JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Unlike many incumbents that have won several previous elections by a wide margin, Rep. Corrine Brown has drawn opposition in each run for Florida's Third Congressional District.

Despite winning over retired Navy officer Jennifer Carroll by 16 percentage points two years ago, Carroll's back in the race this year. None of her fine opponents have received more than 44 percent of the vote in the designated minority district, which snakes from Nassau County to Orlando.

Brown -- who's held elective office for almost 20 years -- remains popular despite several brushes with controversy and not always taking the most popular political positions.

Less than two months after being sworn-in to the U.S. House in 1993, Corrine Brown admitted to discrepancies in her federal campaign reports, but said she was taking immediate actions to correct them.

"It is an absolute priority of mine that all campaign related documents comply fully with every nuance of FEC (Federal Elections Commission) law," said the freshman Democratic congresswoman. "From this point forward, I will personally make certain that every 'i' is dotted and every 't' is crossed on all FEC campaign reports."

Brown's comments, in a three-page statement released by her office, came on the heels of the resignation of her campaign treasurer, who complained that she failed to act against an aide who forged his name on campaign finance reports.

Liberty and Justice for All, a Jacksonville organization advocating the abolition of Affirmative Action hiring, minority access districts, Martin Luther King Day, and the United Negro College Fund, filed a complaint with the FEC over the discrepancies in Brown's reports.

"These are people who would be furious if Corrine Brown walked her dog on the wrong side of the street," a Brown campaign aide said.

Despite strong opposition from many constituents, she backed President Clinton's tax-raising deficit reduction plan.

Corrine Brown Bio Brown was born in Jacksonville, Fla., where she still resides. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1969 and a master's degree in 1971 from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Fla. She earned a specialist education degree from the University of Florida in 1974. Brown taught in Florida public schools, at the University of Florida in Gainesville and Florida Junior College in Jacksonville. She was appointed by former Gov. Bob Graham to the Manpower Training Council representing women of Florida. Brown served in the Florida House, 1983-93. She was elected to the U.S. House in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. Brown is divorced with a daughter, Shantrel. To reach Corrine Brown: In Washington, call 202-225-0123, or in Florida, call 904-354-1652 E-mail: corrine4congress Web: Corrine Brown

Brown, one of three black lawmakers in the Florida delegation, noted that minority businesses would benefit from the plan and poor areas would be targeted for economic growth. "My district did not get a ticket to the party of the 1980s," she said.

"We were ignored while the rich got richer, the poor got poorer, and the middle class paid the tab."

Brown's district was the source of a 1994 lawsuit by some voters who claimed redrawing to make it a black-majority district was "racial gerrymandering." The Justice Department threatened to intercede to preserve the minority's voting strength.

When she campaigned for the House seat, Brown cited education, jobs and the elderly as the key issues. She was pro-choice and opposed term limits. Brown said that going in front of the voters every two years is the ultimate limit if voters decide to change.

Brown was able to overcome her ethics baggage in 1996, when she defeated Republican Bill Randall, by carrying the load in Congress for her constituents and the City of Jacksonville. She won the respect of Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney, a Republican, who said he did not expect to endorse her opponent, Carroll, who aspires to become the first black Republican woman in Congress.

"Her slogan in her last campaign was that Corrine delivers, and it's apt," Delaney said told the Florida Times-Union. "If she tells you yes, she fights to the death."

On national issues, Brown remains a confirmed liberal Democrat and was a strong supporter of President Clinton. She also remains committed to African-American issues, but said race is not a factor when looking out for her district.

"I don't see black and white when it comes to my constituents," Brown said. "I never have. My district has always been integrated."

Ethics questions continued to dog Brown into her fourth term. In 1998, she said she did nothing improper by taking a $10,000 check from an indicted church leader and accused the newspaper that first reported it of harassing her.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that Brown had received the check from a bank account that the Rev. Henry Lyons was accused of using to launder money. Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc., was convicted in 1999 and sentenced to 5 1/2 years sentence on state racketeering and grand theft convictions after being accused of stealing more than $4 million from organizations doing business with the church to support a lavish lifestyle. He also has a concurrent 4 1/2-year sentence on related federal convictions for tax evasion and bank fraud.

Brown said that the $10,000 was to pay a bus company to haul supporters to a 1996 voting rights rally in Tallahassee when her congressional district was being challenged in court. She said her solicitation of Lyons, a well-known religious and civil rights leader, was proper and within congressional rules.

The newspaper also questioned Brown's relationship with West African millionaire Foutanga Sissoko. A Sissoko aide bought a $50,000 Lexus and gave it to Brown's daughter, Shantrel, an attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency. A congressional ethics investigation concluded the congresswoman exercised poor judgment but found insuffiencent evidence she had violated any rules or regulations.

Brown serves on the House Transportation & Infrastructure; and Veterans' Affairs committees. Brown was deeply disappointed by the 2000 presidential election recount in Florida that ultimately resulted in George W. Bush, brother of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, becoming president.

"I'm totally locked in time," Brown said in March 2001. "I can't move past Nov. 7."

When the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the recount stopped on Dec. 9, Brown had said "They are trying to crown King George." She joined with other black politicians in the Jacksonville area to sue the Duval County Canvassing Board, George W. Bush and running mate Dick Cheney, claiming the county intentionally used a confusing ballot and turned blacks away from polling places because they lacked voter or photo ID cards.

"Bush don't have no mandate," Brown later said. "He didn't win on Nov. 7. He was not elected. He was selected."

In 2002, Brown and Florida's other two black members of Congress, Reps. Alcee Hastings and Carrie Meek, sued to challenge new congressional districts drawn by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature. A judge dismissed their suit.

The plaintiffs, all Democrats, complained the map was drawn to maximize the number of GOP seats and elect a pair of Republican state legislators, House Speaker Tom Feeney and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, in two new congressional districts.

"It was the worst kind of politics," Brown said. "Their number one goal was to ensure that Feeney and Mario can win the election. They should be ashamed of themselves."

Brown was equally critical of the Justice Department when it approved the redistricting plan.

"The Justice Department has become a pawn of the Republican Party working with Jeb Bush, the president's brother," she said.