Byron Brown, the long-time mayor of Buffalo, N.Y, announced Monday he plans to resign and join a betting agency as its president and CEO “in the coming weeks.”
The 66-year-old Democrat, who’s currently serving his record-setting fifth term as mayor of the second-largest city in the state, announced his plans at a press conference held in Downtown Buffalo Monday afternoon.
“My decision to resign and take on a new opportunity was not an easy one after nearly two decades as mayor,” said Brown, who became the city’s first Black mayor when he was elected in 2005.
“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 referring to his wife.
Brown, whose annual salary as mayor is $178,500, will now make $295,000 per year to head operations at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation, which operates in multiple counties in western New York.
His contract was approved unanimously by the group’s board of directors last week.
OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett described the contract offered to the mayor as an “annual” agreement with “incentives” to be negotiated in upcoming years, according to the Investigative Post.
According to Bassett, the relationships Brown has developed over the years as mayor would “help us to move forward with some of the things that we would like to do.”
During his announcement, Byron highlighted some of his achievements as the city’s longest-serving mayor:
“We’ve transformed Buffalo together, revitalizing our waterfront, growing our economy, improving our infrastructure and building a stronger [and] more inclusive community,” he said.
Common Council President Christopher Scanlon, also a Democrat, will serve as acting mayor through the end of Brown’s term, on Dec. 31. 2025.