Heather Bell
Contributing writer
Radford Mayor Dr. Bruce Brown (left) is planning to retire from public office at the end of his term this June, while Councilman Keith Marshall is running for the office of mayor. Both men made announcements during Monday’s Radford City Council meeting.
After 16 years as a Radford City Council member and mayor, Dr. Bruce Brown is leaving public office at the end of his term this summer.
Brown announced his retirement at Monday’s city council meeting. His last day in office will be June 30.
“It’s with mixed emotions that I announce I am retiring from public office,” he said, citing a desire for more family time and travel among his reasons for not seeking another term.
“I teach and believe passionately in the concept of servant leader,” he continued. “That’s what motivated me to first run and continue to serve with those I have been privileged to share this dais with—first as a councilor and then Radford’s mayor. We are a team and any accomplishment realized is not individual but collective.”
Brown said he is proud to have been a part of a group of council members that worked to build better relationships with the Radford City School Board and the administration of Radford University; relationships he said serve the city well.
He cited the city’s decision to utilize revenue from the electric department to help keep real estate taxes low as one of the most significant accomplishments during his tenure.
“I am particularly proud of the role I played in advancing the idea to use revenue from our electric enterprise fund to support general fund appropriations to our city budget in 2004,” Brown said in prepared remarks. “Council demonstrated courage and foresight to understand the logic of moving away from solely funding city obligations through real estate taxes by supplementing from the sale of electricity. This was, and is, a less regressive means to fund city operations as everyone — whether they rent or own — uses power.”
Following Brown’s announcement, Councilman Keith Marshall said he will be running for the mayor’s seat in the upcoming May 1 election. Marshall is in his eighth year serving on council.
