Michael D. Brown

Michael DeWayne Brown (born November 8, 1954) is an American attorney, and former government official who served as the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from 2003 to 2005.

Brown was born on November 8, 1954, in Guymon, Oklahoma, the son of Eloise (Ferguson) and Wayne Ellsworth Brown.

He received a B.A. in public administration/political science from the Central State University (now the University of Central Oklahoma).

While he was in college, from 1975 to 1978, he handled "labor and budget matters" as an assistant to the city manager of Edmond, Oklahoma (1980 population of 34,637).

His White House biography stated that he had emergency services oversight in this position.

However, the head of public relations for the city was quoted as denying that Brown had oversight over anybody and that "the assistant is more like an intern."

She said, "Mike used to handle a lot of details. Every now and again, I'd ask him to write me a speech. He was very loyal. He was always on time. He always had on a suit and a starched white shirt."

However, Claudia Deakins, the spokesperson for the City of Edmond, submitted information to the House Committee investigating Hurricane Katrina that Time Magazine, which described his resume as "padded," had taken her quotes out of context, and erroneously reported Brown's position at the City of Edmond.

The former Mayor of Edmond, Carl Reherman, and the former City Attorney, Mary Ann Karns, each submitted affidavits to the House investigating committee showing that Brown did have emergency management experience.

While attending law school, Brown was appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee of the Oklahoma Legislature as the Finance Committee Staff Director, where he oversaw state fiscal issues from 1980 to 1982.

Later in the 1980s, Brown lived in Enid, Oklahoma and practiced law there.

During the Hurricane Katrina controversy, Stephen Jones, the senior partner and founder of the firm for which Brown worked, described him as "not serious and somewhat shallow" and stated that he had handled "transactional," rather than litigation work.

Brown later went into solo practice.

He also taught at Oklahoma City University law school as an adjunct lecturer – although his FindLaw profile falsely misrepresented his occupation at that time as an "Outstanding Political Science Professor".

He received his J.D. from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1981.

In 1981, he was elected to the city council for Edmond, but resigned to work in private practice.

From 1982 to 1988, he was the chairman of the Board of the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority.

Brown ran for Congress in 1988 against Democratic incumbent Glenn English, who had not been challenged in the previous election.

English's well-financed campaign soundly defeated Brown with 122,763 votes against 45,199.

Brown was the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association from 1989 to 2001.

After numerous lawsuits were filed against the organization over disciplinary actions that Brown took against members violating the association's code of ethics, Brown resigned and negotiated a buy-out of his contract.

After losing, Brown promised to try again in 1990, saying, "I have an excellent chance of prevailing. It's a Democratic state, but a very Republican district."

However, Brown did not run in 1990, and English beat his Republican opponent, Robert Burns, 110,100 votes to 27,540.

A March 2000 two-part report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, chronicling one of the disciplinary actions, lauded Brown for pursuing an investigation against David Boggs, "the kingpin of the Arabian horse world", despite internal pressure to end the inquiry.

The Brown-led investigation found Boggs performed medically unnecessary surgery on horses to enhance their visual appeal.

An ethics board suspended Boggs for five years.

Boggs protested through multiple lawsuits against both the organization and Brown, alleging slander and defamation.

Brown and the International Arabian Horse Association prevailed in each of the lawsuits brought by Boggs, but the lawsuits nonetheless took a financial toll.

Some members interviewed felt Brown showed an imperious attitude, and nicknamed him "The Czar."

Brown started his own legal defense fund before resigning, a move he said was necessary to protect his family's assets.

However, some insiders claimed that this was what really led to his ousting.

He raised money from breeders for the fund as well as the International Arabian Horse Association, creating what some called a conflict of interest.

Despite his contract stipulating that association was to pay all his personal legal expenses, on top of his $100,000 annual salary, the association initially refused to pay the legal bills.

It was claimed that Brown created the legal defense fund on the advice of the association's own legal counsel.

He was the first person hired by his long-time friend, FEMA director Joe Allbaugh, who also ran Bush's election campaign in 2000.

He joined FEMA as general counsel in 2001 and became deputy director the same year.

After President Bush entered office in January 2001, Brown joined FEMA as general counsel.

Allbaugh later named Brown his acting deputy director in September 2001.

Appointed in January 2003 by President George W. Bush to lead FEMA, Brown resigned in September 2005 following his controversial handling of Hurricane Katrina.

Brown currently hosts a radio talk show on 630 KHOW in Denver, Colorado.