Sherrod Brown
United States Senator from Ohio
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007 Serving with Rob Portman
Preceded by	Mike DeWine
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 13th district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Don Pease
Succeeded by	Betty Sutton
47th Ohio Secretary of State
In office 1983–1991
Governor	Dick Celeste
Preceded by	Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.
Succeeded by	Bob Taft
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 61st district
In office January 3, 1975 – December 31, 1982
Preceded by	Joan Douglass
Succeeded by	Frank Sawyer
Personal details
Born	November 9, 1952 (1952-11-09) (age 58) Mansfield, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Larke Ummel Brown (div. 1987) Connie Schultz
Children	Emily Brown Elizabeth Brown
Residence	Avon, Ohio
Alma mater	Yale University (B.A.) Ohio State University (M.P.A./M.A.)
Occupation	Teacher
Religion	Lutheran - ELCA
Website	Senator Sherrod Brown

Sherrod Campbell Brown (born November 9, 1952) is the senior United States Senator from Ohio and a member of the Democratic Party. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 13th congressional district from 1993 to 2007. He previously served as Ohio Secretary of State (1983–1991) and a member of the Ohio House of Representatives (1974–1982).

Brown defeated two-term Republican incumbent Mike DeWine in the 2006 U.S. Senate election. In the U.S. Senate, he is chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms and the Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy, and is also a member of the Committee on Appropriations, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Select Committee on Ethics.

Early life

Brown was born in Mansfield, Ohio to Emily Campbell and Charles Gailey Brown, M.D. He was named after his maternal grandfather. He became an Eagle Scout in 1967. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian studies from Yale University in 1974. At Yale, he was in Davenport College, the same residential college as U.S. Presidents George H. W. and George W. Bush. He went on to receive a Master of Public Administration degree and a Master of Arts degree in education from the Ohio State University in Columbus in 1979 and 1981, respectively. He taught at the Mansfield branch campus of The Ohio State University from 1979 to 1981.

Career in politics

State politics

Brown served as an Ohio state representative from 1974 to 1982. He was one of the youngest state representatives in Ohio history, and supposedly, shortly after taking office, he was mistaken for an intern and asked to fetch coffee by a staffer. In 1982, he won a four-way Democratic primary that included Dennis Kucinich, now a Cleveland Congressman, then defeated Republican Virgil Brown in the general election for the office of Ohio Secretary of State, succeeding Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.. In 1986, Brown won re-election as secretary of state, defeating Vincent C. Campanella. In 1990, Brown lost when trying for a third term as secretary of state to Republican Bob Taft.

U.S. House of Representatives

Congressman Brown

In 1992, Brown moved from Mansfield to Lorain, Ohio and won the heavily contested Democratic primary for an open seat in Ohio's 13th district, located in the western and southern suburbs of Cleveland, after eight-term incumbent Don Pease announced his retirement. The Democratic-leaning district gave him an easy win over the little known Republican Margaret R. Mueller. He was re-elected six times, never facing substantive opposition with the exception of during the Republican landslide of 1994 when his opponent was a popular long-time local prosecutor.

Brown was the ranking minority member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee. He also served on the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. As a member of the House International Relations Committee, he also served on the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. He was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

In 2001, the Republican-controlled legislature threatened to draw Brown's district out from under him. Brown threatened to run for governor in 2002 against incumbent Bob Taft. The Republicans backed down, and in fact made his district even more heavily Democratic by adding most of Akron and drawing out Geauga and Portage counties.

In 2005, Brown led the Democratic effort to block the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). For many months, Brown worked as whip on the issue, securing Democratic "nay" votes and seeking Republican allies. After several delays, the House of Representatives finally voted on CAFTA after midnight on July 28, 2005. The Republican leadership kept the roll call open well past the 15 minute standard, and the House approved CAFTA by a vote of 217 to 215. CAFTA effectively passed by one vote – a tie would have resulted in a defeat.

Brown cited this stinging outcome as the impetus for the next stage of his career: running for the U.S. Senate.

2006 Senate campaign

Brown hosts a panel of advisers to Barack Obama's presidential campaign during the first day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

In August 2005, Brown announced he would not run for the United States Senate seat held by Republican Mike DeWine. In October, however, Brown reconsidered his decision to enter the ring. This announcement came shortly after Democrat Paul Hackett also stated that he would soon announce his candidacy.

On February 13, 2006, Hackett withdrew from the race, all but ensuring that Brown would win the Democratic nomination. In the May 2 primary, Brown won 78.05% of the Democratic vote. His opponent, Merrill Samuel Keiser, Jr., received 21.95% of the vote.

In the middle of his Senate campaign in April 2006 Brown, along with John Conyers, brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the Constitution in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The case (Conyers v. Bush) was ultimately dismissed for 'lack of standing'.

On November 7, 2006, Brown faced two-term incumbent senator Mike DeWine in the general election. By 2:17 A.M. on November 8, most major television networks had declared Brown the winner against Mike DeWine. Brown won the seat with 56% of the vote to DeWine's 44%.

Subject of negative campaigning

Brown faced a tough challenge from Dewine in 2006. The campaign brought under scrutiny his vote against an emergency $87 billion spending plan in 2003 that included provisions for better armor and living conditions for U.S. soldiers as well as allegations of drug-dealing among his employees.

One of DeWine's ads, aired in October 2006, suggests that opponent Sherrod Brown did not pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19, 2006 that, "Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad's accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn't pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years." Brown has produced a commercial citing these facts. Citing a clerical error, Brown actually paid the $1,700 bill, which was due in 1993, in April 1994. However, this clerical error made it appear as if he had not paid this bill.

Brown was the subject of a misunderstanding by Rush Limbaugh on his radio program on February 14, 2006. Commenting on Hackett's withdrawal from the Senate race the previous day, Limbaugh declared there was a racial element to that withdrawal, making that statement on the erroneous assumption that Brown was black. (Limbaugh apparently perceived "Sherrod" as a more common name among African-Americans than among whites.) He was corrected and withdrew his statement later in the same program.

Controversy

In March 2011, Brown came under controversy for a senate floor speech in which he cited the names of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin while he criticized Republican efforts in Ohio and Wisconsin to mitigate the power of public employee unions to negotiate with state and local governments. In his speech he said "some of the worst governments that we've ever had, do you know one of the first things they did? They went after unions. Hitler didn't want unions, Stalin didn't want unions, Mubarak didn't want independent unions". Brown, however, added that he was not comparing the two situations. He later apologized for his speech.

On issues

An earlier photo of Senator Brown.

In 2011, among the National Journal’s annual rankings, Sherrod Brown tied with eight other members-including Bernie Sanders—for the title of the most liberal member of Congress.

Iraq war

Brown has opposed the war in Iraq since voting against the Iraq Resolution as a House Representative. He voted against the $87 billion war budgetary supplement. He also voted for redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008. In 2008, Sherrod Brown voted to appropriate funds for military matters of the Department of Defense, equaling $99.65 billion for the fiscal year 2008, and $65.92 billion for the fiscal year 2009. The bill also extended unemployment compensation and provided education funding for veterans.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights

Brown is a strong advocate of equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Americans. He opposed an amendment to Ohio's constitution that banned same sex marriage. Brown was also one of the few U.S. Representatives to vote against the then highly popular Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He also voted against prohibiting gay adoptions in Washington DC, and received a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign. On November 30, 2010 Brown made a contribution to the It Gets Better Project from the Senate floor, and on December 18, 2010 he voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.

Economy

Brown has been an avid proponent of continued funding of unemployment benefits, and cautioned his peers on the consequences on letting said benefits expire for many Americans. On December 3, 2010, when it became evident that Congress was going to let unemployment benefits expire for millions of Americans, Brown released an index demonstrating that every $1 spent on unemployment insurance benefits generates $1.60 in economic activity, creating a $90.26 billion economic impact. He stated it would affect more than 6 million Americans and create eight to 19 jobs per million dollars in budgetary cost.

Sherrod Brown has been an open and frequent critic of international free trade. In 2011, the Columbus Dispatch noted that Brown “loves to rail against international trade agreements.”

In 2009, when the vote on the $787 billion stimulus package (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) came down to just a few votes, Brown (an ardent advocate of the legislation) was attending services for his deceased mother. The White House provided a plane in order to fly him back to vote for the bill when it was determined that no commercial flight would make it on time. “Although most senators voted shortly after 5:30 p.m., the 60th and final vote was not cast until 10:46 p.m. by Sen. Sherrod Brown.”Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag; see the help page

Brown supported President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Family

Brown's wife, Connie Schultz, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist at Cleveland's The Plain Dealer newspaper. Schultz occasionally comes under scrutiny as a political reporter. In September, 2011, she was accused of playing politics for her husband while covering a Tea Party event for her column, when she started video recording her husband’s opponent, Josh Mandel, whom she did not cover in the column. Schultz later apologized in her column for giving “the appearance that I was covering Mandel for The Plain Dealer.”

Brown's daughter Emily works for the Service Employees International Union, daughter Elizabeth was an editorial assistant at New York Magazine and is currently a communication staff person for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus, and daughter Caitlin is currently performing a year of service with City Year Rhode Island, an Americorp program. Stepson Andrew C. Gard is a doctoral student (Ph.D., Mathematics) at Ohio State University. Brown's sister-in-law Anne M. Swanson is a communications attorney in Washington D.C. Brown and his family are Lutherans. They reside in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio.

Books authored

Brown is the author of two books:

• Congress from the Inside: Observations from the Majority and the Minority ISBN 0-87338-630-2
• Myths of Free Trade: Why American Trade Policy Has Failed ISBN 1-56584-928-0

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
• Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
  • Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms (Chairman)
• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Policy (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
  • Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
  • Subcommittee on Children and Families
  • Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
• Select Committee on Ethics

Electoral history

See also

• Ohio United States Senate elections
• Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 13th District
• List of United States Representatives from Ohio

United States Senators from Ohio Class 1 Smith • Meigs • Worthington • Kerr • Ruggles • Morris • Tappan • Corwin • Ewing • Wade • Thurman • Sherman • Hanna • Dick • Pomerene • Fess • Donahey • H. Burton • Huffman • K. Taft • Bricker • Young • R. Taft, Jr. • Metzenbaum • DeWine • S. Brown Class 3 Worthington • Tiffin • Griswold • Campbell • Morrow • Trimble • E. Brown • Harrison • Burnet • Ewing • Allen • Chase • Pugh • Chase • Sherman • Matthews • Pendleton • Payne • Brice • Foraker • T. Burton • Harding • Willis • Locher • T. Burton • McCulloch • Bulkley • R. Taft, Sr. • Burke • Bender • Lausche • Saxbe • Metzenbaum • Glenn • Voinovich • Portman

Current elected statewide political officials of Ohio U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown · Rob Portman State government John Kasich, Governor · Mary Taylor, Lieutenant Governor · Jon A. Husted, Secretary of State · Mike DeWine, Attorney General · Dave Yost, State Auditor · Josh Mandel, Treasurer Senate Tom Niehaus, President · Keith Faber, President pro tempore · Vacant, Majority Leader · Capri Cafaro, Minority Leader House William G. Batchelder, Speaker · Lou Blessing, Speaker pro tempore · Matt Huffman, Majority Leader · Armond Budish, Minority Leader Supreme Court Maureen O'Connor, Chief Justice · Paul Pfeifer · Evelyn Lundberg Stratton · Terrence O'Donnell · Judith Ann Lanzinger · Robert R. Cupp · Yvette McGee Brown AL • AK • AZ • AR • CA • CO  • CT • DE  • FL  • GA  • HI  • ID  • IL  • IN  • IA  • KS  • KY  • LA  • ME  • MD  • MA  • MI  • MN  • MS  • MO  • MT  • NE  • NV  • NH  • NJ  • NM  • NY  • NC  • ND  • OH  • OK  • OR  • PA  • RI  • SC  • SD  • TN  • TX  • UT  • VT  • VA  • WA  • WV  • WI  • WY

Ohio Secretary of State Creighton · McLene · Kirby · Hinkson · Harlan · Trevitt · Sloane · Galloway · King · Trevitt · Baker · A. Russell · Cowen · Kennon · Armstrong · W. Smith · J. Russell · Sherwood · Wikoff · Bell · Barnes · Townsend · Newman · Robinson · Ryan · Poorman · Taylor · Kinney · Laylin · Thompson · Graves · Hildebrant · Fulton · H. Smith · T. H. Brown · C. Brown · Myers · Kennedy · Griffith · Neffiner · J. Sweeney · Hummel · C. Sweeney · T. W. Brown · Celebrezze · S. Brown · Taft · Blackwell · Brunner · Husted