Ah, the rumor mill. Buffalo, being a very small large town, is often a breeding ground for rumor. Forget six-degrees of separation, we work on a much smaller plane here in the B'lo. Before you know it, you'll probably being telling stories out of school about yourself.
This was released by Mayor Brown yesterday:
There have been several rumors circulating about my status as Mayor of Buffalo, ranging from being considered for high-level federal or state appointments to alleged FBI probes that would cause me to consider resigning from office.
None of these rumors are true and I look forward to continuing my tenure as Mayor. In fact, I look forward to continuing to oversee the programs and initiatives that are contributing to Buffalo’s revival.
Clearly, and sadly, this is politically motivated.
According to our source, the allegations against the mayor, apparently circulated in Albany and possibly New York first and had not reached mainstream Buffalo at the time of this announcement. See this Buffalo News article.
The thought behind this release may have been to launch a premptive strike before the rumor blew in on the wind, but in outing the fact that there are rumors...there will be massive speculation. The problem with that is that speculation about the rumors will circulate until they become embedded in the minds of the mayor's detractors as fact, while being dismissed by the mayor's allies as poppy-cock.
Nothing to do but sit back and watch this one unfold...