County party chair and Assembly member vie to replace state Sen. Sean Ryan

The race to replace state Sen. Sean Ryan, the likely next mayor of Buffalo, has started taking shape. Erie County Democratic Party Chair Jeremy Zellner’s interest in the role remains an open secret in Western New York, and organized labor is beginning to pick sides between him and Democratic Assembly Member Jonathan Rivera. (Republicans likely have no shot of flipping the solidly blue district.) 

There’s still plenty of time until a committee nomination vote that many expect to go to Zellner’s way or a primary battle that could prove fractious, and some political insiders question the idea of a county chair like Zellner ending up with one of the hottest political properties on the market while still retaining control of the local party. This would follow a Buffalo mayoral primary process that left some candidates feeling as though the red carpet was laid out for Ryan. 

But it’s not unusual for an elected official to double as head of the local Democratic party.  Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn currently serves as chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Committee chair while also representing her Brooklyn district. In Queens, Rep. Greg Meeks runs the county committee while also serving in Congress, and the Bronx Democratic Committee is currently led by state Sen. Jamaal Bailey. Outside of New York City, Assembly Member Pamela Hunter chaired the Onondaga County Democratic Party earlier in her Assembly tenure.

Zellner said any talk about him simultaneously running the county party and serving in the state Legislature is premature, since Ryan hasn’t even won the Buffalo mayoral election or assumed office – though both are viewed as inevitable in comfortably blue Buffalo. 

“This is a decision that I'm going to be making after the election,” Zellner told City & State, “and I've had a lot of encouragement from a vast amount of folks in this community, and I will at that point, see if there's support there after the election, and seek the support if that's the case.”

That support, he said, would include organized labor, which is a powerful force in Western New York. Rumors had circulated this month of a possible split between Zellner and influential unions. But Western New York Area Labor Federation President Denise Abbott quickly shot those down, attributing the whispers to possible confusion over labor’s local election endorsement process. 

However, Rivera has already received preemptive endorsements from local unions representing the building trades, carpenters and plumbers.

“I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but I think that the conversations I've had with organized labor have been consistent, and they know me to be someone that is not just good on their issues but more importantly, a believer that organized labor is a huge part of the future of not just restoring the middle class and being able to move the country forward in a better way, but it's also a big part of what we have to do as Democrats,” Rivera said. He added on Friday that he was planning to run for the seat.

Political strategist Jack O’Donnell said that for Zellner, part of the battle will be convincing both the party and public that he would make a better senator than an experienced politician would. Zellner, who currently serves as Democratic election commissioner at the Erie County Board of Elections, has been involved with internal party politics for decades, but he has never held elected office. 

“Voters want answers. What are you going to do about affordability?  Do you support New York for All or the HEAT Act or the Health Act? What’s your plan to fight federal cuts to Medicaid and higher education,” O'Donnell said. “Democratic leaders owe it to all of us to demand any candidate discuss their plans, their ideas and especially their records with the whole community and not just party insiders.”