1. India B Walton was born on June 14,1982 and is an American political activist and nurse.
25 Facts About India Walton
1. 2.
India Walton defeated incumbent Mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic Party primary for the 2021 election for mayor of Buffalo, New York, before losing to Brown in the general election, where he ran as a write-in candidate.
3.
India Walton was raised by her mother, who was a pharmacy technician, with five siblings.
4.
India Walton attended Lorraine Elementary and Leonardo da Vinci High School.
5.
India Walton gave birth to her first child when she was fourteen, dropped out of high school, worked at Family Dollar and McDonald's, and lived in a group home for young mothers.
6.
India Walton later earned a General Educational Development certificate and graduated with a nursing degree from SUNY Erie.
7.
India Walton has said she decided to pursue a career in nursing after her experience following the birth of her twins, who were born premature and required months of intensive care.
8.
India Walton became active in politics at the age of twelve when she protested Rockefeller Drug Laws with her mother as part of the activist group Families Against Mandatory Minimums.
9.
India Walton left her nursing career after being hired by Open Buffalo as a community organizer with a focus on criminal justice and policing reforms.
10.
India Walton has said the shoving of Martin Gugino by a Buffalo police officer was one of her inspirations to run for political office.
11.
India Walton announced her campaign for the mayoralty of Buffalo in the 2021 election on December 13,2020.
12.
India Walton was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America and the Buffalo Teachers Federation, a union with 3800 members.
13.
India Walton defeated Brown and Le'Candice Durham in the primary election on June 22,2021,52 to 45 percent.
14.
India Walton was endorsed by the Erie County Democratic Committee.
15.
India Walton's campaign raised $150,000 compared to Brown, who raised over $500,000 and received support from the Police Benevolent Association and Republicans.
16.
India Walton is a democratic socialist, and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
17.
On November 3,2021, India Walton publicly acknowledged that she did not appear to be the winner of the election, while votes were still being counted, but did not officially concede.
18.
India Walton received a letter of support from Barack Obama following her election loss.
19.
On February 1,2023, India Walton announced she would run for a seat on the Buffalo Common Council.
20.
India Walton was endorsed by the Working Families Party and competed in the Democratic primary in June 2023.
21.
India Walton's opponents were Murray Holman, the executive director of the Stop the Violence Coalition in Buffalo, and Zeneta Everhart, a staffer for state senator Tim Kennedy, who was endorsed by the Erie County Democratic Committee.
22.
India Walton supported increased funding for public schools and a moratorium on the creation of new charter schools, and said she would make Buffalo a sanctuary city.
23.
India Walton expressed support for small business owners and landlords, including financing to small landlords for building maintenance including lead removal, as well as strengthening Buffalo tenant protections.
24.
In October 2021, after India Walton revealed the impoundment of her car due to unpaid parking tickets and an expired inspection, she described the experience as indicating a need for the city government to focus on how to support residents with the management of fines and fees.
25.
In 2021, India Walton said she would decrease the budget of the Buffalo Police Department by $7.5 million by having unarmed first responders, rather than police, answer mental health calls or enforce minor traffic violations.