Scott Brown biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Scott Philip Brown was born on September 12, 1959, in Kittery, Maine. Brown's parents divorced when he was very young, so he lived with his single mother and great-grandparents in Wakefield, Massachusetts, as the family often had difficulty making ends meet. He remained close to his father, C. Bruce Brown, who served on the Newburyport City Council. As a child, Brown often accompanied his father on statewide political campaigns.

Scott Brown graduated from Wakefield High School in 1977 and joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard at age 19, attending ROTC classes first at Northwestern University, and then Tufts University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history with honors. He then pursued a law degree at Boston College Law School, receiving his J.D. in 1985. While at Boston College, the 22-year-old Brown also became known for his good looks when he won Cosmopolitan magazine's "America's Sexiest Man" contest. He was featured as a nude centerfold in the magazine, and in the accompanying interview article Scott described his patriotic tendencies and political ambitions. The appearance in the magazine, and its $1,000 fee, helped pay for law school. It also jump-started a long and lucrative part-time modeling career for Brown during the 1980s.

State Senator

Brown entered politics in 1992 when he was elected assessor of Wrentham, Massachusetts. As an assessor, he specialized in calculating the value of property for tax purposes. It was at this time that he attests he caught the "political bug." In 1995, he was elected to the Wrentham Board of Selectmen (the executive arm of New England towns, like a town council). Then, in 1998, he successfully ran for Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 9th Norfolk District. He served for three terms in the position. Brown moved up the ladder in state politics when he won a special election to the State Senate to replace Democrat Cheryl Jacques in March 2004. He was reelected that November, and again in 2006, running without opposition each time.

In February 2007, Scott Brown created some controversy when he appeared at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham during a debate on gay marriage. Previously, a group of high school students had created a Facebook page attacking Brown and making derogatory remarks about his daughter, Ayla. During his presentation, Brown defended himself and his daughter by reading the students' quotes from the Facebook page, including their names and profane statements.

Controversy

Brown's position on gay marriage has also been controversial; he once remarked that the decision by then-state senator Cheryl Jacques to have a baby with her domestic partner was "unusual for two women & in terms of what's normal in today's society." The comment caused a media clamor, and forced Brown to retract the statement days later.