He’s going to be a good advocate for us, and I’m really proud of him. I’d encourage any Boilermaker to run for office.
L-5’s Ryan Taylor (center) is congratulated by IVP Fultz (right) after his swearing-in ceremony. To Taylor’s left is his father, Floyd Taylor, a retired Boilermaker also from L-5.
Boilermaker Ryan Taylor, L-5, Zone 5 (Oswego, New York), unseated a five-term incumbent to win election as the city of Fulton, New York’s 6th Ward Common Councilor this past November.
Taylor, who had previously served the city on the zoning board of appeals, ran on a platform focused on attracting more people to Fulton and organizing residents at a grassroots level to enact low-cost community improvements. He says his local lodge supported his campaign with a $1,000 donation, which he used to buy T-shirts and signs.
“Brother Taylor is an excellent Boilermaker, and I’ve known him since he first came along,” says Northeast Area IVP John Fultz. “We were 100% behind him.”
After being sworn in on January 2024 and now with several months in office, Taylor describes working and governing as “like having three full-time jobs.” But he is no stranger to hard work. Before his 17-year career in the Boilermakers, he was a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and received the Bronze Star Medal for valor (read about his bravery). He joined the Boilermakers through the Helmets to Hardhats program.
“I used the work etiquette I have learned and used as a union man to achieve my goal on the petition portion and the campaign trail to achieve a remarkable victory over a long-term incumbent,” he says.
Taylor ran on two party lines as a Democrat and a local independent party called “Seek Common Ground,” which he said was integral to his 2.5 to 1 win.
“He’s going to be a good advocate for us, and I’m really proud of him,” IVP Fultz says. “I’d encourage any Boilermaker to run for office.”
