I recently wrote about how a socialist India Walton won the Democratic primary to be the party’s nominee to be mayor of the city of Buffalo and, since the city is overwhelmingly Democratic, would almost certainly be elected mayor at the general election in November. So how did the party establishment that had opposed her react? Not well. They are now trying to eliminate the position of mayor.

The Buffalo Common Council, the all-Democratic legislative body for that city in western New York State, has voted to “explore” the possibility of eliminating the city’s office of mayor. This comes less than two months after socialist candidate India Walton won a stunning primary upset over the incumbent Democratic mayor. Although members of the council have not specifically described the move as a way to prevent Walton from becoming mayor, the timing is noteworthy.

On June 23, Walton, a union organizer and activist, defeated four-term Mayor Byron Brown, the former chair of the New York Democratic Party and a longtime ally of outgoing Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In fact, Walton will be the only candidate on the ballot in November — Republicans have not won a mayoral race in Buffalo since the 1960s, and didn’t even field a candidate this year. Walton appeared set to become the first self-identified socialist mayor of a major city in 60 years, at least until Brown launched a write-in campaign that may receive millions of dollars in support from developers. Now the city’s lawmakers are considering abolishing the mayor’s position entirely.

Buffalo lawmakers voted last month to study replacing the city’s mayor with a city manager who would be selected by the nine-member council. Councilmember Rasheed Wyatt, who proposed the change, said the city manager would “carry out the will of the Council members.” 
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But Wyatt’s move could also serve to kneecap Walton, a self-described democratic socialist endorsed by the Working Families Party who spoke about her experience as a working-class teenage mother during a campaign focused on addressing poverty and racial inequities. Walton has called for expanding food access and affordable housing, investing in vulnerable communities, cracking down on polluters, investing in street improvements and overhauling the city’s police department.

“The Common Council’s recent inquiries confirm what we already knew: those committed to preserving the status quo would fight hard against the interests of working class Buffalonians,” Walton said on Twitter. “But we will overcome & build a Buffalo with dignity for all. Together.”

There has been a lot of attention on how Republicans are trying to disenfranchise poor and minority voters in their efforts to hold on to power. But they are not the only ones who can stoop low in their desire to hold on to power.

The fundamental conflict in US politics is a class conflict. The fight between the two major parties has a veneer of class divisions but fundamentally both party establishments represent the ruling class.