen Brown is wrong about the National Guard". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  25. Marin, Max. "West Philly state Rep. Amen Brown implicated in deed fraud, other lawsuits". Billy Penn. Retrieved 2021-06-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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