The Ellicott Council District, which includes downtown and the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus, is ground zero of the city's economic future.

The district's seat, up for grabs in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, is important for another reason.

The race for the seat is the opening volley in what could be a decisive battle between political factions in the general election next year.

The Ellicott Council seat was once held by the likes of Jimmy Griffin and Jim Pitts -- and most recently by the disgraced Brian Davis. Curtis Haynes Jr., an economist and college professor, has held the seat since the Council appointed him in January to succeed Davis.

The Rev. Darius G. Pridgen, pastor of one of the largest churches in the city, and Bryon J. McIntyre, a firefighter and part-time substitute teacher, are Haynes' opponents in the race to fill out the remaining year of Davis' term.

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Ellicott District Council race at a glance: Candidates, issues and alliances for Sept. 14 Democratic primary

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The campaign thus far has been civil, and the candidates are in general agreement that more must be done to promote economic opportunities for the city's poor -- the portion of the district east of Main Street includes some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the city -- although they offer different visions on how to do so.

They disagree on other issues and have much different backgrounds and personas.

Haynes is the holder of a doctoral degree in economics and did not come up through the political ranks.

Pridgen is a preacher who enjoys the limelight and has built his church with an entrepreneurial flair.

McIntrye lives on the same weather-beaten block he grew up on and maintains he can relate best to the everyday concerns of district residents.

What separates Haynes and Pridgen -- regarded as the front-runners -- more than anything might be the political players backing them.

Haynes has usually voted with the majority block on the Council that sometimes clashes with Mayor Byron W. Brown, and some of his most notable supporters are political foes of the mayor.

Pridgen acknowledges that Brown is supporting his candidacy, as is Grassroots Inc., the political club that is closely aligned with the mayor.

It's an oversimplification to cast the candidates solely in the context of the mayor. But those politics are a strong subplot in the primary, the only election this fall involving city government.

The primary winner will serve the remaining year of Davis' term and enjoy a huge leg up next year, when all nine district Council seats are up for election for four-year terms. The seat came into play in November, after Davis pleaded guilty to pocketing campaign funds and filing false reports with the state Board of Elections. He resigned days later.

Democratic committeemen voted to recommend Pridgen to succeed Davis, but the Council opted for Haynes, setting the stage for what amounts to a rematch.

Haynes' credentials

Haynes' colleagues on the Council describe him as "professional," "thoughtful," "analytical" and "extremely intelligent."

He has kept his distance from the political gamesmanship that pervades City Hall, a reflection of his nonpolitical background. McIntyre is among those who maintain Haynes is too much of a neophyte.

"I think his intentions are sincere. But I think he's totally oblivious to politics and the Ellicott life. He's totally out of his element," McIntrye said.

While Haynes, 52, has established good working relationships with most members of the Council, the mayor and his supporters have given him the cold shoulder.

When the Council has parted ways with the mayor, Haynes has usually voted with the majority that appointed him. While he voted for Brown's proposed budget, among other measures, he has also voted against the confirmation of Daniel Derenda as police commissioner and David Rodriguez as corporation counsel, and aligned with proponents of a community benefits agreement for the development of Canal Side that the mayor and downtown business interests oppose.

Haynes is the best-educated member of the Council, with a doctorate in economics from the University of Massachusetts. He is also the most traveled: As the son of an Air Force master sergeant, he grew up in locales that included California and New Jersey, as well as England and Germany, and later traveled cross-country, visiting 26 cities.

He has lived in Buffalo since 1993, working as an associate professor of economics at Buffalo State College. The student government there has selected him as the college's best professor three times.

If he retains his seat, Haynes wants to be a major player in reshaping the city's approach to economic development.

"The biggest thing I bring to the table is a vision of economic development," he said.

Haynes said the city's approach to economic development is outdated, too driven by developers and focused on helping "smokestack chasing." City policy needs to zero in on the problems of unemployment, underemployment and poverty, and focus on the young and small business, he said.

"We need to put an emphasis on not just job training, but entrepreneurial training," he said.

Haynes supports community benefits agreements for government-assisted economic development projects such as Canal Side and said the ongoing development of the medical campus should provide opportunities for residents in the adjacent Fruit Belt neighborhood.

"Economic development and community development need to go hand in hand," he said.

Pridgen a go-getter

While Haynes is still introducing himself to voters, Pridgen is a known quantity.

His True Bethel Baptist Church is one of the largest in the city, which means he's involved with a lot of parishioners. Moreover, he is frequently quoted in the media and formerly served on the Board of Education.

Pridgen, 45, is a lifelong city resident who grew up a block from the church he now leads. He graduated from Bennett High School at age 16, then earned a degree in criminal justice from Buffalo State College before joining the Air Force.

At age 29, he became a member of the clergy and started True Bethel. His congregation has grown from 25 to 4,000 and is located in a sprawling, modern facility created out of an abandoned grocery store at 907 E. Ferry St.

"I tell people: I'm a businessman for God," Pridgen told The Buffalo News is 2004. "I run this church like a business."

And Pridgen has displayed an entrepreneurial flair in and out of the pulpit, dabbling in several business ventures, including a Subway restaurant he started in 2004 that's located at the church. True Bethel also has started a community development corporation that was awarded more than $724,000 in federal funds within the last year via a city development agency controlled by mayoral appointees. The development corporation is building three homes on Woodlawn Avenue, near Pridgen's church, with the money.

In 1999, he won an at-large seat on the Board of Education, a seat he resigned 3 1/2 years later, citing a desire to spend more time on religious matters. Jack Coyle, president of the School Board at the time, praised Pridgen, describing him as "one of the straightest shooters I've ever worked with. He listened intently and always had good, thoughtful answers."

His resignation from his part-time School Board position prompted some to question why Pridgen would seek a full-time Council job when he sought appointment to the Ellicott seat late last year.

Doesn't he already have his hands full with his duties at True Bethel, and what kind of time commitment is he willing to make?

Pridgen said he has reorganized his church since resigning the School Board in 2004 and has more time to devote to a Council job, which he said "will take more than 40 hours a week to do."

Pridgen outlined an agenda, if elected, that would promote greater cooperation among public officials and empowerment of district residents. Saying "we've worked in silos for too long," he wants to host a summit of public officials to create a regional agenda.

He also proposes monthly meetings with district residents and the establishment of community committees to deal with, among other matters, crime, employment and quality-of-life issues.

Pridgen said he also wants to amend the City Charter to clarify how the Council fills vacant seats.

He has offered a number of ideas to promote employment and economic development, including mentoring and apprenticeship programs and incentives for small business.

Pridgen praised the mayor's performance, saying, "We have seen great change, but if we had more collaboration, we could see even greater change."

While Pridgen acknowledged he has Brown's support, he insists he will not be his rubber stamp.

"I'm not anybody's yes man or pawn," he said.

McIntyre is among those who fear that Pridgen is too entangled with Brown -- through the church's development corporation, among other things -- to act independent of him.

"I don't feel he'd be fair and impartial for the people," said McIntyre, who, unlike Pridgen and Haynes, has been willing to criticize his primary opponents.

McIntrye lists roots

McIntyre maintains a lower profile than Pridgen or Haynes, working as a firefighter and part-time substitute teacher in city schools. But he is nevertheless well known to many in the district as the chairman of the Democratic Party's Zone 5, which includes six of the 41 election districts in the Ellicott District. He is a longtime member of the Board of Education's Special Education Parent Advisory Council.

This primary also marks the fourth time he has run for public office. He challenged Davis for the Ellicott District Council seat in 2007 but lost by a 3-to-1 margin. Last year, he narrowly lost a bid for an at-large seat on the Board of Education, and this May lost by a 2-to-1 margin in a bid to win the Central District seat on the board.

His residence illustrates his differences with Pridgen, who lives in a waterfront condo near Erie Basin Marina, and Haynes, who lives in the Elmwood Village near Hutchinson-Central Technical High School. McIntrye lives in a tidy house on Michigan Avenue, not far from City Honors School. A vacant house is located to the right of him, and there is an overgrown lot across the street replete with a stack of tires near the curb.

He remains in the neighborhood, he said, to be a positive role model.

"When the kids see me rolling through in my Cadillac, they know I'm not dealing dope," he said. "I let them know there's a better way."

He has learned that lesson the hard way.

McIntyre, 48, said he overcame what he described as learning difficulties to graduate from McKinley High School, Erie Community College and Buffalo State College, where he earned a degree in sociology.

"I'm very high on education. That's the deliverance," he said.

After graduation from college, McIntrye worked a series of jobs in the human service field, working with troubled youth and the mentally challenged before joining the Fire Department 13 years ago. He also tries to do substitute teaching at least twice a week in city schools. He's the father of nine, including four of school age who attend public schools.

McIntrye is critical of what he describes as "arrogant" and "self-serving" leadership in the city's black community, which he said has not looked out for the well-being of average citizens.

"I'm not satisfied with the leadership we've had in my community for most of my life," he said. "A lot of the time, the leadership's agenda is not the agenda of the people."

As a Council member, McIntyre said, "I'd be very concerned about constituent services" and focus on education and employment issues.

"I have a history of advocacy," he said. "We need someone who is conscious of everyday people and living the Ellicott life, the Ellicott experience."

McIntyre said he's "absolutely against" the relocation of residents in McCarley Gardens to make way for an expansion of the medical campus and cites the willingness of St. John Baptist Church and the track record of the Jeremiah Partnership in criticizing inner-city ministers.

"The faith-based initiatives of George Bush Sr. and the Clintons have ripped the soul out of our churches and caused many of our religious leaders to be more concerned with developing land than developing souls," he said.

McIntrye is also critical of the mayor, saying he has ceded too much power to Deputy Mayor Steve Casey and acted to benefit his political supporters and monied interests who contribute to his campaign rather than average citizens.

"I'm not very pleased with his leadership," McIntrye said of Brown. "He's not in control. I don't feel he's calling the shots."

jheaney@buffnews.comnull