It was a bit awkward on the School 77 Building dais Thursday as two very different candidates for mayor of Buffalo appeared together to speak for the same goal.
India B. Walton and Byron W. Brown barely acknowledged each other from opposite ends of the platform as they urged permanent status for a new $300 per child tax credit about to benefit thousands of children throughout Western New York and the nation.
Brown, the four-term incumbent waging a write-in candidacy after Walton's victory in the June 22 Democratic primary, occupied the left side of the stage. Walton, the socialist newcomer with the new and huge advantage of the Democratic nomination, sat on the opposite end.
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Both shared personal stories about how the new benefit to begin on July 15 will help not only 91% of residents in the congressional district of Rep. Brian Higgins (who also attended the event), but their families, too. Walton noted that as the mother of four sons, her family will be helped by the Child Tax Credit expansion recently signed into law by President Biden.
"I have had to choose whether I will eat or my children will have a second helping at dinner because things had been tight," she said. "This allows us to make better decisions and keep our children happier and healthier."
Her opponent revealed that he and his wife, Michelle, are raising a 3-year-old great nephew and 4-year-old great niece to prevent their entry into foster care following the breakup of their parents.
"For our nephew and the mother of his child, we hope they can co-parent and come back together with their children," the mayor said. "The benefits of the Child Tax Credit will be critical."
This is how the two will negotiate a precarious relationship over the next 3½ months as Brown wages the write-in campaign for the mayor's office that Walton claims via her primary victory. Brown is still the mayor, and was invited by a coalition of progressive groups to add his voice for efforts to make the tax credit permanent. But Walton now has merited equal status in the eyes of groups like sponsors of Thursday's event.
The mayoral contenders joined representatives of groups like PUSH Buffalo, the Buffalo Urban League, and the WNY Child Care Action Team in publicizing the new benefit and to urge Washington lawmakers to make it permanent.
"We here in Buffalo are the third poorest city in America," said Rahwa Ghirmatzion, executive director of PUSH Buffalo. "While we're excited for this tax credit for children and families, it's only the beginning.
That earned a strong endorsement from Higgins, who noted the tax credit first enacted in 1995 is now enhanced through the American Rescue Plan approved by Congress and the president. He said he will make every effort to make the new benefits permanent.
"If there is one thing this pandemic has done is reveal the fragility of the American economy," he said. "This bill helps those who need help the most. The greatest investment we can make is in kids."
The congressman added the new dollars flowing into area homes will "provide economic growth that otherwise will not be there."
"Corporate tax cuts won't do it," he said. "It couldn't be a better investment and it couldn't be a better time."
Higgins, meanwhile, stayed on message despite the underlying tension of an event giving equal billing to the pair of mayoral rivals. As a major figure in New York State politics, he did not allude to the contest taking shape for the Nov. 2 general election that is expected to capture the attention of not only Buffalo but the country.
"I have not taken any position," he said after the event.
