At a Friday press event outside the Delavan Grider Community Center, State Sen. Sean Ryan announced endorsements from his colleague, Sen. April Baskin, and from former Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant. The three then walked inside to cast their votes in the Democratic primary in the Buffalo mayoral race.
Baskin credited Ryan with believing in her when she was a single mother on social services and encouraging her run for public office, eventually leading her to the State Senate, where they now work closely on many issues.
“Sen. Ryan has been long at this work, and I believe he's got a long career ahead of him of perfecting that work, and that is why I am proud to walk myself across the street right now and cast my ballot for Sen. Sean Ryan to be the next mayor of the City of Buffalo.”
In April, as Mayor Chris Scanlon pushed for the State Legislature to pass legislation he hoped to include in his final city budget, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, who ultimately was able to get those bills included in the state budget, was by his side.
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Earlier this month she officially offered her endorsement of Scanlon, who became acting mayor in October after Peoples-Stokes’ longtime ally, former Mayor Byron Brown, resigned.
“In the Democratic primary for City of Buffalo mayor, I will be voting for Interim Buffalo Mayor Christopher Scanlon,” she said in a Facebook post.
Support from these influential Black women with deep roots in majority Black neighborhoods east of Main Street offers credibility in those important districts. Both Ryan and Scanlon are white, and their voting bases are in majority white neighborhoods.
And their voices are especially important in this race, as the other three candidates vying for the Democratic line – former Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr., University Council Member Rasheed Wyatt and community activist Anthony Tyson-Thompson – are all Black men with East Side roots.
Hanna Brant, a political science professor at SUNY Geneseo, said that politicians covet endorsements because they offer credibility with constituencies and make for effective messaging.
“People are busy and endorsements can act as an information shortcut for voters,” Brant said, “if you know that your values and policy goals align with a specific organization or community leader.”
Meanwhile the other primary candidates have fewer endorsements.
Whitfield said he is unbothered by the lack of endorsements from public officials and organizations, writing in an email that he is more concerned with the support of the people he has met in his travels on the campaign trail.
“I am endorsed by everyday people who are fed up with the status quo ... and that's who I work for,” he said in an email.
Both Scanlon and Ryan have consistently touted their endorsement lists throughout the campaign, circulating social media posts and mailers emblazoned with the insignia of labor organizations.
Ryan has received support from larger unions, both in the form of the endorsements and campaign donations. Among them are the United Steel Workers, the Carpenters Local 276 and the United Auto Workers local. He also was endorsed by the Western New York Area Labor Federation, the umbrella group that represents dozens of local unions.
“The broad organized labor is behind me, whether it's the manufacturing sector, with the steel workers and the auto workers, the nurses at NYSNA and CWA and the public employees from AFSCME,” Ryan said.
Ryan said local labor has been organizing canvassing events for his campaign, going door to door to promote his candidacy.
“They provide tremendous energy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Scanlon has the support of two of the key city unions, those that represent city police officers and firefighters. In addition, he has the support of several local chapters of unions, including CSEA Local 815, IATSE Local 121 and Teamsters Local 264.
“I'm just proud to have the support of the men and women who work for the City of Buffalo, live in the City of Buffalo and feel that my team and I have the right message and the right approach to city government,” Scanlon said.
And both have continued to roll out a long list of other Democrats standing behind them.
For Ryan, who is also endorsed by the Erie County Democratic Committee, that list includes many of his colleagues in state government – including Baskin and Assemblyman Jon Rivera – and other allies like Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
Meanwhile, the support of other Democrats has been more important for Scanlon, who has been painted by Ryan as tied to Republicans through campaign contributions and the unsolicited endorsement of the controversial Republican developer Carl Paladino.
In recent weeks Scanlon has sent a mailer highlighting Democratic support and has the endorsement of some of his colleagues on the Common Council, former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn and former Masten District Council Member Demone Smith.
This can be particularly crucial in primaries, Brant, the political science professor, said.
“They can't rely on political affiliation when they go to the ballot box as that cue, and so these endorsements can help fill in those gaps on information acquisition for the voter and give them a better sense of a cue on how they should cast their vote,” she said.
And in a tight race, where turnout is likely to play a significant role in the results, those affiliations may be the deciding factor in whether someone decides to turn up at the ballot box, Brant said.
“Will this candidate, then, have your union's goals and values in mind, and, help you and your family, your community, your personal life through those endorsements?” she said. “So I could see that that personal connection could really help make a difference.”
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