Mayor Gene Brown

Gene Brown served three terms on the Bradenton City Council as Ward Two Councilman before deciding to run for Mayor. He was successful in his first bid to become Mayor and has served as Mayor since January 2021.

Mayor Brown brings a unique perspective to the Mayor’s office – as Vice President and COO of Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory, where he has served Bradenton since 1989, he understands first-hand the needs of the business community.

He is also active in service to the community and has an extensive history with the Boys and Girls Clubs. He served as president and on the board of directors for the DeSoto Boys and Girls Club from 1989 - 1997 and was named Board Member of the Year in 1997. Brown & Sons has been a corporate member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County since 1993. Mr. Brown was board president from 2003-2005 and is a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County Foundation Board since 2000. In 2006, he won a Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Medallion Award. In 2022, he was awarded the Richard A. Evers Call to Duty Award Tribute. In 2023, Mayor Brown was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee Alumni Hall of Fame, and received the Tribute to Heroes Award. In 2024, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow Award from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Seven Seals Award. 

Mr. Brown has been a presence in the local youth sports scene as well. He has coached Manatee West Little League, Manatee Girls Softball, Manatee Twisters Travel Softball, Manatee High School Junior Varsity Football, and Bradenton Christian Lady Panther Varsity Softball. He serves on the Manatee High School Radio Crew and on the Broadcasters Board of Directors and is Past President of the Manatee High School Football Booster Club.

Additionally, Mr. Brown was named Florida Area Council Board Member of the Year in 2004 and served as a Community Service Officer for the City of Bradenton. He served as a member and Chairman of the City of Bradenton Police Pension Board from 1992-2000 and as a member and Chairman of the City of Bradenton Merit Board from 1995-2000.

A graduate of the Citizens Police Academy, he serves on the Manatee County Sheriff's Advisory Committee.

He prepared for his career at Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service in Atlanta, GA, where he earned A.S. Degree in 1989. A graduate of Bayshore High School, he also attended Mars Hill (N.C.) College and Manatee Community College, where he earned an Associate’s Degree.

Mr. Brown has been married for over 35 years; he and his wife have two grown children and two grandchildren.