After consistently trailing the pack of mayoral candidates, Brown dropped out of the race September 7 and announced his support for another candidate, council chair Linda W. Cropp, saying "I cannot watch a political novice, a man without the courage and strength required to run the city, attempt to steal this race from someone who has seen the city through its worse times." Federal prosecutors later said that Jeff Thompson paid Brown $350,000 to drop out of the race and endorse Cropp.