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Byron Brown
Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayor. He previously served as a member of the New York State Senate and the Buffalo Common Council.
Brown was born and raised in Queens, New York, and rose to office after serving in a variety of political roles. He began as an aide to local representatives the Buffalo Common Council, Erie County Legislature and New York State Assembly and was appointed to the Erie County cabinet-level Director of Equal Employment Opportunity post.
In 2001, Brown became the first African-American politician elected to the New York State Senate to represent a district outside New York City and the first minority to represent a majority-white New York State Senate district.
He was elected Mayor of Buffalo in 2006 and was repeatedly re-elected. In 2021, he lost the Democratic primary to challenger India Walton, but defeated her in the general election as a write-in candidate. He later announced in a September 2024 press conference that he would resign as mayor of Buffalo sometime in October. Brown's resignation took effect on October 15, 2024, with Christopher Scanlon serving as acting mayor until the next mayoral election in 2025.
Brown was raised in Hollis in a duplex his family shared with his grandparents, who were immigrants from the Caribbean island of Montserrat. He grew up on 200th Street between 100th and 104th Avenues and has several relatives still in the area. As a Queens resident, he was a New York Mets and New York Knicks fan.
Brown was a Boy Scout at Hollis Presbyterian Church in Queens and was also active in the Central Queens YMCA (now called Jamaica YMCA). Brown attended Public School 134 in Hollis, junior high school PS 109, and August Martin High School, where he played the trumpet in the high school band. Brown and his sister, Andrea, were the first generation in his family to attend college.
After graduating from August Martin High School, Brown attended Buffalo State College. He played a year of Junior Varsity basketball as a 5-foot-11-inch (1.80 m) guard. While he had considered a potential medical career, Brown graduated in 1983 with a dual Bachelor of Arts in political science and journalism. He subsequently completed a certificate program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
After college, Brown worked for Bristol-Myers for a year as a regional sales representative. Brown quit after a short tenure and took the New York State Troopers exam before becoming Chief of staff for Buffalo Common Council President George Arthur for two years. He then spent two years as an aide to Erie County Legislator Roger Blackwell (later Erie County Legislature Chairman). Then, he worked for two years under Arthur Eve, the Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly. Subsequently, he served eight years as director of the Erie County division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski. He resigned his directorship in July 1993 to run for public office.
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Byron Brown
Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayor. He previously served as a member of the New York State Senate and the Buffalo Common Council.
Brown was born and raised in Queens, New York, and rose to office after serving in a variety of political roles. He began as an aide to local representatives the Buffalo Common Council, Erie County Legislature and New York State Assembly and was appointed to the Erie County cabinet-level Director of Equal Employment Opportunity post.
In 2001, Brown became the first African-American politician elected to the New York State Senate to represent a district outside New York City and the first minority to represent a majority-white New York State Senate district.
He was elected Mayor of Buffalo in 2006 and was repeatedly re-elected. In 2021, he lost the Democratic primary to challenger India Walton, but defeated her in the general election as a write-in candidate. He later announced in a September 2024 press conference that he would resign as mayor of Buffalo sometime in October. Brown's resignation took effect on October 15, 2024, with Christopher Scanlon serving as acting mayor until the next mayoral election in 2025.
Brown was raised in Hollis in a duplex his family shared with his grandparents, who were immigrants from the Caribbean island of Montserrat. He grew up on 200th Street between 100th and 104th Avenues and has several relatives still in the area. As a Queens resident, he was a New York Mets and New York Knicks fan.
Brown was a Boy Scout at Hollis Presbyterian Church in Queens and was also active in the Central Queens YMCA (now called Jamaica YMCA). Brown attended Public School 134 in Hollis, junior high school PS 109, and August Martin High School, where he played the trumpet in the high school band. Brown and his sister, Andrea, were the first generation in his family to attend college.
After graduating from August Martin High School, Brown attended Buffalo State College. He played a year of Junior Varsity basketball as a 5-foot-11-inch (1.80 m) guard. While he had considered a potential medical career, Brown graduated in 1983 with a dual Bachelor of Arts in political science and journalism. He subsequently completed a certificate program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
After college, Brown worked for Bristol-Myers for a year as a regional sales representative. Brown quit after a short tenure and took the New York State Troopers exam before becoming Chief of staff for Buffalo Common Council President George Arthur for two years. He then spent two years as an aide to Erie County Legislator Roger Blackwell (later Erie County Legislature Chairman). Then, he worked for two years under Arthur Eve, the Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly. Subsequently, he served eight years as director of the Erie County division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski. He resigned his directorship in July 1993 to run for public office.