The League of Women Voters of Erie County held a forum for candidates running for five contested Buffalo Common Council seats Tuesday night, but multiple candidates showed up in only one of the races.
Because of the no-shows, only four candidates running for the Ellicott District seat in the June 27 Democratic primary were allowed to participate.
Contenders for the Masten, Lovejoy, North and University districts were sidelined because their opponents were no-shows.
This year, all Buffalo Common Council seats are up for election and the past few months have seen a bevy of candidacy announcements and candid…
“The candidates all know that if they don’t show up, the other ones can’t go on stage,” said Courtney Friedline of PUSH Buffalo, which co-sponsored the forum that attracted roughly 100 spectators.
Four candidates competing in the Ellicott District primary race answered questions posed by moderator Ramona Gallagher that gauged their thoughts on the most urgent issues facing the district, the city’s funding of public schools, and landlord/tenant issues.
Candidate Matt Dearing, a former New York State Assembly staffer who has resided in the district for 24 years, shared his concerns about a lack of affordable, quality housing, and access to fresh, healthy food in the district. Dearing said he would address the former using a multi-pronged approach that included adopting laws that would allow for the creation of a rental board of governors to enable the city to pursue rent control measures and tenant protections…
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