Tag: Politics

Oct 10

2025

Watch: IP’s Geoff Kelly on Capital Tonight

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Buffalo’s mayoral election is 25 days away. State Sen. Sean Ryan, the Democratic nominee, is the odds-on favorite to prevail.  Investigative Post’s Geoff Kelly appeared Thursday on Spectrum News’ Capital Tonight with Susan Arbetter to discuss the state of the race, as well as the brewing fight among Ryan’s fellow Democrats over who will fill his Senate seat come January. The scrapping over Ryan’s seat, which has been unfolding in the background for months, burst into the open on Thursday, when Ryan’s longtime political ally, Assembly Member Jonathan Rivera, declared his candidacy for the job. Zellner and Rivera both have[...]

Posted 23 hours ago

Sep 18

2025

Zellner, Rivera jockey for state Senate seat

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Assembly Member Jonathan Rivera and Erie County Democratic Committee Chair Jeremy Zellner are longtime allies. In recent months they’ve also become rivals. Both are positioning themselves to succeed Sean Ryan in the 61st district state Senate seat in the likely event that Ryan is elected mayor of Buffalo in November. Neither has publicly declared their candidacy, but both are canvassing party leaders, committee members and other Democratic stalwarts for pledges of support.  Rivera recently received letters of endorsement from a handful of building trades unions. As if in reply, Town of Amherst Democratic Chair Chuck Eaton used a meeting of[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

Aug 18

2025

Bad news on the horizon for Channels 2 and 4

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You could have read this Sunday if you subscribed to our free newsletters, sent Sunday and Wednesday. Sign up at this link. We’re facing the prospect of a merger involving the chain owners of Channels 2 and 4, who between them dominate the local TV news ratings. According to press reports, Nexstar, whose holdings include WIVB, is negotiating to acquire TEGNA (WGRZ) in a deal that would involve 264 stations nationally. Media consolidations are rarely a good thing, and the Buffalo market is likely to be  ill-served by a Nexstar-TEGNA merger. Competition is likely to take a hit and a[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Aug 14

2025

Feds fault Scanlon campaign for Hatch Act violations

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x Federal investigators last week ruled that Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon’s campaign violated laws prohibiting elected officials from using their offices or public resources for political gain. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found the acting mayor’s campaign on four occasions violated the federal Hatch Act: Issuing a press release “using official City of Buffalo resources” attacking state Sen. Sean Ryan in response to Ryan’s criticism of conditions at the city’s animal shelter. Mailing invitations to a December fundraiser using the mayor’s office in City Hall as the return address on the envelopes. Publishing links to the Scanlon campaign’s social[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jul 29

2025

What’s next for Chris Scanlon

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There has been much chatter about Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon’s plans come January, when he will relinquish his job as the city’s interim chief executive to the winner of November’s general election. Will Scanlon serve the two years left in his current term as South District Council member? Will he seek another elected office, perhaps in the state Legislature? Or will he leave elected office behind — at least for now — and take some well-paying job in state government or the private sector? Scanlon on Friday told an Investigative Post reporter he’s “heard the rumors” and insisted there’s nothing[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jul 25

2025

Buffalo lawmaker joins call for police oversight

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Leah Halton-Pope at a Buffalo Common Council meeting. Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope is keeping alive her predecessor’s call for reforms to the Buffalo Police Department, including the creation of a civilian oversight board with the power to investigate claims of officer misconduct and recommend discipline. That makes Halton-Pope the third city lawmaker to express support for civilian oversight of policer, joining the University District’s Rasheed Wyatt and Masten District’s Zeneta Everhart. Halton-Pope, who represents the Ellicott District, submitted a resolution last week that re-ups and refreshes police reforms proposed four years ago by former Common Council President[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jun 30

2025

Much ado about the mayoral primary in NYC

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Nationally, Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor was the electoral story of the week. Five takes: The City covers the election results. Politico shares the thoughts of eight political types about what it all means. New York Focus explores whether state government is likely to go for Mamdani’s agenda. The New York Times and The Intercept weigh in on what lessons the Democratic establishment should take from Mamdani’s victory. Writing for The Times, Rebecca Kirszner Katz, a political consultant who worked on Mamdani’s campaign, lamented “the party establishment’s impulse to stifle and ignore[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jun 27

2025

Scanlon ends his campaign for Buffalo mayor

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  Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon during a press conference in his office earlier in his term. Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon, who lost decisively in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, withdrew his candidacy for the November general election Friday afternoon. Scanlon submitted paperwork to the Erie County Board of Elections to decline the nomination of the Good Neighbors Party, which he created in May. His withdrawal all but assures that state Sen. Sean Ryan, who won Tuesday’s primary in convincing fashion, will prevail in November. Two candidates remain on the ballot in addition to Ryan, age 60, who will be running as the[...]

Posted 4 months ago
Investigative Post