[7] Brown sought to replace Paul Godfrey as chair of Metro Council in 1984, but finished second against Dennis Flynn of Etobicoke.
[9] Brown was named head of Metro's social service committee in 1985 and served as a member of the Toronto Transit Commission.
[10] He was elected to succeed Alan Tonks as mayor of York in 1988, defeating former MPP Tony Grande by a significant margin.
Brown highlighted his record of financial accountability and suggested that Grande did not have significant municipal experience to govern the city.
[11] In 1990, Brown endorsed a controversial plan to sell part of Fairbank Park to a company run by Toronto-area developer Lou Charles.
[17] The contest was marked by open animosity between the candidates, and Brown refused to travel to Nunziata's headquarters on election night to concede defeat.