SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse Common Councilor has been absent from city business for about three weeks.
Chad Ryan, a Democrat who represents the city's 2nd District, has been away from the council since at least May 7. A relative said he is out of town dealing with a medical issue.
Ryan, 32, has missed the last two regular Common Council meetings and four study sessions.
Councilors occasionally miss a study session, but are rarely absent for voting meetings. Only two other councilors have missed a meeting this year, according to the city clerk's office. Susan Boyle, the 3rd District councilor, missed a meeting in April to tend to her dying father. Latoya Allen, the 4th District councilor, missed last week's meeting.
Ryan missed the council's vote to approve the city budget, which easily passed. He was present for many budget hearings prior to the vote, including a school district hearing on May 2.
Ryan has been unreachable for several weeks. His sister, Jillian Ryan, answered his cell phone last week and Wednesday. She said her brother is dealing with a medical issue and is out of town. She declined to specify the issue.
"He took a vacation and is doing a little contemplating about what's best for him," she said.
Steve Thompson, the council's Democratic majority leader, also said Ryan had a medical issue. Thompson said he did not know when Ryan will come back.
Jillian Ryan said her brother coordinated with other councilors to cover his responsibilities before he left. She did not say when he would return.
Ryan is chairman of the council's public works committee. He was first elected to the council in 2013 and won reelection in 2015 and 2017. He works for his family's business, Edward J. Ryan & Son Funeral Home.
Ryan comes from a well-known political family on Syracuse's West Side. His father, Edward Ryan, was an Onondaga County legislator from 1976 to 2007 and elections commissioner from 2007 to 2012.