What happens if Buffalo elects a socialist mayor?

CBS News interviewed Henry Louis Taylor Jr., director of the UB Center for Urban Studies and professor of urban and regional planning, in a story on the mayoral race between India Walton, who won the Democratic primary, and incumbent Byron Brown. The story discusses issues relating to poverty in Buffalo.

"How do you deal with the reality that this a majority Black and people of color city, and most of them are poor?" Taylor said. He added, "socialism is no longer a dirty word with a lot of people." Taylor also told CBS news that, "The problems that Buffalo face are the problems that America face. In Buffalo, what we're seeing is a battle that is sure to take place over the years in a growing number of the cities around America." Taylor's interview begins just after the 4:05 mark of the video version of the story, which received over 40,000 views in a social media post by CBS News.

Taylor is the lead author of a 2021 report titled, "The Harder We Run: The State of Black Buffalo in 1990 and the Present." The Buffalo News, Investigative Post, WBFO and The New Yorker were among news outlets that covered the report or otherwise featured Taylor's analysis regarding the election and issues facing Buffalo and its residents.