Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Jennifer Mecozzi

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Jennifer Mecozzi
Image of Jennifer Mecozzi

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Buffalo Board of Education West District

Buffalo Board of Education West District
Tenure

2016 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

9

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 8, 2022

Next election

November 4, 2025

Personal
Birthplace
Buffalo, N.Y.
Profession
Manager
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Jennifer Mecozzi is a member of the Buffalo Board of Education in New York, representing West District. She assumed office in 2016. Her current term ends in 2026.

Mecozzi is running for re-election to the Buffalo Board of Education to represent West District in New York. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source]

Mecozzi completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jennifer Mecozzi was born in Buffalo, New York. Her career experience includes serving as a manager, leading a consulting company that operates with a social justice lens, and coordinating logistics at PUSH Buffalo.[1][2][3]

Mecozzi has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]

  • Working Families Party
  • Local Progress
  • Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization
  • Buffalo Teachers Federation
  • Communication Workers of America
  • Our City Action Buffalo
  • Voice Buffalo
  • Push Buffalo

Elections

2025

See also: Buffalo Public Schools, New York, elections (2025)

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Buffalo Board of Education West District

Incumbent Jennifer Mecozzi, Mustafa Abdo, and Talia Rodriguez are running in the general election for Buffalo Board of Education West District on November 4, 2025.

Candidate
Image of Jennifer Mecozzi
Jennifer Mecozzi (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Image of Mustafa Abdo
Mustafa Abdo (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Image of Talia Rodriguez
Talia Rodriguez (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

See also: Buffalo Public Schools, New York, elections (2022)

General election

General election for Buffalo Board of Education West District

Incumbent Jennifer Mecozzi defeated Mustafa Abdo and Le'Candice Durham in the general election for Buffalo Board of Education West District on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jennifer Mecozzi
Jennifer Mecozzi (Nonpartisan)
 
50.2
 
2,588
Image of Mustafa Abdo
Mustafa Abdo (Nonpartisan)
 
31.1
 
1,604
Image of Le'Candice Durham
Le'Candice Durham (Nonpartisan)
 
16.6
 
854
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.1
 
106

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,152
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2019

See also: Buffalo Public Schools, New York, elections (2019)

General election

General election for Buffalo Board of Education West District

Incumbent Jennifer Mecozzi won election in the general election for Buffalo Board of Education West District on May 7, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jennifer Mecozzi
Jennifer Mecozzi (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
576

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 576
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Buffalo Public Schools elections (2016)

Six of the nine by-district seats on the Buffalo Public Schools school board were up for general election on May 3, 2016. The six seats drew 11 candidates—five incumbents and six challengers. Central Seat incumbent Mary Ruth Kapsiak decided not to file for re-election, leaving Paulette Woods and Bryon McIntyre to run for the open seat. East Seat incumbent Theresa Harris-Tigg ran unopposed after challengers Colleen Russell and Patricia Elliott were removed from the ballot as a result of challenges to their candidacy petitions. Elliott and Russell continued to run as write-in candidates. Ferry Seat incumbent Sharon Belton-Cottman ran unopposed. Candidate Hope Jay challenged incumbent Jason McCarthy for the North Seat. Incumbent Carl P. Paladino ran for re-election to the Park Seat against Austin Harig. West Seat incumbent James Sampson ran as a write-in candidate against newcomer Jennifer Mecozzi.[4]

Union-backed candidates Woods, Harris-Tigg, Belton-Cottman, Jay, and Mecozzi defeated their opponents to break up the majority faction on the board. Paladino was the only former majority member to win after he defeated Harig by a slim margin.

Results

Buffalo Public Schools,
West Seat General Election, 3-year term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Jennifer Mecozzi  (unopposed) 73.24% 955
Write-in votes 26.76% 349
Total Votes 1,304
Source: Erie County, New York, "Buffalo School Board Canvas Book," accessed June 2, 2016

Funding

Mecozzi reported $6,353.00 in contributions and $2,212.67 in expenditures to the Buffalo Public Schools, which left her campaign with $4,140.24 on hand during the election.[5]

Endorsements

Mecozzi received an official endorsement from the Buffalo Teachers Federation.[6]

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Jennifer Mecozzi completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mecozzi's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am a working class mother and grandmother. I am a community leader who has been working with and for community long before taking office in 2016. I am a fierce advocate for what needs to be done to promote change in disenfranchised communities (such as Buffalo NY where I am from). I am a mother of 4, (33, 28, 27, and 14) and Grandmother of 5 (8, 8, 5, 2, 1) with one on the way. My youngest son is a sophomore, my twin grandaughters and 1st grandson attend BPS, and my youngest daughter (who was Valedictorian of 2017 is now a BPS 2nd grade teacher. I am invested in their being able to succeed in the BPS, and have been fighting for our district before, during and plan to continue the fight in the next term. Turning 54, I run a downtown restaurant (since 96) and have a consulting company NEXT LEVEL CONSULTING. I am dedicated to my family, my community and my drive to see a better way for us all.
  • I am a mother and grandmother of BPS students and a BPS teacher. I have been fighting for their right to the best possible BPS experience and with that, I fight for the cities children as well. I am a proven advocate for our students, teachers and BPS Community. In short, I have so much skin in the game and I will make sure we are in a good place as there is nothing but up from here.
  • why 4 terms? My first term was much navigation of the role, coupled with the process of removing a board member that was international news. My second term was riddled with Covid. We were removing and replacing bandaids in an already haphazard system to accommodate a world wide pandemic. In my third term we finally were able to peel back some layers and get to work. We decided as a Board to attend governance training. I simultaniously opted to take an individual track as well to further my knowledge of the role I have been serving. Much work has been done, measures put into place and now we are starting to see gains and tweek if needed. Irresponsible to leave this all to a new board member with their inevitable learning curve.
  • We are onboarding a new superintendent

    we are navigating a multi million dollar deficit we are investigating allegations against the district. As a leader, I will set the next person up for success as we deal with all of this before someone takes the seat. We need time to handle this.

    I will be the most seasoned Board member at the table in this next term and will lead with experience that will surely benefit the person who will succeed me after this next term is up in 3 years.
Equitable distribution of resources.

Housing (gentrification is real and is a harmful factor in how our youth function in daily life)
All of the isms--Racism, classism, ageism and the like. I fight for the resources to be available for all of our communities.
SAFETY--tied to all things. Especially Housing and all of the isms.

So many policies, and to be honest...to pinpoint a few areas is why this work is never ending. We all tend to hit every ball in front of us. Until we collectively hold accountable the forces that hold us down...we will and should struggle with this question. Respectfully
I look up to my grandfather. He and I did not see eye to eye on much, but his work ethic was key for me growing up. I knew that working meant providing and that is key in raising a family. I am, if nothing else, a hard working woman who puts family first. I may not have made the best choices in personal opinions or in life, yet my family was/is always safe, and I am there for them all. Grown kids, grandkids, furbabies...all of them. He taught me to take care of my family by taking care of his own. Did I follow all of his "methods"..NO, but I learned from him what I would do different for me and for my family. I never thought this hard about this. Thank you for this question.
Communication. (LISTENING MORE THAN TALKING)

Transparency.
Being accessible while maintaining boundaries.

Consistent Engagement
To be able to know your role as a Board Member.

Engage your community, be consistent, reliable and accessible to your constituents!!
You are the voice of your constituents. You are NOT the one to handle the issues, but to bring them to the district.
You are fiduciary. Creating the goals and guardrails WITH the Superintendent for them to accomplish in a timely strategic plan to accomplish the financial stability of maintaining the second largest district in the state of NY.

Communication and relationship building with your fellow board members, superintendent and staff.
One of strength. You do not have to be college-educated alone to make a difference. Stand strong, be your dam self, and stay true to your beliefs. Raise your family to be themselves but be respectful and successful. Own your mistakes and learn from them. Then you have nothing to leave on the table.
The day that John Lennon Died. I was 9. (Historical to me, I loved the Beatles at an early age)
Prep cook at a local restaurant. I was 13. Until I was 16.
Harry Potter Series. I can be swept away with the adventure of it all.
Personal relationship decisions.
Listening to all stakeholders to help guide decision making that the Board and Superintendent must take on to bring equity and stability financially, which will in turn make the district WHOLE. Too many examples, too many strategies....yet this is the goal
The West District of Buffalo NY. (Yet as 1 of 9 on the BOE), ALL OF BUFFALO NY BPS stakeholders.
I come from a community led position. I have been running a restaurant for decades, yet also holding position as a Community organizing director, A consultant, a nationally recognized speaker and trainer, and currently the Co-Chair of Local Progress NY Organizing Committee. (National Organization made up of Progressive Elected Officials)
As mentioned before, I come from community advocacy, activisim, and leadership. I work and have built strong relationships with local, statewide, and national unions, non profits, corporations and electeds. There is no shortage of those I can organize to bring to a table to work with, OR take to organize to take to the carpet to hold accountable.
Taking time to hear the students. Communication that is respectful (from both sides) and building relationships will strengthen the ability and desire to learn. We can learn from our youth what/how they comprehend, and how to accommodate. We cannot have 20 different learning strategies, but we can have consensus as to what works and may not to get to the goal at hand.

Being mindful that flexibility in the current systems has to be a strategy to bring up and maintain strengthening our youth.

Working to monitor, have relationships with parents/caregivers, and investigate approaches. Each one teach one works across admin, teachers, districts, local, state and national. Best Practices. Learn from what works. Communication is key
We have been peeling back the layers of a good old boy school system for the past 9 years I have been on the board. This has lead to uncovering a plethora of "i-o-u-s in a till" practices, and outdated monitoring methods. We have overhauled the grant processes, the monitoring of Title Funding, advocating for more than what has been given for years as the times and the needs change, etc. We have better communication strategies, and plans to work with the budget and how to prepare for year after year spending coupled with how to maintain a healthy fund balance. Working with our city, state and local officials to bring awareness to needs, as well as holding ourselves accountable for data driving of the expenditures. The strategy has to be simple. Create the communication structure to break down the systems and then create the mechanisms to maintain a healthy financial landscape for the district. Our budget is 2x the city budget yearly. We have come so far with what we have been doing just by taking a step back and reimagining strategy.
We passed an Equity Resolution that drives policy in our schools.
We look at all of the decision making with the mindset of equity across the district. This definitely includes safety. As there are areas, as in most cities, where this is more of a safety concern than others, we have to make sure those areas are focused on first. Safety is such a broad and heavy issue. We cannot possibly break down all strategies, yet I am confident that the Equity focus is a strong strategy to break down how to address Safety.
We are diligent around social emotional health in the district. We as a board have approved the strategies that are common (hot lines, counseling, performance plans with restorative measures...etc) I believe that we have systems in place in all buildings, but my hope is that we are consistent with the needs being met as some buildings may not communicate the needs as consistently as others do. I would like to see a more aggressive approach to best practices and monitoring to give the board a consistent mindset of whats working, whats not, and how much it will take to provide the equitable resources ACROSS THE DISTRICT to make sure our staff is as whole as can be to be successful for our students and for themselves.
First and Foremost...Special Education. We rely on state and federal regulations and this doesnt necessarily fit with the populations we serve. (translation, ELA services, self contained class rooms, staffing, therapies (Physical, occupational, ) We are in need of an overhaul of how and when our youth are classified, what that means, and how we resource our special needs youth with fidelity and not just what people see in numbers that are wildly inaccurate based on how we are to input where and what we encounter as a district. With our public education at risk in our current administration we are in trouble.
I would like to see a "par" approach utilized more. We are very good at making sure each buildings culture is recognized and encouraged. I love this. I would like to see the teachers in each grade level consistent, and maintained at the same time as maintaining the culture of a building. We need essential teachers and staffing first and fore,most throughout the district. It is building by building currently.
Working Families Party

Buffalo Teachers Federation

Communication Workers of America
We are in an age of technology that is hard to navigate within all age ranges and skillsets. We have to keep up with what is moving faster than can be absorbed and communicated equitably. My ideal learning environment is to have a WHOLE CHILD approach. Where we are actively, consistently observing and assessing the levels of success for each child, and provide the guidance and resources for those who may need additional assistance to be at grade level. This is financial, this is restorative, this is supportive, this is compatible to surrounding neighborhoods and communities, this is social and emotional....Support a whole child and the influences and environment of that child will show itself and can be identified. We can then support in a more wholesome way. This will enhance all of the academics., the social and emotional and build the confidence the youth need to be their best.
I hold listening tours with the schools in my district. I encourage the leadership in schools to have their stakeholders reach out to me. Hold "town halls", "info sessions", etc.

A yearly backpack giveaway with local non profits encourage communication and relationship building.
Hit the doors hard during campaigning of course, yet I hit the doors every year to talk to community.

I had to learn over the course of the 3 terms that I cannot be everything for everyone, yet I can be consistent with communication and maintaining my personal space.
I have strategies as a facilitator that I would love to see happen. As I am not the superintendent who is responsible for this strategy, I am definitely encouraging when it comes to this. Example. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, we as a Board encouraged a recruitment effort in Puerto Rico to bring teachers, staff and admin here to Buffalo as many people migrated here after the storm. The superintendent then put this in place as it was agreed the district will handle all that would entail.
I cannot stress enough that we are not in the position to implement but to work with the superintendent to make sure these strategies are not just ideas, but implemented with fidelity. Also a board members we are in position to set the goals for the implementation and monitoring of any strategies in place. Communication is key.
Never changed. Enhanced and strengthened for sure! Arts, Music, Physical Education. ELA supports, also as mentioned previously...Reading and math comprehension in our early grades as those grades set the tone for learning.
I am navigating AI. I believe it should play the role necessary to keep up with and be comparable to learning locally to start with. We as board members have to be up to speed with the need, the COST, and the use of AI. Technology changing everyday makes this answer difficult. It should play the role of the given time, and we should advance with it as it is needed for student success. We have to advance WITH it. The board and superintendent need to be in lock step with the training, comprehension and implementation of AI for all staff, students and admin. COST, and rollout.
my children being successful

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Jennifer Mecozzi did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jennifer Mecozzi did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2025 Elections

Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
What's on the ballot?
U.S. Congress special elections
State executives
State legislatures
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards
Election analysis hub

Government

Seal of New York.png
Who represents me?
U.S. Congress
State executives
State legislators
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards

Newsletters

Ballotpedia RSS.jpg
The Daily Brew
The Weekly Brew
The Ballot Bulletin
Checks and Balances
Economy and Society
Hall Pass
Number of the Day
Robe & Gavel
Union Station


External links

Candidate

Buffalo Board of Education West District
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
    		•

    Personal

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 14, 2025
    2. ↑ Mecozzi 4 the People, "About the Candidate," accessed April 20, 2016
    3. ↑ City & State, "Mecozzi and Harris Challenge for Buffalo School Board," February 23, 2016
    4. ↑ Erie County Board of Elections, "2016 Buffalo School Board Petitions Filed," accessed April 5, 2016
    5. ↑ Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Buffalo Public Schools Emlyn Rivera," May 2, 2016
    6. ↑ Buffalo News, "Once-sleepy race for Buffalo School Board becomes ‘vicious’," April 24, 2016
    Flag of New York
    v • e
    State of New York
    Albany (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy


    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Jennifer_Mecozzi&oldid=10486746"