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Buffalo, New York's government is run by a democratically electedmayor andcouncil of ninemembers.
Buffalo has aStrong mayor–council government. As thechief 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 andpublic housing are state-and-federally fundedpublic 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]Darius Pridgen, 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 ofErie County and is within five of the county's eleven legislative districts.[5]
U.S. PresidentGrover Cleveland's short stint as mayor in 1881 grew his stature statewide for opposing localpolitical 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 potentialbankruptcy 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 sinceChester A. Kowal in 1965.[9]
At the state level, Buffalo is within theEighth Judicial District. Court cases handled at the city level includemisdemeanors, 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 theNew York State Assembly andNew York State Senate. At the federal level, the city comprises the majority ofNew York's 26th congressional district and has been represented by DemocratBrian Higgins since 2005.
Federal offices in the city include the Buffalo District of theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers'Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, theFederal Bureau of Investigation,[11] and theUnited States District Court for the Western District of New York.
In 2020, the city spent $519 million as it handled the effects of theCOVID-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 infederal 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]
Buffalo is the largest of the three cities (Buffalo,Lackawanna, andTonawanda) within, and is the seat of,Erie County. The municipal government of theCity of Buffalo consists of:
| Department | Office Holder | Party |
| Mayor of Buffalo[15] | Byron Brown | D |
| Buffalo Common Council[16] | Rev. Darius G. Pridgen (President) Bryan J. Bollman Mitchell P. Nowakowski Joseph Golombek, Jr. Christopher P. Scanlon (President Pro-Tempore) Joel Feroleto David A. Rivera (Majority Leader) Rasheed Wyatt Ulysses O. Wingo, Sr. | D D D D D D D D D |
| BuffaloComptroller[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 |
At the state level, Buffalo is represented in theNew York State Senate and theNew York State Assembly by:
The city is set in oneUnited States House of RepresentativesCongressional district:
As of October 2015 the Buffalo city government includes:[19]
| Department |
|---|
| Administration, Finance, Policy and Urban Affairs |
| Assessment and Taxation Department |
| Audit & Control |
| Board of Education |
| Buffalo Arts Commission |
| Buffalo Police Department |
| Buffalo Sewer Authority |
| Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency (BURA) |
| Buffalo Water Authority |
| Citizen Services |
| Office of City Clerk |
| Civil Service |
| Commission on Citizens' Rights and Community Relations |
| Community Services and Recreational Programming |
| Emergency Management Services |
| Buffalo Fire Department |
| Human Resources |
| Law Department |
| Management Information Systems |
| Office of Senior Services |
| Office of Strategic Planning |
| Parking Department |
| Permit and Inspection Services |
| Public Works, Parks & Streets |
| Real Estate |
| Telecommunications, Utilities and Franchises |
Buffalo has a rich and infamous history with presidential politics. Two presidents hail from Buffalo:Millard Fillmore (13th President) andGrover 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.[20]
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.
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| Transportation | |
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| Medicine and healthcare | |
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