FROM OUR CITY ACTION BUFFALO: MAYOR BROWN ADVANCES TO CEO AS CITY’S CHALLENGES PERSIST 

The long-rumored departure of Byron Brown from Buffalo’s mayoralty has been confirmed. After nineteen years filled with controversy and accusations of corruption, Byron Brown has announced his resignation. In a surprising and sudden turn of events, he has taken on the role of CEO at the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation, overseeing horse race betting in fifteen counties across Western New York, including Buffalo and Rochester. His departure appears to be an attempt to distance his tenure as mayor from Buffalo’s ongoing financial troubles. However, this seems unfeasible as his mayoralty and the city’s fiscal challenges are deeply intertwined. Brown’s tenure, characterized by prioritizing profits over people, self-described fiscal conservatism, and favoritism towards real estate developers and the influential elite of Buffalo, has left the city in financial ruin, with the consequences unfolding in the present. 

 

 Byron Brown’s announcement further highlights his policy of prioritizing personal gain over the needs of Buffalo’s residents. As he is poised to earn a substantial salary, Buffalo continues to be one of the nation’s poorest and most segregated cities. Moreover, Brown’s departure underscores the need for systemic change to strengthen democracy. Rather than completing a historic fifth term, he has engaged in reciprocal politics. His current exit strategy enables a political ally to assume the mayoral position, circumventing a democratic election by the people of Buffalo. 

 

Despite all this, there is power in the present moment. Amidst a city rife with corruption, nepotism, and unfathomable incompetence, which will be the mayor’s legacy, community organizers and activists have resisted the worst of his profit-driven policies. Our collective movement for genuine equity, justice, and fairness in Buffalo has acted as a bulwark against the mayor’s millionaire shadow-cabinet, affirming year after year that a Buffalo for the few is not the Buffalo we deserve. While the Brown administration has focused on rewarding loyalists through patronage, grassroots community organizers throughout the city have successfully created spaces, policies, and funding that benefit the common good. They have also achieved the removal of several key public officials, facilitated the inclusion of women in the Buffalo Common Council for the first time in over 60 years for the Masten District, and rendered the mayor’s departure inevitable. 

 

None of this would have been possible without India Walton challenging the political establishment in Buffalo in 2021, with a mayoral primary victory that set the stage. As the 2025 mayoral race commences, OCAB unequivocally opposes any efforts to substitute Byron Brown with a political confidant who rallied MAGA backers like Carl Paladino to overthrow the Democratic mayoral candidate in 2021, serving merely as an endorser of detrimental public policy and reckless fiscal plans. Chris Scanlon, with over a decade in elected office, is seen as partaking in Byron Brown’s record of unsuccessful leadership and administrative incompetence. 

 

He is criticized for not embodying the city’s collective interests and for neglecting to engage with the viewpoints of dissenters. Essentially, Chris Scanlon is viewed as a symbol of outdated political favoritism, a relic from which there is no return. This transitional moment is filled with hope. It’s our chance to finally honor our nickname, “City of Good Neighbors,” for every single resident. Local elections are crucial. By donating to The People’s Victory Fund, you can help challenge the political norm and the imposed candidacy of the elite. Join us by signing up to reclaim our city in 2025 on our website. Consider donating today.