A source close to Deputy County Executive Maria Whyte — who is known to have longstanding ambitions on the Mayor’s Office — says the politician is seething with jealousy over the prospect that political neophyte Bernice Radle could be elected to the Common Council this year.
Such a development would position Radle, who also aspires to become Mayor of Buffalo, as the heir apparent successor to Mayor Byron Brown, who has held the office since 2006 — something that sources say unsettles Whyte privately. Whyte once served on the County Legislature.
Radle is running for the Common Council from the Niagara District, which has been represented by David Rivera for three terms.
Whyte does not plan on filing objections to Radle’s nominating petitions directly but is expected to do so through a third party. Whyte is a political confidante of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Assemblyman Sean Ryan.
Radle is young and immensely popular, with a robust social media following.
It is unclear whether her nominating petitions will be able to withstand the scrutiny of professional political operatives and their attorneys. Poloncarz, we are told, plans to pull out all the stops to squash Radle’s campaign.
Buffalo the queen of dysfunction.