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From day one, Byron W. Brown has been an advocate for casino gambling.
He voted for it as a state senator in Albany and touted its benefits while running for mayor of Buffalo.
So why would Mayor Brown suddenly draw a line in the sand and put the Seneca Nation casino he once supported at risk?
The Senecas suggest an anti-casino bias is taking root in the Brown administration and the mayor's top aides are at odds on the need for a casino downtown.
"Some of his staff is anti-casino," Seneca President Barry E. Snyder Sr. said last week. "Right now, I don't know where the mayor stands."
Brown says that's hogwash and insists the stalemate over the transfer of a city street to the Senecas is because the nation refuses to sign an iron-clad agreement that protects the city's economic interests.
"While I respect the president, while I respect the Seneca Nation and while I respect the culture of the Senecas, I can accept nothing less than a legally binding agreement," Brown said last week.
More and more, talks between the city and Senecas have focused on trust. And that lack of trust may be the biggest reason why negotiations fell apart last week.
"There's an apprehension," said Alisa A. Lukasiewicz, the city's top lawyer and a member of Brown's negotiating team.
"There was just ultimatum after ultimatum, and that changes the level of trust."
From the start, Brown said his negotiators made their agenda clear:
Without a legally binding agreement on several key issues, most notably the nation's ability to buy more downtown property, the city would not give the Senecas the additional land they want for the Cobblestone District casino.
The land, a two-block portion of Fulton Street, has become a source of leverage for the city as it seeks more benefits and protections from the Senecas. Buffalo officials view these talks as the best opportunity for having a say in a casino project that was largely orchestrated by the state.
The Senecas tell a far different story and suggest that they, too, have grown distrustful of the other side. They claim Brown agreed in principle to a deal last month but then backed away at the urging of anti-casino staff members.
"You can't reach a deal with a side that doesn't want a deal," said Rajat Shah, senior vice president for development at Seneca Gaming Corp. "Part of the problem is he's got advisers who can't agree. He's getting pulled in two different directions."
At the heart of the Senecas' criticism is Richard M. Tobe, Brown's point man on economic development and one of the lead negotiators in talks with the Senecas.
The Senecas claim Tobe is personally opposed to casino gambling and that Brown and Deputy Mayor Steve Casey are well aware of his efforts to scuttle the project.
"I can tell you the mayor pulled Rich Tobe off this three weeks ago," Shah said. "I would ask them why and look them in the eye."
Tobe, who over years of government service has gained a reputation as a smart, savvy and well-respected adviser, smiled when asked about the allegations. He then repeated what he told the Common Council during his confirmation process this year.
"My position is his position," Tobe said of the mayor. "I'm sorry they feel they have to personalize this."
Brown said any suggestion that Tobe was removed from negotiations is "absolutely untrue" and, to this day, Tobe remains a trusted confidante.
"There's no anti-casino bias in my administration," Brown said. "There was no anti-casino bias when I voted for this as a state senator. There was no anti-casino bias when I spoke about the casino while running for mayor. And there's been no anti-casino bias in the six months we've been negotiating with the Senecas."
Like Brown, Tobe insists the breakdown in negotiations stemmed from the Senecas' refusal to sign a binding contract detailing their agreement with the city.
He said the Senecas refused to include several major issues as part of the covenant, or binding, part of the agreement. Those issues dealt with the promise of 1,000 new jobs, a pledge to not expand the casino beyond the current 9 acres and the hiring of women and minorities.
"In the take-it-or-leave-it draft they sent us, there was no reference to them hiring anyone from Buffalo," Tobe said. "If we don't get a binding agreement, we can't in good conscience recommend this as a good deal to the public."
The Senecas claim Buffalo got more than most host communities. They also suggest that Brown's decision to shut down negotiations spells trouble for a city known as a tough place to do business.
"We went over and beyond to meet the political needs of Mayor Brown," Shah said. "We told them, "You've taken us to the edge. We can't give any more. We've given you all we can.' "
Snyder said the two sides had a deal in principle last month and that Brown called him on the golf course to confirm the agreement.
"Every week, I thought we had a deal," he said. "I bent over backwards as president and got some criticism [from the nation] because of it."
Both sides are leaving the door open to more negotiations, and with or without an agreement, one thing is certain: The Senecas have the ability to move forward with a casino almost as large as the one they planned with the addition of Fulton Street.
And the city will not stand in their way, even though casino opponents have urged Brown to place every obstacle possible in the Senecas' path.
Tobe said the two sides may disagree over several key issues, but City Hall will not block water and sewer service to the casino. Nor will it restrict vehicular access to the site.
"We'll treat them like any other customer," he said. "We're not holding back those sorts of things."
Given that, how likely is it that the two sides might resume negotiations?
"I think it's possible," Shah said, "if the mayor sits back and realizes he's got a good deal."
Brown shows no signs of blinking either.
"We're not going to take the attitude that we're beggars," he said, "or that we have to go hat in hand to developers."
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