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Brown announces reelection bid for third term as mayor

Mike Desmond/WBFO News

To the surprise of few, Mayor Brown is going for a third term in City Hall. Brown announced his candidacy Saturday in the Bennett W. Smith Family Life Center operated by his own Saint John Baptist Church.With supporters cheering wildly inside and angry city firefighters outside protesting because they haven't had a new contract for more than a decade, the announcement was staged as a big event.

Mayor Brown says his administration has turned the city around physically and financially and more will come in the neighborhoods.

"We've improved city services. We've offered relief to taxpayers. Our focus is working. We've restored a sense of hope in struggling neighborhoods by demolishing blighted buildings and rehabilitating those that can be saved," Brown said.

Brown listed the promises when he first ran and tallied how he has done.

"My vision was to strengthen Buffalo and restore the city's competitiveness, vitality, and economic opportunities. We followed three guiding principles: to improve the city's finances and attract new investment, make our streets safer, and ensure greater efficiency in the delivery of city services," Brown said.

Brown says crime is down and more money is going into everything from rehabbed parks, building demolitions, and residential rehab to help homeowners stay in their neighborhoods.

It's not clear yet how many other challengers there will be in the September Democratic primary and the November general election. There is one Republican candidate, Sergio Rodriguez, who says he is under pressure from GOP headquarters not to run.

Brown is believed to have more than $1 million in the bank for the campaign.

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.
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