Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr. has officially thrown his hat in the ring for the city's mayoral race in 2025.
At his announcement speech on Tuesday, Whitfield Jr. said it was never his idea to run for mayor, but after his mom was taken from him during the Tops mass shooting on May 14, 2022, he knew Buffalo needed to change.
"She and nine other beautiful souls were murdered by a bigoted racist armed with a weapon of war and infected with the heinous lies of white supremacy, a person that was taught to hate just as I was taught to love. I had hoped that something would have changed in our city on that day. I really did, because something changed inside of me," stated Whitfield Jr. on Tuesday. "I had to remember my last conversation with my mother on May 13, the day before she was taken from us, when in spite of her debilitating pain, despite of all the things going on in her life, her concern was only for me and what I was going to do with the rest of my life. And when I did remember her capacity to love her selflessness, I was compelled to serve once again."
Whitfield Jr. explains that this isn't going to be an easy campaign, but he believes with the support of the community, anything is possible.
"I'm reminded of the story of David, who only had a few smooth stones in his shepherd's bag as he set off to fight Goliath. Just like David, I am but a lowly Shepherd, but my stones are many. My stones are you. They are those who believe that a new day is possible," Whitfield Jr. said. "Yes, they are the people that feel as you do, people who want and deserve better. They are those that are tired of doing the same old thing and expecting a different result. So with your help, we collectively are going to raise our voices. We're going to pool our resources, our time and our talents, and collect one small contribution at a time."
Amongst a laundry list of issues that Buffalo currently faces, Whitfield Jr. feels the financial deficit is one of his main focus points.
"These clouds represent decades of irresponsible budgeting and have led to a shortfall counted in the tens of millions of dollars, causing the city to once again rob Peter to pay Paul, eyeing cuts to critical services and continuing to severely underfund those that remain, hurting the very people that need them the most, and stifling those who with just a little bit of help, could grow beyond their current limitations and fulfill their dreams of a better day," Whitfield stated.
Whitfield Jr. started as a firefighter with the fire department in 1984, and was appointed as fire commissioner by Byron Brown in 2010. He resigned in 2017, and was appointed as commissioner for the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services by Andrew Cuomo.
Among the candidates already to have declared their intentions to run for Mayor of Buffalo including Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon and State Sen. Sean Ryan. Others who have expressed interest include Masten District Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart and University District Councilman Rasheed Wyatt.