May 15, 2002
Shortcutting Buffalo's Mayor
Shortcutting Buffalo's Mayor
By Bruce Jackson
The mess you already know about
It's nearly impossible to have a conversation these days about Buffalo without two issues coming up: the failure of any kind of civic leadership to emerge from the private sector and the inability of the Masiello administration to do anything about Buffalo's downward slide, other than pursue the silver bullet de jour, which inevitably turns out to be as ineffectual as yesterday's silver bullet de jour.
In two separate conversations about city government this past week, people brought up the enthusiasm with which Masiello recently embraced a developer's idea of taking over the convention center for a casino (keeping it off the tax rolls), converting the Statler into a casino and casino hotel (taking it off the tax rolls), and building a new convention center nearby (taking that property off the tax rolls). "Here we had those extensive studies considering possible sites for a new convention center," one of them said, "and they concluded that there were two optimal places. Now some gambling operator comes along with a plan that fits his own economic idea and there's the mayor embracing it. And Pataki's whole gambling operation gives the city nothing anyway. What kind of planning goes on up there?"
Three of Masiello's key people are leaving city government: Buffalo commissioner of Strategic Planning Joe Ryan, Buffalo commissioner of Administration and Finance Eva Hassett, and president of Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation Alan DeLisle. Each is leaving or trying to leave for a different reason.
Who will occupy those offices next? Will Masiello appoint bright, energetic young people with ideas rather than old guys with political affiliations? Would bright, energetic young people with ideas be willing to take such jobs, knowing the usual fate of good ideas in Buffalo's City Hall? If he does appoint bright, energetic young people, will he pay any attention to them or will they work only to find that, at the end, the mayor is once again distracted by whatever new idea some developer just rolled down the pike?
"Would you take a job in that administration?" someone with a good deal of experience in administration asked me last week. The question was rhetorical and he immediately answered it: "Of course you wouldn't. You'd want to take a job where you could be effective."
"It doesn't matter who's in those jobs," a businessman said in an interview. "If there's no vision at the top, no leadership at the top, nothing is going to get done. Tony's a nice guy, but he's not a leader. This city is desperate for a good leader."
"A hero on a white horse?" I said. "You really think one guy can come in and do it?"
"No," he said, "of course not. But one guy can come in and make it possible for other people to do it. One guy can have the vision and persistence that lets other people develop and carry out ideas. Without that, you're just going to have more frustrated competent people and the same old political hacks as happy as they've always been because nothing ever changes in their life."
And a Democratic Party worker said, "He went to Albany to see his pal the Republican governor to beg for money and his pal the Republican governor wouldn't give him an audience. After that, as a last resort, he went to see the Democrat leadership, his own party, and they said, 'Andy Rudnick and those people told us we shouldn't give you money, that you don't know what to do with it.' How useful is that, a mayor who can't even get an audience with the governor from the other party he backed and who lets businessmen with other agendas cut the ground out from under him with the big guys in his own party? That's out of control."
People talk about the fecklessness, drift, absence of planning, inability to stick with anything for very long and tendency to hop on anything new before giving it serious thought and examination. People talk about who's going to be mayor next time and whether there will be any city left to govern by then.
The recall process
It used to be that the word "recall" in a Buffalo political discussion was the beginning of a sentence on the order of, "I recall Jimmy Griffin and how if you were black or gay you got insults rather than jobs, and how he wouldn't talk to reporters who told the truth about what he said, and how he backed his buddy the jailbird parks commissioner who poured poison into Delaware park's lake because somebody had blown the whistle on his illegal hot dog operation."
Nowadays, the word "recall" comes into conversations about who's mayor now and how people might speed up the process of getting to who's going to be mayor next.
I've asked several of the people who talked about a mayoral recall what the process entailed. Other than saying, "You have an election" or "It's somewhere in the city charter," none of them seemed to know much of anything.
So I looked it up in the Buffalo City Charter. I'm not a lawyer and there may be lawyerly doubletalk in there so the words don't mean what they seem to mean, or there may be little sentences elsewhere that undo the sentences and words in the recall-the-mayor section. But that's where any discussion has to start.
I've read the appropriate sections several times now (I'll print them below so you can read them too). I think that, like most things, talking about recalling the mayor is a whole lot easier than doing it. I suspect that if most people who talk about it knew how cumbersome the process is, they'd probably talk about something else.
Recall, step by step
Recall for the mayor requires petitions with signatures numbering no fewer than 20% of the total number of votes cast for governor on all lines in the city of Buffalo in the most recent gubernatorial election (Buffalo City Charter §23.13.a). Those petitions must be submitted to the city clerk within 30 days of signing (§23.13.b). The petitions must meet a number of mechanical requirements (§23.13.c) (§23.13.d), and must contain a statement of the grounds for recall in 300 words or less (§23.13.e). After checking the signatures for correctness, the city clerk will present the petition to the Common Council (§23.13.f). After receipt of sufficient certified signatures, the Common Council shall hold a recall election in no less than 30 and no more than 60 days; if there's another city-wide election scheduled in that period anyway, the Common Council can add the recall vote to that ballot (§23.13.g). A successful recall election takes effect as soon as the votes are tallied (§23.13.h) and the vacancy shall be dealt with as would a vacancy for any other reason (§23.13.i). When there is vacancy in the office of Buffalo's mayor, the president of the Common Council becomes mayor until the first New Year's day after a new mayor is elected (§4-5).
If I read all of this correctly, getting Anthony Masiello out of his office before his present term expires on January 1, 2005, would require the composition of a statement, in no more than 300 words, on why he should be removed. That's the easy part, not because composition of a cogent statement making that point in under 300 words is easy, but rather because there is no cogency requirement. According to the Charter, the content of the statement is not reviewable, so it can be complete gibberish, so long as it is no longer than 300 words. The next step is more difficult: collection of maybe 30,000 valid petition signatures. The step after that – a successful recall election – is more difficult yet.
Recall elections differ from ordinary elections in that there is, in theory, never more than a single candidate, who is competing against him- or herself. Instead of saying "Put me rather than that other guy in office," the candidate in a recall is saying, "Keep me in the office you already gave me" and the opponents are saying "Kick the bum out."
It's really not quite that bland, given that everybody knows exactly who will immediately occupy the office should the incumbent lose. But in a recall election, the person who would move into the mayor's job doesn't campaign, at least not overtly, and doesn't even necessarily want the job, which most people who run in an ordinary election do. In our case, if a recall election went against Tony Masiello, Common Council President James Pitts would become mayor of Buffalo until the next regular city election. Tony Masiello couldn't jump back in because the Charter prohibits someone who comes out on the bad end of a recall from running for that office for two years. If someone else were elected mayor in that election and James Pitts's current term as Common Council President hadn't run out, Pitts would return to that position.
I didn't find anything in the Charter about doing this kind of business at a special election, nor did I find anything saying you couldn't do it at a special election. I suppose if a recall process were completed in mid-November, a special election would be attractive to a lot of people, and there would be sufficient time to hold one. If the recall process were completed in late spring or during the summer, a special election would be rather pointless.
City elections normally occur in odd-numbered years; Federal and state-wide elections in even-numbered years. I would read §4-5 of the Buffalo City Charter as saying an election for a new mayor to serve out the term of the recalled mayor could occur at any general election, whether it's a city or federal/state year. Which is to say, if the people thinking about mounting a recall election manage were to pull it off, James Pitts would be Buffalo's mayor from whenever the votes in the recall were tallied until the first New Year's day after the subsequent general election.
But then what?
Which brings up the other problem: whom would they get to run? Presumably, they'd want someone very competent at business, administration, planning and several other things, who is willing to take the job of mayor of Buffalo in this grim economic season. Some people are convinced that in this economic climate nobody can make a go of it, that anyone will be driven to inaction, confused action or foolish action, the three primary charges I've heard levied against Masiello.
The last time Tony Masiello ran for mayor, five or six months ago, nobody was willing to run against him. Who's in the starting gate now? Is anybody in the starting gate now? Would anybody jump into the starting gate if, unlike last time, there were no incumbent with a million-dollar war chest ready to outbuy and outspend nearly anybody in a primary and a huge Democratic advantage ready to swamp anyone running on any other line in the general election? I know at least two people who could be splendid mayors for Buffalo, but neither of them would be willing to run for the job. What happens if the only people who are willing to run are less competent than the guy who's there now? There's no lever in the voting booth for "none of the above."
The textsHere are links for the key passages:The Buffalo City Charter, updated as of March 5, 2002.
§ 4-1The Duties and Powers of the mayor
§23-13 Recall of elected city officials
CHARTER AND CODE OF THE CITY OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, v60 Updated 3-5-2002
THE CHARTERARTICLE 23, Election, Referendum, Petition, Repeal and Recall
§ 23-13. Recall of Elected City Officials.Any incumbent of an elective office, whether elected by vote of the people or appointed to fill a vacancy, may be removed from office by the qualified registered electors of the city of Buffalo, as hereinafter provided. Such removal of the incumbent of an office shall be known as recall, and the procedure to effect the removal of an incumbent of an elective office shall be as hereinafter provided:
(a)A petition signed by qualified registered electors equal in number to at least twenty percent of the total number of votes cast for governor, in the city of Buffalo or the district from which the incumbent is being removed, at the last gubernatorial election, demanding the submission to the electors of the city the question whether the incumbent of such office shall be removed by vote of such electors shall be addressed to the board of elections and filed with the city clerk.
(b)Upon the filing of a petition, the city clerk shall immediately refer the same to the board of elections of Erie county, who shall examine such petitions for sufficiency. Any signature dated more than thirty days prior to the date of filing must be disregarded. Separate petitions of like tenor and effect shall be bound together by the city clerk and shall be deemed to constitute a single petition.
(c)The petition shall be signed by the qualified registered elector, who shall add his place of residence, giving the street and number and the date on which he signs. Each signer shall acknowledge the execution of the petition before a duly qualified elector of the city of Buffalo or district as the case may be.
(d)There shall be appended at the bottom of each sheet a signed statement of a witness who is a duly qualified elector of the city of Buffalo or the district, as the case may be. Such a statement shall be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit, and if it contains a material false statement, shall subject the person signing it to the same penalties as if he had been duly sworn. The form of such statement shall be substantially as follows except as otherwise provided in the election law.
I, ________________ (name of witness) state: I am a duly qualified elector of the city of Buffalo or ________________ District. I now reside at ___________________ (residence address, also post office address if not identical) which is in the ___________ (fill in number) election district in the city of Buffalo in the county of Erie.
Each of the individuals whose names are subscribed to this petition sheet containing __________ (fill in number) signatures, subscribed the same in my presence on the dates above indicated and identified himself to be the individual who signed this sheet. I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit and, if it contains a material false statement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly sworn.
Date __________________
_________________________ Signature
(e)Such petition shall contain a general statement of the grounds for which such removal is sought, of not more than three hundred (300) words in length, and the sufficiency of such statement shall not be subject to review; provided, however, that no petition for the removal of any elective officer may be filed until he has actually held office for six months. The sufficiency or insufficiency of any recall petition shall not be subject to review by the common council.
(f)Upon presentation of the petition by the city clerk to the board of elections, the commissioners shall immediately examine the same and the signatures and acknowledgments attached thereto and check the same with the registration list of the last preceding general election and thereafter return the petition to the city clerk with their certificates showing the total number of signatures attached thereto; the number, if any, who are not qualified registered electors of the city of Buffalo or the district as the case may be; the number, if any, whose signatures were not properly acknowledged; the number who appear to be qualified registered electors of the city of Buffalo or the district as the case may be; and what percentage they constitute of the entire registered electors who voted for governor in the city of Buffalo or the district from which the incumbent is being removed, at the last gubernatorial election. The city clerk shall thereafter present the petition to the common council.
(g)Upon presentation of such recall petition to the council by the city clerk, the council shall thereupon order the holding of a special election for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the city of Buffalo or the district as the case may be, the question whether such officer shall be recalled. Such election shall be held not less than thirty days not more than sixty (60) days after the date of the certificate of the board of elections to the sufficiency of such recall petition; provided, however, that if any other election for any purpose at which all qualified registered electors of the city of Buffalo are entitled to vote, is to occur within sixty days after the date of such certificate, the council may, in its discretion, order the holding of such recall election, and the consolidation thereof, with such other election occurring not more than sixty (60) days after the date of said certificate. The question of recalling the mayor and/or the comptroller and/or any number of members of the council may be submitted at the same election, but as to each person whose removal is sought a separate petition shall be filed and provision shall be made for an entirely separate ballot.
(h)Any elective officer for whose recall and removal from office an election is held shall continue to perform the duties of his office until such time as the board of elections, having canvassed the vote at such recall election, shall declare that a majority of the electors voting have voted in favor of the recall of such officer. In such event, the officer shall be removed from office.
(i)A vacancy in any office arising out of recall pursuant to this section shall be filled in the same manner provided by this charter for vacancies under other circumstances.
(j)No person who has been removed from an elective office by the recall, or who has resigned from such office while recall proceedings for his removal were pending against him, shall be appointed to any office under the charter within two years after such removal or resignation.
(k)No elected official shall be subjected to a recall election more than once per term of office.
ARTICLE 4, The Mayor
§ 4-5. Vacancy.
In the case of a vacancy in the office of mayor caused by the mayor's resignation, removal, death or permanent inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, such powers and duties shall devolve upon the president of the common council who shall fill the vacancy in the office of the mayor until the first day of January following the next general election at which a mayor may, pursuant to law, be elected for the balance of the term. Upon commencement of the term of office of the mayor so elected, the president of the common council then acting as mayor, shall complete the term of his or her office, if any remains.
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