The Democratic primary election will determine which of three Erie County Legislature candidates will represent Buffalo residents across a broad cross section of the city, stretching from the Lower West Side to the Lower East Side.
Incumbent 1st District Legislator Howard Johnson, who has just completed his first full term, will face two community advocates: Samuel Herbert, a longtime resident and frequent candidate for the Common Council Fillmore District seat; and Dominique Calhoun, an activist who has recently gained prominence as part of the local police reform efforts.
The 1st District encompasses many Buffalo neighborhoods, including the Lower West Side, downtown corridor, First Ward, Lower East Side, Broadway-Fillmore, Fruit Belt, Lovejoy and Martin Luther King Park communities.
Democratic voters in this district will have the opportunity to cast their ballots as part of early voting, which started over the weekend. Primary day is June 22.
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Here are the candidates and where they stand on the issues, based on their responses to Buffalo News candidate questionnaires.
Dominique Calhoun
Calhoun, 36, is a community activist making her first run for public office. She grew up in Buffalo and Amherst and returned to Buffalo in 2003. She earned her master's degree in communications from SUNY Buffalo State.
An entrepreneur with multiple interests, she does small business and nonprofit consulting, runs a food truck and does nonprofit program development for Sports Unlimited of Buffalo. She previously worked as a paralegal.
She said that while she's pushed for change as a community activist, she could accomplish more as an elected official.
"Being an advocate, I’ve proposed programs and policies and reforms that I’ve been able to implement and change without a title, but what I’ve seen on a bigger level is that you have go through a lot of red tape," she said.
Her platform includes:
• More law enforcement focus on finding missing persons, and support for Ashanti's Act, an Amber Alert-type system that would notify the public when an adult goes missing, based on certain criteria.
• Promoting gun prevention programs and legislation.
• Proposing legislation for state consideration that would give civilian oversight boards of police departments the ability to fire officers who become liabilities to their departments.
Calhoun is not endorsed by any political party in the primary but has raised $5,100 toward her campaign, she said, making her a serious contender.
"My passion, education, experience in legal research and connection to the community sets me apart," she said.
Howard Johnson
Johnson, 53, was appointed to his seat in April 2019. He successfully won his first full term in office that fall.
He is a U.S. Army National Guard veteran and received his bachelor's degree in business administration from SUNY Buffalo State. He worked in banking for 17 years, then was briefly a management consultant with the Erie County budget office before joining the Legislature.
He cited among his accomplishments working with fellow legislators and the county to support Covid-19 response efforts, supporting the Back to Business small business grant program that sent 52% of grants to businesses in distressed ZIP codes, and securing $350,000 in county money to be spent by the city for infrastructure improvements as part of the Urban Initiative Fund.
His platform includes:
• Addressing health care disparities and poor health outcomes in his district.
• Reforming public transportation.
• Eliminating lack of access to high-speed internet on the East Side and throughout the county.
Johnson's campaign carries a number of advantages. He is endorsed by the Democratic and Working Families parties, the Unity Coalition and multiple unions. His campaign disclosure reports show he had raised nearly $16,000 as of the pre-primary report filed at the 32-day mark, but he says his current fundraising total is $24,000.
"I am doing the job," he said. "I have developed relationships with local, state and federal elected officials and have delivered tangible results."
Samuel A. Herbert
Herbert, 72, is most well known as a frequent candidate for the Common Council. He unsuccessfully ran for the Fillmore District seat four times since 1999. He has repeatedly run for office at the behest of his father, he said, who directed all his children to make a mark on the world by serving in public office.
Herbert, a 45-year city resident, graduated from SUNY Buffalo State and retired after 30 years as a lab worker and research technician with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
He cites as his public agenda:
• Police reform on the county level.
• Improving county infrastructure, including bridges, streets, sidewalks and sewer systems.
• Fair distribution of federal Covid-19 money to communities in the 1st District.
Herbert, who has a Saturday show on WUFO-AM radio, has raised no money toward his campaign, relying instead on word of mouth and name recognition. That, coupled with his unsuccessful prior runs for office, puts him at a serious disadvantage in this primary race.
Herbert says he's "unbossed and unbought."
“I’m not running against the incumbent," he said. "I’m running for the seat. I represent real people, everyday people who live in the county legislative 1st District.”
