Lisa Brown | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Lisa_Brown_(cropped_1).jpg) Brown in 2020 | |
| 48th Mayor of Spokane, Washington | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Nadine Woodward |
| Director of the Washington State Department of Commerce | |
| In office February 11, 2019 – March 3, 2022 | |
| Governor | Jay Inslee |
| Preceded by | Brian Bonlender |
| Succeeded by | Kendrick Stewart (acting) |
| Chancellor of Washington State University Spokane | |
| In office January 14, 2013 – August 31, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Brian Pitcher |
| Succeeded by | Daryll DeWald |
| Majority Leader of the Washington Senate | |
| In office January 10, 2005 – December 10, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Finkbeiner |
| Succeeded by | Rodney Tom |
| Minority Leader of the Washington Senate | |
| In office January 13, 2003 – January 10, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | James E. West |
| Succeeded by | Bill Finkbeiner |
| Member of the Washington Senate from the 3rd district | |
| In office January 13, 1997 – January 14, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | John A. Moyer |
| Succeeded by | Andy Billig |
| Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 3rd, Position 1 district | |
| In office January 11, 1993 – January 13, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | William Day |
| Succeeded by | Alex Wood |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 9, 1956 Robinson, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Brian McClatchey (m. 2017) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA) University of Colorado, Boulder (MA, PhD) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Lisa Jo Brown[1] (born October 9, 1956) is an American politician and educator who is the current mayor of Spokane, Washington.[2] She previously served as the director of the Washington State Department of Commerce. A member of the Democratic Party, Brown has served in both houses of the Washington State Legislature, including eight years as the first Democratic female majority leader of the Washington State Senate. She has also served as the chancellor of Washington State University Spokane, a position she stepped down from in order to mount an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. House.
Born and raised in Illinois, she received her undergraduate education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Colorado Boulder. Brown spent over three decades in higher education teaching economics at Eastern Washington University and in the organizational leadership program at Gonzaga University. She was appointed the first female Chancellor of Washington State University Spokane in 2013 and served in that role until 2017.
Brown first entered politics in 1992 when she was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives. She was elected to the state senate in 1996 and elected as the first female Democratic Majority Leader of that body in 2005. She returned to politics in 2018, running to represent Washington's 5th congressional district against Republican incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Brown was considered a dark horse candidate and the race received national attention, though Brown lost. In 2019, Governor Jay Inslee appointed her director of the Washington State Department of Commerce. She declined a run for Mayor of Spokane in 2019. In 2023, Brown resigned from the Washington State Department of Commerce to launch a campaign for Mayor of Spokane in that year's election, which she won against the incumbent, Nadine Woodward.[2][3][4]
- ^ "Lisa Jo Brown (Lisa Brown) - 2023 | Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC)". www.pdc.wa.gov. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
- ^ a b "Lisa Brown elected mayor of Spokane | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "Lisa Brown announces plans to step down from Department of Commerce role". krem.com. February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ "Lisa Brown announces bid to become mayor of Spokane | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023.