The Buffalodown, Vol. 2, Issue 19
Stories & Events for Social Connection
By Seamus Gallivan
- Endorsing Sean Ryan for Buffalo Mayor
- Musings on Music: Gary Clark is back at Artpark
- Featured Events: 20 this week, encouraging submissions!
- Listening Links: Ryan’s pitch and primary analysis
Welcome to the Buffalodown, thank you for your attention!
Time to vote, Buffalonians – our Mayoral Democratic Primary is today, click here to find your poll location – and while I disdain the state of the Democratic Party both locally and nationally, I’m a registered Democrat for its usually decisive vote in local elections. After sincerely considering all candidates, here’s my case to vote for Sean Ryan.
For my newer friends here who might be unaware of my history – in our previous mayoral election, I served as the communications director for candidate India Walton from the conception of our grassroots campaign through our primary victory that shocked seemingly everyone but us, at which point I took a lesser role through the November election which we lost to Byron Brown, who has since resigned with a series of undemocratic deals on his way out to hand the heavy advantage of incumbency to now Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon.
So goes status-quo politics in Buffalo – we are governed by people who assumed their positions more through concentrated power than communal popularity.
The few who hold this power have ruled over generations of concentrated poverty, fiscal incompetence, hazardous highways and ragged roads.
They all identify as Democrats, only to ultimately take money and orders from the wealthy right.
We’ve been stuck in this muck with only three different mayors in my entire lifetime of 46+ years, and now the puppeteers have installed their pick for continued cronyism at the expense of the common good.
And wow, how the rank-and-file fall in line behind him as they did before with Byron, cheering on the constant cynical charade of carefully-calculated fear-mongering and photo-ops, such wonderful window dressing on this continued house of cards – same deck, different king, yet somehow so many are expecting different results, sigh…
…while many challengers have made the ballot this year with intriguing perspectives, our flawed electoral system fueled by big money and backroom games made almost certain from the start that the only one who has a serious chance to unseat the appointed incumbent is State Senator Sean Ryan – and I believe in his intentions, credentials, and platform to pull our city out of this mess for once in my life.
While I sneer to see Senator Ryan playing some of the same games of electoral politics – is there any other way to win around here?! – he has legit experience in and been outspoken on the root causes of systemic problems in Buffalo, from housing and Humboldt Parkway to ethics and fiscal responsibility. And of the countless Buffalonians who I both see being outspoken in this race and trust to be truly concerned with the common good, all but a few are supporting Sean.
Here are a few public statements that speak to my belief in Sean as the best candidate:
From someone who did street-level work with him: “When I think of Sean’s skillset, I think of the way he combines strategic vision and ‘big picture’ thinking with attention to the smallest details,” said Aaron Bartley, cofounder of PUSH Buffalo, in a profile of Sean’s history by veteran reporter Geoff Kelly for Investigative Post.
From someone who did state-level coverage of him, and from the same IP report: “John Kaehny of Reinvent Albany, a watchdog organization that’s unabashedly critical of state officials, said he rated Ryan ‘a top-tier legislator in terms of effectiveness and engagement and policy knowledge.’
“‘He’s one of the more dynamic, energetic legislators, impassioned about issues,’ Kaehny said. ‘There’s maybe a quarter of the legislature that is truly motivated and working for not only their own priorities but for the public good. I would put Sean Ryan in that category.’”
Finally, from one of our supremely respected elders, educator, author, historian, and Queen Mother Eva Doyle:
“I have listened to all of the debates; read all of the articles on the election; and as a journalist for 46 years…I’ve decided to give my endorsement to Sean Ryan.
“He was one of the first candidates to speak to the need to work to help support and improve our schools, and as an educator, that meant a lot to me.
“He talked about the need to improve our community centers for our young people. I was glad to hear this, because I have taught in many of those community centers for many, many years.
“Mr. Ryan also indicated that he would support building new homes on vacant lots – that’s what my late husband and I did. We built our home on a vacant lot, and today I live in a beautiful home not far from the Broadway Market. My husband was in construction – he helped to build this home.”
I consider this whole city to be my home; I believe that Sean Ryan cares about every corner; and I hope you’ll join me in voting for him.
Investigative Post profiles of all five Democratic Primary candidates:
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Musings on Music
Gary Clark is back at Artpark
Repeating what I wrote here last year: Gary Clark, Jr., was one of the first and most frequent musicians I saw upon relocating to Austin in 2005, at which point he was 21 years old and had a resident trio show at the mainstay Continental Club.
As local as he was then, he was widely considered capable of becoming the superstar he is now, and he showed last year at Artpark through classic cuts, new songs and even technical difficulties that he has done so on his own terms; much as he was considered a blues guitar slinger then in Austin and when he first broke out, those listening closely heard his multitudes between bedroom demos and barroom visions, from falsetto slow jams to a heavy side now emphasized by a bigger band including Buffalo native Jon Deas on keys.
Last year’s wide-ranging set at Artpark saw Gary and his once-wandering muse moving in step, his signature saunter now a confident swagger. He rapped through the opener “Maktub,” raved through the bluesy breakout “When My Train Pulls In,” and clapped back at critics in “This is Who We Are.” When his guitar malfunctioned during “The Healing,” he did something I’ve never seen over countless shows – he performed without it, just sang, openly embracing the rare moment by making fun of it and working the whole stage for two songs as smooth as silk while the techs fixed the glitch.
Read more about the show from Jeff Miers on Music, whose face was melting a few rows in front of me; see two videos below from my pal Dan Ehrenreich aka “spotcoffee” on Youtube; and join us again tonight at Artpark!
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Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all who’ve submitted their events! Welcoming submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.
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Listening Links
Sean Ryan’s Mayoral Bid: A Blueprint for Buffalo’s Future – BTPM NPR What’s Next – In my opinion, the most coherent and prepared pitch for Mayor of Buffalo, including “his plans for the city of Buffalo, including his timeline to fix key issues such as housing, small business ownership, and the revitalization of Downtown Buffalo.”
Diamond Jim Radio Hour – Mayoral Primary Roundtable – The Square – “Diamond Jim hosts a special mayoral primary roundtable with guests Geoff Kelly, Justin Sondel, Michael Wooten and Riy Mallahi.”
Above and below are links to reasoned analysis of the entire field of candidates for the Buffalo Mayoral Democratic Primary – while I’ve made my choice clear, I respect your right to choose differently and hope you feel the same.
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
Please share with friends to sign up for next week’s Buffalodown, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome!
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