Brown served as mayor from January 8, 1996 to January 8, 2004. His tenure was marked by a significant increase in real estate development, public works, city beautification and other large-scale city projects. He presided over the "dot-com" era at a time when San Francisco's economy was rapidly expanding. Brown's administration included more Asian-Americans, women, Latinos, gays and African-Americans than the administrations of his predecessors. Term limits prevented him from running for a third term and he was succeeded by a political protege, Gavin Newsom. Brown then retired from politics.