If Alvin Brown goes to Congress, he will get a pay raise

At last count, a member of the United States Congress makes $174,000 per annum.

Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, a current candidate for the primary nomination in Florida’s 5th Congressional District, would stand to receive a serious pay raise in 2019 if he wins the nomination and is elected, per his financial disclosure form.

Brown has made minimal income in 2018, and 2017 also was a lean year.

2018 saw Brown bringing in less than $400 in interest income, and $8,250 in consulting fees ($750 from the Westside Church of God in Christ, $7,500 from Gray Global Advisors).

2017, a pre-candidacy year for Brown, was financially healthier, with more honorarium and consulting cash.

Gray paid him $45,000; additionally, $13,000 in honorariums were paid out (Merck, Sharp, and Dohme Credit Union was in for $10,000; Alliance of NC Black Elected Officials for $1,500, and Shiloh Baptist Church for another $1,500).

Incumbent Al Lawson has not filed a 2018 disclosure; however, 2016 paperwork showed Lawson, a busy lobbyist, raked in over $200,000 in 2015 and roughly $75,000 through the first part of 2016. He also had rental properties, and a mortgage that was near being paid off at the filing of his previous disclosure.

A recurrent Lawson talking point has been that Brown “failed as mayor and a lot of people in Duval are saying he’s just looking for a job” by running for Congress.

Brown’s financial disclosure does not show truly steady work since he left office nearly three years ago, suggesting that Lawson’s verbal jab may have some truth to it.

Despite the wealth disparity between the challenger and the incumbent, Brown was, at last report, competitive with Lawson in the campaign money chase.

Brown, through one quarter of fundraising, established functional parity with Lawson concerning cash on hand, with $127,000 at the end of the quarter compared to $159,000 for Lawson.