Lisa Brown (Michigan politician)

Biography

Brown was born in Royal Oak, Michigan and graduated from Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1985. She received a BS in Psychology from Michigan State University in 1989, and went on to earn her Juris Doctorate from the Detroit College of Law in 1993. While at law school, she served as a clerk for two law firms. Brown practiced law for several years, handling probate issues. She then worked as a realtor with Max Broock Realtors in West Bloomfield Township.

Prior to her election, she served on the PTA of West Hills Middle School and Pine Lake Elementary School. She is Jewish and attends Adat Shalom, a Conservative Synagogue in Farmington Hills. She served on the Region Board of Directors and is a life member of World ORT, a "non-profit non-governmental organization whose mission is the advancement of Jewish and other people through training and education". She is on the Executive Board of Directors of JARC, the Jewish Association for Residential Care.

Political career

In 2006, Brown began a campaign as a Democrat for Michigan's 39th State House District, which was then held by Republican incumbent David Law. Brown was originally the underdog, especially as she had no prior electoral experience. On election day, however, she nearly scored an upset over Law, losing by only 181 votes (0.5%).

In 2008, Law decided not to run for a third term, instead unsuccessfully campaigning to become Oakland County Prosecutor.

Brown announced her intention to run for this 39th District again. Democrat John Kuriakuz challenged her in the Democratic Primary. Brown emerged victorious with 57% of the vote. In the General Election she faced Republican Walled Lake School Board President Amy Peterman. The 39th District includes all of Commerce Township and all but a small northern portion of West Bloomfield Township. Both parties spent heavily on the race, and Peterman was endorsed by the Detroit Free Press. On election day, Brown narrowly beat Peterman by a 51.6%-46.1% margin. She took office on January 1, 2009. She sat on the Education, Energy and Technology, Ethics and Elections, and Judiciary Committees. She authored a bill that banned the recreational drug benzylpiperazine.

In the November 2010 election, after an initial declaration of victory by her opponent, a review of the final tally was started. Her opponent, Lois Shulman, had declared victory before thousands of absentee ballots were counted. Ultimately, Brown prevailed by a margin of 86 votes (17,137 to 17,051).

Brown was elected County Clerk and Register of Deeds on November 6, 2012, defeating Republican Willis C. Bullard, Jr., who had been appointed clerk in 2010 by the Oakland County Commissioners to fill a remainder term. Upon taking office, Brown became a defendant in a federal lawsuit, DeBoer v. Snyder, in which a lesbian couple, residents of Oakland County, are challenging Michigan's denial of adoption and marriage rights to same-sex couples. Named as a defendant because her office is responsible for issuing marriage licenses, she has supported the plaintiffs and expressed an eagerness to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples as soon as the law allows.

2012 abortion debate dispute

In June 2012, Michigan House Republicans prevented Brown from speaking on the floor in a debate about abortion legislation after saying "I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but no means no." Brown was gaveled off the floor and prohibited from speaking along with Representative Barb Byrum, who proposed a ban on vasectomies. Democrats called the incident evidence that Republicans were trampling on women's rights, with Senator Gretchen Whitmer saying "the war on women in Michigan is not fabricated — this is very real — and it comes at the highest levels of state government."

Brown later stated: “I was either banned for being Jewish and rightfully pointing out that HB 5711 was forcing contradictory religious beliefs upon me and my religion. Or is it because I used the word ‘vagina’, which is an anatomically, medically correct term?” On June 19, 2012 Representative Wayne Schmidt provided the GOP viewpoint, characterizing both of female representatives as "kids" who were "throwing temper tantrums" and in need of "time outs". House Speaker Jase Bolger stated that by referencing vagina, and then saying 'no means no', thereby making a rape reference, is inappropriate for legislative setting.

Campaign for Lieutenant Governor

In an email to supporters on April 3, 2014, Mark Schauer announced his selection of Brown as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan in the 2014 gubernatorial election.

Electoral history