No Kings? In Buffalo, a Successor Without an Election

Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes announced this week that she will not seek re-election after 13 terms in the New York State Assembly.

On its face, a long-serving elected official stepping down is not unusual. But the timing—and New York’s election laws—create a different outcome: she is effectively able to choose her successor, Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope, who may assume the seat without facing voters in a traditional election.

The issue is timing. Peoples-Stokes withdrew after the deadline to file nominating petitions had already passed. That deadline is what allows candidates to qualify for the ballot. Because no other candidates filed petitions before the cutoff—unsurprising given her incumbency and political strength—there is no established party challenger.

As a result, Halton-Pope can step into the race with no primary and likely no meaningful general election competition.

Independent candidates can run, but the barriers are high. Geoff Kelly of Investigative Post explains, “Independent candidates rarely, if ever, win races for the state legislature. To qualify for the general election ballot, they must collect at least 1,500 valid signatures — three times the number required of candidates seeking the nomination of an established party.” 

The outcome is a system where voters are left with little to no real choice—not because of voter preference, but because of procedural constraints.

Ballot access in New York favors insiders and entrenched power. When deadlines, petition requirements, and party dynamics combine like this, they limit competition and reduce accountability.

Just last week, people across the country participated in No Kings marches. But in Buffalo, we may not have kings, but we certainly have political officials handing out sinecures.

Unite NY is advocating for ballot access reform in Buffalo. The Buffalo Charter Review Commission (CRC) could make this change for candidates and voters in Buffalo to prevent this. We cannot change the problems of the past, but we can prevent them from happening in the future.