Steve Casey . . . the eminence grise of City Hall. Or Willie Tyler to Byron Brown’s Lester.

The amount of electronic ink that’s been spilled on Steve Casey is practically unending. I won’t recap every last City Hall scandal here; a simple search for the man’s name here on WNYMedia would produce an avalanche of reading material. Go ahead — I dare you.

Instead, I’ll just remind the gentle reader of some of the more classics of the man’s pettiness and corruption, the sort of gems that have been lost amidst the sea of sewage emanating from the second floor of City Hall. Remember when Casey ran Brown’s 2005 campaign for mayor while still on the State Senate payroll? Or when Casey decided he didn’t have to pay to park outside Brown campaign headquarters because he was on “state business” — you know, the business of getting Byron Brown elected mayor? Or (my personal favorite) when he sicced city inspectors on a neighbor because she had the temerity to display a lawn sign in support of Mike Locurto? Fantastic!

Councilmember Bonnie Russell (5 seed), on the other hand, is the summation of everything bad about the average Buffalo politician. She can’t pay her bills, and has multiple liens filed against her (one for $573 – really?). She is married to a judge, exemplifying our inbred political system. And she can’t show up for meetings, much less represent her district (University Heights), much to the constant chagrin of the Answer Lady. If you are looking for an upset for your bracket, I think you’ve found it here.