BUFFALO (WBEN) - While the results aren't yet official, Byron Brown will likely be the first mayor in Buffalo's history to be re-elected for a fifth term, as it appears he's leading Democratic nominee India Walton by a substantial margin following Tuesday's general election.
On Thursday, Brown joined Tom Bauerle live in studio to discuss his unprecedented write-in campaign and election night.
"I'm humbled and honored by the support that we got...stayed prayerful during the entire campaign and ran as a write-in candidate to preserve the future of the City of Buffalo, to protect the progress that we've made, and to keep the progress going," said Brown.
Brown was reliant on write-in votes because he was defeated by Walton in the June primary. He was criticized for his primary campaign and said he takes responsibility for the result.
"We focused on pandemic recovery," Brown began. "As the primary was unfolding, we were delivering food to people who didn't have food in the house; we were delivering masks to people that needed masks...so that was more of my focus. I was out seven days a week; I was working all day every day, and I thought the public would see that, and it did not translate into people connecting that work with the primary vote.
"It was me; I can't blame anybody else," Brown continued. "The speed of the boss is the speed of the gang."
Despite it looking like Brown will win the race comfortably, there is still a large percentage of voters who voted for Walton (roughly 40%), and Bauerle asked if there's a way to work with Walton to address the concerns of her base.
"I'm used to working with other people - I've done that my entire political career; I've done that my entire life," Brown responded. "I'm always willing to work with other people in our community to listen to their ideas, to listen to their concerns, and to try to work together on solutions that will make a difference."
