Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) – There could be a shakeup in the Republican race for Buffalo mayor. It appears that Mickey Kearns, although not currently on the ballot, is considering a potential run if an opening were to arise.
Kearns joined David Bellavia’s show on Tuesday, where Bellavia asked, “Mickey Kearns, let me ask you, do you want to run for mayor of the city of Buffalo in November of 2025?”
“Well, David, believe it or not, that’s not an easy question… it’s a very complex question,” Kearns replied. “I’m just a regular guy, you know, just a small guy who’s won a few races.”
“So right now, the simple answer is, I do not have a line. I don’t have a line to run. I don’t have any of those lines. I know there are things that can be done. I’m not a political insider, but, you know, people may change their minds. I don’t know that. But I want to be very respectful to James (Gardner). I think Sean Ryan is not the answer.”
“I want to congratulate the acting mayor, Mayor Scanlon, who took my seat when I was on the Buffalo Common Council. He succeeded me. He ran a great race for mayor, and I was listening to his speech, and a lot of his people were saying to him—and I was hoping that he would go to the end. We had a conversation, because he did have a line. They were saying, ‘It’s not over, it’s not over.’ And, you know, I congratulate him, and I was hoping that he would go to the end, but then he decided to end his candidacy, and my phone started ringing off the hook,” said Kearns.
The Erie County GOP-endorsed candidate for mayor, James Gardner, also joined David Bellavia on Tuesday. Gardner told Bellavia he’ll be on the ballot November 4 on the Republican and Conservative lines.
“You’ve got to almost kick down the door to get people to acknowledge that there’s a different voice in this race,” Gardner said.
“We have to do things more efficiently, and voting for a different leader—a younger leader from a different party is an easy opportunity to make that change. And I think people, regardless of the corner of the city I’ve gone to or the different block clubs I’ve spoken to, there is this overwhelming desire for something to change. And Sean Ryan does not represent change. He represents the same old bad ideas on steroids,” Gardner added.
“I ran for District Attorney last year because, again, I was motivated by the idea that the criminal justice system in New York State was… and is fundamentally on the wrong track. As someone with that background, I felt that I could articulate an alternative vision for how crime should be dealt with and prosecuted in New York.”
The election will be held on November 4. There are currently three candidates still in the running for Buffalo mayor: Sean Ryan, Michael Gainer, and James Gardner.