EPILOGUE
The greatest mayor in Buffalo's history is debatable. Downtown
Buffalo isn't the hustle bustle area it was 40 years ago,
and it may never be, but there is life in new buildings,
people and a revitalized Theater District and Chippewa Street.
Housing may come to downtown buildings once part of Buffalo's
storied past.
Re-development of the waterfront
may have been envisioned in previous administrations, but
it was Jimmy Griffin who finally orchestrated its comeback.
It's far from complete, but on any given day, especially
during the summer, you can find thousands of people walking
along the Erie Basin Marina
, eating, laughing and enjoying the beautiful view of Lake
Erie
.
More could be done with the great grain elevators
we have; more lake access for swimming, or even more restaurants
on the waterfront
, would be a boost. The Chippewa district is an amazing
comeback story.
Griffin's confrontational style may have bothered
some, but the people must have liked it or he wouldn't have
been elected four times. He took nothing from no one. úWhen
I don't like people, they know it; I just can't be a phony.î
He didn't accept gifts and he took no b.s. from politicians
and business people alike.
He dealt verbal blows to anyone and everyone, including
County Executive Dennis Gorski
, Governor Mario Cuomo
and nearly every reporter in Western New York. Probably
the only thing reporters could count on from Griffin, was
getting a good quote from him. úYou don't have to be a genius
to be a mayor or anything else...î
He was also very loyal to the people that were loyal
to him. Maybe he should have fired Parks Commissioner Bob
Delano
, but he was a friend and he stood by him. Maybe he should
have fired Robert S. Makowski in April, 1993 after he plead
guilty to claiming city pay while he was working another
job. But he didn't.
If you weren't on his side, you can bet you'd be
gone pretty quick.
His political power was strong when it came to him,
but many of the candidates he supported for Common Council
lost throughout the years. It would appear that he had more
success with getting members elected to the Board of Education
. The people believed in Jimmy, but that was as far as his
power would go.
Without Griffin in office things would have gotten
done. We might have a waterfront, and then again we might
not. There might not have been annual budget fights with
the School Board, but taxes
might also be a lot higher. He tried to do everything for
everyone, while at the same time helping himself and his
friends. So, maybe South Buffalo
received a few things that other sections of the city didn't.
I believe that's what we'd all do.
In the late 1800's, the city was stepped on by the
powerful railroad corporations who refused to build a new
train terminal for this growing city. Administration after
administration talked and talked while the railroads kept
doing what they wanted. When New York Central finally did
build the terminal, it was too late. The age of the airplane
was here and now what's left of the Central terminal decays
on Buffalo
's East Side. Jim Griffin wouldn't have let that happen.
He would have tried to throw all the railroads out of the
city. They would have listened to him and Buffalo
would have had a train terminal 20 or more years sooner.
No matter how much money is spent, there will always
be poverty. You could put more people to work in minor jobs
in the county and city to alleviate the welfare
rolls, but that doesn't solve all the problems.
Former Mayor Griffin
created a Buffalo
that many people feel strong ties to and which defend with
all their hearts. There was corruption
, as there is in every major corporation; the drug problem
has grown; murder has increased, but the solution doesn't
lie in one man's lap. Young people have to realize that
there's more to life than crime, gangs, and quick money.
If they are all taught to believe in themselves and to complete
high school, and enter college, there might be an even greater
Buffalo
down the road. But its up to everyone.
No matter who sits in the mayor's chair, in the mayor's
office, the voters put that person there and they have the
power to remove him or her. Year after year, polls would
show voter dissatisfaction with Griffin. Opposing candidates
would belittle his administration. Voters would rally and
say they wanted change. And then they would elect Griffin.
When Griffin was re-elected in 1981, 92% of the votes
went to him. But when he was re-elected to a third term
in 1985 he won by only 13,000 votes. In 1989 only 40% of
the voters showed up at the polls and Griffin received just
47,000 votes. If another 10% or 20% of the voters had taken
the time to vote, Griffin might not have made it four terms.
There was talk of renaming Dunn Tire baseball park
after Griffin. What a fitting tribute to the man who nearly
single-handedly brought professional baseball back to Buffalo
. As developer Paul Snyder said of Griffin: úIf he'd been
mayor when the Buffalo
Braves were in Buffalo
, they'd still be here.î But money and corporation greed
is what makes this world turn.
When Griffin announced his retirement from the Mayor's
office, many people saw it as hope for a new city.
Tony Masiello has a chance to make a change in the city
that will last for years to come. His first four years were
rather uneventful. His second term showed much more of the
same. The next four years will be important one's in the
growth and development of Buffalo. Can it be the great city
it once was?
Hopefully Mayor Masiello
will lead the way, and not just be known as the mayor that
followed Jimmy Griffin
.
