Dec 8
2025
Buffalo’s incoming mayor begins to build his team
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Mayor-elect Sean Ryan’s management team is starting to take shape with the announcement Friday of four deputy mayors.
Three of the four are present or past members of Mark Poloncarz’s team in Erie County government. That’s a good sign — on the surface, anyway — as the county executive has been a competent administrator, the terrible deal on the Bills stadium notwithstanding.
Past mayors have had one, sometimes two, deputies. Ryan’s approach is to give each deputy mayor a portfolio of departments to oversee.
The most thankless assignment will fall to Eugenio Russi, responsible for the police and fire departments. Job 1 will be reducing overtime costs, which have crippled city finances. Restoring management rights, especially in the police department, should be another priority, along with doing a better job disciplining cops accused of misconduct.
Russi is the former director of Hispanics United and regional director for the state parole board.
Speaking of thankless assignments, Benjamin Swanekamp’s portfolio includes city finances, which involves helping to clean up the fiscal mess Byron Brown left behind. Swanekamp will also oversee parks and public works, whose responsibilities include snow plowing. He’s presently Poloncarz’s chief of staff.
Maria Whyte is a former Erie County legislator who later served as deputy county executive under Poloncarz before leaving for the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. Whyte’s responsibilities will include labor relations, human resources and the law department.
Finally, there’s Thomas Baines, who will head up economic development and building inspections. Tons of work to do here. Baines is deputy commissioner of planning and economic development for Erie County.
Taken as a group, Ryan’s nominees, all subject to approval by the Common Council, represent a huge upgrade over the senior staff Brown surrounded himself with.
Ryan also named Gabrielle Harrington his chief of staff. She served as deputy chief of staff in his state Senate office.
The appointments are the first five of many to come. Ryan’s transition team is currently interviewing candidates for close to 100 positions.
Last week I recommended eight independent news websites, podcasts, etc., with a local connection. I asked readers who I overlooked and received these suggestions:
- Skin in the Game, a podcast on the business of sports hosted by sports marketing guru John Cimperman and journalist Tim O’Shei. The weekly podcast also airs Saturdays at 4 p.m. on Buffalo Toronto Public Media, 88.7 FM.
- The Niagara Express, a hyperlocal website covering Niagara Falls and Lewiston produced by Joseph Genco.
- The Diamond Jim Radio Hour, a local political podcast hosted by Jim Tamol. Geoff Kelly has been among his guests.
- Kate Welshofer Was Here, a Substack column written by the former host of WGRZ’s Most Buffalo.
Ken Kruly, in his Politics and Other Stuff, looks ahead to the 2026 elections and runs down how much money local politicians have in the bank.
State Assemblyman Pat Burke, whose district includes all or parts of South Buffalo, Lackawanna, West Seneca and Orchard Park, is considering a run for Erie County executive. Mark Poloncarz has said he won’t seek another term. Burke, if he makes the plunge, could compete with county Comptroller Kevin Hardwick, who is also weighing a race.
Donate to support our nonprofit newsroomSome 450,000 New Yorkers are facing increases of up to $10,000 this coming year in their health insurance premiums thanks to Trump and Congressional Republicans, according to New York Focus.
Donald Trump has pardoned no fewer than 1,600 people during his 10 months in office, many for fraud, bribery, and public corruption. There’s also the January 6 insurrectionists. And let’s not forget about drug traffickers, the president’s affinity for blowing up fishing boats notwithstanding. The Independent details the pardons. Newsweek does likewise.
I saw John Prine in concert twice, including his last appearance locally at Shea’s Buffalo in June 2019. (He died a year later of Covid.)
Unlike a lot of concerts, there was not a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ from the audience during the show. Fans were there to listen to the man, knowing we were in the presence of greatness.
There’s a new documentary out of a memorial concert honoring his work that was reviewed last week (guest link) in The New York Times. Here, with this being the holiday season, is his somber, powerful rendition of Christmas In Prison.
Come to our interview Friday at 7 p.m. with Mayor-elect Sean Ryan at the Burchfield Penney Art Center
