Thomas P. Ryan Jr. Thomas P. Ryan Jr. Thomas P. Ryan Jr. (December 3, 1928 – March 14, 2003) was the 63rd Mayor of Rochester, New York. Ryan began his tenure as Mayor under the old council/city manager system of government, in which the mayor was selected from among members of City Council to be that body's presiding officer. He first was voted to the post by his Council peers after the 1973 election which returned a Democratic majority to office. For his first decade as Mayor, a city manager appointed by City Council and accountable to that body handled the day to day
Vincent Thomas (mayor) elected Thomas as the new mayor in 1976 by a 4-3 margin on the 27th ballot. He was re-elected as mayor by the city council for three additional term, each unopposed from 1976 to 1984. Thomas supported the construction of the Waterside development, as well as the downtown revitalization efforts. Mayor Vincent Thomas held a meeting with the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1983 to discuss Norfolk's controversial school busing plan. The busing program was discontinued in 1986. Thomas actively supported the candidacy's of Norfolk's second African-American city council member. He declined to seek re-election in 1984. Shortly after his decision