As his mayoral campaign continues, State Senator Sean Ryan has pledged that should he win the general election, he will bring more transparency to Buffalo City Hall while also weeding out any potential conflicts of interest. All are part of Ryan’s “Integrity First Plan” he unveiled today in the shadow of City Hall.
“Buffalonians deserve an effective, ethical, and honest city government after decades of the same leadership. We need to bring change to the city of Buffalo that change must include stronger measures to root out corruption, increase transparency, and restore public integrity to city government,” Ryan said.
Ryan’s plan includes reforming the Buffalo Board of Ethics, which was dormant for several years, the city contracting process, and policies to ban family hires and limit political donations from city employees. Ryan also wants to make access to public records easier.
“We have an online portal that's supposed to put information out to the public. We need to cut out the middleman. Put more information out to the public right on the portal, and that'll make it, so you don't have to do a FOIA request. We want to make it so the information is all right,” Ryan said.
Ryan, the endorsed Democratic Committee candidate, is facing a June 24 primary against a crowded field of candidates including Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon. His campaign released a statement in response to Ryan's campaign event, saying in part:
“It is ironic that NYS Senator Sean Ryan would have the audacity to propose any type of “plan” related to integrity, ethics and transparency. As a state legislator for the past 14 years, Sean Ryan has accepted millions of dollars in contributions from NYC and Albany special interests who have legislation pending before his committees and do business with the State of New York and who are significantly impacted by his budget votes."
