The Democratic primary election for Mayor of Buffalo will occur next Tuesday, September 12^th. The candidates were required to file financial disclosures on September 1 for transactions closing on August 28^th.

Incumbent Mayor Byron Brown as of that date still had $487,678 in his campaign treasury. He raised an additional $83,863 since August 7^th; the total reported during 2017 is $751,494. His campaign spent $178,353 during the past 22 days. The largest expenditure was for TV advertising ($83,558).

Challenger and incumbent City Comptroller Mark Schroeder had $113,717 available as of August 28. He raised $94,708 since August 12^th and spent $111,518. The largest of his spending items was also for TV ads ($100,000), which have been on the air for the past couple weeks. Schroeder throughout 2017 reported receipts of $282,586, a very credible sum. Nonetheless Mayor Brown reported more than two-and-a-half times that amount.

The third candidate in the race, County Legislator Betty Jean Grant, has $11,898 available, having raised $4,293 and spent $4,381.

Without a Republican mayoral candidate on the ballot in November, Tuesday’s primary will effectively elect the next mayor. Look for a turnout of less than 25 percent of the city’s registered Democrats.