ALBANY, N.Y. — India Walton, a 38-year-old nurse, activist and avowed socialist, stunned New York’s political establishment on Tuesday night when she defeated four-term Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown in a Democratic primary.
For the state’s insurgent left, it was a notable victory in a race for a high-level executive position after chalking up numerous wins in legislative races around the state. And that victory unfolded in a corner of the state that has a long history of electing moderate and conservative Democrats.
Here’s how Walton pulled off her improbable win:
The candidate herself: “India is someone who’s deeply connected to her community,” said Charlie Blaettler, elections director for New York’s Working Families Party. “Moving around to poll sites yesterday, it was almost unbelievable how many people were approaching us … not just people who had seen her on TV, but people who knew her.”
Buffalo, a blue-collar city that has been losing people and jobs for decades, showed signs of improvement during Brown’s tenure. But the gains have not been universal.
“There has been a lot of frustration with the lack of progress under the Brown administration,” said WFP member John Washington. “Last year, in particular, it reached a height with the George Floyd protests.” The city’s police department gained national notoriety after an elderly man was shoved to the ground and badly injured during those protests.
Washington also pointed to frustration with Brown’s “policies around housing and giving developers tax breaks … but neighborhoods feeling the pressure of paying higher taxes and people being pushed out, a real lack of concern with the people of Buffalo, and an old school patronage machine.”
Walton will presumably be the first female mayor in the heavily Democratic city’s history, at a time when every member of the Common Council is male. Her background in working on projects like a local land trust convinced hundreds of people to volunteer for the campaign.
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Turnout and the lack of a serious campaign by Brown:…….
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India Walton, a 38-year-old nurse, activist and avowed socialist, stunned New York’s political establishment on Tuesday night when she defeated four-term Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown in a Democratic primary https://t.co/gTuZhaMde2
— POLITICO (@politico) June 24, 2021
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