BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Tuesday marks an historic day for the City of Buffalo. After serving an unprecedented fifth term, Mayor Byron Brown is officially stepping down from office.
He announced last month that he is taking the job of president and CEO at Western Regional Off-Track Betting.
This means Buffalo Common Council President Chris Scanlon, who represents the South District, will become acting mayor until the general election in November 2025.
Scanlon, who has served on the Council since 2011, was recently elected as the Council's president in January. He previously served as President Pro Tempore.
Becoming Acting Mayor
In conversations with Scanlon, the South Buffalo native shared excitement about stepping into this role and representing the City of Buffalo.
"I am ready to lead this city, and I will do so with excitement and optimism through partnerships and collaboration with communication, with transparency," Scanlon said in September at a press conference with Brown.
In early September, he shared that he had a number of priorities he would focus on as acting mayor.
"Much like my time on the Council, I want to try and make sure we have a clean, safe city for our residents...where children are educated and economic opportunity awaits them. First and foremost, it's got to be our financial situation," he said.
Scanlon has also acknowledged he is taking on a budget of more than $600 million and is dealing with the city's $40 million deficit.
"I have some ideas on how we can start to close the gap. First, you've got to look in our own operation as the City. What are we spending money on? How can we reduce unnecessary spending? I don't think you can raise taxes or increase other revenues or fees if you don't have your own house in order. I think that's first order of business is making sure we're not overspending ... and that we're prioritizing what needs to be prioritized.
Scanlon said he thinks contract compliance and contract monitoring should be "housed in one operation," rather than each individual department handling its own contracts.
I asked Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who sits on the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, about working with Scanlon.
"He knows the next budget is not going to be an easy one," he said. "We know there are some financial difficulties facing the City of Buffalo I believe Chris Scanlon in his role as acting mayor is ready to take action from what he's told me. He said he thinks he can save taxpayer dollars by reducing expenses."
Time as a Council member
Scanlon has served on the Council for the past 12 years and has been a part of leadership for nine of those years.
As a Council member, Scanlon spearheaded the SoBuf Biz Grant Program — offering up to $5,000 in grants to small businesses in South Buffalo to help owners recover from the pandemic.
He also helped secure millions of dollars in financial aid for small businesses and an additional $800,000 for small businesses through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Scanlon has also been an advocate for police, fire and EMS. He pushed for better mental health resources in response to officer suicides.
Recently, he introduced exploring the idea of a city-run ambulance service to improve response times. It follows some Council member criticism of AMR's response times in the City of Buffalo.
RELATED: Buffalo exploring possibility of establishing its own EMS service following AMR complaints
Scanlon recently led the Council through a hectic budget season. Brown proposed a 9 percent property tax hike, but Council members voted to increase it to 4.19 percent.
I asked Scanlon about the possibility of running for mayor. He said it's something he is interested in.
In a conversation with 7 News' Political Analyst Bob McCarthy, he shared that Scanlon has "got a real stronghold in one of the most politically important parts of the city, where, don't forget that there's a lot of police officers and firefighters and other city employees that are based in South Buffalo. It's always been a stronghold for city jobs."
