This morning, Mayor Byron Brown and Councilman Mickey Kearns met up for a full-scale debate at WGRZ’s Channel 2 Studios in Buffalo.
Moderated by Channel 2’s Pete Galivan, the topics included crime, jobs, new green initiatives and business development. The answers given by both candidates can be seen in a series of videos. The first is embedded below, and the others can be found at WGRZ.
Mayor Brown’s initial statement included a nod to the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. He stated some strides he has made as mayor, then chided Kearns for voting against equipment for police and fire personnel as councilman, resorting to “dirty politics, and changing the city charter to grant himself a raise in his first month as a common council member.
Kearns began his statement by saying that he does, and will, support police and fire, that Brown has squandered his opportunity to do the same, and he made mention of the Leonard Stokes visit to Brown’s office, in which he said the mayor wouldn’t allow a police officer to tell what happened. Kearns made a vow to have a transparent and accessible office, saying that he will work for “you, the taxpayer.”
In a race that had previously been thought would culminate in a landslide victory for Brown in the primary this coming Tuesday, a Channel 2 poll shows Brown at 48 percent to Kearns’ 47 percent, with 5 percent undecided.