63 Facts About Byron Brown

Byron William Brown II was born on September 24,1958 and is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024.

Byron Brown previously served Western New York as a member of the New York State Senate and Buffalo Common Council.

Byron Brown 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.

Byron Brown rose to office after serving in a variety of political roles.

Byron Brown began his political career as an aide to local representatives in several legislative bodies and later became involved in a regional political organization.

Byron Brown was raised in Hollis in a duplex his family shared with his grandparents, who were immigrants from the Caribbean island of Montserrat.

Byron Brown grew up on 200th Street between 100th and 104th Avenues and has several relatives still in the area.

Byron Brown was a Boy Scout at Hollis Presbyterian Church in Queens and was active in the Central Queens YMCA.

Byron Brown played a year of Junior Varsity basketball as a 5-foot-11-inch guard.

Byron Brown subsequently completed a certificate program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government.

Byron 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.

Byron Brown then spent two years as an aide to Erie County Legislator Roger Blackwell.

Byron Brown resigned his directorship in July 1993 to run for public office.

Byron Brown eventually served as a vice president of the organization.

Byron Brown received the "Political Impact Award" from the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in 2001.

In 1992, Byron Brown was a delegate to the 1992 Democratic National Convention from the New York's 33rd congressional district.

Byron Brown's 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, Byron Brown was invited to attend Bill Clinton's Presidential Inauguration.

Byron Brown won the September 1995 Democratic primary for the Masten District Buffalo Common Council seat.

Byron Brown then took time out from campaigning to attend the October 16,1995 Million Man March.

Byron Brown ousted 18-year veteran council member, David Collins, to win his seat on the Buffalo Common Council.

When he was sworn into the State Senate on January 1,2001, Byron Brown became New York's first African-American State Senator elected outside of New York City.

Byron Brown became the first minority member of the New York State Senate to represent a majority-white district.

Byron Brown was part of the majority that backed New York Governor George Pataki's 2001 plan to build up to three Western New York casinos on Seneca Indian land.

Byron Brown supported the casinos as a way to support the local economy.

Byron Brown was envisioned as a front-runner for the 2006 Democratic nomination as Lieutenant Governor of New York or as Buffalo's first black mayor.

In February 2005, Byron Brown announced his candidacy for Mayor of Buffalo.

Six candidates, including Byron Brown, entered the race to replace him, with Byron Brown accumulating many endorsements and the backing of organized labor.

Byron Brown then went on to face Kevin Helfer, a former City Council colleague, in the general election.

Byron 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.

Byron Brown was sworn in on December 31,2005, at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

Byron 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.

In 2007, Byron Brown was not sure he was in favor of the third casino, which seemed to cater to local residents instead of luring tourist revenues.

Byron Brown withheld support while awaiting clarification of the target consumer for the third casino.

In October 2006, the Seneca Nation and Byron Brown came to terms on the final sale of a two-block stretch of city road that runs amid the 9-acre construction site.

Byron Brown was praised for his overhaul of city hall, his follow through on projects and systems, and his influence on statewide redistribution, but he was dogged by crime issues and his efforts for the planned casino.

Byron Brown's agenda, hiring and discipline were respected, but rising homicides, continuing decay and evolving bureaucracy were troubling.

In 2008, Byron Brown convinced Buffalo to use a real-time wireless video surveillance system.

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, Byron Brown ordered that all flags on city property be lowered to half-staff in order to honor Russert's memory.

Byron 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.

Byron Brown was joined by several other officials in recognizing Russert.

Byron Brown's office had issued an edict that a resident remove her landscape renovations.

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.

Byron Brown supported Andrew Cuomo for New York Attorney General in the 2006 general election, David Paterson for Lieutenant Governor of New York in the 2006 general election and Antoine Thompson for 60th District New York Senator in a special election on February 28,2006.

The week before the 2006 New York State Democratic Convention, Byron Brown was described as a political confidant of Democratic New York Attorney General candidate Andrew Cuomo.

Byron Brown seconded Cuomo's nomination at the convention on May 30,2006.

Byron Brown was noted as one of the important black political leaders that Cuomo courted on his road to victory.

Byron Brown even ran to be a delegate for Clinton at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

The New York Times's Danny Hakim noted that Cuomo, Paterson and Byron Brown were the three names most often mentioned prior to Paterson's ascension to the governor's office.

Nonetheless, Byron Brown's name was mentioned before Kennedy's and Cuomo's in a New York Times article paragraph about Paterson's final nomination decision thoughts.

When Paterson announced he had selected Blue Dog Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, Byron Brown was one of the few contenders to attend the event.

Byron Brown was elected to a third and fourth term, winning handily in both elections.

Byron Brown oversaw a period of development after the passing of the Buffalo Billion program.

Byron Brown was a close political ally of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

In 2016, Byron Brown spearheaded The Unified Development Ordinance, known as the Buffalo Green Code, which eliminated minimum parking standards in the city's zoning regulations.

In 2021, Byron Brown campaigned for an unprecedented fifth term, but was defeated in the Democratic primary on June 23,2021, by India Walton.

Since the Erie County Democratic Party has supported India Walton following her victory in the Democratic Party primary, Byron Brown increasingly relied on support from local Republican officials and right-wing organizations which were opposed to Walton, including to assist with collecting signatures for a place on the general election ballot.

However, on September 16,2021, state and federal courts ruled against Byron Brown, meaning that he would not appear on the 2021 general election ballot and would instead continue his campaign as a write-in candidate.

Byron Brown held a press conference on September 30,2024, where he announced his intention to resign from office in order to accept a job as president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting.

Byron Brown is married to the former Michelle Austin and they have a son, Byron III, who is referred to as Byron Jr.

Byron Brown III enjoys basketball and has attended high-level youth basketball camps.

Byron Brown is a member of the Erie County Democratic Committee.

Byron Brown was a delegate to the 1992,2000 and 2004 Democratic National Conventions.