Politics and government of Buffalo, New York facts for kids
Buffalo, New York's government is run by a democratically elected mayor and council of nine members.
City departments
As of October 2015 the Buffalo city government was led by:
| 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 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. | ||
| 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 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 offico boards on which the mayor served on all but the back tax commission, which consisted of the comptroller, counsel and an assessor.
Images for kids
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Buffalo City Hall, with McKinley Monument in the foreground.
