Brown's Role Is Ambiguous. His Goal Isn't.
Lieutenant Governor Keeps Service as Aim

By Ovetta Wiggins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 30, 2007; B01



Anthony G. Brown spent the first couple of months trying to adjust to the change.

He went from being one of the go-to guys in the Maryland House of Delegates to just being on the go: running to prayer breakfasts, black history programs and meetings for and with the governor.

"The days are long, they're busy, they're full of all sorts of activities," said the lieutenant governor, 45, sitting in a beige wing chair in his office on the second floor of the State House in Annapolis.

It just wasn't the kind of busy Brown (D) was accustomed to when he served as majority whip in the House of Delegates, where he played a central role in moving legislation and setting the agenda. Today, he said, his priorities are to help Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) meet his priorities.

Brown, who lives in Mitchellville with his wife and two children, spent much of this year's 90-day legislative session, which ended April 9, in search of a mission. He found one on the final day of the session, when he was called to stand proxy for O'Malley in the contentious negotiations over Prince George's Hospital Center.

It could have been a defining moment. Just 72 days on the job, and he would have been hailed as the one who helped close the deal on the financially troubled hospital system that has consistently teetered on the brink of closure.

But it didn't work out that way. Even someone known for his tactical skills couldn't maneuver the complicated internal county politics in play.

So Brown moved on to his next assignment.

He has been charged with managing the influx of military jobs that will be produced through the Base Realignment and Closure process, and his calendar is filled with meetings about the Pentagon's plan and how it affects eight of the state's jurisdictions.

"I found him to be fully engaged," said Robert Leib, the BRAC coordinator in Anne Arundel County. "He has been given a horse to ride, and he's going to ride this horse. I don't believe he's going to be hands-off."

Brown also is working with community colleges, economic development, health care and veterans affairs.

O'Malley said Brown offers a "broad understanding of state government and public policy" to each of these areas.

"I'm really pleased with the job he's done," O'Malley said Friday. "I've seen him grow into it, just as I hope I've grown into mine."

During a recent awards presentation in Upper Marlboro, Brown could not walk more than 20 feet into Camelot's ballroom before well-wishers swarmed him.

Business cards were shoved into his hand. Each card was passed to his aide.

"Getting adjusted?" asked one of the attendees.

"I'm figuring out how it works on the second floor," Brown said with a smile.

As a veteran of state politics, Brown knew he was taking a role with a fancy title that had no real job description. The Maryland Constitution says the lieutenant governor "shall have only the duties delegated to him by the Governor."

For whatever reason, the job has turned into a political dead end for most who have held it.

But an ambitious Brown is trying to change that. In a recent interview, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) recalled a conversation he and Brown had before Brown accepted O'Malley's proposition to be his running mate.

Brown asked what it took to be a good lieutenant governor. "A lot of patience," Hoyer said.

Hoyer predicts Brown will be the leading candidate for governor when O'Malley leaves office. "He's a political leader," Hoyer said.

Brown's name is rattled off in the same way as those of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D).

They are the new face of black political leaders, born during the civil rights era and appealing to a broad base of voters.

The new black leaders "have the kind of resumes that white politicians would have," said David Bositis, a political analyst for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank based in Washington. "They have the skill, the knowledge and the political acumen."

At Harvard, Brown served on the student advisory committee at the Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics and graduated cum laude. He joined the Army ROTC program and later served in the military as a helicopter pilot.

After his tour, Brown entered Harvard Law School, graduating in 1992. He worked for the law firm that is now WilmerHale. In 1998, he ran for the House of Delegates.

His backers are not putting any limits on Brown's future.

"The field is wide open for Anthony," they all say.

U.S. Senate? Governor?

Brown won't discuss his future publicly. Instead, he talks about his future weekend plans with his 6-year-old son, Jonathan.

Brown said he just wants to be the best lieutenant governor he can be.

"My approach has always been to do the best with what you have," Brown said. "I think things will unfold for me in a positive way."

In politics, he said, if you focus too much on the future, "you tend to stumble."

State Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George's) said Brown is almost methodical in the way he deals in politics, which might have something to do with his military training: He is a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the Army. In 2005, he served in Iraq, causing him to miss a legislative session.

"Very few people in elected office have his resume," Currie said.

Brown served eight years in the Maryland House of Delegates before taking over as lieutenant governor.

He grew up in Huntington, N.Y., the son of a Jamaican father and a Swiss mother.

In high school, Brown said, he was the first black person to be elected president of the student government.

"As bright as he is and as supremely organized as he is, the field is wide open for Anthony Brown," said Del. Joanne C. Benson (D-Prince George's). "I think if he were to run for any position, he would win."

Brown said he is not trying to model his job after any of his predecessors.

"The office of lieutenant governor is an integral part of the office of governor," Brown said. "It is our job, our role and responsibility to enhance the operation of the governor's office, to promote his agenda and to ensure that he succeeds."


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