Buffalo, NY (WBEN) It was a year for local politics in Buffalo and Western New York for sure.
In a year where a rollercoaster of developments saw Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown lose one key battle and come bag big and win another, one local political strategist says the stunning re-election of Brown was the biggest local story of 2021 in politics.
WBEN contributor Carl Calabrese says Brown's 5th term win was big enough, but the way he did it resembled a soap opera. "He sleeps through the primary, loses to an unknown socialist, and then contrary to a lot of political advice to respect the result of the primary, he stays in as a write-in candidate, puts together a good campaign to educate people how to do a write-in, and wins on election day," says Calabrese.
Calabrese says Brown learned a big lesson from his primary loss to India Walton. "When you're in a fight, you better put the gloves on and be prepared to block and throw punches," says Calabrese.
The transition of power in Albany was a bigger story on a state level, says Calabrese. "The downfall of the House of Cuomo was a huge state story, but it has WNY ramifications," says Calabrese, as Kathy Hochul, a Western New Yorker, is now in the governor's mansion. "From the day she took office, she shifted her position to the left, to solidify her position in New York City, which she must do if she's to win the primary," explains Calabrese. He says the fact the Bills stadium talks will make this a big local story because of Hochul.
Calabrese says there was another big local political story: the election of John Garcia as Erie County Sheriff. "Winning that race on the Republican line was amazing. He started down 136,000 votes in enrollment. Then, there's marquee mayor's race, which would normally be over on primary day, which brought more Democrat voters. Plus, he had 2 minor party candidates who took about 25,000 votes on the Independent and Conservative lines," says Calabrese. He says that campaign will be studied by other campaign managers for years to come.
