Dateline Hawthorne — “We have accomplished a lot, but there’s still more to do,” said Hawthorne Mayor Chris Brown this week in announcing the opening of his re-election campaign.

Mr. Brown made national news two years ago when, at age 32,  he became the Hawthorne’s youngest mayor and first African-American to hold the office.

“I have made a lot of progress since coming to office,” Mr. Brown said.  “I was elected at a time when the residents of Hawthorne felt betrayed, let down by some elected officials.

“I campaigned on promises to fix the budget, to provide financial transparency with how the city spends taxpayer money, and to enhance public safety.

“I have delivered on everyone of those promises.”

Among Mr. Brown’s accomplishments:

•  “For the first time in over five years the city’s budget is balanced,” he said. “In a little over a year, I have brought the city from an $8 million deficit to nearly a $2 million surplus with an 18 percent reserve.
•  “I have worked with Police Chief Bob Fager and the Hawthorne Police Officer Assn. to develop and adopt an action strategy to address fiscal and diversity concerns within our police department through lateral recruitment.
•  “I am proud to say I was one of the first U.S. mayors to propose mandating that all uniformed police officers in Hawthorne wear cameras while on duty.”

Mayor Brown highlighted the comeback of the historic Hawthorne Mall, estimated to increase the city’s yearly revenue by nearly 15 percent, or about $8 million.

“This is major,” he said.

“This is what Hawthorne residents have been waiting for.

“It finally is going to happen, and I am proud to have played an instrumental part in putting it together.”

In addition to the Hawthorne Mall, Mr. Brown spearheaded an investment by the city, using grant funding, to increase curb appeal along Hawthorne Boulevard.

“Hawthorne Boulevard is a main thoroughfare in our city,” the mayor said. “It is directly tied to Hawthorne’s image.  This project has inspired new businesses to move into Hawthorne creating more local jobs and that’s important.”

Mr. Brown introduced a new financial transparency platform powered by OpenGov.com that provides Hawthorne residents and city officials unprecedented access to the city’s finances, affording the community financial transparency.

If re-elected in eight months, Mr. Brown will be the first mayor to serve a four-year term in Hawthorne’s 91-year history.  In 2013, residents to lengthen the mayoralty term from two years to four.

Mr. Brown was a delegate for President Obama at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, he was Los Angeles County Regional Director for the California Young Democrats and was on the board  of the Westchester Democratic Club.

Professionally, his background is in technology.  Formerly an account executive for AT&T Wireless, he later became the youngest executive in the nation for Nextel Communications. Mr. Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from National University, and he studied real estate securities & investment analysis at Allied Real Estate School.

Mr. Brown and his wife Hedako are the parents of two young children.

For more information, see MayorChrisBrown.com

On social media, he can be found on Facebook at Facebook.com/ChrisBrownForHawthorne and @MayorChrisBrown on Twitter.