ABOUT SEAN
Buffalonian • Billiever • Mayor-elect of Buffalo
Mayor-Elect Sean M. Ryan is the incoming Mayor of the City of Buffalo.
Sean was born in Buffalo and proudly grew up in Lackawanna, where he learned the value of hard work from his father, a firefighter, and his mother, a teacher.
A graduate of SUNY Fredonia and Brooklyn Law School, Sean’s legal career has focused on justice, equity, and opportunity for all. His broad legal experience includes work for Neighborhood Legal Services, a private law practice collaboration with the Learning Disabilities Association of WNY concentrating on the rights of disabled students, and the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo. His legal highlights include securing a record award for a victim of housing discrimination, successfully challenging a school district’s denial of special education services to children enrolled in parochial schools, and compelling enforcement of Buffalo’s Living Wage Ordinance.
In 2008, Sean began working with People United for Sustainable Housing, Inc. to create a nonprofit development entity, the Buffalo Neighborhood Stabilization Company, Inc. (BNSC). As Executive Director and General Counsel, he developed a community-driven redevelopment plan for a section of Buffalo’s West Side.
Sean has served on the Board of Directors and as legal counsel for numerous nonprofit organizations including Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Autistic Services Inc., the Coalition for Economic Justice, and the City of Buffalo’s Living Wage Commission.
Sean was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 2011 and later to the State Senate in 2020, where he represents the 61st District encompassing parts of the City of Buffalo, the City of Tonawanda, the Towns of Amherst, Grand Island, and Tonawanda, and the Villages of Kenmore and Williamsville.
As a legislator, Sean has been instrumental in helping to transform Western New York’s economy. He has championed policies that promote a fair economy, protect taxpayer dollars, and provide lower taxes for middle-class families and small businesses. He has led transformational investments in housing, education, waterfront development, and neighborhood revitalization, and has been a strong advocate for reproductive freedom, gun safety, and clean water initiatives.
Western New York is his home, and Western New York values are a part of who he is.
Throughout his campaign for Mayor, Sean focused on restoring the fundamentals of city government — keeping residents safe, fixing the financial crisis at City Hall, lowering housing costs, and getting the basics done right.
Sean was elected in November 2025 by the largest margin in a contested Buffalo mayoral election in more than three decades. His resounding victory — earning 72% of the vote — reflected a clear mandate for change and the public’s trust in his leadership to deliver on the promise that Buffalo Deserves Better.
As Mayor-Elect, Sean is leading a transition effort to ensure his administration is ready to deliver a city government that’s responsive, transparent, and accountable — one that invests in every neighborhood and builds a stronger, fairer Buffalo for all.
Sean lives in the City of Buffalo with his wife, Catherine Creighton.
