Batavia, N.Y. (WBEN) - After a unanimous vote, Mayor Byron Brown has been chosen to be the next president and CEO of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting (OTB) Corporation.
Brown has yet to formally announce whether or not he will take on the position. However, if he does, Jack O'Donnell with O'Donnell and Associates explained that Council President Christopher Scanlon would assume responsibility as interim mayor until a new one is elected.
"The office of Mayor would go on, what we call, the political calendar next year, 2025. That means we would have a June primary and a November general election", O'Donnell said in an interview with WBEN. "I think people should expect several candidates in a hard fought race."
Although this is an historic situation for Buffalo, O'Donnell explained that he wasn't surprised when he found out about the OTB board's vote.
"I think this is one of the worst kept secrets, at least in Buffalo's political and governmental communities - that Mayor Brown was looking for his next challenge, and that in the western region, OTB board was looking at him, and that he was highly likely to be offered the job there," O'Donnell stated.
Jacob Neiheisel, an Associete Professor of Political Science at UB says that regardless of the position being offered, there seems to be a trend now amongst local politicians.
"It seems to be something of a Western New York way. They see an off-ramp into the private sector or into another element of the government, and they take it," Neiheisel stated.