Through The Mayor's Eyes
The Only Complete History of the Mayor's of Buffalo, New York
Compiled by Michael Rizzo

BUFFALO'S
MAYORS
Mayors Home
1800-1832
1840's
1850's
1860's
1870's
1890's
1900-1910
1920 - 1930s
1940 - 1950s
1960 - 1970s
Cleveland Four
James Griffin
Anthony Masiello
Epilogue
Charts
Bibliography
Links
Index

Judge Samuel Wilkeson -In 1836 during his term as mayor he focused his police  department to become a "terror to evildoers."

"The mayor of a city occupies a peculiar as well as an honorable position. Not only must he be a detective, sharp and eager to discover neglect of duty, but he must be a skilled chemist of long experience, able to settle all disputes as to the merits of different kinds of asphalt. He must be an expert accountant, and he must also be a sanitarian of sufficient experience to decide what style of wagons are best fitted to convey garbage through the streets. He must be a financier, and without hesitation direct how many thousand dollars shall be expended for reservoirs, and what bonds can be sold to best advantage, and then prescribe the proper and surest method of collecting accounts against policemen. With a knowledge of human nature, rarely found, he must select the most capable men in the whole city for commissioners of fire, water and police, and frame such proper rules and regulations as are necessary to secure competent bath-house keepers. A man of superlative patience, who is willing to awake with a smile at any and all hours, to meet the modest gentlemen of the press. He must listen with a patient ear to all grievances, real and fancied, of all the people, and with a heavy purse be ready at all times to relieve the stringency in the money market, that so often depresses so many deserving citizens. In fact, he must be a general 'handy man,' and if he combines with that qualification, a willingness to make speeches at all possible occasions, and upon all conceivable subjects, he may be said to be an average mayor, and may be tolerated for one term."

-Mayor Charles F. Bishop, on May 1, 1891 at a banquet given for Grover Cleveland at the Iroquois Hotel.

Thank you for visiting this site. After two years of work in the early 1990's, I had compiled this information. Unfortunately, I did not completely document this information in the format that would allow professional publication. I have all the information available, so if there is anyone that would like to do this, possibly for some type of class credit, or out of sheer boredom, I could provide the information.

In the mid-90's I released a portion to the Internet to entice some people. I also had a large article published in the Buffalo News in 1997 by Mike Vogel trying to drum up interest. At this time I have decided to release the entire manuscript to the Internet for the general public to access.

The format of this manuscript is that each mayor, for the most part, tells his own story. I used many speeches and articles from the newspapers to create a unique way of presenting their stories. Former Mayor Jimmy Griffin at one point proofread his story and had no changes or complaints, so I believe I did a decent job in documenting these stories. Some are a little light, so I am continuing my research to fill in the holes.

I only ask that if you use this for any research you properly credit me and the site. If you provide a link from your site, let me know. I would like to know how and where this information is being utilized.

If you would like to comment or add any information, please feel free to contact me at any time. I would especially like information, photos, letters, speeches, and advertising items, such as campaign buttons, audio tapes, video tapes, or ANYTHING else you may have for use on the site. If you are a relative or know of a relative of one of the mayor's please contact me. The addition of unique photos and such will make this a much better and complete site.

Please call me at work 716-856-7170, or email me.

Thank You,

-Michael Rizzo