City Council - Charlie Brown, District 6

~MEET THE COUNCILMAN~ 

Charlie Brown brings a moderate, business-oriented, common sense perspective to Denver City Council.  As a voice for fiscal moderation he works hard to ensure that Denver continues to be a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Elected to City Council in May, 2001, Charlie won a close battle against eight tough opponents to fill a vacancy.  He was re-elected in May 2003 with two-thirds of the vote to his first four-year term and again in 2007 running unopposed. He was elected to his third and final term in May 2011.

District 6 includes more than 20 diverse neighborhoods in South Denver.  The 51,000 residents Charlie represents live in Belcaro Park, Bonnie Brae, Cook Park, Cory-Merrill, Indian Creek, Linwood, Polo Club, Stokes Place/Green Bowers, University Park, Virginia Village, Virginia Vale and Washington Park East.  “I represent residents who work two shifts and a few who are working on their 10^th million,” Charlie says.

Charlie worked with the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver and neighborhood activists to develop and distribute a new communications tool, "Obey the Rules," a poster for work sites aimed at reducing conflicts among residents and contractors during the construction process. The Councilman is also a strong voice for private property rights, and in an effort to reduce non-consensual down zonings, introduced and passed legislation that would require any application for rezoning to have the support of 51 percent of property owners before it is submitted to Community Planning and Development; a Rocky Mountain News editorial called his ordinance “A positive reform that would make the rezoning process less testy and abusive.”

Charlie was the key sponsor of the city's new medical marijuana ordinance that regulates this new form of controversial commerce. The ordinance was approved by Council 13-0 on January 11, 2010. The bill attracted one of the largest audiences for a public hearing in the history of the council. He currently chairs the Council’s Medical Marijuana Committee and is a member of the Government Affairs & Finance Committee and the Business, Workforce, & Sustainability Committee.

Charlie prefers boots, bolos and a cowboy hat to a three-piece suit.  That open, approachable attitude is reflected in everything he does including the “Howdy” rope sign on his district office front door.  His office décor reflects his love for the Rocky Mountains and includes a buffalo skull, branded cow hide, an antique elk antler coffee table from Yellowstone National Park and numerous Western paintings and artifacts.

Charlie was born six minutes before his twin brother, Eugene, who is now a City Councilman in their hometown of Durham, NC.  After high school he spent eight summers as a guide and naturalist on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.  (See Councilman Brown's story in Colorado Expressions Magazine for his experience in Jackson Hole) He attended the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) but his love for the West ruled and he transferred to the University of Wyoming where he earned a BA in Political Science.

The media has also been drawn to Charlie for his candid insights. He has appeared on local and national broadcast news shows, including The O’Reilly Factor, ABC’s World News Sunday, CNN, Fox News, NBC Nightly News and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He has been quoted in newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Chicago Sun Times. He has also been featured in the DU magazine.

His diverse background includes serving as a Colorado State Representative, president of an award-winning public relations firm, chief lobbyist for a statewide medical society, assistant public affairs director for an international trade union, a teacher at the secondary and college levels, and Realtor.