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William J. Ryan,
District 5
Bill Ryan, a Democrat, is in his seventh term as Westchester County Legislator from the 5th District. The immediate past Chairman of the Board of Legislators, Ryan was the longest serving Chair in the Board’s history. From 2004 through 2009, he led the Board as it worked to keep one million residents safe and secure; safeguard water and air quality; protect consumers; strengthen the local economy; create affordable housing; and make government more efficient, economical, transparent, and open to the people.
Born in Peekskill, NY in 1949, Ryan attended public school and graduated from Peekskill High School lettering in varsity football as a quarterback. He earned a BA in Economics (’72) from the State University of New York in Plattsburgh. For ten years, he worked as a bank officer in Westchester and the mid-Hudson Valley region. During that time, Ryan served as Chair of the Peekskill Democratic City Committee, Chair of the Peekskill Housing Authority, and Chair of the Peekskill Board of Assessment Review.
In 1982, Ryan was elected to the New York State Assembly from the 91st A.D. (parts of Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Rockland Counties). He was appointed to the Education, Transportation, Consumer Affairs, Banks, Election Law, and Veterans Affairs Committees. Ryan’s expertise was in the area of state aid to education and he delivered record amounts of aid to school districts in Westchester County, in particular, small city school districts.
From 1985 to 2003, Ryan served the Assembly Speaker, assigned to the Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations. He handled policy matters involving intergovernmental relations, education finance and aid to localities.
In 1997, Ryan was elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators from the 5th District (part of the City of White Plains, the Town of North Castle, and part of the Town of Harrison). When the Board was seated in January 1998, he was one of the new nine-member Democratic majority, the first in the history of the County Board.
Ryan was appointed Chair of the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice. Remaining in that role for six years, he was best known for creating the Department of Emergency Services, the nerve center for the County’s rapid response to fire, medical emergencies, hazardous materials spills, natural disasters, acts of terrorism and WMD’s. Ryan spearheaded legislation that prohibited the sale of dangerous laser pointers to minors; required the “safe storage” of guns in homes to protect kids; and mandated a “graduated drivers license program” to make our teenagers safer drivers.
Ryan ran successfully for reelection in 1999. The 2001 redistricting added Scarsdale to the 5th District and removed North Castle and Harrison. He was reelected by large margins in 2001, 2003, and 2005; ran unopposed in 2007; won again in 2009.
Bill Ryan served as Vice Chair of the Board in 2002-2003. He was unanimously elected Chairman in January 2004.
As Chairman of the Board, Bill Ryan restored the legislature as an independent, co-equal branch of County government. He put emphasis on the Board’s oversight responsibility and upgraded staff to handle that priority. He made the streamlining and strengthening of the Board’s committee system another high priority of his administration. As Chairman, Bill Ryan successfully took on many of Westchester’s most difficult challenges; a few of the biggest: saving the Westchester Medical Center, creating affordable housing, expanding the authority of the Human Rights Commission, and achieving property tax rate stability in the County’s $1.8 billion dollar budget.
As Chairman, Bill Ryan worked to give Westchester County a strong presence in the New York State Association of Counties. A former NYSAC board director-at-large, he now serves as NYSAC’s President-elect.
As Chairman, Bill Ryan also established a strong Westchester County presence in the National Association of Counties, serving on important NACo committees and successfully working for the appointment of other Westchester County legislators to committees and leadership positions. Ryan currently serves on NACo’s Large Urban County Caucus where he is one of 35 officials representing over 140 million people in America’s 100 largest counties, on matters before the federal government. He also serves on the Finance and Intergovernmental Relations Steering Committee, the Hospitals Task Force and the Immigration Reform Task Force.
During his tenure as Board Chairman, Bill Ryan made foreign missions to Ireland, China and Israel for the purpose of economic development, educational exchange, and improving foreign relations.
Ireland (2004) – This mission focused on economic development efforts and industrial development agency activity in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ryan met with labor officials, IDA officials, members of the Sein Fein political party, the suspended Northern Ireland Assemby, and Parliament.
China (2005) – Focused on economic development and college faculty and student exchange. Ryan met with regional Chinese government and political party officials, university administrators, and business principals. Ryan met with officials of Lenovo, the Chinese computer manufacturer that took over IBM’s PC division, for the purpose of promoting Westchester as the site for Lenovo’s “western hemisphere” headquarters and discussing the availability of County economic development incentives.
Israel (2007) – Focused on social service agencies and delivery system and Israli-Palestinian relations. He visited the Israeli town of Sderot, the target of Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza. Ryan met with Israeli national leaders including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Deputy Defense Minister Mitan Vilni, local government officials, officers of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and social service agency administrators and staff.
In 2008, Bill Ryan was a member of New York State’s delegation to the Democratic National Committee’s Presidential Nominating Convention in Denver, Colorado.
Bill Ryan is a member of many community organizations including the White Plains Rotary Club, the White Plains Historical Society, the North Broadway Citizens Association, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Order of the Sons of Italy, Antonio Meucci Lodge. He is a patron member of the White Plains Post of the Jewish War Veterans and serves on the board of directors of Arts Westchester (formerly the Westchester Arts Council).
Bill and his wife JoAnn, a retired Senior Vice President of Wachovia National Bank, live on Seneca Avenue in White Plains. They have five adult children, three sons and two daughters, and seven grandchildren.
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