Byron Brown

Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who is the current mayor of Buffalo, New York. He has served as Buffalo's 62nd mayor since January 2006, the City's first African-American mayor and longest serving mayor. He previously served Western New York as a member of the New York State Senate and Buffalo Common Council. He is the first African-American politician elected to the New York State Senate to represent a district outside New York City and the first member of any minority race to represent a majority white New York State Senate district. Brown was born and raised in Queens, New York. He rose to elected office after serving in a variety of political roles. He began his political career performing as an aide to local representatives in several legislative bodies (Buffalo Common Council, Erie County Legislature and New York State Assembly) and later ...