Zeneta Everhart won the primary Masten District Buffalo Common Council seat to represent the same community that suffered from a shooting at a local grocery store in May 2022 that claimed the lives of 10 people and injured 3, one of which was her son.
The mother of a surviving victim of the horrific Buffalo shooting, who became a prominent voice against gun violence and racism last year, won the Democratic primary election for a district council seat.
Zeneta Everhart went on to defeat her Democratic opponent, India Walton, in the primary for the Masten District Buffalo Common Council seat on Tuesday night, WIVB reported.
“When I decided to do this, I told my team, that we will not, under any circumstances, run a negative campaign,” Everhart said in her victory speech, according to WIVB. “This campaign was going to be built on community, it was going to be built on my record, and it was going to be built on the people who live in this community.”
Everhart won the election in a landslide victory with 1,525 votes accounting for 66.8%, according to WIVB.
The area of Buffalo that the two women were fighting to represent is the same community that suffered from the deadly shooting at a local grocery store in May 2022 that claimed the lives of 10 people and injured three others, one of which was Everhart's son, Zaire Goodman, CBS News reported.
“My Son Zaire was unfortunately one of the people shot at the Tops on Jefferson today. But his life was spared. He is truly divinely protected,” Everhart wrote in a Facebook post on the day of the shooting.
Following the attack, Everhart sat in front of Congress and pushed for gun legislation and has been a continuous voice against racism and gun violence, CBS News reported.
With her help in getting Congress to pass the first gun legislation in over 30 years, she also earned the endorsement of Senate Democratic Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer.
Her current platform has been focused on affordable housing, improving educational outcomes, and access to fresh food, and bridging the gaps in racial inequities and other disparities that exist in Buffalo, her campaign website stated.
“I’m truly, truly excited to just get ready to do the work, that’s it. That’s all this is about,” Everhart said, WIVB reported. “This is about fixing our community and just showing people that there is hope. I don’t want people to lose hope.”
