Political newcomer India B. Walton pulled ahead of Byron W. Brown in Tuesday's Democratic primary for mayor of Buffalo and could be on the way to becoming the city's first woman mayor.
The results are unofficial and do not include an estimated 3,000 absentee ballot requests, more than enough to change the outcome if all are returned. But if Walton's lead holds in the overwhelmingly Democratic city, with Brown holding no other ballot lines, she would be all but assured of an historic victory.
"I hate to say I told you so," Walton told jubilant supporters.
But in a speech before campaign staffers, Brown did not concede.
"Things are very tight now. They are too tight to call," he said.
A community activist and nurse, Walton led Brown in early voting. Her lead widened as election day votes were tabulated.
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Read the full story: India Walton claims upset in Buffalo mayoral race; Byron Brown pins hopes on absentees
– Deidre Williams
Walton ahead in Buffalo mayoral primary, but Brown not conceding
10:48 p.m. Challenger India B. Walton continues to hold a lead over four-term Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown in a Democratic primary.
With 94% of the vote counted, Walton had 52% of the vote and Brown had 45%. Le'Candice M. Durham was in third place with 3%.
Video @TheBuffaloNews India Walton leaves Poize Nightclub on Niagara Street to call her mom telling her she won mayoral democratic primary in Buffalo pic.twitter.com/tVNsy2mDe2
— Robert Kirkham (@RobertKirkhamBN) June 23, 2021
Brown addressed his supporters at 10:44 p.m., saying that, "Things are very tight now. They are too tight to call."
"We're going to make sure that every vote is counted," Brown said in his brief remarks.
The race was too close to call as of 10:45 p.m. The Erie County Board of Elections has not disclosed the number of absentee ballots cast.
– Mike McAndrew
10:15 p.m.: Even if they lose today, they’ll be on ballot in November
All of the candidates for Erie County sheriff have a chance to appear on the general election ballot in November no matter the outcome of today's party primaries.
For example, John C. Garcia's name will appear on two independent lines, even if he loses the Republican Party primary today. And even if the Republican-endorsed Karen Healy-Case loses the GOP primary to Garcia, she has the Conservative Party line.
The same can be said for each of the three candidates vying for the Democratic Party line. Brian J. Gould, Kimberly Beaty and Myles Carter have all arranged independent lines for November.
Beaty's and Carter's nominating petitions, however, have been challenged. The county Board of Elections has scheduled hearings for Thursday on those challenges and several others that would affect other countywide races and municipal races.
– Matthew Spina
9:55 p.m.: The scene at Mayor Brown’s party
Mayor Byron W. Brown is holding his primary night event outdoors on Broadway at Michigan Avenue across from the historic Colored Musicians Club.
A crowd of about 75 people were there at 9:45 p.m., including some Buffalo Common Council members. Brown’s campaign had food trucks offering free snacks and dessert, along with complimentary drinks. A DJ on a raised stage was spinning some old school hip hop tunes.
Signs along several fences repeated the word “extraordinary.”
There was no indication when the mayor, who is favored to defeat his Democratic challengers tonight, will arrive to address the crowd.
At 9:57 p.m., Democratic challenger India B. Walton was leading the race with 53%, Brown had 44% and Le'Candice M. Durham had 3%.
– Stephen T. Watson
9:40 p.m.: Walton leads Brown in early voting in Buffalo mayoral primary
In the evening's biggest surprise, India B. Walton has opened a substantial lead over incumbent Byron W. Brown stemming from early voting in the Democratic primary for mayor of Buffalo.
Walton, the nurse and community activist unknown to virtually all voters just months ago, is leading 56% to 41%, with the third candidate – Le'Candice M. Durham – at 3%.
The vast majority of votes have yet to be tabulated, but the early voting results are bound to cause consternation at Brown headquarters and unexpected optimism among Walton supporters.
More results are expected shortly. Check here for results.
– Robert J. McCarthy
9:30 p.m.: Maziarz backs GOP challengers in Niagara County Legislature primaries
It is not all that common in recent years for Niagara County legislators to face primary challenges, but there are primaries in six of the 15 districts tonight.
Among the Republicans, who control the Legislature by an 11-4 margin, three incumbents are facing challenges.
In the 10th District, covering Wilson, Cambria and part of Wheatfield, Legislator David E. Godfrey is being challenged by Trevor J. Ganshaw, who lost to Godfrey two years ago.
In the 11th District, covering Pendleton and parts of the city and town of Lockport, veteran Anthony J. Nemi is facing off against Kevin E. Aleong, best known to some as "Kevin from Pendleton" as a frequent caller to local political radio talk shows.
Michael A. Hill, the 15th District incumbent, is defending his Royalton-Hartland seat against Derek Caldwell.
Former State Sen. George D. Maziarz, the onetime leader of the county GOP organization who turned into one of its harshest critics, has promoted the challengers' candidacies.
In Niagara Falls' 6th District, City Councilman Christopher P. Voccio and political newcomer Timothy E. Huether Sr. are competing for the GOP nod.
Voccio was planning to run for re-election to the Council, but changed his mind after the 30-year incumbent, Democrat Dennis F. Virtuoso, announced he wasn't running for a 16th Legislature term.
The Democrats have a primary in Niagara Falls' 4th District, with incumbent Legislator Owen T. Steed defending his seat against Jeffrey Elder, who ran for mayor as an independent in 2019.
Elder also has a Working Families primary against Nicholas J. Pasceri, who lives in Lockport and put his name forward at the request of the county GOP, which saw a chance to make inroads in the county's most heavily Democratic district. Pasceri did not campaign.
In Lockport's 13th District, Working Families party voters had the choice of incumbent Democrat Anita Mullane and Alderman Richard E. Abbott, who changed his affiliation from Democratic to Working Families to run for the Legislature. It is only a dry run for November, when Abbott will have the GOP line.
North Tonawanda's 9th District also has a Working Families primary between Joseph J. Kissel, the Democratic nominee, and Daniel J. Carney.
John Syracuse, the veteran 14th District legislator, decided to run for Newfane supervisor and has a primary against Councilman Troy D. Barnes. Maziarz talked about running for that post himself, but decided not to.
– Thomas J. Prohaska
9:15 p.m.: Will Buffalo's mayor achieve a ‘Borrelli Rule’ victory?
George Borrelli, the retired political reporter for The Buffalo News, has always classified an electoral "landslide" as winning by 10 points or more. Some pols around here still refer to the "Borrelli Rule."
Most observers expect Mayor Byron W. Brown to prevail tonight in his Democratic primary contest against India B. Walton and Le'Candice M. Durham – though anything can happen. But those handicapping the race are not betting whether Brown will win, but by how much. Will a 10-point landslide suffice? Of could he post a larger tally?
His opponents aren't buying it and are looking for an upset. But if Brown wins, his margin of victory will be scrutinized closely. Does it constitute a mandate, or just a close victory?
– Robert J. McCarthy
9 p.m.: The polls are closed in New York
Primary election voting sites across New York are now closed.
The polls, which opened at 6 a.m. today, were scheduled to close at 9 p.m., provided no voters were waiting in line.
Now the counting of votes will begin. Typically, if there are no glitches, the earliest results from Election Day do not become publicly available until about 9:30 p.m. But the results from early voting – which occurred June 12 through June 20 – are already available.
– Mike McAndrew
8:45 p.m.: In Evans, a larger town board means more primaries
The reason there are primaries for three Town Board seats in Evans is because of a vote that took place last year.
That's when residents decided to increase the number of councilmen on the board from two to four, bringing the total number of board members to five, including the supervisor.
The Town Board was downsized from five members to three in 2010 by a referendum the previous year that eliminated two council seats. A referendum in 2017 to upsize to five members was defeated.
But the community voted overwhelmingly in 2020 to increase the size of the board back to the original five starting Jan. 1, 2022.
And that left three seats up for election this year, one for a two-year term and two for four-year terms. And Democrats are choosing candidates for all three seats today, while Republicans have a primary for the four-year seats.
– Barbara O’Brien
8:30 p.m.: Most NY town judges are not lawyers. Will it matter in Amherst?
Amherst Town Justice Kara Buscaglia, facing a primary challenge from Kathy Weppner in her re-election bid, has made qualifications a key issue in the race.
Buscaglia is a practicing attorney who has served as a town judge since winning election for the first time in 2013.
Weppner is not a lawyer and attended, but did not graduate from, college. This does not bar her from serving as a local judge in New York.
The state does not require town and village judges to be practicing attorneys or law school graduates. Non-lawyers must take a training course following their election as a judge.
This got us wondering how common it is for a non-lawyers to serve as a local-level judge in New York.
Statewide, of the 1,783 active town and village judges, 1,080, or 60.6%, are not lawyers, while the remaining 703 are lawyers, according to Andrew B. Isenberg, district executive for the Eighth Judicial District, which oversees courts in Western New York.
Many of those courts cover lightly populated towns and villages, including in the state's rural stretches. Amherst, as Buscaglia has pointed out, is one of the busiest town courts in New York.
Buscaglia and Weppner are facing off in the Republican, Conservative and Working Families primaries in the town.
– Stephen T. Watson
8:15 p.m.: Erie County sheriff's candidates spent more than $350,000
The campaign accounts supporting the Republican and Democratic candidates for Erie County sheriff spent a combined $354,436 before early June, and none of them spent more than John C. Garcia, a retired Buffalo police detective.
Garcia, one of two candidates seeking the Republican line in today’s primary, spent almost $141,000 on his campaign before June 7, according to his reports to the state Board of Elections.
The other Republican in the race, Karen Healy-Case, who also is retired from the Buffalo Police Department, spent almost $105,000. But the total for Healy-Case, the endorsed Republican, does not include the sums that other party forces might have spent on her behalf.
On the Democratic side, Brian J. Gould, Cheektowaga’s assistant police chief, spent about $62,200 before June 7, his reports to the state Elections Board say. He is the party-endorsed candidate.
Kimberly Beaty, the Canisius College director of Public Safety, spent $40,495.
Activist Myles Carter spent just under $6,000.
– Matthew Spina
8 p.m.: Where the Buffalo mayor candidates will be
Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown will be campaigning at the polls until they close at 9 p.m.
Then Brown, who is vying for a record-setting fifth term in office, will make his way to his campaign headquarters on Broadway to watch the primary election results.
India B. Walton, one of the candidates hoping to unseat Brown, also will be at the polls greeting voters until closing. Walton then will head over to Poize Restaurant and Lounge on Niagara Street to catch the election results with her supporters.
The other challenger for the mayor's seat, Le’Candice M. Durham, will host an election watch party starting at 8 p.m. at Bella’s Parkside Tavern on Tonawanda Street.
– Deidre Williams
8 p.m.: Follow our live coverage of primary election night
It ain't Trump vs. Biden.
But primary elections held Tuesday in Western New York will decide which candidates will be the Democratic, Republican or Conservative parties' nominees in races that range from Erie County sheriff and Buffalo mayor to Niagara County judge and Evans highway superintendent.
The Buffalo News will have more than a dozen journalists talking with voters, shooting photographs, tracking results and interviewing winners and losers today.
Follow their news and Tweets here before and after the polls close at 9 p.m. to keep up with the latest developments.
– Mike McAndrew
