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Mayor Brown's Biography

Mayor Byron W. Brown was reelected to a second four-year term as Mayor of the City of Buffalo after a landslide victory in September of 2009, extending his stay as the 58th Mayor of Buffalo.

Reelected as Mayor with over 60 percent of the vote in the September 2009 Primary Election, Mayor Brown continued to emphasize greater accountability and efficiency in City Hall, improving the quality of life for all city residents and a commitment to strengthening and expanding the city’s economic development activities.

Since taking office, Mayor Brown has followed those three guiding principles by launching a Zero Tolerance Law Enforcement initiative targeting quality of life crimes, along with other criminal activity in the city; implemented the management accountability CitiStat Buffalo program, which monitors city departments’ service delivery activities on a weekly basis; and reconfigured the city’s economic development activities by creating the Department of Economic Development, Permit and Inspection Services, a change that has provided greater coordination and cooperation in all development activities taking place in the City of Buffalo.

A surge of economic development activity has followed Mayor Brown’s election, including over $4 billion in planned, ongoing or completed development projects occurring throughout the City since 2006.

During Mayor Brown’s tenure, New Era Cap Company opened its international headquarters in Downtown Buffalo; Labatt USA relocated its national headquarters from Connecticut to Buffalo; BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York relocated its regional headquarters, along with 1,200 employees, to downtown Buffalo; the $120 million new federal courthouse project has commenced opposite City Hall on the City’s historic Niagara Square; and the $275 million Inner Harbor waterfront mixed-use development project has been initiated, including a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World retail anchor store.

Complementing this economic development activity is the continuing decline in crime in the Queen City.  Since January 2006, Buffalo has experienced a 7% reduction in overall crime, with the city’s homicide rate declining by 50% in 2008 versus 2006 (37 homicides in 2008; 56 in 2007; 74 in 2006). The 2008 homicide rate equaled the second lowest number of homicides in Buffalo in 19 years (34 homicides in 1999).

Citywide law enforcement activities have been a priority for Mayor Brown, including the creation of the Buffalo Police Department’s Mobile Response Unit (MRU), which grew out of the highly successful Operation Strike Force.  Targeting a variety of criminal actions, including gang-related activity, illegal drug trafficking, graffiti vandalism and illegal weapons possession, the MRU has contributed significantly to the City’s continuing reduction in crime.  The Mayor has also overseen the installation of 75 surveillance cameras that will be deployed to various areas of the City in an effort to prevent and eliminate crime in City commercial and residential neighborhoods (a total of 124 cameras will up and operational by the end of 2009). This activity coincides with the addition of 104 new police officers to the Buffalo Police Department.

Prior to his election as Mayor of Buffalo, Mayor Brown served five years in the New York State Senate.  Sworn in January 1, 2001, Mayor Byron Brown became the first African-American elected to the Senate 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. 

Mayor Brown was first elected to represent the Masten District on the Buffalo City Council in 1995.  While on the Council, Mayor 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.” Mayor Brown is a Silver Life member of the NAACP.