ORLANDO, Fla. – Convicted felon and former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown said that if she is elected to serve again in Congress, she plans to work to address issues within the criminal justice system.
On Sunday, Brown told Justin Warmoth of News4JAX’s sister station WKMG that she got a firsthand look at the issues with the system while she was incarcerated for two years in 2018 following a fraud conviction.
“The system, when I say it’s broke, it’s not broke, is operating the way they intended it to operate,” Brown said.
Brown, 75, joins a crowded field of 18 candidates for the 10th Congressional District looking to succeed Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings, who is trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio this fall. Brown, a Democrat, represented a portion of the Orlando area during part of her 24 years in Congress.
A June poll commissioned by Democratic state Sen. Randolph Bracy finds he is a strong front-runner over other candidates due to his name recognition, Florida Politics reported. But that poll was done before Brown, who has plenty of name recognition herself, threw her hat into the ring.
After she launched her campaign, Brown has been forced to defend her decision to run and was asked Sunday why people should trust her following a guilty plea in May to one count of tax evasion in her federal case to avoid a retrial of her overturned conviction of fraud and conspiracy.
“Why shouldn’t they?” she responded. “I have a proven track record of taking care of my constituents, doing personalized service, helping them.”
Brown said that when she was locked up in a Central Florida prison camp, she continued to help people on the inside.
“When I was in the camp, you had to have appointments to see me because I helped people. I can’t tell you the number of people I helped to get out. They didn’t understand the system,” she said.
In the nearly 20-minute interview, Brown explained her stance on key issues like gun control, the economy and abortion access, and why she believes she’s the candidate who will get things done.
