Stacey Dash isn't the only one who's withdrawn from California's U.S. Congressional race. Compton Mayor Aja Brown is OUT, and she just unveiled the huge reason why.
After Clueless star Stacey Dash announced she was running for a U.S. seat in California’s 44th Congressional District, Compton Mayor Aja Brown said 'not so fast, chick!'
The 35-year-old USC grad and mayor of 5 years announced her decision to run less than a month ago. Now, she's dropping out the race. Nope, not because Stacey did. Aja and her husband, Van Brown, revealed via a late night press release that they're expecting their first child together.
She and her handsome hubby of 14 years are over the moon about the news. Aja said:
“I am excited and blessed to announce that my husband of fourteen years and I are expecting our first child! “We are overjoyed at the opportunity to become parents and look forward to starting our family....Today, I am announcing that I am withdrawing my candidacy to represent the 44th Congressional District.
Not gonna lie, upon first reading the news, we felt some kind of way at first that she turned down almost a guaranteed road to D.C. Then we saw pics of her man and read their love story. And we're not even mad. *black girl high five*
Here's her statement in full:
“I am excited and blessed to announce that my husband of fourteen years and I are expecting our first child! “We are overjoyed at the opportunity to become parents and look forward to starting our family.
“To date, one of my highest honors has been dedicating my time and life to serving my community. However, at this point in my life, my family commitments supersede my ability to expand my level of service. “Today, I am announcing that I am withdrawing my candidacy to represent the 44th Congressional District.
“I am genuinely grateful for the outpouring of support for my candidacy after my initial announcement.
“Moving forward collectively, we will continue to empower, elevate and advance the City of Compton and our greater community. The coalitions, partnerships, programs, new investments, and infrastructure development will continue, and there is more to come.
“This milestone in my personal life has provided me with a greater perspective and deepened my commitment to strengthening our families.
“Thank you for your overwhelming love, support, and prayers. Our journey together is not over, it’s just beginning.”
The fab duo met at 17...at a gas station where Van was an attendant. The rest was history. VOGUE told their cute story back in 2013 that proves persistence is key:
It was late at night. She stopped for gas on her way home. She couldn’t get the pump to work. He was working as the station attendant. (They’d met before when they were kids; he was a friend of her cousin.) He pretended he couldn’t hear her through the glass and invited her in while he, according to her, then “pretended” to fix the problem. He printed out a blank piece of paper from the cash register and asked her for her number. She told him it looked like he’d done that before. He called her five times the next day (and paged her six) and she went out with him. Two weeks later, he told her he thought she should stop seeing anyone else because he was going to marry her. She was seventeen. They’ve been together ever since.
Aja made history in 2013 at the age of 31 when she was elected the youngest mayor ever in the city of Compton. She turns 36 in just a few weeks, so it's a celebration all around!
Congrats to the couple!
Photos: Instagram/City of Compton