Erik T. Bohen (born July 26, 1982) is an American politician. A former member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

, he represented the 142nd district; this district includes

South Buffalo South Buffalo is a neighborhood that makes up the southern third of the City of Buffalo, New York. Traditionally known for its large Irish-American community, this community also has a strong presence of various other nationalities. The once-he ...

, the City of Lackawanna, and the towns of

West Seneca West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 45,500 at the 2020 census. West Seneca is a centrally located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo. West Seneca, Orchard Park and Hamburg form th ...

and Orchard Park. Bohen was elected to the Assembly in an April 24, 2018, special election, but was defeated in his bid for a full term on November 6, 2018. He is notable for having won election to the Assembly on the Republican line despite being an enrolled

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Early career

Bohen has worked in the

Buffalo Public Schools Buffalo Public Schools serves approximately 31,000 students in Buffalo, New York, It is located in Erie County, New York, Erie County of western New York and operates nearly 70 facilities. History The Buffalo Public School System was started ...

as a special education teacher. He was the campaign manager for

Carl Paladino Carl Pasquale Paladino (born August 24, 1946) is an American businessman and political activist. Paladino is the chairman of Ellicott Development Co., a real estate development company he founded in 1973. Paladino ran for Governor of New York ...

's two successful school board campaigns. He has been active in numerous South Buffalo charities and organizations, including the Ryan Purcell Foundation. His father, Billy, was the longtime business agent for the local ironworkers union.

State Assembly

In 2018, after

Mickey Kearns Mickey Kearins (born 18 April 1943) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Sligo county team for 17 years from 1961 until 1978. In 1971 he was the first Sligo man to win an All-Star. He is also the only Sli ...

had stepped down from the Assembly to become Erie County Clerk, Bohen announced that he would seek Kearns's vacated seat in District 142; Bohen indicated that he was running as a

conservative Democrat In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with more conservative views than most Democrats. Traditionally, conservative Democrats have been elected to office from the Southern states, rural areas, and t ...

. The Erie County Democratic Committee denied Bohen its endorsement and instead gave it to Erie County Legislator Patrick B. Burke, the legislator who sponsored the county's ban on

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

. The Erie County Republican Committee and its chairman, Nicholas A. Langworthy, endorsed Bohen and gave him operational support. In an April 24, 2018, special election, Bohen defeated Burke; he received 52% of the vote to Burke's 48% in a race in which less than 15% of eligible voters participated. Bohen planned to caucus with the Democrats in the Assembly. However, Democratic Assembly Speaker

Carl Heastie Carl Edward Heastie (; born September 25, 1967) is an American politician from New York. Heastie has served in the New York State Assembly since January 2001, and was elected Speaker of the New York State Assembly on February 3, 2015. Early l ...

stated that before Bohen could join that caucus, he would have to "prove" that he was a "true Democrat". Based on Bohen's outspoken support for Heastie, Republican Assembly Minority Leader

Brian Kolb Brian M. Kolb (born August 14, 1952) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly for the 131st district from 2000 to 2021. Kolb also served as minority leader from 2009 to 2020. Early life and education Kolb ...

did not invite Bohen to join the Republican caucus. These two actions left Bohen as the only member of the Assembly without a home caucus. Bohen announced his intention to run for a full term in the November 2018 general election. He issued a press release stating that he could not "align himself" with

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

or the Democratic Party, and would run once more on the Republican line. Bohen lost his bid for election to a full term in a November 6, 2018, general election. He was defeated by his special election opponent, Patrick Burke.

Buffalo School Board

In 2025, Bohen announced that he was running for the Park district position on the

Board of Education. The Park district consists of

.https://www.investigativepost.org/2025/01/28/521728/

References

External links

Campaign site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohen, Erik 1982 births Living people Politicians from Buffalo, New York St. Bonaventure University alumni Canisius University alumni Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature