India Walton
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| India Walton | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | India B. Walton Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Vernon Walton Jr. |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | SUNY Erie (AS) |
| Website | Campaign website |
India B. Walton is an American nurse and politician who is the Democratic Party nominee for mayor of Buffalo, New York. Walton defeated incumbent Mayor Byron Brown for the party's nomination. At the time of the election, no socialist had been mayor of a large city in the United States since Frank Zeidler who was mayor of Milwaukee from 1948 until 1960.
Contents
Early life
India Walton was born to Doris Siddiq and Louis Kelly in Buffalo, New York. She attended Lorraine Elementary and Leonardo da Vinci High School. Walton gave birth to her first child when she was fourteen, and lived in a home for young mothers in Lackawanna, New York. She married Vernon Walton Jr. and left high school after giving birth to twin sons at the age of nineteen. Walton later earned a General Educational Development certificate and graduated with a nursing degree from SUNY Erie. She then gave birth to another son.[1][2][3]
Career
Activism
Walton became active in politics at the age of twelve when she protested Rockefeller Drug Laws with her mother as part of the activist group Families Against Mandatory Minimums.[1][2][3] While working as a nurse, she served as a representative for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.[4] She later became executive director of Fruit Belt Community Land Trust. She was active in the George Floyd protests, and criticized Mayor Byron Brown for his handling of the Buffalo police shoving incident.[5] She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[6]
Mayoral campaign
Walton announced her campaign for the mayoralty of Buffalo, in the 2021 election on December 13, 2020.[7] During the campaign, Brown, who has served as mayor for four terms, refused to debate Walton.[1][8] The Working Families Party, which had supported Brown in every previous election, gave its nomination to Walton and Walton received support from the Democratic Socialists of America.[9][10] However, Walton did not formally accept the party's endorsement before the deadline so she she did not appear on the ballot with the Working Families nomination.[11] Her campaign raised $150,000 compared to Brown who raised over $500,000.[6]
Walton was declared the winner of the Democratic primary against Brown and Le'Candice Durham on June 22, 2021.[12] Her candidacy was notable because there had been no socialist mayors of large American cities since Frank Zeidler left office as mayor of Milwaukee in 1960.[13] She will run unopposed in the general election, although Brown considered a write-in campaign to challenge her.[14]
Political positions
Walton stated that she would decrease the budget of the Buffalo Police Department by $7.5 million by having the police not answer mental health calls or enforce minor traffic violations.[15] She stated that she will make Buffalo a sanctuary city.[16] She supports a moratorium on the creation of new charter schools.[17]
See also
References
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