Politics and government of Buffalo, New York

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See also: List of mayors of Buffalo, New York
Buffalo City Hall, with McKinley Monument in the foreground.

Buffalo, New York's government is run by a democratically elected mayor and council of nine members.

Local government[]

Buffalo has a Strong mayor–council government. As the chief executive of city government, the mayor oversees the heads of the city's departments, participates in ceremonies, boards and commissions, and serves as the liaison between the city and local cultural institutions.[1] Some agencies, including those for utilities, urban renewal and public housing are state-and-federally funded public benefit-corporations, semi-independent from city government.[2] With its nine districts, the Buffalo Common Council enacts laws, levies taxes, and approves mayoral appointees and the city budget.[3] , a pastor, has served as Common Council President since 2014.[4] Generally reflecting the politics of the city's electorate, all nine councilmen are members of the Democratic Party. Buffalo also serves as the seat of Erie County and is within five of the county's eleven legislative districts.[5]

U.S. President Grover Cleveland's short stint as mayor in 1881 grew his stature statewide for opposing local political machines. This would culminate with his party nomination and election as governor in 1883.[6] During the late 1970s, Jimmy Griffin presided over the decline of the city's economy and population while also developing the plans that would later evolve into the city's medical campus, theater district and revitalized waterfront. After Griffin, Anthony Masiello was elected in the early 1990s and faced layoffs, budget cuts, and the state-operated Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, formed to prevent a potential bankruptcy in the early 2000s.[7][8] Byron Brown, the city's first African American mayor, a Democrat and the longest-serving mayor, has held the office since 2006 and has helped to end the city's long period of declines and hardship, the result showed when Buffalo had its first population gain in 70 years. No Republican has served as mayor since Chester A. Kowal in 1965.[9]

At the state level, Buffalo is within the Eighth Judicial District. Court cases handled at the city level include misdemeanors, violations, housing matters, and claims under $15,000; more severe cases are handled at the county level.[10] Portions of Buffalo are represented by members of the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate. At the federal level, the city comprises the majority of New York's 26th congressional district and has been represented by Democrat Brian Higgins since 2005.

Federal offices in the city include the Buffalo District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers' Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigations,[11] and the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.

In 2020, the city spent $519 million as it handled the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] The 2021–22 city budget has been proposed at $534.5 million, a 2.3% increase over 2020, supplemented by about $50 million in federal stimulus money. The proposal includes a slight raise for the commercial tax, with a slight decrease in the residential tax to compensate for the pandemic.[13][14]

Elected officials[]

Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse

Buffalo is the largest of the three cities (Buffalo, Lackawanna, and Tonawanda) within, and is the seat of, Erie County. The municipal government of the City of Buffalo consists of:

Department Office Holder Party
Mayor of Buffalo[15] Byron Brown D
Buffalo Common Council[16] Rev. Darius G. Pridgen (President)
Richard A. Fontana
David Franczyk
Joseph Golombek, Jr.
Christopher P. Scanlon
Joel Feroleto
David A. Rivera (President Pro-Tempore)
Rasheed Wyatt
Ulysses O. Wingo, Sr.		 D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
Buffalo Comptroller[17] Mark J. F. Schroeder D
City Court Judges[18] Hon. Thomas P. Amodeo (Chief Judge)
Hon. Betty Calvo-Torres
Hon. Patrick M. Carney
Hon. Susan Eagan
Hon. Joseph A. Fiorella
Hon. Debra Givens
Hon. Craig D. Hannah
Hon. Barbara Johnson-Lee
Hon. Kevin J. Keane
Hon. Amy C. Martoche
Hon. James A. W. McLeod
Hon. JaHarr Pridgen
Hon. Robert T. Russell, Jr.
Hon. Diane Wray

State elected officials[]

At the state level, Buffalo is represented in the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly by:

The city is set in one United States House of Representatives Congressional district:

City departments[]

As of October 2015 the Buffalo city government was led by:[19]

Department Commissioner Title Notes
Administration, Finance, Policy and Urban Affairs Donna Estrich Commissioner of Administration, Finance, Policy and Urban Affairs
Assessment and Taxation Department Martin F. Kennedy Commissioner, Department of Assessment and Taxation
Audit & Control Mark J. F. Schroeder Buffalo City Comptroller
Board of Education James Sampson
Theresa Harris-Tigg
Jason M. McCarthy
Sharon Belton-Cottman
Patti Bowers Pierce
Mary Ruth Kapsiak
Carl Paladino (REMOVED 8/17/17)
Larry Quinn
Barbara Seals Nevergold
Ameer Dunston 		President
Vice President of Student Achievement
Vice President of Executive Affairs






Student Board Member 		West District Representative
East District Representative
North District Representative
Ferry District Representative
Member-at-Large
Central District Representative
Park District Representative
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Buffalo Arts Commission Catherine Gillespie
David Granville
Donald J. Siuta
James Cooper
Thomas Chestnut
Kathleen Rooney
Susana Tejada
Joanna Angie
Gerald Mead
James Pappas
Catherine Linder Spencer
Ted Pietrzak
Elisabeth Clarkson 		Chair











 Mayoral Appointee
Mayoral Appointee
Mayoral Appointee
Mayoral Appointee
Mayoral Appointee
Mayoral Appointee
Mayoral Appointee
Common Council Appointee
Common Council Appointee
Common Council Appointee
Common Council Appointee
Common Council Appointee
Honorary Commissioner
Buffalo Police Department Daniel Derenda Commissioner
Buffalo Sewer Authority For the 28th year in a row GFOA issues Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to Buffalo Sewer Authority.[20]
Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency (BURA) Byron W. Brown
Darius Pridgen
Christopher P. Scanlon
Brendan Mehaffy
Timothy Ball
Donna Estrich
Joseph Golombek, Jr.
Dominick Bonifacio
 Chairman
Council President
Councilmember
E.D. of the City's Strategic Planning
Corporation Counsel
Commissioner of Administration & Finance
North District Councilmember
Buffalo Water Authority Oluwole McFoy
William Sunderlin
Gerald E. Kelly
Michael Finn 		Chairperson
Vice Chairperson
Board Member
Board Member
Citizen Services Oswaldo Mestre Director of Citizen Services
Office of City Clerk Gerald Chwalinski Department Head
Civil Service
Commission on Citizens' Rights and Community Relations Crystal J. Rodriguez
Kenneth Simmons
Sherrill W. Colston
John Calvin Davis
Dana Floriano
David Granville
Sheila Wallace
Gary Wilson
Zaw Win 		Department Head
Interim Chairperson
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Community Services and Recreational Programming Otis Barker Deputy Commissioner
Emergency Management Services Garnell W. Whitfield, Jr. Commissioner
Buffalo Fire Department Garnell W. Whitfield, Jr. Commissioner
Human Resources Gladys Herndon-Hill Commissioner
Law Department Timothy A. Ball Corporation Counsel
Management Information Systems Kenneth M. Barnes Chief Information Officer
Office of Senior Services
Office of Strategic Planning Brendan R. Mehaffy Executive Director
Parking Department Kevin Helfer Commissioner
Permit and Inspection Services James Comerford, Jr. Commissioner
Public Works, Parks & Streets Steven Stepniak Commissioner
Real Estate Christie Nelson Director of Real Estate
Telecommunications, Utilities and Franchises T. Tarapacki

History[]

Buffalo has a rich and infamous history with presidential politics. Two presidents hail from Buffalo: Millard Fillmore (13th President) and Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th President).

In 1910, the city had a Common Council and a Board of Alderman. The alderman were elected from 25 wards to form the Board of Alderman. The board had 23 committees. The Common Council consisted of 8 elected councilors. In addition to the mayor, the voters elected the following executive branch officials, corporate counsel, superintendent of education, overseer of the poor, commissioner of public works, the comptroller, treasurer and the three assessor of the Board of Assessors. The comptroller and treasurer were both members of the Board of Finance. The mayor appointed the members of the boards of fire commissioners (of which the mayor is a member), police, school examiners, jubilee water commissioner, pluming and water commissioners and the board of trustees for the Grosvernor Library and the commissioners on the civil service and playground commissions. The mayor also appointed the health commissioner, superintendent of markets, examiner of street engines, inspector of steam boilers, harbor master and oil inspector. The board of health consisted of the mayor, health commissioner and commissioner of public works. Along with his two mayoral appointed directors, the mayor, superintendent of education and another official serves as directors of public library. The city had seven all ex officio boards on which the mayor served on all but the back tax commission, which consisted of the comptroller, counsel and an assessor. [21]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Article 4, Duties and Powers". City of Buffalo Charter (in American English). Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  2. ^ Schroeder, Mark J.F. (June 30, 2016). "City of Buffalo Comprehensive Annual Financial Report". City of Buffalo. pp. 35–37. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Dye, Alana Barrington; Norton, Schyler; Hawthorne, Edward (February 2019). "Buffalo Common Council Fact Sheet" (PDF). Partnership for the Public Good. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  4. ^ Scrivani, Maria (May 19, 2014). "Q&A: Darius Pridgen". Buffalo Spree Magazine. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  5. ^ Erie County Board of Elections (February 2017). "Erie County Legislative Districts" (PDF). Erie County Board of Elections. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021. and Erie County Board of Elections (February 2017). "City of Buffalo Legislative Districts" (PDF). Erie County Board of Elections. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  6. ^ "Grover Cleveland: Life Before the Presidency | Miller Center". millercenter.org. 2016-10-04. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  7. ^ Staba, David (2003-06-21). "Layoffs Averted as Buffalo Gets Control Board". The New York Times (in American English). ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  8. ^ "Troubled US Rust Belt City Works to Reverse its Fortunes". Voice of America. 2004-09-01. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  9. ^ McCarthy, Bob (April 2, 2006). "Local GOP can't go it alone". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-07. Who was the last Republican elected mayor? The answer, for those needing help on the cocktail party circuit, is Chester Kowal, in 1961. Since then the Republican Party in Buffalo has largely proven irrelevant.
  10. ^ "Court Structure - NYCOURTS.GOV". ww2.nycourts.gov. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021. and "Buffalo City Court - NYCOURTS.GOV". ww2.nycourts.gov. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  11. ^ "FBI Buffalo Division". Buffalo.fbi.gov. March 29, 2011. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011.
  12. ^ "2020-21 Adopted Budget | Buffalo, NY". www.buffalony.gov. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  13. ^ Williams, Deidre (April 30, 2021). "Brown proposes using $50M in federal stimulus in $534.5M budget for 2022". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  14. ^ "2021-2022 Recommended Budget | Buffalo, NY". www.buffalony.gov. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Mayor's Office". city-buffalo.com. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Legislative Branch - The Common Council". city-buffalo.com. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  17. ^ "City Comptroller - City of Buffalo". city-buffalo.com. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  18. ^ "Buffalo City Court, Erie County". nycourts.gov. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  19. ^ "City Departments". ci.buffalo.ny.us. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  20. ^ "Buffalo Sewer Authority". city-buffalo.com. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  21. ^ Woodruff, Clinton Rogers, ed. (1911). City Government by Commission. New York: D. Appleton. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
Scholarly studies
  • Nevins, Allan. Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage (1932) Pulitzer Prize-winning biography. ASIN B000PUX6KQ.
  • Graff, Henry F. Grover Cleveland (2002). ISBN 0-8050-6923-2, short biography by scholar
Primary sources
  • Nevins, Allan ed. Letters of Grover Cleveland, 1850–1908 (1933)
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