Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Common Council will officially be looking for a new President come 2024.
Common Council President Darius Pridgen tells WBEN he will not seek re-election once his term in office is up at the end of the year. Pridgen has served as the Ellicott District representative for 12 years in the Common Council.
"I am at peace with it," Pridgen said this Wednesday afternoon. "I have been asked a million times today, 'Why what happened?' The answer is very simple. I still love the work and I feel privileged to have been able to do this work for 12 years and be the second longest serving Ellicott District member in our written history that we know of right now, but I just want to go to whatever is next for Darius Pridgen."
What is next for Pridgen? He assures that he has no plans to run for another office.
"I don't know," Pridgen says, "Every time I've run, I would pray beforehand and spend a little time being very quiet and every time I always felt an overwhelming push, 'Yep, this is what you're supposed to do.' This time, I didn't feel that push and part of my faith and belief system is that faith is what you don't know on the other side. I can promise you this, I have no bucket list. I can promise you this, I am not making this move in order to seek another office, I am leaving every door and option open in my life."
Reverend Pridgen will continue to serve the Buffalo community in other ways, as he says he will continue to serve as Pastor of the True Bethel Baptist Church. However, he wants to make the time to embrace a new chapter.
"I want to be available for whatever else is going to line up for me in my life. I have been privileged to serve and I think that sometimes people, in leadership, think that they own offices, and that they own positions. I've never thought I owned it, I thought that it was a privilege to have it and it is a privilege not to have it. You got to know when and I'm ready for something new for me," Pridgen says.
Pridgen's term will end at the end of 2023 and is excited to see what the continued dedication and success of the council and his successor.
"I would hope that the Council continues in the direction of working together amongst themselves for the good of the people, not the good of the politics. I hope we don't lose that on the council. I think right now we have a great council. I'm still there for the next 11 months and I'll continue to work toward that," Pridgen said. "It's not about I'm tired, I need to rest. I'm looking forward to a change and to see what that change is. It's really an exciting time more than an exhausting time."