Byron Brown - Political Dealings

Political Dealings

Brown and Erie County Democratic Party chairman Leonard Lenihan were at odds over various political positions after Lenihan played a major role in Brown's election to the office of Mayor. Brown supported Andrew Cuomo for New York Attorney General in the 2006 general election, David Paterson for Lieutenant Governor of New York in the 2006 general election and Antoine Thompson for 60th District New York Senator in a special election on February 28, 2006. Lenihan disagreed with each of these choices. Thompson had run Brown's last common council campaign, and Brown was upset that he did not get to select his successor in the 60th District. Many supporters considered boycotting the special election due to a perceived racial slight against an African American who seemed to be wrongfully shutout of the process. Lenihan pointed out that neither of the previous State Senators turned Mayor, Anthony Masiello and James D. Griffin, was granted the right to pick their successor, and he noted that Thompson had not been timely in entering the special election process. The Erie and Niagara County Democratic committees bypassed Thompson as their nominee in favor of Marc Coppola despite Brown's backing in the February special election. Thompson subsequently decided to run for the New York Senate seat in the November general election.

The week before the 2006 New York State Democratic Convention, Brown was described as a political confidant of Democratic New York Attorney General candidate Andrew Cuomo. He seconded Cuomo's nomination at the convention on May 30, 2006. Throughout the campaign Brown was described as a close political advisor to Cuomo. He was noted as (along with Charles Rangel) one of the important black political leaders that Cuomo courted on his road to victory.

During the 2008 United States presidential election, like most of the New York State Democratic establishment, Brown was a supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the United States Senator from New York. This marked a break from his earlier political organization, Grassroots, which supported Barack Obama from the outset. He even ran to be a delegate for Clinton at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. In July 2008, Golisano announced that he would attempt to create change in Albany by spending $5 million on targeted campaigns. During the New York state September primary elections for state office, The New York Times alleged that Brown was aiding Golisano's attempt to unseat Sam Hoyt in the New York State Assembly.

As Hillary Clinton resigned her United States Senate seat on January 21, 2009 to assume a position in the United States Cabinet under United States President Barack Obama, New York Governor David Paterson was required to appoint a temporary replacement until a special election in 2010 for the balance of her term. Some thought that the New York State Governor would appoint a minority senator such as Brown, Gregory W. Meeks, H. Carl McCall, William C. Thompson, Jr., José E. Serrano or Nydia M. Velázquez. However, Andrew Cuomo was the front-runner for the seat and the next most likely candidates are Velázquez, Steve Israel, Nita Lowey and Meeks. Prominent women who were mentioned include Carolyn B. Maloney and Caroline Kennedy. The New York Times's Danny Hakim noted that Cuomo, Paterson and Brown were the three names most often mentioned prior to Paterson's ascension to the governor's office. Although these three were the favorites, Brown was considered an unknown outside of Western New York. Nonetheless, Brown's name was mentioned before Kennedy's and Cuomo's in a New York Times article paragraph about Paterson's final nomination decision thoughts. In fact, in at least one article in The New York Times on the subject, Brown was mentioned and Cuomo wasn't. When Paterson announced he had selected Blue Dog Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, Brown was one of the few contenders to attend the event.

With Cuomo likely to be running for governor in the 2010 New York gubernatorial election, Brown was mentioned in early 2010 as a possible Lieutenant Governor of New York candidate by numerous sources, including multiple journalists from The New York Times. Meanwhile, in early 2010, newly transplanted New Yorker Harold Ford, Jr. is considering challenging New York's Junior United States Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand in the 2010 United States Senate special election in New York and has met with Brown as part of his statewide political travels.