Chad Ryan seeks District 8 reelection, citing recovery and community ties

Chad Ryan, Onondaga County’s District 8 legislator, has been drawn to public service and leadership throughout his life. It runs in his family. But it also came with some hurdles, he says. 

“My health was a concern. I was unhappy, and I needed to make a change,” Ryan said.

Ryan was chair of the Syracuse Common Council’s Public Works Committee, where he served from 2014 through 2019, representing the 2nd District. In 2018, he took a four-month leave of absence to seek treatment for substance addiction. Through his recovery, Ryan said he has found a renewed sense of purpose. He returned to regional office and now, ahead of Election Day, hopes to win a full term as county legislator, a seat he has held for one year.

Ryan doesn’t want to be portrayed as the lead in an inspirational story, just someone who leads by example. “It was freeing and allowed me to take the steps necessary to try to become the version of myself I wanted to be,” he said. 

As he seeks reelection to Onondaga County’s 8th District, Ryan is focused on making Micron’s historic central New York microchip facility a benefit to residents, expanding affordable housing and reducing waste in county spending.

Drawing on his experience as a property owner, funeral director and common councilor, Ryan champions a practical, accountable approach to public service, shaped by his deep community roots and personal recovery journey. 

In Nov. 2025, Ryan stepped back into the political spotlight after six years following his election to the Onondaga County Legislature, winning the same District 8 seat previously held by his cousin, Chris Ryan, now a New York State Senator.

Chad and Chris aren’t the only Ryans to serve in public office.  His father, Edward J. Ryan, was a county legislator for 32 years, and his other cousin, Kevin Ryan, is the current Onondaga County Republican Committee’s commissioner of elections. 

The Ryan family has a history in the region. Chad’s grandfather, Edward F. Ryan, started the funeral home business in 1938. These days, Ryan juggles his duties as a legislator with his full-time job as a funeral director. Marty Masterpole, the county comptroller, grew up in Tipperary Hill near the Ryans. He said his experience at the funeral home complements his style of governance.

“He’s a very professional, honorable individual dealing with families at their toughest hour and when you can maintain that professionalism, it speaks volumes,” Masterpole said. 

Masterpole recalled one moment two years ago when his 98-year-old father passed away. In a challenging personal moment late at night, he described  Ryan’s compassion — regardless of the time. Masterpole believes these skills will translate well in politics. 

Chad has worked as a licensed funeral director since 2008, earning a mortuary science degree from SUNY Canton two years earlier. He agrees with Masterpole, saying his job translates well into politics. 

“Folks trust me with their loved ones to do the right thing,” he said. “They’re going to trust me to do the right thing by their local community.”

During his time on the Syracuse Common Council, he met 2nd District Councilor Pat Hogan, and the two often teamed up on one of Ryan’s primary concerns: affordable housing.

“Chad will be dogged in pursuit of affordable housing,” Hogan said. 

In 2016, Ryan and Hogan submitted letters of support for a proposal to put two vacant Richmond Avenue houses back into residential use. The pair favored the lower offer to keep the homes within the same extended family because it ensured that the issue of a problematic shared driveway would no longer exist, reducing the potential for future neighborly conflict. 

Hogan attributes Chad’s empathetic view of housing to another professional venture Ryan operates with his family: property management. Hogan says this experience helps him understand the perspectives of both tenants and landlords alike. 

The Ryan family is of Irish descent and owns several properties around Tipperary Hill, a Westside neighborhood where the tricolor adorns many properties. One house is at the intersection of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue, where the upside-down traffic light stands as a local symbol of Irish heritage.

Ryan has brought this landlord perspective to policy positions. In 2016, he voted against the majority on a proposal to ban landlord advertisements that openly discriminate against prospective tenants on Section 8 public assistance vouchers. 

He said that the ban wouldn’t necessarily eliminate discrimination, as landlords could easily find another way to discriminate.

“If they don’t want to rent to Section 8, they’re going to institute an application fee, they’re going to institute a background check, and they’re going to look at the reference,” he said. 

Hogan says that looking out for his constituents and ensuring every dollar is spent efficiently for their benefit is what gets Ryan up in the morning.

At the start of his political career in 2015, Ryan supported redirecting Greater Syracuse Landbank funds toward demolishing properties that were too deteriorated to rehabilitate economically. He acknowledged that it wouldn’t be profitable to take on vacant lots, but instead prioritized solving a big neighborhood issue.

“When the land bank takes a property, I know the grass is going to get cut,” he said. “I know there’s not going to be trash there.” 

In the run-up to November’s election, he has pledged his continued support for the Onondaga County Housing Initiative Program. The program uses county funds to help close financing gaps and encourage new affordable housing construction. But he wants to see proof that it is working effectively. 

“If this is simply a giveaway with limited return on investment, I would advocate that we change course and find a better use of the funds,” Ryan said.

His experience outside the Legislature also gives him personal insight into other issues affecting his community. As a property owner and lifelong resident of the neighborhood, Ryan has direct experience with another issue central to the lives of his constituents: the safety of their drinking water. 

In December 2025, lead levels were above the safety limit at the “action level“, according to the Syracuse Department of Water. They recommended replacing lead service lines in the water distribution system, as it’s carried from Skaneateles Lake.  

But Ryan says the cost of gutting a house to replace old lead pipes would be on the homeowner as much as the municipality and would be extremely invasive and expensive, prohibiting most people.  

In the meantime, he says there needs to be a focus on a campaign of information about what residents can do while they wait to replace the old system of pipes. 

“If you have lead pipes in your house and you run water for 30 seconds, it’s gone,” he said, echoing the advice from the City of Syracuse Water Department. 

Although Ryan has no personal fear of lead in his drinking water, he does filter his water because his wife, Katie, who’s from North Jersey, did not like the feel and appearance of her hair after using the hard, central New York water.  

Another water-related issue that’s made headlines this week: the $100 million price tag attached to the new Syracuse Harborview Aquarium. Ryan says it was low on the priority list and has doubts about its future. 

“I have a hard time believing a building full of tanks and pipes is going to be self-sustaining,” he said. “Most aquariums don’t make any money. I think once it’s up, we’ll be subsidizing; that’s not the information we’ve been led to believe will be the situation.” 

He says that any return on investment will be hard to quantify, as it will not be in the form of dollars but rather social and emotional capital. Accordingly, he says he would be in favor of some type of 2-for-1 ticket subscription to increase visitors to both the aquarium and the zoo, but says that’s a decision for Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon.

Despite these fiscal concerns, Ryan says the aquarium will be an asset to the community, and he will be voting to support it. He has called on his fellow county legislators to follow suit. 

“Chad is really good at putting people together with a common goal to shepherd them in the right direction,” Hogan said. 

While Ryan has doubts about the aquarium investment, he’s excited by Micron’s development in the region. The microchip titan started building its multibillion-dollar semiconductor manufacturing complex this year and is projected to create up to 50,000 new regional jobs, according to Empire State Development. 

“The Micron project has the potential to be a generationally transformative project for our region,” he said. 

But his support comes with two caveats. First, Micron needs to provide tangible benefits to the local workforce, mainly in the form of quality jobs. To that end, Ryan is in favor of the One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships ON-RAMP program in Syracuse. This $200 million state-funded training initiative offers careers for residents with the skills in the advanced manufacturing and semiconductor industries, like Micron. 

“Getting access to these jobs is the most critical thing,” he said. 

On artificial intelligence, Ryan says he has reservations but also embraces its utility. He turns to Claude to help with business-related tasks in the legislature. He often uses it to draw up outlines for his facilities meetings and draft fundraising flyers.

“I threw my parks and rec budget in there to say, ‘Hey, what are you seeing over the last few years?’ ” he said. 

While he believes in AI’s positive impacts, he also worries that it could harm the local job market. He discussed a recent conversation with a constituent training to become a therapist, and Ryan trusts that her skills trump those of a machine.

“I think a lot of industries are certainly going to change and transform,” he said. “My personal opinion on that field is that folks want to talk to somebody, and they want to know that they’re being heard; that’s a big part of therapy.”

But it’s not a role everyone has seen Ryan play. 

He was described as “The Quiet Councilor” at the start of his political career, and his sister, Jillian, explains why. 

“My dad always taught us: you sit, and you listen,” she said. “One person’s supposed to talk at a time; you’re not supposed to interrupt. Chad’s very good at that.”

Ryan says there’s a place for getting on the soapbox and making outlandish statements, but that’s not his style.

“I feel like I get much better results catching a department head on the side, saying, ‘Help me understand this,’ as opposed to getting up there and carving them up in front of a room,” he said. 

Eight years after getting sober became a defining moment in his life, Chad Ryan is looking toward another — the chance to continue as a leader in the community he calls home.  

“I think I’m very comfortable with where I’m at,” he said. “Do the funeral home, try to be a legislator part time. God willing, the voters put me in.”