Байрон Браун: Биография американского политика и мэра Буффало

American politician (born 1958)

Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who is the current mayor of Buffalo, New York. He has served as Buffalo's 62nd mayor since January 2006, the city's first African American mayor and longest serving mayor. He previously served Western New York as a member of the New York State Senate and Buffalo Common Council. He is the first African American politician elected to the New York State Senate to represent a district outside New York City and the first member of any minority race to represent a majority white New York State Senate district. Brown was born and raised in Queens, New York. He rose to office after serving in a variety of political roles. He began his political career as an aide to local representatives in several legislative bodies (Buffalo Common Council, Erie County Legislature, and New York State Assembly) and later became involved in a regional political organization. After several roles as a legislative aide, he was appointed to the Erie County cabinet level Director of Equal Employment Opportunity post.

Brown was raised in Hollis in a duplex his family shared with his grandparents, who were immigrants from the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Brown was a Boy Scout at Hollis Presbyterian Church in Queens and was also active in the Central Queens YMCA (now called Jamaica YMCA). Brown attended Public School 134 in Hollis, junior high school PS 109, and August Martin High School, where he played the trumpet in the high school band. He played a year of Junior Varsity basketball as a 5 feet (2 m) guard. While he had considered a potential medical career,

After college, Brown worked for Bristol Myers for a year as a regional sales representative. Brown quit after a short tenure and took the New York State Troopers exam before becoming Chief of staff for Buffalo Common Council President George Arthur for two years. He then spent two years as an aide to Erie County Legislator Roger Blackwell (later Erie County Legislature Chairman). Subsequently, he served eight years as director of the Erie County division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski. He resigned his directorship in July 1993 to run for public office. 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 for its "40 Under Forty Honor Roll". He was awarded the Infinity Broadcasting/WBLK 2001 "Voice of Power Award" and the 2004 "Citizen of the Year" award. He also received the "Political Impact Award" from the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in 2001. In 1992, Brown was a delegate to the 1992 Democratic National Convention from the New York's 33rd congressional district. His vote was originally pledged to Bob Kerrey for the Democratic presidential nomination, but Brown transferred his support to then Governor Bill Clinton after Kerrey bowed out of the 1992 Democratic Primary campaign on March 5, 1992. In 1993, Brown was invited to attend Bill Clinton's Presidential Inauguration.

In his first attempt at public office in 1993, Brown ran for the third district of the Erie County Legislature against incumbent William Robinson and George "Butch" Holt, who had Eve's endorsement. Robinson earned the Democratic Party endorsement in June 1993, with the help of Holt who voted for Robinson instead of himself. In June, Brown was notified that he must resign his Erie County cabinet level post in order to run for public office and he did so in July. Holt won the Democratic nomination with a 267 vote 40–37% margin over Brown in the September 14, 1993 primary election. Brown won the September 1995 Democratic primary for the Masten District Buffalo Common Council seat. He then took time out from campaigning to attend the October 16, 1995 Million Man March. Brown ousted 18 year veteran council member, David Collins, to win his seat on the Buffalo Common Council. In his 1997 re election campaign, he won the September 9 Democratic primary handily, and he was unopposed in the November 4 general election. In his 1999 re election campaign, he again won the Democratic primary easily on September 14, and he won the November 2 general election. Beginning in January 2000, Brown served as part of the first ever African American majority in the history of the Buffalo Common Council. In 1996, The Buffalo News described Brown as "Buffalo's Julian Bond". While on the council, the future state senator and mayor was called "bright, creative and hardworking" in a 1999 Buffalo News survey.

In 2000, he competed for the Democratic nomination for the New York State Senate 57th District against incumbent Al Coppola and Samuel A. Herbert. Coppola was endorsed by Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello. The Republican Party nominee was the politically inexperienced Harrison R. Woolworth. Although Brown began the race without organized political support, he earned endorsements from many veteran non Western New York politicians such as H. Carl McCall, Andrew Cuomo, and Hillary Clinton. Brown became New York's first African American State Senator elected outside of New York City. During Brown's tenure in the New York State Senate, the Democratic Party was in the minority. When the casino was completed in 2003, he was on the seven member commission that was to apportion the state's agreed 18% share of the slot machine revenue, amounting to approximately $40 million. By spring of 2003, Brown was a rising star in the declining years of the "Harlem Clubhouse", a loose political fraternity of David Dinkins, Charles Rangel, Basil Paterson, Percy Sutton and sometimes H. Carl McCall that had dominated state politics while forging the careers of its members for much of the late 20th century. He was envisioned as a front runner for the 2006 Democratic nomination as Lieutenant Governor of New York or as Buffalo's first black mayor. By 2004 it seemed clear that he was eyeing the mayor's office. In the 2004 New York State Senate elections, Republican nominee Al Coppola opposed Brown for the redistricted 60th District and garnered only 23% of the vote.

In February 2005, Brown announced his candidacy for Mayor of Buffalo. On April 29, 2005, three term Democratic Mayor Anthony Masiello announced he would not seek a fourth four year term. Masiello had run on both major party lines for his final two terms and had twice endorsed Republican Governor George Pataki. During his tenure, the city population and industrial tax base had decreased. with Brown accumulating many endorsements and the backing of organized labor. Buffalo, which had an 8:1 Democrat to Republican ratio and a 38% black population, was 75% contained in Brown's State Senate district. Brown was the sixth African American to win the Democratic Mayor Primary since the 1960s, but all before him had failed to win the general election, even though the city had not elected a Republican since 1961. His Republican opponent, Helfer, beat him in the Conservative Party Primary as a write in candidate, although Brown had been endorsed by that party.

Brown was sworn in on December 31, 2005, at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. During his first day in office he toured the Buffalo Waterfront to show his commitment to its development. Before the end of the year, restoration on the original point where the Erie Canal met the Great Lakes was underway. Brown presented his plans for the development during subsequent tours by top state leaders, including future New York State Governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson. Erie Canal Harbor eventually opened on July 2, 2008. In early 2006, the Seneca Nation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to build the third of the three Western New York casinos that had been legislated in 2002. In 2007, Brown was not sure he was in favor of the third casino, which seemed to cater to local residents instead of luring tourist revenues. Tom Golisano, founder of Paychex, former owner of the Buffalo Sabres National Hockey League franchise and three time candidate for New York State Governor, suggested that the Buffalo economy would not benefit from a business designed to transfer money from local citizens to the Seneca Gaming Corporation. Brown withheld support while awaiting clarification of the target consumer for the third casino. In October 2006, the Seneca Nation and Brown came to terms on the final sale of a two block stretch of city road that runs amid the construction site. As part of the sale the nation agreed to both marketing terms (regarding marketing beyond the local region), and hiring preferences for city residents. However, in January 2007, a federal judge ruled that the granting of permission to run the third casino by the National Indian Gaming Commission was improper. Seneca Nation received federal approval for their casino on July 2, 2007, and opened the following day.

Brown was one of the original 15 mayors from United States cities such as Washington, Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle and Milwaukee who convened at a meeting hosted by Michael Bloomberg and Thomas Menino at Gracie Mansion to confirm their support for more serious attacks on the use of illegal firearms. Bloomberg and Philip A. Amicone, the mayor of Yonkers, were the only Republicans. The mayors all signed a six point "statement of principles" focused on punishing gun possession "to the maximum extent of the law", prosecuting dealers who knowingly sell guns to criminals through so called straw purchasers, opposing two United States House of Representatives bills to restrict cities' access to gun tracing data, endorsing technologies to detect illegal guns, and coordinating strategies and outreach to other cities in hopes of reconvening with at least 50 mayors by year end. A little over a year later the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition co chaired by Bloomberg and Menino included 225 bi partisan municipal leaders in pursuit of legal, political and media strategies to stem gun crime and had a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets". Rising homicides had been a disappointment in his first year as mayor. As mayor of Buffalo, he presided over emergency relief from blizzards such as the mid October 2006 two foot snow storm. The storm more than doubled the previous record for single day October snowfall. Despite the fact that about 200,000 city residents were without electricity, the city saw no spike in criminal activity, according to Brown. Buffalo is second only to St. Louis among cities nationwide in terms of percentage of vacant properties per capita. Therefore, in fall 2007, Brown committed to a $100 million five year plan to demolish 5,000 houses, which is about half of the city's total of vacant houses. However, since Buffalo has the second highest residential poverty rate (to Detroit) homes continue to be abandoned. The program may benefit the city because abandoned house costs it an approximate average of $20,060 over five years in lost taxes, debris removal, inspections, and policing. Also, 41% of all fires in Buffalo are in vacant buildings, and more than 90% of all arson cases involved abandoned houses. Subsequently, during the first ever "State of Upstate Address", New York Governor Spitzer suggested committing $100 million in state funds to build or rehabilitate 10,000 homes and apartments. The mayor's initial demolition plans met with resistance from preservationists and he had to negotiate with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which got him attention from coast to coast. In 2008, Brown convinced Buffalo to use a real time wireless video surveillance system. The city installed 56 Avrio Rapid Deployment Surveillance Solution PoleCams. The system was the result of a request by Brown that the city evaluate surveillance cameras in other cities. By January 2009 State of the City Address, Brown reported that crime had fallen 12% and homicide by 50% since he had taken office.

On June 13, 2008, upon the death of NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert, who was a proud Buffalo native, Brown ordered that all flags on city property be lowered to half staff in order to honor Russert's memory. Brown called Russert one of Buffalo's finest ambassadors, and his decision to lower the flags in honor of Russert, a civilian who never held elected office, was an unusual gesture that was described as breathtaking on Hardball with Chris Matthews by Tom Brokaw. He was joined by several other officials in recognizing Russert. Chief among those was United States President George W. Bush who signed a bill that named a stretch of U. S. Route 20A that passes in front of Ralph Wilson Stadium (home stadium of the Buffalo Bills) Timothy J. Russert Highway. In a public relations controversy, Brown got caught in a fight against the movement to replace traditional lawns with front yard gardens. His office had issued an edict that a resident remove her landscape renovations. However, an e mail campaign in defense of the resident caused the mayor to rethink his stance. In 2019 Buffalo won the Golden Snowball Award, an award presented annually to the Upstate New York city that had the largest snowfall the previous winter. Brown refused to claim the Golden Snowball Trophy from the mayor of the previous winner, Syracuse, because he "did not see the contest as 'a real contest'".

On September 15, 2009, Brown won the Democratic Primary for a second term by a nearly two to one margin over City council member Michael P. Kearns. Brown had amassed an early lead amongst voters until several scandals involving former basketball star Leonard Stokes, including the questionable government support of his failed "One Sunset" restaurant and a perceived undue influence in mitigating Stokes's arrest for possessing a stolen handicapped parking permit, cut away most of his lead. There were no Republican, third party or independent candidates, so Brown ran unopposed and won the general election.

Byron Brown is married to the former Michelle Austin and they have a son, Byron III, who is referred to as Byron Jr. by some accounts. On the national level, he was an unheralded point guard in the 2008 high school graduating class, and he went on to attend Queen City Prep in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Brown family attends St. John Baptist Church. Byron Brown is a chapter president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Brown collects tropical fish and maintains an aquarium in his Buffalo Mayor's office. In August 2008, it was revealed that Brown condoned a Buffalo Police Department policy of illegally withholding crime reports from public knowledge.

YearDemocratVotesPctOpposition (1)VotesPctOpposition (2)VotesPctOpposition (3)VotesPct 2000 NYSS 57thByron Brown48,68359.77%Bob Woolworth12,54215.40%Al Coppola18,93823.25%Anthony Murty1,2851.58%Democratic47,011Republican11,069Conservative13,501Right to Life1,285Liberal1,672Independence1,473Green Party3,385Workers2,052 2002 NYSS 60thByron Brown43,26065.14%Al Coppola23,15434.86%Democratic41,436Republican20,236Liberal1,824Conservative2,918 2004 NYSS 60thByron Brown75,03177.07%Al Coppola22,32822.93%Democratic65,609Republican22,328Independence3,736Conservative1,990Working Families3,696 2005 Buffalo MayorByron Brown46,61363.79%Kevin Helfer19,85327.17%Judith S. Einach3,5254.82%Charles J. Flynn3,0824.22%Democratic43,541Republican17,680Green Party3,525Independence3,082Working Families3,072Conservative2,173 2009 Buffalo MayorByron Brown17,728 99.12%Michael P. Kearns1580.88%Democratic15,567Write In158Independence667Conservative643Working Families8512013 Buffalo MayorByron Brown26,120 70.87%Sergio R. Rodriguez10,73329.12%Democratic23,881Republican9,390Working Families978Progressive1,343Conservative665Independence5962017 Mayor of BuffaloByron Brown29,68862.76%Mark J F Schroeder11,44626.09%Anita L. Howard1,3573.09%Terrence A. Robinson1,276 2.91%Democratic27,532Reform11,446Conservative1,357Green Party1,276 Working Families1,228Independence609Women's Equality Party319