Rep. Brown’s Widow Enters Race for His Seat

Following the lead of other widows of congressmen, the wife of the late Rep. George E. Brown Jr. announced Wednesday that she wants to be elected to his unfinished term.

The announcement by Marta Macias Brown sets the stage for a hotly contested Sept. 21 primary featuring, among others, another Latino Democrat, state Sen. Joe Baca of Rialto. Another likely Democratic candidate is Fontana Mayor David Eshleman.

George Brown, who died July 15 at age 79 following heart surgery, was California’s longest-serving member of Congress.

“Who better to replace him than the person who worked side by side with him over the last 19 years,” said Brown, 54, who most recently served as the congressman’s executive assistant. The couple married 10 years ago.

“I will strive to carry out the Brown legacy,” she said. “So much was started, and much remains to be done.”

Of more than three dozen widows of congressmen who have sought to succeed their husbands, only one lost. Most recently in California, Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) and Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs) followed their late husbands to Washington.

But Marta Brown’s candidacy is different, political observers note, because other party members are not deferring to her as they typically have done for widows. “Marta will be one of the few [widows] competing with a very prominent elected official from the same party, so that will set this race apart from others where widows have been so successful,” said Allan Hoffenblum, a GOP strategist.

Deadline for candidate filing is Monday.

If no candidate wins next month’s open primary with a majority of all votes cast, the top vote-getter from each party will face off Nov. 16. Brown was last elected in 1998 and his successor would serve through the November 2000 election.