The ANNOTICO Report
Unrealistic expectations of an urban renaissance in "Rust
belt" Buffalo,
overshadowed Mayor Masiello's accomplishments. But even
opponents laud his
efforts, and many feel he has set the foundation for
Buffalo being on the
cusp of dramatic change for the betterment.
Massiello has an undisputed reputation for caring passionately
about his
lifelong home and a record of some success in reforming
city government
while holding the line on taxes. A warm, engaging, consensus-building
politician - - the antithesis of James D. Griffin, the
four-term mayor he
succeeded. After 16 years of Griffin, a feisty, combative
politician,
Masiello was seen as a unifying force, a healer and the
best chance for
everyone to have a seat at the table.
"Criticize him or praise him, but he's a decent, honest
and passionate
man," "He may not have had solutions to every issue,
but he never ducked
them." say even his critics.
Masiello indicates he thinks history will treat him kindly.
He notes the $1
billion program to renovate city schools and of reforms
in the Police and
Fire departments.
After three terms, he can boast about new downtown housing,
expansion of
the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and the newly developed
Erie Canal
Harbor.
He also highlights changes that modernized the Police
Department. Precincts
were consolidated, more civilian report technicians were
hired, and more
officers were put on the streets even as the department
shrank. One-officer
patrol cars and more flexible scheduling have also improved
operations.
Masiello's administration tight-fisted policies cut Buffalo's
payroll from
nearly 3,300 employees in 1994 to 2,534 as of July 1,
in an imperceptible
manner, eschewing the meat axe.
Masiello was particularly proud of his record of inclusion.
"I've opened up
this city to everybody, regardless of who you are and
where you live," .
"We never pitted one neighborhood against another. The
city feels much
better about itself in that regard."
The president of the Buffalo Chapter of the National Association
for the
Advancement of Colored People, said Masiello's inclusiveness
was evident
from the start. "There was so much hostility and racial
antagonism during
Jimmy Griffin's terms," Frank B. Mesiah said. "You just
didn't see that
with Tony."
The source of much of Mayor Masiello's problems were the
city's population
slide to its lowest level in a century, the substantial
decline of assessed
property value, costly state mandates, and lack of political
will at the
state capitol for fiscal reforms.
Many neighborhoods remain mired in poverty, victims of
disinvestment, a
direct result of foreign trade policy and the fact that
there are no
anti-sprawl policies.
Massiello, in a storied basketball career at Canisius
College, gained a
reputation as a gutsy warrior, or "Big Red" with the
mighty heart as one
sportswriter called him.
In his final game, Masiello put up 35 points, outscored
future NBA great
Calvin Murphy and hit four free throws in the final seconds
to edge
arch-rival Niagara University.
As a 24-year-old Democrat, he entered politics and quickly
won a seat on
the Common Council, the first of 23 straight election
victories.
Even as mayor, he seemed unbeatable, winning re-election
twice, both times
by wide margins and with the support of the opposition,
the Republican
Party.
City's decline often overshadows mayor's accomplishments
and devotion to
widespread inclusion.
Buffalo News
By Phil Fairbanks and Brian Meyer
News Staff Reporters
May 1, 2005
"I think history will treat him better. Right now,
there are some people
who are angry.
He's made some tough, tough decisions."
Kate Masiello, the mayor's wife
On a typically cold, windy day in January 1994, Tony Masiello
stood on the
steps of City Hall and, sounding a lot like his idol
John F. Kennedy,
promised a new day.
He talked about unity, compromise and new beginnings,
and the crowd of
2,000, a coalition of minority, labor and business leaders,
cheered his
every promise of an urban renaissance.
Eleven years later, the cheers have turned to disappointment
- his
popularity is at its lowest level - and many of his political
allies have
abandoned him.
He will leave office with a mixed legacy, a reputation
for caring
passionately about his lifelong home and a record of
some success in
reforming city government while holding the line on taxes.
Yet, in many people's eyes, his Achilles heel remains
his inability to hire
the right people and make tough political decisions.
"Of all the mayors I've dealt with, I believe he's the
one who really cared
the most about Buffalo," said Philip Rumore, Buffalo
Teachers Federation
president. "I think he was a good mayor, but he wasn't
always served well
by the people around him."
Buffalo's 57th mayor arrived as a fresh face, a warm,
engaging,
consensus-building politician - the antithesis of James
D. Griffin, the
four-term mayor he succeeded.
After 16 years of Griffin, a feisty, combative politician,
Masiello was
seen as a unifying force, a healer and the best chance
for everyone to have
a seat at the table.
"Criticize him or praise him, but he's a decent, honest
and passionate
man," said Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, a fellow Buffalo Democrat
who recently
dropped his own bid for mayor.
The first chairman of the state control board set up two
years ago to
oversee city finances called Masiello "good person with
a great desire to
do the right thing."
"He got up every morning and never ducked an issue," said
Thomas E. Baker,
whose 18-month stint on the board ended with his resignation
in January.
"He may not have had solutions to every issue, but he
never ducked them."
Masiello indicates he thinks history will treat him kindly.
He notes the $1
billion program to renovate city schools and of reforms
in the Police and
Fire departments.
After three terms, he can boast about new downtown housing,
expansion of
the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and the promise of
a Bass Pro Shops
outdoor store in a newly developed Erie Canal Harbor.
He also highlights changes that modernized the Police
Department. Precincts
were consolidated, more civilian report technicians were
hired, and more
officers were put on the streets even as the department
shrank. One-officer
patrol cars and more flexible scheduling have also improved
operations,
Masiello said.
"I believe I'm leaving the city in a better place than
it was 12 years
ago," he said last week.
Masiello said his administration's tight-fisted policies
cut Buffalo's
payroll from nearly 3,300 employees in 1994 to 2,534
as of July 1. The
property tax levy - the amount of money the city raises
from taxes -
dropped from nearly $148 million 11 years ago, to $146.3
million.
Down deep, what really matters most, Masiello said, is
his record of
inclusion.
"I've opened up this city to everybody, regardless of
who you are and where
you live," he said. "We never pitted one neighborhood
against another. The
city feels much better about itself in that regard."
The president of the Buffalo Chapter of the National Association
for the
Advancement of Colored People, said Masiello's inclusiveness
was evident
from the start.
"There was so much hostility and racial antagonism during
Jimmy Griffin's
terms," Frank B. Mesiah said. "You just didn't see that
with Tony."
Dependence on state grows
Of course, Masiello's watch wasn't all good news. The
city's population
slid to its lowest level in a century, and the state
took the unprecedented
step of putting Buffalo under a financial control board.
Buffalo remains highly dependent on state aid, which has
nearly doubled
since 1993. In the new fiscal year, the city will receive
$115.9 million
from the state. City officials blame costly state mandates
for some of
Buffalo's fiscal strain, arguing that the city could
survive on less money
from Albany if the state changed labor laws and made
other reforms.
The assessed value of city properties also has declined,
from nearly $9.6
billion in 1994 to about $8.8 billion this year.
More disturbing, many neighborhoods remain mired in poverty,
victims of
disinvestment and failed public policy.
"It hurts me," Masiello said of the poverty. "I wish I
had a magic wand and
could change it. But the economic basis of this city
is a direct result of
foreign trade policy and the fact that there are no anti-sprawl
policies -
not only in this city, but throughout the Northeast."
Over time, Masiello came under fire for his patronage
hires, some of them
at the highest levels of city government, and his close
ties to the
Democratic Party machine.
Unlike the new wave of big-city mayors who came from business,
Masiello's
roots were in the ethnic West Side, home to the Masiello
family for five
decades.
While Griffin hired the Irish from South Buffalo, Masiello
leaned toward
Italian-Americans from his old neighborhood.
In a storied basketball career at Canisius College, he
gained a reputation
as a gutsy warrior, or "Big Red" with the mighty heart
as one sportswriter
called him.
In his final game, Masiello put up 35 points, outscored
future National
Basketball Association great Calvin Murphy and hit four
free throws in the
final seconds to edge arch-rival Niagara University.
As a 24-year-old Democrat, he entered politics and quickly
won a seat on
the Common Council, the first of 23 straight election
victories.
Even as mayor, he seemed unbeatable, winning re-election
twice, both times
by wide margins and with the support of the opposition,
the Republican
Party.
That run came to an end last week, when Masiello acknowledged
the polls and
public opinion are now against him. He called it an end
to his "shelf
life."
"I recognize the public needs a fresh face," he said last week.
"Anyone who gets into public office and thinks it's for
life is clearly
mistaken," said Kate Masiello, the mayor's wife. "Twelve
years is a long
time."
"I think history will treat him better," she said. "Right
now, there are
some people who are angry. He's made some tough, tough
decisions."
But others fault Masiello for too often bowing to pressure
from outside
forces. Robert P. Meegan Jr., president of the Police
Benevolent
Association, claims that shortly after taking office,
Masiello bent to the
will of business leaders, especially the Buffalo Niagara
Partnership.
In his first campaign for mayor, Masiello had support
from many labor
groups, including the police union. But Meegan said relations
soured even
before Masiello celebrated his first year in office.
"He blamed the unions for the city's ills. When we heard
that, it was like
"you've got to be kidding me.' "
Even Masiello's relations with the business community
weren't always
conciliatory. Partnership President Andrew J. Rudnick
acknowledged that his
group sometimes disagreed with the mayor "very loudly
and publicly" on
issues. But he credited the mayor for having an open
door for the business
community.
"I've always respected Mayor Masiello's unwavering optimism
for this city,
even as his government faced some very challenging times,"
he said in a
written statement.
Pace of change applauded
Others praise Masiello's strategy to shrink city government
gradually,
unnoticed, they say, by the average resident. Michael
Attardo, a business
owner and founder of a coalition of merchants and homeowners
called Forever
Elmwood, said he has seen the same pattern of step-by-step
progress in his
neighborhood.
"The changes have been made incrementally; therefore,
a lot of citizens
didn't think the city was moving forward," he said.
Jan Peters, a former Board of Education member, says she
is convinced
Masiello's tenure will be viewed favorably.
"I think we are on the cusp of dramatic change for the
betterment of
Buffalo," she said. "When people look back historically,
they will say he
did an awful lot to lay the foundation for that to happen."
e-mail: pfairbanks@buffnews.com
and bmeyer@buffnews.com