Sean Ryan (American politician)

Sean M. Ryan (born March 4, 1965) is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the New York State Senate from the 61st District. A Democrat, he previously served as a member of the New York State Assembly from 2011 to 2021, and the 60th District from 2021 to 2022.

Sean Ryan
Member of the New York State Senate from the 61st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2021
Preceded by	Chris Jacobs
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 149th district
In office September 14, 2011 – January 1, 2021
Preceded by	Sam Hoyt
Succeeded by	Jonathan Rivera
Personal details
Born	(1965-03-04) March 4, 1965 (age 60) Lackawanna, NY
Political party	Democratic
Education	State University of New York at Fredonia (BA) Brooklyn Law School (JD)
Website	Campaign website State Senate website

He is currently running to become Mayor of Buffalo, which will be decided by the 2025 Buffalo mayoral election.

Education

Ryan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School.^[1] He was then admitted the New York State Bar Association.

Career

As an attorney, Ryan has specialized in anti-discrimination and labor law cases.^[2] On September 13, 2011, Ryan was elected during a special election to the New York State Assembly, succeeding longtime assemblyman Sam Hoyt.^[3]

In 2012, he was elected to the 149th district. He was supported by the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.^[4]

In 2020, he was elected to New York's 60th senate district. Due to redistricting following the 2020 U.S. census, Ryan successfully ran in the newly-drawn 61st senate district in the 2022 election. As a member of the State Senate, Ryan championed legislation to prohibit non-compete clauses in New York, which passed both houses of the state legislature in 2023.^[5]

Ryan has announced his candidacy for the 2025 Buffalo mayoral election, where he will challenge acting mayor Christopher Scanlon for the position.^[6] On February 22, 2025, the Erie County Democratic Committee endorsed Ryan in the Democratic primary.^[7]

Electoral history

2024 New York State Senate election, District 61^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sean Ryan	80,274
	Working Families	Sean Ryan	8,146
	Total	Sean Ryan (incumbent)	88,420	61.7
	Republican	Christine Czarnik	46,343
	Conservative	Christine Czarnik	8,323
	Total	Christine Czarnik	54,666	38.2
	Write-in		160	0.1
Total votes			143,246	100.0
	Democratic hold

2022 New York's 61st State Senate district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sean Ryan	57,616
	Working Families	Sean Ryan	6,285
	Total	Sean Ryan (incumbent)	63,901	56.6
	Republican	Edward Rath III	39,305
	Conservative	Edward Rath III	9,500
	Total	Edward Rath III (incumbent)	48,805	43.3
	Write-in		90	0.1
Total votes			112,796	100.0
	Democratic win (new boundaries)

2020 New York's 60th State Senate district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sean Ryan	79,396	52.98
	Working Families	Sean Ryan	9,182	6.13
	Independence	Sean Ryan	2,452	1.64
	Total	Sean Ryan	91,030	60.75
	Republican	Joshua Mertzlufft	49,649	33.13
	Conservative	Joshua Mertzlufft	9,174	6.12
	Total	Joshua Mertzlufft	58,823	39.25
Total valid votes			149,853	95.77
Rejected ballots			6,625	4.23
Total votes			156,478	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

New York State Assembly 149th district election, 2018^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sean Ryan (incumbent)	31,233	72.1
	Republican	Joseph Totaro	12,062	27.9
Total votes			43,295	100.0
	Democratic hold