Campaign financials highlight a two-way race in the Buffalo mayoral primary

Candidates in the June 24^th primary elections were required to file campaign financial information with the state Board of Elections by May 23^rd for transactions through May 19^th. While there are several contested primaries among the parties in Erie County, major attention remains on the Democratic race for mayor of Buffalo.

The financial reports suggest that while there will be five names on the ballot, acting Mayor Chris Scanlon and State Senator Sean Ryan are far outpacing the resources of Garnell Whitfield, Raysheed Wyatt, and Anthony Tyson Thompson. Money is not the only resource that a candidate needs, but if funds are limited the ability to deliver the candidate’s message to the widest possible audience is restricted.

The primary election is now just four weeks away. Early voting begins on June 14^th, 18 days from now.

The reports show that Scanlon is relying considerably on the same Buffalo base of business leaders, city vendors and contractors, professional firms, and city employees that supported Mayor Byron Brown in his five races for the office. Ryan’s receipts come primarily from local individuals plus many labor unions. He also transferred $300,000 from his Senate campaign committee, which reports a remaining balance of $139,253.

Here is a summary of what the candidates have raised (R) and spent (S) between January 11 and May 19 and the cash-on-hand they currently have available (C):

Ryan: R – $695,296 total from two committees, including the transfer of $308,000 from two other Ryan campaign accounts; S – $596,769; C – $150,346
Scanlon: R – $490,249; S – $378,397; C – $666,735
Tyson Thompson: No disclosure report on file as of May 25, 2025
Whitfield: R – $44,335; S – $60,388; C – $14,750
Wyatt: R – $13,450; S – $0; C – $26,146

A previous post noted that the Republican Party in Erie County has five primary races on the ballot for the offices of town supervisor. Because of the size of the town the one attracting the most attention is in Amherst.

Here are the campaign financials in the towns, reporting on the period between January 11 and May 19:

Alden

Colleen Paulter: No committee on record
Michael Retzlaff: No committee on record

Amherst

Dan Gagliardo: R – $26,267, including $8,345 in personal loans; S – $9,108; C – $17,159
Dennis Hoban: R – $12,002 S – $23,060; C – $40,293; (previous personal loan of $50,000)

Elma

Wayne Clark: R – $5,400, including personal loan of $5,000; S – $0; C – $5,400
Lee Kupczyk: No committee on record

Hamburg

Joshua Collins: R – $0; S – $0; C – $0. A series of personal loans totaling $10,927 is listed. It is not unusual for a candidate to provide a personal loan to his/her campaign, but this report fails to indicate what the campaign has spent money on. The Election Law requires that financial reports must set forth “all the receipts, contributions to and the expenditures by and liabilities of the committee…”
Beth Farrell Lorentz: No-Activity Report dated March 4, 2025

Orchard Park

Joseph Liberti: R – $27,338; S – $13,147; C – $33,719
Eugene Majchrzak: R – $4,055; S – $5,543; C – $42,921

Candidates will continue to raise and spend money through June 24^th. The last financial reports before the primary election are due on June 13 reflecting transactions between May 20 and June 9.

One additional campaign note: petitions to run on an independent line on the November ballot were due at the county Board of Elections on May 27. Reportedly, three mayoral candidates have been circulating petitions: Chris Scanlon, Garnell Whitfield, and Michael Gainer. A total of 1,500 valid signatures are required, which is 500 less than what was required to get on the Democratic primary ballot.

Bluesky @kenkruly

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