John,
Just last month, India Walton — a registered nurse and union organizer — won the Democratic primary for mayor of Buffalo, NY, getting her one step closer to becoming the city's first-ever socialist mayor, and New York's first socialist mayor since 1961.
But in the face of this major progressive win, current Buffalo mayor Byron Brown refused to accept his defeat and announced his plans to buy the general election through a write-in campaign in an attempt to overturn India's victory.
The people of Buffalo deserve better than an establishment incumbent who is quick to partner with right-wing lobbyists in order to hold political power — and they know this. That's why they voted for India in the first place.
This is going to be a competitive race, but we've seen time and again that when working people run with the movement behind them, they win.
As a mother, union organizer, nurse, and leader, India knows the only way to truly solve Buffalo's issues is with bold, progressive, and intentional leadership — something that, for the last 16 years, Byron Brown has failed to provide.
India offers bold solutions: permanently affordable housing, mental health responders, violence interruption programs, and worker-owned co-ops. All the while, Byron Brown offered no concrete solutions during the course of the global pandemic and nationwide uprisings.
It's clear: progressive ideas are winning ideas — and not just in NYC. Whether upstate or downstate, people are struggling with the same problems. The working people of Buffalo deserve solutions to the challenges they're facing, and India is the progressive leader who will bring this change. We need to elect more leaders who are rooted in their communities and have been doing the work for years.
Peace and love, John. Let's do this!
Jamaal Bowman
