Byron Brown
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| Byron Brown | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 31, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Anthony Masiello |
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| Born | date unknown Queens, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Michelle Brown |
| Alma mater | Buffalo State College |
| Religion | Baptist |
Byron W. Brown was elected on November 8, 2005 as the first African American mayor of Buffalo, New York. He previously served as a member of the New York State Senate. He is also the first mayor of Buffalo, New York since Grover Cleveland to originally come from the New York City region.
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[edit] History
When he was sworn in to the State Senate on January 1, 2001, Byron Brown became New York's first African-American State Senator elected outside of New York City. He also made history by becoming the first minority member of the New York State Senate to represent a majority white district. He was first elected to represent the Masten District on the Buffalo Common Council in 1995. While on the Council, Senator Brown was called "bright, creative and hardworking," in a Buffalo News survey and was recognized in 1989 by Ebony Magazine as one the “30 Leaders of the Future.” As mayor, he is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition[1], a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Byron Brown started his career holding key staff positions with the President of the Buffalo Common Council, the Chair of the Erie County Legislature, and the Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly. Senator Brown also served as Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski’s Director of the Division of Equal Employment Opportunity.
A native of Queens, New York, Byron Brown came to Buffalo as a college freshman, earning a dual Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Journalism from Buffalo State College. He also completed a certificate program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
The Buffalo Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1991 honored him with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for community service. In 1993 he was selected by Business First to its "40 Under Forty Honor Roll." In 2001, he was awarded the Infinity Broadcasting/WBLK "Voice of Power Award" and the “Citizen of the Year” award in 2004. He also received the "Political Impact Award" from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in 2001.
Byron Brown is married to the former Michelle Austin and they have a son, Byron III. They are members of the congregation at St. John Baptist Church. Byron Brown is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, a past President of the Buffalo State College Alumni Association Board, and sits on the Board of the Boy Scout Council of Western New York[citation needed] and the Community Action Organization of Erie County. Byron Brown also is a member of the Erie County Democratic Committee. He was a delegate to the 1992, 2000 and 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Brown was a member of the controversial "Grassroots" political organization in Buffalo, a largely African-American group founded to displace State Assemblyman Arthur Eve's control over State funding to the Buffalo area.
[edit] Criticism
Since taking office, Brown has supported the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino project. In recent times, however, he has fought with the Seneca Nation regarding a strip of road that runs between the two properties marked for casino construction. One of the terms that Mayor Brown insisted upon was the use of a racial quota hiring policy for the new casino.
In December of 2006, Brown's son, Byron Brown III, took the senior Brown's car without permission and drove about the area near his house and Canisius College campus. Brown III, 16, was intoxicated and hit and damaged a number of vehicles, including three Canisius student's cars. In April, 2007, Brown III admitted to the damage and was charged with driving without a license and leaving the scene of an accident. Buffalo surveillance tapes of the incident were misplaced, and Canisius managed to produce other tapes with incriminated Brown III.
In the April 17, 2008 issue of Artvoice, a weekly news publication in Buffalo, Brown was voted "Worst Local Politician" by readers for the annual "Best of Buffalo" awards.[2]
On May 2, 2008, Brown made use of the Buffalo Police Department, police from neighboring suburbs, the S.W.A.T team, Erie County Sheriff's department (with officers' guns strapped to their thighs), CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives) Unit armored vehicles, K-9 unit, and a mobile command to police "Quad Party," a yearly, end-of-semester celebration held by students of Canisius College, which is situated in his neighborhood, prompting accusations of "overkill" in terms of law enforcement presence.
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| Preceded by Alfred Coppola |
New York State Senate, 57th District 2001–2002 |
Succeeded by Patricia McGee |
| Preceded by Mary Lou Rath |
New York State Senate, 60th District 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by Marc Coppola |
| Preceded by Anthony Masiello |
Mayor of Buffalo, New York 2006 – Present |
Succeeded by 'Incumbent' |
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