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This article is about the Delaware legislator. For the Missouri politician, see Darius A. Brown.

Darius J. Brown is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party.[1][2] A former Wilmington city councilmember, he was elected to the Delaware Senate in 2018, representing district 2.[3]

Career

Between June 2010 and January 2011, Brown was a constituent relations specialist for Connections, a nonprofit state contractor.[4] From 2011 to 2016, Brown worked as an independent contract lobbyist for Connections and other companies.[4] He became vice president of constituent relations for Connections in November 2016.[4]

In 2012, Brown was elected to the Wilmington City Council to represent the 3rd district.[5] He unsuccessful ran for city treasurer in 2016.[4]

Brown was elected to the Delaware Senate in 2018 after winning 2,115 votes (38.4%) in a four-way primary with no opponent in the general election.[6] He is the second African-American man to be elected to the Delaware Senate.[7][8] He was appointed chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and The News Journal described him as one of the "champions of criminal justice reform" for his actions while chair.[9] He was removed as chair following his May 2021 arrest for domestic violence accusations.[10] In 2021, Brown was hired as Executive Director of the Wilmington HOPE Commission, a not-for-profit organization which aims to lower recidivism by helping ex-offenders re-enter society after leaving prison.[11]

Legal issues

In 2018, federal and state tax liens were filed against Brown for over $60,000 in unpaid taxes between 2012 and 2016, which Brown failed to report on his required financial disclosures during his initial primary election.[12] He had a previous lien for over $4,000 in unpaid state taxes from 2010 to 2013.[4]

In May 2021, Brown was arrested on misdemeanor charges for domestic violence after allegedly punching a woman at a restaurant in Talleyville, Delaware during an argument about a social media post.[13][9] He was removed as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee by Senate President Pro Tempore David Sokola several days after the arrest.[14] After his arrest, the Women's Defense Coalition of Delaware called on the Ethics Committee of the State Senate to conduct a formal inquiry into the incident.[15] At trial, Brown was acquitted of all charges.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Senator Darius J. Brown (D)". Dover, Delaware: Delaware General Assembly. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "Senator Darius Brown". Delaware State Senate Democratic Caucus. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  3. ^ Jedra, Christina (September 6, 2018). "Darius Brown to replace Sen. Margaret Rose Henry". The News Journal.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jedra, Christina (June 22, 2018). "Delaware Senate candidate owes $50K to feds, $10K to state". The News Journal.
  5. ^ Pizzi, Jenna (February 25, 2016). "Wilmington Councilman Darius Brown seeks treasurer post". The News Journal.
  6. ^ "State of Delaware Primary Election Results". Dover, Delaware: Delaware Commissioner of Elections. September 6, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  7. ^ Reed, Zoë (November 8, 2018). "Election brings more diversity to Delaware Legislature". WHYY.
  8. ^ Matt, Bittle (July 11, 2020). "Senator follows in footsteps of Black Delaware trailblazers". Delaware State News.
  9. ^ a b Hughes, Isabel (May 19, 2021). "Delaware state senator Darius Brown charged following altercation at Talleyville restaurant". The News Journal.
  10. ^ "State Sen. Darius Brown charged after punching woman in face, police say". Cape Gazette. May 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Gamard, Sarah. "Wilmington HOPE Commission hires Sen. Darius Brown as executive director ahead of trial". The News Journal. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  12. ^ Chase, Randall (June 26, 2019). "Lawmaker failed to report tens of thousands in back taxes". AP News. Associated Press.
  13. ^ McAneny, D. J. (May 19, 2021). "Wilmington state senator charged with punching woman in restaurant". WDEL 101.7FM.
  14. ^ Cherry, Amy (May 20, 2021). "Brown stripped of chairmanship over Senate Judiciary Committee following arrest". WDEL 101.7FM.
  15. ^ Megginson, Charlie (July 9, 2021). "Women's group asks Senate to start Darius Brown ethics investigation". Delaware Live. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  16. ^ Mark Eichmann (January 6, 2022). "Delaware state senator acquitted of assault charges, still faces ethics inquiry". WHYY.

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