Michael Brown (Michigan politician)

Michael Brown is the former city administrator and former emergency manager of Flint, Michigan, US.[2] He also served as temporary mayor and city administrator of Flint after the resignation of Don Williamson.

Michael Brown
2nd Emergency manager of Flint, Michigan
In office December 1, 2011 – August 5, 2012
Governor	Rick Snyder
Preceded by	Ed Kurtz Vacancy
Acting Mayor of Flint, Michigan
In office February 16, 2009 – August 5, 2009
Preceded by	Don Williamson
Succeeded by	Dayne Walling
City administrator of Flint, Michigan
In office February 4, 2009 – August 5, 2009
Preceded by	Darryl Buchanan
Succeeded by	Gregory Eason
Genesee County commissioner
In office 1983 – ?
Personal details
Spouse(s)	Linda[1]
Children	5
Alma mater	St. Michael's of Flint[1]

Early life

Brown came to Flint after his civil engineer father accepted a Buick plant job.[3] Brown attended St. Michael Catholic School in Flint.[1]

Career

He attended Western Michigan University then later University of Stockholm in Sweden earning his master's degree. In 1970, he was married[3] to Linda.[1] He worked with youth as a counselor.[3]

Public service

In 1983, Brown was elected to the Genesee County Board of Commissioners. Flint mayor, Matthew S. Collier, appointed Brown as the City's director of governmental relations and later in the 1980s as director of Flint's Community and Economic Development department.[3][4] Brown was the executive director of the Genesee area Red Cross chapter[1] from 1994 to 1996.[4] He moved on to be president of the United Way of Genesee and Lapeer Counties from 1996 to 2002.[1][4] In 2002, after the recall of Flint Mayor Woodrow Stanley, Brown took out petitions to run for mayor but failed to collect sufficient signatures to be on the ballot.[3]

Hired as president of Capital Area United Way in Lansing, Brown stepped in to straighten operations out after a $2 million embezzlement occurred in 2002.[1][4] Brown left that position in November and was hired by the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce in November 2009 as executive vice-president.[1][4]

He was appointed city administrator on Wednesday, February 4, 2009. Effectve at midnight on February 15, 2009, Brown as city administrator became temporary mayor in accordance with the City Charter following the resignation of Don Williamson for health reasons.[5]

In 2009, he founded the Flint Area Reinvestment Office. He concurrently became president of the Prima Civitas Foundation and served in both position until December 1, 2011.[4] The Michigan Governor, Rick Snyder, appointed Brown as the city's emergency manager on November 29, 2011, effective December 1.[6] He immediately eliminated pay for the mayor and city council of the city, though these were later partially restored. Brown also issued a dozen executive orders over the course of his administration; these were mostly related to the city budget. Other actions taken included the sale of Genesee Towers, the tallest building in Flint, to a developer for $1. Although Brown was forced to step down from his position in August 2012 due to a technicality in state law, he was nominated by his successor, Ed Kurtz, to serve as city administrator. He later resigned from his position in September 2013, citing "family concerns." [7]

References

1. York, Sally (April 6, 2009). "Michael Brown says he took administrator's job out of desire to make contribution to Flint". Flint Journal. Flint, Michigan: Booth Newspapers. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
2. "Resolution 2012EFM003 - Authorizing City Administrator Michael K. Brown to Carry Out Actions Pursuant to Public Act 72 in the Absence of the Emergency Financial Manager Ed Kurtz (Emergency Financial Manager)". City of Flint Emergency Financial Manager Resolutions. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
3. Longley, Kristin (December 1, 2011). "Flint Emergency Manager Michael Brown: 'Absolutely' will be making tough decisions". Flint Journal. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
4. DeFever, Dana (November 29, 2011). "A little background about Flint's newly appointed Emergency Financial Manager Michael Brown". Flint Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
5. Lawlor, Joe (February 4, 2009). "Flint Mayor Don Williamson appoints longtime community leader Mike Brown as new city administrator to replace Darryl Buchanan". Flint Journal. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
6. Longley, Kristin (November 29, 2011). "Former Acting Mayor Michael Brown named Flint's emergency manager". Flint Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
7. Goodin-Smith, Oona (January 2018). "Flint's history of emergency management and how it got to financial freedom". mlive. Retrieved October 3, 2019.