By Eugene T. Lowe
May 30, 2011

Alvin Brown was elected May 17 as the first African-American mayor of Jacksonville (FL). Brown, 48, is also the first Democrat elected as the chief elected official since 1991. After coming in second in a March primary election, Brown jumped to the top in the runoff election, with the support of several prominent Republicans. His campaign drew the support and visits to the city from Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Andrew Young.

Brown is no stranger to The U.S. Conference of Mayors, having worked as an advisor to former President Bill Clinton, a senior advisor for Urban Policy to former Vice President Al Gore and as a senior advisor to former HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. He managed a $4 billion initiative to create jobs as Executive Director of the White House Community Empowerment Board. In each of those positions, Brown frequently attended Conference of Mayors Winter and Annual Meetings, and worked directly with mayors on a number of projects and initiatives.

A native of Jacksonville, he received his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Jacksonville University, and held a number of civic positions in the city. He is married and the father of two sons. After his victory, Brown released the statement: “I am excited about the opportunity that we have to take Jacksonville to the next level, and I will work with people from every corner of this community to mover Jacksonville forward. Now is the time to bring Jacksonville together and unite our city.”

Brown will take office on July 1.