BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Zeneta Everhart, the mother of Tops mass shooting survivor Zaire Goodman, won her race in the Masten District for the Buffalo Common Council on Tuesday night.
Everhart declared victory over Conservative Party candidate Murray Holman, the executive director of the Stop the Violence Coalition and co-leader of the Buffalo Peacemakers. With over 89% of the vote in, Everhart has over 89% of the votes.
Everhart, an aide to State Senator Tim Kennedy, ran on a platform of improving housing as well as quality of life for both the Masten District as well as across the city. She has also campaigned for gun reform in both Albany and Washington, D.C.
Everhart defeated former Buffalo mayoral candidate India Walton in the primary in June. The seat was vacated by Ulysees Wingo, who decided to not seek re-election.
Everhart, along with Ellicott District winner Leah Halton-Pope, will be the first female members of the Common Council since 2014.
Here are other winners of Common Council races.
Ellicott District
Democrat Leah Halton-Pope won her race against Rev. Michael Chapman, a pastor at St. John the Baptist Church on Goodall Street, getting 80% of the vote with over 77% of the vote in.
The district seat is being vacated by council president Darius Pridgen, who did not seek re-election. Halton-Pope is an advisor to State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes
Lovejoy District
Incumbent Democrat Bryan Bollman won re-election against Republican David McElroy. He was the only incumbent to face a challenger from a major party. With over 85% of the vote in, Bollman has won 72.04% of the vote.
This is Bollman’s second term in his seat.
University District
Incumbent Democrat Rasheed Wyatt beat Working Families candidate Kathryn Franco on Tuesday night, now at 80.7% of votes with over 81% of the vote in, according to the Erie County Board of Elections.
This comes after Wyatt beat Franco in the primary in June with 65% of the vote.
Other districts
The following incumbents ran unopposed on Tuesday night.
- Joel Feroleto (Delaware District)
- Mitch Nowakowski (Fillmore District)
- David Rivera (Niagara District)
- Joseph Golombek Jr. (North District)
- Christopher Scanlon (South District)
With Pridgen no longer in the president’s chair, the council will do an internal vote to decide its next president. The council is now made up of the five who ran unopposed, plus Everhart, Halton-Pope, Bollman and Wyatt.
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
