In 2006, Brown began working as an urban planner in Inglewood, California, and by 2009, she was working in Compton as a project manager in the city’s Redevelopment Agency. In her race in 2013, she won by a landslide, defeating both incumbent Mayor Eric J. Perrodin and former mayor Omar Bradley to become the city’s first female chief executive.
Since the election, she has attracted nationwide attention for attacking the historic budget deficit. “Internally, we have a lot of restructuring to do to make sure we are poised for growth and development,” she said, adding that she wants to grow the city’s manufacturing base.
She said that while in college, she had no idea she would one day enter politics and run for mayor of Compton. “Oh, no. Not at all,” she said. “I knew I would work in a community that I would like to live in, but I had no idea that I would ever go into politics, even though some of my classmates thought I would.”
She said that Compton is already seeing a good deal of development that has occurred in the last few years.
“We’ve had a large influx of retail and software development here,” she said. “And they do some of the highest numbers in the state. Compton looks a lot of different. Residents are now able to go out and grab a bite, go to dinner, go to Target, Best Buy or a gym or Marshall’s. We’re now able to experience more amenities. I want to see that grow.”
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(Photo: Courtesy of Aja Brown VISION for Compton Campaign)
Article Appeared @http://www.bet.com/news/national/2014/03/18/aja-brown-a-history-making-mayor-in-compton.html