Henry Brown (South Carolina politician)
Henry Brown | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 1st district | |
In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Mark Sanford |
Succeeded by | Tim Scott |
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 99th district | |
In office June 25, 1985 – January 3, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Francis X. Archibald |
Succeeded by | James H. Merrill |
Personal details | |
Born | Henry Edward Brown Jr. December 20, 1935 United States National Guard |
Unit | South Carolina |
Henry Edward Brown Jr. (born December 20, 1935) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2001 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He did not stand for re-election in 2010.
The district is based in Charleston and during Brown's tenure in office, took in almost all of the state's share of the Atlantic coastline (except for Beaufort and Hilton Head Island, which at that time were in the 2nd district).
Early life
Brown was born in
Political career
Brown was elected to the Hanahan city council in 1981 and was later elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1985 as a Republican from Berkeley County. Incumbent Francis Archibald resigned the seat and Brown won handily over opponent Ed Sessions in a June 1985 special election. When the Republicans gained control of the state house in 1994, Brown became chairman of the Ways and Means committee and helped deliver the largest tax cut in state history.[2] He also served as chairman of the state's Joint Tax study Committee and was one of the vocal leaders of a massive 1998 tax proposal.
When 1st District Congressman
In the 2008 election, Brown faced Democratic nominee Linda Ketner. The district had been considered unwinnable for a Democrat since the 1990s round of redistricting shifted most of Charleston's black voters to the majority-black 6th District. However, polls from the summer of 2008 onward showed a closer-than-expected race. Ultimately, Brown barely held onto his seat, winning only 52 percent of the vote to Ketner's 48 percent—the closest race in the district in 22 years. Brown lost badly in
On January 4, 2010, Brown announced that he would retire from the House and not seek re-election.[3]
In June 2023, Brown endorsed Tim Scott in the 2024 United States presidential election.[4]
Forest fire controversy
In 2004, Henry Brown set a controlled burn on his own property, but the fire spread to the neighboring Francis Marion National Forest, burning 20 acres (81,000 m2). Although he eventually paid a reduced fine of $4,747 in April 2008, the case cost the government an estimated $100,000 to resolve, and forced the Forest Service to rewrite a criminal code, making it much more difficult to prosecute those who negligently set fire to federal property. Brown commented regarding the affair that, "I was so taken aback that I'd be treated so impersonal — like I was some kind of crook...Those were criminal charges that were filed against me. I felt like I was the victim."[5]
Committee assignments
- Committee on Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife(Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
- Subcommittee on Health (Chairman)
Congressman Brown's committee assignments
Electoral history
Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000
|
Andy Brack | 82,622 | 36% | Henry Brown | 139,597 | 60% | Bill Woolsey | Libertarian | 6,010 | 3% | Bob Batchelder | Reform | 2,067 | 1% | Joe Innella | Natural Law | 1,110 | <1% | |||||
2002
|
(no candidate) | Henry Brown | 127,562 | 90% | James E. Dunn | United Citizens | 9,841 | 7% | Joe Innella | Natural Law | 4,965 | 3% | |||||||||||
2004
|
(no candidate) | Henry Brown | 186,448 | 88% | James E. Dunn | Green
|
25,674 | 12% | |||||||||||||||
2006
|
Randy Maatta * | 73,218 | 38% | Henry Brown | 115,766 | 60% | James E. Dunn | Green
|
4,287 | 2% | |||||||||||||
2008
|
Linda Ketner | 163,724 | 48% | Henry Brown | 177,540 | 52% |
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2000, write-ins received 40 votes. In 2002, write-ins received 57 votes. In 2004, write-ins received 186 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 104 votes. In 2006, Randy Maatta also ran under the Working Families party. In 2008, write-ins received 615 votes.
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2008#District 1
References
- ^ henry brown
- ^ "US Congressman Henry E. Brown". Brown.house.gov. 2000-11-07. Archived from the original on 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ Kraushaar, Josh (2010-01-04). "Henry Brown retiring - The Scorecard". Politico.Com. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ Sen. Tim Scott in Spartanburg to announce campaign endorsements". FOX Carolina. June 12, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
- ^ [1] Archived September 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2007-07-25. Retrieved 2008-01-10.. Note that the Clerk results incorrectly say that Bob Batchelder was the Natural Law candidate, and provide no candidate for the Reform party.
- ^ "South Carolina November 2000 General Election". The Green Papers. Retrieved 2008-01-24. This citation is for showing Joe Innella's candidacy as the Natural Law candidate, not Batchelder.
External links
- Henry Brown for Congress official campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Profile at SourceWatch
- Appearances on C-SPAN