BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo mayoral candidate Sean Ryan raised questions in a news conference on Friday about the former employer of the city's current deputy mayor Brian Gould, claiming that he was a lobbyist prior to his involvement in government. Gould, who has been the deputy mayor under Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon since last October, used to work for e3 Communications, a public relations and lobbying firm that has several clients in and around Western New York, most notably the Erie County Water Authority. Gould, a longtime friend of Scanlon, is still listed on e3 Communications website, although it is unclear how much involvement he still has with the company. "It smells, looks bad, and it is bad," Ryan said at Friday's news conference. "That's against the law. You cannot be an active lobbyist. You work for state government. You can't have lobbying contracts that you have a fiduciary responsibility to and still come to work for state government." The shuffling of people between lobbying, working at policy firms and working in official government positions is common across the country. This is commonly referred to as the revolving door. New York State has taken steps to prevent this, though. According to the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, there are restrictions on former state employees lobbying for their former agency after leaving state service. There are two-year bans as well as lifetime bans, depending on the situation. "That's just done to ensure that your previous ties are broken, a time to cool off" Ryan said. "It's designed to make sure that nobody has undue influence and can use their public authority to benefit their private clients." WIVB News 4 has reached out to the mayor's office for a response and has not heard back yet. This story will be updated when a response is received. Ryan said that under his mayorship, top city officials, including deputy mayors, will not be allowed to have "significant outside employment" while working in city government. He added that he will not hire any family members to positions funded by the city, and will not allow department heads to hire family members to work under them. Ryan's news conference also unveiled his plan to make sure there is transparency within the government, including expanding the city's open data online portal, and ensure that there is no political influence in contracting. You can view Ryan's full news conference from Friday in the video player above. Latest Local News Mayoral candidate Sean Ryan raises questions about current deputy mayor’s former employer Sex offender admits to rape of 2 minor victims in Wyoming County Mumford & Sons coming to Buffalo in October 4 storylines for the earliest Opening Day in Buffalo’s baseball history Motion filed to delay federal Gendron trial Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here. ...read more read less