Members of the Buffalo Common Council are finally showing an interest in doing the job expected of their branch of government.
Mark Mulville
If it’s merely a coincidence, it’s one that has been a long time coming. Nevertheless, as the Buffalo Common Council starts to assert itself just as Mayor Byron W. Brown gears up to seek a record fifth term in office, the benefits to the city can be a net positive – just as long as everyone remains responsible. And, yes, that means as opposed to the United States Congress.
For decades, the Common Council has fallen short of its role both as a legislative body and as a check on the executive branch. Members instead saw themselves mainly in the business of constituent service, working to resolve issues that more properly belong to administrative departments of city government. If it wasn’t a waste of talent, it was certainly a misuse.
That may be changing. As News staff reporter Deidre Williams wrote , members of the Common Council are starting to flex their municipal muscle, creating stresses with the Brown administration. At the top of the friction list, at least for the moment, has been the city’s school zone speed camera program. While that irritation also responded to constituent complaints, it put Council members – all Democrats – in conflict with the Democratic mayor. That’s something new.
The disagreement produced frustrations for both the Brown administration and the Common Council. That’s not inappropriate in a government where the separate branches are meant to monitor, not rubber stamp, the other. Yet, for too long in a one-party town, there has been little push-back from councilmembers who, come to find out, have their own ideas about Buffalo’s needs.
