BUFFALO, N.Y. — Although the primaries in Western New York are officially over, the dust is far from settled in many crucial local races.
Whether it be strong opposition from a different party or candidates running on different lines, many races face a contentious general election in November.
For the Buffalo Common Council, there are five seats up for grabs. The Ellicott, Lovejoy, Masten, North, and University districts are still unsettled.
Mother of Tops Shooting Survivor Wins Masten Primary in Heated Race
"I did this for Zaire," Masten district candidate Zeneta Everhart said. "I know that I have the power and the strength to change so that we never ever see another 5/14."
Everhart's son Zaire Goodman was a survivor of the tragic May 14, 2022 Tops shooting.
Everhart won her Democratic primary decisively, getting 67.3 percent of the vote in a race that pitted her against 2021 Mayoral primary winner India Walton.
There is a third candidate, Murray Holman—who is running on the Conservative party line. He is a lifelong Democrat whose campaign is based on trying to stop violence.
"[The] game is definitely on," Holman said. "Years of experience, I've been doing this a long time, folks. I'm in this area, I'm boots on the ground."
Holman is looking to use his connection to law enforcement to stop crime in the Masten district, a district known historically for its political prowess in Buffalo and state politics.
"My mission is to connect the elders with the youth in our community and stop crime in our community," Holman said. "I've been doing this for over 40 years, making sure that our community is safe."
Walton will also be running with the Working Families Party, setting up a three-way race to get the Masten nod in November.
Ellicott's Four-Way Race Comes to a Head
In Ellicott, a race that saw four candidates running—and none getting a majority of the vote—ended in Leah Halton-Pope getting the nod with 49.7%. Cedric Holloway received 26.4%, Matt Dearing received 15.4%, and Emin 'Eddie' Egriu received 8.5%.
"I'm just a girl from Buffalo," Halton-Pope said. "I'm here to represent this elegant district. That's who I am."
Halton-Pope went on to say she had over 20 years of experience in government and non-profit spaces, and in the last 10 has worked for Crystal Peoples-Stokes—the state assembly's majority leader.
The current Ellicott council member Darius Pridgen has served in the seat for 11 years.
"You think you're going to be able to one day wear them [shoes] because you'll figure it out, grow up, and I'll be able to fit them," Halton-Pope said. "You never can, I don't have to wear the shoes. I just need to walk in the footprints you left and then I need to make my own and go further and leave those for somebody else to walk in."
The two races that saw the most contention were unsurprisingly the two without an incumbent running—Darius Pridgen of Ellicott and Ulysees Wingo Sr. of Masten did not seek re-election.
If Everhart or Halton-Pope are able to secure their seats in November, they will become the first women to serve on the Buffalo Common Council since 2014.
"We [women] make up the majority of the district..." Halton-Pope said. "We're also the backbone of this entire city. Women are caregivers, we are teachers, we are doctors, we are lawyers... to not have a seat at the table that directly impacts how our lives are run is a disservice."
Halton-Pope went on to point out that Ellicott itself has not seen a woman in their seat since the current Comptroller, Barbara Miller-Williams in 1995.
The Other Seats Up for Grabs
The other three races—in the Lovejoy, North, and University districts—saw incumbents winning the primary in all three. Bryan Bollman defeated Mohammed Uddin by 39 percentage points in Lovejoy, Joseph Golombek Jr. defeated Eve Shippens by 41 percentage points in the North district, and Rasheed Wyatt held off Kathryn Franco by 31 percentage points in the University district.
All five districts will see opposition in the general, however. As mentioned above, Masten has a three-way race to square away in November. Ellicott will see Matt Dearing of the Working Families Party going against Leah Halton-Pope after losing to her in the Democratic primary.
Lovejoy will have the Republican party's David McElroy facing off against the incumbent Bollman.
The North district will have a three-way race as well with incumbent Golombek Jr. on the Democratic and Conservative lines, Eve Shippens (who lost in the Democratic primary) getting the Working Families Party bid, and Mathew Powenski of the Republican party.
University district will have the incumbent Wyatt squaring off against Franco again after Franco secured the Working Families Party bid.
The other four districts saw four incumbents running unopposed, with Delaware having Joel Feroleto, Fillmore having Mitch Nowakowski, Niagara having David Rivera and South district having Christopher Scanlon.
"We are going to do work in this community. We are going to transform this community. I will not do this alone," Masten Democratic primary winner Everhart said.