Preliminary Discussions Begin for Buffalo Mayoral Race

The first ballots won’t be cast to select Buffalo’s next full-term mayor until the spring, but the Erie County Democratic Committee already is hard at work bringing their party together to decide who will be the next nominee. 

“In advance of the first open-seat Buffalo mayoral contest since 2009, the Erie County Democratic Committee will hold three unprecedented citywide party forums where potential 2025 Buffalo mayoral candidates will present campaign plans, outline their representative visions for the city’s future, and answer questions from rank-and-file city Democratic committee members residing in Buffalo,” the group says. 

The first meeting, scheduled for this Thursday, December 5, from 7-9 p.m., at the Buffalo-Niagara Convention Center downtown, with two more to follow early next year. 

But in a press statement released by the ECDC last week, it’s clear that the initial stages of these conversations will be taking place behind closed doors. 

“ECDC Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner explained that these party forums are open only to Democratic committee members, who will have the responsibility for contributing to the mayoral endorsement process,” the committee continues. “Media outlets are invited to interview candidates and party members before and after each forum.” 

Given that this is the first election in 16 years in which an incumbent is not running to be mayor, Zellner says these forums are an opportunity for the party to hear from the initial candidates and understand their view for the city’s future, calling it a “historic, grass-roots opportunity to empower and hear the voice of our hardworking rank-and-file committee membership, who are the true stakeholders at a time when the city of Buffalo faces many difficult and long-term challenges.”