Valerie K. Brown is an American Democratic politician in California. She currently serves on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and has done so since 2001. Prior to her service on the board, Brown served in the California State Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

 from 1992 until she reached the maximum length of time for which she could hold the office- known as "termed-out"- in 1998.

Career

Brown was first elected to the State Assembly in 1992, after Bev Hansen

Bev Hansen

Beverly K. "Bev" Hansen is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican Party. A former staffer to onetime state Senator Jim Nielsen, Hansen was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1986 from the 7th District, representing Lake and Napa counties and parts of...

 declined to run for re-election as the 1990 "re-districting" had made the district significantly more Democratic. Brown defeated the Republican former Sonoma County Supervisor Janet Nicholas in that election.

She was expected to run for the California State Senate

California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

 in 1998 as she was termed out from the Assembly and Senator Mike Thompson

Mike Thompson

Michael C. Thompson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties as well as parts of Yolo and Sonoma Counties....

, who was running for congress, was termed out as well. However, Brown passed over that opportunity, leaving the nomination to California Integrated Waste Management Board

California Integrated Waste Management Board

The California Integrated Waste Management Board was a state agency of California dealing with the recycling and waste reduction. The CIWMB was created by California Assembly Bill 939 which became law in 1989. It was abolished as of January 1, 2010...

 member and former Humboldt County

Humboldt County, California

Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...

 Supervisor Wesley Chesbro

Wesley Chesbro

Wesley P. Chesbro is a Democratic politician from California. He is currently the Assembly member for the 1st Assembly district in California. Previously, Chesbro served as a State Senator from California's 2nd district from 1998 until 2006...

.

After Mike Cale, who had served on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for 10 years, having replaced Janet Nicholas, resigned in 2001, Brown was appointed to his place. Brown was the first woman on the board since the resignation of Janet Nicholas 10 years earlier. She was re-elected in 2004 and narrowly re-elected in 2008.

Education

Brown holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

in Secondary Education and English. She later obtained a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from Lindenwood College, Missouri