Justin Sondel

2 weeks ago | buffalonews.com | Justin Sondel

Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon wants the vital Democratic line when voters cast ballots this year to determine the city's next mayor. That goal is why he has a lot riding on what the city stands to gain in the New York State budget this year. And it is why he claims that mayoral politics are playing a part in whether key legislation that will drastically change calculations of the city budget will be included in the state spending plan. Scanlon accused his main mayoral rival State Sen.

3 weeks ago | buffalonews.com | Justin Sondel

With the deadline for filing petitions now passed, at least seven candidates for mayor of Buffalo have submitted more than the required signatures to get on the ballot for the primary election. Mayor Christopher Scanlon, who, as Common Council president, became acting mayor in October when Byron Brown resigned, doubled the amount of signatures collected by any other candidate, turning in 7,565. Behind him were University District Common Council Member Rasheed Wyatt at more than 3,800, State Sen.

3 weeks ago | buffalonews.com | Justin Sondel

With less than a week to go before Mayor Christopher Scanlon is required to submit his proposed budget to the Common Council, many questions remain up in the air, with the state Legislature now late for its own April 1 budget deadline and no clear sign of when the state spending plan will be set.

3 weeks ago | buffalonews.com | Justin Sondel

The Buffalo Common Council has added more restrictions governing short-term rentals in the city, including their use in residential neighborhoods. The amendments to the existing rules around the kind of rental agreements used by companies such as Airbnb and VRBO come in response to complaints from the community, city lawmakers said. The new rules are aimed at pushing short-term rentals out of residential districts and into commercial districts.

3 weeks ago | buffalonews.com | Justin Sondel

State Sen. Sean Ryan says he wants to bring a new era of transparency and ethics reform to Buffalo's City Hall. Standing in Niagara Square, Ryan, one of 10 candidates who have said they want to be Buffalo’s next mayor, said that if he is elected he will hit the ground running with a set of new ethics measures and the overhaul of existing systems to ensure accountability and transparency in the mayor’s office, on the Buffalo Common Council and throughout city bureaucracy.