In continuation with the “Candidate Conversation” series, University District Buffalo Common Councilman Rasheed Wyatt appeared on Weekend Edition on Saturday, June 21, 2025, with BTPM NPR’s Jamal Harris Jr. to discuss his campaign for Buffalo mayor.
Below is a transcription of that interview; it's been edited for clarity:
Jamal Harris Jr.: In continuation with our candidate conversation series, we have University District Councilman Rasheed Wyatt. Mr. Wyatt, how are you today?
Rasheed Wyatt: I’m doing great, Jamal how are you?
Harris: Pretty good, let's get right into it. We're going to start with the city budget. You've been no stranger to being critical of past budgets under Chris Scanlon and, of course, under former Mayor Byron Brown. What is your plan to bring the city back to financial stability, given the budget deficit that we have this year, which is about $70 million, and does that plan include a property tax increase?
Wyatt: Well, Jamal, the real issue is that we haven't really talked a lot about the budget during this election cycle, which is unfortunate, because I think that's the most critical piece in all of this. We must fix the budget, and my issue has always been about the overtime for police and fire. Again, it's not removing police officers or firefighters, but it is managing the overtime in a better fashion, because those are the dollars that we need desperately for our communities, for youth organizations, for seniors, just for infrastructure. It’s a big number. I mean, over the last five years, not even including this year, we spent $127 million on overtime. Right now, we have a deficit for our user fee, which is an enterprise fund that's supposed to be self-sustaining. We owe that $24 million, and we have $14 million that is supposed to come back to the city to have a reserve. We have no reserve right now. So again, a city of our size needs someone who has a vision, who has been speaking up about the finances. I’m only one council member; you've got to have five votes. So when I speak up about the budget over and over again, it almost falls on deaf ears, because the administration wants to do what they want to do, but my plan is to really cut those costs in half so that we do have money for seniors and for youth programs, as well as minimizing the impact of increasing taxes. Now I'm going to say very clearly. We're going to have to increase taxes in the future. I'm not going to lie to anybody. I'm not going to deceive you, but it shouldn't be to the extent that we're looking at an 8% or 9% increase, as well as user fees and water rates; the water rates are going to go up. So, all these things impact people who are already hurting, who are already struggling. In our city, we just had an increase and assessments last year, and so you need someone with a financial background and financial understanding to put the city back on track and protect the interests of the people who are already vulnerable and hurting.
Harris: Why do you feel like it falls on deaf ears? You said there are five votes needed in the Common Council. I know the administration wants to do what the administration wants to do, but some of these newer councilmembers, like Zeneta Everhart and Leah Halton-Pope, are all very smart people. Why do you feel like they're not voting against these budgets with you?
Wyatt: Well, part of it is, when you become a councilmember, you don't have that understanding of the finances. You think you do, you're presented with some information. But thank goodness I have a financial background, because most councilmembers don't have that. So, it's a steep hill to climb. The administration can dazzle them with all sorts of gifts and say we’re going to take this to your area and that to your area. But you can see those things, you hear those things, but you know the people on the East Side complain and say nothing's happened for us-
Harris: I don’t mean to cut you off, but do you think they don’t understand the budget necessarily?
Wyatt: You’re kind of peeled off with promises of other things. It could be jobs, it could be projects in your district, and so those are things that, unfortunately, are used as a counterbalance to you making the right decisions. The mayor has a lot of power, unfortunately, and that's why one of the things that I've done since I've been on the council is ask that we have a city manager. The mayor can do all sorts of fancy things, especially during the election cycle. This acting mayor is going around acting like he's giving candy away. But we'll see in the end, are these things going to stick in a study, just like the thing with the police who are doing the foot patrols. Those things should have happened years ago, but now this is stuff that you're doing to get elected. That's the problem. That we do things during election cycles to get elected, but not things that are sustainable, that help the residents of our city.
Harris: Often, your opponents kind of loop you in with Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon and State Senator Sean Ryan as being a career politician. You’ve been a councilman since 2014, well over a decade in your district. If you get into the mayor's office, why should voters trust that it'd be anything different than what's already happened?
Wyatt: Because I've been in many cases the lone voice of reason regarding our budget. Regarding many issues that affect our community. One of the things that I talked about was the schools on cameras. When we brought the schools on cameras up, it was a money grab, and it hurt people who are already hurting. So again, we have to make some smart decisions. We must have the right people in place, and we can't do things from a political aspect. We must do it from a human aspect that there is, we're the third poorest [city] of our size, and I'm sick and tired of saying that, but we are, and we seem to make the same poor decisions. Recently, we were talking about purchasing or getting this hotel downtown [Buffalo Grand]. I'm like, we don't need to get a hotel, we need to be fixing our city budget and focusing on those things in these communities that feel like they've been left out in the cold. So, we keep making bad decisions, and we need somebody who has a vision and insight that's been there and seen some of these things. People will talk and say they’ll make all these changes. You have to understand what the issues are first, and many people don't. I've been at the forefront. I've been one of the loudest voices, and I've been one of the consistent voices, but again, I'm only one council member, and so when you have the mayor, and he's got his friends and right now, the acting mayor has the unions backing him, there's not going to be a cut in overtime. There's going to be an increase in taxes.
Harris: As you mentioned, you're just one person. You've been very vocal over the years on a number of issues. But if you get to the mayor's office, you're still just one person, and you still have an entire council. You’ll have to try and agree. How are you going to be able to collaborate?
Wyatt: I have collaborated over the years. I know myself and Councilmembers Nowakowski, Bollman and Rivera went through the budget process a number of times, and we understand some of the issues. I'm hopeful that, they'll have a listening ear, because at the end of the day, my decisions will be based on the residents. It's not going to be based on a vote. It's going to be based on making common-sense decisions that help the residents of the city of Buffalo have an administration that's looking out for their best interests, not for the developers and friends, but for their best interests.
Harris: Let’s move on to the Buffalo Public School district. I attended a couple of mayoral forums, and in one, you mentioned that you want a little bit more say over some of the money that goes from the city budget to the Buffalo Public Schools. Why is that? Usually, politicians stay away from schools.
Wyatt: I don't know if I want more say as far as the money, because that money is dictated by state law, but I do want to work more collaboratively, because I believe that as our school system goes, our city goes. If we can't have quality education in our schools, in our city, it's difficult for someone to say that they’re going to move to Buffalo. I mentioned this before last time I spoke to you guys [What’s Next?], I talked about how someone had called me and said he wanted to move to Buffalo from Jacksonville, and he heard that our schools were not that good. I said, well, if you get into one of the particular schools, you're fine, but I can't say that if you go to any school in particular, you're going to get a high-class, world-class education. So, we do have to work closer together. We do have to figure out how we all pull in the same direction. Right now, it seems like the school board is on their side, the council, and the administration. We all must be pulling in the same direction to make sure that our children get quality education, because that's our marketing tool. If people want to come to Buffalo, they want to know about their schools. They want to know if their child can get a good world-class experience, because we know that that's important. So, I think that hasn't been done in a long time. I've said to the council that the school board and the council should be working more collaboratively. We should be meeting, having these conversations about those types of things, and I'm hopeful that, again, being in the position of mayor, I can make that happen, because I think it's truly important to the residents of our city.
Harris: Do you talk with any of the Board of Education members?
Wyatt: I've talked to a number of them. Asking them how do you feel about working more closely with them. They're very open to it aside from the interest that when we use their money, they're not too happy about that. I believe they're open because people have asked me, “Would you take over? Would you want to take over the school system?” and I'm like, no, how do you how do you tell somebody I'm going to come from one chaotic situation to help somebody else, and they're not in the same situation. The school board's finances are incredible. They may not be getting the outcomes that they would like, but I think they are. They've studied the ship, as far as I'm concerned. The City of Buffalo is the one that's in chaos, and we need to fix that first before I'm talking about taking over something while we've got our own problems here.
Harris: There's been a lot of talk on revitalizing downtown development. What are the plans to revitalize downtown, the East Side, and even our West Side? What are your plans to revitalize the neighborhoods?
Wyatt: One of the things that I've talked about, and I think some people say it's passé, is that I'm going to talk to the people. I want to find out what they believe their priorities should be in their districts. I can tell you my sense, but the people want to hear what your plan is, and your plan has to include them. So, I can't give you the total plan, but I can tell you that I'm going to be very pointed in having conversation with these various districts and saying, if you had a priority, what would those top three things be because I think again, the city has not done a good job at that. We do whatever we want to do. We throw something out and say that everyone's going to love it, and most times, it seems like everyone hates it. So, I want to have those conversations and start developing a strict plan for the priorities in those districts, because at the end of the day, we have finite resources in the city. I can't say I'm going to fix the East Side overnight, but I can tell you that we're going to have a plan, and we're going to attack it, and people are going to see those things come to fruition. Because I'm not going to make an empty promise. These folks already feel that they've been left out for decades, and now I'm not going to come in and continue the same thing. We must have these conversations. We have to talk to the people who are affected in order to make sure that we're making the right decisions. I just can't throw $100 million at something because we don't have $100 million, but I can't find out what those priorities are from the residents and focus on those priorities and spend that money wisely.
Harris: Quickly here, because we have less than three minutes left, but I want to get your answer on this. The Democratic nomination process, you've been critical of that process. You’ve said publicly that people are considering you a minor league candidate, as well as other African American candidates in this race. Who is saying this? Overall, how do you feel about the process?
Wyatt: The process is, and I hate to use a term by Trump, is kind of fixed. Basically, how can you consider me someone who has 25 years of financial experience while the city is experiencing a financial crisis, minor league? It’s very hurtful. A lot of folks from the Black community feel that, for someone who is Caucasian to say something like that, it seems like it continues the same old thing, that Buffalo is still a racist city, and it's unfortunate, because I think that we have made some progress, but one person can say something and make everyone feel like it’s not that when it is that way. You can't tell me that if I were Caucasian, you would have the same sentiment. How do you say to somebody who has worked for a Fortune 500 company, has 25 years of experience, chief financial officer, president of a credit union, and I've been duly elected on the council three consecutive times, how do you say I’m minor league? Those are the type of things that are hurtful, but I'm just going to press through it, because I can't dwell on that. I got to go out to the voters and talk to them and let them know what my background and expertise are, and let them make the decision at the end of the day. But it's unfortunate that we have those conversations. But again, as a minority, we always press through those things and know that we must rise above it no matter what.
Harris: Alright, Mr. Rasheed Wyatt, I appreciate you having you on.
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