Buffalo mayoral candidates discuss food insecurity, housing, extreme weather in debate

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Food insecurity, extreme weather, housing affordability and Buffalo's budget deficit were discussed in a mayoral debate between Sean Ryan, James Gardner and Michael Gainer on Thursday morning.

The debate comes as the three vie for the top office in city hall on Nov. 4.

Democratic Candidate Ryan, a current State Senator, has represented Buffalo and its suburbs since 2021. He served for a decade before that in the state assembly. Gardner, the Republican candidate, is a former law clerk and assistant district attorney in Erie County and ran unsuccessfully for Erie County District Attorney last year. Gainer, the independent candidate, is a community activist and founder of Buffalo ReUse Action.

The winner of the Nov. 4 election will replace Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon, who took over for Byron Brown, who stepped down in October 2024 after nearly two decades in the mayor's office.

Food insecurity

Ryan cited a statewide free school lunch program that he helped pass due to a high percentage students in suburban Buffalo qualifying for it. He also cited that SNAP benefits could be cut at the start of November due to the government shutdown and said that "good federal actors" are needed to help at the local level.

Gardner said that he would build more single family homes in order to help families out of generational poverty so they are able to afford food.

Gainer said that he would assist in speeding up permits to build neighborhood grocery stories in low-income neighborhoods, such as Imperial Market. He said he would also help identify sites where they could be built.

Extreme weather

All candidates agreed there are lessons that need to be learned from the deadly Christmas blizzard in 2022, in which dozens of people died across the city.

Ryan said that 30% of the city's snow plows were not operational during the storm due to various issues, which he said should not have happened. He cited a lack of deaths in suburbs, which got more snow in some places but were able to get plows out.

"The deaths in that storm were tragic, but entirely preventable," Ryan said. "Nothing is more basic than being able to keep your citizens safe in the event of natural disaster."

Gardner said that there is a lack of resources and more investment is needed. Gainer said that the city needs to be more proactive in having salt available in stores, getting snow plows out early and often during major storms and it is the city's responsibility to make sure everyone in the city has protection from the elements.

Budget deficit

Gardner accused the city of using federal COVID-19 relief funds to plug budget deficits and hire people for city hall-related jobs, rather than investing into things that would make the city better and could help fill the budget gap. He also proposed cutting $2 million in the budget for the mayor's office, which he claimed half of could be cut by eliminating round-the-clock security.

"I have an alarm system and a locked door, that's all I need," Gardner said.

Ryan said that some city spending cannot be controlled and will discuss options with the state in order to help trim the city's budget deficit.

The city is facing a budget deficit of nearly $70 million, which was uncovered by the Scanlon administration earlier this year.

Police contracts

Ryan said the new contract for the city's police officers, which expired earlier this year and threatens to have up to 80 officers taking early retirement if there is not a new contract by the end of the year, has to limit unnecessary overtime in order to cut costs. He also cited that every city employee-related contract expires by the end of next year so all contracts will need to be negotiated, which will be a tall task for the next mayor.

Gainer said he would ask for more county and state officers on the streets to help put less stress on local officers.

Housing affordability

Ryan discussed his three-point plan to help people have affordable housing, which includes keeping people in their apartments, getting vacant apartments back online in order to be leased, and building more affordable homes on the city's vacant lots.

Gardner said that he will make sure the supply of affordable housing meets the demand and again emphasized his desire to build more single family homes, and said he would invite developers into the city to build those homes.

Term limits

Gardner and Gainer both said they are in support of local term limits and pledged that they would not serve more than two terms if they are elected.

Ryan said he does not support term limits and did not pledge. He cited former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and outgoing Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, who were both term limited, as mayors who would have benefitted from another term in office.

You can watch the full debate in the video player above.