Byron Brown elected next Western Regional OTB leader

The WROTB board, which made every effort to keep Brown's candidacy for president and CEO secret, selected the Democratic mayor from two other finalists after a more than five-year–One-hour, closed board meeting at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel.

OTB board member Elliott Winter said Brown's proven experience as head of government of a city with 3,000 employees and a budget of more than $600 million makes him an attractive candidate.

“The city of Buffalo has seen a boom in the last 20 years, with hotels, economic development, restaurants, entertainment,” said Winter, the Niagara County representative on the board. “And we think he would be a valuable addition to our organization.”

Brown will succeed Henry Wojtaszek, a former chairman of the Niagara County Republican Party who has led the WROTB since 2016.

He will take over the leadership of a nonprofit that funnels millions of dollars annually to 15 counties and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, but which has been mired in political controversy for years, including the board's recent efforts to pay Wojtaszek and two other executives with lucrative severance packages that drew sharp criticism from some Democratic officials.

First elected in 2005, Brown is the longest-serving mayor in Buffalo's history and the city's first black mayor. He is in the third year of his fifth four-year term.

City Council Chairman Christopher P. Scanlon would likely be the acting mayor following Brown's resignation. Scanlon, whose father was an aide to former Mayor James D. Griffin, was elected chairman by fellow City Council members in January in an 8-1 vote. Scanlon has represented the South Ward on the City Council since 2012.

Scanlon generally supported Brown and helped him defeat India Walton in a write-in bid for mayor in 2021 after Walton surprised Brown with her victory in the Democratic primary.

The Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. oversees the operation of off-track betting establishments as well as Batavia Downs and its video gaming casino, hotel and live horse racing. Since WROTB's inception in 1973, over $240 million in gaming revenue has been distributed to 15 counties, including Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Orleans, Wyoming and Genesee, as well as the cities of Buffalo and Rochester.

Although there have been rumors for months that Brown is interested in the position, WROTB Chairman Dennis Bassett refused to confirm several media reports that the mayor is among the finalists. Bassett declined to name the finalists, saying it would be unfair to the candidates. He also expressed frustration with rumors that spread before the full board had a chance to interview the finalists and select the organization's next leader.

The 17-member board met for a special meeting at 11 a.m. in the hotel's Kane Boardroom. After brief remarks from Bassett and Wojtaszek, the board then voted to hold an executive session and moved to the Genesee Room, a sprawling space on the second floor of the casino-hotel complex.

Security guards posted at the door prohibited media from entering or proceeding into a nearby hallway leading to the hotel rooms and another entrance to the Genesee Room, which the finalists being interviewed presumably had access to unless they were being interviewed via Zoom or another form of live-stream conference.

The OTB board interviewed Brown for an hour and a half in Batavia on Thursday, but he was not present for the vote on his hiring.

Brown was unavailable to reporters at Batavia Downs before and after the vote.