Chairman Len Lenihan

Leonard R. Lenihan is the Chairman of the Erie County Democratic Committee.

Mr. Lenihan is a lifelong resident of Erie County. He attended Tonawanda Public Schools and attended Northwest Missouri State, graduating with a Bachelor’s in Education. He began his career in public service in the Erie County Department of Social Services. He moved to Albany to acquire his Master’s degree in Public Administration from the State University of New York at Albany, and was hired as a staff member in the Assembly.

In 1976 he left the Assembly staff to run for the Erie County Legislature. He won, and had the pleasure of representing the people of the Town of Tonawanda for almost 20 years. His fellow Legislators chose him as their Majority Leader in 1988 and elected him Chairman of the Legislature in 1993.
In 1996, upon his retirement from the County Legislature, Mr. Lenihan was chosen by County Executive Gorski to serve as Commissioner of Personnel, serving from 1996-2002.
Upon his retirement from Erie County government in 2002, Mr. Lenihan was elected Chairman of the Erie County Democratic Committee. He was reelected unanimously in 2004, 2006, 2008 and in 2010.

Len has led the Party to many victories and “firsts” during his tenure as Chairman. Highlights include:

  • The Election of Brian Higgins to the 27th Congressional seat, which had previously been held by Republicans for over 30 years
  • The Election of Mark Poloncarz as Erie County Comptroller, the first Democrat to hold that seat in over 30 years
  • The Election of the first ever supermajority in the Erie County Legislature in 2005 and 2007.
  • 11 of the last 13 Supreme Court Justices have been elected as Democrats.

In addition to his work for the community as an elected official, Mr. Lenihan has played an active role number of community organizations, including membership on the Board of Directors of the Alleyway Theatre, BryLin Community Advisory Board, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Heritage Centers, Studio Arena Theatre School and others.
Mr. Lenihan has received awards for community service from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, Heritage Centers, Crisis Services, People Inc., Special Olympics and the Restoration Society.