Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon officially announces he is running for Buffalo Mayor on his 100th day in office.
Despite being of the last candidates to join the race, Scanlon explains that his campaign is exactly where it should be, especially since he has focused on governing the past 100 days instead of campaigning.
"We have an important job to do, running the affairs of the City of Buffalo, and that was our focus. There's a time and place for all of it, and first and foremost, we had a responsibility to govern and effectuate change and really handle the affairs of the City of Buffalo. So campaigning was not the first priority, it was the government," stated Scanlon in an interview with the media.
One of Scanlon's top priorities is the city's budget, which he believes will be challenging but not impossible to fix.
"At the end of the day, our city finances, we have a tough situation with our finances, but it's not something we can't overcome. Some people talk about this is the doom and gloom scenario. We don't view it that way. We're gonna get to work instead, we're going to get to work looking at increasing revenues, prioritizing our expenses and getting creative with how we handle the budget moving forward.
Scanlon says he's already taken strides to improve the city, including it's snow removal plan.
"During my 100 days in office, you've seen a tremendous increase in communication between my office, the county executive, the state, our private contractors, and everyone else. I think if you walk around the city of Buffalo and ask anyone whether snow removal has been better in the last 100 days than it's been in the past, the answer is going to be yes."
With Republicans controlling the House, Senate, and White House, Scanlon acknowledges that there will likely be obstacles ahead. However, he is confident that, if elected mayor, he will be ready to face those challenges and do what’s best for Buffalo.
"When there's a change at the federal government at that level, you don't know what that administration's priorities are going to be. I'm hopeful that we are not negatively impacted here in New York State, Western New York, Erie County and Buffalo, but we'll continue to work. We have a fantastic state delegation, federal delegation, so we'll continue to work with our partners in government to make sure we can do everything we can to not be negatively impacted by any changes that have taken place at the federal level."
Buffalo's primary election is on June 24th, 2025.