Buffalo’s longest-serving and first Black mayor stepping down; led recovery after racist mass shooting

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Byron Brown, Buffalo’s longest-serving and first Black mayor, Byron Brown, said Monday he will leave City Hall in a few weeks to lead an offtrack betting agency. “After nearly two decades as mayor, I have loved serving the people of Buffalo as mayor. But Michelle and I think the time is right to transition to a new role,” he said at a news conference, referencing his wife. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown speaks with members of the media at the scene of the May 14, 2022, mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo on Thursday, May 19, 2022. Photo credit: Matt Rourke, The Associated Press Brown became the face of Buffalo’s recovery after white supremacist Payton Gendron opened fire at a supermarket on the city’s predominantly Black East Side on May 14, 2022, killing 10 Black people and wounding three more people. The transplant from New York City had mixed reviews from the city’s Black community, but also developed a reputation for exploring alternative uses for brownfields, former industrial sites. Brown, 66, a Democrat, will be paid an annual salary of $295,000 to become president and chief executive of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. He will oversee...