Common Council Member's Departure Raises Questions In Masten District About Successor

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- At the end of the week, Masten District will be without a representative on the Buffalo Common Council.

On Tuesday, Councilmember Demone Smith announced that after eight years, he's stepping down to take over as the Executive Director of the Buffalo Employment Training Center. It's a job previously held by former state Sen. Antoine Thompson.

"We must fill it. I think it's important to fill it. I don't want to see that seat left vacant until someone is sworn in on January 1st," said Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen.

We asked Erie County Board of Elections Commissioner and former Democratic Committee Chair Len Lenihan how they'll go about filling the seat.

"Logistically and officially, what has to happen to make that new candidate viable is they have to file 500 valid signatures by the end of the petition process, which ends midnight on July 9th," said Lenihan.

With just a few weeks to go, residents are already talking about who they'd like to see fill Smith's shoes.

"I'm looking for someone else to step in and continue what Demone had. Demone was a great councilman for our area," said Willie Green.

Green and Bryon McIntyre both say there are several people who come to mind who could fill the seat.

"That person I had in mind was Murray Holman of the Stop the Violence Coalition. Murray is a people person, he's approachable, he's community-oriented, he fits the bill," said Green.

"I'm thinking Melissa Brown, she's been active in the community for quite some time, she also ran for the seat before. Then also Reverend (Kenny) Simmons, he's been very active organizing and supporting and bringing information to the community," said McIntyre.

District Parent Coordinating Council President Sam Radford added a couple more names to the list.

"Some of the top names you might see out there are people who've run previously like Demario Badger, Kenny Williams, committee woman Melissa Brown, Murray Holman, Pastor Kenny Simons so there's a lot of active people out there in the Masten district," said Radford.