Buffalo Toronto Public Media NPR has announced its studio panel for its upcoming live election broadcast, "The Primary Path: Buffalo 2025."
Once the preview show ends at 9 p.m. on June 24, the panel will dive into whip-around coverage of various primary elections occurring that night, including the highly contested Buffalo mayoral Democratic primary.
Anchoring the program will be two BTPM NPR journalists, joined by two independent political analysts. Below are the bios for the four members of the studio panel.
Ryan Zunner (Studio Host)
Ryan Zunner serves as the assistant managing editor of BTPM NPR, having been promoted from multimedia reporter, a position he held since August of 2024. This was not his first time working for Buffalo’s NPR station, he was previously with the organization as a junior reporter from 2019 to 2021.
Zunner’s reporting covers a wide range of topics, including politics, Indigenous affairs and general assignment. He has been the recipient of a New York State Broadcasters Award of Excellence and received a New York Emmy Award nomination in 2023.
Zunner’s work has appeared nationally on outlets such as NPR and MSNBC. He hails from Kenmore, New York, where he attended Kenmore West High School and the Big Picture Program.
An Oneida citizen of Six Nations of the Grand River, he is a graduate of Hilbert College, receiving a bachelor’s degree in digital media and communications.
Jamal Harris Jr. (Studio Host)
Jamal Harris Jr. is currently a multimedia reporter at BTPM NPR, specializing in local government and politics. He has been with the organization since September 2024, when he started as an intern, and has since worked his way up. .
Harris brings a wealth of knowledge to the panel, covering a wide range of debates, forums and candidate events throughout this primary season. He has filed numerous stories on the topic and has held countless interviews with local experts. Harris has also been the host of BTPM NPR's “Candidate Conversations” series, which has brought all of the major Buffalo mayoral candidates on the air for live studio interviews.
He is a graduate of Hilbert College, with a bachelor's degree in digital media and communications.
Harris has been one of BTPM NPR's local hosts for "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered."
Laurie Buonanno, Ph.D. (Studio Analyst)
Laurie Buonanno is a professor of public administration at SUNY Buffalo State University, where she coordinates the Master of Public Administration and Nonprofit Management program (Department of Economics & Finance) and serves as director of the Institute for European Union Studies at SUNY. A recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, Buonanno teaches graduate courses in New York state government and budget, immigration policy, and U.S. public policy and undergraduate courses in European politics and the European Union.
Buonanno has edited and co-authored five books, along with numerous articles, book chapters and essays on topics including transatlantic relations, New York state government, the Italian American experience, and policymaking in New York, the United States and the EU. Her research has been supported by multiple European Union grants.
She is lead editor, alongside Byron Brown, Frederick Floss and Lisa Parshall, of the forthcoming book "Governing New York State Through Crises," to be published by SUNY Press.
Buonanno holds a doctorate in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s in business administration from the University at Buffalo.
Edward Rath III (Studio Analyst)
Edward Rath III was elected to the New York State Senate from 2020 to 2022 and served as the ranking Republican member of the New York State Elections and Local Government committees.
His work included election law reform and increased collaboration amongst state and local governments. Prior to the state senate, Rath was an Erie County legislator for 13 years, serving as chairman of the Economic Development and Public Safety committees. He is a lifelong WNY resident.
In 1989, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University. In 2005, he completed the executive MBA program at Canisius University, graduating magna cum laude. He currently works in the energy industry, providing commercial consulting services with his wife, Amy.
