BATAVIA – Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown was picked on Thursday to lead Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., setting in motion an end to the longest-running mayoral administration in the city’s history.

The WROTB board, which went to elaborate lengths to keep secret Brown’s candidacy for president and chief executive officer, selected the Democratic mayor over two other finalists following a more than five-hour closed-to-the-public executive session at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel.

In a statement emailed late Thursday, Brown said he appreciated "the vote of confidence in me and my record of success as Mayor of Buffalo."

"At this point, a contract still needs to be negotiated before the position is accepted. I look forward to meeting with the chairman of the board to start the process toward final approval of a contract," he said. "In the meantime, I will continue to serve in my capacity as Mayor."

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[–] enkifish@hexbear.net 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Hey now, the Mayor's role is to rubber stamp tax breaks and sweetheart deals for incredibly rich, and racist real estate moguls. Sure, an entire neighborhood of the city smells like a sewer each time it rains, the roads are completely falling apart, there's an under-reported lead crisis due ancient infrastructure and slumlords, and the water authority was privatized and handed over to the french. All in a city where 20% of households cannot afford a car, and live in an incredibly car dependent area with unreliable bus service. But all these real-estate developers are happy so it's all good right?

[–] YourMom@hexbear.net 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Do you think India Walton could run again? Or someone else decent? Would they just do something real similar or pump AIPAC money into the primary?

[–] enkifish@hexbear.net 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I personally feel that leftists would be better served trying to take seats on the common council. There's even less turnout there, and they technically have more power than the mayor as a body. When it looked like she had a chance to become mayor the common council drafted legislation to strip the office of the mayor of most of its powers. Running for mayor should happen after leftists get enough seats on the council to block any such legislation from getting passed.