Hearing on whether Brown will be on November ballot may be held soon

She says the filing does not contain a sufficient number of valid signatures and it doesn't conform to the requirements of a new state law, which says independent nominating petitions for political office must be filed no later than 23 weeks before a general election.

Brown, who lost the Democratic primary to Walton and is staging a write-in campaign for re-election to an unprecedented fifth term, submitted more than 3,700 signatures on petitions to the Board of Elections Tuesday to secure an independent ballot line – called “Buffalo Party.” 

His campaign is challenging the petition filing deadline set earlier this year by the state due to the date of the primary election being switched from September to June. Previously, the deadline had been no later than 11 weeks before the election.

A hearing likely will be set for some time next week on Brown’s petitions to get his name on an independent line for the mayoral election, according to the Erie County Board of Elections.

“As of right now, there’s nothing set, but it should be sometime next week,” said Justin Rooney, the Democratic office manager.

Walton’s campaign is dismissing Brown’s effort as a “desperate gambit” and focusing on publicizing the support she’s garnered from the education community and a state lawmaker.

In her objection, Walton said Brown's petition was filed on Aug. 17, 2021, which is later than 23 weeks preceding the November election. 

"Therefore, the Independent Nominating Petition referenced above is untimely and invalid," the document said.

Jesse Myerson, Walton’s communications director, has described Brown’s efforts as a distraction from campaign issues.

“As someone who fancies himself a proponent of the ‘rule of law,’ Mr. Brown should withdraw his petitions, obey the law, and treat our voters and legislators with the respect they deserve,” Myerson said in a statement. “While Brown and his Republican supporters don’t think the rules apply to them, we are confident that this desperate gambit will fail as badly as his primary campaign did, that the rules will stand, and that the voters will conclude once again that it is time for a change.”

Sofia Quintanar, spokeswoman for Brown’s campaign, would not comment on the hearing specifically, saying it is an ongoing legal issue.

She referred to a statement earlier this week from Brown after submitting his petition of signatures.

“This is a tremendous show of strength by so many people across the City of Buffalo,” the mayor said. “Independent polling and our activity in the field demonstrates an increasing level of support every day for this campaign.”

If a board’s decision goes against Brown, his campaign officials have said they expect to take the matter to court and have a judge rule on whether the mayor can be on the ballot.

Brown lost the June 22 Democratic mayoral primary to Walton, a political newcomer. Walton won the party’s primary with 11,718 votes to Brown’s 10,699 votes.

Walton’s election team has been working hard this week to put the campaign focus on education. She was endorsed by a majority of the nine-member Buffalo School Board, including East District Board Member Kathy Evans-Brown; Hope Jay, who represents the North District; Jennifer Mecozzi, the West District Board Member; and At-Large Board Members Ann Rivera and Lawrence Scott.

Their support marked the second major educational endorsement for Walton, a former school nurse. The 3,800-member Buffalo Teachers Federation gave Walton its nod in June ahead of the Democratic primary for mayor.

On Tuesday, Assemblyman Jonathan D. Rivera also endorsed Walton for mayor.