Steve Brown is a special guy. How else to explain him taking a position allowing for LGBTQ discrimination, then playing the race card, then arguing he doesn’t support LGBTQ discrimination only to show up uninvited at a press conference to shout down elected officials who are part of the LGBTQ community. Last week, San Jose Inside published a non-endorsement in the San Jose City Council race between labor-backed Democrat Sergio Jimenez and Brown, a fundamentally misguided Republican. In an interview, Brown said he thinks business owners should be free to refuse service to anyone they suspect is anything other than hetero. His reason? Brown argued that customers should simply take their business elsewhere, and that will serve those pesky business owners! We disagreed. After seeing San Jose Inside’s story (Hey, thanks for reading!), Assemblyman Evan Low and county Supervisor Ken Yeager, both openly gay, joined other electeds and civil rights activists to denounce Brown, who expressed a similar position in a campaign questionnaire this spring. Trying to play it both ways, Brown stormed the press conference and shouted down the speakers before the cameras turned their attention on the screwball in the back. Wearing a tight fitting gray suit and purple tie, Brown argued that he understands discrimination better than anyone else at the press conference because he is black, before pivoting to suggest that laws respecting LGBTQ customers would actually discriminate against people of faith. San Jose Councilman Ash Kalra, who is terming out of the district Brown hopes to represent, told him to “learn how to be an adult,” while BAYMEC President James Gonzales said Brown had “plenty of opportunities” to set the record straight before “he went bananas.” So who really is Steve Brown? According to this account from the Mercury News, he’s practically the victim. However, the council wannabe’s voting record suggests even Brown doesn’t know who he is, as he has changed political parties three times in the last two years, according to the county Registrar of Voters. And then there’s his spotty voting record, which shows he has cast a ballot in Santa Clara County just twice in the last 16 years—and one of those times, presumably, was for himself in the June primary. Brown obviously has issues, but at least they’re out in the open now. Vote for Sergio Jimenez.
Steve Brown’s Voting and Registration History*
Dates he voted**:
- Nov. 5, 1996, presidential general
- June 2, 1998, primary
- Nov. 3, 1998, general
- March 7, 2000, presidential primary
- Nov. 4, 2008, presidential general (provisional ballot)
- June 7, 2016, presidential primary
Changes to political party:
- Sept. 24, 2015, registered Republican
- Aug. 25, 2015, registered Democrat
- June 2, 2014, registered Republican
- 2006 to 2014, Democrat
- Pre-2006 (Waiting for request to be fulfilled)
*Information provide by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters
UPDATE: Steve Brown also got into a Twitter beef with the county Democratic Party, which moved to censure and remove Forrest Williams from his treasurer role since he broke party lines and endorsed Brown.
@Stevebrownca Maybe you would feel more at home in Arkansas https://t.co/1QzqudiJYn
— SCC Democratic Party (@SCCDP) September 13, 2016
@SCCDP @SteveBrownCA "is this when you start referring to me as "boy" and tell me to get in line? #beenthere #notgoingback
— Steve Brown (@SteveBrownCA) September 13, 2016
@SteveBrownCA Discrimination against the LGBT community is discrimination, you trying to make it something else is not going to work.
— SCC Democratic Party (@SCCDP) September 13, 2016
UPDATE II: Between 2000 to 2008, Steve Brown registered to vote in Monterey County, where he cast votes in seven elections, according to the Secretary of State’s office. This story has been updated.
Obviously saying an African American has gone bananas is a racially charger slur intended to do grievous and vicious harm to Mr Brown. This is the kind of racism associated with the bigoted intolerant Democrats of the old south.
I can imagine Mr Brown may now expect a cross burning on his front lawn next from Mr Gonzales and Mr Jimenez
and other members of Larasa and NOW. I would also expect the Mayor to order the the Police chief to have his men stand down at the lynching and BBQ.
Shame on you Fly I thought you were a tolerant Lib!
Well, if we didn’t know it before, I think we can confirm it now… Empty Gun is an idiot.
maybe ‘bananas’ was a poor word choice, but trying to make this about something other than Mr. Brown’s unhinged behavior does not change that he was unhinged at this press conference and continues to bully community members
thanks to the SJI for actually covering Mr. Brown, Mercury News is being an apologist for his hateful rhetoric against the LGBTQ community.
Oh come on Sally, this is exactly the kind of attack liberals accuse anyone that mentions some stereotypical
food of some ethnic group. In this case it was directed at a black man and it was intended to hurt.
This bunch of racist must apologize publicly or face termination from their positions, this incident just shows perfectly the intolerances of leftist Democrats .
By the way you should never use a word like unhinged twice in a sentence unless you are referring to yourself!
Yawn. But half points for trying. May the political circus roll on…
This guy needs a different occupation.
Same-sex marriage was not legal anywhere in the world until April 1, 2001 (Netherlands). People who lived most of their lives before that date are slow to get with the program.
Wait a minute Metro…. are you questioning Steve Brown’a voting record years while his opponent was actually “in jail” placed there by SJPD…..
Some investigative journalism here…
Is Mr. Brown trolling the Metro in the comments section? dude really?
more unhinged behavior from the candidate
Until you can explain your inconsistent voting record (and attendance) and your bad behavior I suggest you sit down and let a more qualified candidate hold down D2’s seat. You look like a hot mess taking a chapter out of the Trump school of etiquette.
> UPDATE: Steve Brown also got into a Twitter beef with the county Democratic Party, which moved to censure and remove Forrest Williams from his treasurer role since he broke party lines and endorsed Brown.
You just have to marvel at the hypocrisy of the Democrat establishment.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/09/san-jose-council-candidate-steve-brown-disputes-anti-gay-accusation/
> [Ash] Kalra says that is discrimination and it should not be tolerated.
Well. isn’t censuring and moving Forrest Williams “discrimination”?
You ok pal? Wondering when you’d slither in here to comment.
Could you grace us with your enlightened break down of how censuring is possibly discrimination?
> Could you grace us with your enlightened break down of how censuring is possibly discrimination?
SAL:
OK. Glad to help you through your crisis of intellectual darkness.
Did they censure everyone, or only black Christians?
Be the flashlight… but wha??
Well, only one member endorsed a member of a rival party, so only one member was censured, very uncertain what ‘only Black christians’ has to do with this…
Before I am chided about it…
edit to that comment…
well, only one member endorsed a candidate of a rival party, so only one member was censured…
Would anyone care to decode the snarky tweet to Steve Brown authored by the SCC Democratic Party suggesting that Brown “would feel more at home in Arkansas”? It certainly doesn’t sound “inclusive”.
SCC Democratic Party @SCCDP
@Stevebrownca Maybe you would feel more at home in Arkansas https://twitter.com/thinkprogress/status/775539518204153856 …
8:45 PM – 12 Sep 2016
my decoder ring fell behind the couch and with all this internet commenting i have to do i cant seem to find the time to get my fingers back there and fetch it out…
would you be a dear and decode it for us?
Sal you got your decoder ring out of a box of Cracker Jacks along with your DNC spin the excuse topic handbook.
Decoded you’re a spinmeister for the KKK-AKA-DNC, decode that!
Are you pulling a Trump and trying to blame me for Brown’s unhinged behavior? You so classy.
Thanks, I am kind of classy
Not in the least Sally, You’re 100% responsible for your own unhinged behavior.
Mr. Brown is just as entitled to change his party affiliation as the LGBTQ community is able to change their sexual affiliation. Do you think we should require members of the LGBTQ community register every time they want to change there sextual identity. What should the state put on your driver’s license, independent, no preference, other?
Without need for voter ID why should we have to register at all?
Registration means you are eligible to vote. All that voter ID means is that you are who you say you are.
In states like Wisconsin, if there was any doubt that you were who you said you were, the only requirement was that a neighbor had to vouch for you.
There are not that many voters in a precinct — your neighbors should know who you are.