Lower Merion's Brown to step down as commissioner

LOWER MERION Jenny Brown, the Lower Merion Township commissioner representing Gladwyne and Penn Valley, announced in an e-mail Thursday that she will not complete the final two years of her term.

Brown gave no reason for her departure but said she expected to step down by Aug. 10 so Ward 2 residents could vote for her replacement in a special election on Nov. 3.

A Republican first elected in 2006, Brown has served as a critical voice on the majority-Democrat board. She also works as a municipal-law attorney with the firm Flamm Walton.

In 2011, she unsuccessfully ran for county commissioner. She did not put herself forward to run for any of the countywide seats up for election in November.

A graduate of Middlebury College and Temple University School of Law, Brown ended her e-mail by hinting at more to come.

"Stay tuned," she wrote.

- Jessica Parks