Jamael Tito Brown

New Mayor’s Career Defies Statistics

Jamael Tito Brown, ’95 BS, ’05 MSEd

Since high school, Jamael Tito Brown has heard people talk about wanting to leave Youngstown. “My friends would say: ‘I can’t wait to leave. I’m going to move away and I’m never coming back.’ I never felt like that,” he said.

Now, as the newly-elected 51st mayor of his hometown, he’s determined to change that move-away mindset, in part, by bringing more living-wage jobs and making every neighborhood safe. “I want them to stay and work to make Youngstown better.”

Brown has lived all his life on the city’s North Side, attended Youngstown City Schools, then earned two degrees at YSU – a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and a master’s in Clinical Counseling. He was an only child, and that taught him a lot about getting along with others. “I had to push myself. I didn’t have the comfort zone of siblings to play with.”

The mayor likes to say that, statistically, he shouldn’t be where he is today. He was a teen father, so he chose YSU because it allowed him to stay at home for his education while he helped to raise his son. His own dad was “in and out of prison all his life,” so Brown chose a Criminal Justice major to study recidivism and rehabilitation. “I’ve never been shy about telling my story,” he said. “I just hope it might help someone else.”

His first professional position after college was with Community Corrections Association in Youngstown, then he spent eight years as a caseworker for Mahoning County Children Services. That’s where he met his wife of 13 years, Lynette Frost Brown, also a YSU graduate and a licensed social worker. They have four children and one grandchild.

Later, he worked as a community organizer for YSU’s Urban and Regional Studies Department, then back to the county as chief deputy treasurer for the Mahoning County Treasurer’s Office.

The mayor began his political career as a member of the Youngstown Board of Education and then moved to City Council where he served as third ward councilman and council president. He won a tight mayoral race last fall and took office in January.

What has most surprised him so far is the number of citizens that call his direct line with problems and questions. “Sometimes, a problem that might seem like a small dot on the wall to others is a giant in the room to them,” he said. “I treat every problem like a giant.”

On the job creation front, he’s working with companies across the region, and with other communities, such as Detroit, looking for economic development partnerships. “We can’t sit and wait for the jobs to come. We have to go out and recruit, look for jobs, bring employers in,” he said. “We might feel like we’re outmanned and outgunned by cities like Columbus, Ohio, but we’ve got to celebrate the small victories.”

Having 3D printing partner America Makes in downtown is one such victory, he said. Joseph Company International’s ongoing construction of a $20 million Chill-Can Beverage and Technology Center on the city’s East Side is another.

There are no term limits on the mayoral seat in Youngstown, but Brown said he doesn’t expect to stay until retirement. “I just want to feel like I was here for a season, and that I had a hand in making things better for this city that I love,” he said. “I’ll have to wait and see what the Lord has for me after that.”