Why Councilman Jesse Brown Must Resign Now.
Jesse Brown is an Emotional Powder Keg Waiting to Explode.
Imagine you own a chain of restaurants and a complaint lands on your desk that one of your employees has abused a customer. You review the security tape and you watch the employee, a white man, in a rage verbally abuse a Black woman. After you confront the employee, he explains he had good reasons to yell at the woman and denies the confrontation had any racial motives because the employee is a lifelong liberal. You let it go, but less than a year later, he does it again, he flies into a rage, this time at a young Black man. Again, when you confront the employee, he claims to have reasons for the abuse and hands you a ten-page, self-serving explanation. You ask to see the security tape, but this time the employee refuses to show it to you.
What do you, the boss do?
In our political system, public officials are employees. The citizens are the boss. We choose them through elections and the taxes levied on the citizens pay their salaries and benefits. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work.
13th District Indianapolis Councilman Jesse Brown has been in office barely four months and has gained a reputation for being controversial and provocative on his social media. His campaign to boycott businesses that disagreed with him raised a few eyebrows, but the most recent incident in which Jesse Brown, by his own admission flew into a rage at a young Black man has been received by the local mainstream media with a shrug.
This is not the first time that Jesse Brown was recorded losing his temper. Barely a year ago, April 24, 2023, Jesse Brown was recorded flying off the handle at a Indianapolis Library Board meeting. The article is behind a paywall, so I’ve posted the video below.
Do these two incidents raise red flags? Given that Jesse Brown has admitted that he is being treated for anxiety and depression, I would argue that waiting for another incident is irresponsible. The Councilman has a problem controlling his rage. Public life can be very stressful. Ignoring red flags like that in the workplaces and government can lead to tragedy.
Public service requires calm patience and even temper. Jesse Brown’s co-workers and constituents deserve nothing less. Jesse Brown needs to resign and take care of his mental health.