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English (en-US) |
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Name |
Byron W. Brown |
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Biography |
Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayor. He previously served as a member of the New York State Senate and the Buffalo Common Council. Brown was born and raised in Queens, New York, and rose to office after serving in a variety of political roles. He began as an aide to local representatives the Buffalo Common Council, Erie County Legislature and New York State Assembly and was appointed to the Erie County cabinet-level Director of Equal Employment Opportunity post. In 2001, Brown became the first African-American politician elected to the New York State Senate to represent a district outside New York City and the first minority to represent a majority-white New York State Senate district. He was elected Mayor of Buffalo in 2006 and was repeatedly re-elected. In 2021, he lost the Democratic primary to challenger India Walton, but defeated her in the general election as a write-in candidate. He later announced in a September 2024 press conference that he would resign as mayor of Buffalo sometime in October. Brown's resignation took effect on October 15, 2024, with Christopher Scanlon serving as acting mayor until the next mayoral election in 2025. |
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