Born in Mineola, Texas, Brown graduated from San Francisco State University in 1955 and earned a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1958. He spent several years in private practice before being elected to the California Assembly in 1964 in his second attempt. Brown became the Democrats' whip in 1969 and speaker in 1980. He was known for his ability to manage colleagues and maintain party discipline. According to "The New York Times", Brown became one of the country's most powerful state legislators. His long tenure and powerful position were used as a focal point of the California ballot proposition to limit the terms of state legislators, which passed in 1990. During the last of his three allowed post-initiative terms, Brown maintained control of the Assembly despite a slim GOP majority by gaining several Republicans' support. Near the end of his final term, he left the legislature and became mayor of San Francisco.