Five Songs that Inspire Sean Ryan and his Campaign for Mayor of Buffalo
It seems like just yesterday that Buffalo hit the polls to decide if underdog India Walton could defeat the Byron Brown political machine. Turns out, the Brown campaign arose from it’s slumber and drove the vote out with their “Write Down Brown” write-in campaign, securing the office for roughly four years before heading into the obvious transition of working in horse racing. In just seven days, Buffalo decides the future of the city with a new democratic primary to see who gets to be the rightful nominee on the ballot that represents the future of the Queen City… And if it’s one thing we can all agree upon, it’s this – Buffalo deserves better.
Lifelong WNY resident and State Senator Sean Ryan is throwing his hat into the ring for Mayor of Buffalo with that very pitch, bringing a deep sense of Buffalo pride and decades of public service to his bid for City Hall. We had the opportunity to ask him about the songs that inspire him and his campaign leading up to the primary day, which is Tuesday, June 24th.
“Romeo and Juliet” – The Killers
Sean Ryan: When “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers became the unofficial Buffalo Bills anthem, I was reminded of this cover I heard a while ago. It’s originally by Dire Straits, but for whatever reason it’s the Killers’ cover that sticks in my head.
“Moon River” – Audrey Hepburn
SR: This was the wedding song my wife and I selected years ago. We just thought the lyrics were perfect and the song was great to dance to. And now we like the Frank Ocean version too.
“California Stars” – Billy Bragg, Wilco
SR: A couple of years ago, when Starbucks Workers United were at the height of their strike on Elmwood, Billy Bragg came out and played some live music right on the sidewalk there. I had heard of him, but it wasn’t until later that I looked him up and found out he had written a modern pro-union anthem. So after that, I got hooked on some of his music with the band, Wilco.
There are hundreds of unionized Starbucks stores across the US now, but that movement all started right here in Buffalo on Elmwood Ave and I’m proud to have stood with the workers from the beginning.
“Right Down the Line” – Gerry Rafferty
SR: This is just one I remember from when I was a teenager. I must have heard it in passing somewhere recently, because it’s really been stuck in my head since.
“Move On Up” – Curtis Mayfield
SR: This is the song we’ve been using as our Sean Ryan for Buffalo theme. I find it really captures the tone of our campaign to build a better Buffalo.
I’m running for mayor because Buffalo deserves better. We’re a resilient city. We’ve endured a lot of hardships over the years, be they historic redlining, disinvestment in our marginalized communities, deadly storms, economic downturns. But we’re still here, and we have a real chance to make lasting, positive change for the City of Buffalo.
SR: I also have to shout out a few local bands. One being Tiger Chun Lee. I was lucky enough to address the crowd before their live show at this year’s Porchfest. And Elemantra *, as Nick Beiling on my campaign played with them for years.
Categorised in: Columns
This post was written by Wyatt Edwards