Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Another member of the Buffalo Common Council has announced they will not be seeking re-election come the end of the year.
During his monthly stakeholder’s breakfast on Saturday morning at the Delavan Grider Community Center, Councilman Ulysses Wingo said he will not run for his spot representing the Masten District on the Common Council in 2024.
"I would like for folks to know that the work that we've done in Masten District has not gone unrecognized by local organizations that do similar work. I was given an opportunity to work exclusively for one of these organizations that I cannot disclose at this point, but at the same time, I am grateful that they did see the work that we've done as valuable to the point where the opportunity was given. That's the reason why I'm not seeking re-election," said Councilman Wingo on Monday in an interview with WBEN.
Wingo has held his position on the Common Council representing the Masten District since 2015, and was able to win a re-election campaign for his seat in 2019.
While the decision is still fresh and he has committed to this new opportunity going forward, Wingo admits that a return to government in some capacity is not out of the question down the road.
"I don't close any doors. I don't say that anything's off the table, it's just that this is the opportunity that the good Lord presented to me. When I talk to the Lord about it again in the future and an opportunity opens the door, if the Lord says the same then I will go in that direction. But I'm not closing any doors, I'm not saying that I will never want for elected office again," Wingo said. "It's just that right now, in this moment in my life, I believe the best thing that I could do is serve my community in the capacity by which I was made, given this opportunity. That's where we are right now."
This announcement comes nearly three weeks after Common Council President Darius Pridgen announced his intentions of not seeking re-election once his term ends at the end of 2023.
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As Wingo gets set to step away from the Common Council in 2024, India Walton has already announced her intentions to campaign for her seat on the Common Council representing the Masten District.
"I am running for council because I love to be in service of my community," said Walton during a recent appearance on WBEN. "I think that the last two years, two-and-a-half years between the pandemic, between the May 14 massacre, and now this last Christmas storm has proven that the Black community is disproportionately impacted by crises in the city, and we need better leadership. When I was running for mayor, a lot of people said, 'Well, you may not be ready for an executive position. Why don't you run for city council first?' So here I am on the advice of many established political [leaders] in the community.
"I am really excited to get out here on doors and talk to constituents. I'm interested in bringing the councilmembers' office into the community so that folks don't have to battle parking, and all of the bureaucracy of City Hall, and really be embedded in the community and work together with community members who actually have great ideas and know what they need, and prioritize initiatives at the neighborhood level."
Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner told WIVB-TV on Saturday that both Zeneta Everhart and Beverly Robinson-Smith have requested the endorsement of the Masten District Erie County Democratic Committee. Everhart confirmed to WBEN she did have that conversations with Zellner over the weekend.
While Everhart would not go into great detail about he decision, she did say there will be more details in an announcement expected later this week.
For years, Everhart has spent time working for State Senator Tim Kennedy in his office. Recently, she has been a voice of the families in the days, weeks and months after the deadly Tops mass shooting on Jefferson Avenue that left her son, Zaire Goodman, one of three people wounded.
Everhart feels those experiences would allow her to be able to bring some valuable input if she were to find herself on the Common Council.
"As always, working at Senator Kennedy's Office, for me, it's always about life experience first," said Everhart on Monday. "I'm born and raised on the East Side of Buffalo, so I have some knowledge there when it comes to the issues that people face in the East community."
As more people will throw their name into the hat for not only the seat in the Common Council to represent the Masten District but also the Ellicott District, Wingo is hopeful that whoever or whomever occupies these vacant seats, they understand the role of a councilmember.
"Many people are going to run for these seats, and they're going to make promises that they just simply cannot keep. I made a promise to my community on Saturday when I announced to them that I would certainly be there as a guy to ensure that I fact check, and call folks out who are making promises I know they can't keep to my community, because they deserve that. They deserve someone who's not going to give feel good speeches, and make promises that are beyond the scope and authority of a City of Buffalo Common Councilmember," Wingo said. "Whatever the makeup is, the new makeup is, at least I know that Masten will be making an informed and educated decision based off of who the candidates are and what they're saying that they can and will do for our community."
In the meantime, Wingo is aware of some of the names already interested in taking his seat in the Common Council. However, it's too early for him to give any sort of endorsement for any potential candidate running for the Masten District.
"There's only one candidate right now, that actually has experience working in a legislative office, and when she announces her candidacy, which he has not officially announced yet, I'm curious and interested, very interested, to see that campaign mature and evolve over the coming days, weeks and months."