BUFFALO, N.Y. — Cedric Holloway is the latest name to enter the race for the Ellicott District's Buffalo Common Council seat.
The retired Buffalo Police officer and youth mentor says service is in his blood. He made the announcement on Saturday morning outside the stadium named after his father, Johnnie B. Wiley.
Holloway says he knows the neighborhood and will fight for the needs and services that the residents deserve.
"The people in this community matter," Holloway said. "We work hard, we raise our children, and we try yo give back, but we need government to stop marginalizing us. We need elected officials who ask, what's in it for Ellicott District?"
Holloway worked as police officer for 32 years. The seat is currently filled by Darius Pridgen. Two others have announced they're running for this seat, including Michael Chapman and Matt Dearing.
"Snow removal became a big issue, and a lot of folks are concerned with that and youth employment," Holloway said. "I've been in law enforcement forever, and that seems to be a problem, and they really don't have a lot."
Holloway said in a statement Saturday evening that he has begun collecting signatures in advance of the June 27 primary.
"Those, who like me, have lived here our entire lives, know that our community has been left behind and left out of decisions by choice," Holloway said. "The hollowing out of this community over the past 50 years did not happen organically. This was not a matter of a natural disaster or catastrophe laying waste to a neighborhood, it was the intended result of policies at the federal, state, and local level."