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 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months 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.